Evening Star Newspaper, December 31, 1928, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY.....December 31, 1928 THEODORZE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company ess Office: 11th 8t Pennsylvanta Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. ‘Chicago Office: Tower Building. Buropean Ofice; 14 Regent St., London. Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evening Star. . .. .45¢ per month The Evening and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) . .60c per month -65¢ per month y th. | Unfited States. Indeed, during the cam- Orders may be ser Main 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. g:fl’ and Sunday. wr, $1000; 1 mo., 85¢c ily only yr, $6.00; 1 mo, f0c sunx-y only . yr. $4.00: 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada. Dally and Sunda: Datly only . unday only’ ‘Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively (ntitled 0 the use for republication of all raws dis- atches credited to it or not otharwise cred- ted in this paper and also the local rews published herein. All rights of publication of pecial dispatches herein are also reserved. - The Merger Issue Drawn. ‘While it is generally conciliatory, the reply of the traction companies to the Maltble and Bureau of Efficiency re- ports on the merger agreement leaves 1o doubt in anybody's mind of their de- termination to fight to the last ditch for & rate-making valuation written into this agreement, and for a rate- making valuation of fifty million dol- lars. The companies draw the issue that now blocks the merger, and draw it clearly. They point out that the individual companies possess recognized rate-basis valuations, established through the courts. They defend their right to maintain this status, under a merger, until a new valuation is made. The only concession at which they hint is the possibility that the merger agree- ment, instead of containing a valuation to stand for ten years, recognize a valu- ation that will stand only until super- seded by a new one. This new valu- tion might require a minimum of five years to establish. The companies point out that public utility corporations have stockholders entitled to know the basis upon which to figure rates of return. They ques- tion the fairness of being asked to sur- render their “rate st‘us, obtained through the courts and recognized by the regulatory bodies, and to receive, in return, merely the promise of a new xaluation, In the interval between merger and new valuation they would be left with no recognized basis upon which to plead a possible readjustment of fares. Their statement that “with- 20 | vote in some of the States was the de- widow of Representative William A. Oldfield of Arkansas, is soon to be added to the list. Although none of the woman candidates for election to the United States Senate have yet been successful, who may doubt that the feminine invasion of the Senate is to come, perhaps soon? In Illinofs, the third ‘most populous State in the Union, Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick went through a State-wide contest first for the nomination for Representative at {large and then through a State-wide clection with flying colors, during the last campaign. The women are taking great credit to themselves for the election of Her- bert Hoover to the presidency of the paign the fact that the women were “going to carry the country for Hoo- ver” was the comment of scores of vet- cran male politicians. There seems not the slightest doubt that the women voted by the million for the Republican nominee for President, and that their ciding factor for Republican victory. The more women vote, the more they are likely to demand in the way of political recognition. Even now there is talk of Mr. Hoover’s placing a wom- an in his cabinet, though he may have to bring about the creation of the pro- posed new Department of Education and Public Welfare to find a job for one. Of the 145 women who are to serve in State Legislatures next year, 100 are designated as Republicans, 38 as Dem- ocrats and 2 as non-partisan, while 5 others have no party designation. The ‘woman members of the House of Rep- resentatives, however, are almost evenly divided between the two major political parties. Connecticut, rock-ribbed and conservative, has a greater number of women in its State Legislature than any other State, with twenty woman members. e Manchuria Comes In. Nationalist China enters the new year richly endowed with success. On December 20 Great Britain, following the lead of the United States, signed a treaty with the Nanking government, which still further solidified the tariff autonomy acquired by the new masters | of the republic. Ont December 29 the Nationalists achieved a victory in the purely domestic realm, comparable in significance to, if not more portentous than, their international triumphs. The vast northern province of Manchuria, an area of 365,000 square miles, which had stubbornly withheld allegiance to the Nanking regime, formally and def- initely accepted Nationalist authority. Mukden, instead of remaining a sul- len, semi-rebellious center of sepa- -a decisive knockout to a judges’ com- honored scoring system shall be changed in favor of single points for first downs in order that deadlocks may be minimized. It is doubtful if this scheme would meet with general favor, for, after all, it is the scoring of touchdown or of field goal which provides the big thrill; which often brings the under-dog to the top. The plan is vaguely analogous to the rating of pitchers on the basis of earned runs allowed per inning as against the basis of games won and lost. No one will dispute the fact that the won-and-lost column puts an often false valuation on a moundsman’s serw ices and that the runs-per-inning rat- ing gives a more accurate insight into his worth. No one will dispute the fact that the foot ball team making the greater number of first downs may lose the game. Under the proposed scheme two elevens might make precisely the same number of first downs in sixty minutes, but one aggregation might average four plays to accomplish each movement of the linesmen’s sticks, whereas the other might average but two, yet, owing to peculiar breaks in the game, never score. Which is the better team, the one that got two and a half or the one that got five yards on each offensive play? Spectators do not like to engage in or even watch a system of score- keeping in which perhaps the final record might be fifteen to fourteen and the, result not decided until the very last signal. They rather relish such a game as one which Dartmouth and Princeton engaged in some years since. In this encounter Dartmouth outrushed the Tigers to a marked degree and made many more first downs than their op- ponents. None the less, Princeton was victorious by a score of 17 to 0 by means of two long sweeping end runs and a fleld goal. Not often did that team have the ball, but when it got it THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1928.° THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. The Skipper came in, his cap upon his head, his rugdy face shining with Christmas cheer. He neither removed the one nor the other as he saluted us with a vigorous handshake. We have always liked the Skipper, and especially his eternal cap. Why not a cap? A man of this day and generation who persists in wearing a cap is some- thing of a philosopher, whether he re- alizes it or not. He thereby proves to the world that he snaps his fingers at masculine fash- ions, ever more tyrannous than those capricious dictates which bind women to_emulate one another in dress. Men’s fashions are not only more tyrannical than women's, they are less daring, more timid. ‘Take colors. Only during the past few years have the generality of men dared creep out from under the edict of somber clothing which has come down with the tribe for more than a century. The individual man has worn ex- actly what the remainder of his friends and enemies wore, with the net result that color is lackz:\g in his daily garb. * k % k When it comes to the matter of head covering, men have been in worse case than in regard to their suits and overcoats. Custom has sanctioned two styles for general wear, the felt and the derby, with various sorts of straw hats for Summer. The high silk hat is “good form” for evening, and upon special occasions. The cap has been allowed for young men and for sports wear. It has not been deemed dignified enough for-all men and all occasions. Thus it comes about that it takes an exceedingly hardy man, such as our friend the Skipper, to wear a cap persistently day in and day out, in Winter and Sum- mer. Yet what is as fitting as a cap? ‘We are convinced that the reason why so many younger men of high school and college go without any sort of head covering is that they wish to wear caps a score resulted. Two Greater New York colleges are going to try out Warner's plan next Thanksgiving day. It is thought that the spectators of that distant encounter will come away with the pleasant ex- perience of having seen something novel and rather interesting tried out, but at their next game will want touchdowns, field goals and the always spectacular safety, and nothing else. The home plate is the objective in one of our na- tional games; the jackpot and not the high average of hands is the objective in another. Fight fans infinitely prefer pilation of points. The goal line and and may well continue to be the objec- tives in the great autummhl sport, The very word “goal” tells the story. ratism, now becomes the loyal outpost of a unified China. One flag, the banner of Kuomintang, flies north and south of the Great Wall. With the single ex- ceptions of Mongolia and Tibet, which out some established base upon which matters affecting rate structure may be approached there is no logical way to operate & public utility under public regulation” summarizes their wholg argument. ‘The companies show some resentment over implications that they deliberately the Nationalists have never seriously included within their scheme, all the provinces of China henceforward will comprise a single sovereign entity. Considering that a year ago today the forces of Chiang Kail-Shek and other “rebel” leaders were still engaged in sanguinary and uncertain combat for cannot be attained, victory is and ought to be impossible. —_————— As an authority on aviation, Col. Lindbergh will be esteemed for his con- | structive advice more than for his| intrepld feats of fiying. He well deserves the comparatively placid career of the serious, contemplative gentleman han- dling large responsibilities at a mahog- | any desk. ———— New York has projected Commissioner sought & value above that to which | Nationalist supremacy at Peking, the| o ver whalen into general public they are legally entitled. Their answer to Dr. Maltbie’s charges of excessive valuation resolves itself into a counter- charge that Dr. Maltbie declined to agree with the findings of the courts, while the Public Utilities Commission by law is bound implicitly to follow such findings. They contend that Dr. Malt- bie fails to make an estimate of actual value in spite of his conclusions as to depreciation and reproduction cost. As the Bureau of Efficiency and the Public Utilities Commission have taken the companies’ viewpoint on the valu- ation question, it now remains for Dr. Maltbie to submit a brief in rebuttal, to restate his original contentions that & fixed valuation is the unusual, rather than the usual, procedure in merger agreements, and to reiterate his argu- ment that the whole section relating to valuation be dropped. Should the com- mittee decide to adopt his suggestion there, of course, Temains the possibility that the companies might accept, but only with a view to eventual litigation, which, they have contended, would es- tablish for the new company a higher rate-making valuation than that agreed to for the merger. In their answer to the Maltble and the Bureau of Efficiency reports the companies express a willingness to ac- cept Dr. Maltbie's suggestion that they shall be protected from competition through the public utilities power of approving new companies only upon the ground of “convenience and neces- sity.” The companies further express their willingness to accept either the Bureau of Efficiency’s or Dr. Maltbie's roposed clarification of the power clause. The companies’ reply should be re- garded as diminishing the debatable issues, thereby hastening the time when Congress can act for the benefit of the car-riding public by ratifying a just pgreement for merged operation. — o Conscientious and able endeavor does not mecessarily bring results sufficient, at this stage of the world's affairs, to be considered worthy of a peace prize pward. ———— e Women in Politics. The ever-increasing prominence of women in the public life of the country §s further indicated by the fact that 19 more women will serve in State Legislatures in 1929 than served in 1928. A survey by the Naticnal League of Women_ Voters shows that a total of 145 women will sit as lawmakers for the States. They have been elected to State Legiskatures in 38 of the 48 States. There will be no women serving in the Legislatures of Alabama, Delaware, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, South Da- kota and Tennessee. The men remain in the vast ma- Jority when the total number of State legislators is taken into consideration, just as in the case of the National Leg- islature, where only 8 out of 435 mem- bers of the House are women and there are st§l no woman Senators. Neverthe- less, the women are on the gain. It was only a dozen years ago that the first woman was elected to a seat in the national House of Representatives. homogeneous picture China presents to the world at the dawn of 1929 is noth- ing short of a miraculous accomplish- ment in nation building. It augurs promisingly for the future. ‘The adherence of Manchuria to the central government at Nanking is of outstanding importance because of what preceded it. The present viceroy of the province, the so-called “young general,” Chang Hsueh-Liang, inherited power early this year, when his father, the notorious Manchurian bandit war lord, Marshal Chang Tso-Lin, was killed in a mysterlous accident to the train in which he was fleeing from Peking to safety beyond the Great Wall. Japan, with its “special interests” in Man- churia, did pot contemplate with equa- nimity the extension of Nationalist Chinese power to Mukden. ‘Through her astute consul general in Manchuria, Kyujiro Hayashi, Japan forthwith proceeded to bring pressure to bear upon Chang Hsueh-Liang to resist Nationalist encroachment upon Mukden's “sovereignty,” especially in the field of foreign affairs. The trans- parent purpose was to maintain unim- paired the paramount influence the Japanese s0 long exercised in Man- churia under Chang Tso-Lin. The contest between Nationalist China and Japan for the upper hand at Mukden has at length ended in a victory for Nanking and an unmistaka- ble setback for Tokio. The agreement under which Manchuria hoists the Na- tionalist colors provides for continued local autonomy for Mukden, including the right to levy and retain all taxes. But control of foreign relations fs transferred to Nanking. As the Na- tionalists and the Japanese continue at bitter loggerheads over tariff matters and other Sino-Japanese questions, the accession of Manchuria to the Nanking cause is an event of momentous signifi- cance. Japan has extensive and legitimate commercial rights throughout Man- churia, and maintains a considerable force of troops there to safeguard them. Nationalist China suspects the Japa- nese of a determination to convert those rights into political privileges. With Mukden and Nanking now march- ing shoulder to shoulder behind the banner of a united China the enforce- ment of special pretensions in Man- churia is bound to be an incréasingly difficult project for the Tokio govern- ment. The outside world will do well to observe carefully the attempt to carry it out. Nippon no longer looks across the Yellow Sea to an impotent China. —————————— China claims to have discovered gun- powder; and is now ready to assist in the discovery of some method for averting its use. e Synthetic Scoring. Foot ball, like base ball, has a “stove league” season, too, and scarcely has the hoom of the last punt of the last game died away when experts, near- experts and intense fans begin trying to tinker with various aspects of the attention. A New York police commis- sioner has been known to go very far not only in local authority, but in national leadership. ————— Debate appears likely to become so interesting that the Congressional Record office would be warranted in issulng & notice that “Now is the time to subscribe.” ————— In legislative affairs, the President- elect will, it is hoped, have opportunity for conferences in Washington, D, C., that will demonstrate anew his efciency as a good-will influence. ——————— Statistics show.that the business ot the year has been exceedingly prosper- ous, in spite of the fact that some of the Wall Street speculators occasionally went wrong. —————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Thanks for the Almanac! ‘Through the Old Year we would trace Hours of joy or grief, As the calendar we'd face And turn another leaf. Here's a brand-new almenac. In it they draw nigh Signals from the zodiac ‘The menagerie is there, Lion, ram and goat. Gentlemen and ladies fair In good form we note. So, the New Year’s looking fine. Charm it cannot lack. Thanks, O thoughtful friend of mine, For the almanac! Calculating Results. “What do you think of the recent election’s result?” “It seems fine, at present,” answered Senator Sorghum. “Of course, what the ultimate result will be, we’ll have to wait four more years to ascertain.” Jud Tunkins says the celebration on the evening before has spoiled many a “happy New Year.” The Long Summer. The youngster unto Santa sald, “I really don’t desire a sled. A simple ‘scooter’ let me see And roller skates will do for me.” Eliminative Reminder. the goal posts always have been, are, [P 1t g | fool | The but are afraid to, and thus cut the Gordian knot by wearing nothing at all! “It is far, far better,” they seem to say, “to let the winds of Heaven blow through my locks than to allow Aunt Harrlet to criticize me for being un- dignified.” No doubt something of the disrepute in which the cap is held is due to the plain fact that it has been adopted so generously by a certain class of “sports.” Yet there is nothing good that is not used by those who might not in every way meet the approval of every one, and especially there is mnothing good which is not misused. Hence the fact that some one does or does not wear the cap has little to do with its general status, at least it ought not to have anything to do with it. * %k ok ok ‘The cap has a dignified ancestry enoulgh for any plece of wearing ap- rel. It has been known since the earliest times and has been so versatile in usage that it has crowned both cardinal and A “cardinal's cap” was one of the coveted church decorations. The term “cap and bells” was indicative of the court jester, or “fool,” as he was called. WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC Few post-holiday sessions of Congress ever began amid more critical conditions than those which usher Senate and House back to work this week. Inter- national relations and domestic politics of the utmost importance are involved. Into the midst of the melee comes President-elect Herbert Hoover, nom- inally still a private citizen, but actually a towering factor in decisions which must presently be made. A word from him will be like a nod from Jove. Poli- ticlans, like other mortals, shout. “The King is dead! Long live the King!” whenever the time comes. For many of Capitol Hill's purposes, that time is now. Take the four paramount issues now causing the Coolidge administra- tion and Republican leaders sleepless nights—the Kellogg treaty, the cruiser bill, farm relief and a special session. It is practically within Herbert Hoover's power, 24 hours after his arrival from South America next week, to determine the fate of each and all of those propositions. Thé Cool- idges, the Kelloggs, the Borahs, the Hales, the McNarys, the Longworths and the Tilsons may all have their views and wishes about the respective projects in which they are specially interested. But King Herbert, about to become monarch of all he'll survey | hi for the next four years, carries the sword that cuts all Gordian knots just now. * K % ok Fireworks will be set off in the Senate at 2 pm. of Thursday, January 3. ‘That is the hour fixed for making the anti-war treaty the unfinished “execu- tive” business and the cruiser bill the unfinished “legislative” business. Fol- lowing some parliamentary shadow-box- ing, the Kellogg pact will duly gain the right of way, Ten votes at the outside are counted against its ratification, after “Jim” Reed, George Norris and a few other irreconcilables rid themselves of oratorical diatribes. With the multi- lateral treaty adopted, the cruiser bill, in the ordinary course of events, should have smooth sailing. But there will be no ordinary course of events. Senator Hale of Maine, naval affairs chairman, is confident he has a sure, safe major- ity of votes for the bill whenever he can bring it to a vote. There's the rub. Snags are in definite prospect. Borah, for example, is expected to move an amendment to cut down the program from 15 to 10 cruisers. That may pro- voke immeasurable delay. * k% % Even if a reduction move is blocked, the bill will still be far from harbor. anti-preparedness group in the Senate, prospectively to be captained by King, Democrat, of Utah, is plotting to fillbuster against the cruisers. The rules which Vice President Dawes want- ed, but failed, to reform provide plenty of opportunity for obstruction. Apart from a deliberate pacifist fillbuster, there is the danger that Senator Reed of Missouri may determine to block everything by bringing up the Vare case. As a matter of “high privilege,” Reed is entitled to, ask the Senate to sidetrack all other business until it dis- poses of the 2-year-old affair of the Senator-elect from Pennsylvania. The Reed committee has just failed to hale the stricken Philadelphia boss before it for further grilling. The relentless Missourian would like nothing better than to concentrate the limelight upon his own Romanesque head during his expiring weeks in the Senate by seeking the formal ejection of Vare, “Do you regard the theater as a means of public education?” “Yes,” answered Miss Cayenne. “It teaches us that politeness must restrain us from telling everything we happen to be thinking about.” “He who never contradicts himself,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “must be content to pass most of his life in silence.” Irrepressible Enthusiasm. On next inauguration day sport. The latest comes from one of the best possible sources for sensible suggestions, namely, the lips of Mr. Glenn Warner, who gives foot ball les- sons for pay in the Far West and for In the new Congress there will be 8 We'll greet old friends anew, For every brass band wants to play Along the Avenue. “'Pears to me,” sald Uncle Eben, “dat woman members—there are 4 in the ! nothing on the gridirons of the East,|difference of opinion is what makes a present Congress, and Mrs, Oldfield, and it to the effect that the time- Congress, same as it does a hoss race.” *okok “Jim” Reed would have another rea- son for utilizing his farewell days on Capitol Hill in an anti-Vare drive. It would permit him to vent his spleen against the pet Reed aversion—Herbert Hoover. The President-elect, as all the world knows, was nominated in “Jim's” home town last June. While Kansas City was still reverberating with the sensation “Bill” Vare caused, the night before the convention, by swinging the Pennsylvania delegation to Hoover, Reed issued a statement. It was to the effect that Hoover was about to recelve his nomination at the cor- rupt and tainted hands of the Phila- delphia boss. It doesn’t require a very lively imagination to figure out the sort of play Reed could make with this set of circumstances. He would be- stride the Senate stage at the exact moment of Hoover's entry upon the ‘Washington scene in semi-presidential capacity. Will the canny cynic of the Kaw country be able to resist so glori- ‘Those who have read Dumas’ admira- ble “Chicot the Jester” realize that the court fool was anything but a fool in many cases, but was an astute fellow who Sometimes. was the rxcl power be- hind the throne. Our_word “caj dle English appe,’ “caeppe,” Latin ‘“cappa.” hood mean much the same, Dictionaries give seven fundamental meanings: First, a covering for the head; second, the top or uppermost part; third, uncovering the head; fourth, whole top of the head of a bird; fifth, anything resembling a cap in form, position or use; sixth, any part of a plant suggesting a cap, and sev- enth, size of writing paper. Webster's International gives three subdivisions for the first meaning: (a) Head covering for infants, (b) head covering for men and boys, and (c) as a mark of some rank, office or dignity. It may be seen that the cap has a field of usefulness ranging from in- fancy to old.age and is applicable to both sexes. Baby caps are more often called “bonnets.” The word has application in the lore of the sea, in ordnance, logging, astron- omy. Every one is familiar with the term “foolscap,” as applied to a cer- tain size of paper. There is also a “legal cap.” In the coronations of English sov- ereigns a “cap of state” is carried be- fore the King. At the other extreme comes the expression, “cap in hand,” which means to stand in an obsequious manner. To “cap the climax,” as every one knows, means to add the crowning touch, to reach the uttermost limit in action or words. * ok kK One must submit, as the result of even so short a review, that the cap is a perfectly dignified, eternally young sort of headgear. There is ample reason to regret that in some quarters it is regarded with a frown. Unlike the stiff forms of head covering, the cap is flexible and does not press against the sides of the head where the big blood vessels go to the scalp. Thus few men who wear caps are bald. ‘The fact that practically all caps are made of porous material gives them a hygienic standing scarcely possessed by any other head covering. Caps are cheaper, too, than most forms of hat, so that a man may have more of them and thus keep all of them cleaner. On the other hand, men who favor caps arc inclined to grow partial toward one cap. Such a cap becomes the faithful friend of the wearer. What man ever developed a positive fondness for a derby? Yet this is very common among cap wearers. If you See a man wear- ing an old, ramshackle cap, the chances are 10 to 1, not that he is a poor man, but that he likes his cap. Its brim may have lost its resiliency, the button on its top may have van- ished months ago, its pattern may be much the worse for wear, but still he sticks to it because, like a faithful brother, it sticks to him. ‘Whatever those who lean over back- ward for the sake of dignity may say against the cap, it has one great merit which no other head covering has—it will stay on the head in the stiffest gale that ever blew. OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. " comes from the Mid- " Anglo-Saxon Cap, cape, ous an opportunity? A few days, and we shall know. * Kk ok ok From the “Who's Hoover” of the President-elect’s non-political intimates set forth by this observer in The Sun- day Star a distinguished name was in- advertently omitted. It is that of Dr. Ray Lyman Wilbur, president of Stan- ford University, and a high priest in Hoover's group of California devotees. A brother of the present Secretary of the Navy, Dr. Wilbur ranks as an al- most certain cabinet probability, either as Secretary of the Interfor or as head of a new Department of Public Welfare, No man is closer to Hoover than the Stanford executive, They were at col- lege together, and Wilbur was Hoover’s war-time chief of food conservation. * k Xk % Henry Morgenthau, former American Ambassador to Turkey, who derides the Kellogg treaty as “a weak thing” and “a timid imitation” of the League of Nations, is roughly handled in “Jews Are Like That,” a recent and sprightly series of monographs on distinguished “American Hebrews. After recalling ac- cusations that Morgenthau “betrayed” the Jewish people by “selling out to Poland,” when President Wilson sent im there in 1919 to investigate anti- Semitic excesses, the biographer says: “Morgenthau had the good or the evil fortune to be tested in a very terrible time—a time of epic conflict and of awful need. The best that was in him he gave. But as he himself most clearly reveals in his autoblography, his best, like that of even greater figures of the war decade, was unequal to the exigency of the hour.” * ok k% A Britisher well known in war-time ‘Washington, Sir William Wiseman, Bt., has just been made a full partner in the international banking firm of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., at New York. From 1916 to 1919 Wiseman was chief of the Brit- ish intelligence service in the United States. Few men of any nationality got behind so many scenes. (Copyright, 1928.) Nightstick Is Urged For Whalen’s Force From the Montgomery Advertiser. Grover Whalen, New York's new police commissioner, teils his men to “feed the stick” freely to gangsters and thugs. “There is a lot of law in a nightstick,” he says. He is right about that. A policeman’s nightstick carries much more authority than his uniform and badge, especially among the hard- boiled gentry. It commands the respect of the toughest of the tough guys, and very often proves effective where even lthe p&l:cemm‘s gun fails to make an impression. Policemen in every city are under certain restrictions in the use of night- sticks. As a general thing, they are authorized to bring their sticks into play only under such circumstances as when they are attacked or when their lives are endangered, or in riots. In some places their use is so closely re- stricted that the nightstick has come to be nothing more than an ornament, or a symbol of authority, and is seldom used. It is no doubt wise to limit the use of sticks somewhat, but it is not well to make the restrictions so close that policemen hesitate about using Jthem at all, except in serious emer- gencies. Perhaps it was for the purpose of dis- pelling any such hesitancy the New York police might feel that Commis- sioner Whalen told his men they “need have no hesitation in using whatever means they find necessary in dealing with gangsters and thugs.” At any rate, his suggestion that there is “a lot of law in a nightstick” is a good one, If his men adopt the suggestion and demonstrate to New York’s underworld that policemen carry sticks for ess purposes, and not ornamental purposes, it will probably have a saluf effect on lawlessness' in the metropolis. e Trade in Old One. From the Flint Daily Journal. The King of the Fiji Islands has heen arrested because he failed to pay his tax, amounting to $12.50. Perhaps he's saving his money to buy a new crown, i ¥ World Peace Is Held Of Great Importance To the Editor of The Star: I read with interest your editorial on “Who Invented the League?” which appeared in The Star on December 25. It was not my understanding that ‘Woodrow Wilson ever claimed the plan of a “League of Nations” as his own | invention, or that the idea was exclu- | sively his own. He happened to be in an_advantageous position to promote such a plan while he was President of the United States. He did formulate the “fourteen points,” but that does not | mean that thirteen points, or fifteen | points, had not previously suggested | themselves to others. There should be no desire or inclina- tion to deprive No. 10 Downing street | of due credit in this matter. Undoubt- ! edly much constructive thinking was | done along this line in England. Some years ago an American woman claimed | the League of Nations idea originated with her. No doubt she was sincere. Chief Justice Taft worked on certain phases of international organization be- fore Wilson published his fourteen | points. Ancient philosophers saw the | dawn of such a development more or | less distinctly. One must have considerable self-as- | surance to claim exclusive credit for a | thought or idea. Individual humans | are not God, the Father. Thoughts are things. These things have power which | many of us do not suspect. The United States Patent Office could verify the fact that sometimes individuals from different parts of the country will ap- ply for patents on inventions which are | practically identical and were conceived at approximately the same time, while | the applicants were not in correspond- ence. I happen to know that on or about | August 25, 1914, a clerk in the War Department at Washington, after | sleepless nights of planning, submitted to the Department of State a plan for the organization of the nations of the earth for peace. The plan did not hold any one nation solely responsible for | the war then in progress. It did not provide for terms of settlement for vic- tors or vanquished. But it did provide for peace. It provided for an interna- tional navy to police the international seas beyond the three-mile limit. It at-| tempted to demonstrate the vast econ- omies and the logic of such impartial protection for all nations. It provided for the integrity of individual nations and the proper exercise of their sover- eign powers within their own borders. It was an attempt to vitalize the prin- ciples of justice which are professed in the American Declaration of Independ- ence. Secretary Bryan was busy with the thirty peace treaties at that time. The Department of State acknowledged re- ceipt of the communication about three months later, with proper apology for the delay. It is of minor importance who in- vented the League of Nations or the fourteen points which failed to win the game. It is of tremendous importance that the world be organized for peace, and that unnecessary and insane inter- national warfare should cease. RICHARD L. GISS. ———————— Honor System Called “Graft” on Taxpayers To the Editor of The Star: I am interested to see by the letter of Mr. W. G. Kent on “Newspaper Racks Seen as Temptation” that the so-called “honor system” is a provoking question. 1 am also gratified to observe The Star’s editorial on the subject. The points made in both the letter and the editorial are exceedingly well taken. Another point is not. without im- portange in this connection; I mean the amazing graft (for that is what it amounts to, and I cannot take the time to hunt up a more polite synonym) upon the finances of- the District in- volved in the system. Has any one calculated the cost to the District of selling a 2-cent or 3-cent newspaper from these racks? The publishers economize by dispensing with the serv- ices of a newsdealer (or are we to be- lieve that their motives are entirely altruistic?) and the District obligingly pays the salaries of policemen, judges and court officials to see that the pub- lishers get their 2 cents and 3 cents per paper! A wonderful idea! The genius that evolved it is worthy of a medal! But, as The Star suggests, why con- fine it to newspapers? Why not candy, stationery, popcorn and peanuts? Why pay rent for store space when the kind District Commissioners are willing to let us use the sidewalks, and why pay the salaries of clerks when the services of the policemen and courts of the District may be had for nothing? Why should not the self-service stores discharge their cashiers, calling upon the police- men on the beat to watch lest custom- ers grt;“(;ut without paying for their The idea, in short, is capable of indefinite expansion. Does it flourish, one would like to know, where taxpayers have the vote? M. K. CHAPIN, Decline in Lynchings Shown During Past Year To the Editor of The Star* I send you the following concerning lynchings for the past year as com- piled by Tuskegee Institute in the de- partment of records and research. I find there were 9 persons lynched in 1928. This is 7 less than the num- ber (16) for 1927, 21 less than the number (30) for 1926, 8 less than the number (17) for 1925 and 7 less than the number (16) for 1924. Six of the persons lynched were taken from the hands of the law, one from jail and ’flv& from officers of the law outside of ails. There were 24 instances in which of- ficers of the law prevented lynchings. Three of these were in Northern States and 21 in Southern States. In 23 of the cases the prisoners were removed or the guards augmented or other precautions taken. In one other instance armed force was used to repel the would-be Iynchers. Fourteen white men, 1 white woman and 25 colored men were thus saved from death at the hands of mobs. f the 9 persons lynched, 8 were col- ored and 1 white (Mexican). The of- fenses charged were: Murder, 2; rape, 2: wounding men in altercation, 2; kill- ing officers of the law, 3. The States in which lynchings occur- red and the number in each State are as follows: Louisiana, 2; Mississippi, 3; Missouri, 1; New Mexico, 1; Texas, 2. R. R. MOTON, Principal. e Trains Found Safer Than Average Home From the Youngstown Vindicator. It is literal fact that it's’ as safe, perhaps safer, to travel on an American Tailway these days than to stay at home, for the president of the Ameri- can Museum of Safety has just re- rted that only one passenger was illed during the last year of each 9,500,000 carried. Better yet, the fa- talities were only one-third of the num- ber 10 years ago and one-sixth of the number 20 years ago in proportion to the number carried. The Museum of Safety annually awards gold, silver and bronze medals for the most conspicuous organizations for safety and accident prevention, and for last year the gold medel went to the Union Pacific Co., because it oper- ated 30,000,000 locomotive miles with- out the death of a passenger and with only six employes killed in service. This is an amazing record, for the Union Pa- cific is one of/ our greatest passenger carriers and it operates the fastest trains in the difficult Rocky Mountain overland route. ‘We are sorry to see that neither one of the medals, gold, silver nor bronze, went to the B. & O., the Erie, the New: York Central or the Pennsylvania, our four roads. ‘Take advantage of this free service. If you are one of the thousands who have patronized the bureau, write us again. If you have never used the serv- ice, begin now. It is maintained for your benefit. Be sure to send your name and address with your question, and inclose 2 cents in‘coin or stamps for return stage. Adress The Eve- ning Star Information Bureau, Fred- l‘Dflc J. Haskin, director, Washington, Q. Do many people understand Es- peranto?—B. G. A. Since the war, interest in Es- peranto has increased greatly. Some authorities say that it now ranks fifth among spoken languages in Europe. Q. Hoy long has Cantor Rosenblatz been singing?—M. T. A. He was born in Russia in 1882, tha descendant of a long line of cantors. He began to study music at 8 and at 13 was a full-fledged cantwor. He came to America in his young manhood. Q. In _what given?—L. C. P. A. They are given in the domains of physics, chemistry, madicine, litera- ture and peace. Q. Give the age of Frances Willard at the time of her death.—A. W. ‘This great American reformer was born September 28, 1839, and died Pn?.éé “are Nobel prizes | Pebruary 18, 1898, at the age of 58. Q. How much negro blood and how much white is in a quadroon or quar- teroon?—E. R. A. Thesz names are used to refer to a person of mixed blood, usually one who is onc-quarter negro and three- quarters white—that is, one of whose grandparents was white and the other negro, and one of whose immediate par- ents was white and the other mulatto. Q. What. is Alexandrine verse?— D. M. W. 2 A. It is fambic hexameter, with some- times and added syllable. It was so called because it was sometimes used in early French romantic poems about Alexander the Great. Q. Where was helium first found in America?—J. U. A. The original discovery of helium in America was made in a little town called Dexter in Southern Kansas. Q. Describe the car@ game called “vint.”—T. L. A. Vint is a Russian card game gen- erally considered as the immediate an- cestor of bridge. “Vint” means in Rus- siaa “screw,” and is given to the game because the four players, each in turn, propose, bid and overbid each other until one having bid higher than all cthers care to follow makes the trump, his vis-a-vis becoming his partner. It has many points of resemblance to bridge. The cards have the same rank, the score of tricks is entered under the line, and points for slam, penalties and honors above the line. Q. Why was so little paper money used in the West until within the last few years?—L. B. G. A.” Paper money used to be used very little in the West because it was often in such an objectionable condition when it reached the West. Now that there is a Federal Reserve bank in San Fran- cisco which distributes fresh paper money, it is used more widely. Q. What was the approximate cost ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. of the Reyolutionary War and how soon was it paid off>—R. H. A. The cost of the Revolutionary War was approximately $170,000,000. This war was financed largely by foreign loans, aids and subsidies granted by France and Spain; domestic loans, the issue of irredeemable paper money and loans floated by the individual colonies. France made four loans to the United States during and immediately after the war; Holland, four, and Spain, one; all of which were negotiated by the Con- tinental Congress prior to 1790. The Revolutionary War debt was all paid off by the year 1815. Q. What is the name given to in- flammation of the sinuses?—D. C. A. Thename “sinusitis” is applied to it. Q. What countries consume the most rubber?—N. Y. A. The United States consumes by far the greatest amount of rubber. United Kingdom, Germany, France and Canada come next in order, but their united demand is not one-third of that of the United States. Q. How much did it cost the Govern- ment to raise the S-51?7—A. C. A. It cost $194,995.71. Q. What are the salaries, hours and | duties of the Senate pages?—P. E. H. | A. The page boys in the Senate are | paid $3.30 per day while the Senate is | in session. Their hours are concurrent with those of the Senate, but it is neces- sery for them to report somewhat ear- {lier than the hour at which the Senate | convenes. Their duties are those of messengers, generally. Under the laws of tie District of Columbia they are required to attend school for 15 hours each week. Some attend night school and others attend classes conducted oy an instructor at the Capitol in the mornings. Q. Is there a Federal law against women_appearing in men's clothing?— F. A. The prohibition of women wear- | ing men’s clothes was a part of the old common law and does not appear in the Federal statutes. GQ"I‘ Where is Scotland Yard located? A. Scotland Yard, in London, is the | headquarters of the metropolitan police force. The first police office was lo- cated in Whitehall, in Scotland Yard, and from there removed in the Autumn of 1890 to the new building on the Thames Embankment, now known as | “New Scotland Yard,” in which all the branches of the metropolitan police | force, including the famous criminal | investigation department, are located. Q. Where is the land given to La- | fayette by the United States?—F. H. B. A. The land granted to Gen. Lafay- ette is in Florida. All of township 1 north, range 1 east, containing 23,028.50 acres, was granted by Congress to Gen. Lafayette December 28, 1824, and title passed to him July 4, 1825. It was sold by order of Gen. Lafayette many years since, and it is now owned by a great many different parties. Q. How many public school teachers are there in the United States>—T. W. B. A. The latest figures are for 1926. There were 644,631 elementary teachets, 169,538 high school teachers, 10852 kindergarten teachers in that year, making a total of 825,021 public school teachers. Grover Whalen, newly selected Police Commissioner of New York, draws the eyes of the country to the spectacle of a successful business executive tackling the Nation's biggest police job. If Mr. ‘Whalen is successful it is predicted that other cities will be following New York's example. “Mr. Whalen has shaken up his de- partment from top to bottom,” says the Brooklyn Daily Eagle in a summary of the new commissioner’s initial activities. “His reorganization methods in respect of the higher officials have occasioned some criticism and inspired some doubts, but what he has done in the way of de- motion and promotion will be sustained by public opinion, if criminals, whether operating in gangs or individually, are checked and discouraged. Crime creates terrorism in the community it afflicts. The one immediate way to halt crime is to apply to it the terrorism of an active force and co-operating prosecuting offi- cers and courts.” “He may not be able to clean up New York,” concedes the Charlotte News, as it observes that the city “is large and at- tracts many criminals,” while “no place is quite clean; even a village has its bad characters.” The North Carolina paper concludes, however, that although “New York will always have a bad element, one determined man at the top may make them live hard.” The Columbus Evening Dispatch holds that “the one absorbing question in the minds of New York bootleggers now will be, ‘Is this a temporary spurt, which will end if we can duck for a short time, or is it a sincere declaration of permanent policy?” And decent, law-abiding citi- zens of New York are asking themselves the same question.” * K K X A matter of record is mentioned by the Worcester Telegram, with the com- ment: “More than three years ago James J. Walker, shortly before his elec- tion as mayor, made the following state- ment: ‘If I am elected mayor..New York City will be the best, cleanest, most wholesome and most orderly city in America. I pledge to you that when you or your children leave home, not only will the streets be clean, but the very atmosphere of those streets will be clean.’ That pledge has not been ful- filled, of course. Perhaps Mr. Whalen will do something toward its fulfillment.” An open mind is disclosed by the Montgomery Advertiser in offering the suggestion: “Very often it takes a shake-up to produce results. But re- sults obtained by such means are not always lasting. After a time things fall back into the old order. It remains to be seen whether the shake-up in the New York Police Department will con- tinue to have the desired effect.” “A vigorous campaign against the gangs of the metropolis would be a splendid example for the rest of the United States,” says the Nashville Ban- ner, and the Detroit News is convinced that “if Mr. Whalen can accomplish the results at which he aims, he will do a great deal to make the police more efficient throughout the country, for his methods will be copied.” The Oklahoma City Times believes thar, as to “ridding the city of its breeding places of crime,” Mr. Whalen “probably will not succeed, but if he reduces the number of speak- easies, gamblin{ resorts and disorderly places, he will succeed in reducing crime.” The New Orleans Item takes the position: ‘If the new commissioner can enforce his orders even 50 per cent he will do more than his predecessors. But one man cannot enforce them. He will need help.” TR “Just raising a ruction,” in the judg- ment of the Des Moines Tribune-Cap- ital, “is something of a start. This is probably the first time in years that the smug_equanimity of New York's crook- dom has been much disturbed. If per- manent results amount to anything, the already-beginning talk about Whalen as a political bility for higher places may amount to something.” Comparing his selection for the police task with the similar choice of Lord Byng of Vimy for the London depart- ment, the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel remarks: “New York chose a popular and successful merchant to head its po- lice activities. London chose a trained soldier, familiar with organized force and its employment to produce the de- —————— We Like “Abscent” Best. From the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. Some of these “delicate scents” of- fered as Christmas presents should stimulate the gas mask industry, sired results. We are not justified in assuming that the merchant will not be Whalen Watched by Country As He Rules New York Police . well as his friends and supporters have predicted. In the supervision of police work much depends upon the man. Both Mr. Whalen and Lord Byng are big men.” The question of professional direction for these activities is raised by the Re- gina, Saskatchewan, Leader, which states: “The time may come when New York, Chicago and other great American cities will be in a position, like the Euro- pean capitals, to make police administra- tion a professional service and to keep at the head of it men of high training. Until then these cities have to rely on their mayors for the best le selec- tions. Yet a man of capacity and pub- lic spirit will find in such an office an opportunity to meke a reputation pro- portionate to its difficulties.” The vigor with which the work has been initiated impels the New York Times to suggest that “it is possible that Mr. Whalen may have been con- sulted privately ' long beforehand. In any case,” continues that lmper. “the steps to reorganize the Pol Depart- ment must have been agreed upon in advance. Doubtless Mayor Walker knew what was contemplated. Should it be the case, as intimated, that he is also prepared to use a broom vigorously in other departments of the city govern- ment, we shall soon see flying a lot of political dust.” The Jersey City Journal says, “It is certainly to be hoped from several standpoints that Whalen does not get too much of the police job or the police job get Whalen before the interesting experiment of the police as an antidote for speakeasies can be tried.” Endowment Is Sought To Aid Rural Doctors From the New York Evening Post. ‘The campaign for an endowment of $2,000,000 for the Albany Medical Col- lege has as its chief aim the creation of facilitles which will enable practicing physicians, and especially rural doctors, to keep abreast of the progress of medi- cal sclence through graduate ~work. The old-fashioned country practitioner is disappearing and it is the hope of the medical authorities to supply in his place well trained physicians who will have in such centers as Albany the op- portunities for continued study which are at present available only in the metropolitan areas. ‘This development in country medical practice may mark the passing of a romantic figure, but it will also bring 1to those on isolated farms more effec- tive aid than they have ever before had within reach. The automobile from the county seat can answer calls far more quickly than the buggy from the neighboring village. And for all the admirable qualities which character-! ized the country doctor, his inability to keep in touch with what medicine had discovered since he left his training school caused him to rely upon old remedies to an extent which would ho{;fl);‘::s aucceas‘:;h e we s undoubtedly see country medical practice closely ap- proximating city medical practice. The county seats will have their hospitals and specialists serving a community which modern communications have made far larger than was ever before possible. Both doctors and patients will have the advantage of the new facili- ties, for it will not longer seem impos- sible for a distant patient to reach a hospital. And with the development of graduate work the country physielan (t:m be as well trained as the city doc- or. —————— The World’s Getting Better. From the Topeka Dally Capital. Luckily, it seems, the radio program makers did not learn that this year is the 100th anniversary of introduc- tion from Austria into country of the accordion, until the date went by. This Is Low Humor. From the Providence Journal. Prof. Hultcrantz of the University of Upsala says that the Swedes mqthe an efficient director of police activities. It is not certain that the trained soldier Will succeed as well as he hopes or as 1 tallest people in Europe. This probably comes from their living in fros g such high