Evening Star Newspaper, May 6, 1929, Page 8

8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY...........May 6, 1920 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor| The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: !1th St. and Pennssivania Are. . Rate by Carrier Within the City. . 43¢ per month 60c per month 65c per month ar > 5c per copy Coliection made at {he end of each month. Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone Main 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Marviand and Virginia. Sunday....1 yr. fpudet {1 1t All Other States and $4.00; Canada. | Tmo 5100 | s | 50¢ 1 mo. . 1 mo., The Coroner’s Jury. criticism of the coroner's iticism of an institution and a system that changed conditions may | have rendered archaic. Such criticism 1s nothing new and reflects in no way personalities involved. The jury is only another one of legal legacies inherited from old England, and it is only natural that thought should be directed in this twentieth century toward radically re- vising or abolishing a system that orig- inated befere the close of the first. The coroner’s first job was to crown the King. and the story of his gradual met- amorphosis into the official that he is todar and how he attached a jury in the process of his transformation would fill a book about nineteen hundred years long. The same criticism that is generally directed against the jury system as a whole may be applied to the coroner's Jury. But there are important differ- ences. The coroner’s jury officiates in a mere court of record. Its actions are in no wise binding, for or against the person brought before it. If the cor- oner’s jury errs on the side of leniency, the authorities are not estopped by its action in procceding to correct the er- ror. If it errs the other way, exonera- tion rests in the hands of the grand Jury or the courts. If its action in hold- ing a person attaches a certain unde- served stigma, that must be blamed on unfortunate and unusual circumstances rather than upon the coroner’s jury. Here in Washington there are well founded criticisms which should receive the attention they deserve. Little or no importance is attached to a summons for duty on & coroner’s jury, with the result that the coroner is sometimes put to 1t to secure the requisite number of jurors. This may bring into service members of a coterie of available men who are always willing to earn a few dollars by jury service, such a condition being reminiscent of the days when all the juries in the courts in the District were so filled. This could be rectified by enforcing duty on a coroner’s jury from & regularly prepared panel, and if the coroner’s jury is still considered a nec- essary institution no complaints against the inconvenience of such service would be justified. Another matter deserving attention is the presence of one of the assistant district attorneys at a cor- oner’s inquest. This officer now attends inquests and takes part in the proceed- ings, but only through the sufferance and upon the invitation of the coroner. As a matter of law he should be re- quired to attend. He would undoubtedly receive helpful information regarding a case he later might present to the grand jury, while his questioning of wit- nesses might produce evidence of value to himself and to the coroner’s jury. There are few functions performed by & coroner's jury that could not as well be performed by some other agency. Its ancient forte of investigating fires of suspected incendiary origin or examin- ing into the causes of accidents might better be performed by the district at- torney, with the aid of technical, skilled and official advisers. Its recommenda- tions, in unusual circumstances, could as well emanate from other sources. The death.af a prisoner no longer calls for a coroner's inquest, if it is certified by a physiclan or the coroner as being' due to natural causes, while so much responsibility is already reposed in the coroner himself that it is difficult to be- lieve & coroner’s jury treats other than as a matter of course the cases that are presented. But as for throwing out and alto- gether dispensing with this ancient and honorable relic of a noble past—that is another question! speaker before the American Council of Education, caused consternation in the gathering by warning that such centralization of authority in the Fed- | eral department, with large funds, would be a menace to the initiative and salf-development of local communities on whom the future of the country de- pends. “The place of the National Gov- ernment,” Secretary Wilbur said, “is not that of supplying funds in large amounts for carrying on the adminis- trative functions of education in the communities, but to develop methods, ideals and procedures and to present them to be taken on their merit.” The object of those who seek the greatest possible advantages for all from education can be accomplished without disturbing the initiative and re- sponsibility of local and State units of _Government, Secretary Wilbur declared. ‘This declaration seems to have dis- posed effectively, so far as the present administration is concerned, of a diffi- cult problem in the reorganization pro- gram. B Extraterritoriality in China. Dr. Chao-Chu Wu, Nationalist China's first fully accredited Minister to the | United States, has submitted his maiden | note to the State'Department in trans- mittal of his government’s request for abolition of American extraterritorial rights in China. Declaring extraterri- toriality “a legacy of the old regime,” China asks for removal of these ‘“re-| strictions on her jurisdictional sov- ereignty at the earllest possible date.” The concession is sought on the| ground that “with the unification of | China and the establishment upon a firm foundation of the National gov- ernment a new era has been happily inaugurated” between that countiy and the United States. In particular token thereof the Chinese note cites the con- clusion of the recent Sino-American tariff treaty—a transaction which sig- nalized our acceptance of the “new era” and our belief that it is grounced on rock, not sand. No matter what the nature of Secre- tary Stimson's formal reply to China’s request may be, the government and people of the Nationalist republic know they are assured of genuine American sympathy and disinterested good will. But our disinterestedness does not go the length of readiness to surrender safeguards heretofore found indispen- sable to the security of American citi- zens in China, both as to their persons and their property. ‘The demand for abrogation of extra- territorial treaties is almost as old as the treaties themselves. It was one of the stirring . battle-cries of the Nationalist movement as it swept onward to irre- sistible victory at Peking last Summer. The United States as long ago as the Washington Conference of 1922 heartily acquiesced in China's desire for “juris- dictional” liberty. The conference ap- pointed a commission to investigate the progress of Chinese jurisprudence and to determine if, when and how China’s aspiration for abolition of extraterri- toriality might be realized. The com- mission, on which a distinguished American jurist sat, probed the situa- tion on the spot laboriously and pa- tiently, but ended its deliberations with- out recommendations. It is that inci- dent, thus left temporarily closed, which Nationalist China would formally and finally reopen. It will be for the United States and other powers now to convince them- selves that China can be accommo- dated without jeopardy to their inter- ests. Dr. Wang, the Nanking foreign minister, stresses “the assimilation of western legal conceptions by Chinese Jurists” and the “incorporation of west- ern legal principles in Chinese jurispru- dence” as additional reasons for lib- erating his country from the shackles of foreign courts within its own domain. We are asked to “rest assured that the legitimate rights and interests of Amer- ican citizens will not be unfavorably af- fected in the least” if China is permit- ted henceforward to be master in her own legal house. The world, including ourselves, will accept these pledges as strong argu- ments in support of China’s contentions, but the powers are bound to explore carefully, on their own account, whether extraterritoriality can actually be sur- rendered with that complete equanimity which Dr. Wang'’s note suggests. If the present’ facts and future outlook do Jjustify the granting of China’s request, there will nowhere be more satisfaction than in the United States, whose good wishes for the tranquillity, happiness and prosperity of China are not alloyed by a single selfish desire of our own. ——— ‘There is no longer any restricted area to be referred to as a “cyclone belt.” ‘Weather experts are compelled to admit that the widely distributed intensive storms are among the things that no- body can explain. { e , 1t is frankly admitted by Senator ! ‘Copeland that he is not precisely ap- proving of some of the prescriptions for 4¢farm relief. But he will take his polit- ical medicine. — o A Department of Education? ‘With President Hoover definitely com- mitted to reorganization of the admin- istrative branch of the Government, and with his selection of former Repre- sentative Newton of Minnesota as his personal representative to make an in- tensive study of the reorganization needs of the departments—there is very pro- nounced interest in the statement by Secretery Ray Lyman Wilbur that “a Department of Education similar to the other departments of the Government 1s not required.” Secretary Wilbur, “next friend” to the President, who is administratively in charge of the Federal Bureau of Edu- cation, himself a veteran educator of international recognition, evidently speaks for the administration in settling one of the moot questions that have dis- turbed the reorganization program in the past and generally “stirred up” the country. The fight for a Department of Edu- cation headed by a cabinet officer dates back to the ogganization of the National Education Association in 1857, and it is claimed that the American Council of ‘Education, representing American col- leges and universities, has been support- 1ing the proposed legislation. Vice Presi- dent Curtis during his services in the Senate was an outstanding, champlon A of the measure. - The Tariff Bill. A tariff bill which has been in the making for four months is to be intro- duced in the House within a day or two. The ways and means committee has held hearings, lasting for months, and for weeks it has struggled in executive session to perfect a bill which will meet the ideas of President Hoover for a limited revision of the existing law and at the same time satisfy the farmers, the manufacturers and the importers. Truly a herculean task. Nor is it likely that all of these groups will be pleased with the result. ‘The introduction of the bill will be a signal for the opening of a political bat- tle whose consequences may be far- reaching. There will be rifts among the Republicans themselves, and the Demo- crats may be expected to lead an attack on the measure all their own. However, 1t will be a difficult task for the Demo- cratic leadership to keep the party in line, either in the House or the Senate, when it comes to voting on some of the schedules. The tremendous increase of industry in the South and the demand of the Southern people for tariff pro- tection when it comes to their own products is scarcely less than the de- mand from New England and Penn- sylvania. In the past Democratic mem- bers of the Senate and House have con- tented themselves with voting for tariff increases—or for the tariff schedules— as written by their Republican op- ponents on products dear to the hearts and ciose to the pocketbooks of their constituents, and when the final vote on the passage of the bill was taken | Woodrow Wilson in the White House. THE EVENING in opposition. It may be the same tac- i tics will be followed again with this bill. Many of the Democrats, however, during the last presidential campaign sought to impress the country with the idea that business interests had nothing to fear from Democratic tinkering with the tariff. Tne Democrats doubtless are thinking of the future. There is no doubt in the minds of many observers that the fear of Democratic reduction of the tariff affected in no small degree the outcome of the election in many of the industrial States—particularly in New York, the home State of Al Smith, the Democratic nominee for President. ‘The last tarifT bill to be put through Congress was the Fordney-McCumber act—the present law. It followed imme- diately upon the opening of the Hard- ing administration. It brought bitter- ness in its trail, as other tariff bills have done, and to it may be attributed, in part, the slump of the Republicans in the 1922 election. The Payne-Aldrich tariff law, which was the last tariff law put through by the Republicans before the Fordney-McCumber, was responsible in no small measure for the split in the Republican party in 1912, which placed The Democrats tackled the issue in 1913, and the Underwood-Simmons law was written, The World War, beginning in 1914, saved the Democrats from the results of criticism of that act, making this country a great market for the rest | of the world and placing industry and agriculture in a position to reap great profits. President Hoover has taken a firm stand against a great upward revision { of the present tariff. He believes that only those rates should be increased where conditions have arisen to curtail employment and production in this country. But this does not please many | of the manufacturers, and tremendous | pressure already is being exerted on the legislators. The farmers must be taken care of, in view of the promises of the campaign, and rates on their products are to be increased materially. But even in the case of the agricultural schedule disappointment may follow in its wake. ‘The situation is filled with political dynamite. However, the administration may take comfort from the fact that if the prosperity of the country continues under the new tariff act it will doubt- less be approved at the polls in 1932. The congressional elections in 1930, however, will provide the first test. Members of the House and Senate are anxious to have the tariff bill out of the way as early as possible on account of this struggle next year. ———— Rum raiders suffer some loss of ex- pensive time owing to the fact that there is no protection from the anony- mous letter writer, who is usually irre- sponsible. e Mexican rebels are reported to have brought three quarters of a million dol- lars to the U. S. A. in a satchel. The “little black bag” continues to be a feature of international finance. —————— An expert in money matters, Secre- tary Mellon finds himself antagonized as an adviser on national finances, largely because he has been a successful man, e . A bargain rush in a New York suburb resulted in injury to many persons. The ambulance is assuming as much im- portance as the delivery wagon. Cigarette smoking was once consid- ered reprehensible. It is now regarded as & minor evil as compared with the smoke screen device, ————. Hopes are held out to the farmer, in connection with debenture, that he will be enabled to raise a good crop of ne- gotiable paper. o The sale of the presidential yacht Mayflower puts up a prize worthy the purse of any affluent souvenir collector. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. One of the most famous cases of “the blues” in literary history was that of Dr. Samuel Johnson, who is mostly known to the world today because a man by the name of James Boswell wrote his “Life.” In Johnson's time what is popularly known today as “the blues” was called hypochondria, or melancholia. When he was home at Lichfield one Summer from Oxford College, he found himself overwhelmed with perpetual irritation, fretfulness and impatience, “with a dejection, gloom and despair, which made existence misery,” as the faithful Boswell tells us. From this malady he never afterward fully recovered, “and all his labors and all his enjoyments were but temporary interruptions of its | baleful influence.” Boswell continues: “How wonderful, how unsearchable are the ways of God! Johnson, who was blest with all the powers of genius and understanding in a degree far above the ordinary state of human nature, was at the same time visited with a disorder so afflictive, that they who know it by dire experience will not envy his exalted endowments. That it was, in some degree, occasioned by a defect in his nervous system, that inexplicable part of our frame, appears highly probable.” Johnson tried “blues,” as many to cope with his s another man has done, by putting 1t in writing. Not in English, however, but in Latin, the learned’ language. He presented this treatise to his physician, Dr. Swinfen, who was so struck by Johnson's acute understanding of his own case that he showed it to several people. When Johnson found this out, naturally enough he got sore, as we say today. Boswell tells us: “He indeed had good reason to be offended: for though | Dr. Swinfen’s motive was good. he in- considerately betrayed a matter decply interesting and of great delicacy which had been entrusted to him in confi- dence, and exposed a complaint of his voung friend and patient, which in the superficial opinion of the generality of mankind s attended with contempt and disgrace.” Although medical science has done much toward clearing up the mystery of this disease, with discoveries as to the real functions of the so-called glands of internal secretion, to the present generality of men it remains almost as mysterious as to those of the eighteenth century. The sad part of it is that even today most_people profess to look upon those so afflicted with contempt and ridicule. The average man knows little if an thing about disease and cares less When he becomes ill he calls a doctor and expects that functionary “to do the rest.” With most people sickness means visible sickness. If the patient has a pale face or a very red face they are satisfied that he is jll. They can see it!. If he vomits before them they go away declaring to all and sundry that “Tom Jones is a very sick man.” But let the worthy Tom unfortu- nately contract some sort of malady with no visible symptoms he will shortly find himself facing the sneers of the unsympathetic. Samuel Johnson was a large fellow with a rather peculiar appearance. Now, if there is any one thing which the world resents, it is a_peculiar, a dif- ferent appearance. No doubt there are many men who secretly wonder in their heart of hearts how they “get by” so well when they know all the time that they possess no tAlent. We will tell them: They escape the malice and down-pulling of their comrades because they are so like the average that no one finds anything in them to resent. Resentment plays a much larger part in human affairs than many imagine. The unfortunate person who by some peculiar mannerism of speech, action or appearance causes resentment has a much more difficult row to hoe in this world than he whose collar and {:c quite naturally fall into the correct nes. ‘Then, too, no doubt the question of insanity occuples a larger part in the thoughts of the people than they are willing to admit. They fear it for themselves, and are always looking for its appearance in others. " The lower in the scale of society, the more vulgar the WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC When President Hoover last week ac- cepted the resignation of Eugene Meyer as farm loan commissioner, he said he “earnestly wished” that Meyer “could remain in public service.” According R —— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, The Contemplative Mind. If information's what you need Jes’ come around some day An’ call on Uncle Jim an’ heed The things he has to say. Amid the worry an’ the fuss, With calm, unflinching eye, He sits down quiet to discuss ‘The wherefore an’ the why. It’s funny that a man so smart, An’ so obliging, too, Should not be called to take a part In work the world must do. T kind o’ wish he would begin ‘To move an’ make things fly, An’ not take so much interest in The wherefore an’ the why! An Unwieldy Wish. 1t what we're wishing could be done, And each held autocratic sway, ‘We should be bosses, every one, With no one willing to obey. Subjective. To the miser the moon is a coin of bright gold; ‘To the warrior a bullet it seems; To the lover. a lantern which Cupid ‘may hold To light up the pathway of dreams. To the sage 'tis a strangely mysterious realm, B Whose study his life may employ; To the sailor a guide as he stands at the helm; ‘To the infant a coveted toy. And the face that it frames every night smiles anew At the loves and the hatreds we find; Since impressions depend on a man's point of view, And likewise the state of his mind. Elasticity. Oh, sing not of her swanlike throat, Unless her feelings you would wreck; For, as & rule, the swan, you'll note, Appears to have a rubber neck! c——— Poetic Justice. From the Loulsville Courler-Journal. A Chicago lawyer was left the bulk of the estate of a millionaire client. Be- fore he is through with the fight to re- taln it, he probably will wish he had been an attorney in the case. o Pity the Farmer. Prom the Atlanta Constitution. to talk current in quarters that some- times know in advance how the diplo- matic wind is going to blow, Mr. Meyer is slated for another sphere of official activity far removed from farm finance. ‘The ambassadorship to Germany is said to be the post he may next adorn, If President Hoover really has such an appointment in mind, it would be carry- ing out his well known plan to man as many American embassies and legations with businessmen-diplomats as possible. Meyer would be an ideal representative at Berlin, from that point of view. Our relations with Germany nowadays are financial in the highest degree. She is being accommodated in the American money market to the tune of about half a billion dollars a year. Under the new reparations plan, whatever it turns out to be, the United States is bound to bulk bigger than ever in Germany's calculations. It would be difficult to imagine a more astute American watch on the Rhine than Eugene Meyer, * K ok X Republican Progressive North Dakota, which Hoover and Curtis carried in November by 25,000 majority, has just received notable recognition from ‘the White House. The President has ap- pointed Seth W. Richardson, United States district attorney for North Da- kota since 1923, an Assistant Attorney General of the United States. He suc- ceeds Bertice M. Parmenter of Okla- homa, at the Department of Justice. Mr. Richardson is a big, two-fisted lawyer, who was born in Towa, was graduated from the University of Wis- consin, and has been growing up with the Northwest since 1903. He's been fighting Uncle Sam’s battles in the Federal courts for a long time, havin functioned as special Governmen! counsel against the Standard Oil Co., the lignite coal operators and the grain- graders. He was ready for service over- seas, with captain’s rank, when the armistice came in 1918. Next to the law, Richardson calls golf and big-game hunting his hobbies. He has brought down everything on four feet in the wilds of Alaska and the Yukon. o0l ik Washington and other American friends learn with sorrow of the death of Sir Geoffrey Butler, M. P, who passed away in London the other day, the midst of a brilliant political Butler, though badly incapaci- tated physically, applied for war service and was_given a job at the British foreign office. In 1917, after our entry into the war, he was assigned to ac- company the Balfour Mission to the United States. For a long time after the mission left, Butler was in charge of the British ministry of information's American activities, with headquarters in Washington and New York. He had already many ties in the United States, having lectured for three years at the University of Pennsylvania and married a Philadelphian. Sir Geoffrey received a knighthood for his war services. Previous to entering the House of Commons, he was a professor at Cam- bridge University. Only 42 at his death, he was considered one of the coming men in British politcs. ¥ * It is evident that crops will be poor this season, for already we chronicle that the weather has beel hot, too av, Seczeiary Wibis @6 Srdclnal Jined 4p Sith e zest of tis Deocrale Lol 190 Bk A28 109 A3 L. o Another Washington landmark is to g0. The Butler House at New Jersey avenus aad B atiges. STAR. WASHINGTON, years making a cl 1 .ioraan i, i3k T ALY TN |individual; the more quickly he will be | attracted by peculiarities, and the surer |he will be to hurl the terrible word “crazy.” * Kok % Johnson had a habit of making pecul- | iar motions and starts. He was all the | time searching himself for symptoms of | illnesses, real or imaginary. And those | who did not like him took full advan- | tage of this in their unsympathetic way. | No doubt many a man without a tenth of his ability called him “crazy.” | The study of nervous maladies in re- | cent years has resulted in many book: |and scores of queer words, but one may wonder if any particular real progress has been made. It is interesting to know there are such things as “projections” and “fixa- tions” and ‘“ceremonials.” As words | they are good and intriguing ones. It |is interesting to know that a person |who must go back to try the locked | door to see if it is really jocked is suf: | fering from a_‘*ceremonial comple: The same applies to the person who | insists on stepping upon every iron | grating or watermain he encounters. | Yet when these small nervous disor- ders are given a new name, what par- | ticular good has been done the patient |in the renaming?> Can a search into |the things he fears prevent him from tepping_on iron after he gets the | abit? “We doubt it. Some years ago a disease name be- | came very fashionable. “Neurasthenia” was all the rage for a while, but today the word is in disuse because it only gave a new combination of syllables for |an old malady, more honestly called | simply nervous troubles. | The person who inherits or acquires some peculiarity of the nervous system (and we are sure such may be either inherited or acquired—a case of mi- graine is an example of the former, and any nervous habit, such as twiddling the thumbs, of the latter)—such as un- | fortunate person must be willing to be | misunderstood. Business men who get a “nervous breakdown” must expect the b lap them on the shoulder and c , you never looked If you can yeel, or faint, or throw a fit or something, most people will be- lieve you sick, but if your malady is| | 10 times worse but oniy one-tenth as | apparent, you will ever run the danger | of being misjudged. The saddest case is that of the | nervously afflicted person in a family | of healthy human beings. The poor held to be no patient is popularly patient at all. He could “throw it off” if he wanted to. Yes, that is the only | trouble with him, the rest of them say, | he doesn’'t want to! Nothing could be more cruel and untrue. He who wants to get rid of his woe more than any one else is the least able to help himself. It will do no good to tell him, “You must exert your will power.” Those who make such a remark to nervously il patients ought to be put in jail until the danger which they constitute is averted. ‘There has been no more bunk about anything than about “will power.” Emile Coue did a great deal of good in the world by diverting the attention for a while to the subject of imagination. - Will power is mostly a myth. We do what we want to do when we can, and that is about all there is to this legend of “power of will.” To tell a nervous person to stop being nervous fs like commanding a fisherman to catch a fish when there is not a single pisca- | torial specimen to be found. It just | can't be done. ‘To make fun of the small peculiari- ties of nervous persons is to show one's self cruel, unintelligent and essentially common and ill bred. As a matter of fact, it is only unsympathetic, unintelli- gent and i1l bred people who do. By their willingness to laugh at such harmless manifestations they show an innate streak of meanness in their natures. Men with a full appreciation of the part which nervous instability | has played in the history of human intelligence at all times have the fullest sympathy with those who suffer from nervous disorders. They profess not to see small variations from crass animal normality, and thereby display to the world their right to be called gentlemen. WILLIAM WILE be razed to provide a site for the ad- | dition to the House Office Building. It was erected by Gen. Benjamin F. Butler some 50 vears ago, when he was |a member of Congress. The story is | that the Navy Department had a ves- |sel at the Boston yard which it pur- | posed bringing to the Washington Navy | Yard and desired stone ballast. Butler, | who never overlooked an opportunity to turn a profitable deal, offered stone from the Cape Ann quarries, which he owned, on condition that the vessel's ballast be discharged at the foot of New Jersey avenue. This was done and he had the stone hauled to his lot across from the Capitol and erected the fa- mous house. Butler never lived in the building, but put up a smaller brick structure nearby on Delaware avenue, where he had his office and lived. He died there. The Butler house was rented by John P. Jones, millionaire mining Senator from Nevada. Chester A. Arthur, widower, lived there with Senator Jones while he was Vice Presi- dent. It was in this house that Arthur took the oath of office as President, fol- lowing Garfleld's death. * koK K Washington's diplomatic corps hears with liveliest interest that the memoirs of the late Myron T. Herrick, revered American Ambassador to France, are to be compiled and published. They will be sponsored by Col. T. Bentley Mott, United States military attache in Paris, who was selected by Herrick years ago to be his biographer. The book will be published simultaneously in France and in this country, To a conspicuous degree, it will be an autoblography. Many of ils pages were composed by Herrick himself for publication pur- poses. Hitherto unrevealed World War history, it is expected, will illuminate the book at numerous points. Herrick was handy with the drawing pencil and the biography will contain numerous sketches and illustrations of his own design, e Representative Ruth Bryan Owen, Democrat, of Florida {s being kept busy denying one of the best Bryan yarns ever spun. After her distinguished dad's second defeat for the presidency, Ruth —s0 the story goes—ran two blocks to catch a street car in Lincoln, and, when the conductor asked why she hadn't walted for the next one, replied, “Be- cause I wanted to show that one mem- ber of the Bryan family could run for something and get it.” Not long ago the gentlewoman from Miami had a call :‘;‘;m' a man who said, “I was on that * ok kK A Washington official was recently a week end guest at a house party in New York, which also included Col. Lindbergh.” They occupied @ suite of bedrooms which had a bath for the use of both. “Colonel,” said his fellow in- mate, “I think I'm entitled to confer another foreign order on you.” The | monarch of the air asked what it was. ;‘)IC;)mDumun of the Bath,” was the re- (Copyright, 1929.) R War Seems to Be That. From the Dayton Daily News. Mexican gambling joints are reported to be filled with soldiers looking for a little excitement. ——on—s. It Might Be Marked. From the Ann Arbor Daily News. A New Orleans man has spent five ard. Almost as Annual “Parents’ Day” } Observance Is Urged To the Editor of The Star: That Mother's day, observed each year | on the second Sunday of May, should bz changed to “Parents’ day” is sug- gested in an editorial in the current issue of Children, the parents’ magazine. The father's contribution to family | life has too often been considered mere- | ly a financial one. But with a better understanding of the importance of family relationships has come the real- ization that the father also exerts a | strong influence on the lives of his children. “Parents’ day” would foster in children a proper recognition and appreciation of the unselfish devotion | and self-sacrifice of both mother and | father and their joint share in home making and child training. i But even more important, “Paren day” would serve to emphasize the responsibilities of parenthood. { It is being increasingly realized that | parents cannot rely upon instinct and | love alone in bringing up their children. | Child rearing has become a science. Doctors in their practice, bacteriologists in their laboratories, phychologists in their probings, are all discovering things vitally important for parents to know and to practice. A number of our great universities have recently established | institutes of child development research. The important findings of these insti- tutions should have the widest dissemi- nation among parents everywhere. “Parents’ day” would serve not only as an occasion on which children would express filial love and respect, but also to emphasize the need for parental education. I have no quarrel with the fine senti- ment that has created Mother's day, but I feel that the significance of the day will be immeasurably greater if Mother's day becomes “Parents’ day"— its dual purpose, the honoring of their parents on the part of children and the dedication of fathers and mothers to the great ideal of creating through- out the country an enlightened parent- hood. Dr. S. Parkes Cadman, in a letter to| me, says: “I indorse this position which you take in reference to changing the name of ‘Mother's day' to ‘Parents'| day. I think the matter carrics its| credentials on its face, because the tit is more inclusive and more just in every | respect.” GEORGE J. HECHT, Chairman of the board of editors, Children, the parents’ magazine. r——— All-Night Parking Hi As Danger to Traffic To the Editor of The Star: In reference to permitting all-night parking of automobiles on our streets, permit me to submit, the streets are Government property and are for the specific purpose of traffic. When our cars are parked on both sides of a residential street, there is barely room for two cars to pass each other with- out the risk of damaging the parked cars. They obstruct the vision of driv- ers coming out of alleys. It is diffi- cult, if not impossible, for the Street Cleaning Department to clean the streets or collect the refuse at the curbs. These cars interfere with the Fire Department, causing them to_complete- 1y block the streets when a fire occurs, and interferes with the handling of the apparatus and hose. i Dghys\cinns on night calls have diffi- culty in finding house numbers, be- cause it is difficult to run the car, look for house numbers, keep an eye on traffic or parked cars. Frequently they cannot park their car anywhere near the house from which the sick call emanated. These lost moments are very precious and may mean life or death to a dear one. _ The abolition of all-night parking has got to come, and the condition of any residential street justifies the making of laws or the proper enforcement of ex- isting laws now. If pushcarts and fruit vendors are required to keep moving and not block traffic, the same action should be taken against automobile owners who park cars on the street all night. It is almost impossible to stop your car at the curb in front of your own home at night without parking double. | If any one should have the right to park his car, if he so desires, in front of his property, it should be the prop- erty owner—certainly not the renger or apartment house lessee. They pay no taxes on real estate, pay no assessments for street and sidewalk improvements, but it is this class of automobile own- ers who are the worst offenders of all- night parking. HENRY B. DAVIS. Immigration Quota Increase Opposed| To the Editor of The Star: In your editorial on national origins you bring out certain facts and reasons with reference to the controversy now | raging between the two factions of re- ! strictionists over national origins that | seem to me to be hurting the cause of | restriction . itself and affecting ad- versely, unfortunately, the restriction policy of our country inaugurated by the Johnson quota law of 1924. Personally I do not think any immi- gration quota ought to be increased. There are in the United States already over 14,000,000 foreign born and over 20,000,000 born of foreign parentage, or over one-third of our white population is “forelgn stock”—more than our forces of assimilation can comfortably Ameri- ctlmm: or our industries profitably em- oy. National origins would cut down total immigrations from Europe about 6 per cent, but it would also increase South- east European immigration about 25 per cent, almost doubling the Italian and | other Mediterranean guotas, which ex- plains wh the Order Sons of Italy and other hvpenated groups are writing and petitioning Congress for it. As to the logical fairness and equi- tableness of this particular method of restriction, it should be borne in mind that it is only applicable to 27, or one- third, of the countries of Europe, the other 40, or two-thirds, being given arbitrary ‘and discriminatory quotas of 100 each. It would seem that there is much in the contention of President Hoover's argument that national origins is un- workable and impractical, and in the statement of the American Federation of Labor that the national origins con- troversy is unsettling a settled situa- | tion and stirring up racial, religious and political animosities, and that well enough ought to be let alone. J. D. MASON. - Stephen Watts Kearny And Route to Pacific| To the Editor of Ths Star: In The Washington Star of April 14 | Paul V. Collins, in an article, “The Madonna of the Trails,” states that “the section of the Old Trail between | Santa Fe and the Pacifio Coast is known as the Kearny route because it | was first traversed by Gen. Dennis Kearny. Gen. Kearny's name was Stephen Watts Kearny. Dennis Kearny was no relation. Please correct this error and oblige his granddaughters. HARRIETTE KEARNY OWEN, MARY KEARNY BLOSS. Sy And the Fielders. From the Toledo Blade. ‘There have been whispered rumors that Rogers Hornsby 1is a disturbing ele- ment. He is, among pitchers of oppos- ing teams. D — His Job Will Grow. From the Grand Rapids Press. Slowly man’s inventiveness will knock everybody out of a job except the re- former. et Others’ Fingers Itch. From the Florence (Ala.) Herald. Anyway, the road huffl!.:an't be charged ! Baying an jtch for popularity. | admits of Mrs. Willebrandt's “plea to enforcement . s R D. C. MONDAY, MAY 6, 1929. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC Many readers send in questions | ned only with initials, asking that he answers appear in the newsp: The space is limited. and would accommodate a fraction of such re- quests. The answers published are ones that may interest many readers rather than the one who asks the ques- | tion only. All questions should be ac- companied by the writer's name and address and 2 cents in coin or stamps | for reply. Send your question to The | Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic_J. Haskin, director, Wash- ington, D. C. Q. How many families in the United States arc served on rural routes?— D. G. B. A. Figures as of October 1, 1927, in- dicate that 7,096,655 families in the United States are served on rural mail routes. Q. How far can a parachute jumper allow himself to fall before opening his | parachute?—L. N. A. This fact has never been deter- | mined. An Army Air Corps sergeant, to demonstrate that people do not lose consciousness in falling, dropped 1,500 feet before pulling his rip cord. Q. Please analysis of honey.—A. H. A. Honey contains 18 parts water, 78 parts carbohydrate (including 76 give an parts sugar and 2 parts dextrin), .02 | mineral substances or 4 parts of polier grain, gum, bee glue, formic acid and volatile oils and other flavor sub- stances. Q. Is it true that some part of a person’s body moves every few minutes while_he is asleep?—E. R. K. A. There are involuntary movements of various muscles of the body during sleep. These movements are beyond the control of the will. Q. Ts it corect ¢ or should the verb S. say “one eats soup, “drink” be used?— 0! A 1t depends upon the circum- stance. One eats soup from a spoon, but drinks it if it is in a cup and is thus conveyed to the lips. Q. What kind_of clothing will a tourist need in Japan?—s. H. A. As the climate of Japan proper is about the same as the middle belt of !the United States, the same clothing will be comfortable, according to the season. since Japan has a great deal of rain except in the Winter. Q. Is it deleterious to the health of a growing family if the housewife shut out the sunlight by always keeping the blinds_closed?—J. G. A. The United States Public Health | Service says that sunlight is essential | to proper cleanliness. Q. How much water is there in the oceans?- . N. A. No exact estimate of the volume of water in the cceans can be made be- cause many areas have not been sur- veyed, From existing records the vol- ume is computed at 324.000,000 cubic statute miles, or 14 times the bulk of all land in the world above sea level. Q. How long has aluminum been used for making cooking utensils?— S W. A. Cooking utensils were made of aluminum-as early as 1892. More than 250 articles are made of the pure metal and nearly as many more from its al- loys. Q. When was first played?—B. C. A. Little is known concerning the history of cribbage. It appears to be of English origin and was formerly known as “noddy.” It was mentioned under that name in an epilogue by Sir John Har- rington in 1616. The earliest descrip- tion of the game is found in the “Com- pleat Gamster,” 1674. The place and time of the first game of cribbage is t he game of cribbage C. not recorded, nor th> reason for the | use of 31 as a limit. Originally, 61 was used as a stopping point. Q. Where the Garden of Gods?—F. W. A. It is a region in Colorado near Colorado Springs, covering about - 500 acres, and remarkable for the strange forms of the rocks with which it is cov- ered. The red and white sandstone as- sumes grotesque shapes, to which va- rious names have been given. For in- stance, the gateway is formed by two hugs masses of rock of a bright red is the ! color, which are 330 feet high and be- tween which the road passes. A raincoat should be taken, | J. HASKIN. Q. What illuminated manu- seripts?—B, 4 A. They are those whose texts are brightened and heightened by vignettes and otherwise decorated in colors or in gold and silver. Fifteen centuries before Christ the papyrus rolls of the Book of the Dead were illuminated with bril- liantly colored scenes. Later, as Writ- ing became alphabetic, the important letters were illuminated. are R . Did Dr. Mary Walker wear a spe- cial kind of clothes or were they the regulation male attire?—C. M. { A. A picture taken of Dr. Walker shorily after the Civil War shows her in garments that might be termed “non- | descript.” ~ While she was dressed in . & garment rather feminine in to her knees. In later vears her clothes were cut on mannish lines; | black trousers, Prince Albert coat, white shirt and collar, high silk hat, gave her appearance of a dapper, smartly sed man. Q. Of whom is the story told that | her father gave her weight in gold upon | her marriage?—B. G. A. Betsy Hull is the heroine of a nar- | rative of colonial times which merely | relates the fact that her father placed her in the container on one side of a large pair of scales and balanced the scales by pouring into the corresponding container shining gold pieces. Q. I have a circular offering honds jon an apartment hotel in Washington. ). C, which shows an appraised | valuation of $3,026950. By inspecting the tax books I find that the assessor of the District of Columbia places the | total assessed value of this same prop- |erty at $1,135,196. Does this difference |in ‘valuation mean that nearly $2,000,~ 000 worth of property is escaping tax- ation, or is the property being sold to bondholders for nearly $2,000.000 more than it is actually worth?—W. F, | _A. The assessor of the District of Columbia says that in fixing the values | of property for taxation no attention is |paid to advertising circulars, and such | statements do not affect the actual [\aluauon of property. A fair, full value >f all property is arrived at through two | methoas of computation: First, a valu- |ation is placed on the ground and to | this is added the valuation of the build- | ing arrived at by cubing the same and | placing a factor per unit of cube. A good fireproof apartment can be built wday for 40 to 45 cents per cubic | foot. Second, this valuation is tested | by obtaining the gross earning where | possible for the entire year, and what {is meant by the gross earning is that | the apartments should be entirely filled at a fair rental for each apartment. If | apariments are idle there is an allow- ance made for the rental of the vacant | apartments based on rental obtained for | other apartments. The apartment is | then worth from six to six and a half | times the gross yearly rental. Q. How large was the city of Babye [1on?—E. L. A. Many expeditions have been sent out to excavate the ancient city of Babylon—the first in 1784—but it was not until after the real work of Deutsche Orient Geselischaft, begun in 1899, that the outer wall was traceable. From this they were able to determine that the City of Babylon covercd 12 square | miles. Q. What are municipal warrants?— | M AN A. They are bills, notes, revenue bonds and warrants issued by any State, district. political subdivision or municipality in the Continental United States, including irrigation, drainage and reclamation districts. Q. What are t! measurements the perfect female figure?>—C. D. J. A. One compilation is as follows: Neck, 121, inches: bust, 35 inches; waist, 26 inches; hip, 34 inches: thigh, 20 inches: knee, 14 inches; caif, 13b4 |inches; ankle, 8 inches; upper arm, 101% inches; fore arm, 9 inches; Wwrist, 6 iniches; height, 5 feet 6 inches; weight, 133 pounds. for Q. Is Columbus considered a very | daring mariner?—B. A. A. Writing of Columbus’ first voy- | age, one authority says: “It was per- haps the bravest exploit ever under- taken, for he was sailing not along the coast, but straight out into the ‘Sea of Darkness,; as the Atlantic was then called, every minute farther and far- | ther away from the only land he really | knew.” 'Biscreiion as to Jones Law Stirs Willebrandt Debate The effort of Mabel Walker Wille- brandt to “denature” the Jones law as one paper expresses it, has aroused | country-wide attention. ~Comments on editorial pages range all the way from opinions that her action was prompted | by a real desire to see the law succeed | to indignation at the proposed “dis crimination” in relation to offenders against the prohibition laws. The paragraph in Mrs. Willebrandt's letter that is most widely quoted edi- torially is her suggestion to Federal at- torneys _that as to the character of the casce in which you seek indictments for viola- | tions coming within its purview. Only | good strong cases involving commercial- | ism should be made the basis for these initial tests.” Referring to this statement and to| the Jones law itself, the Columbus, | Ohio, Dispatch says: “As with criminai laws generally. its maximum penalties are not_intended for use against the' minor offenders. For big game, a high- | caliber weapon is needed. One does | not hunt squirrels with an elephant | gun, nor should one hunt elephants | With a squirrel gun. The Jones law is| enforcement’s big gun and deserves a | big_target.” | While the Cleveland News thinks that “an injunction to use discretion. | moderation or Testraint of any sort| necessarily sounds rather funny, com- | ing from Mabel Walker Willebrandt.” it finds satisfaction in the belief that “the country has had like assurances from more responsible quarters that the fa- al law is not to be used promiscu- 1 Petersburgh__ Progres Index cannot believe that Mrs. Wille- brandt “has employed the word ‘dis- cretion’ and certainly she has not ex- emplified it since she assumed public office.” The Charleston Evening Post. which district attorneys to use discretion in applying the Jones act,” adds that “it would have been even better if Congress had used discretion when voting on it."” e e “It is well for the prosecutors to be discreet, as requested,” says the Apple- ton Post-Crescent, “for if they apply so severe a law to petty cases, not involy-) ing public menace or moral turpitude, { Jjuries will not convict and the law wil! become a dead letter.” . Looking at the | matter, likewise, from the standpoint of | the jury, the New York Evening World | says that “in the end unreasonable lav do not make a favorable impression on juries. Where violations of laws must be passed on by juries, the laws are in a bad way when they impress the public njust.” Continuing, the Worl “It begins to seem that the Jones | arks the extreme limit of intoler- it suggests that Mrs. Wille- brandt is “seeking to side-step its literal The Syracuse Herald believes that since the passage of the act “MTs. Willebrandt has learned a thing or of d act, from | metropolitan night club ‘hostesses’ down to_ordinary bootlegs, have become an old story in¥the past two months.” I | Press Mrs. Willebrandt has taken this {step in order to prevent “a political | reaction against prohibition generally,” thus showing “why the drys at large | have confidence in her as their cham- | pion of law enforcement. In addition to being brilliant, she is canny,” says this paper, as it calls her “one of the | smartest individuals in the Government service in Washington.” s The Spartanburg Journal comments {on her proceeding “to denaturize, to ‘o use wite discretion |Some extent, the Jones law,” while the St. Louis Times feels that the law al- ready has apparently collapsed, “and the action of Mrs. Willebrandt as chief enforcement agent for the Government proves it.” In the opinion of the Columbus Ohio State Journal, “she appears to have no abiding faith in the effective- ness of the law but speaks only of giv- ing it a fair test.” As to the law it= self this paper says, “The penalties are cruelly and grotesquely out of propor- tion to the gravity of the crime and, if a_general effort to enforce them were made, the result could be only to arouse public sentiment further against prohibition.” ~ But is Mrs. Willebrandt herself with- in the law in making her recommenda= tion? The Chattancoga Times thinks not and says, “Mrs. Willebrandt is a department appointee only, and the law confers upon her no power or authority for construing laws or co trolling the actions of other appointees. Such power 5 not “conferred by the Constitution upon the President him- self, of declaring what part of a law may be enforced, how it shall be en- forced and upon whom,” conttnues this paper as it labels the pronouncement of Mrs. Willebrandt “the sublimation of bureaucracy.” The Sioux City Tribune calls it something entirely new in Federal law enforcement, at least, to consider any statute as applicable only to particular situations,” and considers such a “selec- tive system” a species “of legal black- | mail. ¥ On the other hand, the Kansas City Times sees in the letter “little more or less than the issuing of & customary memorandum effecting enforcement of a new law,” and calls attention to the fact that “discretion in enforcing this law is made a specific part of the law itself. It was provided in the law that Judges, in imposing sentences, should discriminate between casual and slight offenses and habitual sales of intoxi- cating liquor, or attempt to commer- clalize violation of the prohibition law. ‘The Lexington leader finds in the | instructions “no attempt to limit the freedom or to influence the judgme: of the Federal officers or I.he’ F‘c‘:‘zrfi: Judiciary. It is intended to remind the district attorneys of the real intent of Congress and of the importance of pre- venting the discrediting of a law which, if wisely employed, should be of great benefit and have a decided effect in checking law violations.” But such dis- cretion ing been given, “the per. sonal element must enter more strong- ly than ever into the selection of prose- cutors and prohibition agents.” says the i