Evening Star Newspaper, January 21, 1929, Page 8

8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY.......January 21, 1929 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor - The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Building. European Office: 14 Regent St.. London, England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. ‘The Evening Star..... .......45C periconth Sunday Star Sundayg) oo 60c per month ‘The Evening and Sunday Star (when 5 Sundays) ..65¢ per month The Sunday Star .5¢ per copy Collection mace at the end of cach month. Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone Main 5000. Rate by Mall—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. el . mo., 85 g:“: :}mflys.undu .1 yr., $6.00; 1 mo., 50c Sunday only 1 $4.00; 1 wo.. 40c All Other State: and Canada. 1yr.8 12.00; 1 mo., $1.00 Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Fress is exclusively cntitled to the use for republization of all rews dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the local hews published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. = Mr. Hoover “on Vacation.” President-clect Herbert Hoover is un his way to Florida for a month’s rest and “vacation” before he returns again to Washington to take on the arduous work of President of the United States. In the sunny South Mr. Hoover will fish and meditate. He has much to think about. During the last two weeks he has been in Washington, where he acquired a plethora of information. He is almost at the threshold of his administration as Chief Executive. The finishing touches are yet to be placed upon the make-up of his official fam- ily, the cabinet. He has yet, according to report, to write his inaugural ad- dress, which he is to deliver at the Capitol when he is inaugurated into office on March 4. It appears that the President-elect will have much to oc- cupy him in Florida besides the fish. ‘For two solid weeks Mr. Hoover has given long hours to the consideration of public business. He has received scores of leaders of the Republican party, and advice from all of them of one kind'or another. For two weeks he has maintained silence regarding his plans for the future. He has given no public indjcation of his selections for the cabinet, and no announcement of these appointments is expected until a short time before he becomes Presi- dent. Mr. Hoover has made no state- ment regarding a special session or farm relief legislation or tariff revision. He has taken the position that he is not Chief Executive and that President Coolidge is, and that any statement in regard to legislation at this time must come from the President. It was this firm attitude on the part of Mr. Hoover and his declination to make any de- mand in regard to farm legislation at the present short session which finally dashed the hopes of some of the Re- publican Senators and Representatives who wished to avoid a special.session of the new Congress this Spring. But while Mr, Hoover has made no declaration publicly in regard to legis- lation, he leaves Washington with the firm understanding that there is to be a special session of the Congress soon after he enters the White House. There are indications, too, that he intends to act promptly in regard to an inquiry into the prohibition enforcement prob- lem, through the appointment of a spe- cial investigating commission. Further- more, there is prospect of a real effort to bring about the reorganization of the executive departments of the Govern- ment s0 as to make for greater effi- ciency and the elimination of the du- plication of work. These decisions have come to be known, not through any public statements by Mr. Hoover, but through statements made by his callers. Indeed, Mr. Hoover has shown his abil- ity to hold his tongue and keep his own counsel on more occasions than one, ———— Prohibition agents demand recognition of their services in wage terms. - The sense of moral satisfaction is not en- tirely sufficient as compensation. ———————— Alcohol has the notorious effect of causing a quarrelsome disposition. So apparently, at times, has prohibition, ————————— Municipal Center Site. Chairman Simmons of the subcom- mittee on District appropriations has introduced a bill, designed to become substantive law, authorizing the ac- quisition of the proposed site for the new municipal center, and providing for the immediate purchase of the northern half. The intended site is four large city blocks between Third and Sixth streets, east and west of John Marshall place, north of Pennsylvania avenue to Judiciary square. It is particularly de- sirable as a municipal center because the District Supreme Court Building, which faces down John Marshall place, was the original City Hall for Wash- ington. The area covers some of the most historical spots in the city, early homes of Washington immortals, which might very appropriately be memorial- ized in a municipal group. Mr. Simmons proposes that the en- tire cost shall be borne by the District revenues regardless of the fact thgt the site of the present District Building was due from the Federal Government as a sort of recompense for the original municipal center site in Judiciary Square, and the present Municipal Building was erected on the fifty-fifty principle of fiscal relations between the Federal Government and the District taxpayers. The eguities in the case should be carefully threshed out as to the Federal Government’s just treatment of the municipality under these circumstances. The bill is pending before the House District committee, and Representative Underhill of Massachusetts will seek to amend it by authorizing the immediate acquisition of the four squares needed for the municipal center site, and if only two squares are to be acquired now, he will insist that the two front- ing on Pennsylvania avenue should be bought first. It is understood that Mr. Simmons would have no objection to four squares being acquired at one.f Aside from the controversy over the equities cost the Federal Government should bear, it is obvious that for proper planning of the new municipal center, for economy in the cost of the site, the entire area should be acquired at once. The Federal building program in the triangle south of Pennsylvania avenue would immediately boost the value of gmt squares on the north side of the venue. The widening and straighten~ ing of B street which will run past the municipal center site, and which is to be one of the most attractive boule- vards in the world within a very few | vears, and the new broad avenue from Union Station to Pennsylvania avenus at Second street, would all enhance the value of the Avenue property between Third and Sixth streets. The cost should not be allowed to multiply against the District taxpayers. The entire site should be taken for a municipal center, and if it is to be taken it should be acquired at the one time, and not taken in bites. It can be acquired now much more cheaply than in a few years. House Leader -Tilson has promised .that time will be granted in the House- for any District legislation that should be acted upon quickly. The legislation for the new municipal center is urgent. If promptly passed the money can be made available in the deficiency ap- propriation bill, before the present Congress expires. oo America and Reparations, With Messrs. Owen D. Young and J. P. Morgan definitely appointed un- official American members of the com- mittee of experts to deal with German reparations, this country’s interest in that intricate problem is fixed. The committee is scheduled to meet in Paris on February 9. Its deliberations will prospectively extend over the ensuing sixty or ninety days. The Hoover administration will be established apd in office long before then. Such aspects of the reparations issue as impinge upon American inter- ests are destined to become one of the first preoccupations of the incoming ad- ministration - at Washington' in the realm of foreign affairs, Following formal acceptance of his appointment as an American expert, Mr. Young, in New York on Saturday, took occasion to make clear the exact scope of the reparations committee’s ac- tivities. It is not, for one thing, o “re- vise” the Dawes plan. The experts are rather to supply a deficiency in the plan by fixing; as it failed to do, the exact total which Germany is obligated to pay. The committee is also to determine the number and amount of annual pay- mgnts which Germany, on the basis of accumulated facts, should henceforward make. Mr. Young suggests that the world’s mind about reparations wpuld be kept straight if the findings of the new committee were to be officially christened the “Second Daw#s Plan.” ‘While Mr. Young himself refused to discuss the contemplated flotation of a THE EVENI\NG STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., MONDAY, old picture of life creeping up from the slime of primeval sea beaches to cover the earth is torn ‘to bits in Clark's theory. He is able to fit into his theory the observed facts of the progress of the embryo, which has been regarded as one of the most conclusive bits of evi- dence for the evolution of life from lower to higher forms from an unknown beginning. After marshaling his evi- dence he is obliged to reach a semi- creationist viewpoint—an evolution by mutations which are not abnormalities but expressions of inherent tendencies in life itself, present from the begin- ning and restricted only by environ- ment. —————r———— A Menace to Navigation. Several years ago the American Gov- ernment, in recognition of the increas- ing traffic in the Atlantic between the Florida coast and the westernmost flanks of the Bahamas, asked permis- sion from Great Britain to place a light- ship off the Matanilla Shoal, a danger- our reef lying somewhat less than fifty miles from the mainland and constitut- ing a dangerous obstruction to naviga- tion. The channel between Matanilla and Florida is one of the most crowded in the Western world, accommodating all the coastwise traffic of the sea, which in late years has grown tremen- dously. While there is room enough in calm weather to allow all the ships that traverse these waters to elect a safe course without crowding the shores or the reefs, this very margin of security has its perils, as has just been illustrat- ed by a mishap, fortunately without tragedy. A ship on its way from New York to the West Coast, and thence around the world, with Havana as the next objective port, taking an easterly route rather than a westerly around the “bulge” of Florida above Palm Beach, failed, owing to poor visibility, to pick up the small light buoy that gives a guide to the position of Matanilla Reef, and until sighting Jupiter Light could not know her exact position. On getting that position it was found that the small buoy had been passed, and then a change of course was ordered for cor- rection and the ship hit the reef and grounded. The British government refusdd the United States the permission requested for the placing of a lightship at this dangerous point. The work would not have entailed expense upon the British, The United States coyld not place this guide to navigation without the consent of the London government. So the reef has gone unmarked except for the small light buoy which, as this latest accident demonstrates, can easily be missed in the murk of thick weather or the height of seas in storm. Luckily no lives are lost in conse- quence of this misfortune. But the case should nevertheless be the cause of repeated effort by this Government to secure a better lighting of'the Ba- hama Channel, which is yearly growing gigantic German reparation bond is- Sue—commonly fixed at $4,000,000,000— Europe continues to discuss such a project in terms of universal expecta- tion. There is as incegsant discussion of the prospect that a generous share —#$2,000,000,000 is mentioned—would eventually be floated in the American money market. \ At any rate, this so-called “commer- cialization” of reparations is what the Germans in a unique idiom of their own eall “zukunftsmusik,” or music of the future. In other words, bond is- sue discussion is premature. Until the experts at their forthcoming sessions have worked out afresh another pro- gram of Gérmany's capacity to pay bond talk savors of putihg the cart be- fore the horse. Meantime, the Government and peo- ple of the United States have uncom- monly sound assurance, in the persons of their reparations spokesmen, that this country’s interests will be skillfully safegyarded. - Mr. Hoover's attitude to- ward American-European financial re- lations is well known. It affords an ad- ditional guarantee that Germany's ob- ligations to her war creditors and those creditors’ obligations to the United States will not be permitted to become interlocking propositions. The Presi- dent-elect holds them, as President ‘oolidge does, to be wholly unrelated questions. On the other phase of the problem Mr. Hoover's views are on record, too. He is unalterably opposed to wholesale exploitation of the American market for foreign loans of “non-constructive” character. ————— ‘Without pretending to oratory, J. P. Morgan usually speaks with knowledge and authority, and invariably has a dis- tinguished and attentive audience. . r—on s It cannot be denied that a great deal of pleasant climate that unfortunately cannot be reserved for March 4 is being wasted on January. ——e—. The New “Evolution.” ‘The new theory of evolution formu- lated by Dr. Austin H, Clark of the National Museum, a biologist whose wide reputation entitles his views to respect, is likely to meet not only strenuous opposition but much misinterpretation. ‘Whether his views be right or wrong, Dr. Clark has rendered invaluable serv- ice by showing that there may be an- other interpretation of the phenomena upon which the foundations of modern science have been so largely built. It should be understood clearly that he still maintains an evolutionary mech- anism in his views on the development of life. Widely as he differs from the orthodox evolutionist, he does not ap- proach very close to the view of the man whom he calls the “creationist.” Dr. Clark hold® to the evolutionary view, but he throws out the element of time. He cannot concede that the vertebrate sprang from the invertebrate, that the fish preceded the amphibian, the amphibian the reptile and the reptile the bird and the mammal. ‘A searching analysis of the evidence for a continual progress from lower to higher life forms, he says, fails to dem~ onstrate that it is valid. There are too many “missing links” and too much conflicting testimony in the rocks. For example, he has found fish scales, he insists, in Cambrian rocks which are the depositories of practically the earliest life records and were laid down long before vertebrates are supposed to have existed on earth. If there were Cambrian fishes, why not Cambrian in use and which must be made more secure. It is hardly conceivable that Great Britain will again refuse, and it may be that inasmuch as the area in question is strictly within its own juris- diction it will undertake at its own ex- pense the desired lighting of a point that is a grievous menace to naviga- tion, 5 ——— Enough financial expertness is being brought to bear on peace matters to encourage the hope that war must be abandoned’ because of its entirely un- profitable nature. —————— The “flu” germ extends a peculiar immunity to physicians and professional nurses. There are some mortals too busily and responsibly engaged to find time to get sick. It is evidently the intention of Al Smith to show that the great American beok agent can be not only a good salesman, but a good political partisan, - —— e An occasional intimation arises that the United States Senate might be more popular if it were not for an insatiable curlosity about various transactions, ———e— Congress has never welcomed any idea of according shorter hours and less re- quirements of hard work. ————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER, JOHNSON. . Shifted Responsibility, My New Year Resolution— I view it with regret. I hung it on the Christmas tree Which hadn't withered yet. The man who drives the wagon, To clean up, made a call, He took the resolution, The Christmas tree and all, I am not disconcerted, Since the police draw nigh! To regulate my morals Most faithfully they’ll try, ‘The censors will be busy. New statutes will be due. My New Year Resolution, T've no more need of you. Mechanical Speed. “Have you ever gone up in an air- plane?” " “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I like the idea of going fast and flying high, but a political machine affords me all the excitement I feel that I can stand.” Jud Tunkins says he tried to have a kind word for everybody till they went and got him on the grand jury, ‘Winter Warmth. The climate, we must all agree, ‘To great and small grants equal terms, The weather, fine for you and me, Is also rather good for germs. Contest. “This man who is so interested in you,” said the whispering friend, “is a fortune hunter.” “I don’t hold that against him,” said Miss Cayenne. “So am 1.” “A rich man often has many depend- ents,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “who enjoy his wealth more than he does.” Different Kinds, As “Beautiful but Dumb” we name ‘The silent lass so gracious. ‘We then salute another Dame As “Lovely, but Loquacious.” “A friend axes me how to keep chick- ens,” said Uncle Eben. f{ has to tell amphibia, reptiles and mammals whose him dat in dis neighbor! it jes can't ayolied 1 deciding how much of tha Jemains bave mot beed foundz XS be dons Perhaps the best blography since Ludwig’s “Napoleon” is Matthew Jo- sephson’s “Zola and His Time,” This is a big book in intent, scope and physical appearance, one which lives up to its subtitle announcement: “The history of his martial career in letters, with an account of his circte of friends, his remarkable enemies, ¢ pean labors, public campaigns, and ultimate glorification.” It is all there, the many stupendous novels this great man of French lettegs wrote, the way he began-and the way he ended, and why he began as he did and how he ended as he did. The Dreyfus trial is there, today a memory, but at the time a thing which shook the civilized world, with Emile Zola in the thick of it with his un- forgettable “J’Accuse” hurled at the en- tire French nation. As the German blographer gave the reader the great Napoleon in a con- vincing light, the American biographer gives one of the Napoleons of literature in an equally impelling manner. There will be some to feel that this is the better book of the two, Since Ludwig left out Napoleons battles, whereas Josephson leaves out nothing from his study of Zola. ‘When the reader puts down this big book of 558 pages he does so with a sense of complete information, not only as to the facts of the life before him, but more in relation to the interpreta- tion of those facts. If it is evident that this should be the way every biography should leave a reader, one has but to look at some of the other “modern biographies” to see how rare the accomplishment actu- ally is. In all too many of the much- heralded ones there is much freth and little substance. We have in mind as a particular offender a recent sketchy biography of Alexandre Dumas, in which the author was 5o much intrigued by the good na- ture of his subject that he devoted the entire work—which was too short for a serious work—to a consideration of his amours and “parties,” leaving out practically all mention of his great romances! y trials * k%% Mr. Josephson makes no such mistake with his Zola. He gives us first and foremost his novels. And the reader, if he be analytical-minded, finds himself asking, “Why not?” How else is it possible to give a his- tory of a man who wrote methodically, day after day, every day for years on end, for his whole mature lifetime? ‘The books are the man! Ludwig left Bonaparte's battles out of his “Napoleon” and still managed to give the average reader a wonderful idea of what such a man as Napoleon was like, but it is doubtful if he could have done this if there had not been a Napoleon tradition throughout the world. There is no one but has heard of the battle of Waterloo, there are few.who have not read something or other about the great man's military career. How many persons, however, are ac- quainted with the plan and extent of the Rougon - Macquart novels which Emile Zola wrote over a period of more than 20 years? How many_readers, even those who As to one “Coolidge policy” to be followed by the Hoover administra- tion, there is already no doubt. That is the policy of doing more listening than talking. During his recent fortnight in Washington the President-elect fairly deafened Republican politicians with his silence. There’s hardly a Senator, Rep- resentative, national committeeman or anybody else that ran the gantlet of buffers between Hoover and the out- side world. who isn't ready to admit that the Californian has the Vermonter reduced to a conversational geyser com- pared to his own verbosity. Like every- thing else_he tackles, the President- elect had his two weeks in Washing- ton systematically organized. They had a definite purpose and it was fulfilled. That purpose was to give Republican liticians their day “in _court. The fl?dge and the jury, viz, Herbert Hoo- ver, heard what they had to say, and, as courts do, reserved judgment. E One of the tales which gained cur- rency in Washington following Al Smith’s recent financial talk over the radio was that he will shortly enter the United States Senate. The idea would be that Senator Wagner of New York, by resigning, would enable Gov. Roosevelt to appoint Smith his succes- sor. Inquiries at Smith headquarters in Gotham by this observer _elicited prompt denial of the story. Yet an- other suggestion, has cropped up in Washington since Al's cry for cash and combat. It is to the effect that he might give practical demonstration of his belief in the necessity of ceaseless party activity by himself assuming the Democratic national chairmanship. Two things would be accomplished by such a move, its projectors point out. First, it would keep the 1928 organization to- gether. Secondly, it would automatically eliminate Smith as a contender for an- other. presidential nomination. ~The proponents of. the scheme might have added a third probable result—the con- tinued hostility of Dixie Democrats. > * ok kK Not long ago a well known business man was a witness in a District of Columbia court, giving expert testi- mony. In the course of cross-exam- ation by opposing counsel, the wit- nbss was asked to name the one he considered the outstanding authority in the United States on the subject at issue. Unhesitatingly, he replied, “I am.” During the noon recess, a friend said to the unblushing witness, “Say, you had a powerful ego in saying you know more about this case than any- ‘ody else in the country.” The ex- pert rejoined, “Well, I was under oath, wasn't I?” * ok ok ok When the Seventy-first Congress is convened in special session by Presi- dent Hoover and tariff revision is up, the free list is going to come under heavy ‘fire. Various now unprotected industries are going to do their best to be.taken off the list. The National Boot & Shoe Manufacturers’ Associ- ation is already girding for battle on that line. Boois and shoes have never been subjected to foreign dupies. It's the Czechoslovakian women’s shoe in- dustry that is playing havoc in partic- ular with the American footwear trade. ‘The average citizen isn't aware of the large number of articles and_commod- itles now on the free list. Farm im- plements, bread, typewriters, coal, cop- per, cofton, asphalt, silk, tea, coffee, cocoa, , teeth, turpentine, gunpowder, potash, | shrimps, lobsters, ice and mather; of pearl are a few of the hun- dred .gdd items now able to crash the customhouse gate without hindrance. 1 * ok ok ok Majj Sherman Miles, Coast Artillery Corps, U.'S. A., son and heir of the late Gen. Nelson A, Miles, contributes to the current Coast Artillery Journal a timely word yon national defense. ‘In an articleSentitled “The Pipes of Peace,” Maj. Miles, one'of the brilliant schol- ars of « the Army, impersonating a soliloquizing soldier says: My business is national security, not international reform. But the truth-is, our géneration said we were going.to do away with war—and we have not made good. Meantime let us say*frankly, as we soldiers do in substance say: “The world is groping towards ‘peace. It may in time at- tain it. In the méanwhile we carry on under the old system of national security jby preparedness. It has its obvious "disadvantages. It is the standing proof that the goal has not Ieached, that humanity bas . THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, with literature, have read more than two or three of Zola’s more famous storles, including “Nana” and “The Dram Shop”? It is precigely because Zola, who he was, what he wrote and what he ac- complished, is not as well known as he ought to be, that Mr. Josephson has ac- complished a true piece of biography. ‘While not disdaining the tricks of the so-called “new biography,” with {its avowed intent to show the souls of men, Matthew Josephson is not content with the newer methods, but falls back on the old time-tried devices which have done duty since Plutarch wrote. The total result is a blography which will at once delight the searcher after the “new” as well as the believer in the old. One trick which we are particu- larly pleased that Mr. Josephson did not use is the present verb tense, Since Ludwig set that style, and the public seemed to take to it, some of our biographical writers perforce have imi- tated him, so that all we get today is “They are sitting around the table,” and “She wonders what is happening,” and “He goes to the window.” etc. ‘The plain truth is that “Napoleon” was a success not because of this man- nerism, but despite it. The proper historical manner, when dealing with the past, is to write in the past. That seems plain enough. A certain super- ficial sense of movement, ‘“pep,” or what you will, is created by the use of the present tense, but:the past tense wears better. - * kK K “Zola and His Time,” above all, is a history of Zola's books. They are all here, every one he wrote, not only in themselves and for themselves, but in relation to the man and the times and to men and the times. Mr. Josephson achieves the distinction of putting all Paris and all France on paper along with Zola's novels. There is everywhere in tI book a sense of values, a feeling of actuality; the move- ments of mobs is shown as calmly and authoritatively as the movements of lit- erary ups-and-downs and the likes and dislikes of the hero. Somehow, one comes from this book with a new regard for both Zola and his native land. The French temperament, such a puzzle to many Americans, is here shown in action, so that an Amer- ican comes to understand why a French- man is a Frenchman. Those for whom there is no other literature quite so striking or entertain- ing as the French will understand bet- ter, after finishing “Zola and His Time,” why this is true for them. ‘They will learn to know the writer, unafraid either of himself or others or of what his own conscience might whis- per to him later, or of what the yawp- .ing mouths of others might yell at him. Zola persevered on his gigantic way. He had books to write and he 'was go- ing to write them. How he did it Mr. Josephson explains without deifying his subject or looking down on him. We get here the portrait of a man, and this portrait explains both the soul and body of the man. What more can a biography do? “Zola and His Time” is one of the satisfactory books which leave the read- er with the feeling that he has been told all there i to be told in a fair, conscientious and interesting manner. pride themselves on being acquainted !Now he knows Zola—and his time. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE not yet learned to govern itself. But, taking the world as it is, we believe that it offers the only road to rea- sonable security for our national B e * ok Kk Senator John J. Blaine, Republican Progressive of Wisconsin, seems to be a prophet without honor in his own land. Within 24 hours of his action in flocking by himself and comprising the minority of one vote against the Kellogg pact, a joint resolution was offered in the State Senate and Assem- bly at Madison, condemning Blaine for opposing ratification. The resolution praises the treaty'and “hastens to as- sure the Senate and people of the United States that Senator Blaine's lone opposition vote does not reflect the sen- timent of the other men and women of Wisconsin on this question.” “Young Bob” La Follette voted for ratification. It isn't the only issue on which he and Blaine fail to see eye to eye. Now and then Blaine is credited with a longing to dethrone the La Follette dynasty in Wisconsin and himself seize the scepter. * ok ok ok . Senator Bronson Cutting, Republican, of New Mexico, recently re-elected, has just been honored by fellow alumni of his alma mater, Harvard University, with a nomination to the Harvard board of overseers. He is one of 18 candidates for six available trusteeships to be filled in June by vote of graduates. Cutting, a Long Islander by birth, was gradu- ated at Cambridge with the class of 1910, emerging with Phi Beta Kappa ‘honors. (Copyright, 1029.) Asthma Sufferers To Wear Gas Masks Gas masks for people who suffer from hay fever or asthma are the newest i vention of German medical science, scribed at a recent meeting of the Ber- lin Medical ‘Society by Dr. Eduard Fraenkel of the Berlin University. Both asthma and hay fever are believed by physicians to belong to the long list of diseases known as ‘“allergies”—diseases often caused by plant pollens or other special kinds of dust in the air. Pollen-proof rooms have been built, supplied with pure air from,which all | pe dust has been washed or such rooms are beyond the means of any but the rich. r this reason, Dr. Fraenkel, assisted by engineers of one of the German manufacturers of war gas masks, undertook to develop a gas mask able to filter the poisonous pollen out of the air just as poison gases are removed. Although some of the grains of pollen are less than a millionth of an inch in diameter, the task of filter- ing these out of the air has been ac- complished so successfully, Dr. Fraenkel reported, that the new masks give sub- stantial relief to sufferers from asthma, many of whom are attacked at all sea- sons of the years. Next Summer and Fall, when the cloud of pollen brings on the annual hay-fever season, the new masks will be tried for that dis- order as well. tered, but Dual Control Piano Is Aid to Students Borrowing an idea from the dual con- trols now used to instruct beginning airplane pilots, a German inventor has devised a “dual control” piano, by which the piano-teacher can play side by side with the pupil, correcting the learner’s mistakes even before they happen. An ordinary h?mm is used by the learner. Beside this stands a device resembling the keyboard of another piano, but with the rest of that instrument missing. Here the teacher sits. \ ‘This detached keyboard contains elec- tric switches communicating, through a many-wired cable, with devices in- side the real piano used by the pupil. Whenever the teacher presses one of the keys of the electric keyboard, that key of the real plano is struck elec- trically. The teacher allows the pupil to play in the usual manner so long as_everything goes well. But if the pupil makes a mistake or if the teacher wishes to illustrate some different way of playing, it is possible to “take the controls” and plmtm assage in what- ever manner is degh Similarly, the pupil can play oye§ & passage imme- diately after it been played by the teacher, with the necessity of changiog places on the 5look JANUARY 21, IHeat from Frozen Rivers! 1929. Suggested by Scientist BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. How useful power might be obtained in cold countries like Siberia or North- ern Canada out of heat locked up in frozen rivers was suggested recently to the French Academy of Sciences in Paris by M. H. Barjot. Such streams always freeze, M. Barjot reminded the academy, from the top down. Usually a few feet of ice forms and pratects the water below. so that it never freczes at all, This looked-in water remains all Winter at its freezing point or above, which means that it may be 30 or 40 1degrees hotter than the surface of the ground and the average temperature of the air. The essential thing about a steam engine or any other kind of heat en- gine is that it moves heat from a hotter place to a colder one and makes the heat do work as it moves. ‘Why not move the heat of the im- prisoned water out into the colder air, M. Barjot asks, and make it do work just as steam does when it escapes from the hot boiler into the relatively cold air outside? Liquids beiling at very low temperatures might be used to “boil” by the heat of the buried water and condense in the outside cold. Or non-freezing brines, like those used in artificial ice plants, might be circu- lated underneath the ice in pipes to collect the heat and bring it to the sur- face. Were its remaining heat thus extracted, the water at the stream bot- toms might freeze solid, but it would warm up and melt again in the Spring. ) Faithful Handling of Bankruptey Cases| From the New York Times. - According to Julius Henry Cohen, chairman of the American Bar Associ- ation’s subcommittee on bankruptey, recefverships in bankruptcy here and in the United States generafly are “mostly political patronage.” If that be a fact, to state it is comment severe enough. It seems, however, that in Chicago and Detroit it is the custom to make a trust company receiver. The six Federal judges of the southern dis- trict of New York have agreed to fol- low that method here. They set about this work, Judge Knox says, before ‘the disappearance of a political receiver here had brought about the disclosure of a shocking betrayal of trust and set a grand jury to investigating the so- called “bankruptcy receiver.” The agreement of the judges con- templates the gradual “transfer to one institution, as its organization for the purpose becomes more complete, of all | the cases in bankruptcy. The amount .of bankruptey assets is so great that the receiver's fee, if not reduced, might seem excessive; and if the receiver designates itself as repository, that compensation will be further increased. Still, it is said that other trust com- panies, approached on the subject; manifested no large enthusiasm; and it may be an advantage to have the business put in one place, where the most efficient specialized machinery has been built up. In any case, a trust company is responsible and continuous and the creditors may be sure that their interests are honestly and faith- fully attended to. Doubtless there will be heart-burn- ings among some lawyers. If the re- ceivership business looks fat enough “political influence” will he exerted in favor of other trust companies. At any rate, the new arrangement will choke off the opportunities of fraud which now exist. The judges had to deal with the situation without waiting, long and vainly, perhaps, for Congress to legis- late away what is holy, as a vessel of patronage, to the politician. They must have followed for the last four or five years the efforts, originating in the Merehants® Association and supported by the local bar associations and the American Bar Association, for the ap- pointment of officlal receivers, salaried and having no finger in commissions or fees, ‘This is the practice that works so well in England. There would also be an official auditor to examine and su- pervise each transaction. The proposed salaries are $10,000 a year. It will be promptly objected that the Government can’t get “good men” for that money. It does get a lot of “good men” for that and less. But will “patronage” be ab- sent from the appointment of these re- celvers, if they are ever appointed? Real Responsibility on Minority: Party From the Roanoke World-News. Speaking over the radio, former Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York made an able plea for Democratic party solidarity and for continuous party effort. The burden of his argument was that the party should function as a party at all times, not merely during the heat of presidential campaigns. Outlining his view of the function and duty of a minority party, he advocated the open- ing of permanent offices, with a com- petent staff, for examination of public measures and for the dissemination of varty information. To get up a new ‘party organization a few months before a presidential election each four years is not only costly, but results in the use of amateurs where experience is needed, Tllustrating by the proposal to amend the tariff law at the coming special session of Congress, Gov. Smith suggested that such an “office could analyze the proposals for changes in the tariff schedules in the light of the Democratic party viewpoint, and keep the country informed as to the extent to which the country is departing from democratic principles, * *'* ‘The rt) This is a special department devoted solely to the handling of queries. This paper puts at your disposal the services of an extensive organization in Wash- ington to serve you in any capacity that relates to information. This service is free. Failure to make use of it de- prives you of benefits to which you are | entitled. Your obligation is only 2| cents in coin or stamps inclosed with your inquiry for direct reply. Address | The Evening Star Information Bureau, | Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washing- | ton, D. C, | Q. When was the first play by tele- vision broadcast?>—R. N. A. The play was an old one-act drama, “The Queen’s Messenger,” by J. Hartley Manners. It was broadcast at 1:30 p.m,, September 11, 1928, by WGY with Izetta Jewel as leading lady. Q. Which team was heavier, the Callf\)rnl‘tl;v University or Georgia Tech? A. The combined weight of the Cali- fornia players was 2,045 pounds and of | the Georgia Tech players, 1,956 pounds. ground | K. Q. Where was a dueling known as the “Oaks?"—H. McK. | A. The Oaks, one of the most famous | dueling grounds in the world, was in the | suburbs of New Orleans. On one par- ticular Sunday in 1828, ten duels were fought there. Between 1834 and 1844‘1 scarcely a day passed without a duel. | ‘The oaks on this ground are still stand- | ing. Duels in those days were fought | over such unimportant differences that they would now be regarded as trivial, | Q. When was the Wharton School of Finance started?—J. J. M. A. The Wharton School of Finance and Commerce of the University of Pennsylvania was organized in 1881. Q. Are the Palatine Hill and Janicu- lum put to modern use?—D. B. C. A. The Palatine Hill, Rome, is now a public park; the Janiculum has been converted into walks and drives. Q. Did Sandino ever live in Mexico? | —8. T. L. A. Henry M. Stimson in “American Policy in Nicaragua” says that he was told that Sandino lived in Mexico for 22 years, where he served under Pancho Villa, and only came back to Nicaragua on_the outbreak of the revolution in order to enjoy the opportunities for violence and pillage which it offered. Q. What is the origin of the ex- pression ‘“carrying coals to Newcastle”? E. P. A. Newcastle-on-Tyne, England, is center of the coal industry of Northumberland and Durham. The phrase, “carrying coals to Newcastle,” appears in an anonymous sermon to the people of Queen-Hith, advertised in the Daily.Courant of October 6, 1709, and published in Paternoster Row, Lo;l‘;inn. ‘The phrase implies unnecessary labor. Q. What was the name of the flying field at Camp Knox?—L. E. S. A. The flying field at Camp Knox, Stithon, Ky., was called “Godman Field.” It has not been in use since 1927, - Q. Has perpetual motion ever successfully demonstrated>—L. H. R. A. It has not. The views of the Patent Office are in accord with those of the scientists who have investigated the subject, and are of the effect that mechanical perpetual motion is a physi- cal impossibility. These views can be rebutted only by the exhibition of a working model. Many persons have filed applications for patents on per- E:tull motion, but such applications ve been rejected as inoperative and opposed to welk known physical laws, been R. model ever been complied with. Q. When should tulips and hya- cinths be taken out of a cold frame and subjected to a temperature be- tween 60 and 65 degrees in order to bloom for Easter?>—R. A. Tulip and hyacinth bulbs should and in no instance has the requirement | of the Patent Office for a working. | BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. Easter if they are submitted to a tem- erature from 60 to 65 degrees. It is bet- ter to bring them in six weeks before Easter and reduce the temperature to 55 degrees. Q. What do four sixes and & three count in cribbage?—J. H. H. A. They count 24. The double pair- royal counts 12, the normal count for six pairs. Each pair combined with the trey counts 2 for the 15, Q. Where is the largest church in the world? How long did it take to build it?>—E. O. F. A. St. Peter's in Rome, is the largest church in the world. The ancient basilica occupying the site of the present St. Peter's had become ruinous in 1450 and it was decided to replace it. Little was accomplished until 1506 and advance was slow until 1534, when Michelangelo’s designs were adopted. The dome was completed in 1590 and the basilica dedicated in 1626. Q. How many Mohammedans are there in the United States>—W. C. A. There are no actual figures show- ing the number of Mohammedans in the United States. The latest esti- mated number for United States ahd Canada was 20,000 actual members, Q. How long been used in dressin, S. C. A. The marcel wave was developed in France some 53 or 54 years ago. 2 ‘What is the legend of “the Pot of Basil,” about which Alexander painted his famous picture?—L. B. A. Isabella was in love with Basil, but her romance was opposed by her seven cruel brothers. In order fo frustrate the romance they slew Basil. Isabella then planted his head in a beautiful flower pot. from which grew a plant which Isabella tended carefully. In Alexander’s painting Isabella is shown standing beside the pot. he marcel wave g women's hair?— Q. Who discovered iron ore in the Marquette range?—L. D. M. A. It was first found by a white man, William A. Burt, deputy surveyor for the Government, on September 16, 1884, at the extreme end of Teal Lake, Q. How is it that a house cat always lights on its feet when falling?—W. 8. A. All animals ®naturally have the impulse to land on their feet when fall- ing. Since cats are more agile than other animals, if they are not too close to the floor when falling, they are more successful in landing on their feet. Q. When did the author of “'Twas {h'V Night Before Christmas” live?— A.’ C. C. Moore was born in New York City, July 15, 1779. He died at New- port, R. I, July 10, 1863. Q. Is there a substitute for jodine?— G. G. | _A. Dr. Hans Friedenthal of Berlin iUm\'c sity has discovered a substitute { for #bdine called “metajodni” It is | claimed to be devoid of the detrimental | effects of jodine and may be, used for the same purposes without any irri- tating effects. Q. Is it essential for a student to master a foreign language?—R. D. A. In a recent address Dr. Henry - Grattan Doyle of George Washington University made the following state- ment: “Not only are foreign languages the indispensable tools for international dealings of all kinds, but a knowledge of foreign languages and literature is the gateway to the understanding of foreign culture, foreign _civilizations and foreign psychologies. * * * Stu- dents should hegin their study early and should continue at least four, and pref- erably six years.” Q. Can honéy be used as an lanti- freeze solution in’automobile radiators? —P AT, P A. Government authoritles at the National Bee Culture Laboratory have tested honey as an anti-freeze solution be taken in about four weeks before and report it a safe, satisfactory and economical material for such use. John D. Rockefeller, jr, has the | sympathy of a large section of public opinion as reflected in newspaper com- ment in his fight to oust Col. Robert W. Stewart as chairman of the board of the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana as a result of the Teapot Dome affair. The battle for stockholders’ proxies is watched with. profound interest, even some of the observers who most cor- dially approve Mr. Rockefeller’s course being inclined to doubt that he can overthrow the resourceful colonel. A summary of the situation as pub- lished by the Chicago Daily Tribune is typical of the comments that have been made on the battle. The Tribune de- clares: “A good many observers suspect that Mr. Rockefeller is not going to win. They conclude that -he made a mistake in starting a fight in which his chances were none too good. Perhaps this is true, but in making the fight Mr. Rockefeller has served notice on all other men . in all other companies in which he is interested that a busi- ness executive is responsible for some- thing more than a good balance sheet. In addition, he has dramatized the issue of business morality and has con- centrated attention upon it. The con- sequences of his campaign may be felt long after the Standard Oil of Indiana elects its new directors on March 7.” “Our prediction is that Stewart will argument for a two-party - tem is now well established in State and Nation, whether the minority party the Republican party in the State or the Democratic party in the Nation. In either case there is a real responsi- bility resting on the minority, not to block progress by carping ctiticism and inaction, but to examine critically the proposals of the majority, and see how they accord with the established prin- ciples on which both Government and parties have been established. In a country as large and as diversi- fied as the United States, it is almost impossible to conduct a campaign of education in party principles during the heat and personalities of a presidential campaign. The opportunity the for- mer Democratic candidate points out for bringing before the people of ‘this country the true principles of democracy throughout the years, and not just at election time, is too valuable to be longer overlooked. Mexico Will Embark - On Highway Program From the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Mexico is starting a series of improve- ments which promise to be epochal. The government at the City of Mexico has a highway-construction plan to cover a period of five years and to involve the expenditure of 82,000,000 pesos. The work is to start immediately and run to 1934. Some ®df the most important highways in the neighbor tepublic will be constructed, or reconstrueted, under this plan. - projected roads will open up rich produci zones. Important regions of Mexico, now isolated for lack of good roads, will receive outlets. This most development in Mexico. The outlay of so much money will add to the pros- Kemy of the country. ‘There will he uge pay rolls. There will be heavy ex- penditures for construction materials. erican capital will largely in this extensive scheme of road con- struction in the neighbor republic. And the construction of trunk highways will be beneficial to the United States and Mexico, mutually, as they will be en- abled to enlarge their highway traffic Aacioss the internalional surely will stimulate general economic | gests: win and Rockefeller will lose, but the reason for that is rather beyond us,” remarks the Morgantown New Domin- fon. That paper refers to the perjury trial of Col. Stewart, and continues: “The jury acquitted him, and, it is our prediction, the stockholders of the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana will fur- ther vindicate him by keeping him at the head of their board of directors. Some peculiar kink in psychology will probably explain why this is true, but we can't quite put our finger on the reason.” * kK K “The ‘dope’ in the pungent argot of the sports world would make Stewart the favorite,” says the St. Louis Post- Dispatch. “The rugged colonel has fought his way to the top through the rough and tumble of life. There can be little, if anything, in the strategy or the tactics of the strife that he does mnot know. This Spartan tutelage Mr. Rockefeller has been denied. * * * On form, therefore, Stewart should win. But dowh in Florida is a mellow old gentleman and _enthusiastic golfer whom the biographers may describe as a Napoleon that met no Waterloo. And it John D., jr., should prove himself a chip of the old block, Mr. Stewart and the ‘dope’ are headed for an upset.” “The colonel beat Rockefeller in the effort to prevent re-election to. the board Press Lauds Rockefeller Fight, | But Realizes Stewart Strength whole oil industry to go on record for clean government and clean business.” ‘The New York Evening World main- tains that “the stockholders will go on trial before the American people” and that “they must either line up for Col. Stewart and what he stands for or for Mr. Rockefeller and what he repre- tents.” * ok ok x “This country has lately undergone a boom in share speculation mme?v;an like that of the years that followed the Civil War,” observes the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “It should be on its guard against the relaxyation of standards in corporate direction that went with the speculative outbreak of the earlier period. It will profit by experience if it Insists that corporations maintain ade- quate standards of character in their management, that they elect no un- faithful stewards, however much such men may promise of immediate gain. It rests with Col. Stewart to convince not only the stockholders of the Stand- ard Oil of Indiana, but the public of the Nation, that he has honestly and consistently performed his trust on the various disputed occasions.” ! * K ok x “Mr. Rockefeller has made his side of the fight public, evidently seekindg (r£ carry the contest into the high court of public opinion,” declares the Columbus Ohio State Journal, with the added comment, “The fight places on the stockholders of the company the obli- gation to choose between Rockefeller and Col. Stewart, between a man who was involved in some Rart of the Tea- pot Dome matter and a man who says the methods employed then were in- delgll:ll:iblt‘." “The issue is dee) than - ward contest helweermese oil ‘l}el:deor‘;f" The Spokane Spokesman-Review in- sists, “It is a conflict between the old corporation point of view—between the publllt be damned’ attitude and the fiew public Bé considered’ view that as been accepted by a great majority g:y the corporation leaders of the coun- “Regardless of the result,” the Nashville Banner, “Mr. Rggflg‘elflg carries into this struggle the support of Public opinion, which has been clear evidence in his behalf ever since the issue was drawn between him. and the man he accuses. Mr. Rockefeller long since impressed himself upon the coun= try as being a man of high character, fine impulses, unspoiled by vast riches, In this matter he is evidently guided by & Pupate to ‘paofilcz the colossal busi- s which the fa intimately inlerwo\'en."mny e —————— a year ago,” remarks the Omaha World-Herald. “Nevertheless, Rocke- feller is out again to, get his scalp with some promise of being more successful this time. Lovers of decency in business will wish the Standard Oil king well.” The Dayton Daily News attests that “in his efforts to se] te Robert W. Stewart from the chairmanship of the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana, Mr. Rockefeller is obviously and eternally right.” The Springfield Republi¢an sug- e “When a year or more ago Mr. Rockefeller failed to push to its logical conclusion his criticism of Col. Stewart’s connection with the Continental Trad+ ing Co., he was censured as lacking in courage as well as consistency. Now that he is on the offensive again, let us give hll’m the credit he abundantly de- serves. . | “It i3 inconceivable,” protests the Portland egon Journal, “that others in the comigany and in the industry will in his splén- ot jo " ockefeller Yes; It's a “Vacant” Look. From the Butte Dally Post, The face on the barroo, = ginning to look like a p-&‘l’ocd:.or g ———— They're Confirmed Tourists. From the Muncie Suhday Star, It seems that the American Marines spend about as little the ordinary citizen. T e —r————— Now to Save Cameras. From the Springfleld (Ohio) News-Sun, A Liverpool professor has perfected non-breakable glass, which wil otect & mirror no matter who looks into it. « But When They Pine— From the Detroit News. it o i catog vines,