Evening Star Newspaper, March 9, 1929, Page 8

“THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. EATURDAY March 9, 1920 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th Sf. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd St. Chicago OfMce: Tower Buliding. European Offce, 14 Regent St.. Loiidon, ngland. Rate by Carrier Within {! The Evening St The Evening an (when 4 Sund The Evening and Sunday Star (when 5 Sundays), ‘The Suaday Star ... Collection made at 't Orders may be sent in b: Main 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. v dMsnr,\‘llnd and \'Irng:'nh‘. & ily and Sun .1 ¥r.,$10.00; 1 mo., 88¢ ally Sniy Sundar ol 31 NER0: 1 o Soe Sunday only yr. $4.00; 1 mo. 40c All Other Datly end Sund Taily only ... Sunday only . Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press 15 exclusively o 10 the use for republication of all rew patches credited o it or not otherwise cred- fted in this paper and aiso the iocal news published heretn. All rights of publication of Epecial dispatches herein are aiso reserved. he City. ar 3¢ per month a Siinday Star aye) 60c per month €5¢ per month .5 per copy end of each menth. y mail or telephone Canada. mo., $1.00 8¢ S0c tates and 1 yr. $12.00: 1 00: 1 i mo. ttled ais- United States and Mexico. The course of the revolt in Mexico is watched here in the United States with the keenest interest. This Govern- ment and the American people general- 1y have hoped for years for stable con- ditions in the republic to the south of us. In recent years such conditions ap- parently have existed. To most Ameri- | cans the report of a widespread revolt in Mexico came, therefore, as a real sur- prise. The Hoover administration has been | forced almost from the moment of its birth to face a problem that is decided- ly important so far as North America s concerned. The news reports of the Mexican revolt were published here co-| incidentally with the inauguration of President Hoover. Apparently this Gov- ernment is following out a determined course, leaning to the side of the gov- ernment in Mexico which has been es- tablished by the Mexicans themselves and recognized by the United States. 'To do otherwise would be to encourage revolt in a friendly country and to re- turn to the policies of former days of filibustering expeditions. The relations of the United States Government with that of Mexico have improved during the last year or two in marked degree, largely under the able ministrations of Ambassador MorTow, who recently returned to his post in Mexico City after he had been widely discussed as a possihle successor to Sec- retary Kellogg of the State Department. Mr. Morrow’s presence in Mexico City at this time may be considered as a Teal asset. ‘The policy of this Government toward Mexico has been friendly, and will con- fiwsmhem It has been necessary to et with firmness to protect American fcitizens in a country which has seen Tevolt at its height a number of times 18 the last fifteen years. Taft, Wilson, Harding and Coolidge, while in the &White House, had Mexican situations to eal with. Mr. Hoover is now having to a new situation in Mexico. He is t unfamiliar with Mexican affairs, for fghey frequently came before the Hard- ing and Coolidge cabinets, of which he Was an important member, during his tenure of office as Secretary of Com- merce. His knowledge of the Mexican situation may be expected to stand him i'; good stead. ¥ This Government already has outlined course which may prove of aid to the government in Mexico City. In the pur- chase of munitions of war in the United States the Mexican government is to ‘ave the right of way, and the sale of such munitions to the revolutionists is banned. Not only may the Mexican government purchase arms from pri- vate American concerns, but steps have been taken to make possible the pur- chase by that government from the Government of the United States of surplus war supplies now held by the ‘War Department. The ban against the sale of commercial aircraft to any one in Mexico but the Mexican government has also been replaced at the order of the Hoover administration. It is not difficult to see that the ability of the Mexican government to obtain war sup- plies in the United States and the in- ability of the revolutionists to do so is a material aid to the recognized gov- errinent. % The steps taken by the Hoover ad- ministration with regard to the present situation in Mexico are in line with those adopted during the Coolidge ad- ministration when revolt raised its head there in 1924. The United States is de- sirous of sesing peace in the Southern republic. Intervention in Mexican af- «fairs has been urged upon this country many times in the past. But the United 1States has abstained from intervention, believing that the Mexican people are entitled to work out their own problems, provided they do justice to the foreign- ers and foreign property rights within the borders of Mexico. This traditional policy is likely to be maintained. — cat—— Congress is to have before it & num- ber of subjects which will enable it to be seriously constructive and not in- quisttive. —— e Public Building Progress. ©On Friday work was started on the erection of the structure of the In- ternal Revenue Building on the site that has been prepared for it, lying within the Mall-Avenue triangle be- tween Tenth and Twelfth streets. The foundations have been completed for some time. This is the first actual con- struction work to be undertaken within -the triengle in the execution of the great program of Government building provision in this city. At the western end of the triangle work is in progress on the foundation for the Commerce Department, which will be the largest unit of the entire group. In a few menths contracts will be lel for that construction. Meanwhile, work is in progress on the final unit of the De- partment of Agriculture main building. At the session of Congress which closed the other day no definite ap- propriations were made for additional constructions in the Mall-Avenue tri- angle group. The Public Buildings + Commisston, however, has practically de- jcided that the next structures to be ierected under this program will be i those for the Department of Labor, for i independent bureaus, for the Interstate Ij‘ Fommerce Commis Archives, Work is progressing in ‘edge, welcomes cordially and gratefully acquisition of sites for these cong™V: tlons, which have been tentatively J- located in the plan, It is probable that at the next session definite provision will be made for them. If this is done construction work on them can begin within two years from the present. The Government's building program in Washington, however, is not confined to the Mall-Avenue triangle. It in- cludes such units as the new home for the Supreme Court and an addition to the House Office Building. During the recent session appropriations for sites for these structures were made, with provision also for preparation of plans for the court structure. Those two con- structions will continue the develop- ment of the area about the Capitol, Steady execution of the Government's building program in Washington is thus assured. It is certain that within a very few years, comparatively, the Washington of American ideals will have been evolved. It has been a long time coming. There have been false starts and long delays and architec- tural mistakes, but at last a broad, sound, harmonious plan has been adopted and, perhaps with advantages resulting {rom the mistakes of the past, the United States Government is now | equipping luell\ in* a manner befitting | it in the eyes of the world. ———— Hoover, Apostle of Merit. No President in our time has ever | struck & more effective blow for the | merit-in-office system than President Hcover's announcement that “compara- tively few changes” are contemplated in jusual examples of the exactitude of assistant Vnited States attorney, de- veloped the fact that a number of “uni- versities” in Washington were founded by the same group of incorporators, who, not satisfled to lift the educa- tlonal standards of the world through the medium of merely one university, had founded and were maintaining sev- eral. The publicity attending Miss Mc- Call's activities was beneficial as throw- ing new light on conditions here. The legislation signed by the Presi- | dent went through the mill on Capitcl Hill and came out well ground. Written by the Chamber of Commerce, it sets up standards for the future incorporation | of institutions of higher learning and :prohlb:ts them from granting degrees unless such standards are met. It | makes impossible, hereafter, the found- ! ing of a degree-granting institution mereiy by filing incorporation papers. The result expected from the legislation is that the location in Washington of a degree-granting institution will be here- after sufficient evidence of that institu- tion’s right to e: A Burning Question. One of the most intercsting and un- science has just been given in New' York under the supervision of a great organization for the furtherance of light and learning. Along with dem- onstrations of terrific artificial lightning bolts, pRoto-radio transmission and movies of the antics of Jupiter and his sateliites, it was definitely proved that the blush of a blond is more heated than that of a brunette, the executive branches of the Federal service. The statment banishes the | widespread expectation that the advent | of the “engineering administratfon” | would be accompanied by cyclonic shifts, | dismissals and other developments among the higher Government per- | sonnel. Mr. Hoover has nothing of that | sort in mind. Men and women *“who ! have given honest and zealous service" will be retained unless they feel the urge for economic reasons to better themselves in private life. It is a magnificent tribute to the faithfulness and capacity of all of Uncle Sam’s 820,000 civil servants that a President of Herbert Hoover's efficiency ideals desires and hopes to keep intact the human machinery he finds installed in the ship of state. Likewise is it a de- served recognition of the principle that persons who for years have given the best that is in them to their assigned tasks are entitled to hold thefr jobs as long as they can fill them. That prin- | ciple applies to Government work as well as to occupations in the business or domestic world. Mr. Hoover subscribes | himself a devotee of tenure-in-office and merit-in-office ideals. His advocacy of them does credit alike to his admin- istrative sagacity and his humanitarian instinets. Cotemporary Americans have become unpleasantly familiar with malfeasance in public office. It is more common in the life of our great cities and in some of the States than in the national or- ganism. For every occasional malefac- tor in the Federal Government—like a recreant cabinet officer, bureau chief or prohibition director—there are ten thou- sand men and women who, in the President's words, “have given honest and zealous service.” The country wel- comes Mr. Hoover's assurance that there is to be as little disturbance as possible in or with this loyal legion of | Government employes, for what he says | about “directing heads” applies, of course, to all ranks. ‘Washington knows the Federal per- sonnel and their high caliber better than the rest of the country, for 65,000 of them are neighbors and fellow citi- zens. Washington understands better than the rest of the country, too, the plight of these men and women—knows their unending struggle to make both ends meet—and, because of that knowl- President Hoover’s declaration that all's well on the Potomac with industrious civil servants who have meritorious records. v 1 ‘When Coolidge speaks in simple lan- guage for himself he is far more frank and gently human than the “White House spokesman” ever dared to be. e — A Pen Worth Keeping. The Washington Chamber of Com- merce now owns-a pen. This pen should be incased in blue velvet, put under a glass cover and conspicuously displayed for all time as a souvenir of a past when degrees from institutions of higher learning were as cheap in Washington as safety razors, and as prevalent as coryza after an inauguration parade. The pen was used by former Presi- dent Coolidge in signing the “diploma | mill” bill, designed to clean up a situa- | tion in the National Capital which has been a blot upon its educational reputa- tion and has, to some extent, retarded the development of the Capital as a great center for research and education. The Chamber of Commerce has come into possession of the pen because of that body’s continued advocacy of the legislation, an advocacy that took the form of unremitting efforts to push the bill through its two-year period of con- sideration by Congress. Much credit is due the chamber for unearthing thescondition that prevailed here in 1926. In the course of its work of preparing a directory of local educa- tional institutions the members of its committee on universities, colleges and private schools were astounded at the number of universities which, started on 1 “shoestring,” were operating extensive- ly in and out of the District in the lucrative business of granting all man- ner of high-sounding degrees. About the same time a group of men in The Star's newsroom tcok out incorporation papers and founded the “University of the United States,” empowered to grant degrees to any one at any time and for anything, and to show the ease with which such institutions, under the lax laws of the District, might operate. The founding of the “University of the United States,” which necessitated the expenditure of about one dollar and ninety-eight cents, led to the granting of several degrees to deserving office boys. The university then went into a state of coma, from which it was re- vived a few days ago, when Mr. Coolidge signed the bill, just long enough to be knocked on the head and put per- manently to sleep. ‘While the Chamber of Commerce and The Star were cxposing some of the A beauteous “chorine,” playing in a musical show, sat before a device re- sembling a small automobile horn. The sclentist conducting the test recorded her blush at five one-hundredths of one degree, Fahrenheit, To the average person the most marvelous part of all this is not the construction or the operation of the wonderful recording mechanism. It is the method used to make the chorus girl blush. ) Commissioner Whalen has relaxed traffic regulations for New York thea- ters. Some of the ill-patronized attrac- | tions may have done a little on their | own account to relax traffic congestion. st An extra session is called for April 15, which puts the date far enough along to prevent any suspicion that the proceedings will be influenced by April 1. B A positive and complete enforcement of prohibition will save the lives of many bootleggers now apparently intent on plans for slaying one another, ————— Sensational books . often prove dull reading and for this reason not so des- perately demoralizing as advertised, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES Why do some people ask questions? Not for information, surely, for they refuse to accept it when it is given to them Majybe it is just to get hold of some- thing to argue about. No doubt that is the answer to the question. It is otherwise difficult to explain the conduct of these persons who ask ques- tions and then contradict the answers. X % & “Why do you ask, then, if you know it all>” Such is the counter question which the. experienced long to hurl at the of- fender, but at the same time tk realize that such would be neither poll tic nor polite. Above all, in a civilized world, one must be politic and polite! To be politic means to deliver the soft answer that turneth away wrath; for wrath, under civilization, often takes the form of wrangling. To be polite is merely to cause to loom the finest flower of civilization. Take the case of the sweet lady who knows it all. Recently her family purchased its first radio set, They were quite thrilled, as they had a right to be. There is no set quite like the first one. Subsequent ones may be better—or wors ut none will ever be quite the wonder the first one was. Wonder is another fine bloom, which familiarity vubs off. Think of the lovers' first kiss, or the thrill that came to Morse when he sent over his tele- graph that wondering sentence, “What hath God wrought!” Not “What I have done, O Lord!" but “What Thou hast wrought!” Such is the involuntary exclamation of those who find themselves the instruments of the Almight; e The lady with the radio set was both- ered fram time to time by a series of queer whoops, gurgles, squeals and rumblings which ruined reception. In a vague way she tried to associ- ate these neis th static, of which she had heard, but somehow her com- mon sense told her they couldn’t be “static.” What particularly annoyed her was that right in the middle of a beautiful selection a blood-curdling shriek would come from the loud speaker. Once she thought that there was something almost human, as she expressed it, in the shrieking which accempanied the voice of the an- nouncer. Xk ok “Will you tell me what those queer noises are which come from my set?” she asked a neighbor. It happencd that this gentleman had played arcund with radio s since the infancy of popular broa casting. He started off with several crystal sets, of happy memory, then fooled around with one and two tube “bloop- ers,” regenerative sets which became minjature broadcasting stations when mishandled, whether intentionally or unintentionally; he then graduated into the five-tube class, one of the first tuned radio frequency outfits; at last had come up to date with a fine alter- nating current set. Not only had he suffered himself at E. TRACEWELL. the hands of thoughtless persons using regenerative sets, but out of curiosity had experimented with the same, caus- ing howls to come from neighboring speakers at will, He knew, not only from reading, but from actual experience, that a boy | with a perverted sense of humor and {a one or two tube regenerative set |might easilly ruin the reception of | $5,000 worth of the latest type sets. * % can tell you what makes | those noises.” replied the neighbor, | modestly. “They are caused by some person around here with an old-fash- loned regenerative set.” Then he explained the phenomena as best he could, quoting real experts on the matter, and ending with the remark that “sometimes such disturb- ances are caused purposcly by sort of acrial dogs-in-the-manger, who do not want to listen themselves and will not let any one else listen.” The good lady, who seemed to con- stitute herself champion of humanity upon the instant, bcgan to bristle. Some persons bristle slowly, others in- stantly. There is quite a difference. This good lady bristled at once, tout | a coup, as the French say. “Oh,” she exclaimed, “I am sure no | one would do such a thing as that!” | And the emphasis she put on | “sure” made the other want to yell: | “Well, what did you ask me for, | then, if you know all about it?” * ok Kk K There are a surprisingly large num- ber of these people, who pretend to seek enlightenment, but who refuse to | accept. it when they get it. | Instead of thanking the one interro- | gated, they immediately dispute his an- | swer, as if acceptance would show that hvl really might know something or other. |~ Humble enough, when the question is |put, such essentially uncouth persons |at once become arrogant when their mental teeth are given something to chew on. Although they have openly admitted | thelr ignorance, by their very que: X this fact is swept away by an arrogani | assumption that a contradictory state- {ment puts the whole question before | the house again. | . It does nothing of the kind, of course; {if the answerer is right, he is right. | that is all, no matter how crushingly the other insisis on contradicting him. | A K | | Men in executive positions know that it is the least capable and most pre- sumptuous underlings who insisi on do- | ing the most argufying about what they |are told to do. The man who “knows his stuff” holds his tongue unless he has the real in- formation to back up his protests. Thus a desire to “talk back” in the | shape of refusing to take an answer to | a piain question is gencrally felt to be | nothing more than the protestation of | general ignorance against superior knowledge. Human beings ordinarily resent su- | periority except in cases where resent- | ment would prove either impossible or silly. In most other instances they a! tempt to show their own superiority ! by asking questions and then calmly branding the answers as untrue. “I think I hat e ‘The world will be relieved if Mexico can settle an ugly family quarrel of long duration once and for all. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON Recurrence. Old Days and New Days—pretty much the same! Joy and Disappointment play the great, familiar game. Santa Claus arrives on time, to start a merry din; And just a little later, all the Christmas, bills come 1in. New Days and Old Days—pretty much alike! Love and Disillusion we are pretty sure to strike, First we have St. Valentine, with his romantic rule; And then comes the Sarcastic Saluta- tlon, “April Fool!” Adjustments.’ “Do you always tell what you believe to be the truth in your speeches?" “Invariably,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “But, of course, I reserve the natural human right to change my opinions as time goes on.” Jud Tunkins says he is in favor of changing the date of inauguration day and also of putting ground hog day ahead, so that the poor little animal won't elways be so pessimistic. Authority in the Flivver. “Why do you call your wife the fam- ily Senate?” “She’s a natural-born back-seat driver,” answered Mr. Chuggins. “I can't do anything without her advice and consent.” “There is no expression of sorro said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “more pathetic than a forced pretense of joy.” Photography. The camera man, that patient friend, Is ever present, So, let Fame condescend That warning to attend, “Try to look Pleasant!” “A jazz band,” sald Uncle Eben, “is | a good influence in lettin’ a young | musiclan’s home folks know exactly where he is, nights.” RADIOTORIAL. Pickpocketeers. Oh fierce was the fate of the Standard Oil clan, Who met some new righteous to plan. The pickpockets came, with effrontery strange, And got yery little beyond some small change. The pickpockets met in a conference grave And asked, “How can rich men be taught to behave, And carry large purses that favor our ends— We can’t be content with such small dividends!"” methods most ; New White House Callers. ‘When cabinet officers new make a call, i The man at the door may not know them at all. Embarrassment slight may prevail for a while, Unless for the White House they set a new style. Our eminent statesmen too modest have grown. - They ought to do something to make themselves known. They can't be expected to bluster or brag, the condition here, Miss Pearl McCall, n and for the Hall | ludicrous, though dangerous, aspects of | But each might sound a hgin whilei he carries & 3. Vote on Jones Law Emphasizes Dry Power in H Whatever may be the differences of opinion as to the merits of the Jones- Stalker bill prescribing more severe penalties for violations of the prohibi- tion laws, all observers concede the im- pressiveness of dry power in Congress as again disclosed by the votes on this measure. In discussion of the new law itself, opinion divides sharply, favorable critics hailing new and needed “‘teeth” for prohibition, while those who are unfavorable denounce it as another ob- stacle to effective enforcement. “When it came to the final test on the bill,” the Santa Barbara Daily News also records as to the House ac- tion, “the best the wet forces could do was to muster less than 100 votes. The opponents of the bill to add more teeth to the dry law showed no more strength than in similar tests on other measures during the session. All claims of the wet leaders to an increase in their forces were proved false.” San Antonio Express feels that .the passage of the measure is “encourag- ing,” and points out that its objective “is to provide the judiciary with a more effective weapon against the ‘big’ bootlegger.” “The country as a whole favors the retention of the prohibition law, as had been shown in various ways,” declares the Rochester Times-Union, with the added comment on the efforts to estab- lish a State enforcement law in New York: “So long as the State of New York fails to back officially the national prohibition act, thus tacitly encourag- ing slackness on the part of its’peace officers, it is not only failing to support the Constitution but also disregarding the policy favered by the American people as a whole” The Bluefield Daily Telegraph sees for the drys “one of their greatest victories.” * ok ok ¥ “Congress_in both houses has em- phatically shown itself overwhelmingly in fevor of strict enforcement,” the Salt Lake Deseret News points out, and that paper is convinced that “prospects for the enforcement of the prohibition laws both in spirit and in the letter of the eighteenth amendment were never so bright as they are today.” The Chattanooga News insists that “this law can cure bootlegging if prop- erly applicd.” “While there were many who believed that all prohibition legislation should be left to the new administration and the new Congress,” remarks the Bing- hamton Press, “it seems likely that nothing which the Jones bill does will have to be undone as a result of any- thing Mr. Hoover's commission may find.” The Elkhart Truth argues: “Chicago has demonstrated what boot- legging and hijacking will do when al- lowed to go unhampered, and no one should object to a law which will put criminals in_jail for a longer period.” | The Evansville Courier comments in similar vein: “Mr. Hoover believes in honestly trying to enforce prohibition because it is the law. That is the honest policy and one that more quick- ly than anything else will really de- termine whether or not we want to repeal or amend the eighteenth amend- ment.” * % K K Replying to the arguments of the wets that juries would refuse to convict in the face of heavy penalties, the An- niston Star observes: ‘in prohibition cases the jury or judge take into con- sideration the character of the defend- ant and similar points. The Jones bill allows them to continue this practice and only increases the penalties that may be imposed.” The San Bernardino Sun says: “A plea was made for the unintentional and casual violator, though first offenders were all of that character. The Senate had the com- mon sense to defeat it, trusting to the judges on the bench to exercise gen- uine discretion as to the degree of cul- pability of offenders in pronouncing sentence.” * ok Kk Seeing significance in the provision of the bill which permits judges to discrim- inate between offenders, the Charloite News concludes: “Circumstances indi- cate that the Senate was merely yielding to pressure or trying to play to the dry grandstand by passing a law that it hoped would not be taken too seriously by the judges.” If it is taken seriously, according to the Baltimore Evening Sun: “Obviously the indispensable re- quisite to more enforcement is more jails. The Jones bill is unsound in prin- siple, without deubt. But, in addition ouse and Senate | to that, it is unsound as a practical measure. “A profound eflect upon the policy of most of the Federal district attorneys in | the first and second class cities” is pre- | dicted by the New York Sun, which | adds: “During 1928 the Federal District Court of the southern district of New York is credited with conducting only 32 trials by jury in prohibition com- iaints. Pleas of guilty were taken rom 7,841 defendants. Under the Jones bill, the prospects are that these figures will be reversed by reason of ihe drastic penalties .contained in the bill. Five times as many judges, probably 10 more additional grand juries and an increase in petit juries reaching unprecedented figures are predicted.” “The inordinate penalties prescribed In the bill for violations of the prohi- | bition laws must inevitably work 1o de- | feat the purpose of those laws,” avers the Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch, while the New Orleans Item feels sure that “the heavier penalties not only will fail to enforce prohibition but will hasten the popular reaction which may eventually force conscientious prohibitionists to realize that modification is necessary.” | { THE LIBRARY TABLE BY THE BOOKLOVER. The temperament of a student and continuous and hard personal study made Lincoln an educated man, but his actual schooling was very meager. He went to school, altogether, for less th a year, Albert J. Beveridge tells us in his “Abraham Lincoln, 1809-185 ‘The time was divided among several schools. The first were in Kentucky, when Thomas Lincoln and his family were ing in a cabin on Knob Creck. ‘Sometime during the sojourn of the Lincoln family on Xncb Creek a school opened in the vicinity by one Zachariah Riney, a Catholic, and Sarah accompanied by her little to this school for a few weeks. Later, another school, taught by one Caleb Hazel, was attended by the Lincoln children for an even briefer period. . + . ‘It was from that place (Knob Creek cabin),’ writes Haycraft to Hern- don, ‘that young Abraham commenced trugging his way to school to Caleb | Hazel with whom I was well acquaint- ed and could perhaps teach spelling, reading ,and indifferent writing and perhaps could cypher to the rule of three—but he had no other qualifica- It!en of a teachor except large size and {bodily strength to thrash any boy or youth that came to his school.’” * ok ok ok ‘The next schooling was in Indiana, where the family had moved, in an at- tempt to better fortune which had al- ways been bad. Lincoin W at this time. *“When there were enough children in the settlement to justify the starting of a school, Andrew Craw- ford cpened one in a cabin of unhewn logs, two or three miles from the hut of Thomas Lincoln. Like all others of the time it was a subscription school the teacher taking his pay in skins or farm produce, far more valuable than | the ‘wild-cat” paper, which then was the only form of mon: i Lincoln children went to Andrew Craw- ford’s school for a while during the Winter of 1818-1819. The school was held in ‘a rude pole cabin with huge fireplace, rude floor of puncheons and | seats of ‘same, arid a window made by leaving out a log on the side to admit the light, often covered with greased paper to keep out the wind.' Spelling, reading, writing and ‘ciphering to single rule of 3 no further’ were taught in the haphazard manner of the period and region. It was & ‘biab’ or ‘loud school,” the children studying vocall Punishment was administered by whip. ping or making the child wear the ‘dunce cap.’ ‘When we went to Craw- ford he tried to learn us manners,’ re- lates Nathaniel Grigsby, showing the pupils how to enter a yoom, the for- malities of introduction and the like.| . . . But the teacher gave up after one ! season, it appears, as frontier school | promoters sometimes did. Thereafter | Andrew Crawford disappears from the | chronicles of Pigeon Creck pedagogy. | Lincoln was then in his tenth year and he did ot again go to school until ‘he was about 14 or 15’ What h2 1earned from Crawford we do not know a little simple reading. perha 2d how to form words with a quill pen- certainly not much more, since he could not write well until four or five years | later.” 1 ‘fir * ok ok K Lincoln's last schoal was also at the Indiana settlement. “A year or two after the coming of Sarah Lincoln (the stepmother), another sehool, about four miles away, was started by one Azel W. Dorsey. It was exactly like that of Andrew Crawford except that Dorsey did not try to ‘learn manners’ to the children, Abraham went to this school for a short time. . . . The school books from which the teacher gave out his lessons were the Bible, Webster's or‘ Dilworth's Spelling Book, Pike's Arith- | metic and_a song book. . . . It was at | Dorsey’s school that he perfected that clear, distinct chirography, so like that of Washington and Jefferson; and here, | too, he learned to spell with that ace racy which was to become & tradition. | in the neighborhood. He did all the | writing for the family and, indeed. {nri cverybody in_the settlcment. Even | more important to his avid mind was the fact that he learncd to read with ease and fluency. . . . So ended the cducation of Abraham Lincoln in schools, except for a short and broken attendance in 1826 at a similar school taught by William Sweeney. Including the two schools in Kentucky the boy went to school for less than a year. . . . There was, indeed, no reason for him 'to go longer fo these backwoods teachers—they ‘could do him no fll‘r: ther good; he went to school no more. * K kK Queen Elizabeth depended upon her sea power for both safety and expan- sion and her sea rovers were her hon- ored subjects. The names of many of them are famous in history, and Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins head the list. “Sir John Hawkins.” by James A. Williamson, is an interesting biography of the man and a history 1 * ok K “As the new law makes no changes| except in the matter of penalties, it is | not likely the bootlegger is going to be | very greatly terrorized by it—he has| been facing unrealized penalties so long | that he is used to it,” thinks the Chat- | tanooga Times, suggesting that “the | Jones measure will only make matters | worse by Increasing public irritation, for | no society was ever bettere V| that calls for an increase of fni?s{’"a e The Savannah Morning News assails “a wornout idea that severity of punish- ment stops crime,” while the Hunt- ington Advertiser argues: “If you cannot | apply milder penalties to bootleggers, be- cause of the hypocrisy, laxity and in- difference of those charged with en- forcement and the reluctance of a vast majority of courts to impose maximum punishment, how can one hope for the application of more severe penalties?” “A savage bill” is the verdict of the Worcester Teiegram; “an abuse of law,” that of the Chicago Daily Tribune; “an open confession of failure,” that of the Columbia Record; “not a cure,” that of the Flint Daily Journal. The Rich- mond News Leader advises that “it is always better to keep a man from want- ing to do a thing than to restrain him| onp: by the threat of a penalty.” The St. Louis Times satirically con- cludes: “We are somewhat astonished at the moderation of the drys. A $10,- 000 fine is & mere jest, lovied upon a bankrupt. Five years in a penitentiary is a mere incident in a long life. The violation of prohibition laws should be made a matter of severity, We direct with great respect, to the attention of those who are about to be the further- empowered doctors of our personal con- duct, the idea of cutting off the thumbs of first offenders. No thumbless man can cannily handle a mug of beer. Cannily handling mugs of beer requires on the part of the handler a thumb.” Cluttering Up Congress With Bills Is Deplored Trom the Memphis Commercial Appeal. During the session of Congress that ended Monday, 17,272 bills have been introduced in the House of Repre- sentatives alone. In the long session 14,143 measures were submitted for legislat®e enactment and the remainder. were put in during the short session, which began last December and ended March 4. Of this huge number only 2716 have been reported by com- mittees, the great majority, obviously, reposing in innocuous desuetude. Faced with these forbidding figures, one naturally questions the ability of every member of Congress or even a majority of them, to give due and ma- ture consideration to these multitudinous demands for laws of various and sundry kinds. In such a multitude of meas- ures undoubtedly there are some good, some bad and some indifferent, but can the discrimination between them be made properly and justly? One wonders whether or not there should be a committee or legislative body of some kind not merely to steer good measures to passage, but to steer bad and meaningless bills away from introduction, The superfluity not only wastes time, but alsoclutters up the work of Congtess. Can't something be done about 42, . oam oo of the sea adventure of his time. The exploits of Hawkins mizht today be called piracy, but in the Elizabethan Age they were patriotic services. They were chiefly directed toward Spain. the arch enemy of England. When Haw- kins raided the Spanish Main x\n_d brought home a ship loaded with treas- ure, he was the hero of the hour. He was third in command of the fis‘etl which met and defeated the famous, Spanish Armada and an admiral Xni the Queen's navy. Hawkins made sev=- | eral staving voyages, in intervals when hostilities against Spain permitted, and combined the capture of Negroes {rom the Coast of Sierra Leone with trade in these same Negroes and other goods in the West Indies. He and the Queen, as well as the English nation, profited by these expeditions. His life story is a stirring historical romance. * ok Kk K did not pay to double-cross the. Rt;[!thscnnds, according to the recently published book, “The Reign of the House of Rothschild,” by Count Egon Caesar Corti. Spain tried it and the Rothschilds took revenge on the \\'h::{e nation. To work for a fall in Spanisil funds they applied an amount of 1,800,000 pounds! The operation Was completely successful, Spanish rentes falling from 70 to 37, and the paul? {e- | sulting from the terrible fall in ‘fl..“ol of Spanish securities in London \.Rfi Simply and solely the result of the Rothschilds’ act of vengea ‘Thou sands of holders of S| lost two-thirds of their prop i | the Rothschilds made far more oub o it than the Spanish government hnl" previously causcd them to lose. Lionel | Rothschild was recalled from Madrid out of fear of assassination. * ok kK : We talk glibly of civilization. ca certain actions uncivilized, speak of civilized countries and periods, but are we always clear in our own minds as to what we mean by civilization? Is civili- zation absolute, or relative? We con- sider ourselves and our own times high- ly civilized, but will persons living a century or two centurics after us 1ool back upon us and pronounce us Ci lized? The book “Civilization,” by Clive Bell, gives some very interesting light on tho subject. Mr. Bell is inclined to think that many people today do not went civilization, but prefer barbarism. He considers leisure indispensable to true civilization. . * A recent advertisement says: “Are you worried about your child? Does he di cbey? Does he have tantrum: his thumb or lie? Dr. Watson's can help you.” The book alluded to is “Psychological Care of Infant and Child,” by John B. Watson, author of “Behaviorism.” It would seem from this that every parent should read the book, for who has a child who never has tantrums and neved disobeys? Perhaps Dr. Watson defines tantrums, by the way. Are they the unreasonable behavior of other people? t- | 30 ielect]oBMK of th‘:rds." Thc‘r:‘l are 8 ns, cover the period from 1907 to 1927. His love afp::‘n\:*l and acventurs, the fascination the Orient “bas always held for him, his belief in rother went | about 10 ! * The | i | | THE EVENING gm WASHII\"GTON! D. ©C. ) SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 1929 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS The resources of ur free Information Burcau are at your service. You are invited to call upon it as often as vou please. It is being maintained solely to u. What question can we an- swer for you? There is no charge at all except 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Address your letter to The Evening Star Information Bu- reau, Frederick J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. | Q. What is Farina’s real name?— {E. G. G. A. Farina of “Our Gang' is a little boy named Henry Clay Hoskins. Q. Who brought the Wagstaff clocks to this country?—W. H. M. A. Thomas Wagstaff was in business in London, 1766-1794. A number of long case clocks by him have appeared in America, generally in the possession of Quakers and their descendants. Wagstaff was a Quaker and members { of the Society of Friends when visiting llmndnn were accustomed to lodge at his house. Q. If Burns did not write “Auld Lang Syne,” why dees it appear in his works? —I. W. A. Although the words of the sor Auld Lang Syne” appear in Burr | works, he himeslf, admits that he wrote lonly the second and third stanzas. A song of the same title can be traced to e latter part of 1600. In a letter to George Thomson, September, 1793, Burn: ,_“One_song more I have | done, ‘Auld Lang Syne.’ The air is but | mediocre but the foliowing gong, the old song of the olden times, and which has never been in print nor even in manu- seript until I took it down from an old man'’s singing, is enough to recommend | any Q. What country {mond as a jewel? | monds of the | _A. India was tl | diamond as a jewel. dia remained the sole source of Eu- | rope’s diamond supply. About 1730 | diamonds were discovered in Brazil. In 1867 diamonds were discovered in South | Afrlca. South African diamonds con- | stitute more than 90 per cent of the world's supply. Frem their discovery to the present time they have yielded 90,000,000 carats. The diamonds of | the world probably represent a value of | $5,000,000,000. Q What solution will make cloth eproof?—M. S. A, A. The Burcau of Standards says |t first used the dia- ? What are world worth toda; J. S. he original home of the | For centuries In- | BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. that it does not know of any prepara- tion that will fireproof organic fabrics | so that they will not burn. A good | lameproofing preparation for theatri- cal scenery and hangings is a solution | of borax and boric acid in water in the proportion of 6 parts | boric acid and 100 pa wo weight. This solution may be applied | by brushing, or, better, by dipping the and allowing them to d vent spread of fire f as small flames | will pr | soure Q. In what lin employed?—A. F. R. A. The work of the ent of special importance in ag: highly specialized Burcau | ogy is maintained by the U Department of Agricu 3 this branch of zoology are | ployed also in museums and res | institu Laberatories have | established for the investigati cial subjects, such as the gyp: 1 the European corn borer and forest in- sects. Entomologists are required also in agricultural experiment sta‘icns, and a few in indusiries such as ¢ refineries or e: ments for the manufacture of tory supplies. Q. When shouid tulips and Ziyacir | be taken out of a cold frame and | jected to a temperature sen 60 and degrees in order to bloom for Eas- ter?>—T. H. A. Tulip and hyacinth bulbs should aken in about four weeks before ter if the e submitted to a tem perature from 60 to 65 degrees. It would have been better to bring them in six s before Easter and reduce the temperature to 55 degrees. be E: | i | | Q. Why are some people more ticklish than others?- A. It depends upon the sensitiveness of the nervous system. Susceptibility to tickling is also partially under the con- rol of the will. If no restraint is exer- cised, hypersensitiveness is apt to result. Considerable resistance can be de- veloped. Q. When was the Quirinal Palace built?>—M. M. A. This papal palace was begun by Ponzio in 1574, and_completed by Fon- tana and Bernini. It became the royal residence of the kings of Italy after the breach of Porta Pia, September 20, 1870. Figuratively, the Quirinal signifles the state as the Vatican signifies the church. so_much C. D. BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. It is especially inopportune for Mexi- co to break out in another revolt, just cn the eve of President Hoover's Quaker acministration of th> United States. For the battling of Mexicans too close to the Unitzd States border may easily endanger Americans even in _their D ful homes upon United States ory. Already, news comes that Amcrican troops bave been placed to guard the bridge across the Rio Grande znd to plant cennon pointing toward the Mexican Ciudad Juarez, with a i threat of intervention in case a battle brings shots into our domain, although, from Washington, orders have been forwarded temporarily ~withdrawing such forces. It would be but a few hours’ work for States intervention, in case the rebels so desired to embarrass the Mexican federal government, against which they were in revolt. All they need to do is to keep on firing into the United States end disputing as to which party is doing the firing, fatal to peaceful citizens of Douglas or El Paso. Already Grande and been interned in Fort Bliss, Tex. It is not too long ago to recall how Villa made a deliberate raid across the American border, and, after murder- ing Americans, fled back into the Mex- jcan desert, pursued by Gen. John J. Fershing on his “hot trail.” That was in 1017. In 1911, there was a battle between the Federals and l‘!‘bvels at Agua Prieta, Mexico, which resulted in the killing of Americans on the Amer- jcan side of the boundary, when Gov. Sloan of Arizona appealed to President Taft for Federal protection and urged armed intervention, if necessary, in order to stop th2 stray shots from Mex- icans fighting within a few feet of the international border. Fresident ‘Taft replied to the governor: 3 g’l’he situation might justify me i ordering our troops to cross the border to stop the fighting, or to fire upon beth combatants from the American side. But if I take this step, I must face the possibility of resistance and greater bloodshed, and also the danger of hav- ing our motives misconstrued and of thus inflaming Mexican popular indig- nation against many thousands of Ameri- cans now in Mexico and jeopardizing | their lives and property. The pressure for general intervention under such conditions might not be practicable to resist. “It is impossible to foresee or recken the consequences of such a course and we must use the greatest self-restraint to avoid it. Pending my urgent rep- resentation to the Mexican government I cannot therefore order troops Douglas to cross the border, but 1 must case the same danger recurs, to direct selves where bullets cannot reach them and thus avoid casualty. I am loath to endanger Americans in Mexico where they are necessarily exposed, by taking a radical step to prevent injury to Americans on our side of the border venience.” * ok ok % That condition of 1911, with its prob- lem, is identical with conditions now facing President Hoover. A 6-year-old American boy was shot vesterday in battle. Another development of the revolt of 1911. may be repeated before the pres- ent disturbance ended. The government of Mexico appealed to the United States | for permission to transport unarmed troops across the boundary, from Eagle Pass to Ciudad Juarez, and authority was given both by our Federal Govern- ment and by Gov. Colquitt of Texas, with the stipulation that the arms of the Mexicans should be carried as bag- gage on a separate train and that an escort of American soldiers, armed, chould accompany the unarmed Mexi- cans. So about 1,000 Mexicans did so yade” Texas With our sanction— quite a different sort of invasion from that of Gen. Pershing in 1917, pur- suing the “hot trail” of the villainous Villa, which pursuit under arms was not made after any “watchful waitin by President Wilson, but in hot pursuit of the fleeing bandits who had invaded the United States and committed atrocities. R The present revolt has nothing to do with the Calles government's con- troversy with the Roman Catholic Church. It is a protest against the alleged conspiracy of the Obregon.Calles political party to retain control of the government, contrary to the provision of the constitution forbidding a Presi- dent to be re-elected. Or, in the com- mon way of expressing it, the trouble is due to the “ins” against the “outs” cver the offices as spoils of political conspiracies. Gen. Obregon served four years as President, then came Calles, for four year, and, with the aid of Calles' pow- erful backing, Gen. Obregon preposed to run again for the chief office. He con- strued the constitutional prohibition to mean that a President could not sue- the philosophy of work, his devction to British tradition, his miiitarism and imperialism, and always his romant cirm, incurable even by old age, appea these essays: A the Mexican rebellion to force United | 300 Federa's have fled across the Rio | posts at | ask you and the local authorities, in| the people of Douglas to place them-| who can avoid it by temporary incon- | Douglas by a stray bullet from the | ceed . himself, but that an intervening term made him again eligible. There wera other candidates, in rivalry of Obregon, but they were all arrested and executed, leaving Obregon a clear field. Then before Obregon's inauguration he was _assassinated by the cartoonist Toral, who has recently been executed. After the death of Obregon, several candidates rose seeking appointment by the Legislature as provisional President, pending a special election. Among these were Sensr Topece of the state of Sonora, and when Calles_threw his in- fluence for the choice of Portes Gil, tha present provisional President, Topece, grew bitter. Congress has now desig- nated the third Thursday of ne: 0= vember for a special, popular election cf a President, and Senor Gil will serve only until the choice of that election can be inaugurated. For that electio the Obregon-Calles party suppor Aaron Saenz, former foreign mun.sicr under Obregon. Against him are twe other candidates —Rublo, Ambassador to Brazil, and their candidacies, but Saenz ra point that the constifution makes inel gible any candidate who has not been in Mexico continucusly throughout the preceding year, and he coniends that that bars his rivals. They retort that when they were abroad in diplomatic service (hey were still on Mexican ter- ritory, since all legations are the terr tory of the nation which creates and maintains- the embassies or legations. and that claim appears to be in accord with universal diplomatic law. Saenz appears to be mest likely to win, for his sister is the wife of Calles’ son. * ok ok % The territorial scope of the revolt is indicated by the fact that on ihe same day when Gen. Jesus Aguirre revoited and tried to hold Vera Cruz. his brother, Gen. Manuel Aguirre, revolted in the state of Sonora—in the extreme north- | western corner of the republic, along |the American boundary, and the gar- {rison of Chihuahua revolted last week, | marched into Ciudad Juarez, looted the | branch of the Bank of Mexico, captur- |ing $340,000, which they sent to their | own headguarters, for the war chest. There ate today three revolting armies in northwest Mexico, out they are separated by impassable mountain ranges, so they cannot join forces. i the army of Sonora succeeds in ge | south along the Pacific Coast, around | the mountains, and jecins the army of Chihuahua, the revolt may become serious. ‘The religious unrest does not affect Northern M 0, but exists in the cap- ital and throughout teiritory scuth of Torreon, and th appears no disaffec- tion where the church question is acute. * % $ there exists real oppo- vernment in the hearts als, and if a crisis should arise wherein the addition of the church would turn the scales against the Calles- Gil regime, it is likely that the federal government might face very serious trouble. Gen. Calles is in command of military operations of the federal force: In a book, “Red Mexico,” by Capt. Franeis McCullagh, published just be- fore the murder of Obregon, President- | elect, the author the adminis- tration of Presi Nevertheless, sition to t! of the cler | s ago. he foolish- ly tried his hand at foreign politic: and attempted to American League but by March (1928) down considerabl; the soothing: ass of Mr. D ‘W. Morrow, the American Ambass; and was apparently without any fore policy at all. * * * But that Mexic will eventually fall under some sort of American protectorate scems fairly cer- tain. The great increase of American interests in the Caribbean, and in Central America, and her determination to dig another transoc time through Nicaragu: lead gradually and aimost imperceptibly to Mexico .being caught in silken toils as Cuba. In ten year: we shall vening in i and in accordance with treaty, wheneve revolution breaks out in that ce Ve exactly as she intcrvenes in Cuba and Haiti. Surely that prophecy will not excite Americans, for our “intervention” in Cuba merely.signifies our aid to Cuba to achieve her independence, and of Haiti to suppress anarchy and establish her own independent orderly govern- ment. Mexico is losing population; she con- tains some 2,000,000 fewer people today than she did a decade ago. More than 3,000,000 native Mexicans have come into the United Sta‘es since the World ‘War, for there are no quota res against the Western Hemisplh: their places in Mexico are boing ta by Chinese. There are only a mili white people in Mexico; the other i2, 000,000 are either Indians or mix: bloods, mostly ignorant peens. '] Obcregon-Callcs-Gil pariy 15 appe: to pecn Sociplistie suprpoct. 1929, by Pawl V. Collins.) he had_ calme: | g no doubt to |