Evening Star Newspaper, March 8, 1929, Page 8

8 e THE EVENING STAR WASHINGTON, D. C FRIDAY..........March 8, 1820 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company 111 1. AR Beniayivanta Ave . and Pennsylvan: " New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago Office: Tower Building. Furopean Office; 14 Regent St.. London, England. | Rate by Carrier Within the City. e Evening St .45¢ per month " 60c per month ar 65¢ per month ...6c per copy Coliection made at’thi of each Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. aus and Sundey....l yr., $10.00; 1 me 1 $6.00: 1 m ily oniy yri. $6.000 © 30c Sunday only 1 yr. 34.00; 1 mo. 40c All Other States a Daily end Sunday..l yr. Deily only ~ .......1 Sunday only Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press 15 exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all rews ais- atches credited %o it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the iocal news Dublished herein. All rights of publicution of special dispatches hereia are also reserved. = — nd Canada. $12.00; . S $8.00; 1 mo., ibc §5.00; 1 mo. 50¢ Big Business Ethics. Col. Robert W. Stewart has lost his fight to retain the $125,000-a-year chairmanship of the Standard Oil Co. of Indiana. He has succumbed to the attack captained by John D. Rocke- feller, jr, who indicted him on the ground of “moral unfitness” following Col. Siewart's acquittal of the charge of perjury before the Senate commit- tec on public lands. Mr. Rockefeller's victory was over- whelming. In a total vote of 8,446,120 shares, Col. Stewart found himself re- pudiated by a majority of more than 2,500,000 The condemnation of the Standard of Indiana’s stockholders is therefore sweeping and unambiguous. Yesterday’s dramatic events in the petroliferous town of Whiting, Ind, made American commercial history. ‘They recorded, in particular, an epochal triumph for clean business. “Big busi- ness” in the United States, rightly or wrongly, has long been synonymous with unclean business. It has been re- garded as & domain in which might was right and in which the end always Justified the means. Those were the conditions of yes- teryear. They are obsolete today. That 1s the lesson and significance of Col. Stewart’s banishment from the chair- manship of the Standard Oil's mid- western subsidiary. The ousting of its chairman is, accordingly, an episode which far outstrips its own intrinsic importance. Its effects are bound to be far-reaching. They will echo into . xot only every great corporation board room of the land. They will resound in the corner groceries of the country. Business everywhere will be influenced by them. Mr. Rockefeller has struck a blow for better ethios in commerce, for which ‘the American people owe him grati- tude. There is nothing inherently im- /moral in the chase for the almighty jdollar. The pursuit takes on the at- \t.rnmtu of wrong only when undercover methods are Invoked for the purpose of getting rich quickly. Millionaire captain 'of imdustry or humble tradesman. who does business on the square in the United States has nothing to fear, no matter how high or how rapidly he may |plle khis fortune. If he achieves greatly, by open and above-board tactics, he is assured of the plaudits and honest i THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY. MARCH_S. 192 ernment finds embodied in unwise laws, which must be executed until repealed by Congress.” This obviously pointed to the silver purchasing clause of the Sherman law. Congress met in a mood to revise the tariff rather than the cur- rency laws, but the President pressed the latter question and secured the de- sired repeal after a stubborn fight, the effects of which were felt three years later in the campaign of 1896. After the silver repeal enactment tariff re- vision was undertaken. Much bitterness of feeling was de- | veloped in 1893 because it was alleged | that President Cleveland did not strict- | ly interpret the mandate of the election, . | which favored tariff rather than cur- rency reform. In the present case President Hoover is distinctly carrying out the program laid out during the campaign, citing both farm rellef and tariff revision as the measures for con- sideration by Congress in the extra ses- sion which he has called. e r—— The G. 0. P. and the South. ‘Various plans for cementing the hold of the Republicans on the four States of the traditionally Democratic South which went for President Hoover in the recent election have been advanced, in- cluding the appointment of Southerners to high official office and friendly treat- ment generally of the new industrial South. The President did not name a Southerner to his cabinet, to the !ll.sable again as a good grade of luhr1-¥ | cating oil. 1 The hope of the Sewer Department is | that such a contract will not only bring f some revenue to the District govern- | i ment, but that it will adequately solve | | the problem of what to do with the | waste oil. Until a few months ago, Every inspection of a strange book- | service stations could dispose of this | ShElf 1s an adventure for a booklover. | H t may not be as picturesque as a | waste on the Benning dump, but a re- | tour t5 the South Pole, but is probably | cent order of the United States en- more pleasing to the quiet spirt of the | gineer against such dumping summarily | bookman. | During the recent inaugural parade, cut off this method of disposal. As the | one such person divided the time be- matter now lies the District forbids tween watching the marchers in the dumping the waste oil in the sewers, | ra;n and inspecting an bordfirls‘ TU\; of | but offers no convenient alternative. | Oyiios 1 2 bookease by the window. | Investigation by the Sewer Depa:t-i From left to right their “address” ment, with the co-operation of the Bu- | Was admirable, although their uniforms ireau of Standards, of the uses of waste BY CHARLES were anything but uniform, some of the | literary soldiers being in red, others in | at one time the District considered the | advisability of obtaining from Congress the necessary permission to engage in the business of collecting the oil and selling it. But the danger of thus en- 'tering the fleld of private business made the method of contracting with private individuals seem more advisable. J. B. Gordon, the District's sanitary engineer, believes that there are a number of in- dividuals who would seek the proposed contract with the District. Mr. Gordon and the members of his committee who have made the investi- gation are to be congratulated on their approach to the solution of this prob- lem. It furnishes an excellent example chagrin of some of the leaders in his own party and to the delight of the Democrats of the South, who already are using this fact to impress the rank and file of the Southern voters with the idea that the South can expect no real recognition from a Republican admin- istration. There are other important Jjobs to be filled, however. The job fill- ing has indeed scarcely been started. ‘There are signs, however, that a row is developing over the Southern patron- age. None of the four Southern States which cast their electoral votes for Mr. Hoover has any Republican Benators, but North Carolina has two Republican members of the House, Virginia has three and should the lone Republi- can from Texas in the last Congress win a contest against his Democratic opponent who has been declared elect- ed that State will have a member in the House. Florida has no Repub- lican members of Congress. These Re- publican members of the new Congress will probably be consulted regarding the disposition of Federal patronage in their districts, and possibly may have something to say in regard to state-wide offices. In the past, the Republican national committee members from the South have claimed the right to rec- ommend men for office in their States. There have been scandals in some of the Southern States, however, and the new administration is likely to look closely into the recommendations com- ing to it. 2 According to report, Col. Horace A. Mann, who was described widely dur- ing the campaign as the director of the Republican campaign in the South, would like to be arbiter in Southern patronage matters and to take charge of building up the Republican party in the South generally. But also, ac- cording to report, Col. Mann has run up against the opposition of the ma- Jority of the members of the Republican national committee, who are sald to look askance upon a plan which might threaten their own party leadership if of real co-operation between the Gov- ernment and the public. Scores of cities throughout the United 'States, which face the same difficulties experi- enced by the District with reference to the disposal of waste oil, will watch the outcome of the experiment here with in- terest. ‘ ——— e Trees were blown down by the storm. Roofs were torn off. Plate glass was shattered. It will be easier by far to replace the roofs and the glass than the trees. — e Metropolitan playhouses would find it easier going if it were possible to censor the drama as intellfgently as police censor the adjacent motor traffic. March is the tricky month, so far as weather is concerned. For practical Jokes, it has April Fool day entirely surpassed. P ‘The bootlegger is now taking his silent revenge by retiring from business and allowing his old customers to do the worrying. R New York managers say they can find no plays, even though they have a list from Plautus to Dave Belasco through which to range. i The date of inauguration may be changed, but the pneumonia germ hopes not. ———t—. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Songstress of Spring. ‘We must get our information Often from a humble source, Though the higher education Points a scientific course. Even when the wires are humming Of the storm that’s on its way, We know that Spring is coming ‘When the hens begin to lay. adopted in the South and in other sections of the country. The whole matter of Southern pat- Though the icicles are clinging And the Robin Bird is mute, ‘Though the weather man is bringing envy of the American community, which | Fonage and the future of the party in| Promises irresolute, 80 generously acclaims sQccess. | Mr. Rockefeller did not Yeel that Col. the South in the end is likely to be handled by President Hoover, at least There's one prophetess so cheering ‘That her kind dispels dismay. {Btewart’s maneuvers before the Senate |50 far as laying down the principles | We know that Spring is nearing committee reflected credit upon Stand- |t be followed. There are two schools| When the hens begin to lay. ‘ard Ofl interests or were designed to fortify public confidence in “big busi- mess.” Acting on the theory that the bigger the business the bigger is the - responsibility it bears to set an example lof ethical dealing, Mr. Rockefeller es- sayed the role of Hercules in the Augean stables of oil. He may not have con- trived to clean them with entire thor- oughness, but he has opened wide their doors, let sweep through them a gust of March wind and, et least to the ex- !tent of his ruthlessly exerted proxy fower, purified a polluted atmosphere. ‘The good that was done amid the odoriferous tanks of Whiting yester- day will live and be remembered to the eternal benefit of American business ilife. . B All the world loves a lover, and even great statesmanship is expected momentarily to retire and give Col. Lindbergh the spotlight. ———— The Extra Session. By virtue of his prerogative granted by section 3 of article 2 of the Con- stitution, President Hoover yesterday called the two houses of Congress in ex- tra session to meet on the 15th of April. ‘This was in accordance with the under- standing reached during the campaign and specifically with the statement of the President in his inaugural address. The reason for the extraordinary session is thus briefly stated: “Legislation to ef- fect further agricultural relief and legislation for limited changes of the tariff cannot, in justice to our farmers, our Jabor and our manufacturers, be jpostponed.” It does not necessarily follow that be- cause the extra session has been called by the President for the purpose of con- sidering the two questions which he speciies, agricultural relief and tariff gevision, those need be the only topics considered or that legislation must be confined to those lines. Once the Con- gress has met it may proceed to follow any line of legislative procedure it may wich. In the present case, however, it s fairly well assured that nothing but tariff and agricultural relief will be put upon the agenda, as in advanee of the call for extra session members of the ‘Beventy-first Congress, who, it is ex- pected, will occupy equally as important positions as those held by them in the Seventieth Congress, have determined wupon a program in exclusion of all other topics. June 30, 1893, President Cleveland, having just taken office for the second time, called an extra session of Con- 'gress to meet August 7 “to the end that the people may be relieved through legislation from present and pending of thought with regard to the future of the Republican party in the South. One holds that the South will lapse quickly back into its old adherence to the Democratic party, once it becomes clear that former Gov. Alfred E. Smith and all other wet Democrats are out of the picture for nomination for the presidency in 1932, Another believes that the ice once having been broken by the. Republicans south of the Ma- son and Dixon line there is a real chance to hold some of the ground gained. This second group is anxious fo have the South dealt with sympa- thetically in regard to official appoint- ‘ments as well as in other ways. ‘The best chance for the Republicans in the Sowh appears to lie in Florida and North Carolina. If they can man- age to hold their grip on those two States in the next election, one way ‘or another, or even manage to poll a really close vote in the coming elections, they may be able to keep the G. O. P. alive in those States. It is a problem, how- ever, shat is going to require careful handling. oo Rough weather constitutes an espe- cial hardship for those unused to it. Comdr. Byrd and the men with him have at least the advantage of preparedness. Utilizing Waste Oil. The annually increasing number of automobile service stations, filling sta- tions, public garages and repair shops has made more serious the problem of proper disposal of lubricating oils drained from the crank cases of motor vehicles. A police regulation prohibits the dumping of this product into the sewers, but, like many other police regulations, it does not prevent the evil. Nearly a million gallons of waste ofl are accumulated in the District every year, many thousands of which find their way into the sewers, containing enough gasoline to make the mixture highly combustible and inflammable, thus constituting a serious menace to life and property. The Sewer Department of the Dis- trict has just completed an interesting study of the problem, designed to stimulate the public to a closer co- operation with the District government |in excluding the waste oil from the sewers by making the disposal of the product commercially attractive. There is now before the Commissioners a pro- posed regulation to require the service stations and other agencies collecting this ofl to deposit it in standard con- tainers. Anaccompanying recommenda- tion before the Coramissioners is to em- power the Sewer Department to enter Points. “What will be the chief points of your comment?” “I'm engaged in investigation,” an- swered Senator Sorghum. “For some time all my points will be interroga- tion points.” Jud Tunkins says a jazz orchestra and a restaurant dance floor are a com- bination that ought to make a deaf man kind o’ happy so long as he has his eyesight. Seeing the Sights. “Did you see the new President?” “No,” answered Miss Cayenne. “I tried in vain to get to the curbstone for a close view. But all I saw was a beautiful collection of variegated um- brellas.” “Our mature longings,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “are often only survivals of the childhood desire for sweets instead of nourishment.” Neighboring Disquletude. A revolution strives to start. We greet, it with a gentle smile And say, “Do you not know, dear heart, ‘That fighting has gone out of style?” “If you finds yohse't believin’ every- thing you hears,” said Uncle Eben, “you better plan right away to do more work an’ less listenin’.” RADIOTORIAL. Al Smith’s Parrot. Al Smith has a parrot. This friend, staunch and true, | Is becoming a bit of an orator, too. Though newspaper men he's delighted to meet, “I have nothing to say,” Al will always repeat. When he’s not at home and the scribes make a call, The parrot will do just as well, after all. With a nod and a wink he will sing the same lay; “I have nothing to say, lads; I've noth- ing to say!” The New Cook. Postmaster General Walter F. Brown Is an artist in cooking who claims wide renown. Great pleasure we'll find if his talent avails To keep up the pep and the spice in the mails. The love letters fond will find freedom from fault By taking them, each, with a wee grain of salt, And the postage stamp new will not taste like mere glue When he throws in a dash of paprika or two. ) 'danger and distress.” It was indicated ! into a contract with some individual for Disagreeable! He’s Obnoxious. in the preamble of the proclamation that this related to the currency situa- ‘uon. “the result of a financlaj policy the executive branch of the Gov- 83 & D the collection of this waste. The survey made by the Sewer Department shows that there is a market for the product, of re-reflaing maakes 1t From the Danbury Evening News. A disagreesble braggart is the fellow who insists that he suffe more with his cold then you do with yows, | oil opened such a promising field that | i | explanation is that the international blue, some in green, some in black. | * ok ok ok There they kept their silent march, | led by a stout fellow in light yellow, | known to his familiars as “The Dog | Book.” | He was a fat marcher, indeed, as he | stood at the head of the line, marshal- | ing his literary troops with an insolent | swagger, as If to say, “Look 2t me!” This was James Watson's book, first | put out in 1905, and still going strong, ¢ with its photographs of dogs of the va- | rious breeds and descriptions of the same. Perhaps the only fault to be found with 1t is that it is just a bit too dog; as it were, going too much into the | origins of breeds for the average reader. | Yet that very feature endears it to others, so take your choice. | * k% % | Next in line came Prof. Wilbur C.| Abbott’s “The New Barbarians,” a | bright blue book which has been march- | ing bravely forward since 1925. Herc one finds a vital consideration of the | American democracy and the subver- | sive elements which have attacked it. | It wages a little battle all its own. “Our | boasted ‘tolerance’ is little short of | cowardice,” says the author. Then comes that standard work, | “English Synonyms and Antonyms,” by | the late Prof. James C. Fernald, who | once gave a series of lectures before the | Washington Y. M. C. A. This is the | old standby of all those who believe in | correct use of the English language. When in doubt whether to use “copy,” “facsimile” or ‘“counterpart,” look at this one. * % ok K “Music and Morals,” by the Rev. H. R. Haweis, published in 1872, stands nexi In brown, its gold decorations stiil| gleaming on its shoulders, Before finding the quiet place of ref- uge, where it now bravely fronts t world, this old book stood out in th open air of a pavement book stall. The marching ground of books is in- doors, rather than outdoors. Their real “fresh alr” is the calmer atmos- | phere of the library, where the winds of culture blow. From the open stall it was rescued | by one who was attracted by the title, feeling that, if music had nothing to do with morals, at least there should be some connection. * ok ok ok “Why Rome Fell,” by Edward Lucas White, is the tallest soldier of them all. ‘The lining of its covers is a map of the old Roman Empire. It is a nicely got- | ten-up volume, one which looks inter- | President Hoover’s action in conven- ing a speclal session of Congress recalls that almost every President from Cleve- land to Harding, inclusive, called one al- | most immediately after taking office. | Grover Cleveland summoned the House and Senate in August, 1893, to repeal the | Sherman silver act. McKinley convened Congress in March, 1897, to enact the Dingley tariff. Taft decreed a special session in 1909 to take up the tariff and the income-tax amendment. Wilson brought the National Legislature to Washington in extra session in April, | 1913, to deal with the tariff and cur- rency legislation. Harding's special Congress met in 1921 to tackle the bud- get, the tariff and revision of the tax system. Thus, in our generation at least, the holding of speclal sessions has been so frequent and so regular that it may almost be said to have become a part of our governmental scheme. * K k% Although Mr. Hoover convenes the Seventy-first Congress for the “extraor- dinary occasions”—as the Constitution puts it—of farm relief and tariff re- | vision, it is not within the power of the | Chief Executive to confine the extra | session’s deliberations to those or any other matters. Once assembled, Con- gress can do what it pleases. Repub- | lican House leaders, however, have taken steps to rivet attention on the issues | which inspire the forthcoming session. | To that end, only the committees on | ways and means, which deals with | tariff matters, and the committee on | agriculture, which will handle farm re- | lief, will be authorized. In addition, the | committee on rules will function. Other legislative business Tay crop up before adjournment, but the House leaders— Speaker Longworth, Floor General Til- son and Rules Chairman Snell—intend to see that at least nothing is trotted out to prevent tariff and farm relief from having the right of way. There is a governing factor, apart from all this, which's likely to keep Congress' nose to the predestined grindstone. That factor is the imminence of Summer—a Washingtoh Summer. Optimists think mid-June may see the session’s business accomplished. Less hopeful souls be- lieve Congress will be lucky to be away by the Fourth of July. * k¥ %k ‘Washington politicians are of opinion that the New York stock market's reso- ! lute refusal to indulge in any sensa- | tional upward movement in celebration | of Hoover’s inauguration is one way of showing Wall Street's dislike .of the new President. There were “Hoover markets” following the Californian’s nomination and election, and many dopesters opined that the “Hoover mar- ket” on and after March 4 would be more bullish than all the others put together. It hasn't materialized. No- body has ever quite fathomed lower Broadway’s anti-Hoover grouch. One banking clique has never forgiven him for his opposition to the unlimited flotation of foreign loans in the United States without restrictions of any kind. * ok kX Presidents come and Presidents go at the White House, but there’s one modest and efficlent gentleman in the establish- ment who apparently is going on for- | ever. He is Rudolph Forster, executive clerk of all the Chief Executives of the | republic from Willlam McKinley to | Herbert Hoover, both inclusive. Forster thus enters upon his service under his seventh successive President—a won- derful record of 33 uninterrupted years. No one in the world knows the White House ropes as Forster does. He is a walking encyclopedia of dates, tradi- tions and precedents. Thousands of presidential 1étters, commissions and other executive documents pass across his desk in the course of a year. They should be sweetly perfumed, for an un- failing adornment of Forster's work table is a vase of beautiful roses, fresh each morning from the White House conservatory. * Kk Keep an eye peeled on the honorable Frederick C. Walcott, newly installed junior Senator from Connecticut, as! the personal spokesman of President | Hoover in the upper house. “Jim” Wat- son will have unrestricted sway as the official G. O. P. administration leader, but Senator Walcott, because of his intimacy with Hoover, will nced to be listened to with respect. The Senator was one of the President’s most valued | coadjutors in the post-war American relizf administration in Europe. He and the late Dr. Charles D. Walcott, cele- brated secrctary of the Smithsonian In- stifution were conclos. Senajor Welcott THIS AND THAT ;. TRACEWELL. esting, even if the owner has never gone through it. We know the owner well, a man of his own convictions, who by no means thinks it necessary to read a book just because he bought it. Think of all the poor souls who stur- dily wade through books from first to last words, simply hecause some one recommended them, or because had seen them reviewed favorably. We prefer the ways of our friend who knows his own mind, and who does not think that because he starts a book and then lays it down he has in any way condemned the volume. 3o Many men, many minds; what strikes one may not appeal to another; so goes they | the grand parade of the books, march- ing around the world, and down very Time itself. * ok ko “My Memories of Eighty Years,” by the late Chauncey M. Depew, stands firm in green. dollar books of which so many have arisen in the ranks during the past few years, Dr. C. W. Saleeby’s “Sunlight and Health” appears next in red, an appro- priate color for a book about the value of sunlight, although perhaps violet might have been better. This book is based upon the work of Dr. Roller and carries the gospel of sun tan another move forward. 3 The quiet influence of such writers has been going on for years. Who could say positively that Fashion, and Fash- ion alone, has made tan the .in-the- mode color? * k¥ X Here we have “The Beauties of Shakespeare,” by Rev. Willam Dodd, LL. D. These march in two small vol- umes of dark red cloth, brightly bur- nished with pure gold. The Rev. Dodd first became a minis- ter, then a compiler, then an editor and then a forger, for which last act he was hanged from the public gallows. His was a strange career. Poe’s “Poems” come next, in a ragged leather edition of the “padded” sort once so popular. One is tempted to drag this veteran out of line and ask him for a few recitations. “The Raven” would go well in any company. . * ok K % The late Henry T. Finck, critic, gar- dener, appreciator, comes next with his G2sdening With Brains,” a rambling “ook upon a pleasant subject. Expect no hard and fast rules here. Geniality is the host in this garden and the gate is wide open. “The Garden Lover,” by Prof. Liberty | H. Balley, comes in fresh green. Aside from the cover and the very good title, Wwe can’t say much for this book, which is a collection of odds and ends of fj:ts]ays which do not live up to the itle. Here are four small volumes on hardy evergreens, hardy shrubs, Spring- flowering bulbs and bush fruits, bring- ing up the rear; while last but not least stands “Walks About Washington,” by the late Francis E. Leupp. ‘The book parade is over; the glass door is lowered and the mental shout- ing and tumult fades away. Straight in t{mlr rro:vh tk:: l;ool soldllers stand, warrlors of the brain, guardian. - telligence. Hail! i tie WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE has leased President Hoover's former home at 2300 S street northwest, near the Woodrow Wilson mansion.’ * Ok kK U. S. S. Raleigh, 17,500-ton light cruiser, has been assigned under the command of Rear Admiral J. H. Day- ton, to take part with the Spanish navy in a celebration at Palos, Spain, on April 21. The occasion will be the unveiling of a statue of Christopher Columbus at the spot where he set out on the voyage resulting in the discovery of America. The fete may justify the repetition of the wisecrack once pulled by that prince of New York after-dinner wits, Patrick Francis Murphy, who said that America has often been discovered, but that it was always hushed up. The movement to build a Columbus me- morial at Palos was launched in Phila- delphia a year ago at a dinner tendered by American friends to the Spanish Ambassador to the United States. The statue is a massive figure of 70 feet height, standing upon a 44-foot ped- estal. The_ sculptor is Mrs. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney of New York, who will be present at the unveiling next month, * koK % Chief Justice Taft has no intention, he says, of taking advantage of the bill passed by Congress in February, which would permit him to retire from ective service on full pay without wait- ing until he has completed 10 years’ continuous service on the Supreme Court bench. “I'm not going to retire unless I have to,” Taft chuckles, when asked about his intentions. “It will be July, 1931, before I will have served 10 years, and I expect to remain on duty at least until that time.” Under the constitutional provision, retirement eli- gibility does not apply to Supreme Court justices till they are at least 70 years old. Taft is 71, but has only been on the bench seven years and a few months. Friends thought he looked particularly hale and hearty at the Cap- itol on inauguration day. He guards his health carefully. Not going out at night is now one of his inflexible rules, (Copyright, 1920.) S —ro— Prince Georges Roads Blamed on “Exodus” To the Editor of The Star: % Noticing an article by a staff corre- spondent in regard to the “exodus” from | Prince Georges County on account of lawlessness, I want to state that law- lessness is not the only reason for peo- ple leaving. The atroclous roads have much to do with it. We have owned and paid taxes on property between the Landover road and Ardmore, Md., for 35 years and living here in Winter is Jjust the same as being marooned on a desert island. We are cut off from all communication with friends in Wash- ington, supplies - are mnot brought through three-fourths of the time, our mails are irregular, almost impossible to get a dector or even an undertaker, We are assessed for road taxes when we have no road, not even a footpath that we could reach the W. B. & A. electric line. We are assessed automobile tax, and pay license on a machine that can- not operate over this road three months in the year on account of the mud. We have been wondering for some time what favored road is get- ting the benefit of our road tax, or whose pocket it is going into. HARRIET D. HARRIS. vttt View of New President Held of Prime Concern To the Editor of The Star: Judging from an announcement that appeared in the press recently, it would seem that the President-elect is plan- ning to leave the inaugural parade somewhere “between Twelfth and Fif- teenth streets,” and take a “back-door” route to the White House for luncheon, after which he and his party will go direct to the reviewing stand on Penn- sylvania avenue. If my understanding is correct, it would seem quite unfair to the thou- sands who have purchased seats (in some cases at very high prices) in grandstands at the south and north ends of the Treasury, as well as on Fifteenth street. It is not flattery to say that the people want to see their new President much more than the parade that is to follow him, and I do hope it :}1 not MrfiHoover‘s lxmfio; to demvi: iem of their o] pay Feipecs, DAV WARRINGTON, It is one of the good | Stevens’ China Letter Is.Accorded Approval To the Editor of The Star: ‘There is much truth, worthy of serious consideration, in the letter on China written by Wilfred Stevens and pub- lished in The Star on February 28. Having spent a number of years in the Far East, including China and Japan, and having studied Chinese characters for a number of years, I heartily agree with Mr. Stevens that it would be well worth our while to pay more attention to the Chinese people and their language. I have often won- dered why the Western peoples, and especially the Anglo-Saxons, who speak 50 much about their practical mind, show such great impracticability in building up the English language, which we proudly proclaim as the most widely quoted the world over. If English had been my native tongue, I should perhaps never have noticed its shortcomings. But having gone through the agony of learning the language as a grown person I have become only too well aware of many of the silly con- structions we insist upon. We pride ourselves on using a language with great elasticity, but let any one stretch the language so as to include a split infin- itive and he will soon learn that the elasticity is a boomerang. trast take a Chinese or a Japanese scholar. He can give a speech, in which he may arrange the construction so as to best express his ideas, and never be criticized for his grammar; on the con- trary, he will be applauded for his ability to convey in clecr and unmis- takable terms what he has to say. Let me illustrate our impracticability by a few examples from the Chinese language. When the Chinese employ the verb “to be” they do not use a dif- ferent _conjugation for each person. In English we have, as have the French, three conjugations—that is: “I am, you are, he is.” If we were as practical as we say we are we would long ago have discovered that it would be far easier and without inconvenlence to say, “I are, you are, he are.” One could, of course, mention a number of similar cases. Now as to our large vocabulary, which by the way includes thousands of words that are not anglicized, we have many words that in themselves do not express an idea. The mere adoption of these words shows our lack of imagination and originality. Take the word “auto- ‘mobile,” for example. We say the word is of Latin derivation. Well and good, but it is doubtful that even the fathers of Latin could interpret this word as meaning a “self-propelled vehicle,” for the word itself only means “self- pelled” and has no reference to “ve- hicle.” But as to the Chinese, this an- cient people whom we know to be back- ward, they immediately, when the need arose, coined Chinese words for “auto- mobile” meaning “self-moving vehicle.” It did not take long discussions or re- reach to adopt & word, for the eharac- ters had been used in the language for centuries. All it required was to put to- gether the two characters “‘self-moving” and “vehicle.” Even a child could un- derstand the meaning of the word with- out knowing the object. No, in many ways, we are not so far ahead of the Chinese. In language, respect for learning, reverence for per- sonalities, and philosophy, we can still learn from the ancient people of Cathay. ANDERS LARSEN. Universal Peace Aim Of U. S. Receives Praise To the Editor of The Star: Having lived in the United States for over 30 years, I am profoundly im- pressed with the fact that this Nation does not seek conquest, but its great desire is for universal peace. There are men of God in England, Canada and this country with “an un- derstanding heart” and vision to see the way clearer than sunshine after rain, torchbearers of truth illuminating the path to perpetual peace. President Hoover recently public sentiment in these words: “My conception of America is 2 land * * * where a contented and happy people, secure in their liberties, free from poverty and fear, shall haye the leisure and impulse to seek = fuller life. Some may ask where all this may lead beyond mere material progress. It leads to a release of the energies of men and women from the dull drudgery of life to a wider vision and & higher hope. It leads to the r?'rpommlcy fer greater and greater service, not alone from man to man in our own land, but from our country to the whole world.” ‘The following lines accurately express the feeling of the United States toward Canada: Elder brother am T, You are the younger son; Held by ties of kinship, ‘We work together as one. The weblike line between us Needs no sentry nor gun; In mutual understanding, ‘We work together as one. Some may boast of warfare, Of strife we will have none; In peace and fruitful labor, ‘We work together as one. ® ‘The race now set before us Alike with patience we run; Girded with truth and honor, ‘We work together as one. Elder brother am I, You are the younger son; Under the guidance of God, ‘We work together as one. 'RENVILLE KLEISER. -—.— voiced Canadian Border Rum Situation Is Defined From the Toronto, Canada, Daily Star. ‘The request the United States makes of Canada is this: ‘That Canada shall not lawfully ship to the ports of the United States liquor that can never arrive except unlaw- fully. As a request from one country to an- other what is wrong with that? If Canada is a grown-up and responsi- ble country her interest in such a mat- ter as this is equal to that of any other country. Any day the situation may :hxtnge. The shoe may be on the other foot. ‘The main thing is this: A country has the right to make its own laws, without having them systematically thwarted by a neighbor state. A small country, living beside a big one, should not need to be argued with to induce 1t to accept this principle. All across the United States the people are told and believe that their own Government is doing, and will do, its best to enforce the Volstead act and Suppress rum-running. But they are told and believe that the government of Canada co-operates with the rum- run.ing on the border, licenses the shipment of liquor across the border in disregard of United States laws. The people of that country are told and be- lleve that the federal government of Canada issues official permits for the smuggling of liquor into that country. They are told—and in course of time they will belleve—that the whole trouble they are having with liquor is the fault of Canada. It will become a grave matter unless Canada cuts loose from any official share in this lawless business on the border—this armed deflance of the armed Federal authority of the United States. Events will go from bad to worse until the exemplary border, so admired of the world, will cease to have anything admirable about it. -t Agriculture. From the Olean Herald. blades of grass grow where one grew before is merely transforming a good pasture into golf greens. ——— o Or Rumble Seats. From the Terre Haute Star. Most of our sympathics will be with the Afghan rebals if the King is trying to modernize them in'o wearlng & havd- botid shiri, e As a con- And now the man who makes two | {, BY FREDERI Did you ever write a letter to Fred- eric J. Haskin? You can ask him any question of fact and get the answer in a personal letter. Here is a great edu- cational idea introduced into the lives of the most intelligent people in the world—American newspaper readers. It is a part of that best purpose of a newspaper—service. There is no charge except two cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Address Frederic J. Haskin, director, The Evening Star In- formation Bureau, Washington, D. C. Q. How many theaters and_movi-s are there in New York City?—E. 8. D. A. The total number of theaters in which includes shows where movies make up some of the bill. The movie houses number 300, not including thcse already mentioned. Q. What is the name given in Eng- land to the loose peasant blouse worn by workmen?—T. O. C. A. It is known as a smock frock. Navy or on leave?—D. J. W. A. Due to an injury to one of his feet he was placed on the Navy's re- tired list in 1916, but continued active service for several years there- after. In 1926 Congress passed a spe- commander. that no one claims?—L. A. P. A. Neither the postmaster nor any one else except the person to whom the letter is addressed has the right to open a sealed letter. The Division of Dead Letters is authorized to open let- ters which cannot be delivered, for lack of proper address. These letters when opened and the address of the sender is obtained are returned to the sender. If the address of the sender is on the envelope the letter is re- turned to the sender and is not sent to the Dead Letter Office. Q. What proportion of the Jews in Germany live in Berlin?>—R. B. A. The American Hebrew says that one-third of the German Jews live in Berlin. Q. What Pennsylvania college has a building that is considered a master- piece of Colonial architecture?—E. B. A. Bentley Hall, Allegheny College. at Meadville, Pa., is said to be second only to Independence Hall in Phila- delphia as an example of pure Colo- nial architecture. Q. How many parrots are brought into the United States in & year?—J. R. A. Last year 56,307 parrots were im- ported. Very few parrots breed in eap- tivity in the United States, but the birds are usually long-lived. Q. Is a canvas used in both boxing | and wrestling bouts?>—A. A. M. | A. A canvas is stretched over_ the floor of the ring for boxing bouts. Dur- ing a wrestling match a similar canvas is used but it is more heavily padded. Q. Where is the Sargasso Sea?—M. A. A. It is between, 40 degrees and 70 degrees west latitude, and between 20 degrees and 35 degrees north longitude. Q. Who won the debates between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lin- coln?—J. M. A. Strictly speaking, the debates be- tween Stephen Douglas and Abraham Greater New York is approximately 500, | Q. Is Comdr. Byrd retl;&;d from the | cial act promoting him to the rank of | Q. Can a postmaster open a letter | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS C J. HASKIN. Lincoln may be said to have resulted in a victory for Douglas, since he gained the senatorship for which the men were opposed. The debates, however, actually served the purpose of Lincoln, who de- sired to make Douglas commit himsel? on the question of States’ rights and slavery in such a manner that he would be afterwards repudiated by the popular vote of the South. The ul mate consequence of the debates wi the election of Lincoln to the presi- dency. DQ. ‘Where is Buffalo Bill buried?— . M. A. Buffalo Bill's body was placed in o tomb hewn from the rock at the top of Lookout Mountain, near Denver, with a monumental figure to mark the spot. Q. How does the size of Texas com- pare with that of Alaska?—G. C. | _A. Alaska is more than twice the si of Texas. The area of Alaska 886,400 square miles and of Texas | 262,398 square miles. Q. How .many olives are grown Spain?—D. C. A. Nearly 1,500,000.000 pounds of olives are gathered yearly in the olive orchards of Spain. Q. What did fhe Germans call the stowaway found on the Graf Zeppelin? —guDy in 1 i A. They used the German equivalent of the words “blind passenger.” Q. How cold should a refrigerator be g\ order that milk will keep well?— . A. A. The Bureau of Home Economics says that a temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit or below is desirable. If the milk is to be used within 24 hours, a temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit is satisfactory. Q. When did the first New York City directory appear?—W. E. N. A. In ?786. It had 846 names, mot going above Roosevelt and Cherry streets on the East Side or Dey street on the West. Q. When were the most Federal Re- serve Bank notes in circulation?—L. B. A. The maximum amount of Federal | Reserve Bank notes outstanding at one | time was reached January 7, 1920, when the total was $270,522,800. Q. Has a _dirigible been made of metal?—C. H. 8. A. There has been one dirigible made of metal instead of cloth. It was named ‘The City of Glendale. It was completed in California a short time ago. Q. In what city in the United States are concerts attended by the greatest percentage of its inhabitants?—F. M. A, The Musician says that La Porte, Ind, is the most musical community. Nine per cent of its population attend concerts regularly. Less than 4 per cent of the population of the United States, according to the survey made by George Engles, New York concert ‘manager, supports good music. Q. What is a telegra-phone?— R. L. W. A. A telegra-phone is a recording tel- ephone invented by Waldemar Paulsen. It was a mechanism which recorded sounds given into the telephone receiver on discs that could be mailed like let- ters and reproduced by the recipient. This device failed of commercial suc- cess. | | | No phase of the movement for resto- ration of America’s national shrines inspires greater popular interest and ap- proval than the Wakefleld Memorial Association project at the birthplace W . Wakefield is brought to lic attention just now by the an- nouncement of financial assistance from John D. Rockefeller, jr. “America hails with peculiar joy,” avers the Atlanta Journal, “the assur- ance that George Washington's birth- place is to be reincarnated in brick and stone, in shrubbery and flowers, in the beauty of nature and glory of his- tory, and preserved forever as a national shrine. Thanks to the generous patriot- ism of John D. Rockefeller, jr., virtually all of the estate of Augustine Washing- ton, along the banks of the Potomac, where the hero-to-be first saw the light of day, has been acquired as a public trust. Until five years ago, when Presi- dent Coolidge made a pilgrimage to Wakefield, there was a popular notion that Mount Vernon was George Wash- ington’s earlier as well as later home. A monument erected by the Federal Government to mark the place of the first President’s birth had long passed Mr. Coolidge, steaming up the Potomac one day, ordered the Mayflower to cast anchor .ut Popes Creek. He rambled over the old plantation. News of the incident served to remind the country of hallowed but neglected ground.” kK kK “It now may be accounted 2s reason- ably certain,” suggests the Boston Tran- script, “that when the Nation wends its way to the National Capital three years hence, to pay tribute to the memory of its founder, the people will be able to see reincarnated the house and the estate where the Father of His Country first saw the light and lived until his fourth year. Through the generosity of Mr. Rockefeller, this worthy project has received material aid. The association had bought and paid for 70 acres of attractive land adjoining the water- front and the birthplace, for a hospice, camp sites, wharf and the general ac- commodation of the public; also the land immediately surrounding the burial lot of the Washington family, and a right of way therefrom to the main highway extending between Washing- ton and Fredericksburg. Mr. Rocke- feller now has purchased and placed in trust for the association 267 acres more.” “A popular misrepresentation of the place,” records the Nashville Banner, “gained wide currency through the his- torian, Lossing, who printed a drawing of a small four-room house not greatly superior to the birthplace of Lincoln. This was drawn for Lossing by an old resident of the locality who remem- bered such a house on the Strother- Washington estate. The investigator for the Wakefleld Association found a copy of the inventory of the estate of the father of George Washington, list- ing household furniture which would fill several cottages the size of that pic- tured by Lossing.” The Banner refers to an examination of the foundations of the burned mansion as further evi- dence, and concludes: “The great man, growing greater as the years pass, has many memorials. Sulgrave Manor, England, the home of his English an- cestors; Wakefield, the place of his birth, and Mount Vernon, his home shrines to his memory.” L “Through the efforls of Charles Ar- thur Hoppin, historian,” says the Fargo Forum, “enough facts have now been gathered to make a replica of the man- sion, for such it was. The Washingtons were landed proprietors in Virginia. * * ¥ In the early days of the Re- public there was not so much thought these shrines as there is Or if there was the thaufl::. there was not the means available. The Rockefeller gift, which is suffi- clently large to insure the success of the movement to rebuild Wakefleld, is there- fore a notable one. And not only is the gift of the actual money worth while, but those who conceived the idea have made a valuable contribution to pos- R of such yond it the precervetion Y- 3 s monument into the haze of things forgotten, when | and the scene of his death, are fit| Wakefield Restoration Project Stirs Great Popular Interest was not provided for long ago,” says the Columbus Evening Dispatch. The Lynchburg News remarks that “Virginia has not been too interested in indus- trial development and government re- forms during the last several years to keep in touch with the past or to pre- serve the things of the past that are worthy of preservation.” The Richmond News-Leader holds that “no such move- ment for the preservation of history has ever accomplished so much in o brief a time,” as it reviews the projects realized in Virginia in the last six years. * ok ok K Groups of shrines in both Virginia nd Massachusetts are recalled by the ‘harleston Daily Mail, which states: “The restoration of Williamshurg, with its historic part in the events preceding and during the Revolution, and other enterprises in which Mr. Rockefeller is engaged are not alone for Virginia's sake. They are national in scope. The two Colonial States which had the most influence in early days were Massachu- setts and Virginia. They worked in most ways in close co-operation. Their united efforts had perhaps the decistve influence on the early fortunes of the | country. Their early history is the early history in a peculiar sense of the American people. ‘Their Colonial mon- | uments are national monuments. Both Mr. Ford and Mr. Rockefeller, jr., are doing a good work.” “The older the Nation gréws” de- clares the New York Times, “the more it appreciates the essential qualities of the inflexible man who was born at ‘Wakefleld House. And the more it ap- plauds such acts as Mr. Rockefeller's to preserve all possible memorials of this extraordinarily useful life.” ——— Meteorite Question’ Remains Unanswered BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. Another meteorite has fallen, by the perversity of fate, when no scientist was around. The vexed question of whether these celestial visitors to the earth are very hot or intensely cold remains un- answered, Report is that the newest one was hot, but Paul J. Hogan of 1 Buenos Aires, who reports to the Amer- |dcan Astronomical Society the recent fall of this body last November near Concordia, Argentina, states that it was seen to fall by a plowman and was examined in time to determine its tem- | perature only by the workers on a re- mote ranch. | Accordingly the reports that the ce~ | lestial stone was hot are less certain than | experts could wish. Previous accounts are equally unsatisfactory, some me- eorites being reported as red hot when | found, others as being extremely cold. Probably the outside of any meteorite is more or less heated by its rapid flight through the air, while the inside may retain for a time the intense cold of outer space. Prof. Charles P. Olivier of the Unie versity of Pennsylvania, world authority on the subject, estimates that at least one meteorite strikes the earth, on the average, every day in the year. Yet only three or four each year are actus ally seen to fall, and these seem care= fully to avoid the neighborhood of uni« versjties, laboratories or scientilc expe= ditions, where instruments and trained observers would be available to deter- mine the inside and outside tempera« tures of the celestial missile. They're Extras. From the Toledo Blade. Accidents cost the United States $3,200,000.000 last year. ‘The cost of safety first signs is not included in this amount. ——— This Is a Hot One. From the Dayton Dally News. A Detroit night watchman whom bandits tied to a hot-water pipe will survive, as the pipe was no hotier than the average hot-water pipe. fitisiaffetrt: Set o MEETS That’s Just the Trouble, From the Grand Rapids Press. The main difficulty aboub people who 0w _trouble is that {i “Daek more (han. they. posrowm.