Evening Star Newspaper, July 20, 1929, Page 4

4 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. BATURDAY. THEODORE W. NOYES. ., .Editor Rate by Carrler Within The Evening Star.. The Evening and Sun (when 4 spy onth. Collection made ch m telephone Orders may be sent in by mail or NAtional 5000. Kate by Mail—Pzyable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday. Daily only Sunday onl; All Other States a Daily and Sunday..1 yr. Daily only .. | Sunday only Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusively ertitled to the use for republication of all news dis- 1yr., $6.00: 1 mo. 1yr. $400; 1 mol ited in this paper and also th published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. America Moves for Peace. Acting on behalf of President Hoover, Becretary Stimson has moved dramati- cally on behalf of peace in the Far East. He brings the diplomatic ma- chinery of the United States into play in two different directions. To Russia and China he sends a meaningful re- minder that they are adhering signa- torles to the Kellogg pact for renuncia- tion of war. To Great Britain, France and Japan, Col. Stimson addresses & suggestion that the Four-Power Treaty of Washington, respecting “rights” of the “High Contracting Parties” in the Pacific, is operative in the threatened rupture between Russia and China— that these rights are menaced “by ag- gressive action of any other power,” as the quadruple alliance for peace in the Far East terms such an émergency as now has come about. It is a strong and salutary step that the United States has now taken. Prob- ably the notification to Moscow and Nanking that the governments linked in the Four-Power Treaty are conferring as to their rights and duties in the prem- ises is the more important of the two separate actions initlated at Washing- ton. It is tantamount to saying to the war lords of both Russia and China that Anglo-Franco-Japanese-American inter- vention in their controversy, should it lead to war, is extremely likely, if not absolutely assured. That is & prospect which will give both the Soviet and Nationalist China food for pause and reflection. If they did not know before that the outside world cannot contentedly see Eastern Asla converted into a cockpit, they know it now. The Chinese Eastern Railway at the moment is purely a Russo-Chi- nese bone of contention, but Washing- ton, London, Paris and Tokio are aware that once it began to be picked by the parties chiefly at issue, there'would be no telling what other teeth might be found gnawing and grit over it before it ‘was torn to pieces. What America has done is to invite all concerned to see that that perilous process does not even start. Russia and China have & proper sub- Ject+for arbitration, in so far as the disputed railway affair is concerned. Management of the line was fixed by treaty, which China has, for reasons deemed legitimate by herself, denounced and terminated. An arbitral commis- slon, such as is contemplated by the Kellogg pact, could sit on the treaty squabble and adjudicate it. But China could not be blamed for insisting upon the exclusion of Communist propaganda from any consideration by arbitrators. The United States is a signatory to the Kellogg pact, but this country would hardly allow an arbitration board to weigh the right of Russia to sow the seeds of Sovietism in American soil. simple check-up on this source of dan- ger_can accomplish much. Little dificulty should be experienced in securing motorist co-operation for ...July 20, 1929 |such & campaign in the District. No hardship 1s involved, and there are few drivers who would not be willing to g0 through a test of headlights and brakes in order that they may be protected from other users of the streets. Dis- trict authorities could with benefit to the community investigate the possi- bilities of a similar check-up in the National Capital. ; e Fire Insurance Rates. Appearing a few days apart, the an- nual reports of Pire Chief George 8. Watson and Insurance Commissioner Thomas M. Baldwin, jr., constitute an- other brief for lower rates on fire in- surance in the District, a matter that has been agitated for many years with only partial success. Chief Watson shows that the Fire Department's efficlency has brought the fire hazard down another notch. A per capita loss from fires of $2.05 in 1920 has been reduced to $1.39 in the last calendar year, Mr. Baldwin’s report again empha- sizes the need for & reduction in fire rates. It reiterates the high margin of profit on fire insurance written over & ten-year period in this city, the re- vised figures showing the average loss of 33.6 -er cent on the premiums re- ceived. For the last year covered the loss was 23.1 per cent. Despite the re- ductions in some classes of fire in- surance rates, voluntarily made effec- tive January 1 of last year by the Un- derwriters’ Association of the District, Mr. Baldwin renews his recommenda- tion for the appointment of an impar- tial commission to study the whole struc- ture of fire rates in the Capital. The Bureau of Efficiency’s report pointed out & number of inequities. Mr. Bald- win believes that the bureau might undertake yet another investigation. ‘The board of governors of the Under- writers’ Association, in announcing last December its adoption of some changes in fire rates, intimated that this first re- duction in fourteen years would be fol- lowed by continued study of conditions that would lead to other changes in the schedules. If the underwriters pursue this policy to the desirable end, and do it voluntarily, they will show a com- mendable spirit of co-operation in help- ing to improve a condition that has been the ground for well merited criticism j over a long number of years. Washing- ton's fire hazards have been steadily re- duced. Improvements in building con- struction, wide streets, greater efficlency in the Fire Department have been fac- tors that should have been, but are not, applied to revising all fire rates down- ward. Mr. Baldwin again asks for & new and complete insurance code for the District. In this demand he is joined by trade and civic organizations and by reputable insurance officials. There is need here for a new insurance code that will adequately protect the public. The code should be drawn as a model for the country, advantageously using the suc- cessful features of codes in other locall- ties. Decisive action on the part of the Commissioners should be taken now. There is increasing demand for it. ——————— A Deserved Tribute. A well deserved tribute to Thomas A. Edison is paid by the President of the United States, who says: “He removed an untold burden of toll from the backs of men and women for all times.” This appreciation was voiced in con- nection with “Light's Golden Jubilee” in world-wide celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the first electric light. Mr. Edison not only let the light of his own inventive genius shine afar, way beyond the flash of the “shot heard round the world,” but he brought permanent relief, for centuries yet un- born, to all humanity from the drudgery of toll, while opening up new industries China’s grievances against Russia on,for the employment of his fellow men the score of Communist propaganda are deep and justified. They lie at the Toots of the present conflict. Russia has already propagandized Mongolia out of Chinese jurisdiction, has virtual- ly allenated Tibet by the same devious methods, and has practically bolshe- vized Chinese Turkestan. If the Nationalist government found drastic methods necessary to prevent Manchuria from going the way of China’s other lost provinces, Nanking may be found proposing reservations to any program for arbitrating Chinese differences with the imperialized prole- tariats now enthroned i he Moscow Kremlin. ———— Alfrplane travel is perfecting plans ‘which will leave the ordinary railway passenger the pleasure of looking out of the window to see the aviators go by. ———————— ‘When Russia and China come into controversy, the question liable to arouse interest is what Japan may decide to do about it. ————— An Automobile Check-up. The check-up on the condition of automobiles, which has been under way in Maryland for some time, could well be duplicated in the District with bene- ficial results. The owner of every car bearing a Maryland tag must report for inspection. Brakes, headlights and other parts of the car are checked by experienced men. The motorist with his car in good condition is given a small and inconspicuous sticker to paste on his windshield, while the driver whose car fails to meet the require- ments faces an ordeal with the commis- sioner of motor vehicles' department. ‘The State of Pennsylvania follows a slightly different procedure. While in Maryland only Maryland cars are sub- Jjected to the test, Pennsylvania looks over motorists entering the State regardless of the tag carried on their cars. At some convenient point near the State line two members of Com- at profitable and healthful occupations which oftentimes stimulates latent in- ventive, constructive &bility, giving new ambition and zest to living. ‘That profitable industry has resulted is as it should be. An aid to humanity, it must be backed by assured profit from its development in order that it may have permanence in popular use. Here, Mr. Edison’s inventiveness has stood the supreme test in affording profit to invested capital, as well as employment and a larger future to the industrial worker, and safety and con- venience and relief from “untold toil” to the great mass of people throughout the world. " Half a century of benefaction! ———————————— ‘The chef is left in the background. ‘What is offered on the most elaborate menu is regarded as of little conse- quence compared to the question of ‘where some one is going to sit. “Sucker Lists.” A curious sidelight on human nature is afforded by & study of the fraud orders issued by the Post Office Depart- ment. Ridiculous remedies for every ill of the body, fortune telling schemes, for- eign lotteries, employment agencies, worthless ofl stocks, building lots in the middle of impenetrable swamps, diamond mines, gold mines, detective agencles, work-at-home frauds — the mail order swindlers, keen judges of human - nature that they are, have probed every spot of human weakness. Each individual scheme has been ex- posed over and over again. As soon as one has been put out of business an- other of the same nature takes its place. ‘The business apparently is so profitable that the law holds few terrors for these bold charlatans. Their continued success presumably would be accounted for as due to an everlasting crop of new victims. Strange to say, this does not seem to be the case. The swindlers deal year after year with the same persons. They missioner Eynon’s courtsous motor cycle squad wave all cars to a stop. “Please put your emergency brake on” is the first request. The car is then rocked to ascertain whether the brake holds. “Please turn on your head- lights” is the next. If the motorist " passes this brief investigation he is al- lowed to proceed on his way. The whole operation takes less than five minutes. To bad brakes may be ascribéd many accidents. Also to bad headlights or the burning of only one headlight can be laid the blame for mishaps. The maintain enormous “sucker lists.” One man had accumulated upwards of 350,- 000 names of individuals who had been defrauded in oil- stock deals. These lists are their most valuable assets. They sell them back and forth for ex- travagant sums. When one fraudulent scheme is put out of business its pro- moters always are able to convert their list of victims into spot cash. ki A person who once has bought a quack remedy or stock in & non-exist- ent oll well is more than likely, it seems, to buy the same things again. The THE Post Office Department and the Federal courts can do little to protect class of citizens. They refuse to be whrned. Penniless widows complain of the in- Justice of a brutal Government tgwards the ingratiating salesmen. who have mulcted them of the savings of life- times and write letters to the President pleading that these men be pardoned. These persons, it seems, have & ludicrous and pathetic faith in the printed word. They are convinced that anything they read in print must, ipso facto, be gospel. The more extrava- gant the claims the greater the im- pression on the intended victims. An oll stock guarantees 400 per cent return within six months. That is just the sort of proposition poor old Mrs. Jones, living a hand-to-mouth ex- istence in her attic room, is looking for. It never occurs to her to question the good faith of the promoter. Is not his promise in “print.” ‘The months slip by and the promised dividends do not come. She writes to inquire the reason and is informed that the backers of the scheme now are in jail for using the malils to defraud. That explains it all, she reasons. Of course, the poor men can not make good their promises if they are in jall. They honestly intended—she has their letters as proof—to make everybody rich and happy. The Government, run by the international bankers and the Standard Ofl Co., does not want everybody rich and happy, she reasons. It is opposed to any fair distribution of wealth and so it is crucifying these idealistic friends | gjt, of the poor. . Five or six years later the swindlers are out of jail again. Mrs. Jones has saved up & few more dollars in the meantime. She clutches eagerly at the chance to buy some more of their stock. She is bound to be given the opportunity, for her name is on the “sucker list.” Hundreds of such cases actually come to the attention of the office of the licitor of the Post Office Department. Human nature is human nature. Government nelther can change it nor very effectively protect it. —————— Diplomacy has its immutable formali- ties. The genial Mr. Dawes has not yet succeeded in persuading austere British officials to put an arm around his shoul- der and call him “Charlie.” Comedy relief is valued in politics as well as in the drama. A New York City campaign without “Jimmy” Walker in the picture would be dull indeed. —————— For years the “prohibition party” has been extinct. The realization of pro- hibition's practical political possibilities has been comparatively recent. —————— It might not be so difficult for Trotsky to find a place of quietude if he would faithfully promise not to bring along his typewriting machine. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Marketing the Old Stuff. If I had nothing else to do Except converse the long day through On topics that are old, or new, With fancy flowing free— If I for hours could stand and quote My favorite little anecdote While patient ears took humble note, How happy I should be! Then would I know that I had gained Wealth and position, well sustained. An audience from wrath restrainea Is ever fine to see. If I could hear a merry zest Roused by some antiquated jest Which I had offered as my best, How happy I should be! Spirit of Tolerance. “What is your opinion of prohibition?” “Politics must have something to ar- gue about,” said Senator Sorghum. “Maybe it might as well be prohibition as anything else.” Jud Tunkins says the farmer has had unfriendly influences among the poets who think he ought to be thankful to get up early in the morning and he: the birdles sing. ' International Rumor. ‘They say that Peace is here to stay, Which fills us with delight— And in another day they say Some one will start a fight! Coward Male. “Do you scold your wife for driving from the back seat?” “I encourage her,” said Mr. Chuggins. “If anything goes wrong, I want her to feel responsible.” “If men did not judge by appear- ances,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “there would be no further use of uniforms and badges.” New Babel. How terrible a war would be ‘With prospects such as these! I can't speak Russian words I see, Nor understand Chinese! “A man kin consider hisself fairly well converted,” said Uncle Eben, “if he can make his religion last from one campmeetin’ to de next.” o More of Novelty Now. Prom the Nashville llnn;‘rn.m Ne: r says the Ccar was & Mvelty“p: n John D. Rockefeller was a young man. Think how much more 80 It is now, though. Beware Books by Grass Widows. From the Butte Daily Post. A sclentist tells us that books often contain hay fever germs. Especially those written by grass widows. e R When You Are in Rome. From the Toledo Blade. Mussolini kissed both _trilumphant aviators on the cheek. When you are in Rome you must take what you get. Stowaway Ejectors. From the San Bernardino Daily Sun. Enterprising plane manufacturers will hereafter equip their ships with stowaway ejectors. — e Female Worms Cautious. From the Bay Oity Daily Times. ‘red | COTTect judgments in the matter to ex- Blank Verse in Flying. From the Terre Haute -m.“ He It flying is the motion, & tallspin must be verse. | the suggestion that “the situation may THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, Street car lines have personalities just the same as people. They have | afte; certain their names, of course, and physical propreties, but deeper than all that lies the line’s personality. ‘The Mount Pleasant line, for in- stance, 15 a well dressed city sort of person, while the Wisconsin avenue line isa cmmt.a/l person. Both run from the heart of the city to the suburbs, but each retains its individuality. ‘These characteristics are given by the men and women who ride them every day, going to and from work, morning and evening, or coming into the city sho;l)flnx or pleasure bound. Like all the machines, mechanisms, devices used by man, street cars come to take on the features, traits, peculiar- ities of those who use them. Strictly speaking, a car on one line is like one on the other, but every one knows that there is a difference. ‘Unconsciously one lifts over from the thousands of people who patronize one line or the other appearance, dress and manners, and fastens them tightly on the cars and the entire lines, so that in the end the line itself takes on a per- sonality of its own. ‘When a Washingtonian thinks of the Mount Pleasant line he sees far more than so many miles of track, so many hundreds of cars, 5o many motormen, conductors, inspectors, and so on. He sees, even before the patrons, the streets along which the cars run, and the houses which line those streets. The right of way, or franchise, is the basic personality of any car line. As the streets are, so will be its patrons, and so will be its total transit person- y. Dupont Circle sets the tone for the Mount Pleasant street car line. It did 50 in the beginning, long before there were any residences at Eighteenth street and Columbia road, or farther out to- ward Mount Pleasant street and Park road. ‘The graceful curve at the circle, which then was not crowded with traf- fic, and therefore was more beautiful, settled once and for all the destiny of this line. It was to be a way of mod- erately well-off people, and even of rich people. ‘There were to be city people, in the full sense of the word, the sort of men and women sometimes referred to—but erroneously—as snobs. Many of them came from mansions, but most from comfortable, w:ll ‘kegt swellh:u. Riders on this car line mostly dress well, use the latest toilet preparations, read books, magazines, newspapers, keep up with the times, like the theater. They are cosmopolites — in other words, the true type of city people. Right here, let us get out of our collec- tive heads an idea which may linger in some of our heads that there is any “better-than-thou” complex involved. Esfechlly does this writer wish to avoid the appearence even of setting up comparisons with other sections of the city to their detriment. He hopes that no one will draw comparisons and impute them to him. None are drawn here, and none meant to be drawn. We speak merely of the physical appearance of street car lines, their rights of way and their riders. All of these do have personalities. If one would seek one phrase to de- scribe the folk who habitually ride the Mount Pleasant line, it would be “nice [ used sneeringly, means a gréat deal r all. Perhaps the women reflect it best in any walk of life. Not the “nice people” of flashy fiction or the conceited persons who sometimes imag- ine themselves t0 be “the best people,” but lolfi}{ those men and women, and their children, who by combinations of circumstances, life, minds and means undoubtedly do make up this theoreti- cal group. * ok kX All in all, however, we believe we love the Wisconsin avenue line the best, for there we have a more perfect combina- tion of city and country Feople. ‘The Wisconsin avenue line is operated by the same system, but it is as differ- ent as day from night. One will have to ride on it many days before he finds out what it is which constitutes the difference. ‘When it does flash over him, he will wonder how he came to miss it so long. ‘Why, the soul of that car line is buiit on a combination of city and country. Nearer than any other public utility in the National Capital it bridges the gap between city and country people. Let no one say that such a gap does not exist. It does, although it is not often spoken of, and even less often writ- ten of. . The rural resident is likely to feel that his full-fledged city cousin is “stuck up.” The city man, in his turn, slightly resents his country cousin's more free manners. On the Wisconsin avenue line there is no first or last. The ngers come from all walks of life. Unlike the riders on the Mount Pleasant line, who mostly come within certain classifications as to life works, salaries, etc., the patrons of the Wisconsin avenue line defy classifi- cation so easily. * ok k x Sitting side by side with a stylish young miss in a sun-back dress is a tall, gangling country fellow who is sua- burned by right of hours spent at toil in the flelds. He came in from somewhere in Mary- land, and now is going home. He has his coat off, and his hat off, and his yellow hair blows in the wind rushing in the side window. ‘The big car rocks on the rails. The investigator notices that even the mo- tormen and conductors look different on this line. Certainly they do. They are small town boys, many of them. Over yonder is a family group return- ing to the farm. The woman is young, slightly harassed in appearance, whic. may or may not be accounted for by her three lively children, who insist on poking their heads out of the windows. The father is a big, good-natured fel- low who, one can tell at a glance, knows or cares little about city ways. He is living his own life, and is at ease any- where. He is the man the Farm Board is meeting to help, he still is the “back- bone of the Republic.” Personalities of street car lines are felt rather than commented on, after all. A ride on the lines will tell any one more than all the words in the world, for personalities of all kinds are rather felt than seen, rather understood than described. ‘The difficulties of describing the per- sonality of a street car line are noi small—if any one disbelieves this, let him try it for himself. We offer the present attempt as a ploneer example of what every one feels but few put into people. ‘That much-abused phrase, sometimes words. Censorship of the Classics Appraised as Literary Gain Lifting of the customs ban on Voltaire’s “Candide” is greeted by sarcastic com- ment on the idea of permitting cus- toms inspectors to serve as literary crit- ics, and suggestions that perhaps the incident has tended to revive interest in the classics. ‘Taking note of the fact that “the cus- toms authorities at Washingto ! solemn deliberation, have ove their scrupulous Boston agents, Louisville Times observes: “A country at the gates of which the immortal ‘Candide—'perhaps the finest short story in all literature,’ according to Dr. Durant’s widely accepted ‘Story of Phil- osophy'—is placed under grave suspicion as ‘obscene,’ but in which the plaintiff in a juicy breach-of-promise suit is as- sured of a fortune from the films, might have interested Voltaire himself.” “At any rate,” thinks the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, “the customs officials wisely decided that importation of a dozen coples of a particular edition of this 170-year-old story would not be utterly ruinous to the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are grateful for the common sense of the customs officials, and we are also gral ful to the censor for having sent & good many Americans to their libraries to make discovery or rediscovery of a great writer's great book. Let us hope that he will, in the future, attract at- tention to other unfortunately neglected classics.” “We should like to hear Voltaire's expression of gratitude,” remarks the Cincinnati Times-Star, “for this offi- clous publicity by public officials. The philosopher of ~Fornay would have smiled quizzically. He suffered much from officious officials in his own day. And ‘Candide’ doubtless would bear this new suffering with cynical indifference, as was his wont in the famous novel.” ‘The Times Star believes that “the ar- rant stupidity of the seizure is a really dangerous sign of the times. Old books that may contain passages which did not offend the people of another century would ordinarily be read only by those whose quest is not for the obscene, but for an appreciation of the customs and viewpoints of our ancestors.” “To permit customs agents, even when supplied with translators, to pass upon the material that may be studied by the best minds of the country is to put an intolerable halter on scholar- ship,” avers the Hartford Courant, with be improved by .memflni the law, but it would be even more helped by the appointment of officials possessed of sufficient common sense and good judg- ment so that its enforcement will not become a travesty on intelligence.” “The list of distinguished books, an- clent and modern, that have been de- clared too improper to be admitted to the United States is long,” declares the Chicago Daily News. ne must sus- pect that the common run of customs censors do not know literary and artis- tic merit when they see it. Good-na- tured as the American publiais, it does not like the idea of being made utterly ridiculous.” “The release of ‘Candide’ from the official list of things obscene” is com- mended by the Baltimore Sun, which adds: “The exercise of common sense and reasonable judgment in questions of censorship is rare enough to be ap- reciated, even when it appears as an lated and accidental and belated phenomenon. One may hope that there is a definite, practical aspect to this decision and that the Tréasury Depart- ment has at last realized that the in- tors at various local offices ye run- ning literary censorship into th€ ground and reflecting upon the taste, education, humor and intelligence of its entire per- sonnel.” “This gem of satiric literature,” re- marks the Omaha World-Herald, “is for the time being officially as imnocent of obscenity as the thirty-eighth chl‘fiker of Genesis. But, although ‘Candide’ manages to scratch out a clean bill of health, the evil of the Federal censor- smf is in no wise abated. Thepower is still vested in men incapable of forming clude from the country or from the = literary works of the highest eFIL”™ 3 The Brooklyn Daily Eagle advises: “The United States has exoncrated ‘Candide’ Massachusetts has done nothing of the sort. The sooner the 13 de luxe coples of the 1750 work are gotten out of the jurisdiction of Mas- sachusetts, the better for the importer. To be sure, Candide did not kiss the baroness, only an unmarried girl; but any kissing is particularly calculated to arouse the suspicion of the Bay State censorship authorities.” Pointing out that this classic bas “been used for decades in American colleges,” the Chattanooga News sug- gests: “Perhaps now we may expect a flood of the classic, and the public, which abhors text books, will want to see what the censorship is all about. And libraries, no doubt, will have to get new coples to replace those which, un- doubtedly, have been overly thumbed since the Boston arbiters of literature banished Voltaire. Until we can get a few customs inspectors with Chester- fizldian taste in literature and art, we suppose intelligent Americans will have to continue to read the classics without the advice of censors.” In view of the effect of the reversal of the Government decision, the New York Evening World expresses the gen- eral satisfaction at the result: “Harvard professors will no longer have to ‘boot- leg’ this volume of Voltaire to their classes. The rest of the country can ocntinue to beg, buy, borrow or steal the book—but without the extra thrill- of knowing it is under the ban. Washing- ton has proved itself broader than the ‘Modern Athens'—and what Washing- ton says goes. So, in the words of the immortal Dr. Pangloss, Candide's tutor, ‘all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds. We can rejoice and go back to our cabbages.” Nerve-Burning Cure Is Watched in Europe BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. Nerve burning to cure neuritis, rheu- matist, some kinds of paralysis and other nerve diseases is the new “Asuero cure” now attracting attention in Europe. Named for its inventor, a physician of the Spanish town of San Sabastian, the method claims thou- sands of cures and boasts equal thou- sands of enthusiastic testimonials. Patients from all parts of Spain flock to Dr. Asuero’s operating room, where over 50 a day are being treated. Some independent ~ surgeons report equiva- lent successes, for Dr. Asuero makes no secret of his technique. Others deny real value to the idea and ascribe re- ported cures to mental suggestion. Dr. Asuero finds a certain sensitive spot inside the upper part of the nose, just over the trigeminal nerve, He burns this spot with a hot wire. The shock to the nerve is supposed to act in some way to stimulate and improve the whole nervous system. The idea, it may be noted, is not entirely new. A New York ear specialist, Dr. Paul V. Winslow, uses a somewhat similar pro- cedure of stimulating nerve centers in- side the nose to improve some kinds of deafness. ‘The late Prof. Wilhelm Fliess of Ber- lin proposed nerve burning to treat some kinds of paralysis. Injection of alcohol into one of the nerve ganglia is a recognized treatment for one va- riety of facial neuralgia. European physiclans soon will make certain, doubtless, whether Dr. Asuero has ex- '.er;‘ded these methods usefully or has not. Won't Get Him Any Votes. From the Canton Daily News. Detroit's city treasurer has installed a machine that turns out tax state- ments much faster than formerly, but he’s a foolish person if he thinks that is going to get him any votes. . Parachute for Pole Vaulters. From the Lansing State Journal. Another pole vault record has just been established. It will not be long now before the pole vaulter will re- quire & parachute for his descent. o Revolt Developed Sprinters. From the Norfolk Ledger-Dispatch, ‘The Mexican revolution was scarcely worth the $15,000,000 it cost, but it sure did develop some great sprinf ners, ters. ' cality The making of definitions of poetry has always tempted critics and poets themselves to achleve what is probably impossible—the description of the in- tangible. Aristotle defines poetry as “an imitation of men acting” and Plato in his “Republic” says that poetry “imi- tates men who are engaged in action— and who in the midst of all these cir- cumstances are consclous either of joy or grief.” In the critical ages of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries many definitions of poetry were made. Dr. Johnson calls poetry “the art of uniting pleasure with truth, by calling imagination to the aid of reason.” Shelley, in his “Defense of Poetry,” says “Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the best and hap- plest mindsy’ Herbert Spencer, who acknowledged his inability to appreci- ate poetry, nevertheless deflnes it in his “Essay on Style”: “Poetry is ideal- ized emotion expressed in the language of emotion.” Matthew Arnold’s defini- tion of poetry as “a criticism of life under the conditions fixed for such a criticism by the laws of poetic truth and poetic beauty” is famous. All these definitions are comprehensible, whether or not they ue‘m ):a ‘llxs *ldequlte. In his new volume of poems, “Good Morning, America,” Carl Sandburg, in a species of preface, gives 38 defini- tions of poetry. They are very modern. At least they stimulate the imagina- tion, but, like the older definitions, they tend to convince us that poetry cannot be defined, even by those who write it best. Here are some of the definitions of the man who wrote a poetic prose, “Life of Lincoln”: “Poetry is an art practised with the terribly plastic mate- rial of human language.” “Poetry is the tracing of the trajectories of a finite sound to the infinite points of fits echoes.” “Poetry is a plan for a slit in the face of a bronze fountain goat and the path of fresh drinking water. “Poetry is the journal of a sea anim: living on land, wanting to fly the air.’ “Poetry is a fossil rock-print of a fin and a wing, with an illegible oath between.” “Poetry is a sky dark with a wild-duck migration.” “Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable.” “Poetry is a type-font design for an alphabet of fun, hate; love, death.” “Poetry is a theorem of a yellow-silk handkerchief knotted with riddles, sealed in a belloon tied to the tail of a kite flying in a white wind against a blue sky in Spring.” “Poetry is a sliver of the moon lost in the belly of a golden frog.” “Poetry is the opening and closing of a door, leaving those who look through to guess about what is seen during a mnment.” “Poetry is a kinetic - arrangercent of static sylla- bles.” “Poetry is the achievement of the synthesis of hyacinths and bis- cuits,” “Poetry is a mystic, sensuous mathematics of fire, smoke-stacks, waf- fles, pansies, people, and purple sun- sets.” * ok Kk % ‘The advertising man takes his place beside the teacher in the ranks of those who educate modern society, ac- cording to Earnest Elmo Calkins. the first individual to receive the Edward Bok medal for distinguished service to advertising. ‘“Advertising is one of the great educational forces,” says Mr. Calkins in “Advertising,” a booklet re- cently published by the American Li- brary Association. “People have been taught to change the habits of a life- time. New words have been added to their vocabulary. The course of life has been profoundly affected. . Thel phonograph, radio, camera, motor car, vacuum cleaner, kitchen cabinet, safety razor were quickly and easily made necessities. We changed from hard fat to liquid shortenings, tooth powder to cream dentifrices, mug to shaving stick, leather to rubber heels, oatmeal to 57 varieties of breakfast foods through the educational influence of daily and monthly admonition in our newspapers and magazines.” The chief service of advertising, ac- cording to Mr. Calkins, has been the convenience of the consumer. It has led to better stores and better manu- | facturers and to special services for | those who buy. And it pays for itself. | “Advertising,” which appears as one of the Reading With a Purpose Series, is written for the average man or wom- an with broad general interests, for the business man, all of whose efforts are profoundly affected by advertising. and for the young man or woman who is looking forward to advertising as a pos- sible field of work. * x k% Emile Zola, naturalist in fiction, de- fender of freedom and justice in pol tics, is the subject of a biography, “Zola and His Time,” by Matthew Josephson. ‘Though Zola was born in Paris and knew the city so intimately, he was almost equally a product of Provence, where much of his boyhood was passed. One of his early friends was Cezanne, who was to become noted in modern French art. Poverty was Zola's closest companion in his first period. Perhaps because of the tos great struggle which it entailed, he failed to complete his course satisfac- torily at the Marseilles Lycee and again at the Sorbonne in Paris. For a time he led a sordid existence about Paris, until he became a clerk with the pub- lishing firm of Hachette. Thrown into a literary atmosphere, and with enough income to keep him from extreme hard- ship, before he was 30 he was writing his Rougon-Macquart series. He said of himself in connection with this series of novels covering French life during the period of Napoleon III: “I am a posi- tivist, an evolutionist, a materialist; my system is heredity. I have found the instrument of my epoch, and there is no doubt about the power it gives to a man to feel himself holding it in his hands and aiding the natural evolution ;\“_ . I wish to be a painter of “ e e Pictures of foreign life carry more conviction when drawn by natives of the countries than when sketched has- tily by visitors remaining in a country a week or ten days, or even less. “The Shoji, Japanese Interiors and Silhou- ettes,” by Kikou Yamata, is the work of an author with a French father and & Japanese mother. Miss Yamata's home is Tokio and there she knows well the life of a Japanese girl behind the “shoji,” or paper partitions of Japanese houses. In Japan, far more than in most countries, the struggle between the old and the new in general and the |y, older and younger generations in par- ticular is fraught with tragedy. Some of these story-sketches show how tribal customs separate lovers and estrange husband and wife. The personal un- derstanding of both old and new Jap- anese ideas and usages and the sym- pathy with both mark the author as a very comprehending interpreter of her country. * kK ok John Galsworthy's chief books may now be obtained in six large volumes, One volume contains “The Patrician,” “The Country House,” and “Frater- nity a secopd the novels and stories which makc up “The Forsyte Saga,” i. e, “The Man of Property,” “In Chan- cery,” “Awakening,” and “To Let”; the third volume is made up of collections of tales, “Tatterdemalion,” “Five Tales,” “A Motley,” “Captures,” and “The Inn of Tranquillity”; the fourth volume has three of the less creditable novels, “The Dark Flower,” “Saint’s Progress,” and “The Freelands”; the fifth volume con- tinues “The Forsyte Saga,” with three nd two tales, “The White Mon- ‘The Silver Spoon,” “Swan Song,” and “Two Forsyte Interludes”; the last volume contains Galsworthy’s plays, 25 in all. * ok ok * ‘Twentieth century fiction is diagnosed and to a large extent listed in “A Study of the Modern Novel, British and American, Since 1900,” by Annie Russell Marble. The fiction is classi- fled as history and romance, lnntnsy[ and mystery, characterization and man- revolt and escape, and whimsi- and humq¥% The important writ- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘This is & special department devoted to the handling of inquiries. You have lisposal an extensive organi- gton to serve you in any capacity that relates to informa- tion. Write your question, your name and your address clearly and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for reply. Send to The Evening Star Information Bu- reau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Q. Does a voice actually travel over a telephone wire?—H. W. A. The Bureau of Standards says that the voice does not travel. The motion of one diaphragm controls an electric current which moves another diaphragm, thus reproducing the voice. Q. What is the Abraham Lincoln Foundation?—N. C. A. It is a movement toward the es- tablishment of Abraham Lincoln Uni- versity. It is planned to establish the university within the metropolitan area of New York City, in Westchester County. A scholarship endowment and bu’islgénz fund of $66,000,000 is to be raised. Q. Is there such a thing as a rose or blue chrysanthemum?—H. A. A blue rose has not been developed. A blue chrysanthemum is not known in this country. It is rumored that one has been developed in Japan and is Jealously guarded by Buddhist priests. blue P, Q. What causes atomic radio-activity and disintegration?—O. C. A. Atoms of radium are distinguished from atoms of non-radio-active sub- stances by the property of spontaneous disintegration, which, in the case of radium, consists in the ejection of an alpha-particle which is a small plece of the central core or nucleus of the radium atom. This process transforms the radium atom into an atom of an-| other chemical element. During dis- integration atoms of radium also emit a radiation similar to x-rays. Q. Is it true that the eel has two hearts?—G. D. A. The Smithsonian Institution says that the eel has an organ in its tail | that pulsates, and fishermen consider it | a second heart. This, however,<is not a real heart. On the other hand, if an eel is struck in this region it has the ;amet fatal effect as a blow across the eart. Q. What does zoom mean in airplane parlance?—B. W. A. Zoom means to climb for a short time at an agle greater than that which | can be maintained in steady flight, the | airplane being carried upward at the | expense of kinetic energy. The term | is sometimes used as a noun to denote | any sudden increase in the upward slope of the flight path. | | Q. Is the money coined for Canada | used in Newfoundland also?—W. R. M. | A. Newfoundland has a separate coinage. Q. When a man marries a widow ‘There is labor unrest in parts of the South, which has resulted in strikes and some violence. According to organ- ized labor, the wage conditions through- out the South do not compare with wages in the North, and consequently much Northern capital has been lured into Southern industry, in direct com- petitfon in the national markets for | the goods produced. The Northern in- vestors have not undertaken to carry with them Northern labor conditions, | but have sought to perpetuate the evils | of the Southern labor—long hours and | minimum pay—with far less of a per- | sonal tie of sympathy between the wage earner ard employer than has tradi- | tionally existed in the old South. The ! “Machine Age” is taking over the South | today, and the human cog is not so well ‘olled as it might be, consequently | there is friction. * ok g o Furthermcre, there is unwonted | competition for the general jobs be- | tween white and colored laborers, as reported by the July Monthly of the | Department of Labos. It says: “Certain kinds of work were tradi- tionally followed only by Negroes; a white man lost caste by taking them. “Now industry is largely machine, and the resulting increased produc- tivity has decreased the demand for men. “In the growing struggle for employ- | | ment, old traditions are thrown into the discard, and the Negro finds him- | self meeting white competition in jobs long regarded as his exclusive field. “White men are driving trucks and express wagons in the South, repair- ing streets, doing scavenger work, de- livering ice on their backs, where for- merely Negroes delivered and white men collected for the delivery; serving as waiters and bellmen in hotels, and | fit only for Negroes. > ke ‘The suggested fear that Negroes may invade the industries, where whites have held a monopoly, gives a picture which is unfamiliar in the North While the North does not, as a rule, mix Negroes and whites in the same line of work (outside of Congress), it is not startling to find a white man | doing trucking or even more servile | labor, when he is incapable of a high- er class of work. The great leveler of caste is the machine. But it would seem odd if a Northern | Chanfoer of Commerce were to an- |nounce as the great attractions of its community (as is reported concerning | a North Carolina chamber) “a haven for harassed industry” (from the cap- italist's standpoint) because of “low wages, long hours of work, relative ab- sence of labor agitation and freedom from trade union interference.” But now the American Federation of Labor and other labor organizations ap- pear to be invading the “peaceful South,” for they are active in connec- tion with the textile strikes now in progress. * & o ox Says Alfred Hoffman, organizer for the United Textile Workers: “The workers are practically put on the auction block and sold at low wages. e Southern power interests and Southern Chambers of Commerce are the auctioneers, selling the South to manufacturers, with the bait of thou- sands of workers to be shamefully ex- ploited.” | In retort, Mr. Stuart Cramer, a lead- | ing textile manufacturer of Cramerton, N. C., boasts that: | “Industrial life in the South is happy and contented, healthy and prosperous. | * * * The cotton mill operatives live amidst the best surroundings that| medical service can devise, and in all| the comforts that money can provide.” Official data of facts in wages and | standards of living will be necessary be- fore an evaluation can possibly be put upon such conflicting partisan state- ments. e e By the South, in this case, is meant the States south of the Potomac River and east of the Mississippi. In that region, there was practically no indus- trial activity prior to about 1880; today, there are more than a million industrial employes, of whom 271,785 are in cotton manufacture, and 172,425 in lumber and timber work. In addition to the “industries,” there are 233317 bituminous- coal workers and about 244,000 railroad employes, including j those in repair shops. the current decade, there has been great advance in industries in Georgia and the Caro- linas, but declines in Florida, Virginia, Vi and Mississippl. ers in each group are discussed, with biographical and critical detail, and so- cial and personal influences are traced. doing other tasks once considered as | with a child does the child take hig name?—W. E. A. The child does not take his step. father's name automatically. The court may be petitioned by the mother or next friend for the change to be authorized. Q. Why are the members of some rAeliglmg orders given the title Pra?— "A. It is an abbreviation. of frate, an Italian word meaning brother, Q. How were the slaves managed ancient Rome?—J. H. B. e 3 A. The vast numbers of slaves were carefully split up into decuriae, or squads of 10. Q. Is the expression “go slow” - matical?—E. H. B. ® Ee A. Since slow is both an adfective and an adverb the expressian go slow is correct. Go slowly also i8 used, Q. When were fire extinguishefs in- vented?—B. 8. e A. An extinguisher was brought into successful use in London in 1818. In 1837 ’:vxém’m A, ?r-hnm applied for a patent lor a similar apparaf 1 the United States. e m 5 Q. Please tell something about the curious Winchester House in Palo Alto, Calif.—D. M. W. A. The Palo Alto Chamber of Com-~ merce says: “The Winchester House was built by rs. Winchester, the widow of the famous firearms man, who was & spiritualist. She claimed the spirits told her she would not die as long as the sound of hammers was heard in her house, and as a result she kept building and building and chang- ing and, when the spirits told her, left off one section half finished and started another. It is estimated that at least a million dollars was spent on the structure, and parts of it have not been explored. The house is some three stories high—that is, it looks to be that —but there may be five in some parts where it is built in miniature sectio There are several wings, and the arc tectural style is largely that in fashion 25 years ago—very ornate and ugly. Only the best of material was used in the wood parts, and the furnishings, which have now been removed, Were truly magnificent. One room, the one in ‘which she communed with her spirit guide, was furnished and hung entirely in black velvet. Others were masterpleces in satin, and there were closets full of the best linens, silks, ete,, for the entertainment of her spirit guests. She lived alone with her niece and a nurse and never had visitors. In the house itself there are staircases that lead to nowhere, ending in a blank wall. There are others that break off and end some 6 feet deeper. There are rooms 1 foot wide, and there is a tinv balcony with doors about 4 feet high leading to it. There are other staircases with 2-inch risers. Surround- ing this curlous house of a dingy color are tall cedar hedges and a nondescript garden.” BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. The poorest paid laborer is the farm hand. The Department of Agriculture reports that last year's scale of wages for the farm laborer, in the South At- lantic States, , averaged only $35.78 a month, without board, and in the South Central States, $36.74. In con- trast_the same authority states that in the North Atlantic States and North Central States the average wage was $68.71 and $56.95. It was from conditions such as this— $38.78 without board—that labor eager- ly welcomed the coming of manufac- tures into the South, and it was for the same reason that enterprise sought a field so overstocked with help. Similar conditions persist, although not nearly as destitute as in former vears. Still, when farm hands can gotten for not much more than half the prevailing wages in the North for the same work it is natural that irdus- trial wages remain in proporiion. In 1920 there were 7,720,114 persons gainfully employed in the South, of whom half were dependent upon agri- culture, forestry and animal husbandry, while throughout the United States only 26.3 per cent are in agriculture, and in the New England industrial States only 7.1 per cent are farming, This pre- ponderance of poorly paid farm lebor- ers in the South explains why there is a surplus of seckers for the compara= tively few jobs in industries, hence the low wages of the manufactures. * ok k% Comparison of wages in the cotton mills of the North and South, accord- g to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicates why organized laber is interested in the present South= ern strikes amongst textile workers. Per hour. Week. _Year. 50419 31814 $LO: Rhode Island. Alebama Georgia Rorth Ca: South Carolin: ‘The Southern “week” is from three to eight hours longer than in New Eng= land. In most cotton mill communities, the workers live in company-owned cottages built without cellars or plastered walls, and usually all painted alike—iron gray —throughout the town. For these, they pay a rental of about 50 cents a week per room, but if they work elsewhere than in the company's factory, they are required to move out of company houses, as the company counts the “low rental” a subsidy to their own employes. * ok ok X A survey of social conditions amongst the textile workers has been made by Miss Harriet Herring of the University of North Carolina, and another by J. J. Rhyne of the same university. They re- port that, as it is impossible for a fam- ily to live on what the father alone can make, it is found that the average 1s &t least 2.82 workers per family—the Something has been said about the paternal interest shown by employers in | the welfare of their workers. Miss Her- ring Teports that of 322 plants, only 49 had paid community welfare workers attached, and she adds: “In the case of schools and churches, and more recent- ly of housing, the welfare work is con- tinuous. Respecting most other forms of welfare it is casual and intermittent.” * K ok % ‘The workers have been dependent upon their employers for more things than wages. The relationship upon both sides has been friendly and sympathet- ic, but this condition is breaking down with the incoming of managers repre- senting large corporations, often domi- nated by outside capital. Physically and socially, the cotton mill ‘workers have little contact with other groups, end the necessity of 10 hours a day at work precludes much schooling for the children after they reach the legal age to seei employment. At the time of the draft for the World War, it was found that more than 60 per cent of the drafted men of South Carolina could not read a paragraph in a newspaper, nor write the simplest letter about their experiences in camp. * ok % % As for the cost of living, this is found to be about the same in the South as in New England, according to the find- ings of the National Industrial Confer- :nce Board—a fact-finding organization. ‘The health conditions are indicated by the comparison of the death rate per thousand—16.3 per thousand in Missis- sippl, 15.4 in South Carolina and be- tween 13 and 14 in the other Southern States, as contrasted with 10.9 in Ohio and from 11 to 12 in other Northern States. In both cases, there are excep- tions—the death rate in Virginia is only For a student of modern literature this 1s & valuable reference book. i \ 10.7 and in New Hampshire 14. (Copyright, 1929, by Paul V. Colilns.) mother and one child assisting in the | support. ‘