Evening Star Newspaper, November 29, 1928, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR — With Sunday Morning Edition. __ WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY..November 20, 1028 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The lnnin‘.shr Nenn-_pu Company iness 3 11th Bt. and Pennsvivania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evening Star .. . . 43c per menth The Evening and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) ‘The Evening and Sunday Star (when 5 Sundays). r 60c per month | 65¢ per month | 5 per cony | e at the end of each month n m | Orders may be sent in by mail cr telepnone ain 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dally and Sunday. Daily only Sunday only All Other States and Canada. Dally end Sunday..l yr.$12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 Daily only .. » $8.00: 1 mo., Sunday only .. yr.. $5.00: 1 mo. Member of the Associated Press. | The Associated Press i< oxclusively entitled | to the use for repunlization of all i ews dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- o I this paper and also fhe incal news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. C——— e America’s Thanksgiving. The Nation, under the impetus of long-established custom and formal presidential decrce, today halts the nor- mal routine of its daily existence that thanks may be given to Providence for its muitifarious blessings. However perfunctory the observance of the occasion may be to many Ameri- cans—for it would be insincere to claim that the genuine spirit of thanksgiving #0 tully owed by America is individually | appreciated by all concerned—it is ex- ceedingly proper that a specific oppor- tunity be at least afforded each of us| to reflect upon the blessings of our| Nation and of its individual citizens. There has been no day in the past yelr‘l that each of us could not have felt| and should not have felt a deep sense | of 'gratitude to God for the blessings which are ours. But complacency born | of habitus; and established good for- tune is human, if not admirable, and a vast majority of us, accepting our prosperity as a matter of course, have failed to give the minutes of serious and consecutive thought to the subject of our debt to a kindly Providence. It would be well for each, seriously, to do so today. The Star has no intention of here! citing the blessings enjoyed by America and Americans. They are innumerable, patent, and incomparably greater than those of any other nation in the world. But it would protest against the devel- opment of any national tendency to the smug acceptance of them as & matter of course. Of all the words that bespeak grati- tude there is mone more expressive in its true sense than “appreciation.” For 1f we genuinely appreciate a gift of man or God we not only delight in its pos- session, but are consclous of the debt involved through its possession. Today we give thanks for our bless- ings—blessings accruing to us as citi- zens of the most fortunate and happy Nation in the world. If we can, in so doing, duly appgeciate the significance of that which is ours, we must arrive at an awareness of the obligations and responsibilities involved. And if we can carry that awareness with us as America strides forwand in the fulfilling. of her destiny we shall not have failed the implied trust of Him to whom we owe all that has been given us. . A seat on the New York Stock Ex- change is worth a large amount of money in spite of the fact that, as mere | furniture, it affords no prospect what- ever of repose. ey Economy experts do not attempt to figure how many dollars can be saved for the home when tickets for the best show cost six dollars apiece. — L am *No warlike achievement can claim the public gratitude that will be felt when Science conquers the pneumonia germ. | { v The Red Cross Call. ‘The annual campaign of the American Red Cross in Washington closes today. ‘With $50,000 and 40,000 members as its minimum goal for this community, the local chapter is under the necessity of reporting that its quota is still far short of achievement. Whatever the reasons for this grave state of affairs, | ‘whether they be the combined effect of | oversolicitation for ~welfare work —a condition happily shortly to be relieved | through the inauguration of the Com- | munity Chest—and the fairly recent, special appeal for the sufferers in| Florida, it is a reproach to the com-| munity which should promptly be rectified. | Herbert Hoover has perhaps expressed | the true significance of the Red Cross organization as concisely as may be in| the following words: “The Red Cross is the one guarantee to the American | people that in calamity loss of life shall | be prevented, suffering mitigated, to the | utmost degree.” These are carefully chosen phrases, deserving of deep atten- tion. They point out the solemn ob! gation of this community and th Nation to carry forward the vital work | of the splendid organization which has, | sinoe chartered by Congress in 1881 to| carry out the provisions of th> Interna- | tional Treaty of Geneva, engaged in| the obligation “to continue and carry, on a system of international rellef in time of peace and to apply the same in mitigating the sufferings caused by pestilence, famine, fire, floods, and other great national calamities.” How well the Red Cross has dis- charged this obligation needs no dilation here. Suffice it to say that during the | fiscal year ending with last June it expended the great sum of $25.240.000 | through its national organization and local chapters to the eminent satiziac- tion of the Nation, and that in the past three years it has dealt with 310 major disasters with a promptness and effi- cleney which is a source of pride to| every thoughtful American. The suffer- ing and horror which would have re- sulted had it not been in a position so 1o do would have beggared description. The Red Cross cannot continue its works of timely mercy and succor unless this and the other chapters of the Nation :ise the quotas fairly. assigned$ John to them. Every dollar expended is de- rived from voluntary contributions, there being no governmental support. Fifty cents of the first dollar of each indi- “vidual contribution goes to the =npp it with the duty of dealing with major national or international disasters. The balance remains in the treasury of the local chapter to meet emergencies of & purely local nature. The failure of the present campaign will curtail the ability of the national organisation ar.4 the local chapters to perform their vital function for the coming year. We, as a Nation, have a colemn treaty contract which cannot be | permitted to lapse. We, as & com-| munity, have a no less solemn obliga- tion to continue to meet recurring local dizasters which must not be avoided. The local quota, Washington's eontribu- tion to & splendidly worth-while cause, | must be forthcoming. —_— ratee The World Court Again. The Senate, nearly three years ago, largely on the recommendation of | President Coolidge, adopted a resolu- tion proposing adherence of the United | States to the Permanent Court of In-| ternational Justice, more popularly known as the World Court. At the same time the Senate wrote into the resolution A series of reservations. These reservations have so far proved | a stumbling block to the final entry of this country into the tribunal. The great powers. members of the court, have balked particularly at the fifth reservation, which limits in a measure | | the right of the court to give advisory opinions to the League of Nations. President Coolidge has let it be known that he intends to seek through diplomatic channels to remove the op- | position of the member nations of the ‘World Court so that the United States may take its place in that tribunal. By those who belleve in the instrumen- tality of the World Court and hold it a useful agent of world peace his pro- | posed action will be commended heart- ily. To those who opposed the entry of the United States into the court on the ground that the court is in reality an agency of the League of Nations, the President's renewed efforts to make this country a member of the court will not appeal. At present, how- ever. it must be admitted the situation of this country with regard to the | World Court is not satisfactory. Either the United States should become a member or its proposal of entry should be withdrawn. It does not comport either with the dignity of the country or with common sense that the pro- posal of entry should be left kicking around for years without definite ac- tion. ‘The reservation of the Senate to which it is reported twenty-three of the ‘'member nations have objected is as follows: “That the eourt shall not render any advisory opinion except publicly. after due notice to all the states adhering to the court and to all interested states and after public hearings or opportu- nity for hearings given to any state concerned; nor shall it, without the consent of the United States, entertain any request for an advisory opinion touching any dispute or question in which the United States has or claims to have an interest.” In some quartérs it has been held that this reservation limits the useful- ness of tht World Court to the League of Nations Council, since the court in & measure was set up as a légal ad- viser of the League. The United States Government has persistently sought to lessen the chances of war. The ‘multilatera! treaty re- nouncing war, negotiated by Secretary Kellogg with the other great nations of the world, now awaiting ratification, is hailed as a real step in that direc- tion. It is the hope of the Coolidge administration that this step toward world peace may be consummated be- fore it goes out of office. It is only natural that the President should wish to have the entry of the United States into the World Court definitely settied Also. S — Traits of Mind. ‘The National Academy of Bciences in session at BSchenectady recently heard reports on the latest advances in | the science of genetics from Dr. C. B. Daveniport of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Dr. Davenport maintained the exist- ence of certain racial mental traits and explained his belief that these are he- reditary, passed along from generation to generation with such factors as the color of the skin. , ‘This s a position which the geneticist is loath to abandon, despite some con- trary evidence which has been ad- vanced from the fields of anthropology or psychology. He is the Augustinian of science, holding his position in the face of what appears to be a rising tide of Pelagianism. The possible weakness of his position lies in the fact that he must base his statements of mental differences on tests the effectiveness of which is in dispute. Moreover, tests which might give perfect results when applied by white men to white men hardly can be relied upon when applied by white men to brown men or black men. There is too' great a factor of Interpretation of results involved. The anthropologist | has learned the inadequacy of trying to interpret the mind of an Indian while thinking like a white man, and once h> has submitted the dictums of the geneteelst to this test he finds rea- son for grave doubts. A great deal of research remains to be done in all the fields of science in- volved before the truth is reached. Meanwhile exact experimental work such 2s that of Dr. Davenport and his colleagues is of the utmost value. It is| the one way of establishing truth, even if it only establishes in the end that the geneticisi's theory of a great deal of mental heredity is 2 fallacy. e President-elect Hoover may find it herd to restrain ovations in Washington. those of South Amecrican eit: - A Cheerful Blaze. Both const University is improving. Where in one spot the new Gothic chapel, declared by many architects to be among the mos: beautiful buildings in America, nears completion, in another is.a heap of ashes and scorched matonry where, C. Green School Building. of Science v of the national organization, charged D. C. from being equal, at least, to | i "$h 10 Byt all the meney that T pay ictively and destructively | the commodious campus of Princaton | until early yesterday morning, stood the | THE EVENING STAR.. WASHINGTON, new chapel. A professor of architecture, when asked by a curious student some score of years since as to just what style this building followed, declared that question impossible to answer:; that he himself could discern distinctly traces of five different schools and that doubt- less his superiors in ability could dis- cover several more. It was one of the most " dreadful specimens of the late Gen. Grant or early George Pullman style, with a’mansard roof, a seventy- five-foot tower and every imaginable variety of cornice, dormer, pillar, arch, color and material. While it did not stand on the campus proper, it was situated on a prominent corner dingonally opposite and in plain- er view than many of the eampus struc- tures. It was erected in 1878 and its early abandonment had been planned. The conflagration saved the authorities the trouble. The entire Princeton fire department, state the news dispatches, rushed to the scene and “students volunteered to aid in fighting the blaze and in saving equipment.” If they did, they were noble fellows indeed and gave no such performance as was staged about a decade ago when Dickinson Hall, rec- itation and lecture building for the academic department, built about the same time and a companion evesore. | burned up. Curiously enough. this fire | started around midnight on the night | preceding a Yale-Princeton foot ball game played in Princeton and thousands of students and alumni rushed to the scene where, it is said, they formed such a solid, cheering cordon around the blaze that a fireman could scarcely get through without using his ax on scholastic skulls. It is even whispercd that in whatever spot they had checked the flames and left for a new point of vantage, flames regularly broke out again, and that not by chance. 1 Anyhow, both these monstrosities are | gone now. There remain on the Prince- | ton campus, as on those of most Ameri- can colieges, other old buildings, not ancient enough to be picturesque, with- | out which the imstitution could get along swimmingly. Some day they, too. will be wrecked or burned down and re- placed with beautiful and harmonious collegiate Gothic structures. Every man ! in Princeton, town and gown alike, would fisk his life to preserve Nassau | Hall, but it is doubtful if he would move | from his tracks were these others to blaze. There is a distinct touch of in- cendiarism and of pyromania in every man, especially in such esthetes ns Princeton students between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. | e . Police take the blame for many un- detected” crimes. It is in the line of duty. A police officer should be liberally compensated for being the “goat” as| well as the watchdog. | R Street car fare in Baltimore is raised to 10 cents. The charge is based on financial requirements. There is noth- ing in the scenery to console the traveler for additional cost. —————— All that Al Smith wants is a rest. He begins to look like one of those subjects | of popular interest who cannot have their own way about anything. RS A sense of humor is a saving grace. Mayor Jimmy Walker may succeed in preventing gunmen of New York from | taking themselves too seriously. oo Investigations of the Vestris disaster egin to bring up the thought that some fMciency” expert was primarily to blame. 2 e There is no such thing as a “simple inauguration” so far as an enthusiastic and admiring public is concerned. ——— TING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Gratitudes. Thanksgiving is not for the past alone, ‘With all its gentle zest, But for the Country that we call our | own, Of all the countries best. The stalwart Pligrim, very long ago, His humble thanks renewed. In Plenty, we again are called to show A Greater Gratitude. Ancient History. “Have you ever studied the history of ancient Rome?" | “I have,” answered Senator Sorghum. | “And I am impressed by the disadvan- tage under which that classical old | government labored, through lack of modern improvements. If ancient Rome had enjoyed conveniences of radio and gas filling stations, and other | methods of quick communication, re- | sults might have been different.” Jud Tunkins says he does not hope | for an inauguration so old-fashioned | that a street car ride and a quart of peanuts will only cost a nickel apiece. Puzzling Sengsters. ‘The katydid of frost would sing. Misleading was the song. Let's hope in promises of Spring ‘The snowbird won't go wrong. Shock. “Were you shocked by the play “Yes," answered Miss Cayenne. “But | after getting past the charge of six | dollars a seat at the box office, any- thing else that might happen seemed easy." “To go a-fishing,” sald Hi Ho, the| sage of Chinatown, “Is to serve notice that, even in the midst of public dem- | onstrations, time ‘is requested for per- sonal, serious thought. And this is why so many fish escape.” Classics and Spectacles. Shakespeare T love, This much I'll say In the theatric whirl. | Is for the Chorus Girl. | | “Sometimes,” said Uncle Ebo “it | locks to me like de smallest mind: was | ready foh de biggest arguments.” | rattes And How We Squawk. From the Fort Whyne News-Sentinel. 1It's one thing to be a good father and an abundant provider, and i’s another! thing to refrain from squawking when ths lmui[ makes a concerted eifort to run you into debt as & means toward | advancement of culture. P S Thez elimination of this eyesore will be considered by many elumni and students as almgst eommen-urate in im- Bachelors Excepted. {Trom the Colorado Springs Garette and ‘Telsgraph. Yeu een make most any min feel at Tem: hy siarting an argument, D. C. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, _ THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Comparative dietetics has no more interesting battleground than at the luncheon tables of the countless thou- sands who eat downtown every day except Sunday. Not even the most expert diagnos- tician is able to tell why one man eats lightly, another heavily, or whether the excess foodstuffs consumed by the latter does him as much good as the lesser amount eaten by the former. In the matter of the daily lunch every man seems to be a law unto himself. Men at desk work eat ‘like farm hands; truck drivers eat daintily of crackers and milk. There is no telling how a man will eat by looking at him. Restaurants, lunchrooms, hotels and other eating places are the places where this comparative physiology goes forward day by day, since there seems to be no abatement in the universal demand of mankind for food. Upon this plane all created things are equal. A dog likes his meals no more, per- haps, than his master, if as much. A man partakes of dinner with a famished expression no whit less than that registerfng on the faithful coun- tenance of Fido. Cats come to back doors at eventide. meowing lustily for their bowl of milk or platter of raw beef. i Every kind of creature has its pref- erences, but what all want, like and unlike, is something to eat. * ook X In a big city eating i a continuous performance. Just as they go to work at. different times, eating their break- fasts at unlike hours, so men gather for luncheon all the way from 11 am. to 2 pm. The wise lunchroom makes allowance for this divergence, but the sluggish proprietor permits his menials to harass early customers with mops and pails of soapy water. Such a procedure is guaranteed to cut the appetite squarely in two, thus depriving the establishment of exactly sne-half of its otherwise profits. Four to five hours seem to be the normal time allowed by most workers to elapsé between breakfast and lunch, If you sit down to the former at 6 am. the chances are that you will begin to feel hungry”again about 11 o'clock and will go out for nourishment at_that hour if able. Those who normally eat the first meal of the day at 7 o'clock find it ex- pedient to eat again at 11 or 12 o'clock, depending upon conditions mostly ex- ternal and commercial. Late breakfasters, say those who lel- surely wend their way to the dining room first at 8 o'clock, are able to go with equanimity until 1 or 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Such a staggering of lunchtimes, of course, brings around a similar stag« gered set of “midafternoon” cravings for more food, probably between 3 and 4 o'clock, answered in most cases by a recourse to candy. In this matter the continental cus- tom of “tea" scems to have much merit. There can be little question that the English custom meets squarely a human need. Nor is it apparent that thos¢ who indulge in such ,“between meals” suffer any more from indiges- tion and similar troubles than Améri- cans, if as much. * kK ¥ A typical luncheon table shows a fat man drinking a cup of coffee, a slim man partaking of a full meal that | those who were born and bred in the would do credit to the appetite of one who had just ‘worked in the fields for six_hours. There can be little question that country or small towns fall into the “full meal” habit when they take to the cities. . It is a part of their bringing up. They no more question the necessity for a “square meal” at noon than they do that of another one at 6 or 7 o'clock in the evening. It was the custom where they came from. and a different environment does not change customs with the faithful. Such a meal is as much mental as physical. There is here a survival of appetite which is most interesting. Although the real need for such a daily intake has not been present for perhaps | dozen vears, the subject thinks that he will die of hunger if he does not so eat. He would astonish himself vastly if he would cut down on his meai and note that he got along just as well as ever, 1f not a little befter. One would say nothing against plenty of food in the individual case. It is true that intellectual work requires a certain amount of food. even as physical labor | demands a certain raplenishment. Neither physiologist nor psychologist would care to-set the bounds beyond | which neither should cat. Every man is and must continue to be a law unto himself when it comes to eating, but there can be little question that few men one sees throwing food into their jowls at downtown lunchrooms ever pause to consider the problem as a problem. They are hungry, and they just eat. e More and more the good habit of eating lightly for lunch is prevailing. | i, with the result that after-lunch drowsi- ness no longer affiicts thousands of workers who formerly suffered from it. ‘Too oftent “cures” of all sorts fail to work, but here is one which is guaran- teed to live up to its reputation if the sufferer is willing to give it a fair trial. There is no more disconcerting thing than for an honest and sincere em- ploye to find himself serfously ham- pered after lunch by a longing to lie down and: go to sleep. Few workers in the ranks can seck a couch and fall asleep for a few minutes. It is said that 2 or 3 minutes’ sleep, in such cases. will completely relieve the fecling of sleepiness, but the sad fact is that this is a cure which is not generally available. The only other cure—and in some ways it 18 a better one-—is that of light eating. “Goling easy on the grub™” not only aids digestions, makes for a clearer head and better nerve tone after lunch and helps the pocketbrok, but_above all it permits a longer time at the lunch table for conversation. Men of the cities no longer rush into a place and swallow a ham sandwich and a cup of coffee almost before they have seated themselves. They are more and more succumbing to the good habit of talking for a while after the meal is _finished. There is no day when there is not some interesting topic for consideration by men of affairs, whether it be their own work, the state of the Nation or conditions in the city. This good habit aids digestion and helps clarify the mind and makes it possible for otherwise rushed mortals to sit at their ease for a brief time, at leu;. during the rush of the day's work. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. Chicago never does anything half | scientists unearthed a great storehouse way. She is the wickedest town on the globe: she shoots citizens at will. She boasts “I will!" She is wild and dis- sipated. pl;ut there is a vestige of good in her soul, nevertheless, for now it is an- nounced that Chicago intends to “go on the water-wagon,” and, not content to use a mere sprinkling cart, she proposes to dispatch an expedition of scientists to Mount Atarat to search for and dig up Noah's Ark. She will bring the Ark right into the Windy City in time f some sort of centennial exposition ir 1933. The fact that 1933 will be only 40 years after her last centennial is im- material. What are centuries to hustling go? She condenses time. Better in Chicago than a cycle in Phila- delphia! Nothing is too good: for & Chi- cago water-wagon: Noah had nothing on the city which has had a Mayor ‘Thompson. Ch¢ a day * kK K 0 i% in dead earnest about this wagon, for Mr, William H. Strong, former president of the Chicago Chapter of the American Association of Engl- neers, has made a written offer of the Ark to Mr. Rufus Dawes, president of the Osntennial Fair. This is an era of engineers—or will be after next March 4, 80 why should not the new Dawes plan be overhauled by the strong man Who is some sort of engineer or fire- man or something needed in a boat? He proposes that airplanes, filled with engineers and map-photographers, shall fly over Mount Ararat and photograph- ically map the whole mountain, then he will enlarge the negatives until the exact site where that boat is landed may be spotted. After that. all they will need will be skids to slide the ship down the slopes, like the launching of the Nautalis. “Satl on, oh ship of state, sail on!” * ok Ko Of course, there is no publicity propa- ganda in this undertaking. Chicago never dreamed that in the effete East there would ever be a background of such an event. She is so sincere and naivete! Her publicity bureau is only a liitle washstand anyhow. There is a joker, however, in the plan, and the joke is on Chicago. All the scientists of the Smithsonian In- stitution are “haw-hawing” over the funny hunt upon Mount Ararat for the Ark, when al "‘:l time that's not the right Ararat at all. . lx‘rm trouble is that Chicago is & prairie city and knows gophers and prairfe dogs and coyotes, but is not up on mountains. She specializes on Babel towers and languages, but wouldn't know a real’ peak from a skyscraper with elevators. . The airplanes may able to photograph hundreds of square miles daily, but it's dollars to glaciers that they will not see the animals com- ing out of any Ark, two by two, for— well, it just isn't done on that huge mountain—and never has been. is declared in all candor in the pres- cnee of the millions of fundamentalists who read The Evening Star. and it is| declared in full faith in the truth of the Scriptures. In the words of Pilate, “What {8 truth?” * ok kK Some decades ago there was an 1:g>d atheist, Robert Ingersoll, 0 urcd on the “Mistakes of Moses, one of his own foolish and un- sniific statements was that there ould not have been the Flood, as de- iciod in Genesis, and that therefore here was no Noah and no Ark upon “lount Ararat. He attempted to prove it by pointing to the fact that water freezes solid at an altitude of the peak of Ararat, and Noah landed, not on wh ai s o t fee, but on billowy watcr reaching i,n’ | i every direction to the horizon. Ingersoll had known ‘more of nature and less of ego he would have dis- covered that if all the world were enlarged s0*that water covered the peaks the bottom of the atmosphere would be the revised sea level and not a great freezing altitude. The “mistakes of Ingersoll” put Moses in the shade. But great is archeology! TI The story of the Israelites In Egypt tells how they were forced to make bricks without straw, and, not long ago, and the representative of the This | of Kerbela, where the deserts moreover be | worst. | built of bricks without straw or other fiber. It was customary in those days to use straw as a binder of the clay. Recently, at a point not far from Ur of the Chaldees, a chariot with four wheels, and with oxen still hitched to it, was dug up from a depth of 45 fect; it is believed to be 5,000 years old A ;our-wheeled chariot was unknown be- ore. Now an explorer, Dr. F. Futterer, president of the American-Jerusalem Bible Institute, has begun to organize an expedition to explore Mount Nebo, in search for the Ark of the Covenant, which led the Israclites out of Zgypt. So why not hunt for the anchorage of Noah's Ark too? * ok ok ok ‘The starting point in such a hunt would be first to discover the righi Ararat, for Science declares that it is not the great mountain popularly cred- ited with being the landing. Here are the opening words of a lec- ture by Sir Willlam Willeocks, K. C. M. G.. of England, delivered before tha Royal Geographical Soofety, November 15, 1909: “'Out of Eden came a river which watered a garden, and from thence ii | was parted and became four heads.” Plans and levels in hand, starting from the spot where Jewish tradition placed the ‘Gates of Paradise,' I have followed the traces of the four rivers of the early chapters of Genesis. Appointed by the new Turkish government to engage en- gineers, and survey and level the rivers and canals of the Fuphrates-Tigris delta, and devise projects for the re- habilitation of the country, I first set myself the task of mastering the ancient systeme of irrigation, improving on them when I could, and adopting them when T could find no better substitute. I started with the Garden of Eden.” * R ¥ % Just what was the oyigin of the story of Noah's flood. this scientist does not pause to explain: it is known that the Babylonians and other peoples, had traditions like that told In Genesis, which antedated Noah. He descrives the struggles of the people in early days who lived in the valley of the Tigris, and their efforts to control the flood waters of the great river. He says: “Judging from the levels, I should say that the first head to be shut off was that of Hiddekel (river) or the modern Saklawia. Until this was closed, nothing could be done with the upper half of the delta. The struggle be- tween the different communities and the terrible consequences which might | result intimidated the more thoughtful members of the community, of whom Noah was one, and he prepared for the He bullt an ark of the poplar wood so common in the Euphrates Val- ley, and pitched it inside and out with bitumen from Hib, just as the boats and coracles of the Euphrates Valley are pitched today. A settler, probably in the lower part of the delta south are strangely degraded and low. he felt the full force of the inundation. “A massive earthen dyke was thrown across the head of the Saklawia, the flood discharge of the Euphrates was | doubled, and instead of the waters ris- ing 16 feet as in an ordinary inunda- tion, they rose.15 cubits. or 24 feet, and not only waz the cultivated land under water, but the deserts themselves were submerged. “To men living in the BEuphrates Valley and in the Valley of the Nile, the word ‘jebel’ does not represent a hill, but a desert. In the English translation the word ‘mountain’ repre- sents something those people never saw, In the Arabic translation it is properly called a ‘jebel” A rise of water 15 cubits could put-no hill, leave alone a mountain, under water. * * ¢ Float- ing off, in all probability from near Kerbela, where one of the shrines of the patriarch (Noah) very properly stands today, and driven by the cur- rent and the wind, both steady from the north, the Ark drifted southward and wandered long in Chaldean marshes. Pinally it -touched land somewhere near Ur of the Chaldees. on the edge of the desert. I say Ur of the Chaldees bgcause it is here that we find Terah, father of Al im patri ,1928. Door-to-Door Selling | Editorial Praised To_the Editor of The Star: As a Washingtonian may T commend | your editorial upon the necessity of | -amending the old law here concerning | selling from door to door, and as uT World War man I desire to praise the | tion Bureau? of cmumm_\jsrn‘; to you in your problems? usiness ction of the District Department of the Disabled American ANSWERS BY FREDERI! Have we had the pleasure of serving you through our Washington Informa- Can't we be of some Our is to furnish you with au- Veterans in asking that the proposed : thoritative information, and we invite law be so drafted as to protect the You to sk us any question of fact in public against being imposed upon under guise of relief to war veterans Washington has alwas readiness to respond to any worthy call | for relief to our ex-service ing permits from the District Govern- all sorts of storics about how the veteran is suffering without the Gov- ernment helping. ‘World War men themselves aré in | seldom which you are interested. | inquiry to The Evening Star Informa- | pumping engine. Send your shown its| tion Bureau. Frederic J. Haskin, di- rector, men, but jt | cents in coin or stamps | gets tiresome to have individuals carry- | postage. Inclose 2 for return ‘Washington. D. C. Q. Where do the domestic Tokay ment ringing the doorbell and telling | praves come from?—C. C. A. Practically all Tokay grapes grown this country are from California. Q. In what, year did the Hudson fooled by these requests for assistance | Fulton celebration take place’>—G. H. and they usually make it so strong when A. The celebration took place in New they talk to these fakers that they do| york City, cities along the Hudson not return. Veterans know that men |R who need relief would be sent to the Veterans' Bureau, where they may get hospjtalization, without delay, if they | need it. If they cry that the Veterans' Bureau will not give them help they | should be directed to the Veterans of | Foreign Wars in the Metropolitan Bank | Building. the American Legion in the ! Bond Building, or the Disabled Amer- | lcan Veterans at 1540 I street. The rep- | resentatives of these organizations are | the ones qfalified to say whether the | man should receive Federal benefit and are prepared to'help him with his claim Washington housewives should take | a determined stand on this matter of | pedcling and soliciting at the door, | morning, noon and night. but the Dis- ! trict Commissioners can do their part, | as suggested by the disabled organiza- | tion itself, by referring all applications | s M, schoolhouses were small and painted red. paint was especially cheap. So many men and women who ultimately at- tained distinction began their education iver and upon the river in September and October, 1909. Q. When should a lawn be made?— W. G. A. The seeding can be done any time of the year, but probably most satisfac- | tory results will be secured by grading | the lawn in the Fall. and after allow- | ing it to settle over Winter. smoothing out the frregularities in the surface and | sowing the seed early in the Spring. Q. What is the origin of the expres- on “the little red schoolhouse"? L. E. A. In the early days in this country It is explained that red usually | for permits to peddle or solicit to the service organizations, as they surely are better advised on these matters than some license clerk in the District Build- . The recommendation of the Disabled American Veterans is a worthy one that will appeal to World War men and should be enacted to give proper protec- | tion to well-meaning but misled men and | women of Washington who are not fa- ! mihar with the problems of the war's } disabled. FRANCIS THRALLS. it # Norway Discourages Reckless Explorers From the Atlanta Journal. Something more than a humanitarian spirit inspired the Norwegian govern- ment's recently announced policy, re- stricting the use of the port of Spitz- bergen as the starting point for polar expeditions. No longét is Spitzbergen to be open to all comers who would visit the North Pole. Only experience: explorers, familiar with Arctic travel who are capable of showing that they have made every necessary preparation to guarantee their safe return, will be permitted to use the far-northern land as the base of their operations. The Norwegian government, we are reminded, has found that rescue: work in the Arctic is both dangerous and expensive, and it has been convinced, 00, that most of the explorers who get lost in the icy wastes owe their pre- dicament to inexperience and unpre- paredness. In the past too many per- sons have ventured forth on hazardous journeys without first counting the cost, and the Norwegians properly have taken steps to economize in life and money by checking the reckless spirit of ad- venture that undoubtedly sways some of those who embark on perilous un- dertakings. The action of the Norwegians sug- gests the advisability of some sort of restrictions to curb reckless and ill- advised flying ventures of those who seek only notoriety, and whose feats, even if successful, contribute little or npthing to the knowledge and happi- ness of society. All over the world there are countless persons who apparently regard the field of aviation as having been made ta order for the gratification of their per- sonal ambitions. Adventurers of the air constantly are setting forth on perilous flights that really mean nothing. Es- pecially is this true with a vast ma- Jority of the attempted flights over the oceans. If their folly jeopardizes them. they feel reasonably sure that the great ocean liners will turn from their courses to aid in their rescue. They realize that the governments of the civilized nations of the world will spare neither pains nor expense to some to their aid. Of course, it shouldn't be otherwise, but it involves needless | waste of time and energy and money. tures designed to serve a useful pur- po: those ‘They should be encouraged. but calculated only to advertise those participating in them should be dis- couraged in every wav poesible, and suppressed entirelv if the means can be found to do it. - Failure of Whitney To Pretend Pra From the Baltimore Evening Sun. The Payne Whitney estate of $104 - 000,000 is said to be the largest ever de- vised by will. Some of Mr. Whitney's possessions were $182,000.000 worth of securities, $3,000,000 worth of real estate, & houseboat worth $76,000. and A private car worth $37.500. $40.000 worth of automobiles. $2.200 worth of guns and $150 worth of books. But before you begin to laugh take one fact into consideration—he did not buy hand-tooled, morocco-bound sets ov the foot, hoping thereby to deceive the world into erediting him with a literary taste which he did not possess. Payne Whitney mav have been completely in- different to the form of intellectual ac- tivity which is represented by book learning. but at least he was no intel- lectual parvenu. He laid no claim to a cultivation which he did not possess: and surely he was a happier man for refusing to devote time to things which did not interest him. arch’s family. T believe that readers of the Bible will agree with me that the representatives of the patriarchal families were a stationary kind of peo- ple in place of habits. It was the Cains and Tubalcains who moved about, undertaking new pursuits and making discoveries. The fact that Abraham. the friend of God. should have wished to move made him a marked men and earned him his name of Hebrew.” R Here follows the most significant paragraph of Dr. Willeocks® lecture: “Ararat was the name of the desert mound where the Ark rested, and when the families of the yognger sons of the patriarch moved off affd made new set- tlements. they gave the name of Ararat | to the highest mountain they knew in | honor of the spot where the Ark rested. The Armenian Ararat could no more have been the Ararat where the Ark rested than New York be York (of England). * * * My friend, Rev. Prof. Savee, has shown me a copy of the Chaldean map of Abraham’s time in which the earth lies around Babylon as a center.” e e A year after Dr. Wiheocks' he added this: “Since delivering the lecture in.No- vember, 1909, T have spent a year in Mesopotamia and should like to add the following postserint: “When at Ur of the Chaldees the other day, we found that the Arabs called the mounds to the south of Ur ‘Nuawes. Now ‘Nu’ is Arabic for Noah. *“That those primitive and early peo- ples whose records we possess in Gene- sis were certainly under the impression that the whole world was drowned out with the Tigris-Euphrates delta is proved by the only explanation they could find for the great influx into the valley from the surrounding countri once order began to be established. They could attribute the multiplieity of languages which began to be spoken all at once to nothing but divine anger at their extraordinary high hopes and ambitions.” (Copyrizht. 1928. by Paul V. Colluns.) lecture It is not intended to eriticize ven- | under these modest conditions and later delighted to pay honor to “the little red schoolhouse” that now the phrase has become a figure of speech. Q. When was Thanksgiving day first obsérved?—C. C. A. Thanksgiving day was first cele- brated in Plymouth on December 18, 1621, and next on July 30, 1623. The first Boston Thanksgiving was held on PFebruary 22, 1630. The first printed notice was for June 29, 1676, for the State of Massachusetts. Washington | appointed_the last Thursday in No- | vember, 1790. James Madison selected the second Thursday in April, 1815. Lincoln began the custom of the an- | nual observance on the last Thursday !in November in 1863. The last Thurs- | day in November has not been fixed bv law as Thanksgiving day. out each President issues a proclamation re- | garding this holid: | | _ @ Is Thanks ngland?—B. R. A. Thanksgiving day is not observed in England by the English. It is purely an American festival. The Harvest Home is celebrated in England jon September 24. | Q When a dog crosses a rabbit track and tuins to follow it, how can the dog tell which way the rabbit is going?—W. J. R. A. The older the rabbit track the colder it gets and the dog usually smells a small length of it and de- cides in_which direction the rabbit has gone. Dogs probably use the hunting instinct as well as the sense of smell in determining the direction a rabbit has taken. | Q. Does the Metropolitan Opera Co. give performances outside of New York in any cities other than Atlanta, Ga.?— V.C. P. A. For the past 10 years or more the Metropolitan has been giving a week of opera in Atlanta, Ga. During the Spring of 1924, 1925 and 1926 the Met- ropolitan extended its tour to include |Cleveland and Rochester and in 1927 {and 1928 Baltimore and Washington. D. C.. were added to the above list of giving day observed In Suggestions during the presidential campaign that in the event of a elose election its legality might be attacked are followed now by emphatic demands for reapportionment of representation {in the lower house of Congress. ‘There has been no reapportionment, as re- quired by the Constitution, since the census of 1920, and several States, nota- bly California and Michigan, protest bitterly against being deprived of law- {ful representation in the House and consequently in the electoral college. Senator Vandenberg of Michigan revives the debate by proposing to have the Senate act without waiting further for initiative in the House. r In the - discussion of California’s rights the Oakland Tribune states: “To- | day’s estimate is that California has & population as large as Texas. The | growth here since 1920 is set at 67 per {cent. and the total, according to Cali- | fornia Development Board estimates, is 15,500,000 Obviously, estimates do not | count when it comes to mapping con- gressional districts, but to show that they are in line with the facts the | election may be referred to. For Smith |and Hoover Texas cast 719,483 votes, while California, for the two, cast | 1.763.364. This State cast more than | twice as many votss as Texas and sup- | plied seven fewer electoral votes. * k% % Referring to a pledge of support of reapportionment which was made by Senator Borah in a speech in Detroit in the course of the campaign. the De- troit Free Press expresses the belief that it should encourage the people of Michigan “to expect that their own Representatives in this direction will re- ceive more aid from other quarters in Congress than they have received in the Ipast.” The Jackson Citizen-Patriot | points out that Michigan has one Rep- | resentative for each 345.485 of popula- {tion. while Vermont has one to each 176,215, and as to the proposed change | it declares, “They have deprived the | State of two Representatives and we | want them.” “Senator Vandenberg rightly makes | the point,” argues the San Francisco | Chronicle, “that the Constitution does inot put the obligation for a re- | apportionment on the House alone. but | on Congress as a whole. * * * Of course, a bill passed by the Senate alone will not do. But if the Senate | puts through a reapportionment meas- | ure the House may be shamed into action.” The Lexington Leader says the bill should properly originate in the House, but that paper, agreeing that both houses are responsible, and conceding that “the structure of thé House is affected by the reapportionment and there has been great opposition to any steps which would increase the mem- bership from some commonwealths and decrease the number of Representatives in other cases” suggests: “If the | States object to losses such as some of them must sustain in the due admin- | istration of the Constitution, let them | agitate for a change in that instru- ment. While it stands it ould be ! enforced. There can be no justifica- | ton for the delay which has been gen- | erally acquiesced in by both parties in Congress. Senator Vandenberg de- serves support in his plan to force the issue.” Wik R “Certainly no one would have the House of Representatives of any greater size than it.is now. Even at present it is a body which is in some respects too large,” remarks the Flint ily Journal. “It would be comparatively easy to create more congressional dis- tricts, but we do not ‘want them. What is wanted is a more #ltlble system of representation.” e Shreveport Journal recognizes that *“when re- apportionment does come, it means that several Southern States are to have their sentation in the lower house and this includes TO QUESTIONS C ]. HASKIN. cities visited by Opera Co. Q. Was the Lansing, Mich., Fire De- partment, the first completely motor- ized?—D. F. A. On December 8. 1908, Lansing | placed in service the first built-on-order Joplin, Mo., is cred- ited with putting a motor-pumping en- gine in service about one month earlier, | Savannah, Ga., had its equipment com- | pletely motorized in 1911, and it is the first of which we have record. Q. Why do loge sing and snap while burning?—E. W. The Forest Service states that | logs sing because the air in’ certain air | pockets in the wood becomes heated and works out through narrow orifices, It may also be due to heated sap va- porizing. Chestnut logs snap because pockets generate certain gases. Cedar burns with a fragrant odor due to ‘he essential oils which vaporize when heat- {ed. Wood that is light and full of air |spaces, such as white pine, burns | swiftly and silently. Q. Who won the Peloponnesian War? -~M. G. P A. The war was fought between Athens and Sparta and their allfes 431-404 B.C. and resulted in the su- premacy of Sparta. Q. How was Anne Boleyn's name | pronounced?—S. M. T. A. It was often spelled “Bullen” and both forms of the name pronounced the same—“Bul-len"—with the accent on the first syllable. Q. Where is there an example of ancient wood sculpture?—W. N. A. One of the earliest specimens of wood sculpture extant is in the Cairo Museum. = With the exception of ih» arms, it is carved out of a solid block of sycamore wood. It is a life-sis® pore trait statue, a double of the Shelk-tle Beled. The figure dates back to aBout | 4000 B.C. Q. What years are included in me | Dark Ages>—E. E. P. | A. Historians differ as to the exan period known as the Dark Ages. It fs generally believed to comprise the earlier centuries of the Middle Ages. a period of probably about 700 years. Hallam regards the Dark Ages as begin- ning with the sixth century and ending with the fifteenth. Q. Do all Charleston, 8. C.. negroes speak the same dialect?—D. K. | A “Lost Spirituals” explains that there are two separate and well defined negro dialects in Charleston. One ia the Gullah tongue, spoken by negroes from the West Coast of Africa and their descendants: the other. the speech of negroes brought into South Carolina from other colonies and later from other States. These dialects are grad- | ually becoming merged. | Q. How long has the title “dame" | been used in England?—A. M. D. A. “Dame” is a title of honor which long distinguished high-born ladies from the wives of citizens and commoners in general and which is still the title in Great Britain of a baronets wife. In some cases the me" indicates membership in the Order of the British Empire, which was instituted in 1917, for services ren- dered to the empire at home or abroad. Q. What are dacoities?>—E. 8. A. Ddcoities is the name applied to robber bands in India and Burma. Under the penal law the term implies robbery by an armed band of five or | more persons. Q. How many people can be accom- modated for the lectures of the National DM_:{QN& Society?—S. T. A. ‘Washington Auditorium has a seating capacity of 4.000, as arranged for the National Geographic Society. the Metropolitan | | | |Demands for Reapportionment Revived With Added Emphasis Louisiana, but it feels that “the Call- fornia complaint seems to be not en- tirely without merit " Demanding prom; delphia Evening Bulletin says late for reapportionment on the basis of the 1920 census, but it is innecessary and undesirable to postpone the settle- ment of the question until the res of the 1930 census are available, with the possibility of a long controversy in- tervening before a decision can be reached. The formula for apportion- ment can be and should be determined ticipation of the census report. It is not likely that the legality of congressional enactments under pres- ent apportionment will be upset by the Supreme Court, but it is a possibility that should be considered. It is of greater importance that the apportion- ment should be fully determined before another presidential election comes around.” * x x % More emphatic is the Kalamazoo Gazette. with the suggestion that “theoretically, at least. it would be pos- sible for some citizen or group of citizens to challenge the legality of every plece of legisiation adopted by }Cnnxreu since the year 1920, when the last general reapportionment should | have been made.” The Walla A | Bulletin thinks that “it is possible that an clection may depend upon the exist- ing status in such A manner that the fallure of Congress will be brought to the fore and action by the States cheated.” “The situation becomes graver as the Nation's population increases.” contends the South Bend Tribune, which feels that “it .is doubly unjust because it applies to legislation as well as to elec- toral college representation.” ~ That paper records that ‘close to 50 elec- toral votes were out of line this year." and observes that “what may happen in a close election under this condition can be readily conceived.” In view of the protest against a large House, the New York ning Post | quotes from those who believe that a !larger House is necessary and offers the jcomment: “Those who argue that the House may be materially enlarged with- | out loss of eficiency point to the British | House of Commons with it 615 mem- | bers and the Prench Chamber cof D=pu- { [ties with 565. But each of these bodics |is led by a ministry which formulates the program. even to the extent of say- | ing what bills shall be introduced. \ITED STATES IN WORLD WAR Ten Years Ago Today. | ‘The allles ask Hoover to take charge of the entire food and relief | administration for the European allfes |and if he accepts he will have en- | tire control of feeding Europe. * * * | Army officials say that 10 months | will be needed to bring all the soldiers back to the United States. Four ports | will be used and German ships which are now nearing completion will be pressed into service. * Approximately 200 German U-boats out of an estimated otal of 360 bullt were destroyed during the war. * * * Former Emperor Charles has been informed: by the government at Vienna that he must leave Austria because of the counter-revolutionary movement there. * * * Strikes are spread- ing fast in Germany as workmen assert that their new demands have not been fully met. The iron industry is crip- pled and millions of workers will soon be idle because no shipments of ore can be expected from Alsace-Lorraine and Upper Silesia. * * * The formal docu- ment of Emperor Willlam's abdication has arrived in Berlin. The new govern- ment told the Kaiger and Crown Prince to renounce their claims formally. | L3 ‘