Evening Star Newspaper, February 22, 1929, Page 8

|MHE EVENING STAR .| __With Sunday Morning Edition. /i WASHEINGTON, D. C. i FRIDAY......February 22, 1920 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company | 5 i Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. {ly and Sunday....1 yr. $10.00; 1 mo., 83c ily only {1 3r., $6.00: 1 mo., 8% Bunday only . 1 yrl 8400 1 mo., 40c All Other S i aily end S 2.00: 1.00 aily only 3 Bunday onl3 Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news dis- atches credited to it or not othersise cred- ted in this paper and also the local news published herein. All riehts of publication ef special dispatches herein reserved. —_————— Washington Then and Now. It is a frequent exercise of the imagination to attempt to conceive what certain of the great men of the past would have done in the circum- stances of the present. How, for an in- stance, would George Washington have conducted himself in these immediate conditions of life, with the modern facilities for communication, the ad- vantages of transport, all the conven- fences that science has provided? Would he have borne himself differently, as President of the United States? Would he have held different views regarding foreign relations? Would he have main- tained a different economic policy? No one can, of course, answer such fguestions with any degree of assurance that the result of the query conforms to the probability. No one can deter- mine what any human being who was related to the past would do if placed in the present. But it is possible to an- swer with confidence that there would ‘have been no change of character, no shift of principles, no slackening of moral fiber in the case of such & man s Washington, or such a man, for an- other example, as Lincoln, if environed by the accommodations of today. To adopt the Einstein expression, Buch speculations are merely experi- ments in relativity. The human orbit through life is no different, in essentials, under the influences of modern develop- armaments has not been calculated to give the little-Navy group in the United States much hope for consideration at this time. Indeed, the attitude of the British government has had just the opposite effect. It has stirred up the big-Navy members of Congress, vho are now demanding a much enlarged naval building program. It would be as fool- ish to be carried away and to rush into a building program that goes beyond the actual needs of the Navy for na- tional defense as to yield to the demand of the little-Navy people for an inade- quate Navy. The British have their ideas with regard to their naval needs and apparently are determined to hold to their program for national defense. The British are entitled to their own opinions in this respect. But so also is the United States. R The Slaughter House Menace. Though it be housed in a structure of magnificent beauty, though it be sur- rounded by gardens of fragrant flowers and shrubbery, though it be so con- structed as to give it the semblance of being a part of the collection of tem- ples and shrines in its immediate vi- cinity, a slaughter house can never be camouflaged and made to exude an aroma that is anything but foul and of- fensive. Though pigs be given perfumed shower baths and housed in cribs or pens of sweet lavender, the atmosphere for several miles of surrounding terri- tory will most surely be continuously reeking with the malodorous emana- tions from their place of confinement. Though every precaution be taken to make such an industry as attractive as possible, it can never be anything other than a nuisance of the most obnoxious nature if located in or near a residential community. If the application for permission to erect & slaughter house on the Virginia side of the Potomac on a site between Columbia pike and the Potomac River, Arlington Memorial Bridge and the Highway Bridge, is granted by the Ar- lington County Commissioners an of- fense of grave proportions will have been committed—an offense affecting not only the county itself, but one which will bring shame and humiliation to the people of the entire United States. The location under consideration is literally at the foot of Arlington National Ceme- tery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a shrine to which the whole world makes pilgrimage and pays trib- ute. It will be less than two miles from the White House and but little more than half a mile from the Lincoln Memorial. Its sewage will empty into the river directly opposite that section THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1929. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. has been filling up with men and wom- en distinguished in one of the fields of intellectual service, who decided that the banks of the Potomac are an ideal habitat. Today’s news announces the forth- coming arrival, as a more or less per- manent resident, of a worthy addition to these widening ranks. Col. Lind- bergh has accepted appointment as technical adviser to the aeronautics branch of the Department of Com- merce. Secretary Whiting announces that the ace of all hearts has agreed to hold himself in readiness to respond to any call the department makes upon him. “Lindy” is prepared to advise or personally assist the Government in all phases of its regulation of civil avia- tion, the establishment of airports and airways, research and prevention of ac- cidents. All hope that the calls to service will be so numerous and so urgent that Col. Lindbergh may find it necessary henceforward to call Washington, D.C., his home port. He was reared here | while his father was in Congress. He came here first of all after return from his epochal conquest of the At- lantic. His first love of the air was the air mail. He is an officer in the Army Alr Service. Now, again as a civil servant of the Union, “Lindy” is afliated in a new capacity with the Government he has already served so gallantly. His legion of admirers in this latitude hope that the colonel will decide that Washington is his natural residence in the future. o A Hoover breakfast of ham and eggs can be relied on as an inspiration of statesmanlike utterance quite as much as a Coolidge breakfast of cakes and sausage. Simple fare early in the day is now regarded as more conducive to clear thinking than the formal banquet with numerous after-dinner speeches. ————t——————— The frank admiration of Senator Borah for Senator Reed cannot be con- strued as evidence of any overwhelm- ing desire to have him back in the Senate when a debate is on. v Plans for a complete unionizing of workers in the steel industry hint that the farmer may find his hopes of relief interfered with by higher costs in the manufacture of implements. ————————— As a matter of polite deference Mus- solini might arrange to have the King of Italy’s name in public print at least half as many times as his own appears. —————— Musicians who threaten to strike and stage hands who are pledged to go out of Potomac Park, and the river at that ments of sclence than it was in earlier times. Life is at once today more sim- ple and more complex. There are ad- . ‘antages of transport, of communica- tion, of perception in the sense of lguicker understanding of distant facts .. &nd conditions. There are greater com- forts of life. But there is no change in point is a scant half-mile wide. With the completion of the Arlington Memo- rial Bridge and the magnificent na- tional boulevard which is to link the National Capital, Arlington Cemetery and Mount Vernon with the most bea: tiful driveway in the world, the e trance into Virginia will be made ac- tually at the gates of the slaughter with them recall the old adage to the effect that even in art there is nothing without labor, —————— It is customary for a President whose term ends to take his office chair with him. It may at least offer some oppor- tunities for genuine repose. A ..o In the game of high finance a white the relative association of men, in the | house, and the Mount Vernon branch of chip used to cost only a hundred thou- relative association of natlons. For all |the boulevard will form a semi-circle | sand dollars or so. Now it represents have gone forward together, all are together enjoying these betterments. George Washington would have been around the plant. It is inconceivable that the commis- sioners of Arlington County desire to at least a million. ] It is apparently the purpose of . bs dominant & figure in present times | commit such an offense against the Na- | Standard Ofl of Indiana to become as #s in the years of his life. He would | tion, or against the residents and tax- | famous and influential as Standard Ofl have been the master spirit in the days | payers of the adjacent communities, [of New Jersey. of steam pallroads, of motor cars, of iirplanes, of telegraph, telephone and radio, as in the days of the stage coach lnd the pony post. He would have seen the conditions of his fellow ecitizens - with as clear a vision, with as sure a judgment. It may be said that with modern Tacilities for communication there would | tractive and restful driveway and gath- | & Liave been no American Revolution, or 8¢ least no warfare in the separation of | Basin will be doomed as a place for | Most fortunate it is to be Ceremonies at the Tomb of the Un- known Soldier will be accompanied by the noisome stench emanating from the carloads of animals being shipped into the plant as well as from the foul odors which will exude from the slaughter house itsef. Potomac Park will become a place to be avoided instead of the at- ering place of the people. The Tidal A “ SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JORNSON. On Safe Ground. I have no argument to make Concerning hopes or fears. lofty attitude I'll take And simply say, “Three Cheers!” 7 4 4+ 'l the colonies from England. It may be | pleasure, and no longer will the cherry| So favored, each four years, sald that with a peaceful separation of | hlossoms encircling that body of water | That we, from all dissension free, $98E o the colonies there would have been no «call for the military services of Wash- ington. Hence, perhaps, there would have been no Washington the states- man. That is all beside the mark. His- tory cannot be written backward. Bi- ography cannot be compiled in terms of veversed circumstances, draw the thousands of visitors from all parts of the world who annually come to enjoy their beauty. At the White House there would be almost an inces- sant explanation and apology to delega- tions and visitors for the “bad smell which comes from Virginia.” The obvious injury to Arlington May simply say, “Three Cheers!” 1t is & happiness, indeed, ‘To have, though doubt appears, Two Words, on which we're all agreed, As we remark, “Three Cheers!” Moderation. “What are your views on prohibi- The major thought to be borne in}cointy tself, if this permit be granted, | tion?” mind on the anniversary of the birth of George Washington is that he did his full duty, that he led his fellow Ameri- cans through the first stages of inde- pendent national existence, that he met the circumstances of his time with cour- age, with sagacity and with practical idealism. He would have done the same in any circumstances, in any environ- ment, in any stage of cultural develop- ment. - An element of British statesmanship . 3s disposed to regard limitation of in- ternational discussion as ranking in im- portance with naval limitations, Navy Needs. 4 The little-Navy group in the Senate ¢ imade its last effort, seemingly, yester- day to halt immediate and continued construction of the cruiser program. »The Senate, however, by a vote of six- y-three to five squelched the effort to prevent taking up the naval appropria- tion bill, which provides the actual funds for beginning construction of the cruisers, five during the present fiscal year and five during the succeeding fiscal year, with five left to be begun in the third fiscal year. Soon after- ‘ward a unanimous consent agreement ‘was permitted to go through the Sen- ate placing a limitation on debate which practically assures the passage of the naval appropriation bill today or to- morrow, For weeks and months there has been @ determined effort in certain quarters %o prevent the passage of the cruiser biil. In this country there is a group of persons who are strongly opposed to maval expansion and who insist, on the other hand, that the Navy should be reduced in size. The Navy is the first line of defense of the United States. Tampering with national defense in these days, when anything may happen even when the skies appear most peace- ful, is not to the best interests of the eountry. It is clear that the Navy needs additional modern cruisers, That is the most urgent need of the Navy, though riot the only one, It is far better to take the advice of the Navy Depart- ment and the officers of the Navy in this matter than to rely upon opinions of those who know nothing at all about !the Navy or naval warfare, ‘The most recent pronouncement of isone to which the commissioners should glve the most careful consideration. Beautiful homes which now cover the heights above the site of the proposed plasnt will be abandoned as their occu- pants and owners flee from the nau- seating stench. A rapid deprectation of property values will almost assuredly follow, and in & short time the territory which now enjoys the greatest oppor- tunity in its history to become the gar- den spot of the Old Dominion will de- teriorate and degenerate into an un- sightly, evil-smelling neighborhood of objectionable industries, for the estab- lishment of a slaughter house would serve as an opening wedge for other in- dustries equally obnoxious and unde- sirable. The Secretary of War has made a strong protest against the granting.of the permit. He has, in fact, asked that “I favor & compromise,” said Senator Sorghum, “whereby all quiet citizens will refrain from drinking if all boot- leggers will'agree to abstain from shoot- ing.” Jud Tunkins says he hopes a Presi- dent's position will go right on being as enviable as it is for a couple of hours when he has & comfortable glass house from which to see the parade, Higher Principles. “Are you a wet or & dry?” “I am a dry,” declared Uncle Bill Bottletop. “I am getting ready to run for office and what's a little thirst com- pared to a man's politics?” “Our sorrows are a part of our lives,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “He who secks to run away from his troubles is trying to run away from he be given an opportunity to appear before a hearing if one should be held. Apparently no hearing will be held, for the decision of the commission will be few days hence. Lieut. Col. U. 8. Grant, 3d, superintendent of public buildings and parks, and a member of the Na- tional Capital Park and Planning Com- mission, has also registered his disap- proval. The Virginia Park and Planning Commission opposes the granting of the permit, and every organization within the county has made a plea for its denial. In the face of all these objections, and with not a single feature of the in- dustry itself in its favor, it is incon- celvable that the Arlington County commissioners will grant the applica- tica of the packing company and bring upon the State of Virginia, the Na- tional Capital and the United States the shame and humiliation of the dese- cration of the territory which is now in process of dedication to the Nation's honored dead. ) Lindbergh Comes to Washington, In the palmy days of Athens and Rome, and even of more modern capi- tals, the illustrious of the natlons, in the realms of the arts, the sciences and the professions of arms, were wont to | take up their abode in those cities. ‘Where the capital was, was the hub of the national universe, ‘Washington, especially in cotempo- the British government in the House of Commons which denled that that gov- ernment is likely to open negotiations \for_ another conference to Lmit naval rary times, has steadily been taking on the character of that kind of & center. Xens by, yoar the Dtz of Columbla made on the 28th of this month, only & | himself.” The Skidding Season. With skid chains you must surely go Lest to your doom you scud. If you don't need 'em in the smow, You'll want 'em in the mud. “Some 0’ dese jasz dance tunes,” sald Uncle Eben, “sounds to me like chills an’ fever set to music.” Radiotorial. A stranger saw the grandstands new Of lumber neatly made, Where many citizens will view ‘The Fourth of March parade. He murmured, “These United States Are going rather strong, ‘When Coolidge puts the town in crates And takes it all along!” ‘There is & time for everything, And as the snow flakes drift and cling, We glance with welcome at the place That still retains the blizzard's trace. Inauguration day draws near, 80 let's clear out the atmosphere, That smiling skies may be aglow— This is the time to have our snow. A Coolidge breakfast guest partakes In cheer of sausages and cakes. A Hoover breakfast, statesmen say, Brings ham and eggs in glad array. Our leaders when they get in touch May think a lot, yet not say much. The different breakfast fare may be The biggest change in policy. ———vivoe So Do Oklahomans. From the Detroit News. Wonder whom Oklahoma wil elect In the midst of the braggarts who toot their own horns a modest man is likely to feel like an arrant failure. ‘They talk so much and so loudly, everything that they have and do is so perfect, that the meek man who believes, to some extent, at least, in the sermon on the Mount becomes very humbld indeed. After listening to a typical round-table of human beings praise themselves and their own work, such a modest man is suffused with shame at his own short- comings. ‘When he enters the circle of light he is under the impression that he amounts to something, but by the time he is ready to leave he is almost willing to admit he is unworthy to tie the shoe- strings of the others— If they are speakers of the truth, if they are really all they picture them- selves to be, if they hold the important places which they say they do, and if they have solved the mystery of life and living as they profess! So you see it is a pretty big “if,” after all. * ok Kk ‘These self-glorifiers must always be taken with several grains of salt, espe- cially by those who are inclined to be modest or super-modest concerning themselves. Such arrogant claims are part and parcel of our modern American bluff, that extremely useful attitude which sometimes takes the place of merit, worth and aptitude, but which more often simply helps others to understand ]sluch aptitude, worth and merit as one as. Many persons understand the whole art and science of bluffing to the point where they instantly discount half of what is told them by others; it is not of these that we speak, for they can take care of themselves and give as good as the others send. ‘We are thinking, rather, of all those men and women who were broufhb up to take others at their own valuation until they were proved otherwise; we are thinking of all the men and women who are the products of such education as held modesty to be a desirable moral quality; we are thinking of those who were specifically taught by their par- ents to say “Yes, sir,” to men, and “Yes, ma'm.” to women. ‘These persons in a sense are unfor- tunate, since they are the all-too-ready victims of the braggarts, the self- gloriflers, the loud-mouther, the proud, the haughty, the pretentious, the arro- gant, the conceited. Yet they, too, form a part of hu- manity, as do those of the latter clas from the reaction caused by the arro- gant and conceited have come count- less works of art which otherwise would | never have appeared on this earth. This is the divine purpose, as we see it, of the proud and the haughty, to goad into action of some sort the meek and humble of the earth, who without such stimulus would be willing to live their lives through in fruitless peace and unending quiet. Such is the slow motion of their peaceful souls that they minimize their own worth, “play down” their own achievements, keep quiet when they might speak of their own achievements, refuse to countenance others to speak out for them. They are as different as day from night from the others, but live in the same world with them, under exactly the same conditions, playing or at- tempting to play the same game of life with them, but often being outdistanced because they will not descend, as they call it, to the same tactics. One of the major tactics of those who have mastered exactly how to get along in this difficult world is simply the old art of ballyhoo. One does not have to stand on a street corner, on an upturned tub, beneath flaring torches, to practice it. In the main such personal ballyhoo consists of singing a loud song in praise of one's self, with such little side com- ments as will permit the listeners to believe that they, the listeners, are at a lesser level. Thus the tub or soap box is used, after all, but with so much less effort. One does not even go to the trouble of finding a box to stand on, but simply elevates himself in the un- derstanding of others. To let on, subtly or otherwise, that one’s job is about the best job of the sort that any one ever had is the first part of the lesson and the one most often practiced by good, bad and indif- ferent practitioners. Good clothes, of course, play a part in this; but when one thinks of all the young idiots run- ning around in fancy suits it is seen that one must get down deeper than that. The second step In this gentle, pervad- ing art is to tell every one everywhere that everything which one owns is just a little bit better than similar things owned by other people. If you have a man working for you whose duty it is to count sheep, say it not so plainly, but label him at once an “‘expert sheep counter,” It sounds so much better and quite flabbergasts your rival, whose mind is so modest that he is content to call his man simply a “sheep counter.” * ok ok ok If one purchases a new radio set, it is not the best set in its price class, but the best of all possible sets. When you meet a friend who recently bought a set every whit as fine as yours, proceed at once to praise your set and belittle his. “What have you? Oh, a Blahblah, Well, you have the best of the secondary sets.” That will make him feel nice, and before he fully recovers you can go on to describe the merits of your own purchase—and the point is that no mat- ter what the real merits of comparison are, you paint the picture to suit your- self. If you lay on the colars a bit thick, so much the better, as then the feriority complex will never be able to scrape away enough to get at the true picture. The astute reader will readily see that it is just as necessary %o take the other down a peg or two as to glorify one’s self; in fact, some exponents of this t and science devote most of their time to this branch, feeling, and per- haps rightly, that if they can keep the holher on the defensive all the time he ['will have no time for examining them, | Thus they carry their own merits by default, as it were, while minmizing those of every one else, ‘The saving thing is that most modest men have pretty good heads, after al if sometimes they are made by others feel that they are standing still in a world where every one else is swimming gayly, they soon perceive that the great current of life in reality is holding them all pretty much stationary; only the blowers are making a great splashin noise with their arms and legs—i mouths. Modest folk, therefore, will not long lie awake at nights worrying because they seem failures, but will use their common sense to convince themselves that they are not arrant failures at all, but in reality are pretty successful men and women, being under no necessity of whistling to keep their courage up. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC It is pointed out that if Col. Henry L. Stimson is really to become President Hoover's Secretary of State he will be about the only one appointed to that office who has not actually assumed his dutles coincident with the President himself on March 4. The retiring gov- ernor general of the Philippines cannot reach this country before March 20. He is scheduled to sall from Manila aboard the liner President Plerce tomorrow. In case S n is cast for some other role in the Hoover cabinet—Secretary of ‘War or Attorney General—the corre- sponding portfolio will also be vacant nding his arrival in the country, un- ess the present incumbent is invited to hold over. If the State Department is to be the scene of Stimson’s future ac- tivities, therefore, Secretary Kellogg's official existence may be prolonged a few weeks. All that Col. Stimson has sald on the subject is that he’'s coming home to ncug't;‘ service under Mr. Hoover, What t service is to be is the President-elect’s secret. * k%% ‘Washington's heavy snowfall this week sent cold shivers down the backs of all and sundry connected with In- auguration day arrangements. Probably the chief actor himself—Herbert Hoover —was given furiously to think. The Cl‘rlhl is emerging from an unusually mild and salubrious Winter, but it’s just ble that the weather man may be Intending to make up for lost time and do his seasonal stuff early in March. William Henry Harrison was inaugurat- ed in 1841 under such unfavorable ¢! matic conditions that he died of pnee monia a month later. Nearly everybody - | now in Washington recalls the atrocious weather which descended upon Wash- ington on March 4, 1909, when William Howard Taft was inducted into the presidential office. The possibility of rough weather on Mr, Hoover's great day has bulled the market for window seats along the line of march of the inaugural parade. * Ok K K There was a painful moment at a fashionable Washington dinner party the other night, at which the guest of honor was a member of the cabinet. He happens to be a teetotaler and a prohibitionist—sometimes the one isn't the other. The hostess fell ill with the gflp the day of the party, leaving er debutante daughter to do the honors at dinner. Evidently the “deb” thought the occasion called for snappy remarks, so proceedings hadn't been in progress very long before she turned to Secre- tary —— and asked, “Mr, Secretary, who's your bootlegger?"” * ok ok K Lots of people think there's such a physical resemblance between Presi- dent-elect Hoover and his private sec- retary-to-be, George Akerson, that t is going to be difficult in a crowd to tell them apart. Akerson is perhaps 14 or 15 years “the Chief's” junior, but he's the grayer of the two, or almost so. They are of about the same height, breadth and girth, and share in com- mon @& chubbiness of countenance. Movie audiences are constantly mis- teking the President-elect for his able young adjutant, and vice versa. Mr, and Mrs. Akerson conform to the col legiate tradition which will be so p: nounced in the Hoover era. The for- mer met his prospective wife while she was an undergraduate of Wellesley and he a student at Harvard, * ok ok ok If plans now undergoing serious con- sideration are carried out the Demo- crats will take the field soon after the new administration is in power, for the | purpose of keeping themselves on the political map. One of the schemes to that end, which is highly favored, is the use of the radio. Regular broad- casts of Democratic doctrine and con- | structive criticism of Republican “mis- rule” would be put on the air, as well as other “features” designed to remind the country that the Democrats are down, but not out. The program also calls for the maintenance of an aggres- sive party news service from a central headquarters in Washington. South- it RN B WILLIAM WILE the promotion of the project. Their idea is that Dixie must be won back to its ancient political moorings if the party is ever to become again an ef- fective fighting force. Henry Minor, author of “The Story of Democracy” and former national committeeman from Mississippl, is fomenting the movement. * ok ok ok John Hays Hammond, distinguished Washingtonian, has just mcm the blue ribbon of the mining engineering rofession — the William Lawrence ~eunders medal. It is bestowed annu- ly for eminent service in the eraft by 2 American Institute of Mining and etallurgical Engineers. Last year the Saunders medal was given to Herbert Hoover. The President-elect this year Wwill receive the John Frita medal, awarded by the combined societies of mining, civil, electrical and mechanical engineers. In accepting the Saunders trophy in New York {hh ‘week, Mr, Hammond called the engineer “an apostle of peace” and “the most im- portant mlssxon‘ar{ o: civilization.” * Anybody want an elk? One of the four-footed brand may be had for the asking from the Biological ‘Survey of the Department of Agriculture by any one who will remove the elk without cost to the Government from the na- tional bison range, The range is in Western Montana, near the towns of Molese and Dixon. Because the elk there have increased beyond the carry- Ing capacity of the range, it is neces- sary further to reduce their numbers, even though some of the surplus ani- mals have already been disposed of by sale. The natlonal bison range is ad- ministered primarily for the mainte- nance of a fair sized herd of buffalo, the original stock of which was sup- plied by the American Bison Soclety. Elk at this time are mainly valuable for exhibition purposes at zoos and for stocking game parks and farms. It is now too late in the season for elk meat to be good. (Copyright, 1929.) ——or—s— Roald Amundsen’s ; Ledger Is Closed From the Canton Daily News. Roald Amundsen was one of the world’s greatest explorers, but he had no flair for finance. Money troubles plagued his later years. At a recent sale the medals with which Kings, gov- ernments and sclentific societies had decorated him were disposed of to dis- charge his financial obligations. The medals represented his sole asset when he flew into the Arctic on that mission of mercy from which he never returned. Amundsen’s ledger is closed. With the last line ruled in the book he leaves the world, and a few of its inhabitants in particular, awing him a ‘debt which can never be repaid, Iie was, in many respects, the outstanding explorer of his e. He was the only man who had visited both Poles and the only navi- gator to pilot a ship through the North- west Passage, a feat which was the dream of great adventurers for four centuries. A few personal relics com- prise the estate he left. The sea has tossed up & battered gasoline tank and a wrecked pontoon from his ill-fated craft to add to the collection. Amundsen came out of retirement once to pay off his debts. Several times his ship had been attached for judg- ments. False friends exploited him, and he turned to the lecture platform to re- coup his losses. He forsook his hard- earned rest again last July to rush to the resere of the man who had ma- ligned him. That was his final chal- lenge to the frigid wastes. ished its goods on many less worthy. 1In the end he paid with his life for his | extraordinary unselfishness and courage. Practically the last vestige of his per- sonal belongings has disappeared with id, and he leaves as his monu- a grot ment, unswerv of character the are men| poor fellow there suffering from an in- | | t| tempt at that species of national There is @ bitter irony in the Whole | perer e el i plot of Amundsen's life. The world 1av= | g ooy, Cls¢ there wouldnt be any the sale of the medals. But his debts|From the Springfleld, Ohlo, Sun. | Wi Oldest Californians May |Have Had Mastodon Pets BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. Another evidence that the extinct species of elephant called the masto- don. 'ived on in North America until relatively recent times, side by side with primitive men as the other extinct elephant called the mammoth lived on in Europe, has been found near the California town of Menlo Park, about 30 miles south of San Francisco. Prof. Eliot Blackwelder of Stanford Univer- sity, who describes the finds in a com- munication to the Washington Acad- emy of Sciences, reports two teeth, several bits of a tusk and a few frag- ments of ribs and other bones, all found underneath 22 feet of loose clay and sand not far from the present shore of San Francisco Bay. The rest Stop a minute and think about this fact. You can ask our information bu- reau any question of fact and get the answer back in a personal letter. It is a great educational idea introduced into the lives of the most intelligent people in the worldi—American newspaper readers. It is a part of that best pur- pose of a newspaper—service. There is no charge except 2 cents in coin or stamps for return tage. Get the habit of asking questions. “Address your letter to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederick J. Haskin, director, ‘Washington, D. C. Q. What is a large passenger plane used by the Army Air Corps called?— of the skeleton of the ancient beast|C. W. may be lodged somewhere in the sur- rounding clay, Prof. Blackwelder be- lieves, where doubtless it was trapped and drowned thousands of years ago when the water of the bay was higher than now and when the clay where the bones were found was on the bottom of some shallow, muddy lagoon. No remains of ancient man were found with the mastodon . bone, but Prof. Blackwelder recalls that several years ago a human skull was found at about this same depth and in similar clay and sand deposits on what is now the campus of Stanford University, not far away. The suggestion that the Menlo Park mastodon and the ancient human being at Stanford lived at about the same time is described by Prof. Black- welder as “not to be lightly dismissed.” In Europe drawings of the extinct mammoth were made in caves by men who lived side by side with those beasts. No such cotemporary pictures of mas- todons have been found in North America, although scientists are always hoping that some will be. r—ee— Royal “Lame Duck” All But Forgotten From the Indianapolis Star, ‘The attention paid to the former Kaiser’'s seventieth birthday anni- versary by a group of former princes and a handful of the old military regime served only to intensify the depth of the political oblivion into which the ex-Emperor has tumbled. At one time the allies considered ex- iling him to some modern Elba. There he probably would have become a mar- tyr. Distance might have lent enchant- ment to his plaintive insistence that he was always the apostle of peace. Today he lives just across the border, but is forgotten. ‘The German people do not pay Wil- helm the compliment of consideration. A handful of Nationalists may pin on several pounds of medals and parade before the specter of former greatness. At one time such procedure caused an occasional riot. The former Kaiser now is only regarded as a national bore. ‘The indifference of the country is not confined to the former ruler him- self, but to the entire Hohenzollern family, Even if a day should come when a return to the monarchy might be deemed advisable, no thinking Ger- man believes that any scion of that house would be included among the prospective candidates. Wilhelm may write a book about his ancestors, but the royal press agent cannot stimulate any regard among the republican ma- jority for that regime. The goose step, & chest laden with medals and a coterie of old army officers cannot off- set the progress the eountry is mak- ing under the existing government. ‘The German people are rapidly re- gaining that commercial eminence which they achieved prior to 1914. It is true foreign soldiers still occupy a portion of the country and that repara- tions must be paid for a still undeter- mined period. ~The <risis has been safely met, however, -and republican Germany is growing more prosperous Hohenzollerns have played no irt in that development. They have en & hindrance rather than an aid in the work of restoration. They suf- fered no physical punishment for their share of the war gullt, but they have not escaped scot free.’ Realization of their g;ruent insignificance must be a low cruel to former arrogance. Wouldn’t Take A. E. F. To Enforce Dry Law From the Little Rock ‘Arkansas Gazette. The assertion of Police Commissioner Russell of Chicago that the entire American Expeditionary Force, if it were brought into that city, “couldn’t stop people from taking a drink,” was adroitly ased. Buried in it was a tacit but direct appeal to the sentiment of “personal liberty.” Shall Americans, ran the unspoken argument, let John Law seal up their gullets? No, 'd sooner trample down a line of bayonets. But, as a matter of fact, prohibition- ists are not so simple-minded as to think they can “stop people from tak- & drink” when a drink is handy. it they do seek is to stop the manu- facture, transportation and sale of intoxicants. Working from that angle, the A. E. F. would make a formidable enforcement machine, and Commissioner Russell is kidding himself or the public when he suggests it wouldn't. Given the domi- nant authority and arbitrary power troops possess in a war zone, we do not imagine it would take the entire A. E. F, or one of its component armies, corps, divisions, brigades, regiments, companies or even platoons, to give the works to beer and liquor plants operated in open violation of the law. A squad headed by a hard-boiled sergeant would be entirely competent to “put the fear of God” into the suds makers and the alcohol cookers. It is only necessary to visualize a single M. P. post, of A. E. P. character and attitude, strad- dling one of the highways leading into Chicago and ordered to let no rum- runners pass, to pity the man who was dying for a drink brought to him over that route. As for the higher-ups, the booze barons and syndicate heads, sup- pose that under wartime conditions and discipline Military Intelligence got orders from G. H. Q. to locate and bring them in toot sweet! Uruguay Considering ‘A. Tt Is usually designated as s transport. Q. Is Fez a beautiful city?—W. B, T. A. One writer says that Moroccan Fez and Bangkok, capital of Siam, are two cities whose beauty is unsurpassed. On what race is the Calcutta sweepstakes placed?—L. G. A. It is a lottery arranged on the derby. The derby is run at !:%om, 14 miles from London, on the last Wednes- day in May or on the first Wednesday in June. It is & race for 3-year-olds. Q. Does Lake Superior freeze over in the Winter?—E. V. H. A. Lake Superior never freezes com- pletely. Only the shallow waters around the shores freeze. Q. When were handkerchiefs first used?—M. P. H. A. The handkerchief is one of the refinements of Roman civilization. It came into general use in polite soclety during the reign of Henry VIII of Eng- land. It is probably connected with ec- clesiastical costumes and may have been an outgrowth of the maniple, which was originally of linen and worn over the fingers of the left hand and used for the same purpose for which the hand- kerchief is now used. The pocket hand- kerchief was used to a certain extent in France in the eighteenth century. At this period handkerchiefs were richly ornamented. Women adopted the use of colored handkerchiefs as soon as the taking of snuff became an es- tablished custom, Q. How many peoplé who use glasses are dependent upon them for n?— M. L. A. Probably more than half of all the glasses used are made for people whose eyesight is but slightly defective, the glasses being worn to relieve eye strain, Q. What per cent of the students who take correspondence courses com- plete them?—N. B. A. Between 25 and 30 per cent com- }:lete them. This proportion compares avorably with those who complete col- lege courses. Q. When was Frank Leslle’s Ladles’ Gazette of Fashion started?>—F. A. C. A. It was published in 1854. Q. When is Lady day?—R. W. A. Lady day was originally the name for all the days in the church calendar marking any event in the Virgin Mary’s life, but now restricted to the feast of the annunciation, held on the 25th of ning of the legal 1752 this was altered to the 1st of Jan- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. one of the quarter days; though in some parts old Lady day, on the 6th ?! April, is still the date for rent pay- ing. Q. Are snakes found in Hawail? — . P. C. A. Hawali, like Ireland, has no snakes. Q. What is the flying grocery store? —N. W. A. It is a big air transport fitted up as a grocery store. It was entered at the cflm Aeronautical Show. n;hu have A. Usually planists insist upon hav- ing their pianos tuned before each per- formance. Q. Is there a record of a case of ab- solute self destruction of the citizens of a town to avoid conquest?—P. 8. A. When Jerusalem was taken there were three strongholds: One—Masada —endured a siege for three years, but the commander of the town realized at length that there was no hope of es- cape except by death and decided to anticipate their fate. Each man slew his wife and children, 10 men selected by lot to slay the rest, 1 man slew the other 9, fired the palace and fell on his own sword. en the place was finally stormed there were found living two old women and five children hidden in caves. Q. Does the United States own the Panama Canal Zone?—M. R. A. The Panama Canal Zone is not owned by the United States, but it has a perpetual right of occupation, use and control, for which privilege it pays Panama the sum of $250,000 annually as long as occupancy continues. Q. Is there such a word as “broad- casted”?—A. U. A. Some dictionaries give it as the past form of “broadcast.” “Broadcast,” however, is preferred and is the form used by people interested in radio broadcasting. Q. What is meant by nyin,‘n prize fighter wears the belt: . P. K. A. It is equivalent to saying holds the title. A belt is not actually awarded. Q. How old was Beethoven when he wrote his first plece?—M. L. A. Ludwig Van Beethoven is said to have written a funeral cantata at 11 and in the same year was taken on a concert tour by his father, who repre- sented him as being two years younger. He was only 13 when he secured & po- sition as assistant ccurt organist, He began musle in his fourth year. Q. Is there such a country as Ukraine?—A. L. B, A. The Ukraine is an independent republic federated with the government of Russia November 7, 1917, Q. Why are popples associated with ‘wheat?- N. are awociated with wheat luxuriance in wheat nc)::”m“:m to the fact that they can mature among the wheat before it is cut and the ground disturbed in the Spring. A. because 1! ervmu often be a solution of hydrochloride of lod-' which is also known as Labar- uary, but the 25th of March remains Relinquishment of the command eof the United States Marine Corps by Maj. Gen. John Archer Lejeune, “in order that others might gain promotion,” is viewed by the country with regret, and with expressions of admiration for the record of a brave soldier and popular His successor, Maj. Gen. Wendell C. Neville, is appraised in much the same vein in change. Observing that Gen. Lejeune will have 22 months more of active duty, the Pittshurgh Post-Gazette assures him that “the country will wish him content- age, on land and sea, under the colors. ¢ ** Even if the enemy called his men ‘Devil Dogs,’” continues that pa- per, “and must have thought of him as ‘Satan's own mastiff,’ Gen. Lejeune in person is free from bluster and marked by modesty kindliness. Yet he w{l never aui‘:(‘ character as the hard- bitten chief of hard-bitten men. He is & ‘Leal ' himself. No other could be fitted to command the soldiers of the sea who have won the designa- tion in many climates. Gen. Lejeune will leave to his successor an organiza- tion high in morale and worthy of its traditions. His part in maintaining the corps on its basis of efficlency be appreciated by his country.” * kX % % “Neville will succeed a highly beloved and able man in Gen. his life- time friend,” says the New York Her- ald Tribune, with an accompanying story to illustrate the character of the new commander: “In December, just after the end of the war, in which he had been a conspicuously gallant figure, Qen. Neville was found in a little G. H. Q. across the Rhine from Coblenz, sur- rounded by a great pile of freshly writ- ten letters. Asked about this great mass of correspondence, he said: ‘Oh, they are letters to the parents of the boys who were killed while serving under me. I thought it might not do any harm to write them.’” Of the retiring chief, the Kansas City Journal-Post states: “Whatever work he may be assigned to, it will be as Lejeune of the United States Marine Corps that this Louisiana lad of French ancestry will be known in the proud of our country’s history." The Journal-Post also feels that “this remarkable officer, Wwho can put & buck private at ease in & chat just as he himself is at ease in any presence, would never quit the Ma- rines when his inspiring of lead- ership was needed.” The World describes him as one who has had “a colorful and most useful mili career, the born qualities of p being ;::tl::n!}.y the loyalty and affection of Rule by Commission From the Fort Worth Record-Telegram. The progressive little nation of Uru- guay, in South America, is said to be preparing a referendum for its citizens to decide on a commission form of na- tional government. Instead of electing presidents, governors, legislators and members of congress, the people will vote only for state councilmen, from whom the body will select one to be national councilman. That body in turn will elect a president, as city com~ missloners used to elect mayors. The world that is, at present, as fairly safe for democracies as the Democrats are from the one governing them will watch the Uruguayans with keen interest. That will be the first at- P * ok ok ok “The ‘romantic type of an’ finds nothing so hard to m‘umr:- tirement,” declares the New York Evening Post, with the statement as to the career of Gen. Lejeune: “He typi- fles in himself all the qualities that the public associates with an American Marine.” The San Antonio Express re- views hM career, remarking: “His greatest work in France was with the 2d Division, that embraced a Marine Corps brigade. He took over that di- vision on July 28, 1918, and was with it at the battles of St. Mihiel and Blanc Mont and in the Meuse-. offensive. * * * the Army and Navy Distinguished 8ov- m; c r plan mwxfinm.l meda——o%n‘, however, the formality of a council—but nothing resembling the other and earlier city experiment has been attempted on the larger scale. might work—with the Uruguayans. Utopla may as well be discovered in South America as elsewhere. It is some- ‘We hope the Uruguayans find it. - The Descriptive Language Differs Service Medals, and he gained the ad- miration and lking of all who followed France.’ in the ulecbflon ‘:‘r expressed by Roanoke Times, which states tha§ he “served gallanty in Cuba during the Spanish-American War, and also saw service in China during the Boxer trouble,” and finds satisfaction in the fact that he “succeeds another dis- tinguished son of the South, Gen. Le- | knows, it is well raque’s solution. Lejeune and Neville Lauded As Soldiers of Popular Mold of four years each he had the of the Navy Department and ith the rank commariders. He interest in the post life of is more closely related to the comments on the |and ment on the last stage of his long voy- | the American Go protected in days of “For years,” says ner, “Gen. Le, skill, force and tact and never u.e“.nh.u 2'Nghtly proud The Tremton Eveniog " The H’m:h. tion “reluctantly administration hands,” while Appeal is im ;'nom has held K, avy Departmen has been commandant ujeune.';h'fhc Boston people for being among them.’ “For the good of the service,” states the Jersey City Journal, “Lejeune hearten the officers down the line by making room for a series of promotions, which will follow his exit from the post of commandant, }c‘l’l:l‘;';lkd ":d ln['-h.’a id war. ore and dur! forld War. ‘Those who know read ment the greatest tribute that can be rfld to him, for under him the reputa- lon of the Marines for bravery and fl:ll;llmey u.ntl';nyx m;::!nued to grow. A ler m now how to shoot, but a Marine must shoot well." i Prohibition Transfer Opposition Is Seen From the Charleston, 8. C., Evening Post, u:uufiflmver nugg‘mido .t’o J’e‘:n-- forcement be transferred ‘rrmur{ Department to ment of Justice, as he is consider doing, it is by no tain that Congress will adopt his rec: mendations, nor is there any special advantage apparent in the unless it is the advantage that it is disapproved by most of the professional dry reformers, who have built up their organization to exert pressure on the Treasury forces and would have to .¢- align their forces for the change. The fact that the Anti-Saloon League and associated bodies o] the change Is n for it, but there are not many others. The Department of Justice is not the icing tment of the and never He was awarded | from 'he Treasury ent, ads prohibition g.lmument, has charge of enforcing all other rev- enue laws and anplm: large force of Office - he tal-law violators. jeune being a native of Louisiana and the son of a Confederate veteran.” The New Orleans Tribune offers the tribute: Before Einstein reached his theory legend of great achieve- | that the earth and all are only an op- o and nobility | tical llusion, e of which has not'siderable time studying the habits and 9P SOmS 109 Ay of (s World, ., WABGHS of hack g8} he must have spent con- know how tly Gens. Lejeune Neville to QL record.” e - ww ml{mfiw Yol'hh,u?'l‘-"-. "2: cauunandant of Marines “Those who_have noted the - | otk tion of the Marines in the m fox two terms | turna