Evening Star Newspaper, January 24, 1929, Page 8

8 e ———————— U B ————— THE EVENING STAR |in injury to them. There is some queg-' with the introduction of new men there With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY....January 24, 1929 THEODORE W. NOYES. . Editor ‘The Evening Star Newspaper Company ‘Business Office: 11th 8t. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Offce’ Tower Bullding. Buropean Office; 14 Regent St.. London, Rate by Carrier Within The Evening Star_ ... ... The Evening and Sunday Star (when 4 Sundays) ... 60c per month The Evening and Sunday Star (whe indass). ..65¢ per month the City. 45c ver rvonth end of e S T . Colle ace at the en: mail Orders may be sent in by Main 5000. or telephone Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ., $10.00: 1 mo., B3¢ £6:00: 1 Mo, 50¢ $4.00; 1 mo., 40c All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday..l yr.$12.00: 1 mo., $100 Daily only ¥r., $800; 1 mo, 7 Sunday only . $5.00: 1 mo.. 50c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Fress is exclusively cntitled to the use for republication of all rews dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- Rodi% fhis paper and aiso the 'ocal hews publiched herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. = — Municipal Center Site. Favorable report by the House Dis- trict committee on the bill authorizing the immediate acquisition of the four squares which are deemed necessary | for the proposed municipal center should result in early action by the House, which should be followed by the concurrence of the Senate. It is the most obvious economy to secure the entire area at once rather than by plecemeal purchase or condemnation. The proposal to take only two of the four squares now, leaving the other two to be secured at some later time, 1s of a piece with the policy of Federal site acquisition in the case of the Mall- Avenue friangle. Though it was known many years ago that this general area would be eventually needed and taken for Government building purposes, the first move to that end was the acqui- sition of the five squares lying at the western flank of the triangle. These were bought and they remained idle, so far as Government construction was con- cerned, for two decades.” When it was finally decided to place the great group of buildings in-the triangle, it was necessary to authorize the appropria- tion of a sum far larger than would have been necessary at the beginning in order to obtain the remaining land. It has been estimated that the total tion, however, whether an appointive officer of the Government should be dealt with in this respect wore censly than a man seeking electingoffice. A difference does exist between the ap- pointive officer and the elective officer in that the appointee i5 not able to appear before the Senate and defend himself, while the man standing for election ig at all times given an oppor- tunity to be heard by the electorate. The Senate in recent years has dis- carded much of the secrecy that used to shroud its deliberations. It was at one time considered wf vital importance to discuss international treatles behind closed doors, lest something that might be said on the floor of the Senate should interfere with the friendly relations of this country with other nations. But today the practice is to consider treaties of great importance in the opem, with full public discussion. The Treaty of Versailles and the Covenant of the League of Nations, following the World War, were dealt with by the Senate in the open. The most recent treaty of importance to come before the Senate, the Kellogg multilateral treaty renounc- ing war, was considered in the open. The prevailing opinion is that the American people should be fully in- formed regarding all measures which affect their interest. It seems idle, indeed, for the Senate in view of the growing distaste in this country for secrecy in dealing with public matters to insist upon concealing the vote on the appointment of a cabinet officer. e The Channel Tunnel. Every American tourist or soldier who has suffered the pangs of seasickness THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, JANUARY 2%, 1929. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. is no way to distinguish them until they come to the bat in a later inning. Base ball is so largely a matter of in- dividual play that the public wants to know who is who on the field and at the bat. There are frequent changes in the personnel of the teams. New- comers are arriving throughout the season. Their - acquisition has usually been heralded. They may take posi- tions in the line-up unexpectedly, and it 1s of the keenest interest to the peo- ple in the grandstands to know who they are and what they are doing. Anything that makes for better ac- quaintance with the players and fuller understanding of the game is desirable, and hence, despite the conservatism that prevails in this sport, it is to be expected that the departure of the Yankees will be followed in both leagues shortly. oo An Urban Area. Three New England States constitute the most completely urbanized area on the globe, the World Conference of Geographic Associations, meeting in London, was told the other day. City dwellers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, said Prof. C. B. Fawcett of University College, Lon- don, constitute approximately ninety per cent of the“population. Although there are considerable stretches of farming country in all these States, the continuous-city impression dominates the visitor. Massachusetts, for ex- ample, has only two or three patches sufficiently isolated to be called “rural” in the same sense that the Virginia countryside twenty miles from Wash- ington is “rural” Otherwise its vil- lages can be considered as suburbs of while rocking across the English Chan- nel will have a lively interest:in current discussions in the House of Commons. ‘There this week the sixty-year-old proj- ecY to build a tunnel under the Channel has been revived, following a recent and active campaign of education on its be- half. An influential group of members of Parliament, headed by Sir Willlam Bull, has banded itself together to pro- mote the scheme. It is claimed that an unofficial poll of the House discloses a pro-tunnel majority, recruited from all parties. The British press is practically a unit in its favor. The great plan to link John Bull's islands and the Continent has been suc- cessfully opposed since:- mid-Victorian days by British military leaders. Their argument, was that it would facilitate the invasion of the United Kingdom. They pictured French armies stealing their way into England by the subma- population centers, varying in size from Boston and Worcester to such cities as Clinton and Gardner, with from ten thousand to twenty thousand persons. Probably nowhere else on earth does such a condition obtain over so large an area. It is not a new phenomenon, brought about by the automobile. The rural areas of these States started to disappear thirty years ago with the ex- tension of the street railways into the countryside, binding together the scate tered manufacturing towns. The urban- ization curve was close to its apex twen- ty years ago. Ever since it has remained practically stationary. Close observers have noted a slight decline in recent years. The junking of the street railway lines, made necessary for the increasing use of automobiles, has resulted in a tendency to throw back some of the sub- urban borderlines into rural countryside cost of this ground to the Govérnment | rine route while & helpless British fleet | 383in. This progress has been aided by when the transaction is completed will | ruled the waves above the tunnel. In|the industrial depression which New be more than three times that which|July, 1924, the committee of imperial | England has felt during the past few would have been involved in a complete outright acquisition when the project | Donald, then in the midst of his ephem- was first proposed. eral premiership, reported that “there defense, called by Mr. Ramsay Mac- | Ye&TS ‘These three States still present, how- ever, a& unique picture. They have 1t is of little moment that the process | is unquestionably an element of danger | Urban-minded populations. Their farm- of acquiring public building sites by condemnation is slow. Even though it involved” in the Channel enterprise. Today most British strategists think ers are city farmers. Their farming villages are city suburbs. The factory should take twice as long to buy four |the old objections have lost their sub- superintendent and the alfalfa grower blocks as to buy two, the authorization | stance because of the airplane. When for the purchase of the four should (M. Bleriot flew over the Channel from be enacted in one measure, not in two.|Calais to Dover In 1909, staggering the If two are taken under the plan of the Bureau of the Budget, without au- thorization for the acquisition of the universe with a flight of twenty-one miles in thirty-seven minutes, Britan- nia’s vaunted “splendid isolation” be- debate in town meetings. One might speak of the “City of Massachusetts” or the “City of Rhode Island.” ‘The future, with its shifting of in- dustries, is difficult to predict. —_——————— Intrepid aviators are doubtless won- other two, which are necessary to the|came a thing of the past. A modern dering whether it will prove possible to development of the municipal center | Napoleon will make his thrust at “Per- téther Charles Lindbergh to a depart- pla cost of the whole will be very greatly increased. That increase.will be many times greater than the interest and the and water routes will have become obsolete. ‘Thus it is that Britons envisage the ) it follows inescapably that the |fidious Albion” from the sky. Both land | mental desk. ————r e A secret vote becomes especially in- teresting in view of the question why money that may be involved in the|Channel tunnel today purely in terms|there should have been any secret in purchase of the two squares in the|of its utilitarian advantages. The avia-[the matter. westerly half of the site. When this project is definitely and formally authorized and provided for, it should develop systematically. It should go forward as a whole. The Dis- trict Building itself should be included in the designing and inthe execution as an early unit. For it is clear that the present Municipal Building will be in the line of the Government improve- ments in the Mall-Avenue triangle within a short time. It is now too small for the administrative offices of the District government. Its replace- ment by an adequate structure, stand- ing as the focal feature of a munici- pal center, should be consld‘ned ‘as an item of the mogt urgent need. In these circumstances the passage at the present session of a bill to au- thorize the purchase of the entire site | for the municipal center should be con- sidered as essential. It is, of course, equally essential that the financial terms on which this improvement is based should be equitable to the District. | ——— v German opera flourishes anew. Wag- ner was something of a politician in his own day, but Rheingold cannot be re- garded as having anything whatever to do with modern international finance. ———r———————— A peace pact represents the idea of friendly agreement and frankly con- ducted negotiations. History has never countenanced a direct contemplation of ‘war probabilities. N Public Business and Secrecy. The publication of a roll call of the Benate purporting to give the vote by which Secretary Roy O. West of the Interior Department was confirmed by the Senate has created a stir at the Capitol. The Senate had by vote in executive session decreed that there should be secrecy regarding the details of the vote. It was merely announced that Mr. West's appointment had been approved. It is difficult to see what good purpose could be served by concealing the vote of the Senators on a question of obvious oublic interest—the confirmation of an appointee to head one of the great executive departments of the Govern- ment. Why any particular Senator should desire to have his vote kept secret in such a case is not clear. There appears to be no more reason for it than that a member of the Senaie or the House should wish to preserve secrecy in regard to his vote on any public bill or resolution. The Scnate in passing upon nominations to public office functioning in accordance with theslaw. The day of secrecy in such matters has distinctly passed. It has been the practice of the Senate to consider the nominations sent to it \ by the President in executive session behind closed doors. The debates are not made public. In a measure this is wise, though even in these deliberations there is a real question Whether the debates should not be public property. The reason advanced for debating nomi- nations in secret lles in the fact tiat criticlsms of the men appointed to i nople and Moscow. If the tunnel is con- tors have taken over the strategic end of the argument and settled ft. Tunnel or no tunnel, planes can and will—and did during the World War—attack the tight little isles, “ringed by their leaden seas” though they be. A Channel tunnel would save an hour and a half on the trip by steamer from London to Paris. The Dover-Calais route requires a voyage, from berth to berth, of about one hour. In stormy Winters, such as the one Western Eu- rope is now experiencing, Channel crossings take longer. On many days they have to be suspended. From Calais many international trains start for des- tinations as far remote-as Constanti- structed, it would be possible for a traveler to step into his “saloon car- riage” at Victoria Station, London, and step out a couple of days later in Tur- key or Russia. Engineers estimate that the Channel can be tunneled at a cost of $145,000,- 000—a bagatelle, reckoned in terms of future comfort and economic gain. e Literature has often been enriched by the preservation of casual remarks. Al Smith thought he was making cam- paign speeches, when, in reality, he was writing a book. e ‘The funds voted for prohibition en- forcement indicate that money is no object when an end so morally desir- able is to be attained. ———— Traffic #nanagement in New York is putting up a better show outside some of the theaters than the entertainment on the stage. Numbering Ball Players. When a few years, ago proposal was made that the players on league base ball teams should be numbered for the convenience of the public in their identification, stout objections were raised in many quarters. It is remem- bered that it was particularly opposed by the management of the Washington club. The objection mainly advanced was that it was undignified to give pro- fessional ball players numbers when their faces and figures were supposedly familiar to the public. After some dis- cussion the proposition was dropped. Now it is revived with a practical move. It is announced that the players of the New York American team, the world champion “Yankees,” will during the coming season wear large numbers on the backs of their uniforms, these num- bers to be assigned to them at the be- ginning of the season and to be re- tained throughout the year. It is be- lieved that this move by the New York club will be followed elsewhere, and it may be that in a season or two all the professional base ball players will wear numbers, even as do college and pro- fessional foot ball players and profes- sional hockey players. The only way now to identify an un- familiar base ball player is by the numerals on the score card and the score board. A new batsman in the —— e ‘When one merger is complete, an- other looms up as a possibility. Busi- ness promises to be “just one big happy family.” ———————— Thanks to President-elect Hoover, Florida has passed from the attention of the realtors to that of the statesmen. ———e————— ‘There are always “job hunters.” Complications may arise in which the Job dodger shows superior discretion, ———— A short session of Congress calls into favorable attention the statesman who knows how to talk fast. Lo s SHOOTING STARS, BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Myths. A man of eminence will bring Imagination into play. The songs he calls on us to sing He dictates, serious or gay. So, echoing & bard, I say, “Where are the myths of yesterday?” Those hero ancestors who went From earth so very far away, To figure in the firmament As constellations on display, At first were only common clay. ‘There are the myths of yesterday. ‘The elephant has bellowed bold. ‘We've heard the donkey’s dulcet bray. And each four years there will unfold New lists of heroes for the fray. ‘We go on asking, in dismay, “Where are the myths of yesterday?” Trying to Keep a Secret. “Did you instruct your secretary to tell me you were not in?” asked,the man who had pushed through the door. “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “What I said was that if anybody asked for an interview, I was conscientiously endeavoring to hold a personally con- ducted executive session.” Jud Tunkins says he has made mis- takes in life, and a few of 'em were & good deal of fun, at that. Struggling Genius., Beethoven labored daily And did his patient classic bit. Had he a ukulele He might at once have made a hit. No Favorites. “What is your opinion of votes for women?” “Much the same,” answered Miss Cayenne, “as my opinion of votes for men. There are wild persons of both sexes.” “Power is possible,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “not so much be- cause one man loves to rule as because many men love to obey.” Misleading Humor. The comic picture still I scan For jovial friskers; And yet I know no Congressman Who wears chin whiskers! “Chillun should obey deir parents” said Uncle Eben, “an’ parents should game is thus announced when he takes s his place at the plate. But when a office might be unfair and result shift is made in the playing positions foolishe' hang on to deir authority an’ not per- tend to be young by menm;fl actin’ If anger is an effective stimulus to the human system, honest indignation is even more so, After all, indignation is a form of anger, one of the salutary forms which might be called anger with trimmings. Some men live in a perpetual state of indignation at the world and things in general, especially their fellow men, Their sense of injustice is so keen that they are righteously offended with many things which more obtuse na- tures fail to comprehend. Every human being, however, is struck now and then with indignation over something he sees or hears or reads about. It may be an offense against personal dignity committed by another toward him. In any event, he will feel rising in him, if not at once, then later, a pe- culiar type of anger. * ok ok ok It is indignation. There are three related words of im- portance in this discussion. We will take them.one at a time. The noun “indignation” comes to us from the Latin “indignatio.” The orig- inal meaning, now obsolete, was a treat- ing with indignity or regarding as not worth notice; disdain; contempt. ‘The meaning prevalent today is “the feeling excited by that which is un- worthy, base or disgraceful; anger mixed with contempt, disgust or ab- horrence; righteous anger.” (These definitions from the big Webster.) The adjective “indignant” brings us closer to what we seek: “Affected with indignation; wrathful or exasperated because of unworthy or unjust treat- ment, mean action or the like.” The noun “indignity” gives us the real gist of the matter: “Any action toward another which manifests contempt for i an offense against personal dig- unmerited contemptuous treat- ment; contumely; incivility or injury, accompanied with insult.” The late Dr. Fernald, in his “English Synonyms and Antonyms,” discrimi- nates between “anger” and “indigna- tion” as follow. “Anger is personal and usually selfish, aroused by real or supposed wrong to oneself, and directed specifically and in- tensely against the person who is viewed as blameworthy. “Indignation is impersonal’ and un- selfish displeasure at unworthy acts, at wrong as wrong. Pure indignation is not followed by regret and needs no repentance, it is also more self-control- led than anger. “Anger is commonly a sin; indigna- tion is often a duty.” * K K ok ‘These definitfons are not only inter- esting because they agree, but even ;r:::cree 50 because they are at some vari- Since all emotions are literally from the one in whom they are aroused, in- dignation as well as anger will be and usually is intensely personal. It is also directed specifically and in- tensely at the person who is regarded as blameworthy, although it is un- doubtedly true that it is more self-con- trolleg. i It iterally true that proper indig- nation is often, if not nlwayxs),ea dug'. For instance, if one relates an indig- nn{' done him to a friend, the latter will feel indignation in many cases even more intently than the one injured. ‘Those who have had any occasion to study anger and indignation in theory and practice will recognize, with Dr. Fernald, that almost always there is a quality about the latter which the former does not possess. The difference is simply that in indig- nation something is regarded as wrong because it is wrong; the indignant per- son admits to himself that what was said or done—especially vhat was said— would have been equally wrong if some one else had told about it to him. Thus it will be seen that the strictly personal sense does go out of the equa- tion, leaving indignation as an actual although theoretical emotion, or, rather, an actual feeling largely involving the theoretical or purely ideal aspects of | the case. S e In true indignity there is always an offense against personal dignity, which any other right-thinking person will feel as keenly as the one offended, when he knows that the insult was gratuitous and undeserved. Injustice is the keynote. As long as civilized human beings are civilized hu- man beings there will be, deep in the heart, mind and soul of every decent man and woman, an inherent sense of justice and injusice, Some call it conscience, but after all it makes little difference. what it is called. When a friend relates an af- front given him and you become more indignant than he because you are far- ther away from it and can see it in a better, clearer light, your sense of Jjustice is outraged. You know him to be a man to whom no contempt is deserving. That is why you resent, with a sudden welling of anger, the incivility which he was forced to bear. * Thus indignation, as distinguished from anger, becomes everybody's affair. He who possesses the mind and heart to become indignant will live a more worthy life, everything else being equal, than he who retreats into his shell and lets the insults and affronts offered others roll off his back. Let him but back with his strength the weakness of another and help right the wrong which another has suffered by reason of loyalty or other trait, hes| Will have a sense of mastery not known to the crowd. What matter if he becomes em- broiled? Life surely was not intended to be simply a bed of roses, even for the man with a large rose garden. If he does not know indignation over the woes of a little child, or has never come to the ald of a friend, he has missed some- thing in this life for all his garden of Toses. e Possibly it is easier to feel indignant over one’s own wrongs than over the wrongs of others. Yet it is only by feeling indignant for one's self first that one may go on to the impersonal in- dignation over the insults offered others. It will then be found, as Dr. Fernald states, that this pure indignation, from which another and not one’s self may profit, is never followed by regret. It needs no repentance, for one never re- pents a duty, and proper indignation is a duty of a civilized man. The Old Testament writers knew in- dignation; they waxed wroth over the wrongs of the innocent ones of earth; they went around barefooted, half clad, happy with their -lamentations in be- half of the downtrodden. 1 Read Isalah if you would know the strength, the poetry and the sublimity of indignation in its unconquerable form. Few today will be able to achieve such heights, but all can benefit by proper indignation when the hour strikes. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. “It is the view of this House that the construction of a Channel tunnel will be advantageous both to this country and to Europe as a whole” says a reso- lution which has been standing on the order of the House of Commons for some -time, and the resolution adds a recommendation “that the government take an early opportunity of reconsid- ering its attitude toward the subject.” The government turned down the project last July. It has repeatedly re- Jected it in the last 50 years. But now comes a member of the Labor party, Hon. Ernest Thurtle, reviving the matter and urging the government to chahge its attitude. The government even of Sir Ramsay MacDonald, upon the advice of the committee of imperial defense, has gone on record in opposi- tion to thus wiping out the insularity of the “smug little island” which came so near famine in the World War by reason of the submarine activities of the enemy. But what changes have come about in insularity when airplanes can cross the Channel in half an hour! Of what protection is the 24-mile Chan- nel under modern conditions? TR The cost of a tunnel was estimated in 1913 to be about 16,000,000 pounds sterling ($80,000,000). Now it is esti- mated at $180,000,000, owing to the in- creased wages and cost of all material. While the actual water barrier at the point to be crossed Is only 24 miles, the approaches would add 11 miles on the British side and 9 miles in France, in order to get the grade down to the level under the sea required; hence the, total length of the tunnel would be 44 hiles. To construct 1t will require 50,000 workers on each end and a period of six years. The route proposed is from Monks Horton, England, to Mont Cou- ple, southwest of Calais, France, near Ambleteuse. This would provide for the building of a double-track railway from London via Maidstone, through the tunnel, thence via Boulogne, Montreuil and Amiens to Paris. This is a different route, altogether, from that contemplated in 1881, when & tunnel 7 feet in diameter was®%be- gun in England and dug 2,000 yards— a mile and a quarter—under sea, start- ing from near Dover. A similar start was made at the French end, near Calais, in 1919, The present project is for a double tube, each tube much greater in diameter. The engineering plans show that the tunnel would cross the Channel at a depth of about 500 feet below the sur- face of the water and about 100 feet below the bottom of the sea. Beginning at a point about 6 miles out from the English shore, and thence running to the shore, will be a drainage channel, for seepage from the tunnel, which water will be controlled by pumps on shore. On the French side the drain- age channel runs out 14!, miles from shore. These drainage channels have a slope of 1 foot in 500, while the tun- nel approaches will vary from 1 foot in 54 to 1 in 1,000 feet across the Chan- nel itself. The double tubes will each contain a railroad served with electric trains, run- ning without stop between the capitals of the two countries. * K ¥ ¥ Public sentiment in France is very strongly in favor of the tunnel, except in some military circles; Marshal Foch, commander-in-chief of the allied armies in the World War, has accepted the chairmanship of a committee appointed to further the plan, so it is obvious that aii military sentiment is not in opposition, In 1924, when it was discussed in the British Parliament, the Labor party opposed it; today sentiment has shift- ed, so that the Labor members are the leaders in pushing the scheme to the attention of the opposing govern- ment. Possibly an enterprise which would give six years' employment to 50,000 workers at both ends has its own stimulating influence upon the party championing Labor. * K K K Of course, there continues more or less fear of such a connection between the island and the continent, but that fear is greatly modified by the ex- periences of the World War, when Eng- land was on the verge of famine owin; to the interruption of food suppneg bylse& n a paper written in 1913 by Gen. Sir Willlam Butler appears the fol- lowing paragraph, which seems timely today, 15 years after. He said: ‘The Channel tunnel has come back to us after a sleep of 25 years, and so have the old nightmares and goblins %r that time. Had the tunnel from Dover to Calais been made in the eighties several millions of men, women and children would by this time have passed through it. and the journey under the sea would have become as much a mat- ter of commonplace business as a trip in the tuppenny tube from Notting Hill to Oxford street. Every age is destined to have lts particular bogey. In the thirties and forties it was the rallroad, a line from London to Ports- mouth, T believe, being the chief bogey. * * * The bogey of the six- ties was the Suez Canal. ‘What?' cried the prophets of pessimism, ‘cut the Isthmus of Suez and enable a ship to pass from the Mediterranean into the Red Sea? Then good-by to British supremacy in the East’ * * * For the past 40 years Germany, France and #taly have been boring tunnels through the Alps and nothing terrible has hap- pened.” It is significant that while this prophetic declaration of the innocuous- ness of a tunnel was made a year be- for the World War ‘broke, yet during all the war no tunnel attack’ was made by any belligerent, for a tunnel can be defended as well as attacked. In the new tunnel will be sections which could be instantly flooded full of water by the touching of an electric button in the war department of either England or France. That would effec- tually close passage until the end of hostilities, when the water could be pumped out and there would be no damage to the structure. It might even happen that if an enemy of both France and England were to enter the tunnel both compartments might fill with wa- ter, and, like the host-of Pharaoh, the attackers would be trapped and drowned under the sea or smothered between the two gates. * X ok ok While the events of the last two dec- ades have tended to allay 'the fears against the tunnel project, develop- ments of aviation and the prospect of still greater developments of aerial traf- fic within the next decade tend to do away with the real necessity for such a costly means of commerce. The Suez Canal and the Panama Canal changed the routes of trade around the world without greatly jeopardizing British se- curity, but aviation during the war did more to wipe out the protection of the Channel than the two interoceanic ca- nals ever threatened. According to the engineers, it will take six years’ labor to construct a Channel tunnel. What will be the facilities by air in six years be- fore such a tunnel can come into use? Even today one flies from Paris to Lon- don 1n less than three hours, under con- ditions of ideal comfort when the weather is favorable. There is no greater risk than exists in surface crossing and tar less discomfort. * ok ok % We moderns seem to think we have blazed a new way in creating tunnels of unprecedented magnitude. History tells us of a mighty enterprise in Mex- ico, soon after the Cortez conquest of Montezuma and the Aztec empire, which is not yet surpassed in modern engineering. There was a great flood which inundated the Aztec capital; the city rests in the great bowl called the Valley of Mexico. The water refused to recede, but made a Venice of the city for several years. Then a Spanish engineer undertook to dig a drainage tunnel through the mountains. It per- {sisted in caving in until it had swal- lowed up 200,000 native Indian dig- gem Orders came from Spain to re- uild the city on higher land, but an earthquake opened the ground and the water disappeared from the city. Later, the tunnel was opened as a canal, and it still exists, known as Nochistonga Ditch—an engineering feat rivaling the Panama Canal, with n of the mod- ern excavating machin for its con~ I | Replies- to Statement On Origin of Words To the Editor of The Star: I hate to be jumping into prim JMth- out serious cause, but just to get busy when I read Prof. Magoffin's statement in your editorial section last Sunday to the effect that three-fourths of English words are of classic origin. This may apply if one includes all technical terms built up from the Greek and Latin by modern science, but the fact remains that most of the common, indispensable English words of everyday life are from the German or from the Anglo-Saxon through that source. Hoysehold objects, articles of food and wear and many | verbs in constant use are not of classic origin. Take such Germanic words as life, death, sleep, wake, house, water, milk, bread, flesh, hand, foot. let, speak, live, love, hate, fear, hope, the numer- als, prepositions and hosts of other words that are not of classic origin, out of English, and what would we have left? The Sanskrit is back of many classic words. Where will we start? Of course, the argument of Prof. Magoffin is in favor of more attention to the study of Latin and Greek in our schools and colleges. This in the face of constant and serlous increase in the numbgr of subjects crowding them- selves upon our young.students through new scientific discoveries and inven- tions as well as political changes and theories and a growing literature. This is a practical, workaday age, when pres- ent interests largely outweigh past per- formances. Which is the most essen- tial: Einstein's theory of relativity, or Xenophon's Anabasis? The history of our recent wars, or Caesar’s Com- mentaries? Good translations give us all we really need of classic literature, backed up by superb, English diction- aries. And who really learns Latin or Greek nowadays, outside of the priest- hood or a few professors? languages as German, French and Spanish in our schools today. Ten years after the close of the war with Germany, where are our German classes, and where are the German books on display in our libraries? Is this fair or right? No! The writer would not for any consideration deprive himself of the pleasure 3gzined from reading the glorious original work of Goethe, Schiller and a host of lesser German lights in a book bought recent- ly for 10 cents at a store on F street, to say nothing of French and Spanish books also to be had very cheaply at *second-hand stores. How much it would have added to the pleasure of our excel- lent President-elect, Herbert Hoover, if before making his memorable trip to Central and South America he had had the opportunity to become familiar with the native language of his distin- guished hosts, the beautiful Spanish, fairest daughter of the Latin, and now so important in our business and social relations with our neighbors to .he south! There is a story of an African tribe who carried around with them the bones of their dead ancestors. This be- came burdensome after a while, and so it will prove harder with time to keep up with the classic ancestry of English. ‘We have troubles and studies of modern making without imposing the relics of Caesar and Xenophon, with their be- wildering Mmazes of words, declensions and conjugations, upon the growing | mind of young America. INDSAY S. PERKINS. e Sees Need of Patience At Traffic Crossings To the Editor of The Star: I have just read with inferest your editorial “A Laudatory Exchange.” In it Mr. Goodrich refers to the patience of pedestrians awaiting a signal be- fore crossing streets, I wonder if Mr. as a pedestrian, tried to cross a street where a traffic policeman is stationed and if that said policeman has ever bothered to see whether a pedestrian desires to cross or is one-third over before pulling his signal. Yesterday my little daughter and myself at- tempted to cross G street at Four- teenth, our objective being the Federal Bank corner. When G street received signal to go, we attempted to go. With just one foot off the curb we were compelled to step back on the sidewalk until all cars making right-hand turns into Fourteenth street had passed. As we again stepped into the street, the officer, with his eyes on no one but the automobilists, switched his signal for Fourteenth street traffic to go ahead. They are all set to go and do so with such speed that we have to wait until we can see a chance to dodge across, which is decidedly dan- gerous. But what may one do, stand patiently there all day? Our pedestrian control truly is a joke. Last year I made a suggestion they study the pedestrian control in Atlantic City, where every car must remain stationary, no matter what turn it desires to make, on the yel- low caution signal. The pedestrian is then able to cross in safety. CATHERINE R. FLETT. v —.e—s Falls Power Diversion Limit to Be Enlarged From the Buffalo Evening News. Now that the United States and Canada have' signed a treaty providing for joint action in the construction of remedial works in the upper Niagara to preserve the scenic beauty of the river, there is assurance that the diversion limit for power developments will be enlarged. ‘The purpose of the remedial works, which will cost $1,750,000, is to in- crease the volume of water in the American channel, which now carries about’ 6 per cent of the flow, and to spread the water more evenly over the crest of the Horseshoe Falls. The tendency there is for the water to con- verge to the middle. The crest, as it bears to the shore lines, is thus left dry. In the middle the Horseshoe is feet a year. tard this erosion. They will prevent the Horseshoe from ‘“committing sui- cide,” as the late John L. Harper, chief engineer of the Niagara Falls Power Co.,, put the matter. ‘The convention for this undertaking provides for a temporary diversion of an additional volume of water for pow- er purposes. Reports from Washington say that- it is expected each country feet more than it is now diverting. This will mean 30,000 feet for the United States and 46,000 feet for Canada. Both countries have need of the additional power that this enlarged diversion promises. It may be taken for granted that the diversion will be made permanent. —— struction. . However, the Nechistonga Ditch cost more lives than all the mod- ern interoceanic canals and mountain tunnels combined. * ok ok % There are landlubbers who persist in preferring railroad transportation, and $0 not only is the English Channel to be tunneled for their use, but another project is considered which will carry the traveler, entirely by land, from New York to all points of Europe. The route will run across the continent to Vancouver, thence up the Pacific Coast to Dawson and Fort Yukon, Alaska: thence to Cape Prince of Wales and via tunnel, 40 milés, across Bering Sea to East Cape, Siberia; thence across Siberia, passing Lake Baikal, to Mos- cow, Berlin and Paris, and all inter- mediary points, now to include also the Manche Tunnel joining Paris and Lon- don. All of this world route is already built. except from Vancouver to Alaska and the Bering Sea Tunnel. But all of the route has been traversed by air- planes, so why worry about railroads and tunnels? Shal we revert to oxcarts and tunnels, now that Tennyson's prophecy of navies of the air has come true? (Copyright, 1929, by Paul V. Collins.) There is inexcusable neglect of such|p 7, wedring back at the rate of about 8 Remedial works will re- | will be allotted 10,000 cubic second | | world one more ?'lrlking | ‘This is a special department devoted to the handling of inquiries. You have at your disposal an extensive organiza- tion in Washington to serve you in any capacity that relates to information. Write your question, your name and your address clearly and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for reply. Send to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washing- ton, D. C. . Is it true that the Pyramids could not be duplicated today?—J. M. L. A. We are informed that it would be possible to duplicate the construction of the Pyramids today, but that the cost would be practically prohibitive. The construction of any of the sky- scrapers has afforded engineers as great problems to solve as would the building of the Pyramids. Q. Where was the seat of our Gov- ernment during the Revolution?—W. L. BY FREDERI A. During the course of the Revolu- tion the dangerous proximity of British troops made necessary frequent changes of headquarters for the national gov- erning body. The various cities which | were used as the meeting place of the Continental Congress and the seat of the Government during the period of the Revolutionary War and until the founding of the National Capital were: Philadelphia, September 5, 1774; Balti- more, December 20, 1776; Philadelphia, March 4, 1777; Lancaster, September 27, 1777; York, Pa., September 30, 1777; Philadelphia, July 2, 1778; Princeton, N. J, June 30, 1783; Annapolis, Md., November 26, 1783; Trenton, N. J., No- vember 1, 1784; New York, January 11, 1785, and Philadelphia, March 4, 1793. Q. Will fruit trees grow from seeds?— A. Fruit trees will grow from seeds, but the varieties do not come true. A large proportion of seedling trees pros duce fruit of an inferior quality. Q. What is a rajah?—E. H. A. Originally rajah was the title given in India to a king or prince. In later times, says the Oxford Dictionary, the title was extended to petty chiefs or dignitaries or conferred as a title of nobility on Hindus and adopted as the usual designation of Malay and Javanese rulers or chiefs. Q. Will metallic substances in the earth affect compasses?—O. G. B. A. Compasses are affected by any deposits of magnetic iron, particularly magnetite. Hematite and limonite ores | affect the compass little, if any. Im- portant magnetite, deposits have been found by means of the magnetic com- pass. Q. Please explain the growing use of the inverted envelopes, those which have the flap at the bottom ‘instead of the top of the reverse side.—M. R. A. This is a kind of envelope made for the special purpose of use for post- age permit. The new automatic ma- chines are made so that the envelope flap prevents the envelope from going through the machine. For this rea- son the envelope is turned upside down, which makes the flap at the bottom after the envelope is stamped or printed. FQ!; Who is the King of Hungary?— . A. Hungary has no king at the pres- ent time, even though the country is a kingdom. It is ruled by a regent, Nicholas Horthy de Nagybanya. It has been suggested that the logical king of Hungary is Franz Jostph Otto, son of the ex-Empress Zita of Austria- Hungary. Q. In cribbage, must a run be in se- quence in order to be counted?—J. Goodrich hag ever, | W. B A. A run need not be in sequence. The only cards that will stop a run are duplicates or cards entirely outside the run. The count of 31 also stops a run. Q. Is it true that Louisa M. Alcott sold her hair?—N. D. A. Miss Alcott and her sisters “al- wayse held this treasure as a possible resource in case of need,” but the time never came when her hair was sold. Q. Where was the first dental col- lege opened?—W. C. A. The Baluimore College of .Dental Surgery of Baltimore, Md., was the first dental “college established in the world. How much money is to Q. be raised for the Chicago fair>—L. T. B. A._There is a bill before the House of Representatives providing for a world's fair to be held in the city of Chicago in 1933 to celebrate the one ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS [ R o == | C J. HASKIN. hundredth anniversary of the ‘incor- poration of Chicago as a municipality. The resolution provides that whenever it shall be shown to the satisfaction of the President that a sum of not less than $5.000,000 has been raised and is available to the Chicago World's Fair Centennial Celebration Corpora=- tion, the participation of the na- tions of the world shall be invited. The World's Fair Centennial Celebration Corporation is preparing to accumu- late a total available capital of approxi- mately $30,000,000 for the expense of the enterprise. The date has not been disclosed. Q. Why are so many motion pictures given different endings in America and in Europe?—C. W. A. English-speaking peoples prefer happy endings, Germans like unhappy endings, while Latins want logical end- | ings, however unpleasant they may be. Films are often changed - for export trade with these facts in mind. Q. When will the Veterans' Bureau make known its findings in regard to the rating under the emergency offi- cers’ retirement bill?>—F. S. A. The Veterans' Bureau is making known its findings as fast as it can. The bureau has received approximately 8,000 applications, has acted upon about 2,600, and has retired nearly 1,40 offi- cel ‘The remaining 4,000 applications vill be passed upon and the findings rendered before May 26, 1929. Q. What is the daily temperature on the moon?—J. D. C. A. The moon has no atmosphere. Therefore, radiation of the sun's heat is very rapid. Very's theory is that the | moon becomes heated to a temperature |of 200 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, but when night falls the tempera= ture decreases rapidly and may descend to 100 degrees below zero. Q. Where is Boulder Dam to be lo= cated?—C. C. A. The dam will be located about 40 miles from Las Vegas, Nev., on the line between Nevada and Arizona. Q. What is meant by “companionate marriage”?—H. T. F. A. Judge Lindsey, its sponsor, defined companionate marriage as follows: “Companionate marriage is legal mar= riage, with legalized birth control and with the right to divorce by mutual con- sent for childless couples, usually withe out payment of alimony.” Q. What flags are flown on the three flag poles in front of the Union Sta= tion?—W. C. W. A. The Bureau of Public Buildings says that when distinguished foreign visitors come to the city the flags of their countries are displayed from the poles mentioned. Sofhe functions re- quire the display of one foreign flag, some of two foreign flags, some of three American flags. Q. Why is “cwt.” the abbreviation for hundredweight>—G. R. A. The letter “c” stands for centum, the Latin word meaning ‘“hundred.” “Wt.” is the abbreviation for weight. ed Ly Q. How much ground is cover: the Opera House in Paris?—V. W. A. It is the largest theater in the world, and covers an area of nearly 3 acres. Q. Where does the English novelist Eden Phillpotts live?>—M. D. A. His home is at Torquay, a little town built on seven hills overlooking the English Channel. Q. When do the sons of the reigning monarch of Great Britain move into establishments of their own?—E. B. A. After they become of age or marry they“usunlly have separate establish- ments. Q. Will the cherry trees that were injured when Potomac Park, Washing- ton, D. C, was flooded last year bloom this year?—M. F. O. A. While it was thought at the time that the trees would have to be re- pladed, Government experts are of the opinion now that no material damage was done. It will be necessary to wait until Spring to see whether the trees will recover and bloom as usual. Q. How far are the Great Pyramids from the River Nile>—J. F. H. A. They lie 5 miles to the west of Gizeh, which town is on the left (or west) bank of the River Nile. Q. Is there a bulletproof glass?>—J. C. A. The so-called “bulletproof glass™ does not prevent the passage of the bullet. This glass is described as non- shatterable. Seen in Ousting King Amanullah of Afghanistan, ousted from his throne and country with his short-skirted Queen by revolt- ing tribesmen who didn't like his new- fangled Western notions, has the sym- pathy of American editors, although they appreciate, as the King himself probably does now, that he attempted too much speed as a reformer. “He was a forceful ruler, in birth and brecding a fit chieftain of the war- like Pathans,” attests the Philadelphia Record. emplify their primitive ideals he might have held his throne indefinitely, sub- ject only to the normal hazards of as- sassination and tribal rebellion. But it was his misfortune to become a crusader for progress in & most unpromising re- gion and to discover the unchanging truth that the wise man does not put new wine into old bottles. * * * S in the end he abdicated and removed himself and his unveiled Queen and her short skirts from the inhospitable capi- tal. He meant well. But his fate fur- nishes fresh evidence that the ardent reformer who travels too far ahead of public opinion only makes trouble for himself and others.” “The King made one vital mistake,” according to the New York Evening Post, “in attempting to force his Euro- pean reforms down the throats of his subjects. He forgot that, unlike him, they had not paid visits to the Western werld. It is a vietory not only for tradition but also for national indi- viduality and for the picturesque which the Afghans have won. The retention of their customs might prove a boon to tourists, except for the unfortunate fact that a tourist trade is one of the West- ern innnovations which they still re- fuse to adopt.” * ok Kok “One spot on the globe,” explains the Indianapolis Star, “still provides a fine field for the imagination. While this fact may seem somewhat insignificant in a materialistic age, it is a matter for some gratification that stark reality has not taken romance entirely out of the lives of our conservative brethren in a distant corner of another continent. ‘The Afghans have rallied to the cause of bigger and better imaginations. Tra- dition” still is respected and 'the cus- toms of centuries are not to yield to the fashion plates of Paris, Fifth ave- nue or any otger modern style factory. * '+ * The male population insisted that the imagination should still have some play. Of course, they may have been moved somewhat by visions of the mounting bills for silk stockings, rouge and lipsticks. At any rate, st '> reform has been indefinitely postponed.” ‘The fundamental error Amanullah made,” advises the Nashville Banner, learned to walk in the paths of Western ideas and ideals. His efforts at reform had every commendable phase except for the -all-important fact that they were il-timed and injudicious. He has doubtless set back the clock many years in Afghanistan, and certainly offers the commentary on good intentions the frequent fuféility o! “Had he been content to ex- Moral for TO(; Ardent Reformers of Afghan King unsupported by power to put them into definite effect. In the Shinwaris, too, he was dealing with a people in whom | the spirit of liberty burns high and bright, even though it finds ways of | expression that are both queer and de- plorable to our rinds.” * ok Kk K One explanation, which comes from the Kalamazoo Gazette, that *“he placed a ridiculously high value on the importance of externals—on matters of dress and tonsorial fashion—and thus aroused the wrath of subjects who might otherwise have taken more kindly to the really worth-while items on his program of reform. As it is, Amanullah has played into the hands of reaction. Although it was the last thing in the world he wished to do, he has stimu- lated all of the religious and social prejudices of his country and has given |new strength to the ‘old guard’ of Afghanistan. His place in history will be among the many zealous reformers whose ambition led them to bite off more than they could chew.” “Now it will be wondered,” suggests the Baltimore Sun, “whether or not these internal disturbances will lead to {any changes in the attitude of Russia and England. Afghanistan has been recognized as an independent kingdom, but in recent years both of these power. | have steadily competed for her friend- ship. The situation is reported to be ‘chscure,” and doubtless it is. But it is in obscrurity that many new develop- ments are born. All that can be said now is that an ambitious experiment |seems very definitely to have come to (an end in revolt and confusion. and that Amanullah has probably shown ,himself a wise man in deciding to leave.” * ok ok K “While the British mildly disclaim the blame or credit for upsetting Axui nullah’s throne, which Europe is in clined to impute, they regard down- fall with complete equanimity, although they may desire to have Afghanistan settle down again, now that he has abdicated. Too much revolution on the border might not be a good thing for lllmih," suggests the Springfield Repub- lcan, | iwe cannot help wishing Amanullah had offered something like more lib- erty and let the change of style wait on jenlightenment,” states the Milwaukee Jougnal, pointing out that the Afghans |vare not a feeble, spineless people, to be wrung from the standards of cen- turies by the whim of a King flattered by Europe's courts.” The San Fran- cisco Chronicle draws the conclusion from the incident that “the Afghans do not want to be improved,” that they “was .in supposing that his subjects| “spurn new-fangled ways and could be induced to run before mzyé Th ¥ X by ¢ le) shining book of the world’s martyrs” The Dispatch also says of the royal runaway: ‘“However righteous his cause may have been, the wisdom of his tac- tics is open to serious question. If there is a Nobel booby prize this year for diplomacy, it belongs & Amanullah.”