Evening Star Newspaper, November 14, 1928, Page 8

8 THE EVENING With Sunday Morning Editlon. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY, November 14, 1928 ident and Jefferson the third. But what else could one do. one de- mands, than call Cleveland both the twenty-second and the twenty-fourth “THE EVEXING STAR. the National Capital in the future. Since its cstablishment the Catholic University of America has taken a leading place among American colleges, THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor President? Hs was cortainly the twen- | both in ths actual education of students The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: Rate hy Carrier Within the City. Star 45¢ rer month and Sunday Star Sundays) Star 60c per mientn ¢ per month Sundav Star 5c_per copy T oTeciian made at the ehd of cach manth Orders may ba sent in by mail or telephone Main 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Marsiand and Virginia, V'vr. 81 no. 85c Bally ShiySna*. 1 yr iR 0n: 1 mo. oo Sunday cnly ..1 yr. $4.00: 1 mo. 40c All Other States a Daily and Sunday .1 57.$ Daily only 58 Sunday only s & nd Canada. $12.00: 1 mo 1800 } mo. $5.00: 1 mo.. patches credited to it or not dtherwise fied in this paper and also the .ocal ‘lews published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserves A Needless Tragedy. What a few hours ago appeared to! be a happy escape from disaster in the case of the steamship Vestris now with fuller information develops into a @ ghastly tragedy. the more shocking b2- cause apparently needless. Whereas | yesterday it was indicated that all the| ship's company had been saved, nc it is evident that more than a hu d have lost their lives, mainly, it is sug- gested, in the sudden sinking of the | ship while she was being abandon>d. | While no positive light is thrown | upon the cause of the disaster, it be- | gins to appear that the Vestris left port last Saturday with badly trimmed cargo. Two of the survivors are rcported as declaring that when she put to sea the ship had a noticeable list to-star- board and that this list increased stead- ily as way was made down the coast.| This may have bzen caused by the con- stant shifting of the cargo or by the taking in of water through some un-| detected leak. due perhaps to a sprung ! plate. Or it may have been the consequence of a structural peculiar- ity. When the cargo-shifting theory was advanced yesterday it was doubted, | inasmuch as the freight carried by the Vestris was of a miscellancous charac- | ter such as would not be subject to| movement. But the fact stands that the ship left port with decks atilt and | that the list increased until it reached the danger point. In this case a very grave responsibility rests upon the own- | ers and menagers for permitting the ship to leave port out of trim. The first call of distress from the; Vestris was sent by radio at 10:29 Mon- day morning. It said merely that she | was in trouble. A few minutes later, at 10:52, the following message went forth from her: “Last night developed | 32-degree list to starboard; decks under water; ship lying on bsam ends; im- possible to proceed anywhere; sea mod- erately rough.” ‘This message indicates that the ship had listed decidedly to the danger. point on the night preceding th= call for help. A vessel that is 32 deg ‘es off balance is in peril. The distress call should have been sent twelve hours at least before it was dispatched. It is pain- fully evident that bad judgment was used on the Vestris in respect to the degree of danger. Decision to abandon ship was not reached until after help ‘was summoned and before any aid ar- rived. The word “Getting lifeboats out now” did not go forth until 11:40, or| an hour and eleven minutes after the first SOS. It was 1:17 when the word flashed, “Can't wait any longer; going to_abandon.” Five minutes later came ‘message, the last that was received, ' “Now taking to lifeboats.” By that time many ships were on the way to the Vestris, but none could reach her for several hours. The Vestris should have been turned back to port on Sunday when it became evident that the list was increasing. Had she done so she would have been saved. But, failing a change of course, the call for help should have been sent out twelve hours before it flashed. The captain ef the ship, it is now known, went down with the Vestris, so he can- not be held to account for any fault of judgment that may have contributed to this evidently needless tragedy. But some others there must be upon whom rests the responsibility for sending the ship to sea in bad condition. - It becomes apparent that the democ- racy hopes to retain Al Smith in ac- tive political life. A big position with & highly financed trucking concern may sgarcely lure the New York Governor ffom the fascinating effort to harness and drive that same old donkey. —— e The Thirtieth President. The debate over whether Mr. Hoover Owill be the thirtieth or the thirty-first President of the United States is be- coming rather acrimonious in some quarters, and the chances are-that un- less something drastic is done about it fists will fly before the 4th of March. Some proofreaders on newspapers are already growing gray-haired trying to make the different schools of thought on the subject conform. Those who cling to the theory that Mr. Hoover will be the thirty-first President have the almanacs as their authority. Most of them designate Mr. Coolidge as the thirtieth President. But other dis- cerning souls challenge this designa- tion and point to the cause of the up- heaval—the fact that President Cleve- land is designated as both the twenty- second and the twenty-fourth President, when, as a matter of fact, he was the same President in his second term that he was in his first term, despite the fact that Benjamin Harrison came be- tween his first and second terms. Mr. Hoover will be the thirtieth President. There is no way of getting around that, for only twenty-nine men have preceded him in the office. The almanacs which designate Cleveland the twenty-second President for his first term and the twenty-fourth Pres- | ident for his sseond term are not con- sistent. If they were they would desig- nate George Washington the first Pres- ident for his first term and the second President for his second term; Jefferson the fourth President for his first term a | to the unprecedented practice of ad- ty-second, and Harrison was the twen- | ty-th'rd. What elss was there to do ' when he was elected the sacond time but to call him the twenty-fourth? was cbvious that Harrison had a Tright | I to numb-r twenty-thres. Was CICV@-‘ {1and to be given | pumbor? Was O to be forced to a number already used by Harrison, a Republican? Pos- sibly to avoid the controve that w: sure to ensus, Cleveland was given aj| new number, and the pr-sent genera- | tion in consequence suffers. i Mr. Hoover will be the thirtieth man | to enter the White House as President. | He will b> th> thirtieth President—or | shou'd it b2 the thirty-fifth? ccrt:lnly; not th> thirty Gov. Smith's Valedictory. | It comes as a fitting close to an un- usual presidential campaign that the | | defeated candidate should have recourse | dressing “a message to the American pecple.” Over a coast-to-coast radio network last evening Gov. Smith invited his solil and spoke out his heart. | It was a manly, sportsmanlike utter- devoid allke of rancor, remorse He saluted his con- | queror “not 2s President of the Repub- | lican part but as Prasident of the United States,” and in that mp:\cllyi urged united suppart of Mr. Hoover in| the exalted station and high responsi- bilit; which will fall to him on March | 4, Cov. Smith's reputation as a statesman is enhanced by the tone of his valedictory—for valedictory it must be assumed to be, in light of his post- election declaration that he ran for | office for the last time on November 6. Many among the listening millions | must have caught an unmistakable break in his voice when Gov. Smith cbserved that “it would be unnatural for me not to be disappointed at the recult” of his bid for the presidency. If there seemed to be a tinge of grief in that confession, it was obliterated by the militant tone of the rest of the governor’s address, for Mr. Smith sends to the Democratic party a clarion call to remain in arms. Rightly he stresses the necessit} and importance of an | opposition in a government based upon the party system. He speaks only the plain truth wihen he says, “When the majority party bel s that it has every- thing its own way, it loses its fear of reprisals at the polls for mismanage- ment or misconduct of the Govern- ment.” Gov. Smith admonishes the de- feated Democratic hosts to maintain the role of a vigilant and vigorous op- position. To what extent will the Democratic | party follow its late standard bearer's advice to “formulate a program, adopted and offered to the Congress of the Na- tion, and there defend it"? Gov. Smith {is not altogether clear at this point. He docs not specify whether he means .‘Lhc ,‘program” for which the Demo- | crats have recently fought and lost or a new program, to be built over the ruins of the platform which the coun- try so overwhelmingly rejected. At any rate, Gov. Smith is unambiguous on this score —that the Democrats must not degenerate into a mere opposition, but must develop and get behind a constructive program. If the majority thwarts it, Gov. Smith holds out the promise of “a successful campaign four years from now.” By all the stereotyped rules of the American political game, the New York- er is eliminated as a future presidential contender. But Al Smith is apparently ready to fight in the ranks, if not out in front. “With all the vigor that I command,” he affirms, “I not only will continue to stand for Democratie prin- ciples; I will battle for them.” The whirligig of American politics has executed unexpected gyrations in its time. There have been stranger things than the recall of “the happy warrior” to the field of national lead- ership, which he now quits in dignified defeat. ance, or recriminati e o and in scientific rescarch work—the systematic extension of the boundaries of human knowledge It hes made im- line. especially in the sorial seiances. There are some ficlds of learning, the world's foremest authorities. Such, for example, have been its researches in early Christian literature. Its con- iributions to the science of education have been hardly less notable. Among American colleges it has been distinguished by the liberalism and the breadth of its thought. Keeping clearly in view the fact that it is essentially a religious institution, it has steercd exactly the opposite course from that of narrow dogmatism. The finest tradition of the great medieval universities flows through the daily life at Brookland. Washington may well take pride in the achievements of its past and the promis® of its future. RS Promptness. William Brackett of Stoneham, Mass., will be signally honored by the Boston & Maine Railroad whon the new North Station in the town of the “Sacred Cod” is opened. Mr. Brackett will re- ceive the tribute of the railroad for two reasons—Afirst, because he is one of the because, in compiling a rerord of six! four years' commuting and never miss- ing a train. he has set an example to other travelers which may never be squaled. Promptness is important in the busi- ness life of the Nation. Nothing is more annoying to busy executives than tardiness in keeping appointments. The virtue of being “on time” is, therefore, much prized. Mr. Brackett, in catching his train each morning for sixty-four years, has indeed set an example to those delinquents in all parts of the country who are always just a little bit late regardless of the importance of the occasion. S AR Many new aspirants to public office will assert themselves. They will have to wait until President-elect Hoover makes his survey involving broader and more significant relationships. o The idea of an “unofficial observer” might be revived with cheer if it could be understood that his expressions are presented without regard to any re- sponsible policy. ——— st At one time “Hot Time in the Old Town” was regarded in remote countries as America’s national anthem. “Side- walks of New York” has narrowly missed similar distinction. ————— Barring the teaching of evolution from colleges leads a number of scien- tific instructors to ask the colleges what they are there for. ——— No intimation has been offered as to whether Senator Curtis will take up the program of Senate reform where Vice President Dawes will leave it off. ——r—r—— Every time an Italian statesman is in a way to monopolize attention, a voleano volunteers a demonstration which holds the center of the stage. B e — Turkish women have abandoned their veils, without promise of any great change of results in next Sum- mer's beauty shows. —— et Friends are prompt in assuring Gov. Al Smith of occupation which will pre- vent his being rated in statesmanship as a “politician out of a job.” 2 et New York City has lost its pull in national politics. It still retains a big influence on the tendencies of finance. ———— Flood control may be managed. Italy finds in dismay that there is no such thing as volcano control. A teur of South America will enable President-elect Hoover to know exactly what he is talking about when the time comes for him to offer authorita- tive expression on Latin American re- lationships. e e Prosperity has been keeping Wall Street so busy that there is little hope of enough telephone books and ticker tape to meet demands for confetti. ————— Catholic University. ‘The installation this afternoon of the Right Rev. James H. Ryan as rector of the Catholic University of America alone would guarantee the continued progress of this Washington institution of learning. Mgr. Ryan is a young and energetic man with an evangel and a vision. He is a scholar imbued with the best tra- ditions of liberalism in education. Under his leadership the collection of colleges in Brookland seems bound to eontinue in the future the splendid record of its past. The new rector has all the strength, | personality and enthusiasm essential to | carry out the difficult duties which he formally assumes today. He has an | educational plant equal to any in this ! part of the country, so located as to be able to take full advantage of the un- rivaled library and research facilities | | which will permit almost unlimited ex pansion. Most important of all, he has a faculty which, even without consider- ing their relizgious qualification, it would be almost impossible to duplicate on this side of the Atlantic. This faculty represents, both in teachers and research men, the flower of Catholic scholarship in the new world. But the installation of Father Ryan requires even greater significance from | the fact that Pope Pius XI has taken this occasion to addrcss an apostolic letter to the American hierarchy, stress- ing the importance of the university and asking more adequate financial support for its expansion. The institu- tion has besn well financed in the past. It never has been a poor college. Thus it seems likely that the apostolic letter was written with a view to the splendid of the National Capital, and on a Slle‘ SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Saving Grace. If you have a little laugh Somewhere in your system, Do not disregard the chaff: Hear the jokes and list 'em In a tabulated style For a laugh repeated. Just so long as you can smile, You are not defeated. As this hopeful human race Trudges toward the morrow, Every one of us must face Passing threats of sorrow. Still the Pilgrim takes his staff. Cares—he can't resist ‘em If he has a little laugh Somewhere in his system, 'sentment. “Do you resent the use of money n election?” “I do, unquestionably,” answered Sen- ator Sorghum. ~ “The opposing forces evidently had more money to use than we had.” Jud Tunkins says one of the best ex- pressions of patriotism and love for fellow man ‘he knows of is a volunteer fire department. Back to the Links. ©On one point statesmen are agreed, Although events may bring dismay. They sing in chorus, “Yes, indeed, Golf is the question of the day!” Indifference, “Do you take sides on the evolution theory?” “No,” answered Miss Cayenne. “Why should I? The monkey doesn’t seem to care.” “To give advice unasked,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is to struggle with responsibilities without hope of re- ward.” Grateful Acknowledgment. In a campaign we're tampest-tossed, As statesmen ghow their skill. Here's to the candidate who lost, But gave us all a thrill! “A savin’' disposition,” said Uncle opportunities of the future. The pres. land the fifth President for his second ent group of ciexes in Brookland may i 9 Eben, “ain’ much good to a man who hangs onto a grouch.” “ company's oldest patrons, and, second. | WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY; NOVEMBER 14, 1928 STAR ' term, etc. But they do not do that.)be only the nucleus of the far mlurl . Georg> Washington was the first Pres- | institution of learning which will adorn | THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ‘ One of the sketchiest of the ne | blographies is “The Fourth Muskete the lifs of Alexandre Dumas, by J. | Lucas-Dubreton, just published by Cow- It portent contributions in nearly every |ard-McCann, Inc., New York. This is an interesting and disquict- {ing book at one and the same reading, the former bscause it gives the average old and Worn-out | powever, in which it has boen pre- reader some facts about the great ro- 2nd, a Democrat. | aminent and has drawn to its faculty |m?ncer h» might have difficulty secur- {ing clsawhere, disquicting because it fails to enter into the life of the subject as a writer to the extent which mest (readers will think desirable. The author seems to have been ob- ;sessed with his conception of Dumas |as a gay fellow, when the reader will 'be more interested in him as a great writer. Here we have the interesting if disheartening spectacle of an author neglecting his subject’s chief charm for the readers of both. This is no new thing in modern biog- {raphy. Emil Ludwig treated the world Ito a history of Napoleon with Napoleon's |battles left out and_ yet managed to make a very fine book out of his remasculated subject. That Lucas-Dubreton is as success- ful with Dumas the present reviewer questions. Here is a subject endeared to the modern world by his ev.r-popu- lar romances—"The Three Musketeers,” “The Count of Monte Cristo” and a score of others popular all over the world. Yet our author spends most of his time telling the reader about what the peerless Alexandre did when off duty, as it re. We pine for details of hi collaboration with Maquet, but get precious fow of them. * ok kK A book of 272 pages. of largs type and spacing. is not biz enough, we sub- mit, to tell the half of what the Dumas enthusiast wants to know about Dumas. “The F—=ih Musketear," | must remain an interes! | tion to the sub good. His short be excelled: therefore, ng introduc- As such it is “Yoreword” could not ‘Monsieur, I love you and I admire you because you are one of the forces of nature.’ “He used the right phrase. The ideology, the social themes and the ethical problems dear to the younger Dumas play no part in his father's life. That life expresses itself solely on the plane of action and of instinct— hence its characteristic violence of tone, boldness of gesture, serene assurance and innocent gaiety.” There the reader has, in a very few words, a complete description of the novels of Alexandre Dumas, with their effect upon the average “fan.” With this introduction, he innocently thinks, he shall soon learn all about how Alex- andre Dumas wrote those immortal works still selling like hot cakes to the discriminating. He takes up the task hopefully, pa- tiently reading page after page for something resembling what he is searching for, but he never reaches it, for his guide is more interested in Dumas, the man, than in Dumas, the writer. It is at this point that we differ absolutely with the so-called “modern hard on trying to make a “human,” as they say, that he almost turns into a freak. The “blurb” on the jacket of this particular book gives the thing away: “Dumas’ life is so mad, so grotesque, in itself, that the biographer has no dif- ficulty in finding theatrical, humorous anecdotes, and brilliantly colored ad- ventures to adorn his tale.” ‘The biogrepher was so intent on these very things that he overlooked the solemn fact that Dumas, as viewed by most moderns, was a writer, above all and before all. We will not be sat- isfied with the information that he used “Michelet wrote to the elder Dumas, | school” of biography, which insists so | subject | | Politics at Large By G. Gould Lincoln, Gov. Alfred E. Smith, defeated Dem- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERI What do you need to know? Is there | three differently colored papers for his | ocratic nominee for President, retains |come point absut your business or per- | writing. one for novels, one for plays i’"d one for newspaper articles. We {want the details! And these, alas, are | precisely what we do not get! ok ok % Dumas is presented in the light of a fantastic ass, rather than a hard worker | who wrote millions of words in enjoy- |able sequence. Wa wish M. Lu Dubreton had made his book twice |large as he did, and had packed th other half with exact information as to | the various novels which Dumas wrote. They, after all is said and done, are Dumas. Yet our author mentions only |a few of the hundreds he wrote, and |8ives nothing much as to the actual way he wrote or of the collaboration between him and Maquet. He scarcely mentions more than 20 novels, when |the man wrote hundreds of them. His “fiction factory” still remains a mystery unsolved. You will find out no more about it in this book than in the vari- ous_encyclopedia articles upon Dumas. “Th> Fourth Musketeer” gives the | reader the impression that the author had his last chapter in mind all the time—a good thing for an author to do—but that he allowed his knowledge to hurry him forward at too reckless a pace. He left out much in order to finish! This last chapter, headed “The Dcath of Porthos,” is the best in the book. Here we come face to face with that everyday tragedy, an old man | forced to take shelter in the house ot his son. The gay roisterer of 256 pages | becomes the quiet victim of the last dozen. He rcads his own stories and ex- | presses the opinion that “Mente Cristo” s not as good as “The Musketeer: verdict in which most readers will ac- ce. s l2st days were clouded by two preoccupations, one that he feared to e without money and ths other that he had wasted his genius. The scene between the two Alexandres, father and son. is very well handled. “Turning on him his big eyes, very softly and in the tone of a child plead- ing with its mother, old Dumas asked, ‘“Tell me, Alexandre, on vour soul and conscience, do you believe that anything of mine will live?’ “Never fear,” replied the younger man. “And at great length and sin- cerely, too, the younger Dumas ex- plained his idea on the subject. As he went on the face of the old man lighted up; he seemed very happy. Then he al The n>xt day Dumas was dying—" M. Lucas-Breton writes: “It is true Dumas. He does not grow old; he does no* grow old-fashioned, because he has the freshness of Nature, which always renews itself. And as time passes un- expected qualities are discovered in him. Dumas.” he continues, “plays for chil- dren and shows them astonishing pic- tures, * * * he plays for men of all nations, * * * he plays for the de- feated, * * * he plays for those who are suffering, and patients in the hos- pitals grow well or die with one of his books under their pillow.” ‘We wish this whole book had been 2s good as the last chapter. Then we would have like it better. Its title is wrong, to begin with. D’'Artagnan was the fourth musketeer; Dumas was eithier the first or the fifth. But we shall not quarrel with our author of the moment. ‘We like immensely what he says in con- clusion: “Now, when you cross the threshold of a million houses, he is settled at the hearth and has become one of the fam- ily. He is father Dumas, a good giant who is not pedantic, nor involved, nor complicated—a beneficent genius, harm- less and without baseness, who in all of his bohemian life has never cost his country a drop of blood.” World Watches Rumania’s new government is being watched with interest by the rest of the world. The bloodless overthrow of the Bratianu regime and the substitution of the rule of the Peasant party under the leadership of Premier Maniu is re- garded as an unprecedsnted experiment in modern European politics. “For the first time in generations the Bratianus are not the ruling force in Rumania,” says the New York Evening World, with the explanation that the peasants’ interests “have never received the slightest consideration from the Bra- tianu group, who, through three genera- tions, have acted upon the theory ‘that the government could be used by it for the exploitation of the mass of the peo- ple.” The Evening World adds that “the fact that the regency insisted on the resignation of Vintilla Bratianu, even after he at first refused, measures the intensity of the dissatisfaction.” Pointing out that “80 per cent of the population is peasant,” the Columbus Evening Dispatch states thaj, “lacking adequate leadership, this vast mass has besn compelled to bow before a govern- ment that, while efficient, has been au- tocratic and despotic in its dealings with them.. Europe, by the new turn of events,” continues the Dispatch, “un- doubtedly will witness an interesting and novel political experiment, as the unsophisticated but earnest and con- scientious peasants take the reins. Maniu promises Rumania ‘an admin- istration patterned on the enlightened lines of the United States’ and one that will insure ‘honesty in government, free elections, abolition of graft, untram- meled opportunity for domestic and forsign capital and equality for every citizen.’ All will hope that these prom- ises may be realized.” Wik The strength of Maniu is attested by the Nsw York Sun, which remembers the incident “when the peasant chief led his peasant host to Bucharest and when he organized a vast congress of malcontents in Transylvania last April. Maniu preached the doctrine of a modified passive resistance,” adds the Sun; “he permitted no violence and he refused all compromises with the Bratianu government. He argued that the rebuffs which Vintilla received in foreign countrics were deserved and that Rumania must build up a sense of national responsibility if it is to deal with the rest of the world. Rumania’s population and area have more than doubled since the World Wm:. Maniu represents’ this new element.” Emphasizing the direct effect on the Pratianu power of the movement among the peasants, the Kalamazoo Gazette advises that “this ascendancy of the agrarian element in Rumanian | The Gagette recalls that “it was not s0 many months ago that some 200,000 peasants, after a long and spectacular march across country, assembled in the ancient town of Alba Julia and the regency.” Although “the regency I stration,” the Gazette believes that “Bratianu never again held the degree of strength that had been his before the Alba Julia incident.” Observing that Maniu “has an- views regarding the regency, they do not inyolve the return of Crown Prince Carol to Rumania,” the Manchester Union declares, nevertheless: “It is known that Carol has long been a favorite of the Peasants’ party end it is not improbable that as time goes on |the sentiment in favor of his return may grow. With affairs as unsettled as they are, the position of the present regeney is apt to become iIncreasingly unstable, and if public sentiment should be aroused, it would be likely to take the form of a demand for Carol's re- turn. The present regency was Aa creation of the Bratianus. Tf it proves to be impartial in the partisan struggle, politics is not without its significance,” ¢ formally placed their demands before | refused to be moved by this demon-; nounced that whatever may be his| With Interest Peasant Regime in Rumania if it can avoid action liable to arouse the hostility of the new government, it may be continued, but otherwise its removal is inevitable.” Wk e The Louisville Courier-Journal agrees that “the fall of Vintilla Bratianu as dictator may involve the fate of the Hohenzollern dynasty that he and his brother have long upheld,” and adds that “the 7-year-old King Michael may never mount the throne in his own right”; that, “like his father, the exiled Crown Prince, he may cease to be a factor in the affairs of his country.” The Courier-Journal thinks “the peas- ants hold the answer to the question, as also to the problem of what shall be done to put the country on the road to progress. That paper concludes, “There is, however, a fertile field for reform in Rumania and the question of monarchy or republic just now is a secondary problem.” L EE ¥ “If Maniu is sincere in his profession | that he wishes to see American ideas and ideals practiced in his country.” advises the Providence Journal, “he will endeavor to bridge the gulf that has for so many years separated the agrarian and non-agrarian classes. This separation is the primary cause of the country’s political agitation and frequent ministerial crises. Rumania’s problem, in short, is one of bringing about co-operation between two con- stantly warring groups. The agrarian group, however, is loosely organized, politically speaking, and therefore has never been able to muster political strength proportionate to its numbers.” “Transylvania, although largely Ru- manian in_blood,” according to the Muskegon Chronicle, “had been a part of the great Austro-Hungarian empire for generations, and as such accus- tomed to a form of government infi- nitely more modern and efficient than the archaic Rumanian rule of the Bratianus. That is why it has allied itself with the Peasant party, because the Peasant party was against the gov- ernment. It was on the point of re- sort to force had not the regency in- tervened. There will be trouble and turmoil ahead, but the outlook is prom- ising for a better order eventually.” UNITED STATES IN WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today. Coincident with the evacuation of France and Belgilum by the German forces, the allied troops are occupying the territory. American forces are ad- vancing in the direction of Metz and Strassburg, and Marshal Foch, riding on his favorite charger, will make a solemn entry into these German fort- resses in the presence of President Poincare and Premier Clemenceau. * * * More than 2,500 American prisoners in German camps were released immedi- ately on the signing of the armistice. This includes all Americans captured up to November 1. * * * An all-Socialist cabinet has been installed at the head of the new German government, and one of its first acts has been the con- fiscation of the property of the Prus- sian crown. * * * Reports reaching the State Department indicate that the situation in Germany and Austria- Hungary approximately a state of an- archy on account of the conduct of re- turring soldlers. * * ¢ In the period from September 12 to November 11 American aviators assert they brought down 473 German airplanes. Day bombing groups have dropped a total of 116,618 kilograms of bombs within the German lines. * * * Pershing con- fers American Distinguished Service Medal on Marsha2l Foch at a most im- pressive ceremony, o a | ship of Senator Charles S. pressed ‘his boy’s’ hand and kissed him. | | There was no further question between | them about the judgment of posterity. | that the masses continue to follow | | his titular leadership of the Democratic | | party. His address to the American | people over the radio last night was, ! |in effect, an act of leadership, The | | fact that Gov. Smith is keeping his | | hand on the throttle does not neces- | | sarily mean that he is contempiating | {a fight for the presidential nomination in 1932, Indeed. he has said in inter- visws after the election that he did not | intend to seek public office further. | | But_Gov. Smith is the idol of millions | |of Democrats, no matter what some | of his party followers think of him. He received the votes of some 15,000,000 men and women on election day. He | could not, if he would, drop the leader- ship of his party. to which he was elected at the Houston national conven- tion, the day after election. Certainly he has shown to advantage in his hour of defeat. The country loves a good loser and Gov. Smith has shown him- | s21f all of that. | ¥ ok % % It is noticeable, however, that in his address last night Gov. Smith did not say that he would never again be candidate for President. In this he showed a sense of the proprieties as well as wisdem. To decline a nomina- tion that is far in ths future and not yet offered him would scarcely be proper or wise. No man can foresce the condi- tions that may exist in this country in 1932. > | “The ramifications of the recent elec- tion. the vietory here and the victory in this and that local fight are just coming to the surface. Out in Illinois the reform forces. under the l»ader- Deneen, | elected their candidate for State's at- | torney in Cook County, Chicago. The new State's attorney is the same man | | | Spring. when a real political revolu- tion took place in Chicago, much to the surprise of the old Thompson and Crowe-Barrett factions. Swanson, the State's attorney-elect. was picked to clean up Chicago's crime situation. Tt was quite clear that the people who rose in their might last Spring would continue the work and elect Swanson i to office this Fall, although the Demo- crats had put forward a good candidate, too. Senator Deneen's faction in Chi- cago also carried many of the other county offices, though it lost the sheriff. Mr. Deneen is left sitting on the top of the heap in Illinois. Whether his leadershin will be challengsd later by the newly elected governor or the new- 1y elected Senator, or Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick, newly elected Congress- woman-at-large from Illinois, is a thing for the future to determine. Mrs. Mc- Cormick is credited with having ambi- tions to come to the Senate, perhaps to be the first woman elected to the Sen- ate. One woman was appointed from Georgia several years ago, but served as Senator only a few hours. Mrs. McCor- mick is the widow of Senator Medill Mc- Cormick. who lost his seat to Senator Deneen in 1924. Senator Deneen comes up for re-election in 1930. * Rk Representative Franklin Fort of New Jorsey, one of the campaign leaders for Mr. Hoover, has an ambition to be- come governor of his State. His father was governor and a great-uncle also was a chief executive of New Jersoy. | Mr. Fort is taking a vacation trip, after his arduous labors in the recent cam- paign. But some of his f{riends al- ready are talking of organizing a “Fort- for-Governor” Club. * ok ok K Louis Ludlow, former president of th2 National Press Club and a Washing- ton correspondent for Ohio and In- diana newspapers for years, is receiving hundreds of messages of congratulations upon his election to the House from ¢! seventh _congressional district of I diana. Mr. Ludlow is a Democrat. defeated presentative Updike, the. ;ecent melcctflon, :g: Mr. Updike is undertaking to con! the elegelon of Mr. Ludlow. The latter however. He had the support of prac- tically all the newspapers in Indian- apolis, irrespective of their party le.l‘l;mfié ing his long list of congratu entioning - latory ‘l;l”!lfls in a letter, Mr. Lud- low_said: “If my manager, Kin Hubbard, could see lhhymcun-t:ln of letters and tele- grams he would cease to worry. In a re- cent interview Kin said his problem now is to get his candidate to stop walking. | It he could see this epistolary deluge i he would know that force of circum- stances already has compelled me io exchange the speedometer for the tyre- writer. I can't peck on typewriter and walk at the same tim d I shud- der when I think of the amount of pecking that remains to be done.” * ok % K ‘Whatever some of the Democrats may think of Gov. Smith as titular leader of the party and as a possibility for the next presidential nomination, Bishop James Cannon, who headed the anti- Smith Democrats in Virginia and the South generally, takes the view that Smith has been cast aside by the Democratic party. He says in a state- ment to The Star: “The unprecedented defeat of Gov. Smith, the wet Tammany candidate for the presidency, is an indignant, over- whelming repudiation of the proposal by the people of our country to place the National Government in the hands of our cities, aided and abetted by a selfish, so-called liberal element of high society life. “This insolent challenge of a sordid, unpatriotic Tammanyism and its self- indulgent allied forces has met with a responss which has shown to the world the genuine idealistic, truly progressive Americanism of our people. This re- sponse in the Southern States has as- sumed the proportions of a political revolution, Positive. explicit warning was given more than a vear ago that the Southern people would not commit both political and moral suicide by supporting a wet Tammany candidate. But Tammany. in absolute control of the Houston convention, ignored all protests and danger signals and nom- inated its wet tsndidknn:. * % “Faced hy such a situation, men and women of the South who placed prin- ciple above party deliberately organ- lized to preserve Southern Democracy by the overwhelming defeat of the wet Tammany candidate. It is political tragedy that so few Southern Demo- cratic " leaders recognized the nature and extent of the revolution among the Southern people and believed to the last that party regularity would be a more potent force than moral convic- tion. However sincere they may have been, by their lack of understanding and by their unjustifiable denunciation of anti-Smith Democrats many of these Democratic leaders have _thoroughly discredited themselves for future lead- ership. “Gov. Smith and Mr. Raskob, by the ever-increasing emphasis of their at- tack upon prohibition and by their de- | ing Gov. Smith | as ‘intolerant bigots, hypocritically using | prohibition and Temmany as a cloak for their bigotry,’ fanned the flames of the revolution and aided in Smith’s overwhelming defeat and in the retire- ment in the near future of some of our Democratic leaders who have so bit- terly denounced anti-Smith Democrats as ‘traitors’ and ‘intolerant bigots. “As this wet Tammany leadership has brought upon the Democratic party the well deserved and the greatest de- feat in American political history, it is in order for Mr. Raskob to resign at once, that the Democratic party may be reorganized free from the taint and pollution of wet or Tammany control. “The prohibition referendum so long desired by the wets has been held and the enemies of the eighteenth amend. ment have been ignominiously routed. “It is exceedingly gratifying to all anti-Smith Democrats that at this crisis in the history of the Democratic party Mr. Hoover, the nominee of the i | who was nominated over Crowe last| won by some 7,000 votes over Updike, | of representatives of the wet sidewalks | sonal lifs that puzzles you? Is there something you want to ow without lay? Submit your question to Fred- eric J. Haskin, director of our Wash- ingion Information Bureau. He is em- ployed to help you. quiry to The Zvening Star Information Washington. D. C., and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Q. Have Shakespeare’s wi heen translated into Jnnnneu?% A. A Tokio professor hasdrecently completed a translation of all of Shake- speare’s writings, having spent 45 vears upon the work which is reported to be a brilliant achievement. Q. Who designed Oscar Wilde's tomb?—F. A. A. Wilde's tomb in Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, was executed by Jacob | Epstein, the famous English sculptor. . Plecte give the date of the build- | ing of the first lighthouse in America and nllc details regarding this light.— A. G. A. The Bureau of Lighthouses says that the first lighthouse built in America may have been some Spanish aid, of which that office has no record. The first lighthouse to be built within the confines of the United States is that known as “Boston Lighthouss, Mass.," established September 14, 1716. Q. What is the South African Thanks- | giving day called?>—G. N. A. December 16 is Dingaan's day and is a day of thanksgiving among the Boers. Dingaan was the Kinz of the Zulus and it was on December 16, 1338, that he and his werriors were put to rout after several bloody battles. | @. What are the figures for gang murders and killings in Chicago each of the last two years of the former mayor and the first two years of the present mayor?—L. H. P. A. The Chicago Crime Commission says that William Thompson was elect- ed in April, 1927. William E. Dever | served before him. In 1925 there were 66 gang murders, in 1926 there were 76, in 1927 there were 49, and this year, to and including Scptember 13, there were 46. Q. Why dustry?—N. A. Tt is the most important solvent, | with the exception of water, dissolving many substances that water will not dissolve. It is also important in manu- facturing many products and in the making of ether. 1 is alcohol important to in- . P Q. How old is the McNab cypress tree supposed to be?—E. H. A. This tree. taken from an asphalt pit in California, is thought to be more than 40,000 years old. The wood was oreserved by the asphalt, which was thickly incrusted over it. Q. WHat is the scalp lock?—D. McN. A. It was the small hair braid which hung from the back of the head, as distinguished from the larger side braids. | In scalping, the portion taken was ; usually a small circular patch of skin at the root of the scalp lock just back of the crown of the head. weight of hot and cold water?—N. N. C. A. Hot water is lighter than cold water. At a temperature of 32 degrees TFahrenheit, water weighs 62.4 pounds WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC There’s only one President of a Latin American republic ‘with whom Presi- dent-elect Hoover is going to be able to talk English. He is Senor Agusto B. Leguia, President of Peru, a fluent speaker of our langua Hoover, lik: the vast majority of American statesmen, is not a linguist. He knows no Spanish except “manana” and “pronto,” though once upon a time he was an expert Latin scholar. That was 16 or 17 years ago, when he and Mrs. Hoover jointly translated Agricola’s “De Re Metallica” (which means “Concern- ing Metallic Things”). They were a young married couple in London at the time, and Herbert, jr., an English prep schoolboy, helped his parents over many a Latin hurdle during heir translation work. ~ Washington's foremost Latin American authority thinks pan-Ameri- can relations would be revolutionized if our public men could deal with the public men of Central and South Amer- ica in Spanish and Portuguese. Hoover would probably be glad to exchange an electoral vote or two right now for flu- ency in the language prevalent south | of the Rio Grande. L Tack the name of Henry Prather Fletcher onto the list of possibilities for | the Hoover Secretaryship of State. The | Rome Ambassador’'s selection as State | Department representative on the Hoo- | ver expedition to Latin America decid- |cdly opens up such a prospect. The President-elect has signaled to all the world that affairs of the Western Hem- isphere are going to bulk big in the Hoover administration’s considerations. Fletcher is a ‘‘career” diplomat of 26 years' consecutive service. He has been Undersecretary of State. He has served as Ambassador to two Latin American countries—Chile and Mexico—and later at two European capitals—Brussels and Rome. His Latin American diplomatic experience includes Cuba. Two periods of service In China stand to his credit. As to his political background, Ambas- sador Fletcher *hails from the mbst Republican party, is a man of such great ability and high character.” Arthur J. Weaver, Republican, gover- nor-elect of Nebraska, blasted the hopes of Charles Bryan to stage a ‘“come- back” in_politics. “Brother Charlie” was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1924 and had been Gover- nor of Nebraska prior to that. He made a hit while governor with many of the voters when he undertook to smash the high prices of gasoline and coal by opening and operating State disoens- aries for those fuels. But while the late Willlam Jennings Bryan's brother was going down to defeat in Nebraska under the anti-Smith avalanche, his daugh- ter, Mrs. Ruth Bryan Owen. was suc- cessfully elected a member of the House of Representatives from Florida, the adopted State of her late distinguished father, Wik R Vice President-elect Charles Curtis has long had a reputation for handling hecklers during a campaign. He handles them effectually and sometimes without gloves, as in the case during the recent campaign when he told one heckler that he was “too damn dumb” ‘o understand his reply to the heckler's questions. On another occasion in the campaign Sen- ator Curtis was heckled in one of the Western States by a Democrat who wanted to know “who had contributed” the millions to be used in the Mississip- pi flood relief by Mr. Hoover. This was all the opening that Senator Curtis | needed. He ‘said: “They were contributed by good, loyal, patriotic Americans, and by your ques- tion you have shown you were not one of them.” This particular heckler slunk out of the meeting amid the “boos” of the audience. 1In the old days in Kansas, when campaigning was campaigning, | Senator Curtis used to be called upon to g0 into districts where Democratic hecklers were strong. He had a way with them peculiarly effective, Representative John Q. Tilson of - Connecticut, Republican, came througi the election in good style, in spite of | the fact that in his district there was Address' your in- | Burcau, Frederic J. Haskin,’ director, | ¢ Q. Is there any difference in the | C ]. HASKIN. ) cubic Ywt: ¢ degrees Fahi m« (bollin® po- ¥ . it we{'gh- 59.76 pounds per cubic foot. Q. Is the Natural Bridge, Va. now strung with elegtri~ = . M. A. Natural Bridge is the s nnated. but nvisible. The i, after Sother, un S heighs, sresdth and L 4 | thickn ¥ disclosed. | Q what is tu | Ottawa?—8. W. A. It is the Vietd wer in the Parliament buildings, 'h_represerits Cl-dl’vr:‘rmgrhf fo her 53000 sons whos digg in the oot gp. A caril- len_cord¥ding 53%\ x“’been plac- eworial che’ 68 a m*{n v.'mee % given. The 1 ball 00 pounds and® =) incHes atey. The weight of the smgjl- 10 pounds and the diameter ~Mng of the tutban in Persia has 't abolished by decree. The Persia £ e going in for tweed caps. | @ Wiin should a silver-leaf maple tree be transplanted?>—C. U. 8. A. In most parts of ths Vnited States this is a good time to trfsplant. %. ;low much do submagines weigh? A. The average weigt of the Amer- ican submarines ranges from 600 to 900 tons. The thi'Wiess/of the sides is from one-quarte; of an inch to one- | half an inch, depending upon the type | of submarine. | @. Give the origin of the word “mul- ‘Hgnuv; useck in referencs to soups. | OFC p turbans still worn in Persta? A! -M. A. Mulligatawny is a highly s~asoned | thick, East-Indizg-type soup, of which curry powder is the essential charac- | teristic ingredjent. Meats, vegetables, | mango chutr)», coconut flesh, rice, | cayenne peppe¥. ‘etc., are variousiy em- | ployed and blemded to suit the ideas of the cook or canrwr. The title is derived from two na‘ive words signifying “pep- per water.” Q. Flease name some fields of medi- cine for which women are well adapted. J. R. A. The president of one of the State medical assoclations makes the follow- ing statement: ‘There are fields of medicine for which women are peculiar- | Iy adapted; the foreign mission field: | the scheol inspection service, especially | when the work is with girls; the exami- nation of women factory employes: the personal and social hygiene service of public work, and the examination of women applicants for life insurance and in the health service of the insurance companies. In the treatment of diseases uliar to women, female practitioners ave established lucrative practices. In surgery there are many women who have demonstrated their success in major operations.” Q. Is the expression “grammatical error”_correct?—C. C. E. A. It violates grammatical precision. ‘The expression “an error in grammar” |1s to be preferred. | Q. How much does™® cost to feed the animals in the Washington, D. C., Zoo?—E. W. A. Last vear the feed and forage for 'u;; olé'lolmll.! at ths Washington Zoo cost OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. rock-ribbed Republican State of them all—Pennsylvania—whielr gave Hoover ::;gxc“m. their banner majority last * k% x Who's_going to be the Co'. House or the Frank W. Stearns of (he in- coming administration? Hco er has a host of Housss and Stearns>s among his intimates, Dr. Vernon L. Kellogg, permanent secretary of the National Research Council at Washington, is certainly as clase to the President-elect as any man, and vastly closer than almost anybody elss. Being a zoologist by profession. Kellogg might be just the man to hold watch and ward over the political animai kingdom as un- official observer for a presidential friend. He was official Hoover biogra- pher in the {ll-starred preconvention campaign of 1920. Two other Hoover cronies who might be drafted for gum- shoe service are Will Irwin, the Presi- dent-elect’s Stanford roommate and 1928 biographer, and George Barr Ba- ker, writer and right-hand man in Hoover's post-war relief work. Prob- ably the Californian’s closest Demo- cratic comrade is Alfred P. Dennis, vice chairman of the United States Tarff Commission. Dennis was a crony of Calvin Coolidge in Northamp- ton, Mass., before he became an eco- nomic scout for Secretary Hoover in Europe after the war. o TU From a constituent of this column comes a request for “a word or two about Mr. Hoover's habits and pas- times.” Well, here's a tabloid reply: He smokes g:pes and cigars, but not igarettes. wears almost. exclusively its, Ix;mlly double-breast- collars, even when fllhl.n% He can drive his own car. He doesn’t play golf or cards. His family and friends have trouble inducing him to play anything. When they were boys, Hoover was fond of taking his two sons into the woods and spend the day at dlm-bmldlns, ‘The Presi- dent-elect, has a chuckle like Chief Jus- tice Taft’s. He Is fond of keeping his right hand in his trousers pocket. When Hoover has callers at his desk he usually fills up a scratch-pad with scribbled geometrical designs. He always lets the other fellow do most of the talking. * k& % Three World War veterans—an Eng- lishman, a Frenchman and an Ameri- can—who were officers in their re- spective armies and whe now all live in Washington, have just held their tenth successive private little Armistice celebration. They formed a com- pact to get together every November 11, climb into their uniforms and fes- | tively commemorate the end of the war. | They call themselves “The Three Mus- keteers.” * k% % The newest wiss crack in the Navy Hoover carried Maryland, and now Maryland is going te carry Hoover. EEE One of Washington's acknowledg>d authorities on the foamy subject of what is and what is not beer—a fo 1 diplomat—visited a famous Amecr| brewery in the Middle Wast. He was asked to sample its near beer product It was like asking a Frenchman to sing the “Marseillaiss” on a glass of ginger ale, but the diplomat consented. As a test, there were put before him (wo glasses of 5 per cent beer and two glasses of legal, one-half of 1 per cent beer. After he had drunk them all, he confessed h's inability to tell the real from the near. LI Uncle and nephew will sit together in the House of Represmntatives of the Seventy-first Congress for what is be- lieved to be the first time on record. The uniqus combination consists of Representative Charles A. Eaton, Re- publican, of New Jersey, and his nephew, William R. Eaton. Republican; who has just been elscted from a Denver, Cola, district. The New Jerssy Eaton is a Baptist clergman, native of Nova Scotia, who was once John D. Rockefeller's pastor in Cleveland, Ohio. The Colorado Eaton is a brilliant young lawyer, & a strong Smith sentiment. Mr. Tilson is majority leader of the House. His personal popularity pulled him through the emtwn?n;m wnz:‘ g s former State Senator, author of many of Colorado’s model labor laws, and & one-time district attorney in Denver. (Covrriaht, 1938.)