Evening Star Newspaper, December 17, 1928, Page 8

v 8 {THE EVENI} STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C MONDAY. ....December 17, 1928 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor " The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: ss Office: t. and Pennsylvania Ave. ice: East +2nd St. Chicazo Office: Tower Building. European Office; 14 Rerent St.. London. England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. ‘The Evening Star... .........45c per month ‘The Evening and Sunday Star hen 4 Sundays) .60c per month ..65¢ per month The Sunday Star . . 5c per ccpy Collection made at’ the end of each monta. Orders may be sent In by malil cr telephone Main 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. mo.. 85¢ 1 yr..$1000: 1 7. '$6.00; 1 mo.. £0c L $4.00; 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday..l yr. $12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 Daily only . "1yr, $8.00; 1 mo. 75 Bunday only ......[1 yr, £5.00; 1 mo.. 30c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively (ntitled o the use for republication of all rowe dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the local rews published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. i Dail Bun; Theodore E. Burton. i Theodore E. Burton of Ohlo is again | a Senator of the United States. Few men have served so long or so ably in the National Legislature. Senator Bur- ton was elected to the House for the first time in 1888, forty years ago. He was a member of the Senate, after distinguishing himself in the House, from 1999 to 1915, when he voluntarily gave up his s2at and went back to the practice of law. He was prevailed upon to enter public life again m 1920 and was elected to the House to represent the twenty-second congressionel dis- trict. On Saturday he came from the House wing of the Capitol to take his oath of office as Senator, filling the vacancy created by the death of the late Senator Frank B. Willis. Another distinguished resident of Ohio, Orville Wright, was introduced to the Senate by Vice President Dawes immediately after Senator Burton had been sworn in. As the Senators filed by Mr. Wright and the Vice President they halted to welcome the recently elected Senator from Ohio. In effect, the reception turned into a joint affair, with the Senate doing honor to Mr. Burton as well 2s to Mr. Wright—honor which it was clearly glad to pay. Senator Burton is a man of many interests in public affairs. While he ‘was a member of the House he was a _foremost supporter of the development of the: inland waterways. He became a recognized authority on the subject. He has been intensely interested in in- ternational affairs, particularly ih move- ments to make permanent international peace. He has served for many years as a member of the Interparliamentary Union, whose purpose is to better re- lations between the nations. He has been a member of the World War Debt Funding Commission of this country, appointed to the commission by the late President Harding. The Senator from Ohio was one of the members of the House early to es- pouse the cause of Herbert Hoover in the pre-convention campaign for the Republican nomination for President. He broke with Senator Willis, himself 2 candidate for the nomination, and campaigned vigorously and cffectively for Mr. Hoover in the Ohio primary last Spring and was himself elected as & Hoover delegate at large to the Re- publican national convention. The vic- tory of the Hoover forces in Ohio, led by Senator Burton, marked a turning point in the campaign of the President- elect for the Republican nomination. Had Mr. Hoover lost in the Ohio presi- « dential primary he might still pave won the nomination, but the task would have been more diffieult. Intellectually and in debate, Senator Burion has few equals in Congress to- day. But his kindliness and patience are qualities that have gone es far as his ability in winning the Ohio Senator a high place among his colleagues. ———eee— A young woman of Washington, D. C., Miss Hazel Arth; wins high honor in a radio contest to award prizes and schol- arships. The radio has promoted a great deal of jazz. It has also demon- strated that America may depend on its own resources for musical talent. —ee— Homicide mysteries have become so common that the reading public turns for relief to the changes in politics and the excitements of the stock market. So-called “human interest” has been ' overworked. ——————— Underworld activities enable the man ‘with a gun to assert himself with less poetry but more influence than the man | with the hoe. Federal Tax Receipts. ‘The Treasury report on taxes paid | during the last fiscal year shows, as might be expected, that New York State | led all the rest in the total paid. In-| deed, the Empire State turned in 26.99 per cent of the total for the country. Pennsylvania came second, and third place went to one of the States of the South, North Carolina. The heavy taxes of the Tar Heel State were due to its payments on tobacco manufactures. The tobacco taxes reached s new high record for a year, about $20,000,000 more than ever before. ‘The District of Columbia did its full share toward the support of the Gov- emment, as indicated in the total which it paid into the Treasury in taxes— $16,360,74595 in Income taxes and $824,708.16 in miscellaneous taxes. The per capita tax in the District was $31.13. ‘The Federal District paid in more taxes to the Government than did twenty-six of the States. New York's total Federal tax was $753,185,023.14, of which about $646,- 000,000 were from income taxes. Penn- sylvania's contribution reached in round numbers $246,741,000 and North Caro- lina’s $225,314,000. In North Carolina, however, the income tax returns reached only about $20,000,000, while the mis- cellaneous taxes paid by that State, in- cluding the tobacco taxes, reached the large sum of $204,000,000. The Treasury report showed there had been a decline in the total income tax paid amounting to about $45,000,000, or two per cent of the whole. Substal tial increases have been made in temp eollections during 1923, howevaly THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €, MONDAY, DECEMBER 17" 1928. indicating prosperous business activity in the country. The total receipts from all sources for the fiscal year 1928 were given as $2,790,535,537.68, as compared to $2.- 865,683,120.91 for the year 1927. Reduc- tions in tax rates and the elimination of some forms of {:=~'in had its in- fluence on the total. Lu' the fact that {tax receipts have remained high and approximately as great as those with higher rate of taxation shows that the volume of business and prcsperity has been remarkable. Millions Take the Air. Skyward the star of financial empire takes its course. A great one- hundred-and-fifty-million-dollar mer- ger in aircraft and air transport is Wall Street's latest achievement. Un- der the forthcoming title of the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation it will bring @nder one control and gen- eral management a group of the coun- try’s leading manufacturers of air- cooled motors, observation planes and commercial flying machines, as well as a company which is playing a major role in the development of civilian aviation on the Pacific Coast. When it is added that the National City Bank, the Standard Oil Co. the Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corporation will be represented on the bcard of di- rectors of the combination it will be ap- parent that high finance is about to take a real fiyer. Neither in America nor anywhere else in the world has there ever been a consolidation of aviation interests comparable with this huge merger. It is born at an appropriate moment. Twenty-five years ago Wilbur and Or- ville Wright ascended from the barren sand drgies at Kitty Hawk, N. C,, and flew into immortality. The world’s air leady's are assembled there this day to com:hmorate that epochal achieve- ment. The one-hundred-and-fifty- million-dollar consolidation is as- toundingly tangilie evidence that the airplane has ceased to be an experi- ment and vaulteigyy‘o the dizzy heights which keen-mindeu men of money sel- dom attempt to scale except in a spirit of srgene confidence. Col. Lindbergh_expressed the opinion in Washingtan last week that the over- whelmingly 3zeponderant problem in the fleld of wivilian aviation is the air- port. Washington faces that problem at the present moment. It is unthinkable , that it can long remain unsolved. If there is any single community in the Union which should be equipped with mcdel aviation facilities it is the Na- tional Capital. The imposing aggrega- tion of brains and financial brawn, just ! tradition, speech is uttered at its purest She can console herself, though, by con- tention that she does not use “Ameri- can” but pure “English.” Also it may be whispered by eavious losers, if any— for by no means every section is anxious to be distinguished as the home of the American language—that no group of Columbia undergraduates is capable of judging properly. Her students are too largely from Manhattan and adjacent boroughs and, unless hand-picked, have ears entirely too deaf to those liberties with final R's and those misconceptions of the true sound of certain syllables which transform what we know as a burglar into a “boigla.” Such liberties are by no means confined to the Lower East Side. r———— Flowery Family Trees. In the upper right-hand corner of this page Frederic J. Haskin, by means of questions and answers, conducts a daily compendium of general informa- ion which is a widely read and highly valucd feature of The Star. Therein a day or two ago he presented the inter- esting information that between the years 1717 and 1775 no fewer than 40,000 convicts were sent to the Amer- ican colonies by British prison authori- ties. Their terms were thereby ma- terially shortened if not entirely can- celed and the various colonies thus pop- ulated with persons many of whom needed but a new chance to make some- thing out of their lives, and most of whom were more than ready to defend their new homes against aggression either by Indians or the colonists of rival European powers. In addition to these actual conviets there were thousands of “redemption- ers,” unfortunates who sold themselves for a term of years into a mild form of industrial bondage, upon whose ex- piration they were their own men once more, ready and willing to embrace the numberless opportunities afforded by the new world about them. Many other men also started the voyage about one jump ahead of a sheriff, & constable or @ bailiff, and made good on the west- ern shore. The curious thing about it all is that, apparently, none of these people ever merried or had progeny— at least it seems impossible to find any one living in the United States today who was descended from them. One is likely to be somewhat sympa~ the Southern States, who enjoy and emphasize a certain degree of luster in their ancestry. It is nice to be descend- ed entirely from nobility or gentry, even impecunious and lazy younger sons who found England unfertile for their talents if not positively dangerous. brought together in New York for gen- eral aviation development, is bound in & spirit of enlightened self-interest to glve prompt attention to the basic ques- tion of airports. ———— A Century of Webster. A century ago Noah Webster's diction- ary was published. The compilation of this dictionary was a great accomplish- ment. Webster’s Dictionary has in all this hundred years been an authority to which educators, judges, clergymen, have turned to aid them in their teaching, their decisions and their preaching. Webster has been called a “porn definer of words” by Sir James Murray, who began the new English Dictionary which has been completed during this year. Noah Webster was a graduate of Yale. His alma mater has gathered manu- scripts covering the literary activities of her son and has them displayed in the university library, a proper tribute to one who did much to aid in the preser- vation of the purity of the language of the Nation, despite the great inflow of mother tongues of their fatherlands. ‘There have been later and larger dic- tionaries, Webster’s contained seventy thousand words and their definitions, but none have been more important or influential on the life of the country. ‘Webster was the son of a poor Con- necticut farmer, who mortgaged his farm to send his boy through Yale College. Never was a mortgage placed for’a more worthy cause, as the event has proved. It required years of study on the part of Mr. Webster to develop the work which has won for him the title of the greatest of American lexicog- raphers. The dictionaries that had been produced in earlier days contained but thirty thousand and fifty-eight thou. sand words. The English language, which developed through centuries in the British Isles, with changes and modifications due to the periodic incursions of foreign conquerors, is now spoken in every part of the world. It is the language of the United States. ‘The English-speaking nations owe a real debt of gratitude to this New England scholar who gave years of his life to perfecting the dictionary. ————————————— Everybody desires peace. The his- toric question so frequently raised re- lates to whether peaceful methods will suffice to secure it. — e Another Pennant for St. Louis. Columbia University students to the oumber of & hundred, together with a Barnard professor, were the judges at a recent exposition of twenty varieties of American speech delivered to their ears by means of phonographic records. Their verdict was to the effect that the speech of St. Louls comes nearer being “The American Language” than any other. Those in the hall heard a score of | records wanging from the North country twang to the slurring drawl of the far South amd including the rolling R's of the West, the nasal sing-song of the vicinity of the City of Brotherly Love and the broad A's and other meticu- losities of ‘the region of the Sacred Codfish. Probably the verdict in favor of the Mound City was a fair one. She stands more or less on the border lines between East and West and North and South and possibly her citizens are as un- identifiable as any by means of thelr speech. We who live In the National Capital may think that the average language used by those who have been here for some time comes pretty near being the best and most typical of the United States, inasmuch as almost every section of the country is represented. Perhaps, however, we do not talk nearly enough alike for any District resident or group of residents to be selected to make the desired record. This will perhaps be a blow to Boston, where, according to calm claim and long aliens who brought with them the} On the other hand, it would be refresh- ing some day to read of the death or the marriage or the promotion of a sood, successful American who frank- ly and proudly admitted that his first American ancestor was Will Cutpurse, who so successfully responded to the new atmosphere and fresh opportunities in which he found himself that he be- came an honest artisan® married the daughter of Robin Rattan, the overseer, cleared a large slice of likely land and raised a family of a baker's dozen of husky sons and buxom daughters. ————— Paper is being made of cornstalks. The farmer must patiently consider a’ new disadvantage if the silo is to be depleted for the benefit of literature. et A small country is too often likely to regard its independence related to the privilege of disregarding advice and conducting a small war of its own. e Energetic demonstrations in govern- mental circles indicate that there are a number of fighting cocks among the so- called “lame ducks.” ———————— ‘While respected as a benevolent saint, Santa Claus is also recognized as the original high-power salesman. SHOOTING STARS, BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Modern Improvement. Old Santa Claus is not concerned With reindeer and a sleigh. His plans for journeying have turned ‘To methods of today. In recent years when, from afar, Among us he would pass, He got himself a motor car And stepped upon the gas. And now he makes a change again, As holidays draw near; He hastens in an aeroplane ‘To bring us Christmas cheer. And where the little chimney place ‘Was joyously revealed, He wants broad acreage of space ‘To make a landing field. Spelibinding. “You have held many audiences spell- bound!" “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum. “But I didn’t seem able to keep every- body well hypnotized after they got into the voting booths.” Jud Tunkins says he wants farm re- lief. He's tired of paying restaurant prices when he goes to town for a to- mato that didn’t bring him two cents, Unlimited Versatillty. The radio announcers need Accomplishments which all should heed. Music and art they must recall, And pugilism and base ball. Political Dominance. “Are you still strong for the idea of votes for women?" “Of course,” answered Miss Cayenne, “But I don’'t quite favor the growing idea that we should eventually go so far as to make the question of votes for men an issue.” “Let us reverence the wisdom of the past,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “without failing in respect for the new wisdom that has replaced kite- fiying with aviation.” Acquired Taste. Some orators like olives seem, As new ideas strike ‘em. At first they sometimes spoil a dream. You've got to learn to like ‘em. “A sermon intended to wake de mem- bers of de congregation up,” sald Uncle Eben, “has to be well managed 59's not to end by puttin’ ‘em to sleep.” ——rat— Naturally He Did. rrom the Sioux City Tribune, We hasten to remark*that Presi- dent-elect Hoover receivéd a warm weleome in Chile. thetic with the moderns, especially in | (- Two friends got into a hot argument the other day as to the King of England at the time of the American Revo- lution. One said he was George I and the other was equally sure that he was George IL - “He was George L said one. ‘That doesn’t scund right to me, replied the other. “I think he was George I1.” As a matter of fact, the King of England at the time of the Revolution was George III. Yet the argument went right straight along, as arguments usually do, with neither person convincing the other. The interesting thing was, not that the proper King was either one, two or three, but that it is so easy to get historical names, dates and places con- fused. ‘The disputants in the case instanced were cultured men who theoretically ought to have known without a mo- ment's hesitation the exact King of England during the period under dis- cussion. Both knew 20 years ago. * k. % x Some persons are good, as the ver- nacular has it, at remembering precisely names and dates. Occasionally one meets a person who prides himself cn his ability to name the kings of England in their chrono- logical order. Once we knew a man who had by heart the entire family tree of the royal families of England. He was an authority on the subject. He was a 'ittle man, ithout preten- slon to good appearance, who somehow as a youngster had become enthralled with the subject of kingship. He could tell you intimate details about the lives of the kings, and was as thoroughly familiar with the cousins his own family. To get into an argument with his 1 any point of English history was to court defeat before the debate began. There are some who specialize on Scotch_history. They can tell you all about Mery, or give the precise outline of battles on the border, or tell about Bruce. * ok ok % Most people, however, dates, battles, etc., rather confused as the years go by. The study of history, while perhaps enjoyed by most students, is a branch of knowledge which the average person does not 'keep in touch with when he does that curious thing known as grow- ing up. In adult life, if he is honest with himself, he finds he is not sure about any of the historical facts which once ere his. i v!hen did Columbus discover Amer- ca? How many over 30 can pop up in- stantly with the correct date? Bo it goes all along the line. Even if one has read H. G. Wells' monu- mental “Outline,” he still finds himself confused as to exact names, precise dates, actual sequences of events. * X % X Not being able to remember, he will question the value of such exact in- formation, and often will come to the pleasing conclusion that exactitude in sllxcll’is 'xjnau.ers is desirable only for spe- clalists. WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC Herbert Hoover is maintaining so masterly a silence about the make-up tion have almost run dry. Nevertheless, a reverie by an uncommonly astute Re- publican politician, who may himself come within Hoover's ken, is not with- out interest. In his opinion, the chief engineer’s working staff will be nicely balanced as between East and West. Dividing the country into the two sec- tions, respectively, west and east of the Mississippi, the diagnostician in ques- tion opines that the State, Navy, In- terior, Agriculture and Commerce port- folios will go West, and that the War, Treasury, Justice, Post Office and Easterners.’ The State and Navy pori- folios willgo West (by Souih), the G. O. P. leader thinks, because Hoover's international “orientation” will cause with an eye to Latin America and the Far East. As trade heads in the same directions, the Commerce Department (argues said dopester) will probably be intrusted to a Westerner or South- westerner. Interior and Agriculture portfolios go West by tradition. The other half of the cabinet is allocated to the East (by South) because of its economic power, except the Secretary- ship of War, which balances the West- ern naval portfolio. tR A Virginla ham, of distinguished origin, had the honor the other day of being flown to Washington from Rich- mond by Col. Lindbergh. “Lindy” and Harry F. Guggenheim had been hunting and week-ending with Gov. Byrd of the Old Dominion. In order that they might have emergency rations en route to ‘Washington, the governor bestowed upon the flyers a ham cured to the gubernatorial taste. Lindbergh and Guggenheim waited to carve it till they were safely settled in their Washington hotel apartment. There, for several mornings, it served as piece de resistance at private breakfast. parties. * ok Kk ok shortly begin before the foreign affairs committee of the House of Representativ the first hearings on Chairman Porter's bill dealing with simplification of the calendar. This is the revolu- tionary project sponsored by George tman of Rochester, N. Y. The bill ‘There will Easf refiuests the President to propose the calling of an international conference, for consideration of revision of the present time-enumeration system into a year, comprising 13 months of 28 ays each. The total works out 364 days. The 365th day would be “an extra Sabbath” inserted between December 28 and January 1. The Pan-American Con- ference at Havana last February ado) ed a resolution favoring the “Interna. tional Fixed Calendar,” for which a considerable public sentiment has been developed in the ‘United States. Mr. Eastman is expected to take the stand before the foreign affairs committee and plead the efficacy of his choronological reform. * kK K ‘The terrifying effect of referring to short sessions of Congress as “lame duck” sessions is revealed by the fol- lowing communication just received by Representative Florence P. Kahn, Re- publican, of California, from New York City: “We women are interested in an honest and uncompromising bill to control poultry traffic. We want better and cleaner poultry. We are willing to pay more for it, but we want clean poultry and do not in- tend to eat what is now on the mar- ket. All of our friends are going to do the same. What are you going to do about this lame duck bill and about getting us better poultry? We certainly are not going to let our children eat these diseased birds, Hoping you will do something about this lame duck bill, I am, etc.” * ok kK This broadcasting observer has just survived an experience which indicates the desirability of diagramming political wi . Recently, in a radio review of the situation in Washington, he mentioned the nickname a certain witty Republican has given to the ‘amateurs” who are thick as fleas in Hoover's, The G. and the aunts as if they had beer i- it must be| confessed, find their memory of names, | of his cabinet that the wells of specula- | Labor departments will be headed by | him to order our foreign policy largely | S A R THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Perhaps it is better to have the “feel” of a period than to be able to reel off |the dates of the succession of rulers. |No doubt it is more helpful to under- stand the history of man's mind than to be well informed on sporadic battles between two particular nations. In the final analysis it may be con- cluded that both phases of historical | remembrance complement each other, |and that he who is able to be precise las well as to understand the gist of | periods is better off than either he who knows dates alone or knows general slants alone. History remains one of the) great studies. kind is. what accounts for history as we know the term today. The history of mankind has been wrapped up in the history of the na- tions. To piece the fragments together |and to make an integral whole of them |is what Mr. Wells atiempted to do. Before Wells did it, however, every | schoolboy who ever studied history tried |to do it in his own mind. His efforts |may have been futile. He may have |given up the task almost before he be- |gan it. | Yet nothing is surer than that the |average student i. high school or col- | lege attempts to make for himself some {approach to a rationalization of na- tional histories. In this process he is helped by col- |lateral reading, if he will take the ad- |vice of the teacher and the lists of | books at the end of the chapter. * Kk Kk Today biography, ever the hand- | maiden of history, has been turning ouj conceptions of history inside out an upside down. Where once biography \wu a dull, interest-lacking thing, now it becomes as readable as a romance, the equal to fiction. There is some danger in this. Men and women who never wrote before are |leaping into bocks at an enormous pace | with accounts of men and women of unusual temperaments or capabilities. One cannot help having a suspicion that too many of the nresent-day biog- raphies are frothy, not only in the actual accounts of lives, but even more in their selection of subjects. Life has been combed for thrills, and | great umstaans, w8 vell as great men, get #ueir histories told in fat volumes witt, startling jackets at $5 per shot, Too often the slant of the writer upon his subject is essentially lacking in common sense. We may have “So- and-So, the Man,” only to find that the real man is not presented to us at all, but only his foibles. 4 ‘The great mass of honest work turned out during a long lifetime by the sub- Ject of the memoir takes fourth place In the estimation of the biographer, who insists on telling us what his hero ate ‘(cor dinner instead of how he did his work. Between such short-sighted and ephem- eral works and the stuffy biographies of the older days stands such a schol- arly work as the late Albert J. Bever- idge’s “Lincoln,” in which much of the modern manner is tempered with old- fashioned common sense. History, whether one remembers dates or not, and whether he takes it in the form of straight history or enter- taining biography, will remain one of man'’s favorite readings as long as man- kind stays as versatile, as entertaining and as foolish as it has always been. OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. boy scouts.” The phrase had not been sent spihning along the wave lengths many hours before an irate letter ar- rived from a scoutmaster in a Mid- western State. “I demand the name of the Republican leader you quoted on the air last night,” he wrote. “If you don’t care to give it, I request that you tell him that he has insulted 800,000 of the finest young men in America by usurping their name for an ironical epithet.” *oK Kk If anybody wants to know what it's all about at the Pan-American Union these days, where delegates from 20 American republics are fashioning amid war a plan for peace in the Western Hemisphere, a nugget of information is here conveyed. It's an extract from of Panama at Washington and chair- man of his country’s delegation at the conference: _“We must here debate, and, if pos~ sible, agree upon, the general prin- ciple that we must always decide by arbitration the quesion of whether a controversy is or I not comprised within the limitations put upon the treaty. It is unquestionable that if the signatory nations reserve the power to say that such and stich controversies come within the ex- ceptions of the pact and are not subject to arbitral decislon—then we will have disguised under the name of obligatory arbitration what in t1;!C(.‘Wuuld be only optional arbitra- on.” That is what may be.called the milk in the pan-American arbitration co- conut. * K ok % Mrs. Herbert Hoover, as Pirst Lady of the Lard, will, of course, be a com- plete novelty in respect of the unique background she will take into the White House. What is less generally known about her is that she will be the only President’s wife who was ever under gun fire. It happened during the Boxer rebellion at Peking in 1900. Hoover, then engineering in China, had a house in the foreign compound near the American legation. The "region for many hours was raked by Boxer fire. A couple of American friends, drop- ping in to see if Mrs. Hoover had found a retreat for safety, were astonished to discover her, in the midst of shrieking shells overhead, calmly playing solitaire in her living room. Presently a can- nonade sent the house to rocking and Mrs. Hoover’s playing cards were tum- bled to the fioor. The fire kept up and while it did so the American wom- an proceeded, unabashed, to pick up the cards, set up the fallen table and resume her game. (Copyright, 1921 —_——ee— Danville, Va., Creates Counselor’s Office From the Baltimore Evening Sun. Danville, Va., has a novel idea, as iideas go in municipalities. It seeks to retain to its advantage the knowledge and experience gained by a public servant through long years of identifi- cation with the city's affairs. To that end it created the office of counselor for one Frank Talbott, who for more than 30 years has held a place in Dan- jville's administration. As counselor | he receives a salary of $5,000 a year. At this distance it is impossible to know all the circumstances surround- ing this action, but on the face of it the conclusions to be drawn are highly creditable to Mr. Talbott. Apparently his 30 years spent in the public service have established for him an enviable reputation ‘among his fellow citizens. It must be so if they still think, after so | long a time, it is advisable, if not neces- sary, to ask Frank what had best be done about a little -more money for the school, or the police, or the street clean- ing department. It isn't for nothing that a man is made past Trlnd master, 50 to speak, of a municipal government. He is to be congratulated. . 8o is Danville. It is no small thing to have a man identified with a munici- pal administration in whom the publie has so high a degree of confildence. To have had him so identified for 30 years is a matvelous strol young. And the] Danvillet . | Out of it has come what man- | The progress of natlons is| the speech of Dr. R. J. Alfaro, Minister | all +|and standard of living, say the experts, |are more than justified. of good fortune.|to Sitbto daviight least, they are a Ways of Starlings Told by Observer To the Editor of The Star: Sir: Replying to Fay B. McConkey's suggestion relative to harvesting the seed pods on the sycamore trees as a means | of disposing of the starlings on the| Avenue, I wish to say, in the first| place, said seed pods do not constitute the attraction for these birds. The writer has closely observed these birds since they first made their ap- pearance in this city about five years ago, with the following conclusions: During the warm months they are dis- tributed around the rural districts, cov- ering a radius of about 60 miles; they | hatch out about three broods of young | ; season, each brood containing about| our. During these Summer seasons they | stick pretty close to their nesting places. Unless one is familiar with his mot- | tled plumage, short tail and strong yellow bill, he can easily be mistaken for the common blackbird. When the nights grow cold the starlings come into the city to roost. In the sycamore trees? Bless you, no! He leaves the trees for his cousin, the English sparrow, and it is the ar-| guments between the sparrows and | the starlings that cause so much| chirping and twanging just at dusk. The sparrow, who has been on the scene a number of years, long ago elected the sycamore tree as his roost, | but when Mr. Starling selected this; city to bunk in he preferred projec- tions on buildings such as cornices, ledges and window caps. Then it was that the envious and fussy little cousin said, “Me, too, for the warm side of the building,” but Cousin English Starling replied, “Not if T see you first,” with the result that just as much of | Mr. Sparrow as he trled to lodge on a projeztion did Mr. Starling hurl off in no uncertain fashion. Every late afternoon at this time of the year this contest wages, and when darkness settles all of the sparrows| who have failed to conceal themselves | on some auilding will be found roosting in the sycamore trees. The starlin<s are voracious bug eaters. With thes grong bills they go for larvae ane gn\vs, and in that way help the farmer, as well as forest growths and shade trees. They are the mast clannish birds we have, or possibly tha most envious. For instance, on one oceasion last Winter the writer noticed tha’ while the build- ing formerly occupied Wy the General Land Office at Seventh and F streets was covered with these birds there was not one bird on the Patent Office just across the street, although the build- ings are quite similar in appearance, but had one bird ventured across the street a deluge would have followed. If the casual observer in Wasuington has not noticed these birds it will be worth his while to raise his ets any late afternoon and see the cluds of starlings funneling down fr)m the azure blue to the Earle Bulding or some one of the many buildings be- tween Fifteenth street northwest and the Capitol. W. J. CONLYN. R Prince Is Punished For Leaving Land Idle From the Chicago Daily Tribune. Crowded Italy has punished a prince for leaving his land idle. Empty America might discipline a man for working his land too hard. The land balance here is high, with more land than men. There it is low, with more men_than land, and no one can adjust it. For 42,000,000 people Italy has 33,- 000,000 acres of plow land. For 110,- 000,000 people the United States has 391,000,000 acres of plow land. Pasture lands, forest lands, relative fertilities add to America’s proportion, and from an overwealth of acres of good earth America suffers, as Italy suffers, from deficiency. A welcome fault, no doubt, for time is always on the side of surplus land. But the bitter contrast still is there. Italy is poor. She cannot buy abroad the food that she may need. America is rich, but needs little from abroad that land produces. Per man, Italy, with her hand labor, can produce barely enough food to feed her many laborers. Per man, America, with her machine labor, can produce far more than her few laborers can consume. In poor Italy the prices of farm products surely must go up. In rich America those prices fall. Impoverished by surplus, the American farm family's reward for a year of labor and management is only $648. Depressed and driven by defi- clency, the Italian peasant barely keeps ive. | Emigration to America, says the Ital- | ian, should be the answer. But emigra- tion helps none but the few who emi- grate. To its old level of population Italy would promptly come again. And in America would be a lower living standard and new workings on the land to increase the farm surplus. Further competition will not help the American farmer. It will ruin him. And if America hopes to keep a rural popula- tion, an agrarian independence, a sturdy country stock, work must be done to solve the farw.’s production problem. Improved methods may help. Cheaper land may help. Superpower and the decentralization of industry may help. Tariff may help. Farmer organizations may help. Boosting a market for the surplus crop may help. There is this and that solution lying in the states- man’s laboratory—some are legislative, some are industrial, some trust to the course of nature. But the first problem is the working land. It works too hard. It builds more into crops than we can use. And when America learns to use her lands pro- ductively for, other than the routine crops of fodder, food and clothing fibers the farm problem will move along well toward a solution. Forests to grow and regrow on our soils are an undoubted need. Rubber, tea, may yet have possi- bilities. Parks and preserves, swamps for flood control, are public ways of taking land from crop production that Golf clubs, shooting grounds, landing flelds, add their little bit. It deserves a thorough study. To find productive uses for the land aside from crops is a complex problem that may have great results. —— e Cotton Estimates’ Accuracy Doubted From the Charlotte News. Those who are foolish enough to try to make an appraisement of the South's cotton crop by what is produced in Mecklenburg County cannot, of course, understand hew in the world the Gov- ernment managed to find the prospect for the production this year of more than 14,000,000 bales. That estimate, as a matter of fact, is somewhat startling to those who thought that they had something of a Hothewida grasp on the cotton situa- tion, and while the crop may turn out to be somewhat under the Government's estimate, it is nevertheless, a fact that in some parts of the South a really fine yield has been harvested this Fall. Down in South Carolina, for example —at least, in some parts of the State— we saw evidences in September that a fine yleld was in prospect and we are now being told by the Greenville News that in Greenville County the biggest crop since 1924 has been made this year. So it is in parts of North Carolina, but in more limited fashion. South Carolina managed to get its cotton in the ground in the Spring earlier than usual and that amounted to a great deal in the long run. 1t enabled the planters to keep ahead of the boll weevil wnéch set in disastrously in September and virtually consumed all of the top crop in this part of the couniry. But we should not envy South Caro- lina its good fortune. It has been up against a succession of crop failures that have 'left the agricults Interests | BY FREDERI Stop a minute and think about this fact: You can ask our Information Bureau any question of fact and get the answer back in a personal letter. It is a great educational idea intro- ligent people in the world—American newspaper readers. It is a part of that best purpose of a newspaper—service. There is no charge except 2 cents, in coin or stamps, for return postage. the habit of asking questions. Address your letter to The Evening Star Infor- mation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, di- rector, Washington, D. C. Q What is the average number of tie games in rolling duck pins?—H. T.S. A. The National Duck Pin Associa- tion says that the average number of tie games is 2 in every 200 games. Q. What is lapis lazuli>—W. L. B. A. Lapis lazull is a stone whose characteristic color is a rich azure blue, occurring usually in small, rounded masses and frequently showing spangles of iron pyrites. Lapis lazuli is prob- ably the sapphire of the ancients. and is still much valued for ornamental pur- poses. Q. How many kinds of dates are there?—N. E. G. A. More than 1,000 different kinds of dates are known to the Arabs, but from 10 to 15 have proved commer- cially profitable in the United States. in the world per capita?>—A. N. T. for 1928 is 1900,000,000. There are 28,700,000 motor vehicles in operation, or one car for every 64 persons. The United States hos more machines per capita than any other country. The ratio is one car for every five persons. In Abyssinia there is only one automo- bile for every 91,743 inhabitants. a canal across the Isthmus?—G. W. A. It is recorded that the French lost altogether 22,189 men during the nine years’ work on the Panama Canal. are in co-educational schools?—M. G. in American elementary schools are in co-educational institutions. Q. Who has the direction of the foreign affairs of the United States?— K. A. The Secretary of State is charged, under the directions of the President, with negotiation of whatever character relating to the foreign affairs of the United States. . Who erected Perry's memorial>—B. S. A. This memorial, at Put in Bay, Ohio, was erected by the United States Government and the States of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wis- consin, New York, Rhode Island, Ken- tucky and Massachusetts, commemorat- ing the battle of Lake Erie, September 13, 1813. It is 352 feet high, and cost more than a million dollars. Q. How many cathedral magazines are there?—W. W. A. It is thought that the Cathedral Age, published by the Washington Clnthedml. is the only magazine of the kind. Q. Why shouldn’t lake shore pebbles victory duced into the lives of the most intel- | Get | Q How many automobiles are there | A. The estimated world population | Q. How many Frenchmen died in| Panama in De Lesseps’ attempt to buxld: Q. What percentage of school children | A. Today 96 per cent of the pupils| ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS C ). HASKIN. and boulders be | place?—M. E. D | A. The Bureau of Standards says in regard to the use of lake shore pebbles or boulders in fireplaces there are cer- tain types of stone which should not be placed where they will receive an inten- sity of heat. Thz firebox should be {lined with firebrick, but many types of stcne may be used in the facing and arch, where the heat is not great. Granite or quartz rock is usually the least resistant to heat, and may be cracked if placed where the fire may reach them. Sandstone, limestone or quartzite will withstand cons heat without cra Q. In colonial da; servants good labore D A. Writing on_this theme, C. M. Andrews says, “There is no doubt that indentured servants in general made very poor laborers.” used in building a fire- derable were indentured —P. D. ‘Who introduced the sugar indus- try into the Philippines?—FP. W. A. Sugar cane has been grown in the Philippine Islands since tim> immemo- rial, but it is considered probable that the sugar industry was introduced by the Chinese, since many of the early implements used came from China. Q. Who holds the record writing for onz hour?>—H. S. A. Albert Tangora won the world | championship at Sacramento, Calif., on September 29, 1928, writing at the rate of 132 net words per minute for one hour. In this contest every five strokes made by the operator when writing was counted as a word. T has been the case each year since 1924, roke record made for type- P. Mr. “Ta net words minute for one hour in the 1923 cc | test, counting words rather than s On the basis of fivi Mr. Tangora's record in that year i have been practically the same as that made by him this year. Q. How many scientists docs Government employ under eivil service? —G. E. the A. The Federal civil service employs nearly 3,500 engineers of various kinds, more thgn 1,000 chemists and large numbers of other technical and sci- entific workers, Q. How many people are cared for by the Travelers’ Aid in Washington?— L. R. A. During the year 22,672 persons were cared for. Of these 2800 were placed in temporary lodgings, 1.259 were children traveling alone and 942 were immigranis, many of whom spoke no English. The aged and feeble, run- away children, sick persons and those |stranded without funds were alo helped. Q. When was the Children’s Bureau created?—B. R. A. It was created by act of Congress in 1912, | Q. How much more space does steam occupy than water occupies?—A. N. M, A. Steam at atmospheric pressure will oceupy nearly 1,700 times the space of the same weight of water at that pressure. {,..Q By what name was Whistler's “The Music Room” first known?—L. G. A. The picture has borne three titles. ‘The first was “The Morning Call.” The ease with which the borders of the United States may be passed by persons from Mexico and Canada is brought to public attention by the re- port of Secretary Davis of the Depart- ment of Labor, who proposes that some means be provided for strengthening the immigration law to stop border “leaks.” That Mr. Davis “is needlessly alarmed” by a court decision on Canadian com- muters is the conviction of the Chicago Daily News, which declares that his “apprehensions are rather gratuitous.” and offers the assurance: “Canada it- self has adopted a markedly restrictive immigration policy and is not likely to admit armies of offensive aliens in order to spite the United States. In the sec- ond place, commuters have to live within very short distances of the American border to be able to work in the United States and maintain residences in Cana- da. In the third place, American emplo; ers are amenable to public sentiment well as to trade-union sentiment, so that thousands of good jobs probably will not be taken away from American resi- dents and given to Canadian commuters. Congress should not permit itself to be stampeded by imaginary perils into un- friendly action ;O:arg Eanadn." Quite a different view is taken by some other observers. Of the court rulings which provide that residents of Canada or Mexico “may come into the United States without regard for the uota provision” the Utica Observer- spatch says: cision is that foreign-born residents of Canada or Mexico may enter the coun- try. In other words, the courts point out to all persons desiring to immigrate to the United States tihat if they first establish their residence in Canada or Mexico the quota will not keep them out. * * * Tightering up the im- migration bars to make the law do what it was intended to do is of far more importance to the welfars of the country than ‘farm relief tariff revi sion, reapportionment and a dozen other problems before Congress.” “A knotty problem” is recognized by the Lansing State Journal, which thinks that the handling of the Mexican quota will be a particularly delicate task. From a similar point of view the New problem of a too-large Mexican immi- gration may solve itself as conditions within that neighbor country improve. It should in any case be solved in a way tries of the Western Hemisphere.” “Any action,” in_the opinion of the New York Evening Post, should be con- fined to stopping the locpholes that might admit a flood of aliens. The orig- inal purpose of the quota law, which has worked so well, must be preserved.” * kK X Quick action is held imperative by the San Bernardino Sun, with the con- tention that “unless there is, immedi- ately, strengthening of the immigration laws big hgles are to be driven through the quota provisions. Several techni- calities in addition to the Canadian situation have developed, and several hundred court actions are pending.” “The administration, through Secre- tary Davis,” states the New Orleans Item, “proposes legislation to limit Mex- ican entries to 7,000 a year. Mexican immigration now reaches about 80,000. ‘The proposal is logical enough if the general immigration policv is assumed. For there is no special rea- son—unless proximity be a reason—why quota preferences should be allowed to Mexico as against Spain or Italy. The Fx‘oposu will be approved by crganized labor and by others favoring the most rigid exclusion. It will be opposed by some industrial and agricultural in- terests which contend that the country needs more labor.”™ “If the quota is to be applied to Mex- ico and all South American countries,” says the Waco News-Tribune, “then why not apply it to the Canadian prov- inces? Canada and South American republics are the best customers of the United States. They do_their buying | in the United States. They are not | war-ridden lands. They are neighbors ! of Uncle §am.” of that St in' an extremely pro- is delightful tate carious condition and it find out that in some sections. at *iwie “The catch in this de- | Orleans Times-Picayune advises: “The | that would not give offense or just| cause of complaint to the other coun- | to be| | Report on Immigration Leaks Subject of Differing Opinions Congress may take on immigration in the near future will be in the direc- tion of strengthening, not of weaken- ing the law. The Secretary of Labor.” continues that paper, “wants the ta | system extended to the countries of our | hemisphere. In this, he will undoubt- | edly have the support of maforities in | both houses. Obviously it is ridiculous { to limit European immigration while allowing unlimited immigration from | Mexico and the West Indies. There |is less reason for a Canadian quota. | There are, however, several arguments for a Canasdian quota. For one thing. ilhe United States should not be put in a position of d's~riminating against | Latin America. For another, there is | always the danger that.Canada will be | used as a mere stopping place for im- | migrants desirous of getting into the | United States through a side door.” ‘The Fort Wayne News Sentinel do clares that “Secretary Davis properl warns that unlimited immigration from | any source is an evil which must com- mand our immediate attention if w» | are ta preserve our present high wages | and standards of living.” ] }Fake Financial “Tips” Reported by Burean | From the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. | The Better Business Bureau is render- |ing a valuable ,service in calling the | attention of the public, through the medium of the radio, to the fake tip- | ster-sheet operators whose expanding machinations constitute oue of the vilest | frauds being perpetrated in the country. | Since it is the credulous and ignorant | who make up their “sucker” list, the |one most certain method of combating |the evil is to wage a campaign of en- lightenment andwarning. Once on the mailing list of these | sharks, the victim is deluged with au- | thentic-appearing financial news and | information. These documents are | aimed, under cover, to create interest | in some particular stock or stocks rep- resented as about due for a rise. High- | pressure selling methods follow, and the | victim soons finds himself In possession | of worthless, or nearly worthless, paper and his savings wiped out. The tyro at playing the market may | easily be impressed by the appeara of news concerning legitimate and w known issues in these tip sheets, and dogs not know that this is included merely to lend apparent authenticity But experienced financiers and officers of the Better Business Bureau are able to detect the Ethiopian in the woodpile | without difficulty. To the inexperienced | steck speculator with a small bankroll | the adage “Look before you leap"” applies with triple significance. The recent | collapse of the bull market on the New York Exchange resulted in more object lessons on this point than ever will be | vritten or told. Modern Inventions Are Menace to Politicians From the Charleston Evening Post. In the recent political campaign pre- vious comment by speakers supporting the party candidates in which decidedly ! uncomplimentary things had been said was freely served up to the public, with { more or less embarrassing effect. » | In England they are carrying the | deadly parallel farther and presenting | it more realistically than in the printed {word. It is purposed by opponents of Winston Churchill, when he takes the stump in the next campaign preceding a general election, to support the doc- trine of protection as & tariff policy, to follow immediately with phonographi reproductions of speeches made some years ago by the energetic Winston in Which he E\‘O(:)Mmed with character- istic vigor his balief in the traditional British policy of free trade. In their eagerness to reach the mul- tliudes of the moment statesmen will need to be especially carsful of their utterances lest what they are putting on the air” 1 pot also going into the It 1s t: for granted -by-the Cin- oS ;?l;‘e'nn:,h:’ :;/e:‘ at some hg:“" time matarially,