Evening Star Newspaper, December 14, 1928, Page 8

TAR WASHINGTON, D. C FRIDAY. THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company ness Office: 11th 8t. and Pennsyivenia Ave Rew Vork : 110 East 4 Chicago Tower Butldjng. 14 Regent t.. London. ngland. -Ruropean Office Rate by Carrier Within the City. Eveninr Sta 15¢ per menth e Evening and (when 4 Sunda: €0c per month The Evening and Collection made at the end of each monti. ers mAy he sent tn by mail or telepnone als 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. aryland and Virginia. g . Sunday Star 33) .. Sunday Star ). 65c per month ily and Sunday....1 yr.. $10.00: | mo. #5c Iv onlv . : s0c unday enly . e All Other States and Canada. iy end Sunday..l $1200: 1 mo. 31.00 | 1 $8.00: 1 mo. 1 Eny only nday only T Eoe ‘Member of the Associated Press. y entitled 1 ews dis- s exclusivel: to the use for repusiization of all iiches cendited ho | ted in_ this and also the published herein. All rizhts of fal di herein are The Treaty and the Cruisers. There is no manner of conflict be-/ fween the two major measures which will shortly engross the attention of the Senate—the Kelloge treaty and the eruiser bill. No friend of the general pact for renunciation of war has any justification for opposing the neval bill, and no supporter of the cruiser program is justified in obstructing rati- fication of the Afty-nine-power agree- ment for outlawing war. The propo- sitions are wholly unrelated. They do not run st eross purposes. They are both projects for assuring peace. Some of the sincere opponents of the naval legislation are of opinion that the United States would not be plaving falr with co-signatories of the Kellogg treaty if we were to expand our fleet at the same moment we are adhering to the principle of renouncing war. That ebjection is not shared by the man of a1l men who have the multilateral pact deeply at heart. Secretary Kellogg holds that the cruiser bill now pending before the Senate is a legitimate pro- posal and he believes it should be passed. _ He points out that when the fifteen cruisers are built the United Btates Navy will possess in cruiser ton- nage only sbout 300,000 tons, which was the maximum amount provided for fa the first proposition submitted by @is Government to the abortive Geneva Bmitation conference. The reason why there is nothing “in- @cnsistent” or “hypocritical” in the plan to ratify the Kellogg treaty and adopt the cruiser-building bill simul- taneously is that America is not a war- seeking country. The argument so) eften heard, that a government equip-, pad with the engines of war is bound to be tempted to use them aggressively, is nullified by the record, the traditions; and the ideals of the American people. It is because the United States is ad- dicted to peace, and has never broken 18 except in defense of iis rights or of the rights of oppressed peoples, that our military and naval establishment can be strengthened without peril to the Nation's pacific sentiments and peaceful policies. Secretary Kellogg, warm advocate #s he is of the pact with which his name will always be honorably- asso- ciated, has never claimed for it that it| would, or could, usher in an era of ir-| fevocable peace. On Armistice day in| New York the Secretary of State can- didly dlscussed the multilater=] pact in all of its ramifications and implica- tions. of the United States in every way pos- #ible,” Mr. Kellogg declared, “by its example, by treaties of arbitration and eonciliation, snd by solemn pledges against war, to do what it can to ad- vance peace and thus to bring about rerlization of the highest civilization.” The anti-war pact is a tangible Amer- fean move in that direction. But it does not, because it cannot, absolve the United States from ministering to what President Coolidge calls “the needs of our defense.” LR A seat on the New York Stock Ex- change is worth more than ever before. But it s no easy chair. e ates Army Promotion. Revision of the Army promotion list eoupled with an alteration of the pres- ent promotion system forms the subject matier of the Black bill in the Senate and the Wainwright-McSwain bill in the House. These two measures, which have pexn reported favorably by both military affairs committees, are designed to cogmet an injustice done to certain forrfr emergency World War officers who are now in the Regular Army by the War Dspartment’s interpretation of & portion of the national defense act of 1920, It seems to The Star a matter of simple justice that this legislation » enacted into law without further deiay. After the World War, Congress pro- vided that all temporary officers could teke examinations for appointment in he Regular Army in all grades from second lieutenant to colonel and set forth the method by which they would be placed among those who were al- ready in the Army. No confusion &rose in the placement of the colonels, lieu- tenant colonels and majors, but when 1t eame to the captains, first lizutenants and second lisutenants, the War De- pertment proceeded in effect to disre- gard the grades to which they had been appointed and to Arrange them solely on length of service. The effect of this was that men who had been found not fitted to hold a grade higher than second lieutenent were placed over men who had been appointed captain a5 a result of the same exami- nations and such second lieutenants were at once promoted to captaincies, a grade for which they had just failed to quality. The portion of the national defense act which was misinterpreted to produce such an incongruous hodgepodge reads as follows: “Captains and lieutenants shall be arranged among themselves according to length of commissioned service.” with military matters would be entitled to assume that this meant thet cap- teins would be arranged among can- taing, first lieutenents among first dieutemants and second lieutepants .December 14, 1928 e | rank a man by several thousand files {agree to the prineiple. “I believe it is the bounden duty | among second MNeutenants, and M Gen. Peter C. Harrls, who was the adjutant general of the Army at that time, has testified that he was greatly surprised to find a contrary interpreta- tion placed on the claute and thet he believed that the overwhelming majority of the Army never anticipated such an arrangement as the War Department produced. Not only was the ruling considered a peculiar one in Army circles, but both militery affairs committees of Congress have determined that the action taken was contrary to the majority intent of Congress itself. Repressntative Frank [ James, who was on the military com- law and who is a recognized unbiased authority on military matters, has said, ‘I never thought thet that law could be so construed that the man who is incompetent to pass an examination for | first lisutenant, incompetent to pass an | examination for eaptain, should out-| who had passed belore you gentlemen a | very satisfactory examination for cap- | tain. Now, it members of the commit- | tee. like myself; members of Congress, like myself. think the language was not interpreted by somebody in the War De- partment as we intended at that time, and think injustice was done, we would | be justified in trying to remedy that condition and havifig the law inter- preted as we thought it was to be inter- preted at that ttme, would we not?” ‘The Star finds itself in complete ac- | cord with the House military committee, | which stated in its report recommend- ing passage of the bill “Because the committee is convinced that a grave in- justice was done, it is the sense of the| committee that,a ocorrection of this| | error ean disturb no vested rights” and | further that “Having determined that a {wrong has bean done, the obvious| remedy is to present interpretative legis- lation which will result in placing of- ficers on the promotion list as they should have been placed in 1920-21." i e | Lowden Speaks. Former Gov. Frank O. Lowden of Ilinois and the American Farm Bureau Federation, both strong supporters in the p: of the equalization fee prin- cinle of the McNarv-Haugen farm aid bill, have come out flatfootedly in favor of the enactment of farm legislation in accordance with the Hoover plan for farm relief.” Gov. Lowden's opin- ion, expressed in a lsiter, which he wrote recently to the president of the Ilinols Agricultural Association, is that the American people in the recent election settled the matter effectually. Mr. Hoover, in his campaign addresses, declined to accept the equalization fee principle, the principle that the cost of distributing surplus crops should be allocated to the producers of the crop. Gov. Smith, on the other hand, while he did not give the machinery of the equalization fee his indorsement, did Gov. Lowden sensibly takes the stand that in view of the overwhelming support given Mr. Hoover by the farmers of the Wost, it is only right that Mr. Hoover's ideas in regard to sgriculture should be car- | ried out. ' Had it not been for {he opposition of Mr. Lowden and the American Farm Bureeu Federation during the last ses- | sion of Congress, a farm bill which President Coolidge could have and would have approved might easily have been put through Congress. The withdrawal of their opposition to the Hoover plan for farm relief, which in the mein is on all fours with the ideas of President Coolidge, seems to insure the prompt passage of farm | legislation, which™ for one reason or | enother has been held up for years. During the last session of Congress it | was polities that was the chisf obstruc- tionist of farm legislalion. It was understood that President Coolidg? would veto again the McNary-Haugen bill, 1f it retained the equalization fee. But the opponents of Mr. Coolidge and Mr. Hoover, who happensd also to be | supporters of Gov. Lowden and Vice President Dawes for the presidential nomination, insisted that the bill con- taining the equalization fee 'should go through, or that nothing should be done. Their aim really was to take the issue into the nationai campaign. In this they were successful, first at the Republican nationel convention in Kanses City, where the McNary-Hau- genites were routed, and later in the presidential campaign and election. Gov. Lowden has wisely undertaken to recommend that farm legislation be put through, even though it does not accord with his own ideas of what is the better course in such legislation. It is time, indeed, that the farmers were accorded some measure of aid from the Federal Government. Mr. Hoover and Gov. Smith both recog- nized during the recent campaign the farm problen® as a major problem of | i mittee at the time of the passage of the | | mosquitoes, were in each of them. Those henalnt replied, “To kill mosquitoes. At this the judge shouted, “What? Mos- quitoes in New Jersey at this time of |year! There may be a few stray ones | in the Summer at widely isolated points, | but you will have to give a better ex- ! planation than that, because there is no ‘such animal here in Winter.” the defendant persisted in his story he s fined. ten dollars for contempt, but | was told that his fine would be re- !mmed if he could produce the carcass ‘u[ one dead mosquito to the court. | Immediately following this episode the postal authorities of West Orange iconxrntuhted themselves that their warnings to “Mail Early for Christmas” were being heeded, but most of dle let- ters, they discovered, were goin? either to the judge or to the erstwhile defend- ant, and mosquitoes, big and small, fat and lean, of all varieties, but undeniably who were unable, in the short time that had elapsed since the .trial, to find some- quitoes cheerfully sent in bugs and flies and possibly a few seven-year locusts. Anyway, everybody should bc happy now; the judge has proved his faith in New Jersey—a faith that will probably not even be shaken by the mosquito demonstrations, Scios will get his money back and the people of the State have had much fun in showing the jurist to be optimistic without | iustification. ) New ideas are now boldly cham- | pioned. The hope of getting old John Barleycorn permanently out of politics, | at first expressed in terms of emotion- alism, is taken up as a consideration in practical business life. oo When Mussolini gets through with his plans for a magnificent Italy the world may as well prepare to start with & new Julius Caesar, and study Roman history all over again. Elections are uncertain. One of the great tests of a genuine American statesman is the ability to remain affable when: he is not having his own way. e American spectacular shows are hailed with interest in London, where blackface comedy has always been re- garded as representing the high his- trionic art of the Weslern Hemisphere. e - In spite of modest desires for simple ceremonial, there can be no resentment of a popular wish to welcome a new President to the Nation's Capital. ——eaat— It mey be possible to convince the world that spiteful warfare is as much out of date as rancorous arguments about “witcheraft™ or evolution. One advantage enjoyed by the | Antsrctic explorers is that they find themselves in a domain where there are no present political problems. oo " SHOOTING STARS. i BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Spirit of Santa Claus. Small Boy and Girl, again you pause To ask us, “Who is Santa Claus?” He is the Toiler who enjoys Producing books or clothes or toys. He is the Salesman and the Clerk And the Accountant, hard at work. He is the Motorman who roams While we bring bundles to our homes. He is the Person skilled in Art; He is the Driver of the Cart, ‘Which must know when to Go or Stop; He is the patient Traffic Cop. He is the animating Mind Of deeds all generous and kind. ‘The Saint, as helpful hours go by, Is He and She and You and k. So, smile and have a heart, because ‘There'll always be a Santa Claus! National Need. “You have been a profound student of the country’s needs.” “I have,” answered Senator Sorghum. “And each problem gives the same an- swer., What the country invariably needs is me in an official capacity.” Jud Tunkins says a “Communist” looks to him like ‘a gang man who makes & bomb of gas pipe instead of When ! & The most conceited man in the world {is he who comes into a firm and at- | tempts to tell them how to,run it. There are many varieties bf this prize specimen, but any good example is | typical of them all. 2 The chief characteristic of the tribe is the colossal effrontery which permits a human being to lay down the law on another man's specialty. One might think at first blush that this gentleman was uncommon to a degree., Surely few men could be so conceitdd. Surely there would be something in the internal economy of any one which would serve to check him in his at- tempts to tell some one else what he ought Yo do and how he ought to do it! Yet nothing is more sure than that this is precisely what many a fellow is willing, nay. eager, to attempt. In fact, not a day goes by but some one somewhere somehow does so try, firm in the faith that he knows more, @ result of his daily effort applied over & term of years. * oK K K Just how one can gather the idea that he is the repository of all human knowl- edge it is difficult for any one who has lived longer than 30 years to under- stand.: The high school senior may be for- given his omniscience, since every one knows that he has yet to make valid contacts with the great world. He has lived so far in an academic cloister, hedged in by rules and regula- tions which protect him as well as irk him If he resents certain regulations, nev- ertheless those rules are helping him at the same time. The knowledge with which he is allowed contact strikes him as pretty neat, with himself, as absorber of sald learning, quite the neatest point of the pinnacle of wisdom. Such a boy (or girl) may be forgiven for possessing a slightly elevated idea of their own worth. Time will tone him or her down considerably. The mystery comes. with the man who has been “out in the world” as the phrase has it, for enough years to allow a little sense to be beat into his head. * K % x Recently while visiting a certain es- tablishment we had opportunity to watch the antics of one of these know- it-all persons. The study was interesting and illumi- nating. On one nand, here was a man who had made a life study of a certain subject. He “knew his stuff,” as the boys say. His salary was large, his position im- posing, his work professional. He knew what he ought to know about his work, and he stuck to it. He made no pretense of solving the prob- lems of the universe. His was not the type of mind which is desirous that others shall think it knows it all. * A speclalist, he was willing for others to have speciallies, and he respected them in their labors. One could not imagine him going into another man’s office and offering free suggestions for the running of his busi- ness. ERE ‘The other man of our study was a WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC Undoubtedly* the general pact for renunciation of war will immortalize Frank Billings Kellogg's name in inter- national history. The Secretary of State is preparing to retire next Maych on the laurels therewith associated. He will be 72 years old on December 22, so he’ll probably look upon the ratification of the pact as a very suitable birthday prasent. The Minnesotan's farewell year at the State Department has been un- commonly full of achievement. In addi- tion to the anti-war pact, there stand to his credit the stabilization of our re’ations with Mexico and Nicaragua, and the establishment of sies with Nationalist China. Recognition of the Nauking government, ahead of all ofher forelgn powers, was a bold stroke of American diplomacy, and it was dealt at Kellogg's instigation. Negatively, the Secretary of State looks upon America’s continued boycott of Soviet Russia as the brightest feather in his cap. He has maintained our policy on that score in the face of stubborn opposition, includ- ing the mighty Borah, ER One of the last things Herbert Hoover supervised at the Department of Com- Stars and Stripes. At “Commerce’s” instance, and in co-operation with the War and Navy Departments and the Bureau of Standards, the Commission of Fine Arts has been making investiga- tions about Old Glory. The purpose is to ascertain and establish standards in using & gun. 2 Abandoned Chimney Place. Our heating system seems to be A hindrapce growing greater. ‘Where would old Santa get, if he Climbed through each radiator? © Simple Essentials, “After all,” said the ready-made phi- losopher, “the rewards of each day's Journey in lite are three meals and a restful night.” “That's right,” answered Mr. Chug- | gins. “We can go on cheerfully enough if we are sure of three filling stations and a garage.” “He who thinks he has no faults” the country today. Both made prom- ises that legislation should be enacted. To hold up the program proposed by Mr. Hoover and accepted by the coun- try in a campaign that featured the farm problem would be mere stupidity. It would show the United States Gov- ernment as .entirely -unresponsive ' to the wil] of the people as expressed at the polls. Both Mr. Lowden and the American Farm Bureau Federation take the po- sition that farm legislation should be dealt with in a special session of Con- | gress after Mr. Hoover shall have become President. This, too, is sound. Mr. Hoover will have to administer the laws which are enacted for the farm- ers, and should have a hand In ‘heir meXxing. | | | i - oo o A Communist demonstration selects a spactacular opportunity to create agita- tion witkout going to the intellectual trouble of explaining what it is an about. | o o The New Jersey Optim The crown for the werlds mest optimistie an must be immediately iransferred to New Jersey, for in that State has bzen revealed the optimist of all optimists. Oeccupying the high and exalted position of judge, this new crown wearer has told an amazed people of his belief that there are no mosquiloes In New Jersay in the Winter time. This star- Certain'y one at all familiar | {ling revelation came about in tha follow- ing mannar: Egerio Scios was brought into court charged with burning sulphur candles in basement and annoying the neighborgff ‘Asked by the optimistic Judge what the'candles were for, the de- said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “has a self conceit which must prove the greatest of all faults.” All That Is Asked. The aviator likes to roam ‘Through scenes of icy stress, And If he safely gets back home, ‘The trip is A Success, Absolute Serenity. “I should like to live entirely free from discomfort, with all my wants foreseen.” “I understand,” said Miss Cayenne. “What you desire is to be reincarnated as a goid fish.” | “You sho' will git along fine, son,” sald Uncle Eben, “when you learns to sizes, proportions and”colors of the flag. ‘The object 1s to obtain a blue that sta: blue and does not quickly become black; ani a red that has life; vigor and visi- bility. Also'to prevent variations in the size of the Union, the length of the flag and the width ‘of the stripes—in short, to rescue the national emblem from the hands of “the lowest bidder,” and to fix, at least in flags made for the Government, standards of excellence in all these particulars. A single flag of the new type does not appear different from an individual flag of one of th: many older types. But when the old and the new flags are placed side by side the greater life and carrying power of the new type become obvious. * Kok K One of the Latin American notables who expected to participate in the Pan-American arbitration confetence is missing—Senor Dr. Sanchez A. de Bustamente, Cuba's pre-eminent au- thority on international law. He was' to have headed. the Cuban delegation in Washington, but was taken ill not long ago and could not make the trip to the United States. Dr. Bustamente was chairman of the Sixth Pan-Ameri- can Conference in Havana last Winter. He is one of the judges of the Perma- nent Court of International Justice, better known as the World Court, and is now a colleague of Charles Evans Hughes on that tribunal. The Cuban jurist enjoys great prestige throughout the Latin® American world and has many friendships in the United States, which he had ho to renew in Wash- ington this mont! LR Cedartown, Ga., the little home town of Senator William J. Harris, Demo- crat, of Georgia, claims “Who's Who in America” honors for a community put as much enthusiasm in a day's work s you puts in a night’s crap game.” v it i They Quack Fouder. From the Charleston Daily Mail. Somehow it seems to us that we make far more ado over a few “lame ducks” than over & million or so of other unemployed. A R I That Would Be One. Prom the Port Wayne News-Sentinel. If the Balkans had to walt for four years to have a national crisis, they'd 80 crazier than B Or All Our F; From the Plint Daily Journ: Only & couple of weeks now and we of its size. It proudly boasts that no fewer than six of its offspring have achieved sufficient fame to “make” the national compendium of the great and near great. They include a sextet of Harrises, to wit: Senator Harris, Maj. Gen, Peter Charles Harris, U. 8. A. retired; Prof. James C. Harris, super- intendent of the la School for the Deaf; George S. Harris, president of the Georgia Cotton Manufacturers’ Association; Agnes Ellen Harris, dea of women &t the University of Alabami and Dr. Seale Harvis, president of the Gorgas Hospital, Birmingham, Ala, Senator Harris heightened the prestige of his own distinguished kin by marry- ing the daughter of “Little Joe” Wheeler. * K x K ‘There has just been, graduated- with high honors from the Scl of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, can send those incense burners we got last year to some of our iriend: For lflwll“P. ;t I;::( Prom the Loutsville Times. et;.}'ew in that ‘l‘s antees it to its gradustes. ' i ‘Washington, a Mexican—Antonio Cas- tro Leal—who goes straight from the classroom to become president of the He National University of Mexico. two years ndes D, James Brovn Seott and Dr. ays guar- Service THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. offhand, than the other fellow does as | merce was the standardization of the | FRIDAY, DEC D. €, ot hale-fellow-well-met who had an ax to grind. ‘They always do! Perhaps their pretense to omniscience is & necessary part of their ax grinding. Anyway, this fellow wanted the other to_do something. If the other would do it, he would | be pleased; if he would not, he would be displeased. | As far as he was concerned, there | was no use arguing the matter. Coming into the other’s office with a request to make, he constituted him- self judge and jury, and had won the case in his own mind before it was tried. He was willing to abide by the rules MBER 1 1928, l Scientists Set Watch ! On Elephant’s Child| BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. Naturalists of Germany are flockln[l to Berlin to see a female baby, the first| of its kind for many years to be born within reach of European scientific centers. The baby is an elephant, born | a few days ago to Toal, long & realdem’ of the Berlin zoo. Elephants seldom | breed in captivity, and although a large | herd of the animals has been kept in the Berlin establishment ever since it was founded, this is the first happy | event of the kind to occur Succcs![ully.| ‘Twenty-two years ago another elephant | baby was born there, but died almost at once. The present infant was almost 3 feet long at birth and weighed uo; pounds, already more than the average | full-grown man. The baby's skin is reported to be almost as white and tender as that of a human infant, but | | of his own game: he was anxious that the other should realize that he knew | his own business, but he was not will- | ing that the other should be permitted | to utilize the rules of his own game, | knew his own business. P | When the other told him that he | could not do it, he became indignant. | He denled the other man's knowl- edge, his work of years and his integ- | rity, and set his own judgment up in a strange business as superior to that of the trained man in his own field. The thing would have been laugh- able if it had not been so common and if the results of all such cases did not lead to disappointment and umbrage. Disappointment s something which | business avoids if it can. Those whu:. come should not be allowed to go away | with a *“crow to pick” if it can be helped. Sometimes, however, It can't be| helped. This was such a case. If the man had been seated in his | own office and a guest had come in| and attempted to tell: him the fine | points about his own specialty, he would have been the first to tell him, in polite phrases, that perhaps it would be vltlll if he would first learn something in the | line in which he was attempting to in- | struct a practitioner. Yet he put himself in exactly the | same position with the best will in the | world, seeming not for a minute to| realize that he was committing the very t for which he would have censured | another. * *x kX ‘The attitude of all such persons | to be capable of being sum- ized as follows: have something which I want you | | to do. | “This something means a profit of | some sort to me. “I will, of course, dissemble a bit. “That is always the thing to do. Ife I came right out with it you might suspicion me. “But if I say I don’t want my name used, that ought to throw you clear offt the track. | “What I want you to do seems per- fectly right and equitable to me.. I hope to make you feel the same way | about it. i “If you do, you will show the same fine judgment in your own business | which I already possess in it. “I not only know my own line, but I assure you that in this instance, at least, I know all about yours. “If you do what I want you to, you will be a fine fellow. “If you don't, you are an ass.” OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. not long ago walked off with one of its coveted prizes, that which is bestowed for outstanding work in commercial | policies and treaties. He is 33 years old. | * % ¥ x Out in Wisconsin when they speak of “Old Sol” they don’t mean the sun, It's Sol Levitan, veteran and unbeatadle Republican State treasurer, whom they're referring to. He has just been elected chancellor of the Badger ex- chequer for the fourth or fifth time, r celving the highest vote of any candi date on the State ticket. Levitan gan life in Wisconsin 50 years ago as a peddler. He entered politics about the time the late “Fighting Bob” La Fol- lette did and became one of his trusted lieutenants. Levitan has managed to keep in the good graces of both wings of the Wisconsin G. O. P., which for the past 10 or 12 vears has never thought of electing anybody else as State treas- urer. He has practically a life job. ERE The United States Government's yet- eran “hello girl” has just celebrated a notable anniversary—the completion- of her thirtieth year.in the telephone serv- ice of the Capitol exchange, of which she is now chief operator. Her name is | Mrs. G. Harriott Daley. When Mrs. Daley first began handling congressional conversations in December, 1898, the telephone art was so much in its infancy that when: Senators and Representa- tives wanted to talk they had to stand in line and await their turn at the transmitter. In those days telephones on Capitol Hill numbered three or four dozen. Today there are 1,100 individual “stations,” or telephone connections, and Mrs. Daley presides over a staff of 27 operators. Her specialty in life is tak- ing peins and being a kind boss to a super-loyal corps of co-workers. (Copyright, 1928 e ]-lollTs~ Travel by Auto Cuts Railway Incom From the Chicaso Dally Tribune. . Railroad revenue f{rom passenger | traffic has been seriously cut by the competition of the automobile. It will not be many years before the competi- tion of air lines will be a factor in the railroad’s problem. How serious the factor eventually will become is a mat-| iter of guesswork, but it is not guess- work to suggest that it tan be set farther in the future if the railroads will speed up passenger schedules. Is it not easily practicable to reduce the rail time between Chicago and New York from 20 hours to 16 without dis- proportionate expense or hazard? The moasent schedule involves the loss of half a day each way. A 16-hour sched- ule would mean virtually no loss at all. The time gained, therefore, by aeroplane would not be an important factor in choice of transport, and the advantages of comfort and safety would be on the railroads’ side, at least for some years. Doubtless this is not a pressing con- istage of the development of aviation transport, but it is deserving of more consideration perhaps than it is get- ting. A general improvement in run- ning time of the chief trains would i strengthen the railroads’ position col | petitively. Our time standards are higher than when most of the sched- ules were adopted. It has been more than a quarter century since the fast | New York-Chicago train service was established, yet the time is longer rather than shorter than that adopted a veneration ago. plhitie o0 7 TR Silence Is Golden. From the Muncie Morning Star. | From the Atlanta Journal. | per minute, or nearly 300,000,000 cigar- < fcan troops were in France and certain, cern of railroad policy at this early$ sprinkled all over with short, wirelike hairs; much more hair in proportion !than ‘can be found on the skin of an| {adult elephant. Dr. Lutz Heck. the| | and he would not admic that the other |specialist who presided over the happy | Europe; the black, Africa; jon, reports that potia mother and | baby are doing well. The new young | lady has been christened Helga, and: probably no infant in Germany will| have better care for the next few years. | Biologists look forward to learning while | Helga grows up many facts about ele- phant infancy never before discover- able, for the reason that there have never been any elephant infants to/ watch. i Millions Are Spent | By Smokers Annually| Statistics usually are interesting and more often than not convincing, and there are few things more capable of staggering the imagination than a long row of figures. It frequently is difficult to grasp and fully comprehend their meaning. The most recent statistics is- sued by the Federal Government re- lating to the manufacture, sale and consumption of cigarettes may thus bz described. While they challenge our in- terest they almost paralyze our capac- ity to comprehend. During the year 1927, we are told by the Government, 185,000 cigarettes were lighted each minute of the day and night! And this year the con- sumption promises to register 203,000 ettes every day! It isn't surprising to learn that the use of tobacco in {he form of cigarettes has | multiplied six times since the World War, nor is it difficult to realize that it | won't be long before we are consuming 1.000,000,000 cigarettes a day, provided, of course, the rate of increase continues to mount from year to year. During the current year it is esti- mated that the total production of cigarettes in the United States will ag- gregate 106,000,000,000, and that figure, large as it is, does not begin to approach what the manufacturers term the sat- uration point. There still remain mil- | lions of men, women and children in | the United States who have never smoked. ‘That the popularity of the cigarette dates from the World War is not seri- ously to be disputed. but whether the war itself had anything to do with the increased consumption cannot be defl- nitely stated. More likely than not it was a contributing factor, for certain it is that the actual consumption. mount- ed steadily during the time the Amer- also, is the knowledge that millions and millions of American-made cigarettes were distributed free of cost among the | boys in the' trenches. The manufacturers themselves at-; tribute the popularity of the cigarette to the inherent improvement of the product itself, They say it is manu- factured of better tobacco now than in the years gone by Only the best grades of the mildest tobacco are used in the popular American brands, and to this fact it attributed also the increased smoking by women and.girls. No longer is it necessary to manu- facture specially prepared cigarettes for the fairer sex. Indeed, we are told that women generally object to scented cigarettes, daintily boxed, and prefer the brands smoked by men. There is, in fact, no appreciable means of dis- tinguishing as between the smoking “tastes” of men and women. R P Canada Regards U. S. As Certain Customer From the Toronto Daily Star. The time is steadily approaching, if it is not already here, when the United States must purchase certain of the chief agricultural products of Canada. ‘The demand will be there, and the im- position of high tariffs will but have the effect of increasing the cost of living in that country. When that be- comes the only apparent eifect of a high tariff inst our agricultural products the futility of imposing it may come to be_recognized. Before the present tariff on Canadian cattle was imposed in 1921 this country shipped 247,106 head of gattle into the United States, while for the year ended September 30 last ur shipments num- bered 316,608 head of cattle. In the last year before the tariff was ’incre-ud against our cheese we sold 310,771 pounds to the United States, while during the past year they bought from us 11,513,000 pounds. In milk and cream the purchases of the United States have doubled in spite of a tariff that was expected to'be most prohibitive. The tax of 42 cents a bushel against our wheat was meant to be nearly prohibitive, and the tax | against our four is nearly so, yet while exports of our wheat to that market fell almost to nothing after the tax was put on against it, that market now takes $12,064,577 of Canadian wheat. They need it for its quality, and pres- ently will require it for its quantity and immediate availability S e 1 Safety of Niagara Bridge Is Brought Up From the Bufialo Evening News. The question raised by a special in. vestigating committee of the Niaga! Falls (Ontario) Council as to the sta- bility of the upper bridge at the Falls ought not to go unanswered. - “Your committee feels sure,” says & report to the municipal council, “that the pronounced swaying of the upper bridge at certain times is established as an absolute and indisputable fact. We are of the opinion that this swaying is sufficlently pronounced to indicate that the bridge lacks stability in a eral direction.” Engineers of the Canadian Board of Railway Commissioners some time ago inspected the upper bridge, after com- plaint, and reported thai it was safe. The council, on recommendation of the investigating committee, voted to call on this board, with the Queen Victoria Park Commission, the International Railway Co. and representatives of New York State again to take up the matter, It would be expected that the owners of the bridge would indorse this proposal with the idea of resolving all doubts re- garding the safety of the structure. In any event, the question that is raised cannot well be ignored. It is one of keen public interest, to say nothing of public welfare. There should be a thor- ough Investigation of the bridge by com- petent engineers of the Province of | Since Mr. Hoover can’t talk Spanish, ihe is likely to maintain the best of the I Coolidge conversational traditions. Persona From the Detroit N “Personality” 1is what a tiresome vaudeville actor has when he hasn't anything else. MG AL All in Pun, From the Bellingham Jerald. “It. may be j nmdmmnmé leaders nr;vohl- Ontario and the State of New York, if | not of the governments at Ottawa and Washington. o Preparedness. Prom the Toledo Blade Every base ball club should keep a good supply ef trading stock on hand, in case it might want to acquire the services of Rogers Hornsby. | mitted to the Naval Academy?—V. A. | of the dome. |ing a 22-foot concrete roadway. B aodis BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. The answers to questions printed here each day are specimens picked from the mass of inquiries handled by our great Information Bureau main- tained in Washington, D. C. This valuable service is for the free use of the public. Ask any question of fact you may want to know and you will get an immediate reply. Write plainly, inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return posu’e, and address The Eve- ning Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Q. Please describe the flag of the Olympic games.—S. M. A. The flag used for the Olympic games has an arrangement of five cir- cles on a white or neutral background. The three upper circles, blue, black and red, do not touch, but they are joined by the two lower circles of yellow and green, which in turn do not touch each other. The blue circle represents the red, America; the yellow, Asia, and the | green, Australasia. Q. How tall must boys be to be ad- | A. The height of candidates for ad- mission to Annapolis should not less than 5 feet 2 inches at the age! of 16-years, with an increase of one | inch for each additional year or frac- | tion of a year over one-half. A height | of 6 feet 2 inches is a cause for re- jection. Q. When was the rule passed to the effect that no pitcher who had never thrown a spit ball could pitch one?— | R. P. R A. ‘The spit ball rule was passed De- | cember, 1920. | Q. Who were the millionaires in New York City 100 years ago?—E. R. A. It is recorded that about 1828 John Jacob Astor was the only inhab- itant of New York worth a million’ dol- lars or more. Q. Why is it possible to hear a whis- per or low voice across the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral, London?—J. W. A. Whispering gaileries are generally the result of accident. There are two general types—the focusing and the conducting. The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London is of the second type. A whisper close to and along the smooth concave wall is continually deflected inward upon itself by the wall, is prevented from spreading and is thus conducted with only slightly diminished intensity to the other side The sound, traveling by great circles, concentrates again at the opposite end of the diameter of which the sound is produced. In awarding ribbon prizes, what colors should be used for first, second and third?—H. T. S. A. Ribbon prizes are as follows: Blue, first pri red, second ~ prize; white, third prize. Q. Please describe the Newport News- James River Bridge.—R. McG. A. The bridge is 4'2 miles long, ull;r);!- built on reinforced concrete piles, 4 to the bent, spaced 44 feet apart at the deep-water channel, in which it has 10 deep-water piers. On the pile bents are laid 4 30-inch “I” beams, upon which the roadway is built. The lift span is 300 feet in length with a channel clear- ance of 250 feet and is elevated 147 feet above the water, giving clearance for a majority of the vessels navigating the nwver. The lift span is op- erated by two 40-horsepower electric motors. The actual work on the James River structure was begun last March and the bridge opened for travel on November 17. Iis cost is around ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS | subscribe for in order Q. Which of the Prench aue:gumm is most highly mmni':.v" A. The Croix de Guerre, created for the European war, is geperally re. garded as the most highly prised of the French military decorations. Q. Did Rudyard Kipling ise “The Light That Failed,” giving a happy ending? H. A. 1t is a fact that, under pressure of his reading public, Rudyard Kipling wrote a happy ending for “The Light ‘That Failed.” When Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson produced the play in this country he used the happy ending. Q. What are some of the legitimate reasons that the total vote is mnot cast>—C. D. P. A. A large portion of those not voting do not remain away from the polis either voluntarily or from unworthy motives. Many are debarred by tax qualifications; others are kept away by change of residence shortly before elec- tion; or by reason of their employment (such as sailors, railroad employes, traveling men. students, etc.). More than 300,000 men of voting age are deprived '6f the franchise as insane, paupers, prisoners or deficient in the educational tests. Sickness, accident and infirmities of age account for the absence of thousands. Residents of the Distriet of Columbia, a city of more than 500,000, have no vote. Q. How big- should maple trees be when cui for lumber?—L. A. T. A. They should be at least 15 to 18 inches in diameter. How much stock must a bank to become a member of the Federal Reserve?—E. W. A. For a bank to become a member of the Federal Reserve system it must subscribe to an amount of s.ock equal to 6 per cent of the paid-up capital and | surplus. If a member bank increases | its capital or surplus it must take out a corresponding 6 per cent in stock. The | same rule applies for deerease, and ad- | justments are usually made semi-an- nually. < 3 Q. | _ Q. Please give a short biography of Elizabeth Palmer Peabody—L. V. 5 A. Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, an American educator, was born at Bil- lerica, Mass., in 1804. She was for a time connected with the school of Amos Bronson Alcott, in Boston, of which she wrote an account entitled “A Record of Mr. Alcott’s School,” but later she came under the influence of Friedrich Frobel and was one of the most active in introducing the kindergarten system | into the United States. The educator died in 1894. S Q. Is there gny other sailors’ home simjlar to Sajlors’ Snug Harbor?—L. S. A. An_applicant for admission to Sailors’ Snug Harbor must be an aged, decrepit and wornbut sea-faring man, presenting with his application satis- factory proofs of service on sea-going vessels sailing under the United States flag, and letters of recommendation as | to his character. The only home of similar character is the Sailors’ Home, Quincy, Mass. Q. How is ventriloquism accom- plished?—J. E. L. A. The essen! mechanism of ven- triloquism consists in taking a full brea h, then keeping the muscles of the chest and neck fixed, and speaking with the mouth almost closed and the I and lower jaw as motionless as possib while air is very slowly expired through a narrow glottis. No air must escape $5,000.000. through the nose. A violent murder in connection with the practice of witcheraft or voodooism among a little group of ignorant people in York County, Pa., serves as a grim reminder that ancient superstitions still are widely current and sometimes are not so harmless as may be supposed. The tragedy, declares the Pittsburgh Post-Gagette, “has brought sharply to publi¢ attention an evil which has been Loo lohg tolerated as a joke rather than the menace it is,” and that paper demands “a constructive educational effort” to stamp the thing out. Referring _ to corrective measures adopted in York County, the Cleveland News states that “evidently education’s power will get a crucial test,” and that “the powwow doctors, said to collect fees comparable to those charged by eminent surgeons, will not lose their graft without a struggle.” The Altoona Mirror is convinced that “the churches and the schools need to give adults and children who come under their influ- ence definite and emphatic instruction, emphasizing . the silliness of the belief in_witches and.wizards or any similar delusior ‘The Williamsport. Sun be- lives that, “generally speaking, although there are surprising exceptions, such beliefs are found among those of little education or low mentality.” ok x ¥ “How many of the human race, Sks the Baltimore Evening Sun, however, “are free from a host of superstitions removed from a belief in witch doctors only a little way? We smile and tap our heads in a knowing fashion when we discuss the peculiar rites exposed in Pennsylvania—and then we refuse to light three cigarettes from one match: ve dodge walking under ladders; we carry ‘lucky pieces’; we knock on wood: detour from ‘haunted houses’ at night; we ‘see a pin and pick it up’; and some of us, indeed, ‘cure’ disease with buck: skin thongs, horsehalr rings and ‘rheu- matism strings.’ “For persons of modern. education, remarks the Kansas City Journal-Post, “this story is almost impossible to accept. Yet the superstition shown By the Pennsylvanians differs only degree from the medieval notions held by many_ persons who use automobiles, scientific research. It would not require much effort to find 100 persons Kansas City who believe that a howling dog is an omen of death, that to open an umbrella in the house, pass anything through a window or carry a shovel in- doors brings bad luck. Witches, accord- ing to tradition, were companioned by black cats. Very few persons nowadays are afrald of witches, but many shiver involuntarily when a black cat crosses theéir path.” ‘The influence “of old wives' tales on . childish minds” is held by the Fort| Worth Record-Telegram to be “propor- tionate to the weight given them by the le bearers,” and that paper contends that “so long as we refuse to discard numerous influences on our fates we are not privileged to be unduly critical. Of course,” continues the Record-Telegram, “when it overflows into the realm of murder, we must snap back instantly to enlightenment and law enforcement.” With similar condemnation of some modern belfefs, t| St. Louis Post- Dispatch suggests: “Among those who marvel that such a thing could hap) in the twentieth century are many wh believe that seven years' bad luck fol- lows the breaking of a mirror; that ia] electric lights and other products of | . i | Real Danger in _SuperStitioil : Emphasized by Yoodoo-Murder that it will be & long time before it is completely eradicated.” - “The -processes of standardization,” | according to the Omaha World-Herald, “are reaching out far and fast, but they haven't reached all of us yet. We have come to think of ourselves as one peo- ple, who eat the same breakfast food, grin over the same comic strips, wear the same collars and shoes. read the same books and news dispatches, see the same pictures, engage in the same struggles and aspirations and think the same _second-hand thoughts. * * * But York, with its witches and witcheraft and witch doctors and evil spirits, gives us pause. Nor does this community stand alone. There are many oihers like it. * * * The mem- bers have stayed where their great- great-grandfathers settled, and practi- cally no one has come in to join their happy band. * * * It is a good thing to live on & main-traveled road, where the current of life goes rushing along.” “One of the oldest settlements in the United States,” where “the Continen‘al Congress fled in 1777 when the British were threatening occupation of Phila- delphia,” explains the Huntington Ad- vertiser before concluding, “In such & community, rich in history and tradi- tions and where civilization and en- lightenment ‘established themselves in the early days of the Republic. we still find people believing in witches and practicing voodooism.” Psychiatry Problem In Murder Hearings Prom the Rock Isiand Argus. Hopelessness is at times justified. A ‘case in point is that of the New York high school boy who called upon & ls-lear-old qirl, and, when she tried to kiss him, seized a length of electric cord and proceeded to strangle her to death. It would appear on the face of things that any boy who strangled a girl be- cause she tried to kiss him was very much off mentally. But the district attorney says he will ask for the death penalty, as “the State,” he says, “is not interested in reference to the boy supposed abrormality. He was abso. N:;:y sane. when he committed the It is true that in these days & murderer's first act is to send out a° demand for some psychlatrist’s interpretation was accepted by a jury. ‘The truth is, we are helpless as a nation in the face of mental disturb- ance. Alienists disagree. Who is com- petent to decide?” There are any num- ber of people at large just as danger- ious as this high school boy. They are liable any time to commit some ter- rible deed. In spite of all our scientific advance we are helpless in this crisis. We have no cure—no remedy. The situation i a serious one and full of the greatest possible menace. $550,000,000 Is Saved In Christmas Funds Eight thousand banks in the United States will distribute $550,000,000 to Christmas fund members this year. This wast sum—it would pay the cost of run- ning New York City handsomely a year — be disbursed for all sorts of pur- numbers like ‘13’ and ‘7’ have an extraor- dinary effect on human destiny; that breaking & chicken bone has ling to do with fulfillment of wishes; and| that hairs from a horse’s tall, planted in the rain barrel, will develop into tad- poles or, mayhs akes. And, after all, the weird bel wsbury witcheraft colony are not mueh -more; nonsensical than these.” lexing, be- wildering place,” concedes e Well, First Of—— From the Florence (Ale.) Herald. What us is how Hoover promising to call an ex! “The world is still e Times, with the statement, “The belief in witcheraft was centuries ago when the race was young, and it has never been entirely stamped out. Like l‘l:.‘:ufl flll‘l‘t”h the m‘ m" has pregen 3 deeply poses, from purchase of holiday gifts fo payments on mortgages. Practically all ‘of it goes to small savers. It has been m:tn.ny :/e;ll; by 'eemkwut of in- come without crippling anybody. Regu- larity has made its accumulation a mere_incident of routine. perience n ease of saving in Christmas funas has led many persops to apply the same system to vacation funds. Many who experimented in thrift to make sur: of extra monev for Yuletide on in the suir of tomoric. first lesson method of