Evening Star Newspaper, January 4, 1929, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY........January 4, 1920 THEODORZ W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company usiness Office: 1ith St. and Pennsylvanta Ave Ney' York' Office: 110 East aind st. ago Office’ Tower Building European Office, 14 Refent St.. London. nd. Rate by Carrid® Within the City. The Evenine Star... . 45¢ per month The Evening and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) s aa 60c per month ‘The Evening and Sunday Star (when 5 Sundays) . ..65¢ per month ‘The Sunday Star ..... 5¢ per ccpy Collection made at the end of ¢ach month Orders may be sent tn by mail cr telephone Main 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dally and 8 yr..31000: 1 mo., 85c Daily only . yr. $6.00; 1 mo., £0c Sinday only yr. $400: 1 mo. 40c All Other States and Canada. ally and Sun¢ ily only .. Sunday only .. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exch ntitied 10 the use for republication of all rems dis- atches credited 1o it or not othsrwise cre ted in this paper and also the local rews published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatcaes herein are also reserved = Great Issues Well Presented. No one privileged to attend yester- day™; ssion of the Senate could escape the impression that “the world's great- est dcliberative body” was giving a worthy account of itself. The traditions of a noteworthy past were vindicated | during the submission of the cruiser! bill and the Kellogg treaty by their re- spective sponsors. Galleries were filled with citizens come in expectation of a yed-letter day. They were not disap- pointed. They saw great issues well pre- sented. Senator Hale’s demonstration of the | mnecessity for aiding fifteen cruisers to the United States Navy was unanswer- | able. It lacked nothing in force because of the unspectacular manner in | which the Senate naval chairman| brought it to the chamber’s attention. Mr. Hale dealt with cstablished facts, incontrovertible figures and cold- blooded realities. There. was no occa- sion for jingo fireworks in his advocacy of “treaty strength” for the American fleet and he ignited none. He told pearly the whole story when he ex- plained that even if the ships for which the bill provides were afloat the United States Navy would still be inferior in | cruiser strength to the British Navy, and therefore below the 5-5 ratio of parity contemplated by the Washing- ton treaty. Senator Hale has done the country a genuine service in portraying its naval deficiencies and requirements with convincing simplicity. Senator Borah launched the Kellogg treaty in that fashion which unfailingly commands for the silver-tongued Idahoan the ear not only of the Sen- ate, but of the Nation. As the foreign relations chairman proceeded, the op- position showed its hand—a hand that seemed to be conscious of its impotency. Its cardinal point was that as the multi- lateral pact does not impair the right of any signatory power to fight in self- defense, the treaty leaves the Damocle- tian sword of war hanging over a peace- craving universe. $E Senator Borah does not dispute the existence of that contingency, but ac- curately diagnosed as “a weakness in- herent in human nature” the possibility that a nation might some day have re- course to a war which others. might consider unjustifiable. He was at pains to make clear that the Kellogg pact is nothing more, and nothing less, than a covenanted pledge to restrain the| world's belligerent passions, whenever aroused, in favor of pacific settlement. The foreign relations chairman said something which deserves to be taken to heart by the “anti-cruiser confer- ence” which is about to exercise its misguided influence in Washington. Senator Borah declared in un- equivocal terms that nothing what- ever in the Kellogg treaty, stated or im- plied, relieves the United States, or any other country, of the iron duty of main- taining adequate national defense. — ————————— Threate of the “filu” germ are taken very seriously. Old superstitions are often found to coincide to a certain ex- tent with scientific ideas. Perhaps there is something, after all, to fear in the popularly dreaded “green Christ- mas. ————————— Whether either Senator Reed or Senator Borah can be brought to admit defeat, a brilliant conversational inter- change is confidently expected. Many 2 great fight has been stopped before an actual knockout was scored. ——vee— Seeking the Facts. In the face of the fact that the pres- idential candidate supporting the Eight- eenth Amendment was recently elected by an overwhelming vote and the can- didacy favoring a change in the dry laws or their repeal was defeated, the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment announces it proposes to spend one hundred thousand dollars during 1929 to investigate the real truth about the working of the dry laws. This is persistence, indeed. The wets are pointing to the fact that fifteen million men and women cast their ballots for Gov. Smith in the presidential race. They argue that this is a huge vote and that it repre- sents the wet sentiment of the country, beceuse of Gov. Smith’s stand on or rather zgainst the Eighteenth Amend- ment. They are unwilling to admit that the twenty-one miliion votes cast for Mr. Hoover in the election were all cast by * " Therefore the wets are taking hope, even in this defeat. The announcement of the Associa- tion Against the Prohibition Amend- ment is due notice to the drys that the opposition to the Eighteenth Amend- ment is by no means dead. Any organ- ization which can raise one hundred thousand dollars to put into research work has more than a spark of life left. The studies of conditions =are to be made in “typical States of the United States,” and in several foreign countries, including England, France, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Belgium gnd " nd. The president of the - { Plation, speaking for that body, indists that the association will report the facts as it finds them, whether they be fa- of the association are entirely confident that they will find conditions which will demand a modification, if not a repeal, of the dry laws. They would scarcely undertake to spend one hundred thou- sand dollars for research work other- wise. . Prohibition has been written into the Constitution of the United States. The supporters of prohibition won a great victory when the Eighteenth Amend- ment to the Constitution was ratified by the States. It is a difficult job, indeed, to amend the Constitution. Re- peal or drastic amendment of the Vol- stead act, the prohibitory enforcement law, which could be accomplished by a majority vote of the two houses of Congress and the approval of the President, might be far easier. The dry forces are not likely to allow themselves to be caught napping, under the circumstances. Their leaders realize that ncthing is ever final, in the way of legislation; that succeed- ing Congresses and State Legislatures may upset their work of years. job is to make prohibition increasingly popular among the people themselves, so that the laws may be more efficiently enforced. The next four years, instead, of being one of entire quiet with regard to prohibition, are likely to be stormy. The drys themselves are not satisfied with the measure of prohibition en- forcement in this country. The wets insist that it is & “joke.” President Herbert Hoover has declared prohibi- tion a noble experiment which must be worked out constructively. It is clear that the wets are girding for the fray and they do not intend to let the matter of expense stand in their way. ————————__ A New Peace Treaty. Confronted at the outset by a serious threat of imminent war between two of the countries represented, the Interna- tional Conference of American States on Conciliation and Arbitration is pre- paring to close a session in Washington that will stand as a record of notable achievement. For not only did yester- | day’s session witness the formal ap- proval of a new inter-American arbitra- tion treaty and a general convention on inter-American conciliation, prob- ably broader in scope than any similar documents in the world, but Paraguay and Bolivia signed a protocol agreeing to friendly investigation of certain phases of their own dispute. In the heat of actual conflict Paraguay and Bolivia thus demonstrate their willing- ness to exemplify the meaning of treaties and conventipns which usually are drawn in the comforting atmos- phere of peace. Crowing over the mere signing of treaties, however, is merely another way of counting chickens before they are hatched. Several of the nations of America represented at this conference already show the natural tendency, so well known in the United States, to becloud the clear wording of the arbi- tration treaty with reservations. Before the treaty signed in Washington is rati- fied, it may take its place on that dusty shelf where so many other fine docu- ments have found a final resting place. Enlarging the scope of arbitration has always been a painfully slow and tedious process. Why, - then, should one be- lieve that the treaty now ready for signing, which extends the principle of arbitration to new fields, will live where others of a similar sort have died? In announcing that the United States has no reservation of any k .d to attach to the arbitration, Charles Evans Hughes declared that “It is quite obvious that it is not sufficient to re- nounce war unless we are ready to have recourse to the processes of peace.” A" mere renunciation of war as an in- strument of national policy is a futile and meaningless gesture unless it is accompanied by a like determination to take practical steps toward substituting the “processes of peace” for the out- lawed processes of war. Such a step is provided in the general arbitration treaty now agreed to by' the repre- sentatives of the twenty natlons at- tending this conference. It is not only the natural outgrowth of the long series of pan-American conferences which for 50 long have sought to enlarge the scope of arbitration, but comes as the natural sequel to the signing of the Kellogg treaty. The treaty of arbitration has been drawn in accordance with the resolution of the pan-American conference at Havana last year, which proposed a treaty of obligatory arbitration with re- spect to juridical questions. The treaty | goes so far as to define juridical ques- tions broadly as those susceptible of decision by the application of the prin- ciples of internafional law. Issues be- tween states which cannot come under the purview of the treaty are those within the domestic jurisdiction of any of the parties to the dispute and not controlled by international law, or those which affect the interest or refer to the action of a party not a party to the treaty. The hope of the world is that the | views of the nations which must ratify this treaty will be es broad as the in- | strument itself. -—on—s. Some enterprising mercantile radio fan might score a hit by cutting out the | Jazz and sending out some spirited and spontaneous repartee from the United States Capitol. ————————— A Proper Safeguard. Foreign vessels leaving American ports for other than their home ports wouid be subject to Federal inspection laws of this country under the terms of a bill introduced by Senator Wesley L. Jones of Washington, chairman of the Senate commerce committee. It seems incredible that these laws should not apply to vessels sailing out of American ports, carrying American citizens and cargoes, to ports other than the home ports of the alien vessels. The sinking of the Vestris, with distressing loss of life, has brought the matter to the fore. A ruling or order promulgated by the Department of Commerce in 1913 takes the position that the Federal inspection laws for steamships apply only to American vessels. That being the case, while there has been a measure of in- spection of the vessels of foreign flag sailing out of American ports for West Indies, for example, it has not been as strict and thorough as Senator Jones believes it should have been. The need for such an inspection law becomes all the more apparent when it Their | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 1929. tween New York and the West Indies, and kept there almost indefinitely, without any inspection of lifeboats and life-saving devices, etc., until it returns to its own home port. If foreign vessels desire the traffic, both passenger and freight, between ports of this country and the ports of other nations, it is but right they should submit to proper inspection in Ameri- can ports. Too much laxity creeps into these matters of inspection, at times, and a disaster at sea such as the re- cent loss of the Vestris is required to bring the need of thorough inspection to public attention. | Whether the ruling of the Depart- | ment of Commerce is correct or not—and at present the Federal inspection laws apply only to ships flying the American flag—the part of wisdom is to spread on the statute books a provision that hese vessels of forelgn registry must be inspected if they are to engage in the carrying of passengers and freight from American ports to other than their home ports. Prompt action by the Sen- ate and the House on the Jones bill will remedy the present situation. SR Delights of Delicatessen. ‘The American Sociological Society presents statistiés indicating that if the family disintegrates inversely as the delicatessen store prospers, then Ameri- can family life is decadent. Among other alleged significant changes of recent years in family life presented through statistics is a disproportion- ately rapid increase in bakery products in restaurant waiters and in wives work- ing for pay outside the home. Bearing in mind that the “statistic” is a dangerously flexible device in the hands of the unscrupulous and the incompetent, and with due regard for the very large “if” which is included in the soclety’s statement, there is a distinct implication that the delicates. sen dealer, whose numbers went up forty- three per cent between 1910 and 1929, or three times the rate of population increase, is something of a mild modern | menace. In such a line of reasoning there is a certain amount of fallacy. Remember that the menus of the home-loving and home-staying families are far more varied and appetizing to- day than formerly; things unheard of decades ago have been invented and are now imported for the delectation of family groups who still “eat in." If the feminine head of such be seen often at the delicatessen store it by no means follows that she is neglecting her job; | she may be just giving her homefolks better meals. When grandfather gave a stag poker party long ago grandmother had to be on the job in the kitchen concocting an oyster stew or a Welsh rarebit, Now a telephcne call brings th: complete spread and mother can go to a bridge party or off to bed with a novel if she pleases. Of course she has to put out plates and cutlery and see that there is plenty of ice for the ice-water. Purveyors of delicious and exotic food- stuffs may have increased; family life may be disintegrating, but to imply that the delicatessen - dealer is too much either cause or effect in this trend is to put together two and two and arrive at six as the result. He enjoys a distinct and worthy place in the modern scheme of things. ————————— It is related that George Washington comp!lained of the hardship of a journey from Washington, D. C,, to Philadelphia. Motor congestion is causing travelers of today to talk the same way about the trip. ————— Scientists are not necessarily disre- spectful in claiming it is easier to treat religious interpretations scientifically than it is to hold science to the in- spirational ideals of religion. — et A number of New York theaters have closed because of lack of patronage. There was no need of a padlock. *“No need of violence, officer. We'll go quietly.” —— e Anxiety frankly admitted concerning war debts should have its influence in restraining any impulsive tendency which might involve “another war.” oo SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Poet’s Advantage. 1 heard a workman, passing by, Who said “I do not blame the guy Who writes what he calls ‘po-c-try. “I have to trudge in snow or sleet And saw or with a hammer beat, To earn my daily bread and meat— “While he sits there on a stout chair Protected from the wintry air And runs his fingers through his hair “While setting many hearts a-throb, Alt*:ough of gainless toil he'll sob— At least he has an Inside Job.” Keeping Before the Public. “Why do you insist on getting into this argument?” “I've got to contribute my share of talk,” said Senator Sorghum, “in order to avoid being overlookad. Statesman- ship now requires publicity, same as any other line of activity.” he knows one poiiticlan who wished another Merry Christmas and then started in trying to spoil his happiness for the coming year. Precautionary Remembrance. Although forgiveness may be due To some bad brother, The man who threw one brick at you Will throw another. Good Omen for the Year. “Did you begin the ncw year auspi- ciously?” “Yes,” answered Miss Cayenne. “Our little party watched the old year out in a cabaret that had the good fortune not to be raided.” “He who ventures always to speak what to him seems the truth,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “must even- tually become friendless.” Cause’ of Dissension. We sometimes find ourselves in doubt 1 Of what our anger is about. It's not a case of wrong or right. Somebody simply wants to fight. “Dese gun men,” said U&le Eben, “makes me think mebbe de world was One of the significant phases of the new sort of biographical writing which has struck popular fancy lies not so much in the biographies, as interesting as many of them are, as in the way they are printed. Almost without exception these large volumes are printed in large type, with generous spacing between. lines, placed on pages which permit the proper mar- gins on all sides, according to the Wil- liam Morris standards. i Perhaps not one reader in a hundred ! who has not made a special study of the matter realizes that the physical | appearance of the printed page is what heips him enjoy his book Yet nothing can be more sure than that this factor has a very large in- fluence in helping the new biographical studies “go over big” with all classes and types of readers. The fact that these books cost be- tween $4 and $5, usually, per volume permits publishers to be more generous with type and white paper than if they were issuing them in cheaper form. * ok Kk K Those given to the habit of browsing over second-hand book stalls know that work on the idea that the more words | which could be crammed into a volume the better for all concernad. If a reader will go to the trouble of looking up a book—any book—printed about 1800, either in the United States or in England, he will discover that a minute size 6f type was used on a small sized page. And as for the spacing be- tween lines, it was reduced to the abso- lute minimum. e total result was a heavy, solid appearing page which a modern reader shrinks from attempting. Probably the book did not have the same effect on a reader of a century ago. In the first place, the man of a hun- cred years ago had no other standards to go on. Money was not so plentiful, either with publishe! or buyers of books., Economy was necessary. Maga- s of type faces available. Nowspa- izes of type cases available. Newspa- vers di¢ the same thing. In the sec- ond place, the need for eyesight con- servation had not been preached as yet. When one thinks of our ancestors por- ing over such minutely printed books with the aid of candlelight, one wonders how they ever managed to survive total loss of eyesight. The sins of the fa- thers, they say, are visited upon the children. Perhaps those old books had something to do with the fact that eye- glasses are seen on thousands of faces today. Who knows? * ok ok ¥ The printing world knew better, even in those days. Along with the hundred and one volumes using tiny type, there appeared a few tomes printed in 14 point or larger, with generous spacing and margins. We recall a magnificent set of the poems of Herbert Spencer, who is to- day famous chiefly as “the poet’s poet,” author of the “Fairie Queen,” in whicn appear the Red Cross Knight and the spotless Una. These volumes were printed in type so large that had it not been for the physical size of the vol- umes themselves it weuld have been ab- surd. Based upon the page size, how- ever, the type was beautifully appro- priate. ‘Those great books remain in libraries today as examples of what may be done in suiting type to the human eye. No one would ever have his eyesight in- WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC Once upon a time a friendly biog- rapher said that when Senator Boran speaks, “all Senate doors swing inward and the moths nest on the gavel of the presiding officer.” The Idahoan opened the Kellogg treaty debate yesterday un- der precisely such conditions. He ad- dressed crowded galleries. They listened to him with undivided attention. Sen- ators paid their Demosthenes the com- pliment of being in their places in un- usual numbers. Despite a tinge of hoarseness, the foreign relations chair- man was in concert form. Even on stellar occasions like the present one Borah scorns to speak from notes. In- variably knowing his onions, he peels them—as it were—logically, unhesitat- ingly and eloquently. Heckling does not rattle him. At onc time the Senate's two keenest cross-examiners—Reed of Missouri and Johnson of California— were alternating in interrupting Borah, but he answered them in good spirit and resumed the even tenor of his argument. L Senator Reed's inquiries had an ob- vious purpose. The Missourian, who opposes ratification of the anti-war pact, wants to prove that it would leave matters® exactly as they are in the world. He repeatedly drew from Borah signatory of the treaty will remain at name of sclf-defense. engaged during Borah's opening speech in taking notes of points which will serve his own purpose when he takes the floor to attack the treaty. The white-haired solon, whose ability com- mands, Borah’s unqualified admiration, will probably look upon his onslaught against the Kellogg pact as his Senate swan-song. He goes out of office with the expiring Congress on March 4, after 18 successive years in the upper house. Both Reed and Hiram Johnson favor the cruiser bill. Their desire to have it will be an ever-present possibility dove- tails onto their support of the naval measure, * ok ok ok Senator Frederick Hale of Maine, chairman of the naval affairs com- mittee, fs almdst the least $howy man in the Senate, but his speech in favor cf the cruisers was a fine, reasoned and convincing presentation, It will read far better than Hale was able to make it sound. Every American interested in national defense ought to procure a copy, for it epitomizes our position at sea in terse facts and figures. Hale is no match for expert Senate spellbinders, but has no equal when it comes to use of his fists. He has long held the box- ing championship of the upper branch of Congress. At golf, too, the senior Senator from Maine is a very consider- able person. Hale inherits his zeal from the Navy. His father, the late Eugene Hale, was for many years Senate naval affairs chairman and helped directly to lay the foundations of our present-day fleet. * k% X ‘Two distinguished members of the Senate, who have been mentioned as | pessible Hoover Secretarfes of State, assign totally different reasons for the probability that neither of them will be named. One puts it this way: “I think Hoover might offer me the job if he were sure in advance that I'd refuse to take it.” The other says: “I wouldn't care to be Sccretary of State under any President who hi) 1f knows as much about foreign afair: does.” iR One of the attaches of the outgoing | administration who doesn’t need to worry about a job after March 4 is E. Ross Bartley, private secretary to Vice President Dawes. Bartley will go back to Chicago with the general to remain his right-hand man when Dawes re- sumes the chairmanship of the board of the big Central Trust Co. of Illinois, recently become, through a merger, one of the strongest bank! concerns in the country. Bartley, like so many ryoung men who now adorn political or business posts of eminence, is & re- lormed newspaper man. He was “cover- THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. a hundred years ago printers seemed to | the admission that each and every | liberty to determine for itself when it | is justified In resorting to war in the | Reed was busily | made clear that war under the treaty | as Herbert Hoover | | jured from reading such print. Such type seems particularly applicable to | poetry, smce the majority of people | find it difficult to read, at the best, and since true poetry lovers always feel that the best is none too good for its pres- entation. The majority of books printed, how- | | ever, up until the past five years, were | in the smallest sized type. At the height | of popularity of the novels of Charles Dickens an atrociously minute type was used to set his works. Usually these | were in shilling editions printed on thin paper, with colored covers and plenty | of illustrations. Bibles nave been set in small type al- most to the exclusion of any other. It was the accepted thing. Perhaps an edition or two was got out for elderly | people, but always somewhat apologet- ically, as if reading were an athletic ‘(mh or the task had to be softened to | fit dimming eyes. “Old people’s Bibles"” | made use of 12 or 14 point. * ok kK Only recently we saw a one-volume edition of the short stories of Guy de Maupassant. The type was clear | (which doesn’t mean much, after all— | most type is), but was very small, and | | the page was broken into two columns | to the page. The result was that many of the | stories only required one page turning before completed. A few began and ended without turning a page. Thus the sense of action was lost to the read- Not only was he hampered by the | physical size of the type, but also by {the fact that he got nowhere fir the | stories because he physically was not re- !quired to go anywhere. It must never | be forgotten that the average book, as little as we may think of this phase of the maiter, is both physical and mental. It makes certain requirements of the reader in both fields. Suspense, the heart of narrative writing, demands that omething be concealed. If the reader s able to look, like an eagle on a moun- | ain top, at the entire landscape of the | story before him, he has lost something | which a longer form, requiring more pages and larger type, offers. * ok ok K As we come back to the late editions of biographies (such as “Voltaire,” “Zola and His Time,” “Meet General Grant,” “That Man Adams,” etc.), we realize that their type dress and general make-up has something, at least, to do with their popular enjoyment. Recent changes in some of the mag- azines, such as the World's Work, Re- view of Reviews, the Golden Book and others, show the same thing going into effect. Not only is a larger page size being adopted, midway between that of the great women's magazines, but the type and spacing has been generously increased in size to fit. It is good business. The world is tired of squinting at its reading matter, Even the greatest writing in the world must suffer from being too crowded to- gether. There is a deterrent effect about solid printed matter, such as involved in long paragraphs, which is not strictly in the spirit of the times. May the good work go forward. Large type, generously spaced, is an eyesight conserver, above all things, but this is not all. It benefits the message of any one who has a message to offer; it makes more entertaining the words of him who seeks to entertain. The time will come, we predict (which we do not often do), when there will be no type used in general! publications less than 8 or 10 or even 12 point. OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE 1 Illinoisan took a fancy to the “A.P.” man, and, after March 4, 1925, Bartley became Dawes’ principal coadjutor in ‘Washington. Undoubtedly he is on the threshold of a career in the field where the big money lies. * X Kk Ireland's first diplomatic envoy to fi’l!, United States, Dr. Timothy A. Smiddy, is leaving Washington after seven years of Erin’s representation in this country. He came here in 1922 and has been ac- credited Minister of the Free State since | 1924. Smiddy, a professor of economics by profession, was the first diplomat Ireland sent abroad. Now the Free State has a minister in Canada, and is ! by way of establishing legations in France and Germany. Dr. Smiddy's family has enjoyed exceptional pop- ularity in Washington. His rosy- | cheeked daughters—typical colleens— achieved fame as pedestrians. Walk- ing to Baltimore, a hike of 40-odd miles, was one of their pastimes. Dr. Smiddy goes to Europe to take Ireland's premier diplomatic post—the high commis- sionership to Great Britain, with head- quarters at London. During his seven years in the United States, he took time to visit the whole country, and has even acquired a bit of a Yankee accent to pollute his Irish brogue. e o Washington is filling up with pacifists of both sexes, here to propagandize against the cruiser bill. Their favorite talking point is that they represent so- and-so many churchgoers, women, club members, eat al., the figures usually run- | ning into the tens of millions. Three or | four years agd a similar demonstration was staged during the fight over the World Court. Senator George Whar- ton Pepper of Pennsylvania kept tab, during hearings before the foreign rela- tions committee, of the statistics reeled off by various spokesmen and spokes- women. One of them said he “spoke for 35,750,000 churchmen and women. Another claimed he represented *28,- “950.000 adherents.” A third described | himself as the emissary of “at least | 40,000,000 supporters of this proposi- tion.” And so on. Pepper kept putting cown the figures. When all witnesses | had been heard the Pennsylvanian read | off the total, which amounted 285,- 900,000, or nearly two and ons-half times-as meny inhabitants as the United States of America has. “Well,” said the Philadelphian, “I guess there's no doubt about the popularity of this scheme, and we'd better approve it.” (Copyright. 1928.) L Says Cats Show Fear Of Ultra-Violet Rays BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. That the household cat may be less enthusiastic than the rest of the family over the introduction of 'the new “arti- | ficial sunlight” lamps emitting ultra- [ violet rays appears from correspondence published recently in London, including ja contribution from the well known | physiologist, Prof. Sidney Russ. Com- menting on the report of cat owners that tiese animals shrink from the ultra-violet rays, and even dislike to lie in the sun inside windows of special glass which transmit only a quarter or so of the ultra-violet rays in sunlight, Prof. Russ reports that the eyes of ani- mals of the cat tribe are notably more sparent to these rays than are the cyes ‘of human belngs. It may be, | Prof. Russ believes, that ability to use the ultra-vioiet rays, totally invisible to human beings, may have something to do with the kncwn ability of cats to see better at night than is possible for most other kinds of animals. It is possible that the powerful ultra-violet rays from the new lamps, which might btirn the human eye externally, but which seldom penetrate it seriously, {pass into the cat’s eye more easily and injure the delicate retina at the back of the eye or produc${ uncomfortable sensations in some othler way. While the scientists are uttgrhg. the cat owners will be in ed Spiritualism Defense Reply to Dr. Sprowls To the Editor of The Star: The writer would like to submit 10 replies in answer to Dr. Jesse W. Sprowls on the subject of “Spiritual- ism,” published in The Evening Star on December 21, 1928. 1. Spiritualism has added Christian- ity to the welfare of the masses, for if we remove spiritualism from the Gos- pels in particular, we have removed the backbone of Christianity. (a) Chris- tianity is founded on a vision, since an angel or spirit appeared to Mary and foretold the coming of the Mes- siah. (b) Messengers, or spirits, ap- peared to Joseph on two occasions vi- tal to Christianity. (c) Mary Magda- lene saw two spirits at the tomb. (d) Jesus appeared about a dozen times aft- er his resurrection and on one occasion to 500 persons. 2. Spiritualism has made the ‘“po- tentially unstable” very stable. Joan of Arc saw visions and heard voices which gave directions that led France to victory. History is replete with such instances. 3. Sir William Crookes, who gave to the world the Crookes tube, also gave it a voluminous work relating his ex- periments with other scientists under test conditions. This contains evidence that would give any honest investigator | pause. 4. We had to add new words to our vocabulary before we could converse in- telligently on aeronautics. So we must familiarize ourselves with the language of spirits before.we man expect an in- telligent _description of a sphere in the fourth dimension of space. 5. Spiritism and fortune-telling con- cern themselves with earthly and selfish matters, but Spiritualism by the very nature of the word must concern it- self with spiritual matte John the Revelator says he was “in the spirit on the Lord's day and heard a voice. be- hind me saying: The “volce” or spirit spoke the Book of Revelations. Nor did ;Swedenborg concern himself with “earhly and seifish matters.” There are many similar instances in the pres- ent day on record. 6. Was Chauncey Depew's premoni- tion relative to ‘the nomination of Rocsevelt for goveronr “dull, insipid, asinine and stupid”? Dr. Samuel John- son, founder of the English dictionary, says: “That the dead are seen no more. I will not undertake to maintain against the concurrent and unvaried testimony of all ages and all nations. There is no people, rude or learned, among whom apparitions of the dead are not related and believed. This opinion, which pre- vails as far as human nature is diffused, could become univérsal only by its truth; those that never heard of one another would not have agreed in a tale which nothing but experience can make ! credible. That it is doubted by single cavillers can very little weaken the gen- eral evidence.” We may expect anything of “so- called” Spiritualists, just as we do of so-called psychologists, so-called sci- entists, or so-called Christians. But real Spiritualists would hardly concern them- selves with Harry Houdini, who admit- ted his work was all trickery. Real Spiritualists, like real Christians, “judge not that they be not judged,” but apply themselves to satisfying the heart hun- ger of the ages expressed in the q tion “If a man die shall he live again' 8. Of course Sir Oliver Lodge admits he has not the gift of mediumship. Must one have the gift of music to ap- preciate the truth and beauty of music? Must one have the gift of higher mathe- matics and the knowledge of astronomy to believe the earth is revolving around | the sun? Or may one accept as a work- ing hypothesis the possibility of a claim made throughout the ages by foremost men and women? 9. The premise is questionable, but. for the sake of argument, granted it is true, just keep in mind that Jesus Christ “recruited from the ranks” of | the untutored snd lowly of his day, and dined with publigans and sinners. 10. The “long history of spiritualism™ is similar to the history of any ism; it has its counterfeits, to be sure. But! if there were not a real there would be nothing to counterfeit. Who ever heard of a counterfeit $3 bill?> Byron alludes to its long history thus: “I merely mean’ to say what Johnson said, That in the course of some six thou- sand years, Al natlo‘;xs have believed that from the e A visitant at intervals appears. And whl}ll is strangest upon this strange | inch. ead, § Is that, whatever bar the reason rears ‘Gainst such strong ief, there’s something still In its behalf, let them deny who will.” | FOREST HAGIN. . Consolidation of D. C. Marriage Records Urged To the Editor of The Star: The records of marriage of the Dis- trict of Columbia from their beginning, in 1800, were filed in the office of the What do you need to know? Is there some point about your business or per- sonal life that puzzles you? something you want to know without delay? Submit your question to Fred- eric J. Haskin. director of our Wash- ington Information Bureau. He is em- ployed to help you. Address your in- quiry to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C., and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Q. How tall is Will Rogers?>—M. N. A. His height is 5 feet 11 inches. He weighs 170 pounds and has dark hair and gray eyes. Q. Is it possible to treat paper so as to make it non-inflammable to a rea- sonable degree?—G. P. S. A. The Bureau of Standards says that a measure of fireproofing for papers can be obtained by spraying them be- fore passing through the presses with ammonium chloride, ammonium phos- phate, ammonium sulphate, or sodium borate, whichever is best adapted for the particular product. Paper so treated siould not be considered as incombus- tible or greatly fire-retardent, since it will char and burn at the high tempera- tures incident with fires in buildings, although it will not ignite or support combustion as readiiy as the untreated paper. The more fire-resistive papers with a small admixture of ordinary pa- per, and a binding composition, such as glue and borax. They are rendered suitable for writing upon by calendar- ing. Special inks are prepared for use with such papers, both paper and ink standing up well under protracted ex- posure at temperatures that would com- pletly consume the ordinary combustible papers. Q. Please explain the cloture rule of the Senate.—C P. A. Until the Senate rules were amended on March 8, 1917, there wa 09 limit of debate. On that date th rules were amended so that: “If at any time a motion, signed by 16 Senators, (0 bring to a close the debate upon any pending measure is presented to the enate, the presiding officer shall at once state the motion to the Senate, and one hour after the Senate meets on the following calendar day but one, he shall lay the motion before the Sen- ate and direct that the secretary call the roll, and, upon the ascertainment that a querum is present, the presid- ing officer shall, without debate, submit to the Senate by an aye-and-nay vote the question: ‘Is it the sense of the Senate that the debate shall be brought to a close?” And if that question shall be decided in the affirmative by a two- thiras vote of those voting, then said measure shall be the unfinished business to the exclusion of all other business until disposed of. Thereafter no Sen- ator shall b2 entitled to speak in all mere than one hour on the pending measure, the amendments thereto, and motions affecting the same, and it shall be the duty of the presiding officer to vop the time of each Senator who speaks.” Q. What was the earliest name of “Bethlehem?—S. G. A. Ephrath or Ephratah. Q. How much had Congress appra- priated for aeronautical ddvelopment during the last fiscal year?—S. E. K. A. There was a total appropriation of | $67,378,119 for aeronautical devalop- ment and maintenance divided between the Navy Department Bureau of Aero- nautics, Army Air Corps, Department of Commerce Aeronautics Section and the Air Mail Division of the Post Office De- partment. Q. Where was the fountain of Pi- rene?—D. K. A. Pirene was a celebrated fountain at Corinth, which took its origin from Pirene, a daughter of Oesalus who melt- ed away into tears through grief over | the loss of her-son Cenchrias.” At this fountain, Bellerophon is said to have caught Pegasus. The fountain burst forth from the rock in Acrocorinthus. Q. How many post offices were there when the United States Government was established?>—D. B. T. A. There were about 90. Q. How fine a wire mesh has been made?—~H. R. A. A world’s record has been estab- lished recently with a wire cloth having 160,000 square openings to the square ich. ~ Q. How long is the Talor & Malvern Railroad?—C. M. A. This Iowa railroad is only 11 miles long. Its owner acts as president, gen- eral manager, agent and engineer. The are usually made from asbestos fibers | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Interstate ' Commerce Commission has | put a valuation of $135,000 on the little Is there | road. Q. Does the giving of samples of ma- | teria's by department stores amount to | an item of any size in a year's, busi- ness?>—A. W. A. | ""A. A shop of any size finds that sam- | ples cost them thousands of dollars in | the course of a yeas Q. Where was Jane Austen’s childhood spent? Was she well educated?—G. W. A. Jane Austen was one of the most famous of English novelists. She had the advantage of an education far su- perior to that of most uh’li of her day. | She was educated by her father. Jane was the youngest of seven children, of whom only one other was a girl. Her father was rector of Stevenson, near Basingstoke, in Hampshire, Here she lived for the flrst 25 years of her life. She is said to have been the founder of the domestic novel. Q. How much butter fat is there in butter?—I. C. J | . Butter contains 81 per cent butter | fat, 1512 per cent water, 2!, per cent | salt, 1 per cent curd. Q. Who employs the air mall pilots?—P. C. A. Air mail Is carried under con- | tract. and air mail pilots are employed by the contractors. Q. Has Walter Damrosch ever com- posed any operas?—N. N. A. He has written two grand operas, “The Scarlet Letter” and “Cyrano de | Bergerac,” both of which have been | given several times in America. Q. What kind of a book does the | tatue of Liverty have in the left hand? 2Ne i A." The left hand holds a tablet upon which is inscribed “July 4, 1776.” Q. What is the cost of fuel for the U. S. S. Maryland per: hour?—A. D. A. At 12 knots cruising speed, the oil consumption of the U. S. 8. Mary- | land costs about $39 per hour. At an- | chor, the oil consumption on the U. 8. g. Maryland would cost about $4 per our. Q. How large is the town of Cov- entry, R. L2—R. W. Al The area of Coventry is 58.6 square miles. The town embraces 10 villages—namely, Washington, Anthony, Quidnick, Harris, Coventry Center, Summit, Greene, Rice City, Arkwright and Whitman, and is the second largest town in area in the State. Anthony contains the old homestead of Gen. Nathanael Greene, Q. How large is our largest national park?—C. B. A. Yellowstone is the largest and has an area of 3,348 square miles. Q. In what circumstances did Verdi write “AMla"?—V. C. A. Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Turkey, commissioned Giuseppe Verdi to write “Aida” for the opening of the Cairo Opera House. Q. Did President Wilson offer the use of & battleship to Harding after he was elected?—T. L. D. A. President-elect Harding was of- | fered a battleship to convey him to | Florida, but the offer was declined. Q. Why does Mexico hold elections on Sunday?—R. H. H. A. Mexico has what is known as the “Continental Sabbath.” It is much more a day of change from the usual occupa- tions than it is a day of rest. For this reason, and because So many people are unemployed on the Sabbath, it i quite common to have elections ana other political functions on this day. Q. How large a vessel was Heary Hudson's Half Moon?—P. M. A. The Half Moon was a Vlie boat of 80 lasts burden. The last, like the ton, has & somewhat flexible measure, but it is safe to say that the vessel in which Hudson sailed in 1609 was a shallow lit- tle craft of not over 660 tons and prob- ably less. Q. What species of mulberries grow- ing in the United States are suitable for silkworms?—J. McN. A. There are several varieties of mul- berry in the United States the leaves of which are used for feeding silk- worms. One is the black mulberry | (Morus nigra), which grows in the South and in California. The white mulberry (Morus alba) is much more cxtensively planted and its leaves are considered the best food for silkworms. | The paper mulberry 8 still another | spacies which furnishes leaves for silk- { worms. Judge and Jury On Sending Kidnapers to Prison A possible turning point in crime conditions of the larger cities, especially | Chicago ftself, is seen by some observers Congratulated | Morgantown New Dominion, and that | paper says of the trial: “The two de~ | endants had already kidnaped a little clerk of the Supreme Court to August 1, |1 the action of a Chicago judge and | boy and held him for $60,000 ransom. 1874, and are today. On August 1, 1874, Congress, by act, provided that thereafter all marriage ' threats from the murderers of a witness | returns were to be made to the Board of Health. This act was amended by another, on January 8, 1902, which pro- vided that thereafter all returns were to be made to the clerk of the Supreme Court. This act was not strictly com- plied with by all performing marriage ceremonies because more were returned to the clerk of said court than to the Board of Health in the period between the passage of the acts in question. Therefore, for the long period between August 1,-1874, and January 8, 1902, the marriage records are divided, one part being in the office of the clerk of the | Supreme Court and the other in the Health Department. Grave errors have arisen out of such division, and losses to government and individuals on the certificates of the respective custodians that no record was in his office, without giving notice to party seeking record to make inquiry of the other custodian, in whose office, as a matter of fact, there was a record. For many reasons, the records should be consolidated under one head. I urge that this be done. ANDREW JORDAN GREEN. Virginia Farmer &’anls Speedy Relief Moves To the Editor of The Star: Seven years Congress has been par- leying over farm relief. Let them do what they are going to do now. Save and take the cost of an ex- tra session and apply it to the relief of the distressed farmer so that he can go on about his business in peace. Here in Rockingham County, the third richest agricultural county in the United States and right in the heart of the noted Shenandoah Valley, hundreds of us are having real estate advertised for sale for back taxes and past-due mortgages. S O S! PAUL E. RHINEHART. B ) Lincoln’s Love Lfll:;s Held Relics of History To the Editor of The Star: < Abraham Lincoln's three love letters to Mary Owens and the related letter to Mrs. Browning, published today as revelations, copyrighted by the Kansas City Star, have appeared textually in Lincoln histories for many years past. Recognizing them immediately, I turned to my copy of Hapgood's “Lin- coln” (1899), in which the first letter quoted today appears on page 61, the second letter on page 64, the third | Jury who sent two kidnapers-for-ran- | som to prison in the face of death | in_the case. | " “A momentary silver lining to the black cloud of lawlessness” is seen by | the Minncapolis Tribune, which says in | reviewing the case: “The sentencing of these two wretches to 25 vears in the penitentiary. will be acclaimed by the | fication, as a triumph for law and order in the Illinois metropolis. Yet the ve | bouquets which are | ward can only emphasize th | to which that crime-ridden city itallen. We do not ordinarily congratu- late a community for prosecuting, fear- |lessly and energetically, those cowardly scoundrels who steal its children and hold them for ransom under penalty of death. We do not ordinarily felicitate | judges and prosecuting attorneys and | Jurors who have the rudimentary de- | against one of the blackest of crimes. ¢ ¥ * The trouble with the silver edg- {ing to the Chicago cloud is that it only | suggests, by unpleasant contrast, the i blackness and weakness and impene- trability of the whole ugly mass.” * ok K * | “Police could, if they would,” accord- | ing to the El Paso Herald, “pounce down upon Chicago’s gangland and have nearly every one of its criminals in jail | within a fortnight, provided the courts ! sustained the arrests. The police know who the gangsters are. They would have little trouble on this scor ‘The Herald sees an aftermath of case, however, in the prospect that “the judge must ever be on his guard, for at any mo- | ment he is likely to be made a mark for assassins’ bullets, or his home may be blown to atoms by gangster bombs.” | That paper further suggests: “Surely there are enough good citizens in a city with a population of 3,000,000 to see that right prevails. But if ihe better element does not take the initiative in clamping down with a viselike grip on the criminal forces, there is little hope that Chicago will be made a safe city for decent people for many years.” “The question was presented whether it is possible for outlaws so to terrorize a great community as to make fair trial by jury impossible,” declares the Cleve- land Plain Dealer, with the further comment: “The outcome of the trial is a triumph for law. * * * It is obvious | Nation, and perhaps with som> justi- | | cency and courage to take their stand | A bers of their gang had demon- strated that they would not hesitate to kill in defense of their comrades. | Wouldn't you ponder a moment about the possibility that this gang might seck | you out, after the trial was over and forgotten, and take a shot at you or put a bomb under your house? We agree with the judge. The jury did show courage, and it deserves congratu- lations, not alone of Chicago, but of the whole country, in thus doing its part to stamp out gang rule and terrorism.” * ok ox K “It is to be hoped” suggests the Cleveland News, “the Chicago lice will show unwonted diligence and effi- ciency in guarding the homes, families and lives of the judge, jurors and prose- cutors—and not discontinue the sentry duty after a few days on the assumption that danger has passed.” “The example of the Chicago judge and jury should be followed by other courts and juries,” urges the Altoona Mirror. “We do not advocate cruelty. But the law is not cruel when it im- poses upon such a criminal as the child stealer a penalty in some measure pro- portionate to the crime his cruelty and cupidity led him to commit. In former years children of the wealthy have been kidnaped and treated with the utmost cruelty. The law should deal with every child stealer in an exemplary manner. ‘The future safety of the little onés ¢e- mands such action.” 0 k. “Chicago’s subservience” to the gang represented by the kidnapers is ge- » nounced by the Muncie Star, whigh feels that “the league of the politician and the undervorld has shackled the hands of justice, and so bold have the criminals become that the gangster's bullet has served as a terrible warning to any who might wish to assert thelr rights.” The Star believes that the menace of death “could not continue if outraged public opinion in CI | would demand the eradication of these criminal bands which have fattened upon the unhoiy alliance with politics. Long prison terms or deportation,” continues that paper, “would create tor the first time a due regard for the law.” “The belief that our immigration rules, while more stringent than for- merly, still need strengthening in .the matter of selecting applicants” is em- phasized by the Tulsa World, with the further contention that “it is up to the enough that had.this court or jury permitted itself to be intimidated, as the underworld intended both should be, a serious blow would have been struck at social order. A crisis was pre- sented. When organized banditry learns it can terrorize the law and paralyze Justice, if it ever can, there will be an end of liberty,* * * Every miscarriage of justice, r through inefficient prosecution, fntapable jurors or uu- couragegis judges, has the effect of authorities to see that no more crimi- nfll;s shall be t ted on ‘The Lexington Leader asserts that “it should be possible for the Government, in such a situation as that in X to determine very quickly who, among all those involved in the court proceed- ings, are entitled to be in the country, and to deport summarily every man and woman who is convicted of crime, after sentence has been served, and e Who cann '