Evening Star Newspaper, December 26, 1928, Page 8

'HE EVENING STAR With Sundsy Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. AVEDNESDAY.December 26, 1928 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor Rate by Carrier Within the City. Zvening Star.. .45¢ per month Evening and Sun (when 4 Sundays) . 60c per month E and Sundsy Star g .65¢ per month | Sc per ccpy each month. Srders may be sent in by ‘mall cr telephone ain 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 7 and Sunday....1 yr. $10.00: 1 mo. 85 only 11 yr, 3600 unday only . ;1 mo., S0c {151, $4.00; 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada. Pefjy anf Sunday. 1 yr, $12.00; 1 mo., $1.00 iy only .. 1yr., $8.00: 1 mo, 75¢c Bunday only 1 yr., $5.00; 1 mo, 50¢ Member of the Assoclated Press. ‘The titled | to the use for republication of all ruhu credited to {t or not otharwise cred- ted in this paper and also the published herein. All ris d e local rews hts of publication of special dispatches hereln are also reserved. Hoover Comes Straight Home. Mr. Hoover is heading for Washing- ton, not Florida. The President-elect is evidently an apostle of a nationally ad- vertised theory reading “Eventually,! why not now?” According to original plans, he was | to intrench against the office-seeking | foe on Belle Isle, off Miami, where—| distance lending merciful enchnntmenl; to his view—he would have been rela- tively immune from the importunities of deserving members of the G. O. P. But the source from which all pat- ronage blessings will presently flow has decided to beard the political lions in their den. Mr. Hoover is coming straight to the National Capital from his triumphant swing through Latin America. After a week of beleaguer- ment in Washington the President-elect will establish his pre-inaugural base in Florida. Then will set' in the January and February of his discontent. Herbert Hoover has always ranked as & man of little patience with, and less liking for, politics, politicians and po- litical artifices. The ten or twelve years of public office which he has experi- enced in Washington have probably softened these inhibitions. They have taught the President-elect that there are certain imponderables inseparable from a Government like ours, which is imposed upon the party system. The party system means politics. Politics call for politicians. Politicians call for ofganizations. Organizations call for ‘patronage, and call preity insistently, a8 Mr. Hoover will presently discover, Af he has not indeed already been in- itiated into the vicissitudes of that branch of his early semi-presidential career. Devotee of uncompromising efficiency @8 he is, Herbert Hoover is not likely to forget that he is also the official Jesder of a great political party. The Hoover administration is sure to be dis- tinguished by outstanding appointments, beginning with the cabinet which takes office March 4. But the Californian, it may be foreshadowed with equal assur- ance, will not be unmindful of his dis- tinctly party . How he will alance them with his well known pref- erences for sheer mertt conjures up as interesting & prospect as accompanied any Chief Executive into office in our time. ‘Washington, on its part, will be proud to welcome the President-elect on his forthcoming unofficial arrival. Palo Alto is their voting residence, but their long-time neighbors in the Dis- trict of Columbia like to feel that Mr. and Mrs. Hoover are really coming home. ——r——————— Gunmen favor gas-filling stations as points of attack, on the theory, per- haps, that the persons most likely to have ready money are in some capacity connected with the ofl business. e New Year Relief. Members of the House, especially the House leaders and members of the Re- publican steering committee, have food for thought during their Christmas holidays. Their attention has been directed by Robert H. Alcorn, chairman of the Joint Conference on Civil Serv- ice Retirement, representative of more than three hundred thousand employes of the Government, to the already large and rapidly increasing surplus in the retirement fund, as a cirect result of the employes’ own contributions. He has also submitted tables showing how this fund will reach amazing figures within a few years, now that the Government has started on a long-time program of amortizing its accrued in- debtedness to the fund at the rate of nearly twenty million dollars a year, plus the large amount of interset that will be collected. At its last meeting the steering com- mittee postponed until after the holi- days setting the date on which the Dale bill to liberalize the retirement | 1aw, which has already passed the Sen- ate, will be allowed to come up for a wpte in the House. The delay was to leave the time of the House clear for passage of four of the eleven big ap- propriztion bills for support of the va- rious departments of Government be- fore the holidays. The intimation was that the retirement bill would be al-| lowed to come up for a vote almost immediately after the House reassem- bles. During this season of “Peace on earth, good will towards men” it is particularly appropriate that Congress should have sympathy in heart for these veteran employes who have given the best years of their lives to faithful service to the country they love and should pass the most liberal retirement bill that public finances will allow. Such a measure would be conducive to inspirational activities by the younger men and women just entering upon public service, giving them a brighter outlook for the future if they work earnestly, efficiently and year after year. The figures supplied by Mr. Alcorn, based on conservative estimates by an prosperous condition of the fund is due almost entirely to the employes’ own contributions, As a matter of fact, the members of the House to a man, as far as is known, individually favor the passage of the Dale bill and will pass it with acclaim as soon as they are given a chance to vote. The House leaders express their friendliness toward this measure and say it will get an early day in the House. The fact remains, however, that although a special rule was voted out of the rules committee in the last ses- sion to give it privileged opportunity in the House, this opportunity never came, Since there is such general feeling among the citizens and taxpayers for this measure, since the members of the House are so strongly pledged to it, and since it will not mean a heavy drain on the Federal Treasury, there should be no further delay. Let this bill be one of the first to come up after the House gets back to worlg, filled with the New Year spirit, and thus make the New Year open up the brighter for these veteran workers and their families. R Maj. Mills Wins a Prize. Maj. Chester P. Mills, who gave up as a bad job the task of trying to en- force prohibition in New York, takes his pen in hand and wins a nice prize of twenty-five thousand dollars in cash by writing out the best plan to enforce the eighteenth amendment. The pen,! indeed, is mightier than the badge of an enforcement officer. And what would overshadow in public interest the ap- parently logical and simply told plan of Maj. Mills would be a statement now from the Government agencies Tnvolved, either telling why Maj. Mills’ plan can- not work, or why, if it is a good plan, it is not put into effect. Maj. Mills resigned from his position as prohibition administrator for New York and blamed his failure to enforce the law there on the activities of poli- ticians. Unhampered by the politicians, however, he now sketches an interest- ing picture of the leaky holes in the walls of prohibition and explains how they may best be plugged. In the main, | he would make bootlegging more diffi- cult by curbing the illegal diversion of alcohol, by suppressing independent de- naturing plants and by putting under closer scrutiny the holders of those golden permits which permit the pur- chase and sale of “specially denatured” alcohol. Maj. Mills points out that the large distilleries manufacturing grain alcohol are in the majority responsible and self-respecting organizations, which, if for no other reason, could not afford the financial loss of conviction for law violation. He thinks less, however, of the independent denaturing plants and believes they have no place in the eco- nomic world. He suggests that they be eliminated by Treasury regulation or by amending the Volstead act. Their product has two outlets. One is in the form of denatured alcohol, labeled “Poison” and incapable of redistillation or human consumption. The other is to holders of Government permits, who use specially denatured alcohol in the manufacture of perfumes, etc. In both of these outlets Maj. Mills points out that the independent dena- turing plants are in competition with the distilleries, which by law must maintain denaturing equipment. And the manufacturers who receive the de- natured product from the independent establishments have developed a system, commonly known, for disguising their business transactions. Instead of sell- ing “perfume,” many of them really sell this specially denatured alcohol to the bootlegger. Maj. Mills believes that ninety-eight per cent of illicit liquor is derived from alcohol thus distributed. More stringent supervision and exami- nation of the uses of alcohol by manu- facturers would cut a big swath in this ninety-eight per cent, he believes. Coming from the pen of a man who has looked at prohibition enforcement from the inside, Maj. Mills’ plan is in- teresting and was considered by the judges as the most practical. No less entrancing, however, are other plans submitted. Some six thousand urged more effective use of the Federal en- forcement machinery. While about five thousand wanted to modify the Vol- stead act, only seven hundred odd wanted to wesken the eighteenth amendment. The most popular sugges- tion—there were over nineteen thou- sand such plans—believed that educa- tion and propaganda would solve the dificulty. The next most popular sug- gestion was for stricter penalties for law violators. If W. C. Durant, donor of the prize, had as his objective the publication on the Nation’s front page of the best plan to enforce prohibition, he has attained it. And, at that, it was cheap at the price of twenty-five thousand dollars. ——r————————— Old Santa Claus is a practical myth. Every business man recognizes his worth as a high-power salesman. The New York-Havana Run. The United States Shipping Board has acted promptly to’aid the Ameri- can ship lines operating between New York and Havana, threatened by the British, who have placed the Caronia of the Cunard Line into that service for the Winter trade. The President Roosevelt, one of-the ships of the fleet of the United States Lines operating be- tween New York and Europe, has been transferred by action of the board to the Ward Line for the run between New York and Havana to meet the competition of the Caronia. The Caronia is larger and has more accommodations than the American ships which operate the year round between New York and Havana. The Winter months see the height of the tourist trade between the United States and Cuba. It is upon those months that the regular lines rely to make up losses which they may sustain by their regular passenger service during the Summer. The introduction of the British ship into this trade with Cuba not unnaturally has aroused American shipping men. Lines operating to Cuba are contemplating the construction of new ships to place in the service. It | was obvious, however, that there would be no time in which to complete new vessels to meet the threat of the Ca- ronia. The Shipping Board very prop- expert in the Pension Bureau, are am- ple evidence that the Government can well afford to grant the liberalized pro- erly has come to the aid of the Ameri- can shipping lines between this country THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ¢. WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 26, 1928. vana route is not strictly an American coastwise route and therefore, under the maritime laws of the United States, there is no legal reason why foreign ships should not enter the trade, the introduction of the Caronia aroused much feeling. The American lines running from New York to Havana are established lines. They have been operating some of them for years. There is no ques- tion here of building up new ship- ping business. It is a question of protecting those which the United States already has. The action of the Shipping Board in coming promptly to the assistance of the private American lines and turning over the President Roosevelt for the Cuba trade is in line with the purpose for which the board was created. The United States needs an adequate merchant marine. This country found itself in a most difficult position after the World War broke out in 1914, because it did not have the ships in which to transport its goods to the other countries of the world and could not get the services of the foreign vessels which had served it in the past. This country would look with concern_and disapproval upon the ef- forts of the British to wrest any of the New York-Havana trade from American vessels, with the ultimate prospect of forcing American ships out of that trade. e e ‘The Hoover trip to South America is an important diplomatic gesture. ‘The fact that it is carried on in holi- day spirit makes it the more sympa- thetic and honestly human. ————— Old composers of Christmas carols selected slow measures and minor keys. At least one new Christmas carol should be produced in a modern spirit of brisk syncopation. —————————— The farmer, having provided the viands for a dinner on New Year eve, insists on inquiring why he cannot clalm a share in the cover charge. In his political activities Mussolini admits the King of Italy as an ob- server and does not insist on his being designated as unofficial. — v It is confidently hoped that the “next war” so often referred to will prove only one of the myths that persist in popular imagination. PO Theaters complain of scant patron- age. Many men can build theaters. Few men can produce plays good enough to fill them. Gunmen have done what they can to shatter the ideals of poker players. Among them, apparently, there is no such thing as a “friendly game.” —————— The New York Stock Exchange con- ceded the fact that bears as well as bulls are sometimes entitled to a merry Christmas. ‘The problem of how to be popular, even though a King, has been solved with fine success by George of England. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. So Ticks the Clock. Little Clock! Little Clock! Ticking so fast! ‘Time has been slipping away. ‘We find that a year at least has passed Since what we called “yesterday.” Little Clock! Little Clock! Creeping in youth— Racing as years go by— Marking the time for a march of Truth, And then for a restless sigh. Little Clock! Little Clock! Stoutly he stands, ‘Ticking along so fast, Snatching the Future with ruthless hands And shoving it into the Past. Words and Tdeas. “We have listened with great admira- tion to your words of wisdom.” “The words were pretty good,” ad- mitted Senator Sorghum. “But I am finding it difficult to convince some of my friends that the ideas amounted to much.” Jud Tunkins says it'’s wrong to say advice is cheap. Many a man has gone broke on a market. tip. Rapid Transit. Friend Santa, with serene disdain, His reindeer paused o view, And, as he found us, once again, His airplane lit and flew. Getting a Close-up. “What was your reason for so much interest in politics?” “Curiosity,” answered Miss Cayenne. “I wanted to find out for myself what the men had been talking about all these years.” “No man can be secure in ziehes,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “A turn of fortune may reveal, overnight, a new master of wealth and power.” Superabundant Somnolence. My Radio! My Radio! You stop my slumbers deep. Like Thomas Edison, you show A way to cut out sleep. “Everybody,” said Uncle Eben, “is be- ginnin’ to think about next Christmas. No wonder de Christmas trees is so | pretty. It takes almost a year to make rem.” e Senate Perogative. From the San Diego Union. The Senate evidently cares not who makes our treaties, so long as it can add the reservations. Now Both Do. From the ‘Stoux Falls Daily Argus-Leader. The Navy says it needs more men— a conclusion that its anclent foe, the Army, reached a long time ago. e The Judge Is Right. From the Muncie Morning Star. Gangsters may carry guns on their own porches, a judge has ruled, but they should not endeavor to promote any front porch campaigns. e No More Parties. From the Savannah Morning News. The party system has now finally passed in Italy, according to a special story just received. It's hardly news, however, unless Mussolinl had he vishns soontaiged -1n tpe bill,-singe the ;and Cubs, While/the New York-Ha- party aliuded gy == The way to secure recognition in one’s club is to win a Christmas turkey in the annual drawing. John Doe, hard worker, had paid his dues regularly for a quarter of a century. Faithfully he had participated in the club functions, although they bored him extremely. In all that time nobody had paid much attention to Doe, except to take his dues with extreme regularity. When Brother Doe had suggested that a revision of the magazines on the big table was in order, the sugges- tion was accepted with thanks and thoughtfully laid on the same table. Years later the same old magazines were cropping up monthly on the same old table. Nothing d been done about it. Doe, as a good club member, had expected nothing would be done about it, so every one was pleased. When the club purchased a fancy new. radio, Doe pictured himself stretched out in an easy chair in front of the loud speaker, solemnly listening to “Ten Little Miles From Town.” No sooner was the instrument in- stalled, however, than the board of gov- ernors decreed that the radio must not be turned on except during certain hours. Since those hours coincided with the space of time when John Doe, esq. never visited the club, even the most mathematically inclined person can see that the gentleman in question never got to hear the merry broadcasters ex- cept at home. * ok kX | No sooner had the name of John Doe been drawn from the hat, however, than John won universal recognition. The board of governors supervised the drawing, which was conducted In this manner: The names of all the members hav- ing been neatly typewriéten on slips of paper, one name to each slip, a fair outsider was asked to dip in a lly-white hand and draw forth the lucky names. Doe didn't attend the drawing be- cause his private opinion was that the board of governors used a magnet to draw out the names of the “lucky” ones. Doe didn’t exactly charge that, of course, but he let it be known that as far as he was concerned the annual drawing might as well not be held. “I never have any luck,” he sald stoutly, as if daring Lady Fortune to smile his way. “There is no use to put my name in the hat, it will never come out.” If the family of John Doe wanted to eat turkey for Christmas, he inti- mated, he knew who would have to plunk down the solid cash for an ex- pensive bird. So Doe didn't attend the drawing. What was the use? Lk Kk xox The next morning when he entered his club he found smiles on the faces of those who had never smiled before. “Hello, Lucky!” greeted Sam Smiley. { suspicion. Maybe he half regretted that he had not black-balled him 25 years ago. This morning, however, his face was wreathed in smiles. His form of greet- ing was so unusual that Doe, who be lieved in minding his own business, WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC 1t would be in strict accordance with the eternal fitness of things if Charles Evans Hughes were to be the chief American representative on the new German reparations commission. Almost exactly five years ago to the week, it was Hughes, then Secretary of State, who in an address before the American Historical Association at New Haven suggested that allied Europe and Ger- many come together and thresh out the problem keeping them on tenterhooks. The result, six months later, was the Dawes plan. The United States par- ticipation then, as now, is “unofficial.” Actually, it is official, or what Eu- ropeans call “semi-official,” or “demi- semi-official.” President Coolidge lays down the condition that the reparation powers themselves shall designate their American_coadjutors. As far as the public will ever know, they will do so. In fact, the selections will be made behind the scenes at Washington and the foreign capitals in complete harmony and co-operation. Modern diplomacy works that way. * kK K Reparations will be the first major foreign affair to torment the Hoover administration. ‘The incoming President is no stranger to its thorns. At least two of the men who helped to fashion the Dawes plan are intimate friends of his—Owen D. Young of New York and Henry M. Robinson of California, Young is almost certain to be drafted for the new commission. As a member ‘of our World War Debt Commission, the President-elect frequently bumped up against the European notion that reparations and war debts are blood relations. Along with Mellon, Hughes, Kellogg, Smoot and Burton—fellow war-debt commissioners—Hoover sees no connection between what Germany owes her conquerors and what the lat- ter owe us. Probably reparations will first confront Hoover in the guise of the much-discussed scheme to ‘“‘commer- clalize” Germany's obligations. By that is meant a plan to convert them into bonds for sale to foreign investors— principally Americans. President Coolidge thinks that would simply transfer reparations from Germany's shoulders to those of the United States. * ok kK ‘This country stole a march on Great Britain by preceding her in_recogni- tion of Nationalist China. But John Bull has just put one over Uncle Sam by being the first to fire a presidential salute of 21 guns to the Nanking gov- ernment. When the guns of the cruiser Suffolk the other day belched forth that honor, they paid the formal- ity-loving Chinese an “inestimable dis. tinction. It redounds all the more to British benefit because America happens to be squabbling with China over a salute ineident. As part of the Chinese settlement for outrages on Yankee life and property in Nanking last year, we demanded that China should fire a salute in our honor. The fireworks have not as yet gone off. The cele- brated Oriental issue of “saving face” is_involved. If the Chinese refuse to salute the Stars and Stripes, we lose “face.” By doing deafening deference to China's flag, Britain gains “face.” Face value means something on yon side of the globe. PEE R ‘There is in Washington over the holi- days a young Westerner, George W. Ma- lone of Nevada, who is widely mentioned as future chief engineer of the Boulder Dam project. Few men know the great Colorado River development scheme so thoroughly as Malone. At present he is State engineer of Nevada and a mem- ber of its public service commission. Long before Boulder -Dam became an act of Congress, Malone was secretary of the Colorado River Commission com- prising the seven States of the basin. He spent many months at W while Boulder Dam was before Congress. Malone came out of the World War with a brilllant service record, though previously he'd already shone as a fighting man in the capacity of amateur middleweight champion of the Pacific Coast. Among Malone's other honors are the Nevada department commander- ship of the American Legion and the na- tional vice commandership conferred upon him at the recent convention in San Antonio. * ok ok ok Holiday wisecrack current among the dinner-dance - set popularly known as he “poultry of motion”§ 4 Sam previously had regarded John with | great” cept one-man & THIS AND THAT _ BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. thought Sam Smiley must be speaking to some other dsar brother. Lucky? Lucky? John Doe didn't know what the word meant. He looked solemnly at Smiley. “Didn’t you hear?"” asked the latter. “Hear what?” Doe felt puzzled. “You won a turkey!” “What?” o 't‘\'our name was drawn out of the at.” “I won a turkey?” John Doe snorted. “Impossible!"” “Nevertheless, you won a turkey.” With all the aplomb of a man telling news, Smiley went on to narrate the historic affair. Every one felt, evidently, that some- thing out of the ordinary had happened. Men crowded around to congratulate John Doe, turkey winner. Everywhere he went, Doe was ac- claimed. “Hear you won a turkey,” exclaimed Horace Letmeatum, with a great smile of approval. “You're lucky, all right,” was the opinion of J. Robert Stogy, which he ac- son‘l(panled with a smart rap on the ack. John Doe basked in public approval. * kK Kk In a few hours Doe began to realize to_the full the significance of his feat. By George! he had won a turkey! Let other men make a fortune in the stock market, let intrepid aviators fly to the various poles, let famous base pall players and pugilists make their mil- lons— He, John Doe, had won a turkey! He felt that he understood at las the momentous words of Sidney Carton, “This is a far, far better thing than I have ever done!” Doe began to stick his thumbs in his vest and to put on a look of impor- tance when anybody came by. He wondered if the newspapers would send around men to interview him. He felt like Webster's “Boy Whe Made Good.” “Yes,” he could hear himself telling the boys, “it takes quite a lot of work to be a turkey winner.” “Gee, Mr. Doe!” so the spokesman sald—he could hear him—as he drew forth pencil and paper. “How long did you try to win a turkey?” “Well, let me see—" Doe mused easily. “It was in 1903 that I first thought I might win a turkey. But it was hard sledding for many, many years. “I watched all the other boys win, but somehow I could not make the grade. When I came up, Lady Luck looked the other wa; “What would you care to say for the benefit of those who have not yet won turkeys, Mr. Doe?" “A-hem, I would urge them to keep on trying! If you don't succeed the first time, try, try again. Perseverance is the life of trade.” “Is it true, Mr. Doe, as has been stated in some quarters, that you from time to time cast reflections upon the methods of conducting the drawings, and even went so far as to assert, to a choice few, of course, that only the particular friends of the board of gov- ern%r}: ?a“d a c‘h‘lnlceT' “That is positively not true, my youn, friend. I want to say here thny! npg prove heartily of the methods used. They are absolutely fair in every re- sp;::t, Absolutely fair. Ask any turkey winner.” OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. change will take place in meal-f customs at the White Hmu:u uu?ei March 4? There will be no more Grace at table. * K K % Spain and Bermuda don't hols in the Pan-American Union, b:tcl‘lr:lf drid and Hamilton are probably wonder- ing how much there really is in what Hoover at Rio de Janeiro the other day called “the economic mutuality of na- tions.” About the time he was pro- claiming that doctrine of commercial brotherly love, the United States Tariff Commission and President Coolidge were raising the import duties on onions from Spain and Bermuda. Those energetic bulbs” (as George Eliot dubbed them) are not to be kept out of the U. S. A, but they'll now cost so much that onion-fanciers are likely :?ujfrd" the aroma of the domestic * K Kok ‘The esthetic beauties of Washin, are about to be glorified in a boom‘; a master hand—Charles Moore, chair- man of the National Commission of Fine Arts. A distinguished firm of New York publishers, conscious of the grow- ing splendor of the Federal Capital, has just persuaded Mr. Moore to undertake the work. For 30 years and more his pen has dealt with kindred subjects. Since the World War Mr. Moore, in addition to heading the Fine Arts Commission, has been chief of the di- vision of manuscripts in the Library of Congress. (Copyright, 1928.) AstronomerSaysMartians Are Irrigating Planet BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. Indications that Mars is inhabited, not merely by life but by living crea- tures of high intelligence, are seen by Prof. Wililam H. Pickering, distin- guished American astronomer now liv- ing in Mandeville, Jamaica, in remark- able changes on that planet recently detected in his private obsorvatory at Mandeville and reported by him to the American Astronomical Soclety. ‘The calm air of Jamaica is especially favorable, Prof. Pickering has found, for observation of small details visible on the planets. In addition, he has devised a way of using an electric fan to keep the air inside his telescope tube at a uniform temperature, thus still - further increasing the perfection with which small objects on Mars can be_seen. Observations of the planet made on November 2 showed, he reports, that one of the well known dark areas or “seas,” the one called by earthly as- tronomers the “Lake of the Sun,” has changed its position widely since the last comparable observations two years ago. These “seas” are now known not to consist of water, for no large bodies of water exist on Mars. Most astronomers agree with Prof. Pickering in regarding them as areas of some kind of vegetation; perhaps of natural origin, perhaps creat by ir- rigation under the direction of intel- ligent beings. The changes in the po- sition and area of the e of the imply, Prof. Pickering believes, the lat- ter alternative. While accidental ‘might have broken u etation or scattered it, they could scarcely have kept it together and swung it into the other direction which it now shows, especially when one con- siders that the vegetation-covered area is large enough to stretch from New York well west of Chicago. “I see no reason,” Prof. Pickering concludes, “to regard the Martians as ‘only lower forms of life.’” J Too Many Occasions. From the Montana Standard. Only 2 per cent of the men on earth can sing. The other 98 per cent, how- ever, are willing to attempt “Sweet | Adeline” when the occasion demands it. v One Path to Headlines. From the Toledo Blade. An important person is one who at- tracts attention by traveling incognito. o Today’s Snail. From the Toledo Blade. ‘We are living in a fast age, every- thing running at br eck speed ex- natural causes the area of veg- |[Po By G. Gould Lincoln. ics at Large President-elect Hoover’'s sudden de- termination to come to Washington in- stead of ending his South American trip in_Florida has set the tongues of |the politiclans wagging. As a matter of fact, Mr. Hoover had planned to spend several weeks in Washington im- mediately prior to and after Christmas. He gave up this plan, however, when he determined to make his good will trip to Central and South America. The President-elect, although he has kept in close touch with events in the United States by wireless and cable, has becn away from the United States for more than a month. There are problems here which he must consider before his inauguration as President. He must have first-hand information and personal contact in order to reach his decisions. He has the job of pick- ing his cabinet. Naturally he desires to place in his official family and at the heads of the executive departments men—and perhaps & ‘woman—who will command the confidence of the people. Naturally there is a great_amount of pulling and hauling by friends "nnd supporters of cabinet “possibilities. PR n whether there shall be jon or mnot of the new diately after Mr. Hoover has arisen in acute ‘Hoover promised :a call a special session of Congress to de‘ll wlflllnhnn legislation if the pres- ent Congress did not deal with it prior 1o its close March 4, he said something. Every one expects the call of a special session unless the farm bill goes through. Those who desire & special session, for one reason or another, in- cluding the friends of tariff revision, may be expected to do their share to- ward blocking the farm bill. A situation has develo to the pending farm bill, W indorsement of the administration, that makes it necessary for Mr. Hoover to take a hand, in the opinion of sup- porters of the b on it now. The | ‘The questio a special sess! Congress imme: has taken office form. When Mr. ich has the y hold that if Mr. Hoover gives the bill his approval and asks that it go through at the present. session, it will have a chance of final passage. Without such word from Mr. Hoover, however, there is little chance of the bill's becoming law by March 4, it is said. A plea for some public or private statement in regard to the farm bill has gone to Mr. Hoover from sev- eral sources. Mr. Hoover may have reached the conclusion that he can deal with this delicate situation regarding the farm bill better in Washington than he can in Florida. It will be possible for him while in the Capital to get from Presi- dent Coolidge personally his views as to the suggestion that Mr. Hoover urge the passage of the farm bill now. Mr. Hoover, if he acted without consulting seeking to usurp the power of the Pres- ident while he was still only President- elect. Furthermore, he will be able determine whether even his own plea that the farm bill be passed now would be effective. It would be rather futile for him to issue a_ statement asking Congress to act on the McNary revised farm bill now, only to find that the opponents of present action would not accede to the request. * ok kK Rome was not built in a day, nor is it likely that Mr. Hoover will under- take to pick his cabinet in so short a space of time. The assertion has been made in reliable quarters that when Mr. Hoover left the United States to go to South America he had made no offers of cabinet positions, and that he would make no offers of such_ jobs until he returned to this country. Dur- ing his absence, some of Mr. Hoover's close friends and advisers have been picking up information and in some cases sounding out possible cabinet timber.. Just how far Mr. Hodver has | been committed to this campaign for information remains to be seen. It has been responsible for reports from time to time that this or that man had been selected and “offered” a job in the cabinet by Mr. Hoover. Natu- rally Mr. Hoover is anxious to have as much personal information regarding the cabinet possibilities as he can. He can obtain it here far more easily than in Florida. An invitation to a man to visit the President-elect in his Winter retreat might well be construed as an invitation to enter the cabinet, when such a construction might be contrary to the fact and embarrassing to both Mr. Hoover and his guest. * Ok kX Stuart W. Cramer, a North Carolina manufacturer and graduate of the Naval Academy, is much talked of as a probable appointee as Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Cramer, in the opinion of those who are making cabinets just now, has all the qualifications for the job. He knows about the Navy and is in sympathy with it. He is a business man and good administrator. He comes from the South and there is a desire on the part of many Republican leaders | to see the South represented in the | cabinet of Mr, Hoover, in the hope that | it will be an effective step toward re- taining a hold on the States south of the Mason and Dixon Line which cast their votes for Mr. Hoover in the recent election. It is reported that Mr. Cramer is among those whom the “listening ts” of Mr. Hoover have been sound- ing out with an idea of learning wheth- er they are available for appointment to the cabinet. * K K ¥ Christmas on Capitol Hill brought its round of entertainment and celebration. As usual, Vice President Dawes gave a Christmas dinner to the Senate pages and official staff of the Senate. James W. Murphy, official reporter of the Senate, is the author of a poem entitled “The V. P’s Lament,” in Shakespearean style, which was read at the dinner. It goes: “!{rewel!l A long farewell to windy speeches! Now is the Winter of my discontent, And this is how: For nigh four years Have I upon the dais sat and heard The rumbling roar of ceaseless words Pound mine affrighted ears. First, Like tiny rivulets, seemingly reluctant. 'Scaping the stentorian lungs Of great ambassadors of states, pro- testing, anon, With smiling mien and chastest winking | Of the eye, ‘I will be brief,’ or ‘Just a word’; ‘Then, xmmflpenlng crescendo, gushing i orth, And, finally, as a mighty torrent, un- ending and unendable, Engulfing time and space with thun- d'rous iteration. Like muedmnum boys, they blow up bladders And venture forth to play with wind; and, ‘Zounds, How hot the air is! For this did I Leave peaceful Illinois -with fondest hope, And bear the blushing honors thick upon_me. Vain thought, O, Innocence and Faith, that I could So rude ‘a stream that must forever flow along ‘The um:hainl'd strands of everlasting tides! To smite the Senate rules is but an idle A jest, a joke, a merry quip; to breach The sacred, gas-lock’d is not for men, but fioda O futile world, when I did think full surely The stars would shine with brightest gleam on my deserts, A Kansas comes and nips the bursting bloom. Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate I feel my job is running out. Oh, how ‘Wretched is that poor man who hangs on fickle politics! Alas, my friends, had I but served my- sel With 1;-1! the zeal I've served my coun- ry; Had I not taken dips {rom mine unspoil'd | whi ped in regard | ill who desire action | the President, might be accused of| better to size up the situation here and | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. This is a special department devoted solely to the handling of queries. This paper puts at your disposal the serve ices of an extensive organization in Washington to serve you in sny ca- pacity that relates to information. This service is free. Failure to make use of it deprives you of benefits to which you are entitled. Your obligation is cnly 2 cents in coin or stamps, inclosed with your inquiry for direct reply. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washing- ton, D. C. Q. What was_the first picture in ch Mary Pickford appeared?— M. L. ‘A. Her first screen sppearance was in “The Violin Maker of Cremona,” filmed by the Biograph Co., and directed by D. W. Griffith. Q. When will the next postal congress be held?>—G. W. H. A. Suth congresses are held every five or six years, and th= next one will be in London in 1929. The purpose is to regulate international postal matters. Q. Does feeding a meat make it have fits? Is milk a better diet?— R. F. A. Milk is not the best food for grown cats. It takes a greal quantity to nourish them, and this disiends the stomach, causes various sicknesses, and is wholly unnatural. The diet of a milk- fed cat should not be instantly changed to a meat diet. A sudden change of this sort may cause fits, because a cat fod on milk, gruel and vegetables probably has worms, and these rebel at a meat diet. A change of diet should be grad- ual, and follow a thorouga treatment for worms. It is not the meat that causes fits, but worms. Q. What is the literal meaning of “filet mignon”?—A. H. A. It means “little slice.” Q. What is the value of our exports of ginseng?—B. P. A. The average valuc of the exports of ginseng from the United States for the last 10 years was more than $2,000,000. Q. Is there an all-white eagle?—E. D. A. There is no species of eagle that is white. There are probably albino eagles. Q. What European country had the lowest birth rate in 1927?—S. W. A. Sweden had the lowest. Great | Britain was next. The fall in birth rate is said to be partly due to birth control, but largely to the war's toll of marriageable young men and ihe still greater toll of the after-war epi- demic of influenza. Q. How many 'kinds tures are there?—O. A. S. A. There are approximately 700.000 species of animal life which have been described up to the present time. Q. How is the name “Gabrilowitsch” | accented?>—A. B. D. A. It is accented on the next to the last syllable, which consists of the |Tetter “0.” Q. Whal | sessed an violations last year?—D. A. The total amount of living crea- S. t was' the total of fines as- d collected (g prohibition . B. t of fines in criminal cases in connection with pro- hibition was $7,303,563.28 during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1928. The total amount realized from such fines was $4,497,378.32. Only & part of th amount remaining unpaid has been nf mitted because of the convicts having taken a pauper’s oath. In most cases the fines are still hanging over the con- victs and may be collected if they be- come possessed of money or property. Q. Are the people who come here from Syria called “Syrians” or “Assyri- ans"?—H. H. G. A. They are Syrians. Assyrians were the inhabitants of the ancient empire of Assyria. Q. Did a neumroenme of the potential voters of the country go to g’lecpolh in November than usual?— A. While the actual number of voters was larger than ever before, the per- centage of the potential voter was only a ll:tle larger, not much over 50 per cen Q. If the Philippines should become a state or territory, would it raise the cost of Government to them?—B. G. A. An authority on the Philippine question states that if the Philippines were to become a state or territory ft would subject the Philippine Islands to higher and more diverse Federal taxa- tion, to the eighteenth admendment and to the Volstead act, the coastwise laws, the seamen’s act, and other Federal laws which, on account of the geo- graphical location and the state of social and economic development of the country, would prove a great burden. Q. What is blasphemy?—W. D. A. Generally speaking, it is the ex- pression of deflant impiety and ir- reverence against God or things held sacred. In United States law, it is an | indictable offense. which consists _of | wantonly and maliciously reviling God :and the Christian religion. Q. Did some Indians actually flatten the heads of their children?—T. S. A. The Chinookan Indians indulged in this practice. A board attached to the cradle board of the infant brought pressure to bear upon the forehead which soon flattened it. Q. When was the first issue of the Constitution published?—C. E. S. A. In a regular issue of Dunlap & Claypoole’s Pennsylvania Pocket and Daily Advertiser appeared, on Septem- ber 19, 1787, the first official printing of the Constitution. Q. Should the word “diction” be used in reference to written words, or is it applied only to spoken words?—W. I. . It may be used in reference to literature. It deals with the choice and arrangement of words. In speech it in- cludes articulation, pronunciation, in- tonation, declamation and punctuation. Q. Where is West Griqualand?—F. W. A It is a division of Cape of Good Hope Province in South Africa. Kim- berley, noted for its diamond mines, is its principal town. Q. What kind of a college Is the \Yeswhivn College in New York City?— H. A. It is the intellectual center of orthodox Jews» The conservative group has the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and the liberal groyp the He- brew Union College. The Yeshiva Col- lege is a very ambitious undertaking. The first building, which has just been dedicated, cost $2,500,000. The total cost of buildings which are scheduled to be finished in five years is $20,000,000. The act of Mrs. Maud Wilson of Kansas City in smashing a speakeasy with her hatchet because the proprietor persisted in selling liquor to her young daughter and also to her husband nat- urally reminded the country of the late Carrie Nation. “The wrath of a determined woman who has the law n her side is a dis- concerting thing,” observes the Kansas City Journal-Post, which suggests that “as a dramatic revelation of conditions here the incident must be very em= barrassing to law-enforcement officials, city, State and Federal.” The Kansas City Star scores the “buck passing’ of the various enforcement departments of the city and states that the bettering of conditions “is largely a matter of active interest in law enforcement vs. indifference. So far indifference has won,” claims the Star. As to the militant lady herself, the Birmingham News asks: “Is Mrs. Carrie Nation’s militantly dry soul reappear- ing to wage a deadlier Armageddon with the fighting arms and hatchet of Mrs. Maud Wilson?” The Montgomery Advertiser points out that “whereas the women who took part in Carrie Na- tion's crusade swung their hatchets in protest. against saloons that were sell- ing whisky to husbands and sons, this Kansas City woman swung hers in pro- test against a bootleg establishment —and her daughter.” * ok K K “In Carrle Nation’s day groggeries and drink shops would not sell stuff to girls and very few of them would sell to minors. ‘Today, however, neither ten- der years nor sex afford any protection against the bootlegger or the ‘blind The Cleveland News sees a dilemma in the situation. “Mrs. Wilson might be credited with carrying on the hatch- eteering that Mrs.” Nation started.” thinks the News, “except that statutory reform has now left hatchet reform nothing to smash—nothing whose ex- istence the law can consistently admit.” “This incident has its amusing fea- tures, but it also points to a serious situation in most of our large cities and many of our smaller ones” says the Flkhart Truth, as it discusses the ex- istence of “a widespread disrespect for law that is alarming. It is alarming, not only because the saloonkeepers do not respect the law,” adds the Truth, “but because the police authorities have no respect for it. For speakeasy sa- loons could not exist without the con- nivance and protection of the police.” The Baltimore Sun calls Kansas City “a dumb town that insists on going its own way, through what the prohi- bition director calls the ‘loopholes.” And, according to his version,” contin- | ues the Sun, “there is a loophole in the dikes for every citizen and not nearly enough Hans Brinkers to go around.” ® x k% Ts this deed of thé lady in Kansas City a forerunner of similar acts else- e The wreathing pipe, sweet-scented Like a thousand sportive goats, to doff my cap To ‘Mary Haugen’; had I not jabbed With forked lightning flash The envious Senate rules, I would not In scarce four years be on my way to private life. "Tis o'er, 'tis done, and, by the Styglan blackness of Hel‘e‘n'u fame and her jocund nymph 'Tis we:]il 'tlu done, O, tend'rest consola- ion For, on that bourne to which I go, in Summer’s sun And Boreal snow, there are no windy speeches.” Sol Levitan, Wisconsin’s widely known State treasurer, has been mistaken for | a Kentucky colonel. According to &) story written for the Monroe Times, & young woman who happens to be a resident of Monroe, Wis., was traveling in the South at the time that Mr. Levitan was in New Orleans for a meet- ing of State officials. She saw the State treasurer and immediately picked him for a “colonel.” A little later she was_introduced to her “colonel” only to find that he was from.the Badger State, a5 was she hersell, N that was selling liquor to her husbnnd‘ The Chattanooga Times stresses the | seriousness of such a condition, saying: | Revival of Hatchet Smashing Recalls Days of Carrie Nation where? '‘This, the Memphis Commercial Appeal suggests, i$ a possibility. “Mrs. Wilson ignored the ordinary procedure of applying for injunction and then going before the grand jury,” says the Commercial Appeal. “She adopted a more direct procedure, with the result that her example may be followed by others.” One direct effect of Mrs. Wilson's act is that the authorities announce that they are going to clean up the ecity where it was staged. The Fort Worth Record-Telegram on this point remarks: “A most worthy enterprise surely. Just why it didn't occur to them to antici- pate the lady hatchet wielder is not clear. The question now is,” continues | this journal, “who will be the next among the cities of the Nation to ac- quire a dry-cleaning treatment? What was that story about the motes and beams?” The Charleston Daily Mail notes that “the Kansas Anti-Saloon League is of- fering to supply axes to all women who wish to go on smashing expeditions in bootleg joints,” and asks, “Is this an admission that the prohibition law is a failure?” > “Friends of prohibition might well tremble if they read what suddenly is going on in Kansas City." suggests the Salina Journal, noting that “the news is all about liquor and booze rings and | joints and other aids of old John Bar=~ leycorn. * * * What has happened all at once? * * * Have the people in hordes and crowds suddenly forsaken prohibition? Or can it be that a mere woman, wielding a little hand ax, smashed the door and revealed almost unbelievable conditions that have ex- isted all the time?” queries this paper. Defending Kansas City from the legations that the prohibition law is a failure as far as it is concerned, the | Kansas City Times says. ‘The truth is that, lax as the enforcement has been, and great as is the need to clean up the city, conditions are far better than l';leei‘,l“were in the old days of the sa- B ) Science Measures Suns 800 Light-Years Away Two giant suns which were revolving around each other 800 years ago like a tumbling dumbbell, and which may be revolving in this way still, although that is something no one can discover for another 800 vears. were described by Dr. Alfred H. Joy of Mount Wilson %‘;‘f'"""’;k C:lm;‘ml-. in a recent munication to the Astronomic - ciety of the Pacific. Lt ‘The motions of these suns which he has been studying occurred, Dr. Joy points out. more than three centuries before Columbus was born. The two dumbbell suns are so far away from the earth that light needs that 800 years to come from them to us. Everything that has happened to the two suns in the intervening centuries is in “cold storage” in space, on its way to us to be observed by astronomers of future generations. In spite of this enormous distance, and the fact that the combined light of the two stars is too faint to make them visible at all except through powerful telescopes, modern astronomy has been able, Dr. Joy reports, to weigh and measure the two suns, to determine how fast they revolve about each other and to calculate how far they are apart. One of them is over five times the size of our sun, but is lighter, weighing not quite twice as much. The other is heavier; about three times the sun’s size and nearly six times its weight. The two suns are only about 9,000,000 miles apart, about one-tenth of the distance between our sun and the earth, and revolve aboyt each other at speeds of 50 miles a sec- ond or greater, so that a complete revo- lution happens in three days and nine hours of our time. —————————— Nothing Surprises. From the Detroit Free Press. The statement that perjury is on the increase in this country will surprise ;Ll]m v'rnh‘o‘ had about convinced them- there wasn' Py room fox any