Evening Star Newspaper, October 30, 1928, Page 8

THE EVENING —_With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY......October 30, 1028 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 1ith 8t. and Pennsyivania Ave New York Office: 110 East 4%nd St. Chicago Office: Toser Buildine. Buropean Office’ 14 Resent St.. London. Englan in the City. 45c per mer.th Star . lection made at {he end Orders may be seat in by m: Main 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, 1 mo.. 85¢ 1 a3 v enly Al Other St E:' lnlfly Sunday. ,l ;; fl“; das "only 13 38 Member of the Associated Press. Press is «xclusively cntitled ews dis- per and also t] ouslished herein Al TiEnts of publica special dispatches herein are also reserved. Constitution Hall. Laying the corner stone today for Con- stiution Hall, the two-million-dollar auditorium which the Daughters of the Auwerican Revolution are adding to Memorial Continental Hall, marks an- other step toward the completion of that great plan for the Capital City en- visloned by Washington and L'Enfant. It also attests the growth, not only in numbers, but in material resources, of one of the oldest and most valuable of the patriotic orders in America, for the construction of this hall has been made necessary by the increasing attendance at the annual D. A. R. conventions, and was made possible by the ability of the organization to finance the undertaking in record-breaking time. The new building, which will be com- pleted by April 15 next, in time for the 'Thirty-eighth Congress of the D. A. R, will seat 4,500 delegates, in addition to providing space for a library and mu- seum. Its architecture will be a com- bination of the Grecian and colonial, so ably shown in the design of Memorial Continental Hall. The structure will conform not only to the Continental Hall, but to its surroundings of fine buildings, which constitute one of the most beautiful groups in the world, a group now including the White House, the State, War and Navy Building, the Corcoran Art Gallery, the Red Cross Memorial Building, the National Re- search Council, the George Washington University buildings, now beginning to take form, and the Pan-American Union. It was just such a group as this that those who planned Washington plctured as eventually bordering the broad sweep of the Mall. ‘The corner stone laying for this new building comes at & time when the Fed- eral Government’s own building pro- gram is rapidly taking shape. And in this connection the D. A. R.’s experi- ence with increasing valués of property in the Capital is evidence of the fact that the Federal Government could not well have afforded to delay much longer its sequisition of building sites. Eight- een years ago the D. A. R. bought its land and built the pressnt Memorial Continental Hall for :-mething less thaa $400,000. ‘Today its new building of no error in movement. It is idle to attempt to foretell the results of these continuous triumphs of of human vision and understanding. Al- ready -many of the mysteries of the ! skies have been solved, but even so thre is no answer to the greatest question of all, the nature and purpose of the uni- verse. ————— The District Movie Theaters. Few Washingtonians, unless they are disgruntled at the management of a fancied grievance, will agree with the | contentions of a Representative in Con- | gress who in a letter to Maj. Hesse nas charged that th-ater aislcs are blocked, | that seating space is oversold to a degree that constitutes a fire hazard, and that patrons are unable to learn until they get inside the houses that there is standing-room only and are frequently forced to take less expensive seats than they paid for on upper floors if they do not wish to stand throughout & performance. In conjunction with Fire Chief Waston, Maj. Hesse will conduct an investigation of the condi- tions covered by the complaint, but it is predicted that no necessity will be found for the enactment of additional regula- tions, at the present time at least, for Washington’s movie houses. The District is particularly fortunate in having within its borders an equip- ment of moving picture theaters which furnish a high grade of entertainment. Crowds are constantly in attendance to enjoy the various,offerings. Moving picture audiences are unique in the respect that they are constantly shifting and seats become vacant at odd times during a performance. This condition results in a large number of temporary standees who would rather take a chance on securing one of these vacan- cles than waiting outside the theater with a possibility of missing the show entirely. In order to deal with the movie fan of this type the management oversells the seating space, but, except in the rarest cases, does it allow inside a theater more persons than can reason- ably expect to find seating accommoda- tions within a short period. Aisles are always kept clear and it is only the space in the extreme rear of the houses which is congested at certain periods. Exits are numerous and accessible and the fire hazard is probably less in Wash- ington's well designed and conducted theaters than in many other cities. Inquiry af the ticket office or of any attendant is invariably calculated to elicit the information as to available types of seats and a dissatisfied patron will in most cases receive a refund with courteous promptness. Periodic surveys of theater conditions should, of course, be conducted, but Washington movie- goers are confident that, for the present at least, the theaters will be granted a clean bill of health. More Thrill Murders. ‘Two ' Southern college youths, mem- bers of prominent families, have been indicted for participation in an orgy of hold-ups resulting "in the mur- der of two storekeepers who re- sisted their demands, and with the wealthy families of both boys scurrying around to secure the finest legal talent will cost $2,000,000, and the value of its entire investment is sald to exceed $5,000,000. Eighteen years hence the Federal Government may find that at- tractive sites in its own city are un- avallable because of prohibitive price. ‘Washington is the growing capital of a growing Nation. It has become the headquarters not only of the Govern- ment, but of nearly every organization of natlonal importance. = Every year brings it nearer to a full expression of the “soul of America.” ——— Professional clowns have found little encourngement in the present cam- paign. A discreet candidate prefers to exercise his own judgment in so deli- eate a matter as comedy relief. ————— Radicratory has succeeded in develop- ing the fact that words, after all, may be more important than the music. ———— Tt remained for the Summer of 1928 to prove that even the tariff can be made popularly interesting. S Another “Greatest Telescope.” Made familiar with the terms of modern astronomy by recent develop- ments in apparatus, and through them the solving of numerous problems per- taining to space and the universe, the lay public will not be particularly as- tonished by the announcement just made by the California Institute of ‘Technology that it is about to build and set up another “largest telescope” by means of which more marvels of creation will be revealed. This instru- ment will consist of a 200-inch reflector, being just twice the size of the present latgest telescope, that installed on Mount Wilson, Calif. This doubled di- ameter, it is stated, will have four times the power in terms of light rays and revealed dimensions of the stellar fea- tures. Great as was the advancement from Gallleo's simple telescope to the 100- inch reflector at Mount Wilson, the progression from the latter to the new proposed 200-inch glass may be regard- #4 as even more important in terms of the information yielded. But the foundations for all the work with this great new glass have been laid by re- searches heretofore made with the smaller reflectors. Indeed, astronomy is now going forward at a pace never be- fore attained as sucéessive enlargements of mirrors, together with data already obtained, permit intimate studies on a scale which a generation ago it was not believed could ever be secured. And the marvel of the matter is that there is no positive imit to the future enlargement ©of the means of astronomical study. ‘These repeated advances in the di- mensions of telescopes have themselves been made possible by the remarkable achievements of physicists working in Iaboratories and in factories in the per- fection of methods of glass molding and polishing. The lay public has but little conception of the infinite pains required in the preparation of these, immense slabs of glass, which must be | that the country can offer to defend them, it looks as if the public must again endure a spectacle such as that presented in the famous Leopold-Loeb case in Chicago. One of the boys was reported to have confessed that he was the wielder of the gun in the “thrill” hold-ups, while the other is alleged to have driven the automobile used in the escapes. The elder of the two was ar- rested at the college after it was learned by police that he had been treated for a bullet wound in the hip, received when one of his victims re- sisted in the course of a robbery. Short shrift should be given to these two scoundrels if they are convicted when they come to trial. It will be many years before the people of this country can forget the miscarriage of Jjustice in the famous Chicago thrill murder, and it is likely that no such lucky break will be the portion of these latest examples of wanton Kkillers if their conviction is secured. The State of Georgia is presented with a golden opportunity, in this case, to dispense quick justice, which may serve as a model for the entire United States. ————— Second thought 1is most reliable. Changes of opinion between November 6 and November 7 may regulate the destinies of a Nation. ] Fiction in Bricks. Gratifying progress is reported in the manufacture of “old bricks” for the extensive restorations enterprise where- by Williamsburg, Va., is to be changed back, as far as practicable, into the old colonial capital it was a century or two ago. Preliminary work has been in progress for four months on a farm near Willlamsburg, where, out of a special blackish-gray clay, hand- made bricks of a truly colonial size and appearance are said to have been turned out most satisfactorily. There is no reason why bricks to match anything in the line of colonial architecture in tidewater Virginia and Maryland cannce be made there today, for that is where practically every one of the original brick were manufac- tured. It is a country rich in a va- riety of suitable clays, and only time, money and labor are necessary to du- plicate anything previous efforts accom- plished. The fiction of “bricks brought from England”—for fiction it is in the minds of the best informed—is a most persistent one and probably will linger on as long as the almost ineradicable belief that porcupines can throw their quills, one dear to the hearts of those whose family or civic pride goes away back. But the chances of the truth of a declaration that an edifice in either State, or in the District of Columbia, is, or was, constructed of bricks im- ported from abroad are almost nil un- less backed up by absolutely irrefutable proofs. In the first place, there was no need to import bricks, The earllest reports sent back from Virginia in 1607 refer glowingly to the good red clay “fitt for cast without the slightest flaw or the tinlest bubble of air, and which must be cooled by slow degrees to prevent strains and cracks, and which must bricks.” The clay was and is here in { abundance and in variety. In the ! second place, can one imagine colo- nists, urgently desiring all sorta of ne- ) . STAR |then be .polished and formed to the | cessities and luxuries in the form of most precise lines and mounted with the | manufactured articles, wasting the utmost nicety in a manner that admits | cargo space of the thén small ships of science in the enlargement of the field | motion picture th2ater for some real or THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, GCTOBER 30, 19%8. the time with such a heavy, shifting and expensive cargo? One can as well pic-; iture them importing long-leaf pine or tobacco or maize. Moreover, brickmak- ers were among the earliest immigrants. Paul Wilstach, in his authoritative book. “Potomac Landings,” explodes | the pleasing, but improbable, conten- tion that this, that or the other house, hall or chureh, was built of imported brick. “A careful search among his- toric sources,” states this author, “to 1 discover how extensive was the impor- | |tation of brick for building on the! | Potomac uncovers interesting inform tion. It is, of course, not to be pre- tended that brick were never brought from England. There is evidence to | show. that there were such isolated im- portations. Archives of the Maryland Historical Society as to the entire num- | ber of such importations show that these totaled but three, up to 1769, in that State, and the largest was of 6.000 bricks, or about enough for one good, big, old-time chimney.” - The late Moncure D. Conway, author and | clergyman, who was intensely and actively” interested in the antiquities of his native State, once declared that he did not believe there was standing in all Virginia any building made of bricks from the home country. The secret seems to lie in the fact that during colonial times there were current two descriptive trade phrases, “English brick” and “Dutch brick.” Their meaning was easily mistaken by those who Ilater delved into old rec- ords. But the simple explanation is that these words refer to types or sizes only. Dutch brick were large; English brick of a smaller size. The patterns may have come from across the water, but the clay, the kilns and the work- men were all on this side. Those per- sonally interested in maintaining this pleasant fiction about importation will probably persist through generation after genération, but the logic and the available facts are all against them. ——e—————— In a few days the “elephant” and “donkey” will pass back into the Noah's Ark that waits to accompany the Christmas tree. Party emblems are the most expensive of all human toys. v A large registration that cannot be identified on party linesyis attributed to the woman vote. Woman, in spite of old sarcasms, knows how to keep & secret. —————— Hold-up men have an unpleasant methcd of reviving the old grocery storé invitationi, “If you don’t see what you want, ask for it.” ot Orations are equipped with ampli- fiers, but arguments are not yet suf- ficiently provided with simplifiers. ~o— It has not been a “whispering cam- paign.” More vociferous demonstra- tions could not have been hoped for. Passenger rates on a dirigible make a ten-cent carfare scarcely worth think- ing about. —— o SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Where Traffic Roars. As the election time draws nigh, We'll 1ift a word of praise And mention with a wistful sigh It is an intriguing idea and | ‘What men call “good old days.” A President his horse would stand Beneath a nearby bough, While Congress placed him in Com- mand— He couldn’t do so now. A statesman up the Avenue ‘Would take a daily stroll. For vehicles were then quite few And easy to control. Though one might wish to go along And friendly words allow, While ‘mingling. with the humbler throng, He couldn't do so now. Comprehensive Opinion. “What is your positive opinion about—2" “Friend,” rejoined Senator Sorghum, “you need go no further. My opinion at this time about positive opinion is that it is likely to be somewhat risky business.” Jud Tunkins says & man who ate tends strictly to his own business must make some sacrifice. He's bound to many gossipy anecdotes and finny stories, Dirigible Fare. Quoth I, “O, Cap'n, what's the price? I long to sail in your device.” The cap'n paused, and thought a lot, And said, “Just how much have you got?” Historic Value. “What made you pay such a price for the poor old horse?” “Because of its value, sir.” “It has no value that I can per. ceive.” ' “It has historic value. It is one of the horses that the Prince of Wales so spectacularly dismounted.” “A favor that hopes for reward,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is not an evidence of friendship so much as an effort at bargaining.” The Rest. A rest in music will convey A strange and subtle charm, they say. And soon November 6 we'll reach, With silence sweet instead of speech. “It's better to lose a little money on an election,” said Uncle Eben, “dan to keep on arguin’ an’ losin’ friends.” —— . Who's the Dictator? From the Albany Evening News. Mrs. Brighteyes specialized in keeping her husband jealous. In this curious and pleasing task— curious to others, pleasing to herself— she was aided by natural equipment augmented by experience. The charming Mrs. Brighteyes had been studying mankind, by her own confession, since she was a child, and now had the sex charted to a man. In any possible situation she knew exactly what & man would do. One deft thrust from ner beautiful eyes and any given specimen would roll over and beg. Mrs. Brighteyes amused herself with them much as a cruel scientist would stick pins in bugs, laughing at their antics, She had a pretty contempt for all who fell for her, yet continued to help them over the precipice by subtle arts and sciences; if they ded with a crash, she was quite indignant that they had messed up her landscape. Somehow the careful observer gath- ered the impression that most of her pretense was bluff; that actually and in fact she was very fond of the male sex, although she would have been the last one in the world to admit it. * K % % Mrs. Brighteyes' chief delusion was her pet theory that any woman could make a monkey out of any man. ‘What she forgot was that men like to be made monkeys out of! It is a game two play at, this monkey businesg. Mrs. Brighteyes, however, hugged the pleasant delusion that the thing was so one-sided. She saw herself as a ringmaster cracking the whip, while mere males jumped through her hoop one after the other. She fancied she made a rather pretty picture—as, indeed, she did—standing in the center of the ring, putting the animals through their paces. ‘What curious animals they were, to be_sure! If one of them so much as looked at her for a second time, he was falling for her charms. If he sald he liked her, he was in love. If he carried her pocketbook (after she had asked him to), he was about ready to ditch the wife of his bosom. She made the rules for this game and was the sole referee, so that if any miserable specimen dared ignore them he was beyond the pale of conduct. One who aspired to be allowed to be part of her scheme had to study the rules and abide by them, else he was in danger of being cast into outer dark- ness, which was everywhere except where she was; of course. ok ok K Let a new male acquaintance so much as cast that well known second glance at her—and most of them considerably more than that—immediately she began to build up the fabric of a “crush.” All men are fools, and all women cats, she said. Not only did she tell Friend Husband that she feared Mr. Dub was “getting a crush on her,” a:' lly she told Mrs. Dub the same n Imagine how nice that made Mrs. Dub feel! Poor Mrs. Dub began to wonder if the faithful Dub was going back on her after all these years. She had heard abou! those terrible home-wreck- ing women, but she had never met one before. The set she moved in had been composed mostly of pleasant women like herself, who somehow had allowed flirtation to go by the board. They, t00, might have made goo-goo ‘eyes at gentlemen— Nearly 10 years have passed since the armistice which closed the fighting of the World War, but the aftermath of that fighting has not yet passed. Next week the Disabled American Vet- erans’ Association will undertake the annual “drive” in the sale of forget-me- nots and today the organization seeks volunteer women and girls to assist in presenting the little flowers of kindly sentiment to the public, with the urge that the public indeed should not for- get the men who have suffered through the years following their ordeal of bat- tle. Volunteers should report to D. A. V. headquarters in the Earle Theater Bullding, Thirteenth and E streets northwest. * X K X ‘There are four organizations which have had official l'eeo!nlmm of Con- gress for the rehabilitation of the vet- erans. They are this ciation for Rehabilitation of the Disabled Ameri- can Vetérans, made up of such dis- abled victims themselves; the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Red Cross. The fact that there are four organizations does not mean that the work is being dupli« cated, for each approaches the objeftlve from a different angle—at least to a very large degree. It is reported that the Disabled American Veterans, with their trained liaison officers, in working with the United States Veterans’ Bu- reau, make 40 per cent of all the con- tacts made by all organizations, the American Legion and the two others covering the other 60 per cent. This statement is not deprecatol of the service of the other organizations. The D. A. Vs. specialize in aiding the dis- abled, not merely in doles to individu- als, but in legislative direction and ad- ministration policies exclusively in the interest of justice to the men who have sacrificed their own strength upon bat- tlefields and in camps. Practically the only financial resource of the D. A. Vs. is the annual sale of the little forget-me-nots. The sale is authorized by the District Commission- ers and it has the personal indorsement of President Coolidge, Chief Justice Taft, Blshog Freeman, Bishop Mec- Dowell, Archbishop Curley, Rabbi 8imon and scores of other most prominent and careful Washingtonians. * K ok * In a communication, President Cool- idge says: “The annual Forget-Me-Not observ- ance of the Disabled American Vet- erans is particularly deserving of the most sympathetic attitude on the part of the public. The Government is en- deavoring in every possible way to al- Ieviate the sufferings of those for whom the war still endures. Yet there are certain phases of this great problem in which outside agencies may be of vital assistance. The Disabled Ameri- can Veterans has proved one of the efficacious auxiliaries of this task. Its co-operation with the Veterans' Bureau on administrative problems, and with Congress on legislative matters, has been impressively helpful, as has the organization’s direct contact with indi- vidual veterans in bringing about the prompt adjudication of claims.” * ok ok K It is a natural consequence of the years that the man or woman not in Spain’s dictator says he is going to give women the vote in that country. Even a dictator isn't so much of a dic- tator when it comes to women. oo Without Any Trouble. From the Omaha World-Herald. Ergineers have 83 suggestions for standardizing traffic control. Man the street can beat that any day. SV The Whispering Habit. From the Richmond Times Dispatch. i ‘The whispering campaign may indi- cate nothing more than a national habit acquired in the speak-easy. ——————— Toots and Cusses. From the Toledo Blade. He doesn’t expect to clear the traffic jam by blowing his horn, It's his way g, 1y ing orn, +* direct touch with the sufferings of the disabled should grow less conscious of the existence of that suffering. Yet time has not lessened the actual dis- tress, as is manifested by the increas- ing—not lessening—call for hospitaliza- tion. Chairman Thomas Kirby of the national legislation committee of the D, A. Vs, says: “With the passing of time there has been the cooling of the public enthusi- asm towards the disabled, and all this has brought the disabled to the most real crisis that they have ever faced.’ A great hardship was put upon the most severely disabled when a time limit was enacted by Congress upon vocational training, which was doing so much in the way of rehabilitating those who were able to take training within that time limit, but which is now closed to those even more de- pendent, who were not then able, by reason of their wounds or other disa- ty, to take advantage of the op- - THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. But_hush—perhaps it was unfair to Mrs. Brighteyes to accuse her of de- liberately making eyes at gentlemen. Could she help it because she had beau- tiful eyes? Did she not despise men? Had she not persistently sneered at them, called them inefficient babies, and to their homely faces, too? And had the fools not reveled in it? Surely it could not be said to be her fault if her personal magnetism made most men like her. They had been doing it ever since she was a child. As a young girl she found the magic of a glance and a smile—and soon wore more fraternity pins that a dozen or- dinary girls. She was engaged to marry Heaven knows how many men at once, only to ditch them all and marry old Jim Brighteyes himself. If you had asked her to name the half dozen unluckiest men in the world, she would have done so without a moment’s hesitation. o One of her pet delusions was that even one's husband must not be allowed to become too sure of one. The quiet men are the ones to be afrald of! Such a thing as calm sureness, based on confidence and loyalty, was out- side the rules of the game. She seemed never to have thought of it. Some who had escaped from the mag- ic of her influence had been known to whisper that “she thought she knew it all,” but they were only engaging in whispering campaigns. What Mrs. Brighteyes was sure of was that Friend Hubby must be made chronically jealous, else he might do all sorts of things. By prodding him peri- odically, she could keep him in the straight and narrow path. Whai was it that Mrs. Brighteyes did to secure this effect? (WhafSshe called self-sufficiency in herself was nothing but selfishness.) A single ex- ample will suffice. If she put “I'll Meet You in My Dreams” on the phonograph, and then, in turning away, cast just a suspicion of a glance at the late recipient of her glory, was it her fault because the sap imagined that she did cast that quar- ter-glance in his direction? hy, of course not! Men were all fools, incurable romanticists, who al- lowed themselves to be stampeded just because she happened to look in their silly direction. y ‘Was it not absurd? And was it not well done? If he so much as dared tell Mrs. Dub that the enchanting Mrs. Brighteyes selected “I'll Meet You in My Dreams” and then gave him a deft uppercut ‘with. her right (eye), he was a boastful fool, an old oss who ought to have known better. Like a true strategist, Mrs. Brighteyes Jeft no opening for the enemy.. Male beings were to be made monkeys of. If she chose to forget the influence of her eyes, who could call her attention to it without running the risk of being charged with conceit and several other very unpleasant things? All this time, of course, old Jim Brighteyes was growing hot under the collar, which was exactly what Mrs, Brighteyes aimed for him to do. What fools these men were! She painted a hot sketch of herself fleeing from the other males of the world into the sanc- tuavy built and maintained by one James Brighteyes, esq. And when Brighteyes managed to beat off the terrible horde, and clasp his own true Sweetie in his arms, was his re- ward not sufficient unto the day there- of? Didn't her old Jimmie Sugar Dumpling think so? BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. portunities open to the less affilcted. Disavowing special credit for legisla« tion for the relief of the soldlers, Chair- man Kirby says: “It has been a pleasure to state that the D. A’ V. has fought shoulder to shoulder with E. S. Bettleheim, jr., of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Watson B. Miller of the American Legion rehabilitation committec. Each of these men agrees with the thought that it is not a question of who did it, but whether it has been done.” AR It was disclosed by the report of Gen. Hines, director of the Veterans' Bureau, made to the recent Natjona! Convention of the American Leglon, that instead of the peak of the hospital burden being rlued‘ after 10 years, it has persisted n increasing, even in the last year by 692 cases, or 2.7 per cent, as compared with the previous year. Almost exactly half of the hospital cases are mental— known technically as neuropsychiatric. As the years go by the veterans are breaking ‘down from wounds or other injuries suffered in the service, but which they are able partially to endure in the- earlier stages. Most of them have families dependent on them. The hopelessness of their condition, the waning interest of the public in their abandonment, has much to do with the cases of melancholia and despair, lead- mlfinm mental breakdowns. The sig- nificance of the sale of ‘“forget-me- nots” is not oversentimental, under ex- isting circumstances. In a recent editorial the Chjcago Tribune summed up the situation as follows: “Tag days have become extortionate, but Forget-Me-Not day is legitimate. It is the one occasion on which you are importuned to remember the sac- rifice of the soldier; to consider his lot; to ease his existence. Without this organized appeal the routine of peace-time endeavor would not be in- terrupted by a consciousness of the disabled veterans, now suffering ob- ag\al.;ely in hospitals or working under odds. “Each year as the number of de- pendent veterans increases and as the feeling of responsibility to them on the part of employers and the com- munity vanishes, the problem of ad- ministering to the health and welfare of these men and their families be- comes correspondingly difficult. It is reported that there are 25,000 more cases of tuberculosis among the vet- erans than there were last year; that there has been a 15 per cent increase in cases of disabling nervous disorders; that, although the increase has not been estimated, there has been a dis- tressingly large number of new cases of organic diseases, including diabetes and Bright's disease. At same time, in Illinois alone, 2453 veterans are reported out of work in the files of the Disabled American Veterans of the World War. With these graphic figures in mind, it becomes the duty of every citizen to contribute to the For- get-Me-Not fund with a substantial donation. It is a real obligation, to be fulfilled generously and thought- fully.” * Kk ok Conditions .as to the personal calls for relief are especially pressing in Washington, for hundreds of disabled find their way to this center of affairs, believing that by their actual presence here they may accomplish more than has proved possible at long range. ‘While some Washingtonians, not quite lrprechun: the desperation of the ap- plicants, would protest against the ap- peal here which log mfi; belongs to some distant State, it is recalled that to the wounded soldier, sick and ap- parently friendless, the onlj‘tmng that matters is his Pemnnl tress. He knows nothing of the geography nor of the so-called ‘“‘decentralization” of the Veterans’ Bureau; he only knows that he is dying and needs help. He fought not for one State, but for the Nation. ‘There are 20,901 patients in the Vet erans’ Bureau hospitals (as of June 1, 1928), but there are many times that number on the outside, in the twilight zone between comfort and' the ve, struggling with advancing disabilities, of whom the world seldom hears. It is for those that the Forget-Me-Not appeal 1s especially directed. (Copyright, 1928, by Paul V. Collins.) NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M. REMY DE GOURMONT. Richard Aldington. Illustrator, Andre Rou- veyre. Pascal Covicl. Had you chanced to be in the Ceme- tery of Pere Lachaise on that late September day of 1915, you might have stood witness to the impressive rites of burial with which France honors her distinguished men of letters. ‘Today, walking about Paris, you may happen upon a certain public garden marked by a statue of Remy de Gour- mont. Or, threading the Rue des Saints-Peres, you may suddenly face upon a house that bears a plaque com- memorating it as the one in which this man used to live. Regrettably, these public testimonials of recognition and homage came too late to serve their object either in the way of a living support or in that of a | deeper inspiration toward greater effort. For Remy de Gourmont had moved on ahead of this processional of praise, out where even no echo of it could reach him. However, leaving the most, and the best, of himself behind him, as every man of achievement is bound to do, Gourmont is now m a nigh tide of recognition, acclaimed not only in his own France, but otherwise bssides as a vital contributing force in ths leaven of a new literary outlook upon what is, in effect, a brand-new world of thought and general activity. The personal loss, rooted in the usual common stupidity and uncharity, is deeply lamentable, accusatory even. Yet, the gain to letters by way of this man may atone—and that is a cow- ardly, a contemptible conclusion. However, the balance in account of Remy de Gourmont and modern let- ters stands in a substantial and un- deniable claim on his part for high service to the new literary movement which is also an inalienable part of) the outward surge of all world matters toward a passion for truth, actuality, fact. A part merely—a by-product, if you will—of the spirit of science itself, holding the search for truth in every field to be the paramount quest of life: holding, too, the courage to face such truth to be the supreme obligation of tutored and civilized mankind. Brought across from the French into English by Richard Adlington, here is the life of Remy de Gourmont, the life of the man breught into the open chisf- ly by way of the sum and character of his own writings. Info these 2 vol- umes Mr. Adlington has gathered the essence of the 30 that represent a lit- tle more than the same number of years devoted to creative literature. Reading here, one soon becomes enthusiastic in support of the plan of making one's considerable work tell the story of his existence, Set out in the order of their publication, one finds here the story, the legend, the poem, the essay, the glimpses of a shifting philosophy. These become mirrors throwing back the changing moods and points of view of the man himself, the varied play of his fancy, the drifting colors of emotion, of feeling, of conviction upon a host of themes all component parts of the tormenting mystery which life itself is. Mr, Adlington makes a point of this variety in the work of Gourmont, de- fending the man from the suspicion of superficiality and from the charge that a man could hardly write so much and do it well. He compares him with Vol- taire in this respect—both of them “polygraphes,” to use the term here em- ployed. “The personality of Voltaire is not very complex; he was a man of re- markable intelligence and opportunist character, whose expansive energy sim- ulated a complexity which, on analysis, proves to be only variety. The complex- !H‘ of Gourmont is real and inherent. e mind of Voltaire is like a perfectly turned billiard ball, ever on the roll and conzmuousl( achieving the most accu- rate and pleasing angles: the mind of Gourmont ‘is like the same ball carved by a Chinese artist into a nest of highly fretted spheres one within the other, made Heaven knows how and quite use- less for the practical game of life. ' You may take two pieces of Voltaire's prose, one written in 1720 and the other in 1770, and at once you will recognize them as products of the same mind; but compare Gourmont's work in 1890 with his work fh 1905—is the sensual, mystic idealist of ‘Sixtine’ the author of ths skeptical Nietzschean ‘Dialogues des Amateurs'?” An advancing mind, this, whose every. stage of progress not only contributes a permanent and enriching element to that mind, but which as well boldly rejects the outworn permanencies of yesterday. A contradiction of a mind, as life itself is a succession of denials and retractions, even as an_ inherent part of its progress. And so there rises “a Gourmont problem.” Its solution is left to the reader, Mr. Adlington being wise enough to state it, merely, in ths terms of Gourmont's own work, leaving to the reader the joy of adventure and discovery. In this introduction of such finely helpful substance Mr. Adlingten says: “To one long familiar with Gourmont’s work it becomes a certainty that he was poientially a greater writer than in fact he ever became. There is already a considerable amount of waste matter in his published work; already his stories and novels are in part superannuated, his poems seem dated, his plays abortive experiments in an art for which their au‘hor was singularly unfitted. What is more serious, one cannot point to any k or books of his and assert hon- estly that it is and permanent masterpiece. Yet, has an even stronger conviction that the name of Remy de Gourmont will not perish, that his mind was not only curi- ous and complex, but a permanent addi- tion to the vast gallery of European in- telligence, that there are gifts both of artistry and thought seattered through his 30 or 40 volumes, which are orig- inal, powerful and animating. Writing was Gourmont’s life: he adored it, and when he was not writing or reading for the purpose of writing, he was bored. He was as perfect a type of the man of let- ters—taken in its highest sense—as one could discover.” Mr. Adlington shows us someth of the man himself—how he looked, how he lived, who were his friends and associates. A recluse in effect, driven in upon himself by virtue of diffidence and a reluctance to bring certain physi- cal shortcomings into association with a robust world. One likes to forget this picture, and does forget it as soon as the reading of Gourmont becomes an absorption. An analytical Frenchman and a temperamental pagan come to- gether here for the creation of many beautiful things while a political: rebel ngamst any sort of compact except that of complete individualism plays havoc with altruistic designs for the well being of the great majority—a hopefess lot accordinz to Gourmont. “He was a #at individualist, one of the last. and ldest defenders of individual liberty against the increasing tyrannies of de- mocracy and socialism.” Here is a bit of general summary by Mr. Adlington: “As & novelist I think him certainly inferior to Flaubert, but I put him with Huysmans and France. As a philosopher and essayist I hold him inferior to Nietzsche, but consider- ably above Maeterlinck. He was per- haps the most erudite non-specialist of his ege and as a general critic he was unique in his generation.” Firally, “Remy de Gourmont, then, while unfitted for action to an extent almost humorous if it were not pathetic, possessed one of the ucutest and freest minds of his own—I might almost add, any—age. His was a great literary ca- reer whose sole reward was itself. He received no public honors, died poor, and, comparatively speaking, little read. Since his death his ave rapidly achieved a wide circulation, which con- tinually j1.creases. Those who knew and valued him in his lifetime cherish his memory with pride and affection, and feel a personal interest in the diffu- slon of his name and works.” Such “personal interest” on the part of Mr. uccessful ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - BY FREDERIC ], HASKIN. Any reader can get the answer to any question by writing to our Infor- mation Bureau in Wi gton, D. C. This offer applies strictly to informa- tion. The bureau cannot give advice on legal, medical and financial mat- ters. It does not attempt to settle do- mestic troubles, nor undertake ex- haustive research on any subject. Write your question plainly and briefly. Give full mame and address and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for re- turn postage. The reply is sent direct to the inquirer. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Q. What does the word “Graf” mean in the rame of the huge Zeppelin ship?—D. C. A. The word “Graf” is a German title equivalent to the English Count. Q. How are programs broadcast through national hook-ups?>—R. J. S. A. In the so-called chain hook-up of broadcast programs stations are con- nected with telephone lines: however, it is possible to rebroadcast from radio signals. This has not proved wholly satisfactory, as it carries an increased nm::um of interference when rebroad- cast. Q. The dresses of olden times ap- pear heavy. Is it known how much they weighed?—T. E. M. A. In the time of Henry VIII the well dressed woman wore a costume that weighed 35 pounds. In contrast to this costume, we have the modern r.p%nr;]l, weighing 3 pounds or less, shoes and al Q. How can I remove silver plate from a solid copper coffee pot?— G. M. P. A. The Bureau of Standards says silver can be removed from copper by immersing the article in a mixture of 19 parts by volume of concentrated sulphuric acid and one part by vol- ume of concentrated nitric acid which has been heated to about 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Q. What are the principal differences between the extinct mammoth and the elephant?—A. D. H. A. The mammoth was nearly re- lated to the Indian elephant, but had very long upcurving tusks, which form- ed in some specimens nearly a perfect circle. It had also a thick heavy coat of long hair. The size was about the same as the Indian elephant and larger than the African elephant. Q. Should a young woman rise when she is being introduced to an elderly man or woman?—R. F. A. It is courteous for a young wom- an of 20 to rise when introduced to an elderly woman. In fact, this act is obligatory upon her. e writers assert that regardless of age a woman remains seated when a man is intro- duced. Some women, however, prefer to vise when it is an elderly man who is presented. g, _Il:lo; is open hearth steel made? A. Open hearth steel is made by an open hearth furnace. In 1856 Besse- mer not only invented his extraor- dinary process of making heat develop- ed by the rapid oxidation of the im- purities in pig iron raise the temper- ature above the exalted melting point of the resultant purified steel, but also made it widely known that this steel was a very valuable substance. Know- ing this, and having in the Siemens regenerative gas furnace an independ- ent means of generating this temner- ature, the Martin brothers of Sieful in France, in 1864, developed the open heartn process of making steel of any desired carbon content by melting to- gether in this furnace cast and wrought iron, Q. Did Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall die in prison?—A. 8. « A. Willlam Tweed. former leader of Tammany Hall, died in Ludlow Street Jail April 12, 1878. Q. Do whales ever go to the bottom of the ocean?—M. K. A. Whales do not go to the bottom of the ocean. When alive they must con- stantly rise to the surface for the pur- Q. Who invented the camera?—F. D. A. The camera, it is believed, was in- vented by Giovanni Battista della Porta in the sixteenth century, tI h the principle was actually known before. Q. Is it true that panama hats are woven under water?—J. L. A. Panama hats are made from the Jeaves of a kind of palmiike tree which grows largely in ntral and South America. The leaves are cut. while young and then split into long, fine shreds with the fingernails or with knives. After they have been bleached the strips are woven into hats. As the delicate material can be worked only while damp, ‘it is either woven under water or left out in the dew at night and the weaving done early in the morning. Q. Is the bride of the heir to the ese throne of royal blood?—N. D. . Setsuko Matsudaira, who married the heir-presumptive to the Japanese throne, is not of royal blood. She is the daughter of the former Ambassador from Japan to the United States, Tsuneo Matsudaira, and was educated for the most part in the United States. Q. When was chemistry first applied to the manufacture of cotton?—L. D. T. A. The first noteworthy new applica- tion of chemistry to the cotten industry occurred in 1844, when John Mercer discovered the process pow known as mercerization. Q. Do boys study home economics?— w. . It is estimated by the Bureau of Education that 7,000 high school boys are ing courses in home economics. Q. Who produced the Shasta daisy? M. Luther Burbank was the origina- tor. Q. When was gas introduced into the White House?—M. S. C. A. It_was introduced into the White House December 29, 1848. Q. On which syllable is thé name “Dolores” accented?>—C. F. M. A. It is accented upon the second syllable. . Q. When was gold first found to be valuable as well as ornamental?—M. L. A. The use of gold uturmmmu first suggested its subsequent use as money and that finally made it the standard upon which the coin: of the world is based. Cybes of gold employed by the Chinese may have been the earliest coins, but modern authorities accept the theory that gold as coins was first used by the Lydians. Q. Why is alr saturated with water vapor lighter than dry air>—R. H. H. A. Air saturated with water vapor is lighter than dry air of the same tem- ture because water vapor is light- er than air. When water evaporates a given quantity of water is dispersed through a large volume that the resulting vapor is lighter n & mass of air having the same volume and at the same pressure. Q. Was all Capo di _Monte china made for Napoleon Bon: , or were the makers permitied to use his mark— a crown with N underneath—on t ;:unc. they sold to the general public?- . ‘apo di Monte factory was started by ghmn II1 in 1736. He took much interest in it and, sometimes It was moved ich was v was in factories. The china to which you refer with the mark of a erown and N under it was made at the Naples factory. The N was for Naples rather than Napoleon. The public was pri jed to buy the - ucts. The manufdcture was abandoned in1821.° re e ;.Q, 'Why. {5 Senator Curtis, the Re- publican- / dential nominee, re- ter Charlies”?—S8. L. B. A lormed that the nick- name - “Egg Charlfe” was facetiously given to Senator Curtis by some news- paper men who reported a speéch which he made in the Middle West on the In this speech he particularly pose of breathing. When dead the body floats on the surface. tariff, dealt with the experts and imports of eggs and poultry. Millions Will Vote This Year Through Automatic Machines Of some 40,000,000 men and women registered to participate in the national election this year, it is estimated that more than 5,000,000 will cast their votes through machines, the use of which is becol more - and more general, especially in the congested urban cen- ters where the polling and tabulating of the vote always has been a problem. Speaking of the extent of the vogue, the Syracuse Herald points out that the machines will be employed this year by more than 2,000 cities and towns, and predicts a steady popularization, “in line with the use of automatic mecha- nism in business, manufacturing and agriculture.” “The initial cost of voting machines would represent a considerable sum,” observes the Kalamazoo Gazette, “but the cost of maintaining a small army of precinct election officials also runs into money, to say nothing of printing bills and other attendant expenses. The modern voting machine gives the elec- torate the results of its balloting im- mediately after the polls are closed, not the next day after long hours of tabulat- ing by exhausted officials; its totals are correct and need no revision. It is swift, accurate and economical.” The many years required to establish the popularity of this method of voting are noted by the Detroit Free Press, which recalls that they were tried out in Rochester, N. Y., about 30 years ago, but that “objections were raised orginal-'| ly to voting machines that they could be ‘fixed’ and that they were too ex- pensive.” That paper, however, refers to the change which has come about with the years, and adds: “Where they have been in operation long enough for the people to judge of their value, vot- ing machines seem to have given satis- faction. They speed up the process of voting: and thus reduce not only the number of election districts, but also the emount of time the individual has to spend in recording his vote.” “The growth of machine voting since the last presidential election has been astonishing,” remarks the Roanoke World-News, which continues: “Within a few more elections, it is safe to pre- dict that all voting will be done on tabulating machines, in which there is an element of accuracy that cannot be | had where tired election officials sit half the night thumbing over paper ballots. b 2y #3 » argument seems to all in favor of the use of voting ma- | chines, operating on the familiar cuhl register principle, wherever :the people wish to see an election honestly cast | and honestly counted.” 4 . Bupporting the plan to .introduce : machine voting in its own community | after the present election, the Phila- delphia Evening Bulletin argues: *. citizen with a four-foot ballot in hands can scarcely refrain from appre- ciating the utility of the voting ma- chine. The perplexity of this year's blanket ballot makes the operation of handling nl\e flu’:;clhlm hwn';em a comj tively simple a time sav- o2'tb the voter a5 well as ah insurance of certainty in counting the vote, since it is registered mechanically as in the ordinary adding machine. Consequent- ly_there should be an overwhelming affirmative of the constitutional amend- Adlington is by this publication given a | ment that permits the installation of substantial quality whose return is cer- | voting machines. The impending four- tain to be an enthusiastic reception of ! foot ballot is the most convincing ar- this work by Remy de Gourmont, and | gument.” In favor of a similar change in its | broug! of the inspired introduction to that work by Richard Adlington himself. by the translator of Gourmont, A liter- | own city, the Ann Arbor Daily News ary event, without doubt, is this work Says: “The machines are needed, and needed now, with s big ap- | abdicate proaching. They are in widespread use and thoroughly satisfactory in other communities. * * * The argument of some opponents that they are too me- chanically intricate for voters to use intelligently is not entitled t6 be con- sidered too seriously. In the years there have been great ments toward atm&llcny of operation in vote-recording devices.” * ok ok X The Bangor Daily Commercial, never- theless, feels that the objections are worthy of -consideration, and, referring to the “dosire held by many voters of personal'y marking _their ballots.” offers the comment: “Perhaps this is an old-fashioned idea. but many peo- ple regard the franchise as a nal privilege that would lose somewhat of its importance if they pressed-a button rather than marked their ballot. In the big cities, with hundreds of thou- sands of voters, the machine is a near- necessity. In the smaller places there is no such need of its instal n.” “Although the machines have been in use years,” according to the Indian- apolis Star, “the average voter's expe- rience with them is so limited that he has a strange but nevertheless real fear of losing his vote by reason of error in manipulating the levers. Many enter the booth with the predominant thought that their time is extremely limited. When they close the curtain and are confronted with the long rows of ievers they become panicky.” The ‘Star ob- serves that “officials concerned ~have acted wisely in deciding to install voting machines in designated places Where voters may practice operating them.” UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today. Allied representatives meeting “in Paris are approaching a decision on armistice terms. Informal parleys are being held and the supremé war coun- cil will meet after a full agresment is reached. * * * Kaiser says he will if Germany's best interests demand it, but says he 't think the time has yet arrived for such action. * * * New German note seeks to hasten an armistice. Latest note to President cites steps Germany alleges have been taken toward democratiza- tion, but our Government officlals sus- pect it is merely another piece of Junker propa by X thousand Austrians, inolu cers, and h of the sea. e h fleet enter the