Evening Star Newspaper, May 1, 1929, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1929 With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY.......May 1, 1920 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office. i1th St. and Pennsylvania New York Office: 110 L Chicago Offics: Lakce Michiga Eurovean Office: 14 Rerent St.. England. 'r Within and Sinday Star 8t 80c per month a the City. 45¢ per menth (when 5 Sundavs ..85¢ per month The Sunday Star .. . : Sc per copy Collection made at the end of sach manth Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone Main 5000, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Marviand and Virginia. fly arnd Sunday... 1 yr. 31060 1 mo. 88c E:ih onix & unday only - 40c All Other Sta Dalls and Sunday. .1 Daily only o Sunday only . 1¥r. 8600 1 mo. + 3400 1 mo. 100 e S0c Member of the Assoeiated Press. ‘The Associated Prees ic exclnsivaly o 1o the ure for renublication of All news dje- Patches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ited in this paper and slso fhe Incal news publiched hierein All rishix nf publication of #pecial dispatches herein are also reserved Co-operation cn the Schools. The proposal by Presiden. Darr of the Washington Chamber of Commerce that the Chamber's committee on pub- lie schools continue its inguiry into the | feasibility of empowering the Board of Education to prepare, independent of | the Commissioners, the cstimates for | the schools, should result in stimulating { public interest in an imporiant local | question and mak= availabl: additional | facts to support the board's, and Mr. Darr’s, contentions. The community is deeply concerned over the failure of the five-vear school program to ma- terialize as planned and it is apparent to every parent that Washington's &chool system is not keeping apace with the growth of the city when, as a mat- i ter of fact. it should b. far ahead.| ‘There is much to bz raid in favor of the theory that the Board of Educa- tion should be given more latitude in petitioning for and supervising the ex- penditure of school funds. | Such radical revision in budget and | administrative procedure, however, would require new legislation and it | is obvious that this special session of | Congress is not going to have the time, | the inclination or the machinery to deal with a local bill involving the ele- ments of controversy inherent in the proposal outlined by Mr. Darr. In the meantime, cstimates are being pre- pared for another fiscal year and those estimates must be in the hands of the Bureau of the Budget two months from | today. The attitude to be expected from the Board of Education at this time is onc of coniinued close co-op- eration with the Commissioners in see- ing that the current estimates are drawn to the best interest of the schools and of the city. At the same time, the favorable re- action on the part of the Chamber of Commerce and other representative civic bodies of Washington to the Beard of Education’s plea for a more generous allotment to the schools in the District budget should by this time have placed sufficient evidence in the hands of the Commissioners that the community demands the maximum for the schools that can be allowed, and that this maximum represents a great- er amount than previously has been ! represented in the estimates submitted to the Bureau of the Pudget by the Commissioners. If the Commissioners are to reflect the communily's senti- ment, they must bring the allotment for the schools to the highest figure compatible with the District's other needs. Chairman Simmons of the House subcommittee on District appropria- tions made a statement last week that was characteristic of his point of view and of that attitude held by his fellow House members, which so deleteriously | affects the amount of revenue available | to the District. Commenting on the | Board of Education’s contention that three million dollars a year for school construction and grounds would still keep the total for schools within the one-third of District revenue, Mr. Sim- mons said that three million doliars | additional for the schools would result | | 1 cerned. | front of a horse’s nose or to shy a olod of earth at him or to let out a sudden | yell virtually in his ear. That the re- | sults of these performances have so far Ihiot been more serious speaks well for | the equestrian ability of the and vigilance exercised by riding teach- ers. Often one of the latter will have in charge a dozen or more children, some of them of tender years. Suddenly a steed Is out of control or having a nerv- |ous spasm. On investigation the cause is found to be some lad, ignorant or | worze, who had deliberately frightened the animal and thereby risked its i rider’s neck. To permit such a situ- | ation to continue is fair neither to the teacher, the rider nor the well mean- | Ing stecd, all of whom are sticking as much as possible to the bridle paths | and minding their own business. Re- ports as to the increasing frequency of these oceurrences have reached parents and are causing them justifiable anxiety. Once it was habit to fling missiles at a | motor car and to chant cheerfully, | “Get & horsel” Now the shoe is on the other foot and the equine, perhaps be- cause of his very novelty to certain eyes, commands an undue attention which is unfortunately and dangerously ex- pressed. The sooner the park authorities devote a Jittle intense application to | | | | this problem the better for all eon- Deliberately startling a val- uabie horse bear; a precious human freight is a highly serious misdemeanor. o Child Health Day. Without comfortable complacency it may be said that Washingtcn's observ- ance of May 1 as Child Health Day each vear becomes more gratifying by rea- son of the fact that renewed activity and interest on the part of the many agencies contributing to child welfare, an enlightened attitude toward the problem of safeguarding the health of childfen and the general betterment of living conditions have made every day of every year a child health day. But the observance of this one day in the ‘l'a]endlr can well be made the occasiun for directing and renewing public atten- tion to that thought expressed in Presi- dent Hoover's proclamation that “the march forward of our country must be upon the feet of children.” These feet must be sturdy and strong, trained and ready to negotiate the rough and treacherous places that lie along the line of march. This day may also be used as a point from which one may look back over what has been accomplished and for- ward to what remains to be done. In the five-year period from 1901 to 1905 the death rate among children in the District was two hundred and sixteen per thousand; from 1906 to 1910, one hundred and elghty-one; from 1911 to 1915, one hundred and nineteen, and in the last four years the trend downward is indiceted as follows: 1925, 87.3: 1926, 845; 1927, 66 and 19 645. And while the rate continues thought that no irreducible mimimum in infant mortality has ever been es- tablished. It is always possible to ex- | tend the goal from year to year; always possible to believe that the next twelve months will witness more children of every thousand born slive and well than in the preceding twelve months. To those agencies such as the organi- tles under the Council of Social Agen- i cles, to the physicians of the ecity, the Health Department, the school authori- ties and the interested bureaus of the Federal Government goes the greater part of credit for the successful and unceasing campaign to protect. the lives and better the health of children. The establishment of prenatal clinics, the edueation of mothers in caring for the health of their children and the un- ceasing vigilance exercised by the au- thorities and volunteer workers sys- tematically to examine children and care for the youthful victims of dis- ease have all contributed to the reduc- tion of infant mortality, together with such factors as better homes, better milk and water supply, greater purity in food and more improvement in sani- tary conditions. The acme of perfec- tion in extending such sound princi- in an increase of twenty-fiv: cents in the tax rate. Chairman Simmons avoids reference to the fact that the; politically impotent taxpayers of the | tax-raised revenue is to be used in the | construction of a magnificent municipal | center, for the realization of an ambi- |proach toward a goal which is as yet I do not ask that you shall change tious program in park development and for many other national or semi-na- tional projects for the aggrandizement of the National Capital, and that they must take what their legislators choose to give them in schools for their chil- dren. Without attempting to dispute the value or the worth of these projects, the taxed but unrepresented Capital | eommunity, can answer that the full amount sought for schools could be | given without affecting the tax rate if the Federal Government were paying its share for Capital development as guaranteed by unrepealed organic law —a law annually discarded by Chair- man Simmons and the House in their arbitrary and peculiar attachment to the “magic lump sum” of nine million dollars. e Gambling is not featured in old-fash- joned terms at pleasure resorts, but the new methods of hazard still make Florida land available to the investor. — e Risky Riding. S0 ubiquitous has become the motor ear and its attendant traffic problems that sometimes the very existence of the horse is almost forgotten. He is still with us, however; is still ridden enthusiastically here in the District, and in connection with his utilization there has arisen a serious problem, re- ports of which are beginning to come to attention. Briefly, this disagree- able and entirely remediable situation has to do with the treatment of eques- | trians in Rock Creek and other parks. Juveniles are the culprits. At this season of the year the parks swarm with them. Most of them have never been on a horse and fail entirely to appreciate the fact that, no matter how be reached. But the right road to fol- | | low has been plainly marked. Upon the zeal and generosity with which the com- | Distric told that their | munity supports those constantly en-| o e Bar S 5 | gaged in widening and smoothing this roed depends the rapidity of our ap- only beginning'to show over the horizon. o Little restriction is placed on tobacco. A young man is not asked to refrain from smoking in. the ordinary sense of the word. He is earnestly advised how- ever, to avoid the srhoke screen. o Lindbergh as Counselor. ccunsellor 1o the special joint commis- slon headed by Senator Bingham mak- ing an intensive study of the airport needs of the National Capital. He made a profound impression on the com- mission, demonstrating an exhaustive knowledge of the minute details of the science of aviation. He gave the commission important advice. He spoke mot only with certain knowledge of conditions as they now and foresees tremendous opportunities, with the National Capital as one of the great aviation depots of the world. Lindbergh emphasized that two of the prime considerations in selecting a site for Washington's airport are size and distance from the center of the | city, explaining that the location must | be close enough so that the advantage |in time gained by flying from another city may not be lost because of delay in getting from the landing fleld to the city. He admitted no disadvantage in having two airports in Washington, as has been proposed at the hearings, one on the |vntpr front and the other on higher | ground in the outskirts, pointing out | that undoubtedly Wasington will be- fore long need both, He expiained to the commission that in this country we have no airports as yet that can he compared with the principal ones in gentle by nature or how well trained, he is the possessor of nerves, of emo- tions and of reflexes which often run sway with him and make him in turn ‘fun away with his rider. It is a great lark to some of these youngsters to Eurcpe. In the same connection, urging the need for proper airport facilities here, he sts _the fact that he doés not know of gpv large city in the United States, t the Capital City, young peo- | ple of Washington and for the care | downward there is comfort in the zations which co-ordinate their activi- | ples is yet to be reached. It may never The versatile Lindbergh appeared in | a new role at the Capitol yesterday as| | exist, but as a prophet who has studied | |out the trend of aviation development eration or one under construction. Probably no testimony taken during { these hearings on the Washington air- | | port has so impressed the commission | with the importance of the job on which they are engaged and given the public greater confidence in the future | 28 pr onger transportation as the great | epportunity in aviation as the appear- {ance of the world's most famous sir- | |mah. He spoke with confidence, be- cause he knows his cubject; he inspired | confidence, because the public knows | he knows. | ) The Reparations Conference. | Without undue pessimism over the | , cabled reports from Berlin and Paris, it | cannot but be admitted that the world's | high hopes for the early discovery of {an equable and final solution of the rep- | arations problem are in grave danger | : of not being realized as the outcome of | | the eurren’ conversations. And without | | indue precipitancy in judgment, it may | | atready be asserted that the world's dis. | | appointment in this prospect will in- | evitebly be attended by a condemnation of the German stiff-necked insistence upon their own estimates as to their ability to pay. | The committee of experts has pa- | tiently and sympathetically heard those estimates. The very essence of the present conference is the fact that no one can efiectively argue that German opinion in a matter of such intenselv | personal interest should be final. It ! was In view of this fact that the e perts entered upon their study of the | long-sustained economic debate between Germany and the nations to whom Ger- i many is in debt. And If it be true, as ®il are apparently agreed, that eco- nomie, political and financial stabllity in Europe hangs upon a compromise between the conflicting claims of debtor and creditors, Germany assumes a re- sponsibility for which she will be held to account in refusing to acquiesce in a fundamental of any arbitration. That fundamental is that judgment as to the mertis of the case presented by either of the diractly interested parties shall | be left to a third less directly interested | arbitrator. {1t is quite true that the current con- | versations in Paris do not actually take | | the shape of an arbitration. But, in| | essence, if there has been any basis for | | the hope for their successful outcome | they must have been so regarded by | the participants. ‘The composing of radical differsnces of opinion as to how many millions of dollars Germany can pay annusally to nations who feel that they can never be adequately compen- sated by the nation they believe to have ; | plunged them into their present diffi- | culties, could only be so achieved. If the conference ends without def- inite accomplishment, it is difficult to see wherein Germany would have done | aught save injure both her standing and her intérests. Her creditors would have no recourse save to fall back upon the original Dawes plan, relief from the terms of which Germany has in- sisted is imperative. It is in this fact and in the consciousness that Dr. Schacht's “ultimatum” may prove in the end to have been only another of those diplomatic gestures called by non- diplomats “bluffs” that hope for .a last- { minute patching up of the Parls con- { ference must lte. ! | | — et It has been the privilege of Calyin | ! Coolidge to elevate the standard of American literature in one respect: He | has demonstrated that the highest mag- azine rate may be commanded without | resort to underworld fiction, | — oo | Youth was once advised to “go West {and grow up with the country.” Now | the young man or woman goes to Los | Angeles and tries to grow up with the ‘movies. R ‘Tammany once gave consideration to the corner saloon. At present the more elegant night club appears to claim | attention. el SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Request. O Mr. Congressman, my friend, | My counselor and guide, T know how often to defend My interests you've tried. | My meek petition nce again I beg that you will scan And certain needs of mine make plain Unto the weather man. | | ‘The usual course of trade, | And bid my profits higher range, | ‘Through tariffs deftly made. But if to ease my feelings sore | You would devise a law, T'd like a chance to wear once more My good old hat of straw. Joy in Prospect. No more the farmer’s mood is glum;’ His life takes on its annual charm, For Summer boarders soon will come | And tell him how to run the farm. The Practical Chap. | Oh, the practical chap is a generous | man, | He's always found doing the best that he can To keep you from sorrow and physical ache, | He struggles along for humanity's sake. | When others are singing of birds and ,0f bees He talks of mosquitoes and house flies and fleas, | And the May time we speak of in elo- quent terms {For him is a seaccn of shivers and | germs. For his generous thought we are grate- ful, indeed, And we turn %o him oft in our serious need, But in moments of laughter and jesting and song, We speak of him kindly, but pass him along, {Por he is a fellow who dampens our cheer j By hints of the penalties hovering nea And that's vhy the lopeliest man on the map Is this kind and well meaning, practical chap. | | but, Dangerous Policy. Seek not in indolence to let Men fight your battles day. The innocent bystanders get¥ , The worst of nearly every fray. day. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Ofien when one confesses not having read some new book a kind friend will ery, i pitying accents. “Why, you have missed one of the besi books of recent years!” Then one is fortunate if he happens | to have the sort of temperament which revels in missing the best books, or what some call the best books. or eien what the general public calls the best books. But what of it? not possible for any one reader, no mat- ter how much of a bookworm he is, to do more than touch the so-calied “high | spots.” There are so many new books. and each one of them so great—according to the publisher--that there isn't a | chance for the perspiring reader to get caught up on lest year's books, let alone the swarm which is current. Dr. S8amuel Jchnson discussed this| matter. and came to the conclusion that the thing was & wild goosc chase. Y will find It in James Boswell's account. It was & wild goose chase in 1700, and it is a wild goose chase now. e In the first place nobody knows which are the true “best books. self-constituted book selection commit- tees. which specialize in this sort of thing, never pick the same titles. If a reader happens to bsiong to one | book club, he is advised to read so-and- | 80, and if he is A member of another | he is told that the “best bet” of the month ie thus-and-thus. At his favorite book store he will find any number of extras, depending upon the interest of the book clerk and the ability of the department buyer, Have you read this, and this, and this? Each one is wonderful, how are you to know which is the most wonderful? Some readers bent on keeping up with the new books specialize on well known writers. Thus one is always safe select- Ing a novel by Galsworthy. Even the name of that eminent writer to the foreword of somebody else’s book is enough to make it successful. ‘This method of keeping up with the latest books is eminently safe and sane. | It permits one to talk fluently in com- pany, with the certainty that at least a few will have read the same book. | What is the good of having read a new book if none of your friends has read it? This seems to be the real cry of the book ambitious. having read a new book if none of your {riends has read it?” They want to talk, not read, or, at least, to talk after they have read. XX K x Every one knows the same feeling and need in relation to the drama. Hall the fun in seeing & new show is to be able to discuss it with your friends | afterward. Not just a one-sided con- versation, in which you do all the teil- ing, but a real talk, in which one will recall one incident, the other another, with mutual enjoyment and under- standing. Living over past sporting events in conversation helps account for their ularity. If human beings were for- bidden to talk about the game after- ward base ball would be wiped out of existence in no time. 1f one may judge from morning-after discussions of “wild parties” of the night before, at least three-fourths of the real enjoyment of such affairs lies Even the | “What is the good of | in the “talk fest” which always follows. How Bill had too much, and what silly things he did. and how Jim fell down —haw, haw, haw!—and cut his neck. | Those who weren't there don't see any- have been excruciating, because those who were there fairly revel in the de- tails, detail by detail, here a little and a little. Helf the pleasure of new books to some readers is the ablility to talk them over with others, If this is the way preconcerted plan, such as playing safe with well known authors, or belonging to a book club, is the best way. * K % % however, comes in the reading thereof. reads to suit himself will get the most out of reading. By selecting his reading as he pleases, e will come to a bettsr appreciation of the totality of books. ‘The grand sweep of liferature through the ages is what a reader must know if he is to be anything but a participant in a come-on game for living authors and their publishers. Nor will he be able to know this great sweep by his reading in school. It is too big. It may take him a life- time to sample it even. If he loves books he will keep this universal sampling go'ng along steadily with his | dips Into the new books as they come from the presses. * * % % ‘Thus every reader worthy of the name will necessarily be interested in the old and the new, not just the new. | The latest books have their place, but just & place, not the whole place. To talk only about the new books, as if there were no worthy old ones, shows | the bounder among books. Such an attitude is only part of the propaganda | of “modernism,” which affects to be- | lieve that because a thing is entirely | new it must be completely good. No | greater fallacy was ever pcrpetrated. | Newness means nothing, in itself—ex- | cept when it does. Mostly it doesn't! | Do not feel unhappy, then, if another ccuses you of having missed one of the best books” of recent years. It can- not be helped. If it is your sort of | book, probably you will find it, sooner |or later. Your accent is placed on the | book, not on the newness thereof. You think more of what you think about the | books you read than what other people | think ‘about_the books you don't read. You place the accent where it belongs, you believe, as much as these others misplace it, who give to mere time a place which it by no means deserves. We have always wondered at this pathetic desire of so many to be “up- to-date.” They are llke a squirrel in a treadmill, no sooner do they take a step and catch squarely up with the world than a new step presents itself, and so they keep whirling around. We refuse to be impressed by this per- formance, esbecially when it comes to the treadmill of trying to ‘“keep up with the new books,” whatever that means. We prefer o keep up with the good books. Bring your “new” ones around next year, or five years from now, |and we will have someth! to go on, | for in the meantime you will have dis- | covered for yourself that most of them | were just ncw, not necessarily good books. | WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIL Col. William J. Donovan will deliver the annual commencement address at the University of Notre Dame on June 2, Washington lticians who have heard of “Wild Bill's” engagement to hold forth on the campus of the other “Fighting Irish” would not be surprised if he spllled some beans of national interest. The subject of his address has not been ennounced at Notre Dame, but the colonel's strenuous career as chief Assistant Attorney General of the United States and his interrupted career as & Hoover edviser would both provide material designed to challenge the country’s attention. Donovan's own alma mater is Niagara University, at Niagara Falls, N. Y., whence he went to Columbia Law School. Notre Dame is sure to make the gallant colonel a doctor of laws in June and perhaps some day will honor him in addition with the Laetare medal, the distinction conferred upon American Catholics who render distinguished national services. Alfred E. Smith recently received the Laetare medal. * K K X For more than 10 days Washington society, which still considers the Curtis- Gann precedence issue a current topic, has been gossiping about the White House musicale on April 19. This func- tion was arranged by Mrs. Hoover in order that a couple of hundred of her friends might hear her fellow Cali- fornian, Lawrence Tibbett of the Metro- politan Opera, in a concert groxum. In the front row of gilded chairs in the east room, careful observers noted, there sat at the First Lady's right the wife of the Chief Justice of the United States —the place of honor. On Mrs. Hoover's left, Speaker Nicholas Longworth was placed. Mrs, Gann sat at Mrs. Tafl's right. There appears to have besn no precedvnt set by that arrangement of the chairs. The musicale was not con- sidered “an official affair.,” The guests were invited quite informally and the spirit of the whole afternoon was in- tended to be informal. Guests were seated before Mrs. Hoover entered the east room, so that it would not be pos- sible to consider that the occasion was any definite or final arrangement with regard to the place of future White House sts. But the fact remains that Dolly Gann was not the ranking guest, or at least was not seated in any i such capacity. * K k% A Washingtonian not without distinc- tion recently was proposed for member- ship in a rather exclusive club in New York City. He was not admitted. He knew his proposer well enough to ask what happened. “You were black- balled,” the friend explained. ‘“How many blackballs were cast?” the Wash- ingtonian wanted to know. His proposer smiled and said, “Do you know what caviar looks like?” He did, and the de- bate was closed. R i Debuchi, Japanese Ambassa- dor to the United Siates, is going to be the principal speaker at this year's “Journalism week” at the College of Journalism in the University of Mis- souri. Nippon's envoy will speak on “Journalism in International Relations.” The general theme of the week has to do with the press in world affairs. Dean Walter Williams’ school for breeding newspaper men is famous in both Japan and China. Its graduates— mostly Americans—man the staffs of impor- tant English-language newspapers at several Far Eastern points. The Japan Advertiser of Tokio, the leading Amer- ican daily in the Orient, is conducted almost exclusively by Missouri journal- ism alumni. Katsu, * K ok % Not many people—perhaps not even many of its own members 10w in con- clave in Washington—know that the Chamber of Commerce of the United States owes its origin to the Taft ad- ministration 18 years ago. Previous to that time local and sectional jealousies among widely scattered busincss a: sociaticns were such that a number efforts to bring them together in one comprehensive national federation fajled. It was not until President Taft | and Secretary Nagel of the Department of Commerce and Labor called a gen- eral conference of delegates represent- ing all types of business associations in the Spring of 1912 that really ef- fective steps were taken for the crea- tion of a representative national or- ganization of the business interests. Out of this conference came the appoint- WILLIAM WILE ment of a committee, which within a | | year formed the Chamber of Commerce |of the United States—now a vast | phalanx of more than 1,600 organiza- ness firms and individuals. * ok x % ‘William Jennings Bryan lived to see any number of his so-called ‘“isms” | translated into the law of the land— | among them, prohibition, woman suf- | frege, primary elections, popular choice | of United States Senators et al. Now | comes a Bryanite, and deposes to this | observer that President Hoover has | stolen a leaf out of the late “Peerless On political nole-book. *“Some 20 | years ago,” this informant states, “when Bryan was advocating the guaranteeing of bank deposits, publicity for campaign funds and the pubiication of an offi- | cial Federal gazette, he also advocated | publishing the names of sponsors and | indorsers of Federal judicial appointees, | It does not appear that he succeeded | In getting Mr. Wilson to do so, but Mr. | Houver has adopted the plan.” | * X % % Although Brig. Gen. Frank R. McCoy, U. S. A, seems to be on the inside track for the governor general of the Phuip‘pines‘ he is said to have a worthy rival in the person of Maj. Gen. Doug- las MacArthur, now commanding the Philippines department of the Army. MacArthur, who is the youngest officer of his rank in our military establish- ment, is credited with lofty ambitions. Close friends quote him as having his eye on nothing less than the White House—eight years hence. The way they dope it out is that Gen. MacAr- thur thinks he could mount into a cabinet portfollo—State or War—after a brilliant career in the governor gen- eral's palace at Manila and then “make” the presidency. Evidently he has adopted Wliliam Howard TA{! as bis model. Mrs. MacArthur is well re- membered as the belle of Washington four or five years ago when she was Mrs. Cromwell Brooks. * X ox X Midspring visitors to the White House offices from now on will be par- doned if they think it's a branch of the Navy, for the police sergeants on duty there have just been put in new uniforms. The main cl is the roll-down collar, double-breasted tunie, which takes the place of the old-type coat buttoned tight around the neck. Sergt. Clarence Dalrymple, with six service stripes representing 30 years of duty at the White House, and Sergt. Ernest Seaman, with stripes betoken- | ing & quarter of a century of service, | can now easily be mistaken for admi- | rals. It's these obliging and tactful bluecoats whom the Nation's hand- shakers must pass before gaining the presidential presence. Probably several million of them have done so in the course of time. (Copyright, 1929.) B ) Daylight Saving Held Best for Majority From the Newark Evening News. Again great numbers of people in this country go on daylight-saving time by putting the clock ahead one hour. F.rst made a national war regulation in 1918, after peace came it was con- tinued in many sections of the land by State laws or local ordinances, until | today something like 25,000,000 of the country’s population accept it as a reg- ular er visitor. Hereabouts it will continue until 2 a.m., September 29. There are many persons, especiall the icultural counties, who o) daylight saving and whose continuous despite repea setbacks. They have valid reasons, too. But the majority of city and suburban residents for longer enjoyment of the evening hours. Transportation companies have i solved the problem in various ways, none difficult in practice. Mothers of young children compiain it is hard to get the youngsters to bed on Winter schedule, but Summer has followed Summer with- out serious results. As an astronomical problem it is no more arbitrary in solut'on than the standerd times for the four main subdi- visions of the United States, accepted without question for many mn. On the whole, daylight sa proved good of the itself to be for the,gteatest greatest number. - thing so funny about it, but it must a reader fells about it, no doubt some | Since the true enjoyment of a book, ! there can be litile doubt that he who | beth from the time-tried and the new, | tion members and nearly 900,000 busi- | favor it for the opportunity it affords | Oh, NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M | VOLTAIRE: Genlus of Mockery. Vie- tor Thaddeus. Brentano's, Why “Voltaire”—he, dead and gone a hundred years plus half another hun- ared? ‘The past is, in effect, negligible. Man is & dull pupil. The present, %00, is but 2 mammoth springboard for hu- manity’'s eager leap off into the bright romises of the nearing years The uture is all that counts—even though it, also, be forever rolling backward to add to innumerable futile pasts. There- fore, why “Voltaire?" The other day some one said, “Many never do die because, forsooth, they have néver been born”—nor truly born. That same one might have gone on to sy, as no doubt he did, that at some rare now or then a man appears who lives forever by virtue of his identity with each succeeding present, tushing onward to meet fruition in the beckonings of the future. And, so, Voltaire—continuously co- temporaneous, arch rebel against tyr- anny, fleming advocate of liberty in individual life and individual thought. In his own bodily day it was the tyranny of ‘king and church against which he fought. that debased the muititude for the exaltation of temporal monarch and spiritual overlord that he decried and defied. In his last days, Voltaire, the old man, looked with joy upon our own rebellfon, took pride in our own Revolu- tion. Could his sight have reached a little farther, as maybe it did, he would have seen the French Revolution itself sweeping forward to prove his own lessens in liberty and cquality. You have read Voltaire, of course. Yeu have read of his dramas and poetry. his philosophical works, his polit- ical theories, his outlook upon the science which for him was embodied in the doctrine of Newton. Maybe you have read, too, some of his hack verse, eulogies _fronted upon the vanity of kings. For, this Voltaire, thinking well of his own head ¢nd desiring to xeep it In touch with his own body, developed a flare for sycophancy. Meet Voltaire again. Here he is, as much & part of our own present as we ourselves are. Meet Voltaire, promoter, pressing the righteousness of equality as against the evils of oppression, advocat. ing the claims of free thought and free speech by every art and wile of which he is so clearly a master. Meet this modern advertiser, pushing himself into the glare of publicity through a lsugh- ing scorn of the great ones of the earth. Now he goes to prison, twice in the Bastille—sounds like today, doesn't it! More than once banished because he could not be suppressed. Adroit, subtle, laughing, sneering, as he forever pressed the claims of progress, insisted in a lll'{el‘ freedom for thought. A money- maker, too. Knew about financial projects, dipped into these, familiar with the mystery of stocks and bonds or their equivalent in his day—knew these like Wall Street itself. Finally, a rich man. Yet, in the main, he gave himself to hatred of war, to condem- nation of war-makers, to oppression, fronting steadily upon peace, equality, happiness. t is in the French mood that Mr, Thaddeus offers “Voltaire,” the man, the political agitator, the philosopher, the dramatist, the poet. Clarity of thought, the rule of logic and fact, dominate the writer. 'legla is coupled with an equal clarity of expression. A dramatic imagination is at work here and an understanding of the human. These gifts and powers are centered upon the great equalitarian of the eighteenth century. They serve to de- liver to us a personal adventure with this brilllant, puzzling, masterful and fascinating figure as it moves out of the past to take its place in our own immediate concerns, to walk beside us in the manifold affairs of the present and of the approaching future. A work of great illumination in its dramatic projection of the living Voltaire. * ok ok % Modern Library. You have read “Madame Bovary,” | generally callod Flaubert's masterpiece. Now read “Salammbo,” by the other Flaubert. For there were two of him, without question. One an austere | realist. ‘The other, a flaming romanti- cist. firdt, engaged heart and soul with Emma Bovary, wife of a country doctor. The second, faring out into barbaric warfare at the behest of heathen gods. These two novels rep- iresent the twofold capacity of this great writer. In the one a small coun- tryside of Normandy engages to the limit his ers of observation, of analysis, of interpretation and portrayal. Having exhausted these in their effect upon the life of Emma Bovary, he, still not satisfied, opens up the young woman herself for an examination of the sources of her small secret satisfactions, for a prying into the imaginary life invented by her to round out something like a bearable existence in the dull round of her days. But—you have read the story. You know the way of this austere and insatiable prober of the human heart, conscientious in the use of his own words as he is relentless also with the inner workings of the sub- Ject in hand. We are told that Flaubert, save for one small adventure in travel, never did leave his native France. And what that journey into the East did to him you may find out, in part, by way of “Salammbo” and the other novels of its kind that were inspired by such an outfaring. Here is a gorgeous pageantry of bar- cite rulers, conveniently, to fall upon one another for the reprisals of wider dominion and greater power. Here is the story of Carthage, at a moment of its long endeavor to rise to suprem- acy, not only in Africa, but on the northern shores of the Mediterranean as well. You recall the school lesson, running to the effect that the elder Cato ended every speech that he made in the Roman Senate with “Carthage must be destroyed!" Well, it was ae- stroyed finally, as you know. This novel sets to amazing drama one of the phases of that progression of Carthage a slim thread of story for the tremen- dous spectacle that he invents. Nothing more than desecration of the temple of Tanit by the seizure of the sacred veil of supernal powers that hid the great deity from mortal sight. This uuns: as the foundation of the amazing matter. Now the veil had been stolen by a mere mortal, by a barbarian at that. He, Matho, in a wild love fon for Salamm- bo, the daughter of Hamilcar, mighty Carthaginian general, had stolen the veil and carried it to the ber of Salammbo. sncflle,e, unspeakable! It is around this rape of the veil, around the love of Matho and Salammbo, that the regular tide of war rises to heights | hitherto unimagined, hitherto uncon- ceived. This is not the love story of Salammbo and Matho. As such it would be inconclusive, though both of these die, as was true love in the hands of the poet and story teller. Rather is this a vast pageant of ancient, barbaric war. Here is a huge panorama whose marvel is that such immensity of movement, such strangeness of method, such ponderous technic, such arms and such bewildering triumphs and defeats, could in the hands of this great novelist become the distinguishable and even orderly tactics of battle, and the strategy of cam . he brutality of the event! ese pages are gory with frightful revenges u?on the conquered. Even the animals of warfare, the great elephants, the horses, were mutilated beyond belief for their partakings in the combat. The whole is a stupendous picture of the cruelties of another day. We are told that Flaubert was inexo- rable with himself as an artist. That he wrought in sweat and blood, first for his vision and then for the words to objectify that vision to the the mind of the reader. In of m'“t'"' Flaubert an o the novelist'’s novelist, one for story writer to study in zealous ardor for the compiete | SALAMMBO. Gustave Flaubert. The | baric warfare, wherein heathen gods in- | toward extermination. Flaubert chooses | the former custom of | ta: BY FREDERI ‘What do you need to know? Is there some point about your business or per- sonal life that puzzles you? Is there something you want to know without delay? Submit your question to Fred- ington Information Bureau. He is em- ployed to help you. Address your in- quiry to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C., and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Q. Does Vice President.Curtis’ broth- er-in-law, Mr. Gann, hold a political position?—K. H. McG. A. Mr. Gann is _engaged in private practice of law. He was attorney for the Interstate Commerce Commission from 1912 to 1914, and special assistant to the Attorney General in handling anti-trust affairs from 1914 to 1921. Q. How old is Nancy Carroll and how long has she been playing in moving | pictures>—R. G. T. | | tures since 1927. ~Her real name fis Nancy Lahiff, and she is married to Jack Kirkland. . Q. What is the last series of $1 bills that vgll be made in the large size?— 1t was a Joclal order | N, A A. Bills of the series of 1923 are the last of the large bills to be issued fore the new serles of small bills, which will be the series of 1928. Q. What do the various numbers of whistles of a locomotive mean?—R, T. A. One ort whistle means apply the brak one long, station whistle: be- to hand or lantern signal from one of two long and two short for road crossing: one long and three short mean send out the flagman: four long mean flagman returns from weost or north; five long, flagman returns from east or south; three long, train parted; three short mean to back; a series of short mean cattle on the track. Q. Where is the official starting point of the Lee Highway?—B. E. A. The Lee Highway has its official starting point at the zero milestone gutlbo!ctha White House in Washing- Q. When was the Prayer Book used for the first time in America?—C. A. M. A. The Right Rev. and the Right Hon. the Lord Bishop of London, in his book, ‘World Tour,” the Prayer Bool who officiated was Rev. Prancis Fletch- er, chaplain to Sir Prancis Drake. In San Francisco a huge Ionic cross has been erected in memory of the event. Q. What percentage of the paper made in this country is made from wood Xul;fl—fl. W. McC. A. Approximately 85 per cent of the paper manufactured in the United States is made from wood. is remembered for his injustice to poor?—H. G. A. One of the most notorious of cor- rupt and inhuman judges, who did oppress the poor, was Judge Jefrys of the seventeenth centyry in England. Q. What are the es of the stars in the Big Dipper?>—F. J. G. A. The names of the seven stars in the Big Dipper are Alkaid, Mzar, ADl\:gll:L Megrez, Phegda, Merak and c. Q. Why is it that chopped apples covered with mayonnaise dressing will not turn black?—W. T: A. The oil in the mayonnaise forms & coating on the pieces of apple that excludes the air. Oxygen in contact with apples produces a chemical effect that turns the apples brown or black. Q. Is the noun “whereabouts” singu- {lar or plural>—L. F. | A. It is singula: Q. When was the manufacture of | cigarettes begun?—B. B. . | A. The manufacture of this prod- uct began about 1864, in which year 19,770,000 cigarettes were mdde in the United States. Apparently they did cigarettes manufactured was only 1,750,- 1 000, but since that time the annual out- put has rapidly increased until now the total num of cigarettes made is about 80,000,000,000 annually. Q. What is a parabellum as applied to firearms?—E. M. g A. A parabellum pistol is a self-load- ing magazine pistol carrying eight car- tridges in the removable magazine in the eric J. Haskin, direcior of our Wash- A. She was born in New York City, | November 9, 1906, and has bsen in pic- | two short whistles are given in response | loliday Recollections of a | " says that the first time | k was used in America | { was on June 24, 1579. The clergyman | Q. Who was the English judge -g: | ! not take well, for in 1869 the number of | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS C J. HASKIN. butt. When discharged. it automatically ejects the empty cartridge case and 1 | loads. It is also called a “Luger pistol. | Q What is the other name for the | paim of the hand?—N. E. §. ATt s called the “thenar.” Q. Why does Venice have streets of water?>—T. T. A. Venice is bullt upon islands which served as refuge for inhabitants of neighboring cities during attacks by barbarians. Its strategic advantage was s0 great that many fugitives remained and the lagoons which separated the islands were the natural streets. These islands were formed from the silt and debris brought down by rivers and the soil is an oozy mud that makes building difficult. Roadbeds would be extremely difficult to make, while canals are ob- viously easy to construct and maintain. | Q. How does the lightning bug give | light?—J. B. 'A. Fireflies produce a bright, soft, in- | termittent light, without sensible heat, from an or; in the lower part of the | abdomen. This organ appears to be a specialized part of the fai body and is supplied with nerves and abundant trachea. The light is supposed by some to be caused by oxidation of a substance created by the cells. Q. Where were President Hoover's sons born?—G. A. P. A. Both of President Hoover's sons were born in London, England. Q. What is humanism?—J. C. M. A. “Humanism” was the name glven | to that phase of the Renaissance in | Italy which consisted in a renewed | study of the so-called ‘humanities”— | the Latin and Greek classics. The word | 1s often used for the theory of education wh.ch claims that a siudy of the classics |18 the best means for a well rounded and broad culiure. It often takes the form of a protest against the scrappiness of a tramning based upon a too exclusive devotion to natural science. The term ‘humanism” was applied more recently to the Oxford movement which is based on the theory that man is the measure of all things. Q. Who presided when Aaron Burr, at one time Vice President of the United States, was tried for treason?—@. C. A. John Marshall presided at the trial. The trial ended abruptly as the Chief Justice declared that an overt act of treason must be first proved and then Burr connected with it. The Gov- ernment was not even able to convict Burr of a misdemeanor. Q. Does Russia still have the Julian or old style calendar in reckoning time?—B. L. 8. A. Until 10 years ago Russia was one | of the few remaining countries that still adhered to the Julian calendar, which now differs from the Gregorian calendar by 13 days. In May, 1019, the Bolshevik government abandoned the old system of chronoigy. The Gre- ax:;hn calendar is now used to reckon e. Q. Please tell me the meaning of the word “Orkus.”—E. J. A. The word “Orkus,” also frequently spelled “Orcus,” is the Latin name for “Hades.” Et; ically, the original word for “Hades” means “unseen.” Q. How are the bells on bell buoys rung?—A. A. A. Bell buoys are principally of two types—those in which the bell is struck | continuously by clappers set in motion by the swaying of the buoy due to the action of the elements and those in | which the beM is struck by a clapper through the agency of a spring set in tension by the rise and fall of the buoy on the waves. There is another type, not largely in use, in which the bell is | struck continuously. by a tapper set in motion by compressed gases. ' Q. To what does the following quota- tion refer: “An immortal monument raised by genius to valor”?—C. H. A. The reference is to Robert Southey’s “Life of Nelson,” which is often spoken of as the most perfect short biography in the English language. Q. How many billion-dollar corpora- ;.Iloni are there in the United States?— . A. L. A. At present there are the follow- ing: United States Steel Corporation, American Telephone & Telegraph Co., General Electric Co., General Motors, International Nickel, Standard Oil of New Jersey, Metropolitan Life, Equitable Life, Consolidated Gas, Trans-America Corporation, National City Bank, Chase National Bank and Guaranty Trust Co. (merged). Abolition of the British tax on tea causes Americans to flutter the pages of history with a reminiscent smile, al- though at the same time the striking of this item from the government's bud- get is appreciated as aneastute and | timely political stroke in the midst of a | campaign. v | “The British ministry announces the | abolition of the tax on tea just 156 | years too late,” remarks the San Fran- cisco Chronicle. “Had the action been | taken before December 16, 1773, there (mever would have been a Boston tea party, and think what a difference !that might have made in history!"” “The destinies of the British people seem to revolve more or less around the tax on tea,” says the Yakima Repub- lic. “A little difference over that ques- tion during the reign of George III led to consequences seemingly not of major importance at the time, but of great magnitude in the course of world events later. Had that tea tax not been im- posed this entire country might well have remained under the Brtish crown to this dey and we might be singing ‘God Save the King' instead of ‘The Star Spangled Banne: “But that’s all over now,” the Co- lumbus (Ohio) Dispatch observes, “and these united Colonies, who settled the tea tax question in their own way some 150-odd years ago, congratulate their cousins across the sea on their victory e, i, e ) , &8 e Transcript points out: “England—so vherk-muc Yankee patriot m:y re- mark—] now progressed as far as the year 1773. She abolishes the tea tax 156 vears after Boston abolished it.” Referring to the fact that Winston Churchill, chancellor of the exc] er, who made the announcement, is “half American,” the New York Even! World says: “To Americans the mos interesting feature of the repeal of the xonmllthltltllbfwg:‘llm! by a representative of the nation which furnished the men, in Indian disguise, who once dumped tea in Boston Harbor because of a tea tax. It is an American gesture.” * % k¥ ‘The incident ca the New York Evening Post to in some his- torical citations: “U: as & beverage by the Chinese since the sixth century, known to the Portuguese as early as the sixteenth, introduced to Eus by the Dutch in the early seventeen it spirit of his artistry and for its tools as well. That may be true. It looks true. Yet, the mere reader, the lover of great literature, will read this man in joy for the realism that he secures for even the tions. Ant the most exotic and romanti Flaubert novels. Yet it is as vivid effect as are the other of novels, those vary” is the Abolition of Tea Tax by Britain Rouses Memories of U. S. Past | found its 'l&w England about 1650. Taxation followed swiftly upon tea’s first arrival, although for along time it Eagle finds it a “curious reflection that Britain herself has meekly borne such taxation and has not had free tea for 300 years.” As the Atlanta Journal says now: “Staid Britishers are aghast! They cannot re- member, they cannot find in history any time when tea was not taxed. It has always been, in the eyes of the government financiers, an ideal tax, for it 1s clear, totally unincumbered profit.” The Jackson Citizen Patriot notes in this connection that “the Liberals and Laborites are ant that a tax with such a historical ground should be eliminated,” and the Jersey City Jour- nal suggests that “tea tax in England today may become as hot a subject of debate as it was with the colonists be- fore the Revolution.” The Savannah Morning News asks, “Won't it be some- thing amusing if the lifting of the tea tax wins for Churchill's party, just as that same sort of tax helped to stir up the patriotism of Americans in pre- Revolutionary days. “A coffee-drinking Nation like ours cannot understand what that (the | cheapening of the price of tea) mea: {ina mn:ry":here ttfi"fnk‘n the din- ing room in the morning and the office in the afternoon,” says the New York Sun, while the Utica Observer-Dispatch rot.ntn out that “no single item of re- llef in the cost of living could affect more individuals in that country.” The Ottawa Journal declares that “tea is as much a part of England es cricket, or rugby, or well kept hedges. The miner and the cotton worker drink as much tea as the Tory squire, but while the abolition of the duties may not mean much in the country house,” the Cana- dian paper adds, “It means'a great deal in th@; miner's cottage, and it is in the miner's cottage that Mr. Baldwin must get votes.” * % ko On the question of the a .. mflflol . vote-getting government’s * an- nouncement, the Kalamazoo G‘uetu jéction into cam palgn shows that it promises to be a mainstay in the race,” says the Hart- ford Daily Times, as it notes that the British voters will have to choose be- T tea for all o for many unempl i Springfield "Daily zueg'llun calls the abolition of the tax “the ardent flirtation with the ‘flapper vote’ over ths tea cups.” The Cincinnati Star eredits the ing “shrewd