Evening Star Newspaper, February 16, 1929, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR _With Sunday Morning E4itlon. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY...February 16, 1029 THEODORF W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: :1th St. and Pennsvivania Ave. Meg York Ofce: 110 East 4ind st. icago Ofce: Tower Buildine. Buropean Office, 14 Regent St.. London. Rate by Carrier Within the City. ar . 45¢ per month T 60c per month 65¢ per month 3 .5¢ per copy | end of each monih. Orders may e sent in by mail or ielepnone Main 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. atly only .. junday only All Other States and Ca aily only .. undsy only . nada. 1 mo., $1,00 1 mo. i3 1 mol 80c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusivels entitled o the use for republization of all tews dis- atches credited to it or not ofLerwise cred- ted in this paper and siso the local news published herein. All rights of publication of Fecial dispatches herein are also reserved. = Melville E. Stone. The American scene is bereft of an-| other master craftsman. Melville E.| Stone is no more. As the creator of the | modern Associated Press he brought into being the greatest newsgathering organization the world has ever known. | That is an achievement which would | have assured any man immortality. None could wish or leave behind him & finer monument. Its beneficent influ-| ence will endure and establish Stone’s | name in the hall of American fame for | ali time. | The late Napoleon of news considered that his supreme accomplishment in | building the Astociated Press was the foundation of its foreign service. Till he applied his vision and organizing touch to that branch of the institution’s work it was relatively insignificant. Stone girdled and regirdled the globe before satisfying himself that nothing could happen anywhere on God's footstool thenceforward which the same day, or at least the next day, would not be blazoned to American mankind under the authentic rubric of “A. P.” He laid the necessary foundations well and deep. The Associated Press’ ramifications, in consequence, extend nowadays to the uttermost reaches of the earth. An episode in Kamtchatka is reported with the speed and the com- pleteness of a corresponding event in Kansas City. A tidal wave that sweeps Cape Horn is made graphic in print to American readers with the electrical promptness of & hurricane oft Cape Hatteras. The Assoclated Press habitually an- mihilates time and distance, especially where foreign intelligen.2 is concerned. Melville Stone saw to that a generation ago, with & vision that accurately pene- trated the future and recognized that 88 she was marching with giant stride into the rank of a great world power, Columbia needed above all to be kept abreast of affairs from pole to pole. Stone began his journalistic career from the bottom. It dated, broadly, from the peried of his_joint ownership of the Chicago ‘Daily News with the late Victor F. Lawson—a companion- ship which lasted till that other tower- ing newspaper figure passed on four years ago. Since the annual meeting of the Associated Press in April, 1918, as Stone quaintly expressed it in his “Fifty Years a Journalist,” he led “a post- epitaph life.” But he rejoiced unceas- ingly in the effectiveness and incessant spirit of improvement in which co- workers—his “boys” as he liked to call | them—were carrying on the traditions | of the organization .Stone loved so much. At eighty-one his interest in the | endless world of news was unflagging | and unquenchable. | “The Associated Press is not perfect,” | read the closing words of his auto-| blography. “Far from it! All of the| frailties of human nature attach to it. Inerrancy is not possible in this blun- dering world of ours. But neither is. the Associated Press corrupt. It lives in the open. Its news service is published in millions of words every month. It| wears its heart upon-its sieeve. There are no secrets about it. There is no mystery concerning it. It is striving to| tell the truth about the world's hap- | penings. It is: “Not a ladder from earth to heaven, Not an altar of any creed, But a simple service simply given, To our own kind in our common need.” That was Melville Stone’s conception of journalism. There could hardly be » nobler or more appropriate sentimen: | to emblazon upon his honored tomb. - Winston Churchill suggests dire possi- bilittes should” a Labor victory be achieved in election. Great Britain can | always be depended on for poise and eonclliation. Nevertheless, it is the permanent privilege of the political ghetorician “io view with alarm.” R “Enforcing Tax Payments. By means of a bill now awaiting the President’s signature the District gov- ernment hopes to lessen the burden it has always had to carry in the form of property belonging to delinquent tax- payers. Despite the obvious assist- snce rendered the government by the heartily condemned but very useful group of “title grabbers” who buy up property sold for taxes, the municipal government has always been left hold- ing the bag—a bag containing at least half of the lots advertised for sale. The professional buyers invariably select the choice real estate in the sales, and the municipal government is unable to get rid of the rest. The explanation lies in the fact that those who buy property at tax sales consider their purchases as mere in- vestments which do not extend beyond the actual money they pay on accumu- lated tax arrears, penalties and the in- terest received when such property is redeemed. Thir titles have no standing in court. They are not buying real estate, but are lending money. The bill now before the President would en- able the Commissioners, two years r property has been sold for taxes, into court and obtain authorizatic lor mctual sale of the property involved. Those purchasing such property would come into the possession of titles of egitimate standing. Delinquent tax- &) payers losing property through such sales would lose it permanently. They would be denied the right, as at pres- ent, to redeem it by the payment of back taxes, penalties and interest. Senator Phipps of Colorado and others who have sponsored this measure believe it will have the effect of hasten- ing redemptions of property by delin- quent taxpayers within the two-year limit following tax sales. The cost of longer delay, under the bill, would be actual loss of the property. At the last tax sale in 1928 the Dis- trict disposed of approximately sixteen thousand parcels. But outside buyers purchased only ten thousand, forcing the municipal government to buy the rest. While the expense to the District of carrying these lots is probably offset by the collection of penalty fees, their existence complicates the records and increases the labor of bookkeeping. If the District is to sell outright the property of delinquent taxpayers, it must never lessen its efforts to notify the delinquents that the loss of their property is in prospect. All that the District is required to do now is to advertise the tax sales in a newspaper. Of its own volition, however, the Dis- trict has tried to reach by mail the owners of all property listed for sale. Last year notices were mailed to ap- proximately thirty thousand delin- quents, of whom about ten per cent have never been located. The remaining ninety per cent were found, however, and either redeemed their property or, adequately forewgrned, deliberately took the consequences. ————— et The British Proposal. Britain is to move at an early date for a further conference on the limita- tion of naval armaments. Sir Esme Howard, Ambassador to the United States, made this announcement yes- terday on behalf of his government. Americans generally will welcome such a conference, The United States has been a pioneer in the movement to limit armaments, on the theory that the world wants peace and & lessening of the tax burdens which arise from the building up of great navies and armies. The greatest and most successful con- ference looking to the limitation of armaments ever held in the history of the world assembled in Washington cight years ago at the invitation of the late President Harding. The United States at that time was building the greatest Navy the world has dreamed of. With a magnificent gesture, this | country abandoned its naval building plans and scrapped hundreds of mil- lions of dollars’ worth of warships. In some quarters it has been urged that the gesture of the United States was more magnificent than sensible. But it was a gesture which thrilled the world and made for better feeling. At the Washington conference, how- ever, it was found possible to agree only upon the limitation of capital ships, battleships and sircraft carriers. It is true that & limit was placed on the tonnage of individual cruisers. But so far as auxiliary craft are concerned, the signatory powers were left at lib- erty to construct as many as they might desire. During the Washington con- | ference the American delegation did | its utmost to bring about an agreement | with regard to cruisers, destroyers, sub- | marines, ete, but without success. Later, also at the initiative of the American Government, & conference | was held in Geneva in an effort to reach an agreement limiting the total cruiser tonnage and that of other kinds of auxiliary naval craft. It failed. The British were unable to see the conten- | tions of the Americans in regard w! cruisers—their kind and number—and the Americans could not agree with the British suggestions. At the Washington conference the 5—5—3 ratio for the United States, SGreat Britain and Japan was estab- lished with regard to capital ships, and the representatives of these govern- ments agreed in principle that the same ratio should apply to auxiliary craft. But at the Geneva conference there was & decided difference of opinion re- garding the tonnage of cruisers which should be established under the pro- posed agreement. . This latest move on the part of the British government gives promise of a better understanding. It comes at the time the United States has finally de- termined to construct fifteen new 10,-| 000-ton cruisers and another aircraft carrier. These cruisers are needed by the Navy. It is unlikely that this Gov- enment would sgree to abandon their | construction or any part of them in the event the proposed conference is held. The statement issued by Sir Esme How- ard indicates that the British feel the United States will continue with the construction of these cruisers. The sooner the powers reach an agreement with regard to the ratio and tonnage of auxiliary naval craft the better. The sooner it is recognized in this country and in Great Britain that there is no danger to either in parity fn naval strength between the two great English-speaking countries the better. When this is accomplished apprehen- sions existing in each nation regarding the intentions and purposes of each to relations between the United States and Great Britain will always be conducive to world peace. vt New York theater managers complain of the popular attitude of the public. Perhaps there is a telepathic process involved causing suspicion, even in silence, that Texas Guinan's salutation “hello sucker!” has become too general a slogan. —rate. Secretary Jardine. Secretary William M. Jardine of the Department of Agriculture is to leave that office March 4 to return to private life. He has announced that fact and taken himself out of the Hoover cabinet possibilities. Mr. Jardine has served as head of the Department of Agriculture for four years. He has been the President's ad- viser on farm matters during the period when demands came from many of the farm organizations for Government price fixing and the “equalization fee” of the McNary-Haugen bill. The Sec- retary of Agriculture has stood squarely against these attempts to place upon the country & system that is uneco- nomic and, in the opinion of many of the best informed minds, unworkable. Twice President Coclidge vetoed the McNary-Haugen farm bill. Because it was known that Secretary Jardine was the other will disappear. The friendly | opposed to the principles un that measure, much of the WI‘: the failure of the bill to receive the President’s approval was laid upon the Secretary of Agriculture by supporters of that measure, It is a foregone conclusion, after the recent election, that farm legislation— minus the equalization fee and price- fixing features of the old bill—is to be put through at a special session of Congress to be called this Spring by President-elect Herbert Hoover. This legislation will be along lines which Secretary Jardine has approved, pro- viding for a Federal farm board with large powers. It will be no doubt some- what similar to the latest bill intro- duced by Senator McNary, and which has recelved the official approval of Secretary Jardine. It would appear to be only justice that Secretary Jardine, who has fought so long for legislation of this character, which he insists is needed to aid the farmer, should con- tinue as head of the Department of Agriculture while this legislation is being enacted and afterward to aid in putting the new law into operation. Mr. Jardine, however, has declared that he has given as much of his time to the Government service as he can afford to do; that he must retire to private life where the emoluments for service more nearly approach the value of the service performed. A During his tenure of office Secretary Jardine has accomplished much for the Department of Agriculture and for the American farmer, notwithstanding the fact that no so-called major farm relief | bill has been put through. He will leave the office with the knowledge of having stood firm for principles in which he be- lieves and against principles in which he does not belleve. He will bear with him the respect even of those who have opposed him, ) Disappearing myths leave a sense of regret. When Mr. Coolidge goes out of office, the White House spokesman will be remembered as one of the most in- teresting and valuable figures in public affairs. ————— Insuguration will bring rellef to the minds of many actors. “All the world's stage” and there can no-longer be any q;fl:)‘.b!e a8 to who is occupying the center o ——e One of the first evidences of Chicago's growing greatness was the formation of a controversy with New York as to which city was wickedest. The con- troversy still goes on. —aom. One of Paul Dresser's most appealing songs Was “On the Banks of the, Wabash.” Thanks to Col. Stewart, In- diana is not discussing flowing water so much as flowing oll. s ‘Those who complain of climate should | consider the career of Comdr. Byrd, who | for the sake of human knowledge de- | liberately seeks out the peris of the | longest, hardest Winter imaginable. ————— In most respects a man of extraor- | dinary frankness, it must be observed | that Al Smith consistently retrains from publishing his golf scores. —_— vt It appears as impossible to: hold on to old ship models, however expensive | originally, as it is to hold on to early- date motor cars. ————— In Chicago the night club may divide interest with the subworld firing squad instructed to shoot at sunrise, o SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Mechanical Man. A Mechanical Man Has been built on a plan That brings us in envy his make-up to scan. He is not expected to hear, think or see. He merely responds to a switch or a key. He doesn’t need exercise, tonic or pills; No threats he encounters of physical ills. The only refreshment that he will de- mand 1s found in the ofl can, kept closely at hand. No love disappointments can cause him to sigh. He can work twelve hours daily, and then not half try. He doesn't need food and he doesn't need rest. When not thinking at all, he is doing his best. He is bullt on a plan That with envy we scan. ©Oh, who would not be a Mechanical Man? Depth. “Did you give deep thought to your observations?” “So deep,” answered Senator Sor- ghum, “that when I brought them into public expression I found that I was sunk.” Jud Tunkins says all he asks in the way of relief-is that his farm will pay him a steady income on the valuation fixed by the tax assessor. No Professional. “They have locked up a bootlegger. Is he a professional criminal?” “You say he got locked up?” asked Uncle Bill Bottletop. “Yes.” “Then he is only an amateur.” “One who is truly clever,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “never invites suspicion by advertising his cleverness.” Honoring Thought. Inauguration day we’ll greet with pride, As men whom we have long admired draw near. g There will be many an honoring thought beside, Por heroes who, perchance, may not be here. “T still likes & mule better dan a fiiv- ver,” sald Uncle Eben. “Dar ain’ nuf- fin’ in all nature so balky as a flat tire.” Radiotorials. Elihu Root, aged 84, Is salling for a foreign shore. To governmental business still He gives his vast untiring skill. How many of us as we try Do you happen to be one of those persons whose expression of difference of_opir arouses resentment? If =0, you deserve sympathy, for no grm is less rmzy in the eyes of the rd, yet none is more ruthlessly frown- ed upon by human beings. After all, difference of opinion is the very essence of life. From it and through it have come most, if not quite all, of the better things of living. Out of the disputes of humanity have arisen such things as tolerance, care of the sick and aged, the ameliora- tion af social conditions, and the hope for a future life. Unless men had disputed such ques- tions, now on one side and now on the other, as environment, race and caprice dictated, there is little likelihood that much which mankind prides itself upon would now occupy either the mental or physical energies of men and women everywhere. P In regard to the free expressions of opinion, there are two distinct types of persons. One sort can say even the most out- rageous things without offense to thers. ‘The second sort cannot utter even a nursery rhyme without offending lis- teners, Just why is this? Emerson was a striking example of the former type, Col. Ingersoll of the latter. The great seer of Concord possessed the magic faculty of being able to “put over” the most opiniated opinions without once ruffing the feathers of his audience. The same may be said of his essays. In them he often expressed opinions which were extremely radical, yet it is not on record that anything he ever wrote aroused readers to snarl- mg resentment. t may be said that Emerson wrote every whit as daringly on religious is- sues as poor Col. Ingersoll ever thought of doing, yet the latter succeeded in ralsing jets of steamy opposition at every one of his pronouncements. He was one of the persons who were for- ever storm centers. EEE Perhaps in the argumentative tone of voice, or the lack of it, lies the real secret why one man may speak with- out offending, the other only succeed in_arousing resentment. ‘Thus there would seem to be a phys- ical basis in this matter as in many others. He who raises his voice, or permits a certain accent of indignation to enter his voice, no matter how in- nocent the subject, will succeed in find- ing objectors to what he says. If he calmly, on the other hand, without allowing any one to perceive that he cares a whoop about the matter, one way or the other, he nearly always makes his point without g umbrage. ‘This is as near to the secret as one may get by taking thought. No doubt there are other physical matters which enter into it. For one thing, in addi- tion to the question of the argmenta- tive tone, there may be other peculiar- ities of speech which rub hearers the wrong way, just as there may be cer- tain physical mannerisms which strike another as inimical. If a salesman who insists on rolling his thumbs around while he talks tempts to “sell” & man whose pet ave sion is this same thumb-rolling busi- ness, he will go away empty-handed D. C, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1929 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. without once suspecting what was the trouble. * Kk k % In matters of great moment the pure argumentative accents may be used without arousing opposition on their own account. Men naturally ex- pect opposition in great matters. It is the life of the business. It is only when this same tone of voice creeps into everything that one says that he must suffer most from the unanswerable antagonism which he sets up. If it is a state matter which is under discussion, one may not resent resistance; it is to be expected, and life might be strange without it. If, on the other hand, the question is trivial, and yet the tone of the argu- mentation enters, obstruction will be met just the same, but this time it will be a distinct loss to the one pro- voking it, because the matter may be one entirely unsuited to opposition. In other words, he will not deserve to be thus brooked over nothing; he may be entirely right in his conten- tion, and merit only approbation; yet he will find others bristling up at every turn, as if he had broached some flery subject deserving scorn and bitter opposition. * % * ‘Thus such an unfortunate person not only meets the normal amount of de- flance resident in most human beings, but he encounters this special friction lr{slng from the argumentative tone of voice. ‘The cynical but shrewd Arthur Scho- penhauer once observed that mankind was by nature so suspicious that one should never let on, in talking to an- other, that he had any particular in- terest in what he was saying. Like most axioms, this must be taken with a grain of salt, but it has its grain of truth, too, as every one will realize. Schopenhauer said that the will-to-live, 25 he called the vital principle of life, was aroused in others at the slightest opposition. His philosophy of life called for a man to live in the center of a 10- acre fleld with as little contact with his neighbors as possible. However much some might wish to do that, for most people it is an advice o perfection, one impossible of fulfillment p in a world where prices of real estate are high and neighbors inquisitive. Con- tacts are not only imperative but highly diverting, even if one happens to be the unfortunate possessor of an argumenta- tive tone of voice. S0 worry not, ye possessors of such voices, but do the best you can, curb them as much as possible, but if you fail, and if others insist on being of- fended because of this inner defect, whieh often can be overcome no more successfully than a bad case of stam- mering, w not overmuch! This is a handicap which you must overcome, just as the fox-faced man and the horse-faced woman must take them- selves as God made them. The dispu- tative man will bear with his own mal- ady as best he can, and trust that his friends will not take him too seriously. After all, what a blessing it must be to be able to fool one’s acquaintances and others into believing that one is not in- terested the slightest in what one ad- vocates or believes! Thus, with the perversity of human- kind, they would just as lief agree with one as take the opposite stand, and so life and living would be the ]!:I;'I. sweet dream of which the poet 8. Satisfaction at the Federal Reserve Board's warning that loans for specu- lative purposes must be curtailed insure adequate credit for industry is aum generally reflected by the press. ‘riticism is not entirely lacking, how- ever, some observers sugges the action might have come earlier, others denying that the present credit struc- ture is strained and a few definitely questioning the soundness of the board’s course. In the opinion of the New York Sun “the policy of attempting to conduct a great banking business by means of publlcl:fi is undignified, ineffective and politically dangerous,” and that paper objects to “its tactics in taking the initiative to start a public argument over the condition of credit and the board’s control of it. Altogether,” as- serts the Sun, “it would seem that if anything is wrong with the credit situation the Reserve banks have ample powers to secure relief through opera- tion of the regular banking machinery. Let the board have the courage to act rv‘ifnrounlx and remember that in central banking, as in many fields of activity, silence is golden.” On the other hand, typical of the majority comment, is this expression from the New York Times: “Pro- gressive reduction of the banking fund available for financing the country’s trade foreshadowed inability of the Reserve banks or private banks to keep the rate for merchants’ borrow- ings from rising to the height prevail- ing for loans on stock and bond col- lateral. The Reserve Board speaks gravely of this disturbing aspect of the matter. Its declaration points out with unusual frankness that con- tinuance of these tendencies may be expected to ‘impair the future’ of legiti- mate trade. * * * e language of the board is temperate, but the fact that so plain a statement had become necessary shows of itself the gravity of the situation.” o T8 “The extraordinary furor of specula- tion,” advises the Rochester Times- Union, “is beginning to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. People buy stocks and stocks go up, in the last analysis because of what stocks earn. If the high interest charges cut into building and other business, the steel companies, which supply building ma- terial, and all other concerns will see their profits declining. How will this affect stocks bought on the prospects of higher earnings and higher prices?” The Buffalo Evening News believes that earning power “should be strengthened rather diminished by a policy of discouraging capitalization of mere hopes.” Rewund basis for the warning is seen by the Syracuse Herald in the obliga- tion to “conserve and insure proper dis- tribution of the credit facilities at the command of the Federal Reserve sys- tem.” The Harrisburg Telegraph be- lieves that “investment and speculation are so far removed from each other that what may check one might easily stimulate the other.” The Hartford Times finds “general realization that the speculative enthusiasm of the time must be k:&tnwnhln safe bounds.” “Restricf of speculative credit in order that the demands of commercial credit may be met on reasonable terms must exercise in the long run a con- structive influence,” declares the Phila- delphia Evening Bulletin. Assuming that high money means a decrease in profits and “slowing down of business,” the Baltimore Sun concludes. “Obvious- ly, if the Reserve Board has reached the point where, it says, such a sequel is in- evitable unless there is a stop to pres- ent speculation, its warning cannot safely be disregarded.” * K X K ‘The Charlotte News views the warn- ing as perhaps “not far from being a case of putting the padlock on the door after the horse has been stolen.” The Birmingham News maintains that “le- gitimate industry should be encouraged rather than discouraged” by the action. The Atlanta Constitution states that “the stock exchanges have their useful and lawful functions,” but ‘“beyond that they should not be permitted to .” 'The Lynchburg Advance contends that “it will be wise action if the board To diet that we may not die Are wishing they could feel anew As young as you, Friend Ellhy. can accomplish a gradual reduction of speculative credit, so that stock prices may get upon whatever trinsic worth justifies.” to | Charleston Evening Warning From Reserve Board Is Quite Generally Approved “The world is being turned upside down o frequently,” remarks the Post, “that it is hard to tell whether it is standing on its head or its feet. And so it would not be safe to say that the seemingly sensible course taken by the Reserve Board would be accepted or approved.” The Rock Island Argus refers to pub- lic criticism in the Houwe on a confer- ence between Montagu Norman, gov- ernor of the British institution, and Secretary Mellon, and concludes: “It is not & matter which deeply concerns the average man, perhaps, but it does con- cern big business and the speculative world very much. From the American nl;fle the incident reveals the extent of British influence upon the American Federal Reserve system.” The South Bend Tribune says, “In the present case the board improved conditions in this country by knocking down a dan- gerous speculative structure, but it will not have blic confidence if it is proved that England's interests were given first consideration.” The Youngs- town Vindicator, however, holds that necessarily “the board had to think not only of business here, but of the effect of drawing more gold from abroad.” * X K % “The Ctreet was going crazy,” avers the 8t. Louls Times, while the Indian- apolis Star agrees that “the speculative craze has attained serious proportions,” and the Springfield Illinois State Jour- nal fears “the permanent ruin that the esent course on the New York Stock cchange surely will end in.” The Mil- waukee Journal's judgment is that “the stock market loans threaten national confidence.” The Sioux City Tribune declares that “this country's industrial structure is being serlously injured by the speculative orgy.” “If the position taken by the board will have the effect of reducing cost of loans for legitimate commercial pur- poses, the public may be appreciative of rellef from a burden carrled for specu- lators,” observes the Louisville Times. Support for the board on the ground of assistance to business is given by the Detroit News, Duluth Herald, Flint Dally Journal and_Cleveland _Plain Dealer, The Sioux Falls Argus-Leader believes that “the bank's admonition will likely be sufficient to produce the necessary correction.” ‘The Los Angeles Express is convinced that “conservative business throughout the country will applaud the board's act,” while the need of essential com- mercial credit is upheld by the Pasa- dena Star-News. e Spokane Spokes- man-Review takes the position that the warning was long overdue.” The San Francisco Chronicle “declines to agree with the Federal Reserve Board that the nt credit structure is under strain,” but calls the board’s warning “a useful one.” Third Billion-Dollar Bank Reported From the Hartford Daily Courant. The close of the year 1928 found New York City with a third billion-dollar banking institution. The total resourcss of the Guaranty Trust Co. on Decem- | g; ber 31 were slightly in excess of $1,050,~ 000,000. The National City Bank, the | bY largest financial institution in the coun- try, was first in the billion-dollar class; it now has more than $1,500,000,000 in resources. The Chase National Bank was the second member. The Continental Illinois Bank & Trust Co. of Chicago, formed by the merger of the Continental | Bank & Trust Co. and the Illinois Mer- chants’ Trust Co., was the third. The fourth was the Guaranty Trust Co., the first State-chartered institution to join the billion-dollar group. The growth of the Guaranty Trust is remarkable in that it occurred without the aid of a merger in recent years; the last con- solidation took place in 1910, It is hardly necessary to ‘add that 1928 was a good year for the banking business in this country, but it might be said that prosperity was not confined to the ints in the fleld. The state- nlx‘enu of mfi'}; ml:a "u.nuuar banks are showing res most to the stockholders, 1 autoblography & development of the | THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover Proponents of the “new biography,” such as Andre Maurois, Emil Lud Harold Nicolson, Gamaliel Bradfc Philip Guedalla and Lytton Strachey, all evidently that only in their time and by them has the art of biographical portraiture been discovered. According to some of their pronouncements, older biographers usually forgot that they were dealing with & man and wrote as if a machine were performing the political or literary actions recor Emil Ludwig says in his {prehce to “Genius and Character”: “Scientific blographies occasionally close with a chapter designed to show us the ‘hero ‘as a man,’ which is put in as a kind of insert like the diagram of a battle or the facsimile of a page from & notebook, but how is the portraitist to represent his subject except as a man?” It is of course true that many of the older biographers ignored “the man” while supposedly writing about him, but not all of them were so oblivious to personality. Surely Bos- well showed us the man as completely as any twentieth century biographer has ever done. * ok ok ok Boswell allows us to see Dr. Johnson as an egotist, a glutton, untidy and not overclean, as well as in the character of a brilllant conversationalist and & clever writer. He illustrates the mag- nanimity of his hero by telling how he asked Goldsmith's pardon for some petty offense, and his personal courage by a story of his separating two large fight- | ing dogs and another of his tossing into the pit at the theater & man who had taken his seat and refused to give it up. Dr. Johnson's personal appearance on an occasion when he hastily conducted a foreign lady of distinction to her coach s described with as much detail as any- “portraitist” could desire: “His dress was a rusty brown morning suit, a pair of old shoes by way of slippers, a little shrivelled wig sticking on the top of his head, and the sleeves of his shirt and the knees of his breeches hanging loose. A considerable crowd of people gathered round, and were not a little struck by this singular appearance.” The picture of Dr. Johnson at table is not attractive, but it s certainly personalit revealing: “When at table he was total rbed in the business of the mo- his looks seemed riveted to his or would he, unless when in very high company, say one word, or even pay the least attention to what was said by others, till he had satisfled his appe- tite, which was so flerce, and indulged with such intenseness, that while in the act of eating the veins of his forehead swelled, and generally a strong perspira- tion was visible.” The reasons why Mrs. Boswell did not iike Dr. Johnson are well known. Bos- well was as frank about thém as about other subjécts. Dr. Johnson himself was quite aware of the dislike and often referred to it in letters. A common ending to a letter to Boswell was “Make my compliments to Mrs. Boswell, though she does not lovz me.” Boswell com- ments: “In this he showed a very acute penetration. My wife paid him the most assiduous and respectful attention while he was our guest, 50 that I won- der how he discovered her wishing for his departure. The truth is that his irregular hours and uncouth habits, such as turning the candles with their heads downwards wheh they did not burn bright enough and letting the wax drop upon the carpet, could not but be disagreeable to a lady. Besides, she had not that high admiration of him which was felt by most of those who knew him, and, what was very natural to & female mind, she thought he had too much influence over her husband.” The sayings of Dr. Johnson, as reported so conscientiously by Boswell, may be looked upon as showing a great man on exhibition, but, on the whole, they | probably give a fairly true idea of the character of the real man. Boswell's | “Lite of Samuel Johnson” may be ccn- | sidered the first and the greatest of the | “new_blographies,” but it was written {in the elghteenth century, not the twentieth. R . Nor is frank self-revelation through | have a conscious theory | YOU. Lo to the numsrous maintain hea zplul. It in the Nation's can be of assistance you, write your question plainly, and send with 2 ‘tents in coin or stamps to The Star Information Bu- reau, Frederit J. Haskin, director, ‘Washington, D) C. Q. Which bise ball team has won the most penfants in the National Jmse’ In tse American being 3,310 of therf. Q. How large E t_h—e membership of the Caterpillar Club?—J. W. Records A. of the Alr Corps shi>w that there have been 116 emergency parachute jumps in this country and {10 lives were thus saved. Col. Lindbei has made four forced jumps, and \three other flyers made two jumps ch. Thus is ex- plained the fact that} out of 116 jumps 110 lives were saved. Q. What is meant |by the “Rows of Chester"?—E. J. C, A. The Rows of K hester, England, are passageways alodg the fronts of lines of houses over §the guound floor and ander the front gart of *1e upper floors so that the t_upper story is available for shops. TH§ Rows are reach- ed from the street by gtairs. This is an old meaning of “rows obsolete except when (#:pitalized and re- lelrrln[ to the Rows ¥ this particular place. to whom is it extende§?—F. M. 8. A. The courtesy of tended to foreign diplo sular officers, some eign visitors and to tive departments who on official business. Th' out paying duty. Q. Can two or more perjsons a seat on the New York S xck together?—I. W. C. BACKGI} ey PavL It is indeed an alert stu who can keep pace wi ments affecting sociol lations. Conditions of yest cause of new influences. Yale University announccl fund of $7,500,000 has becomc| through the, benefactions of t' feller Foundation and other F interests, with which to endc department of research—the the behavior of man. It will universal blunderers, * kx K- What a_pity it is that th’ twentieth century. Samuel Pepys kept a diary from January 1, 1660, to May 31, 1669, in which he decidedly reveals himself “as a man.” After a journey with his wife, he says: “Somewhat vexed at my wife’s neglect in luvi:f of her scarf, waistcoast and nightdress- ings in the coach today that brought us from Westminster; though, I confess, she did give them to me to look after, yet it was her fault not to see that I did take them out of the coach.” Though thoroughly domesticated, Pepys was not unsusceptible to feminine at- tractions outside his home. “My wife telling me that there was a pretty lady come to church with Peg Pen today, I against my intention had a mind to go to church to see her, and did so; an she is pretty handsome.” y+ * Blackfriars, and there went into a little alehouse, and here I kissed three or four times the maid of the house, who is a pretty girl, but very modest.” Pepys was as fond of table delights as Dr. Johnson, and after reading some of his menus, one is not surprised at the fre- quency of entries about “colique.” When entertaining some friends at dinner, “we had a fricasee of rabbits and chickens, a leg of mutton brolled, three carps in a dish, a great dish of a side of lamb, a dish of roasted pigeons, a dish of four lobsters, three tarts, a lamprey ple (a most rare pie), a dish of anchovies, good wine of several sorts, and all things mighty noble and to my great content.” ‘Though lavish in expenditure, Pepys always kept a careful eye on his ac- counts and took great satisfaction in the growth of the credit sidé. “I sat late making up my month's accounts, and blessed be God do find myself 760 pounds creditor, notwithstanding that for clothes for myself and wife and layings out on her closett I have spent this month 47 pounds.” On the last day of the iell' 1666, he wrote com- placently of his prosperity. “I do find myself worth in money, all good, above 6,200 pounds. * * * One thing I reckon remarkable in my owne condition is that T am come to abound in good plate, so as at all entertainments to be served wholly with silver plates, having two dozen and & half.” Not a man of very even temper was Pepys. “Coming homeward again saw my door and hatch open, left so by Luce our cookmayde, which so vexed me that I did give her a kick in our entry, and offered a blow at her, and was seen doing so by Sir W. Pen's footboy, which did vex me to the heart because I know he will be teling their family of it; though I did put on presently a very pleasant face to the boy and spoke kindly to him, as one without passion, so as it may be he might not think I was angry; but yet I was :rougleg at it." * * Two volumes of short stories of the past year illustrate the quality of Scandinavian fiction: “Norway's Best " translated by Anders Orbeck, and “Sweden's Best Stories,” translated Charles Wharton Stork. The writers in the Norwegian collection in- clude Bjornsterne Bjornson, Jonas Lie, Alexander Kielland, Jacob Bull, Olav n, Hans Aanrud, Peter Egge, Hans Kinck, Thomas an Arne Garborg, Jacob Hilditch, Amalie Skram, Gabriel Scott, Johan Falkberget, Mikkjlel Fon- hus, Knut Hamsun, Johan Bojer and id Undset. Those in the Swedish lection include August Strindberg, Seima_ Lagerlof, arias Per Hallstrom, Ernst Ahlgren, Oscar Levertin, Gustaf af Geiterstam, Verner von Heidenstam, Pelle Molin, Ludvig Nordstrom, Hjalmar Soderberg, Anna Elgstrom, Bo Bergman, Sigfrid Siwertz, Albert Innl.mr‘:\ .nd. Marta of Sillen. * ¥ % ‘The Catholic Book-a-Month OClub chooses what is considered the best book of the month for Catholic readers for it is to develop s com| | spectal fangled college first less wrote its text book! wisdom, in that it 4 bodled much to scan; The propet study of mankind is Yet that was not original '“t:l.l;‘;; ho, “La de al- most literally the same phrase as §that tudy : que part of it is that it did not require & m ]It~ million-dollar endowment to estat{ish English poet, of two centuries agid. he stole it from Pierre cmmmgw two cen earlier, averred:) vrale sclence, et la vrale etuc| Ihomme, c'est 'homme,” which § of Pope. “True sclence and the s of man, is man.” The queer that wisdom. * % * ¥ Likewise, Pope _dispia; discretion in'the relations of men, he made s character in “The Wife Bath” declare his rule in his “hum relations,” confessing his own shrew.® ness: days, And studled men, their manners and their ways; And h.lv. observed this useful maxim still, To s{.um: betters always have their % * k%% Why take a college course, spen the income from the Rockefeller lions, when the same end may reached in a course of reading of Pope? Would it not have been more bene- ficial to mankind for Mr. Rockefeller to have simply lowered the price of gaso- line and let “human relations” speed on? Or is it the aim of Mr. Rockefeller to diagnose why the speedster is never content to show ordinary courtesy to the carful of “human relations” ahead of him, without honking and rushing by, gutn' the near fenders or banging the hind bumper in mad haste? Aye, there's the rub! Maybe the new College of Human Re lations will succeed in analyzing spee mad human nature attached to the steering wheel of a flivver, with no traffic cop in t. It would be worth all the millions it is costing, for nobody vet has explained the total wreek of human courtesy caused by one attack of tis. And now it is epidemic, like the “flu”"—spelled in such a case “flew.” * kK K President Angell—how fitting the name!—expresses an optimistic hope that the new sclence may reincarnate the “old family doctor,” to replace the t in medical practice, ite of all ntists who ding mil- lists—the soulless know only one thil never discovered, with Pope and the “old family doctor,” that “the proper study of mankind is man,” with all habits, prejudices and inheritances of his ancestors and influences of his en- vironment, which the unlearned “family doctor, adviser and nurse, knew so inti- mately. So the learned President of Yale “lets the cat out of the bag” and sums up all the modern research by intimating that the old family doctor had a great advantage over the modern specialist in his psychology and try, even though he could not have given their technical names, as the professors of the Hmd“m Relations College are going to do. Somebody in Boston was laughed at, vears ago, for alleging the power of “mind over matter,” and the “error” of human disease. Maybe along with the “old family doctor” now will come Bostonian and offers as well a supplementary list of recommended books. One of the Autumn books selected was “Mr. Blue,” by Myles Connolly. is the story of l a philanthropist who 1 in a packing case on ol a and gave ‘There are other modern influences which, since the World War, have had {h"m fl'u:' to do with “hunu; l'lll:'hll" usually recognised. Even within the last week, an observer, keen and % 82§ of the office of the chief and it is now Q. What is courtesy}of the port and jthe port is ex- nats, some eon- tinguished for- hase xchange A i A. The price of a seat {n the Stock OUND OF EVENTS ent of life tije develop- or {human re- | account these changed rday may in a speech in Philadelphia not at all apply to results of *today, be- | with coutse cannot 1jave as! its dean the late Alexander Pole who His n em- ghii: ‘Know then thyself, presume nl‘, God shre h7d T he wrote fiction truer than truth, wk E; n “Sir, T have lived a courtier all my be | - § ‘0adcasting each, and have Q. abdicate the throne of T. K A. She Her sister, Charlotie, and is the present ruler of the duschy. Q. How can one tell whether an is_fresh?—OC. P. The shell of & new-laid egg has which is the visble Eiiig.fln H e L B Z QU distress signal>—R. G. A. On January 7, 1904, the Marconi International Communication Co. issued an order to all stations to add the lefter D to the general inquiry call C Q, then used by British ships to form a signal of distress, for use by all ships. The International Radio Telegraph conven- tion of Berlin went into force in July, 1908, at which time the 8 O was universally adopted, 1 some period subsequent to that date operators used both CQ Dand SO 8 in order thai there would be assurance that their distress signal would be understood. Q. Who would preside at the trial of Y |2 President of the United States Who had been impeached?—G. H. 8. A. According to Article I of the | United States Constitution, when & President is impeached the Chief Justice fmm“ over the impeachment proceed- ings. V. COLLINS. broad-minded as the Labor, Mr. Davis, failed con alarm” the tendency ‘ckefeller | icanization influences. Time was when that tendency was in the presence of Americans { because he cannot our language ':md fears that he be laughed at for his blunders, toddy may get his Amer- | mysterious and difficult. | will follow, as it does for children. *x ko | In short, the mightiest influence | toward Americanization of aliens is the radio . broadcast, whether to carry’ the news of the day, or, simply to and entertain. ‘What the “family doctor” may do for disease, supplementing the technical specialist, the radio broadcast is doing for the homesick alien immigrant, even within his shut-in clan-colony. In conjunction with the broadcast, of course, must be reckoned the in- fluence of the motion picture. One ap- peals through the ears, the other . through the eyes, but in both cases American atmosphere is penetrating the spirit of the immigrant. ‘The culture and broadening hitherto gained only by globe-trotting are now brought to our doors through the ether, and ‘these new Influences will Americanize even the most clannish, in || spite of themseives, as could not have L been accomplished 10 years ago by any |§Americanization school. x % * ¥ Now to these new means of opening | f1e eyes of the aliens is added the of the moving scene, by i§ie invention of our fellow Washing- t@nian, Mr. C. Prancis Jenkins, the ac- twal inventor of the motion picture f%mn. This Jenkins method of broad- c:\ting scenes in movie action is not tog be confused with merely sending pi ttures by telephone wire; the picture, th) action scene in motion, is broad- ca ) into the air, just as sound is br.W«dcast, and may be “picked up” by any number of “lookers-in” just as soupnd may be heard by any number of list # rers-in. 1ty is reported that already the broad- wtl pictures—mostly silhouettes yet— are tnessed by no fewer than 20,000 & ars-in” at the weekly entertain- floating invisibly = through the The picture waves do not in- | terfe 8> with sound waves, and it takes {no tallmlulc prophet to foresee their ! early combination in the same enter- | tainr g>nt. So new human relations lare ¢ Rveloped even by stay-at-homes. ! He mwst indeed be a dullard who fails [to seew how such modern enlargement of th p five senses must broaden the ! humaratmind and give the world a very differe it character from that of “The Man '@th the Hoe.” The grandchil- dren o{] today’'s generation will be more alert, 14Ul have “traveled” by radio ant | televist 40—I was about to write “telep- |athy,” #nd, why not, indeed! e 2 to the newspapers of a cen- affords both amusement and 1t as one discovers how narrow ¢ knowledge of the events of the worl f as reported ih the press. A century (¥ news development has forced the adju: 4ment of many difficulties not foreseen .M\ the early days. In the )same way the radio broad- casting b: §18s new problems. For exe ample, thid broadcasting companies in- vite churc W>s to use their services, but forbld sec §arian controversies—as the newspapers decades to do. The compe jries may be caught legally responsible : for slanders spoken over their mmvx by irresponsible “orators,” men\; ether To re. tury agc amazem was put i or libelers, §ist as publishers are liable for whateve in their columns