Evening Star Newspaper, October 4, 1929, Page 8

8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY.. .October 4. 1929 THEODORE W. NOYEE....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. a0 Offce: Lake Michighn Bulldii European OM' e Londen. Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Jrening Star, .45¢ per month All Other States and Canada. da yr. 1m yr, s yr, § S=— ‘Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all i atches credited 1o it or not otherwise cred- s pteel ol e o e oot ul erein. All Hights o Soeetal“disbatchos hereln are Also resorved. A Thrice-Welcome Guest. To welcome distinguished strangers within the National Capital gate has long since ceased to be a novelty in ‘Washington. But it is not indulging in exaggeration to say that no guest from overseas has ever set foot on District of Columbia soil whose coming was more cordlally greeted and eagerly awaited than the British statesman arriving to- day. For it is no mere mission of interna- tional courtesy or ordinary official af- fairs that lures Prime Minister Mac- Donald to our seat of government. He has crossed the ocean to bring about the closest possible union short of an al- lance between the two great branches of the English-speaking peoples. Let all concerned, American, Briton, Furopean, Asiatic, mark well that the rapprochement which the British pre- mier and the American President seek is the establishment of nothing even remotely savoring of a formal political partnership. It is not even an “entente cordiale,” as such a compact is com- monly understood in international poli- tics. What Britain and the United States contemplate is & frank and friendly understanding as to their mutual aims in eo far as these concern, first, their own relations, and second, their mu- tual relations to the world at large. Stripped of descriptive non-essentials, the MacDonald-Hoover interchanges during the next momentous week can be called a peace conference. Through them all, peace—how best the American and British commonwealths can pre- serve it—will run like the leitmotif of an opera. It will be the Alpha and Omega of their discussions, their aspira- tions and their definite hopes. Preliminary to the realization of their goal, Premier MacDonald and President Hoover will take up the issue that im- mediately gave rise to the British chief- tain’s trip, naval limitations. That is- sue still presents its difficulties, though 1ts thorniest and basic aspects are fairly well settled in advance. The British Navy has accepted the principle of parity with the American fleet. Dis- crepancies in certain directions remain to be ironed out. That this is an early probability cannot be doubted. Ramsay MacDonald is thrice welcome to America and in Washington. We are familiar with the romantic and brilliant type of career which he personifies. ‘We greet him with especial warmth because of his mount to his present eminence from the humblest beginnings. ‘We meet in him the scholar &: well as the statesman., We recognize in him the incarnation of the new spirit of Iberalism, which has overtaken a war- ridden and war-weary Old World. ‘We hail the prime minister's pres- ence on the Potomac and crave for him the realization of the high hopes which Inspired his journey; for they are the hopes of the American people, too. SR A i A mother never believes her boy could be guilty of & crime. This fact is one of the things that render motherhood sublime. ——r——————— The law of averages works out, even in the weather. But a freshet, follow- ing a drought, affords small satisfaction. —————————— Prison Revolts. ‘When a member of a modern organ- ized community breaks the law written for the protection of all, he is, upon convictlon of his crime, sent to prison for a term of years in punishment. In some States the taking of life is pun- ished by death. In almost all cases, however, the penalty for crime is imprisonment. Places are provided for the detention of those who are thus sent away for a period. They must be strongholds, and there must be rigid discipline for the convicts. In modern times harsh physical punishments are not permitted. The utmost that may be done for the correction of breaches of prison rules is to put the offender in a solitary cell, out of all communication with his fellows. In late times enter- tainments have been furnished the in- mates of the prisons, recreation has been afforded for the sake of their phys- ical health, good and ample food is supplied for their sustenance. ‘The man who breaks the law is a rebel against organized society. When he is sent to prison he is a rebel against authority in spirit if not in fact. He is usually hoping to defeat the rules of his confinement, to escape that confine- ment throughout his term. In every pon the more radical of these rebels plot to break through to liberty. Some- times they find enough of their own kind to form an “escape squad.” At some favorable opportunity they seize a guard, overcome him, take his weap- ons, perhaps kill him and dash for the doors. Now and then these men escape for a little while. Few, however, can long evade pursuit. The percentage of successful prison breaks is so low that the attempt is almost surely to be written down as a failure before it is made. During the past Summer a veritable ‘epidemic of prison-escape plots occurred in this country, with outbreaks at sev- eral of the largest penal institutions, all with loss of life. Great damage was done to the buildings. These revolts ‘were presumably planned through some secret communication between prison- ers. Yesterday, at Canyon City, Colo., another desperate attempt was made with heavy loss of life snd much de- struction of property, but without any of the five hundred revolting inmates getting outside of the walls, ‘These attempts at jail breaking are rarely to be attributed to the misman- agement of the institutions. Rather are they to be regarded as outbreaks of the vicious character of the inmates. They are desperate men who care nothing for life, nothing for law, nothing for so- clety. Those who lead in the jafl-break- ing plots are usually old offenders, many serving terms for the third and fourth time. It would seem that the more that is done to make prison life comfortable and wholesome the more frequent and more desperate become these migderous breaks for liberty on the part of the in- mates. In the Colorado case there is no hint of grievances. The ringleaders shrewdly hatched a plot, obtained weap- ons from outside, killed a guard, seized others, rushed and took possession of the prison arsenal—which should have been more secure—and then began & course of slaying and burning and de- struction lasting for many hours. Now those ringleaders have killed themselves after vainly attempting to negotiate for freedom, holding captured guards as hostages. Prison “reform” has gone too far in making life easy for those condemned by the law to spend terms in custody. There should be reform in another di- rection to make prison life so surely un- attractive as to cause it to serve as a real deterrent to crime. o The Root Formula. The “Root formula,” the purpose of which is to make possible, under the circumstances which have arisen, for the entry of the United States into the World Court, has the approval of Sen- ator Swanson of Virginia, author of the reservations adopted by the Senate three years ago. One of those reserva- tions has been the stumbling block which has so far prevented the United States from becoming a member of the court. Senator Swanson, who is the ranking Democratic member of the Senate for- eign relations committee, speaking last night in the National Radio Forum under the auspices of The Star, pointed out that the Root formula safeguards every interest of the United States which the Senate reservations seek to guard. This is strong testimony from the man who presented the reservations which were adopted by the Senate. The Secretary of State, Mr. Stimson, has already formally stated that this formula, if ratified by other signatory powers, would meet the objections raised by the Senate and fully protect the United States. In this statement, unquestion- ably the Secretary of State was speak- ing with the authority of the President. 1t appears beyond question that sooner or later the Senate will be asked to approve the entry of the United States into the World Court on the basis of the Root formula. The Root formula was drafted by Elihu Root, former Secretary of State, meeting with other members of the committee of jurists which sat in Geneva last Spring to rewrite the statutes of the World Court, with such amendments as they deemed advisable. The formula has been put into the form of a draft protocol which must be rati- fied by the member nations and by the United States. The assent of the for- eign nations already is assured. That of the United States doubtless will be vigorously recommended by the Presi- dent when the opportune time comes to submit the matter to the Senate. Senator Swanson in his address showed clearly and conclusively that the fifth reservation adopted by the Senate, providing that the court shall render no advisory opinions in which the United States has or claims to have an interest, without the consent of this country, is taken care of in the Root formula, which at the same time does away with the objection to the fifth reservation on the part of member na- tions of the court. The Root formula provides for a full notification of the United States of any request made to the court for an advisory opinion; it provides full opportunity for the United States to assert a claim of interest in the case and to present its arguments regarding that claim, and to decline to assent to the adoption of the advisory opinion. Finally, the Root formula pro- vides that if after these exchanges of views no agreement is reached and the United States is not prepared to forego its objection, “then the United States may withdraw without any imputation of unfriendliness or unwillingness to co- operate generally for peace and good will.” “Thus,” said Senator Swanson, “under the Root formula the court can render no advisory opinion without the consent of the United States and require the United States to continue a member of the court Under the Root formula the United States is given the option of making reservation five of the Senate resolution operative or else promptly withdrawing its adherence to the court.” Senator Swanson insisted that no detriment can accrue to the United States by adhering to the court, under the formula now presented. After pay- ing tribute to the worthiness of the court as a factor for peace, he called attention to the necessity for such a tribunal if the Kellogg treaty, renounc- ing war as an instrument for settling international disputes, is to be lived up to by the nations of the world which have ratified that treaty. R ] Big business is a magnificent success, except in minor instances, when it un- dertakes more business than it can in- telligently attend to. ———r—t——— Historical Manuscrip:s. Nearly half a million photostatic reproductions of manuscripts having an intimate bearing on American history have been secured for the Library of Congress during the past two years from the archives, libraries, museums and private collections of a dozen European countries. This work, financed by John D. Rockefeller, jr, and directed by Dr. Samuel F. Bemis of George Washing- ton University, should prove of incalcu- lable value in the task of reconstructing an adequate picture of the American past. It will enable the research worker to go back to eyewitnesses of obscure phases in the development of the Nation and to secure those illuminating but evasive detalls essential for any true picture of a complex of events. Some chance observation in the letter of a missionary, the routine record of an emigration official at some European port or a British general’s order for supplies might furnish the essential detall around which can be recon- structed a realistic picture of an event now crusted with legendry. History, as the record of the experi- ence of the past, should prove the best of all guides for the present and the fu- ture, for the same events in the same environment generally may be assumed ‘to have the same consequences. But any train of events is attended by an infinite number of details and ignorance of any of these may lead to entirely false conclusions. The manuscripts col- lected by Dr. Bemis should prove a gold mine of detalls, from which historians will be gathering a wealth of material for years to come. ‘The flood of photostats of European manuscripts has only started. The foreign mission of the Library of Con- gress will continue for three more years with the funds made available by Mr. Rockefeller and it is likely that means will be found to continue the work still longer if there is need for it. Much of this material has been unavailable to American students in the past. At the best it could be examined only at the cost of considerable personal incon- venience and expense. It was widely scattered over the European Continent. Now it all is concentrated in one place. The Library of Congress, with its great deposits of manuscript material, already is the headquarters for most researches in American history. In the future it should prove a still more con- venient and popular center for students of all phases of that great drama of | national growth. oo Felicitous Fountains. Although a season approaches when the sensory appeal of a fountain is ab- sent or greatly diminished, yet it is likely that no one has read without happy anticipation of the proposal to enhance the charms of Potomac Park with an electric fountain which, in- stalled in the waters of the Tidal Basin not far from the boathouse, will throw a jet high in air, to the consequent pleasure of the many motorists and pedestrians who pass there-in all but the most inclement weather. Col. Grant, director of the Office of Public Bulld- ings and Public Parks, has under con- sideration this suggestion, first made, it is recalled, by one of his predecessors some thirty years ago. A fountain is perhaps as sure-fire an attraction as exists. Marked differences of opinion prevail as to the merits of statuary, band stands and other fea- tures of a pretentious parking scheme, but practically every one likes to see and to hear cascading or dropping water. The jets which form the “Rainbow Foun- tain” at the eastern end of the Lincoln Memorial pool have added greatly to the beauty of that locality. To have further similar attractions at strategic points throughout the District would give pleasure eventually to millions of persons. It is thought that America has lagged behind the Old World in her appreci- ation of fountains and their utilization in comprehensive decorative schemes. Possibly this has been overdone abroad where, for example, with the termina- tion of the extravagance of Bourbon kings, it has been found so expensive to play the fountains of Versailles that these are turned on only at long inter- vals. Inventive genius has since de- veloped machinery whereby foolish waste is eliminated by the utilization of the same water over and over again. The fountain in Dupont Circle, a speci- men of this scheme, is enjoyed daily in torrid weather by thousands. The plan for the Tidal Basin fountain is of this sort, naturally, and others could be placed here and there on land through- out all parks adjacent to Potomac waters. That Col. Grant's office may find a method and sufficient funds speedily to put into operation this sug- gested fountain and, later, others, is a general hope. There can scarcely be too many of them. ——— et His success as & detective should easily render Officer Allen independent of police duty while he qualifies as one of our leading magazine writers. —— e Stresemann was only fifty-one years old. Hindenburg is much older. World responsibilities must still be shouldered by men advanced in years. —e—————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Santa Claus Tariff. 0ld Man Tariff, drawing near, Brings & hope or else a fear; Favored ones he will respect, While some others he’ll neglect— ©Old Man Tariff wins applause While he’s playing Santa Claus. ©ld Man Tariff, bringing toys To the Good Financial Boys And forgetting protest strong From the Boys who Get in Wrong— Old Man Tariff wins because He is still our Santa Claus. Blame and Praise. “You have been accused of being a grafter.” “Everybody knows,” sald Senator Sor- ghum, “that I have no great fortune. 1f T had, I wouldn't be accused. I'd be overwhelmed with flattery.” Jud Tunkins says if fashions go on the way they have started there won't be very much difference between & new dress and a nude dress. Sincere Banqueting. The banquet will be fine, they say, As dishes come across. ‘Though viands rare are on display, There'll be no “apple sauce.” % it From Best to Worst. “So your daughter is married.” “Yes.” “She used to say she wouldn's mar- ry the best man on earth.” “She didn’t. The family opinion is that she went to the other extreme.” “Power,” sald Hl Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “Is the achievement of am- bition followed by the penalty of fear.” Alternation. Sorrows must come and fade away And Autumn with its chill array Gives promise of the birds that sing To welcome April blossoming. “I don’t care nufin’ ’bout & politi- THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, Style, in writing, is like the perfume of the lilac. The flower would be as be:n:ltml but not as interesting with- out. it. Some styles are instinctive, others heavily mannered. The peculiar is that the one may be as good as the other, if done with the proper ap- preciation of values. Style is a trick of phraseology, which, carried to excess, becomes distasteful, but which gives flavor to writing if it is handled with discrimination. One might think that all writers would have recourse to such a plain method as this, but not until he had investigated _the matter personally would he realize that it constitutes the most difficult end of writing. The most difficult, surely, because it is the easlest to indulge in, and there- fore the surest to catch the unwary. He who labors much after “style” will lose it, lose it in the act of catch- ing it, like the bird upon whose tail the children try to sprinkle salt. * ok ok k Style is the condiment of smooth flowing prose. It has nothing to do with whether sentences are short or long, simple or involved. These are background comidel’lfio:l't matters which should have been taken care of long ago. Smoothness in writing is the secret of the best writing, if the finger can be placed on any one element. It can be so placed, let it be remembered, only in a sense, not actually. The ‘“ele- ments of style” exist only in the books of those who profess to be able to do something which common sense knows they cannot do. Smoothness, however, is the nearest one can come to naming the nearest, commonest element, the one quality which distinguishes the best writings. This flow, gentle or grand, quiet or turbulent, comes not only in the com- bination of syllables and words, but even more in those hidden things of heart and mind which lie behind words. There is always more in the at writers than is on the surface of the page. That is why such reading is often perplexing to_ the active mind. One cannot read so little as a sentence without being put in mind of some- sthing else. The reader is stirred. Strange fig- ments of the imagination pass before his eyes. Where he is told about a barn, he sees the cows entering it. He not only reads between the lines—he reads on top of the lines, and beneath them, too. L This easy flow of supple prose, the ambition of most writers, may or may not be secured effortlessly. The labor behind the finished product means nothing; the reader is not interested in it, except incidentally. This smoothness is rather of the mind than of the printed page. Again let 1t be stated that the length of sentences has nothing to do with it. The ama- teur is liable to make his big mistake right here, taking long sentences for smooth-flowing ones, simply because they run on so. Mechanical structure has little to do with it. Genuine smoothness has to do with ideas, or the relation of facts, either facts per se or in fiction. (There is a saying, as every one knows, “Truth is stranger than fiction.”) Ask any writer, of any degree of abil- ity, what he would like to be able to do best and if he is honest, or if he knows you well enough to believe you to be sincere in your inquiry, he will state that he would prefer to be sble to so write that his writings would satisfy * ok ok % Few writers ever satisfy themselves, ‘They may get & thrill up that back- bone, at the end of their work, or be moved to tears, but after they have placed the manuscript away to *‘cool off,” as the saying is, when they come back it seems dull and lifeless to them. Some believe in polishing, others in letting alone. The first regard the word masses as jewels, capable of receiving benefit from & buffing process. The re- mainder of the fraternity feel that a certain intangible but nevertheless crude power lies in a first expression. That is why they want their thoughts to flow on, to hold their own interest as well as that of future readers. They belleve that if their thoughts come welling forth, much as the cool water from a spring, the written result will possess & certain surety of manner in line with Nltu;e.* e If they can get this quality in their work, they have but to add to it the spice of real style to make it better. ‘The danger they run is in introducing & certain preciousness, running all the way from the “flowery” to the mildly affected. ‘The handclasp which every writer wishes to give every reader is lost in one of those namby-pamby “shakes” described best by the term “fishlike.” Just as the limp, flabby handclasp is universally disliked, so prose cluttered up with extreme mannerisms is devoid of real style. One of two things has happened: Either the writer has overdone himself or he is devoid of the inner ability to avold “fine writing,” so called. In either case he misses style. He has turned his literary saltcellars upside down, he has strained himself so anx- fously that the reader is il at ease, too. * ok ok X Consclous approximations of style never e«lx’ul those genuine outpourings of the heart and mind which come when & writer is as natural in his writ- ing as the bird in its flying or the cat in its mewing. ‘When a man writes as a dog barks, he gets style, and he does not have to sit up late at night to think about how it is done. It does itself, or at least so it seems. Every writer thinks that if he could just “cut loose” the words would flow from him like & mighty river. In visions he sees himself effortlessly ex- celling all his past work as the sun does the moon. Not only his words will roll smoothly, then, but the very sinews of his thought will be so ordered that his flowing prose will sparkle forth, every now and then, in those literary felicities which are called style. It is not a good word. It expresses too much and too little. Yet it is the best we have, designating & very sure thing in the art of writing. American prose at the present time is too little styled. Every one writes well—and much the same. Even the “style” of such a writer as Ernest Hemingway fails to be convincing. He has been reading Maeterlinck’s plays! He cannot fool anybody. We have that dialogue elsewhere. It is body else’s salt. thing | him, not you. some- WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. 5 Officially and ostensibly it is a matter of tons and guns that brings Prime Minister MacDonald to Washington. Actually cruisers and co-related ques- tions are merely the pretext for his coming. The cause of his presence on the soll of the United States is vastly different and immeasurably more fun- | poin damental. The British premier has ar- rived in this country to explore at first hand the practical possibilities of 1- ing the strength and resources of the American Republic and the British Em- pire for the preservation of peaceful re- lations not only between themselves, but among all the nations of the world. Any other description of the Hoover- MacDonald “conversations” is as wide of the mark as to suggest that President and premier are about to negotiate an Anglo-American alliance. Ambassador Dawes—gifted coiner of terse phrases— epitomized the situation accurately in his striking speech at Sudbury, England, on October 1. “All that is now past,” he said, referring to the wars which ‘America and Britain have waged against each other, “for our two countries now, under the providence of God, are to- gether fighting a battle for the world's peace.” * kK ok Continuing Dawes’ useful metaphor, it may be stated that the Hoover-Mac- Donald meeting is a council of war for peace. It will deal, as such councils always do deal, with the grand strategy of the campaign that is to be waged. It will not waste time on relatively un- essential details. 1t will particularly avoid issues that are irrelevant and ex- traneous. It will definitely keep off the grass of questions which both gov- ernments consider to be closed inci- dents, such as the Anglo-American war debt settlement. The only chance that that special question will be brought up while Mr, MacDonald is in the United States is that the discussion will be initiated by American spokesmen. That is another way of saying it will not be talked about at all. The President and the prime minister will also not permit themselves to stray from the bigger business in_ hand such _ things as (1) the diplomatic status of Soviet Russia, (2) the private disputes of American and British oil interests for advantage in world markets, (3) the international aspects of prohibition, or (4) the possible effect of the Hawley- Smoot tariff bill on British trade in the United Stl:es),‘ o Mr. MacDonald has himself set forth in so many words the nature of his mission. He wants to see what can be done to “narrow the Atlantic.” What | ti exactly does the prime minister mean by that? He means that John Bull de- sires to find out just Sam is willing to go to insure that the immense power and prestige of the English-speaking races shall hencefor- ward be used exclusively for the com- mon purpose of peace, and never for the purpose of mutual destruction. One of the premiers who preside over “Brit- ish dominions beyond the seas”—a statesman_ with paramount interest in what is about to happen at Washing- ton—summarizes the great objective as follows: “Our two fleets united to pre- vent war and pledged to fight only on the same side if war cannot be pre- vented.” * k X ¥ Naturally, practical naval questions require decision as part and parcel of the great and gleaming goal which Co- lumbia and Britannia have set them- selves. No peace partnership with the British would satisfy the American peo- ple which is not soundly based on equal- ity of seapower. “Fifty-fifty” is our ir- reducible minimum on that score. Britain is ready to concede it. Assured of that mutual respect thenceforward— the which al flows from equality in any sort of relationship, whether between men or between g- ernments—the Republic and the - pire are about to which their ant naval strength is to be put. Their considerations start, of course, from the premise that they are never going to war with each other. clan's pocketbook,” said Uncle Eben,|insist “If he wants to make any money im- pression at Shoeheel Corners, he's got to bring ‘s satchek? ~ - how far Uncle | Bri discuss the use to|ald in Wi has not yet begun to be realized by the average man or woman in America, or elsewhere in the world, what gigantic implications are carried by the general treaty for renunciation of war. Every day more and more distinguished au- thorities, American and foreign, are ting them out. The periodical press, which speclalizes in international af- fairs, is full of articles from men like Philip Kerr of England and John W. Davis of the United States which are designed to clear up public opinion about the Kellogg pact. The burden of their varfous songs is identical. It is to the effect that the anti-war treaty is not worth the parchment it is written on unless its signatories, jointly and sev- erally, are ready at a moment’s notice to punish any nation which violates the pact. The Anglo-American theory is that the mere knowledge that British and American sea power will be flung remorselessly against such aggression against the new law of the world will suffice to “prevent war.” 1If it does not, then—as the British Dominion premier puts it—that “united” sea power will be employed “op the same side” for any other steps may become necessary. * X K * ‘There is a growing volume of respon- sible opinion that the question of America’s ancient adherence to ‘‘freedom of the seas” crop up in the course of the lo-American plan to “narrow the Atlantic.” The United States hastened to renounce it in 1917 as soon as we entered the war against Germany. Having for two and a half years previ- ous insisted as a neutral upon non- molestation of our sea-borne commerce, we ymmpfl'ynpul the to work stop any neutral from '1'-!\r Germl]yl‘lz or(;elth collntr::}sl suspected of supplylng Germany wi the sinews of war. ‘That is precisely what analytical interpreters of the Kellog pact point out must obviously be done in the event of its violation—viz,, the closing of the seas against the ag- gressor nation. As the British and American fleets were used to that end in 1917 and 1918, so the Kellogg pact intends they shall be similarly employed in a future emergency. * K Xk Many shrewd observers—men who have been on the “inside” of the Hoover-MacDonald pourparlers (which is the language of diplomacy for ad- vance interchanges of views)—are con- vinced that one significant British “gesture” is just over the horizon. They that MacDonald, sooner or the “demilitariza- lon’ ritish territory in ‘Western Hemisphere that is not already denuded of forts and guns. means itish in the Caribbean and the South Atlantic—the Bermuda Islands, the West Indles and British Guiana. British reasoning on this point is that there is no more logic in arm- ing these territories against the only conceivable foe—the United States— than there is in arming the Canadian- American frontler. That 3,000-mile bproof walls. By Bagot_treaty of 1817 the Great Lakes were d ated as waters on which no British or American ships of war should ever ride—though rum runners and Coast Guard patrols have meantime engaged in hostilities there. If this Republic and the Dominion have found it possible to live in peace, sans artil- lery, why shouldn’t the rest of the em- pire similarly divest itself in all regions where British guns point toward America? * k ok % Since Wt and Cornwallls had_their famous business transaction at Yorktown there has been no meeting of American and British minds faintly comparable in magnitude, in possibili- tles and in promise to the meeting of Herbert Hoover and R‘Atmuy ‘MacDon- may uhlnfi:m, be thal soil—the Rapidan woods— is destined to be the scene of ';mnkiu Anclm.meflm events —events as moment 1781. Even ber—is reminiscent Vi as_those of the month—Octol and prophetic. (Copyright, 1029.) Test-Tube Terrors. From the Eimirs Star-Gazette. ‘They anl;hv. ju-cl::e well scrap m and armor , anyway, Sfl" next wsl; will be u{ued by chemistry. . i United States Navy | ali Birth Certificate Plan For Passports Scored To the Editor of The Star: dence that they were born in America, according to your issue of October 1, citing the case of Jackson Barnett, re- puted wealthiest Indian in the United States. Barnett, born probably in an isolated shack or tepee on the Southwest plains, at & time when no register was kept even of white births in our larger cities, is out of luck in so far as going to s concerned unless he can dig up from the dim past another Indian who was present at his birth and who can make affidavit of that fact. The State Department’s passport division evidently conceives births in Indian tepees fo be tribal levees, public in character, with mother and papoose the star performers. White, red and black, also yellow, all must supply af- fidavits averring exact knowledge of the ‘American birth of the applicant, signed and sworn to by physician, nurse or supposed eyewitness—in the case of persons of mature age, an impossible thing to secure in & majority of cases. If courts can, and do, take judicial notice of facts well known to even sim- plest minds, isn’t it about time that Secretary Stimson, able lawyer, should inject the principle of common sense into the passport division of his de- partment? I had a somewhat similar experience to Barnett’s last Summer, although not tracing my Americanism so far back as Barnett. My wife and I desired to se- cure passports to Europe. We went to the State Department. The passport clerk was courteous, but insistent that before issuing passports we must pre- sent evidence of American birth, either a birth certificate or affidavits from at- tending physicians or nurses, or others who could swear we were born on American soil. Unfortunately, I was born in a Nevada mining camp, in the 170s, when even the daily murders were not reported in the newspapers with any degree of accuracy. If the death register was wholly neglected, one can imagine that the arrival of squalling newcomers was not a matter for his- torical indictment. The State and city in those days kept no vital statistics of any sort. Not being officially born, ac- cording to the State Department, due to my lack of a birth certificate, and not being officiplly dead, either, I was in a deuce of a fix. My folks had al- ways led me to belleve that I was an American citizen by birth, and I was proud of it. I had been admitted to the bar as an American and married as an American. Officially, however, I was in a category along with the Chinese, Hot- tentots and Zulus. The passport clerk then asked if T could furnish affidavits of persons who could swear that I was born in America—doctors, nurses, for example. In despair I confessed I could not. Even had I known their names, mani- festly it would have been a task to ferret them out after 55 years, even if they were alive, I saw my European trip fading fast. No Trafalgar Square or Rue de la Paix for me. I was & prisoner in America. In a lucid interval I recalled that I had in 1918 secured a passport to South America. At this information the brow of the passport clerk cleared perceptibly. I could see a ray of hope. Yes, the problem was solved. If I had secured a passport in 1918 I was en- titled to another one in 1928, American or no American. The records were verified and I was saved! ‘Then my thoughts reverted to my wife, poor wretch, as O. O. McIntyre terms the better half. For a moment T saw visions of Montmartre alone and unchaperoned. There might some slight balm in Gilead, at that. My wife, born in Chicago, where they now certainly need vital statistics, while young in spirit and not very old in years, still was older than the date of the first Chicago birth records. The attending physician and nurse were old people at her birth; of course, being human, they were now dead; her par- ents had died years ago. Her case looked pretty bad. No passport had been issued to her in 1918 for South America, or anywhere else. Clearly the lady was out of luck. She was confi- dent that she was an American; that her father had been United States Min- ister to European countries, but she couldn’t prove her own advent into this world of woe. Finally the clerk, after much brow wrinkling, suggested that an affidavit might be secured from some relative, a brother or sister. We pointed out that there was no brother, but that a sister 2 years older now resided in Chicago. ~ We suggested that, only being 2 vears old at the date of Mrs. Jones’ birth, her personal recollection of the actual event would be nebulous. We were informed it would be given consideration if and when received. Accordingly, after some delay, the sis- ter prevaricated nobly as to her re- membrance; the affidavit was accepted as proof, and the passport was granted. I have always wondered why John D. Rockefeller never goes to Europe. I know the reason now. He can't get a passport. Being 90 years old, he can’t secure a certificate from the attending physician or nurse; his co- temporaries at birth are dead; he can get no affidavits. Officially he is not an American. He is interned in Amer- ica forever. Methuselah certainly would be out of luck with the passport division, if ve and an American national. CI ‘W. JONES. Virginia Mountaineers Not Entirely Neglected To the Editor of The Star: In your paper as well as in other papers I have read some articles tell- ing of the conditions existing in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I should like to tell of some other con- ditions which also exist there, in order to give a more complete picture of our mountain people. I feel qualified to speak because I have been working among these same mountain people most of the time since June, 1908, for years as an active mission worker in the mountains of Greene County and of late at the headquarters of the Episco- pal Archdeaconry of the Blue Ridge, in touch with 30 missions which we maintain in seven mountain counties. I think that practically all of the statements made in your series of arti- cles are true in some cases, perhaps in many cases. But it is not true that such conditions exist generally. I know of a few mountain cabins where there has been hunger. These cases have been the result of & lazy, trifling hus- band and father. But for the most art the children do not chew tobacco “to stay the mgx of hunger,” but be- cause meythm’:.o’&o is ;‘lr.l:q mlr‘.n‘ly, or grown-up, . uently one finds homes where the diet is not well regulated, yet it is plentiful, and there are no ""fl% of hunger, though there may be malnutrition. ‘The Episcopal Church has established misslons through the Blue Ridge in this section, as many as we could procure funds to keep up, and wherever the missions of the church have been well established there has been developed & community of people who are rapidly learning betf ways. Many & one- room cabin has been enlarged. Many & screen has been fitted to door and window. Many a child has been taught the better ways of cooking and planning et el and mpy s,y ly has_prof ereby. We fine industrial Mfi: school, accredited, and full all the time with bright, eager young minds. ‘We send there as many of the specially promising children from our day schools as we can get funds to support. We have a preventorium, where, under the care of a trained nurse who is an expert in this line, undernourished children and those who for any reason may be threatened with tuberculosis are built up into perfect, rosy health and taught how to live when they back hglme. Ol;rul’m among_these stnce 1000— program which and remedies fundamental for this reason that I ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘This is a special department devoted to the Mndm ‘of inqulflues.l You h"le ur an extensive organi- in Washington 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 Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, ‘Washington, Q. Has any city, other than San Prancisco, four street car lines on one street?—J. L. T. A. New Orleans is the only other city in the United States which has four street car lines on one street. Q. What became of the money con- tributed to the Irish Republic?—J. A. G, A. On May 12, 1927, Judge Peters of New York Supreme Court decided that neither the Irish Free State nor the Republican party was entitled to the money contributed by subscribers to the Irish Republic and ordered the money returned to the subscribers after legal expenses, etc., had been made. The money was deposited in the Harriman National Bank and the Guaranty Safe Deposit New York City. The re- ceivers pla in charge of the funds are J. E. Murphy and J. L. Buckley. Claims are being considered and it is impossible to say when the final settle- ment will be ordered. All claims may be submitted to the receivers at the banks given. Q. Who was the Prof. King who was known as a balloonist about 1870?— J.A. M. A. He was an aeronaut and scientist, born in Philadelphia in 1828. He ran traveling balloon shows and put on a show at the Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. He wrote several books on balloons. Q. When did meat packing become an industry?—C. 8. A. The history of the packing indus- try begins in the seventeenth century in New England, where large quantities of pork were packed in barrels for for- eign trade. The first packing house in the West was established in Cincinnati in 1818. Cincinnati continued to lead in the industry for many years, but is now surpassed by Chicago, while in many Western cities the industry has risen to great importance, Prior to 1872 most of the slaughtering was done dur- ing the Winter months. bout that time the chilling process began to be developed. The development of the packing industry is largely due to the application of artificial means of refrig- eration, for at the foundation of all successful meat curing is the thorough chilling of the carcass. Q. When was oil first found in com- mercial ~quantity in Oklahoma?— A. The first well which brought in ofl in commercial quantity was drilled in Red Fork, Oklahoma. Oil was struck June 25, 1901. This was Bland Well, No. 1, and it started the development of the great Midcontinent oil field. Q. In what year were the rallroads of the United States changed to stand- ard gauge?—O. H. K. . A. The ploneer railroad builders in the United States were wise enough to adopt but one gauge, the “standard” of 4 feet 8% inches between rails, thus enabling cars to be transferred from one system to the other. Nowhere else in the world was there such & uniform construction of railways and materiais as in the United States, Q. What was the glass shade on a candle called?>—R. E. S. A. It was called a hurricane shadc. Q- What is the present flag of China? A. The present flag of China has a red background with a blue field in the upper left-hand corner, in the center of which is & white sun with triangular rays. Q. De we see only half the moon— crescent-shaped—because the shadow of the earth is on it?—J. N. R. A. The shadow of the earth striking the moon produces an eclipse. The moon is a dark opaque body; only the half turned toward the sun is bright, the o) posite half is unillumined and therefore usually invisible. As the moon revolves around the earth different regions of the illuminated half are turned toward us. This causes the phases of the moon. Q. Where is White Russia?—R. J. M. A. White Russia borders on Poland. Its capitzl city is Minsk. It is just north of the Ukranian Republic and due west from Moscow. Q. Who founded the Marshall Still- man Movement, which helps prisoners get started on the right path when they are released from prison?—M. I, A. Alpheus Geer is its founder and leader. Q. Why did Peale give such unusual names to his children?—N. F. A. The artist is said to have given his children the most distinguished names “so that he could boast himself the father of Raphael, Angelica, Kauff- man, Rembrandt, Rubens and Titlan.” Q. How long has Farina been in the movies?>—L. E. A. Farina—in private life, Allen C. Hoskins—was born in Boston, August 8, 1920. Farina embarked on his screen career at the age of 14 months, Q. What work is being done on the Nicaraguan Canal?—A. H. E. A. The work on the Nicaraguan Canal will be supervised by the Inter- ocean Canal Board, consisting of five military and civilian engineers ap- pointed by President Hoover. Maj. Dan I Sultan of the office of the chief of engineers has been placed in direct charge of the work. At the present time there is a picked engineering battalion numbering 400 officers and men survey- ing the route of the proposed canal. The work of surveying will take two years | and it is estimated that 10 years will be | needed to complete the project. Character and Credited to Classed as a modest little manager and one of base ball's strong charac- ters, Miller Huggins dies amid the plaudits of Americans generally, while the world of sport is held to have lost one of its great disciplinarians and strategists. He is believed to have con- tributed td placing the national game on a high plane. “Little as he was,” recalls the New York Sun, “Huggins knew how to han- dle the big and hardy athletes with whom Me surrounded himself. Quiet persistence, inflexibility rather than per- sonal aggressiveness and_ bluster, were his characteristics. In his death or- ganized base ball has lost one of its im- portant personages.” The Little Rock Arkansas Democrat says that “he died as he lived, making a game fight”; that “there was perhaps in all base ball no more colorful figure than the fighting little Yankee pilot,” and that “New York will not be alone in missing this little fellow who did so much to keep the game on the high plane it enjoys.” “Great himself in his chosen work, he made others great. When he died, a real star fell from the firmament of sport,” declares the Herald of Wash- ington Courthouse, while the Akron Beacon-Journal believes that “the very circumstances of his death, in harness and at the crest of his career, will weave for him an aura of fame as bright as that which has been accord- ed to any of the game's great players. ‘The Hamilton Evening Journal state: “Hamilton has a right to mourn, be- cause it was in those years that Huggins was graduated from the sand lot into the higher circles of base ball that Hamilton enjoyed the ability, the ver- satility and sportsmanship of this man, destined to play such an important part in the national game.” “By magnificent qualities of man- hood,” records the St. Paul Daily News, “Miller Huggins rose to a greatness that falls to the lot of few men in base ball. * * * His success in New York was unique and extraordinary for the rea- son that he shamed his temperamental and somewhat unruly stars into a rou- tine of respect and decency. He was es- sentially a character builder.” niston Star pays the tribute that “he has contributed much to the game and helped to keep it on & higher plane” and that he “was not only a shrewd base ball manager, but he was known as a gentleman as well.” “A genius whose force of intellect and character will be missed” is further lauded by the Ann Arbor Daily New: “Though sHort of stature, Miller Hug. ‘was one of the biggest of base ball men. If ever the managing of a nine could be considered as having developed into one of the fine arts, he would have to be given the credit.” The Haverhill Gazette finds general recognition that “a great base ball leader’s career has been ended at its height.” The Rutland Herald records the passing of a “men- tally powerful ‘atom’ and a natural leader of men.” “His life afforded striking exemplifi- cation of the brain’s superiority to the body—mind over matter,” says the Roa=- noke Times. “Short of stature and of frail physique, Huggins weighed only a little more than a hundred pounds. He ‘was a mild-mannered little man of few words. But he bossed the tempera- mental stars of his club in a way that got results.” Similarly the Toledo Blade emp! the point that “he proved, among other things, that a manager could enforce discipline without losing the respect and confidence of the play- ers,” and that paper also indorses his qualities with the statement that “in a quarter of a century of base ball, Mr. Huggins stood out as one of the strong — wish to let the reading public know that the mountain people have not been entirely neglected, and that from our efforts, hampered though they have been by inadequate support, there has sprung a body of well taught, intelli- gent citizens. We have some 1,200 communicants of the church, hundreds :'l fld{len hl:dlschog‘lf. nfien who are » ups! ng churchmen as you will find anywhere. We have college graduates who have come from our mission schools to college and made good, even to the extent of Phi Beta Kappa keys! We have a young man in his last year at the Virginia Seminary and he is considered one of the finest men there. These ts are to be seen by any one who is interested enough to come to Charlottesville and let us take him into the Blue Ridge | on & tour of our missions. There might be many times as many such results if we could spread out as we have fre- quent opportunity to do. § ELIZABETH E. WINEGAR, Secretary for the Archdeaconry of the Blue Ridge. ‘The An- | Leadership Miller Huggins personalities and keen-minded men of the game.” The Blade refers to the fact that “it was his fate to pass out of life in the closing hours of the seasen, with the team he has long managed out of the pennant race, but only a step be- hind the winner.” “As manager of the New York Yan- Kkees,” recalls the Albany Evening Nev “he had won six pennants and thre world championships. He had a fight- ing soul, an alert mind, and he believed in clean spo: Miller Huggins was a commander of men in his ownfield, and he could have led in other fields. Base ball has lost a leader and the world of sport a figure that it admired and liked.” The Yakima Morning Herald describes him as “the general extraordi- nary of the diamond” and as “one of the leaders in raising the national game to the status of big business.” “An organizer behind the scenes, and a master of the mechanism and the strategy of the most intensive, charac- teristic and popular of American sports,” is the appraisal by the Syracuse Herald, which adds that “in ¢hat capacity he had no superior, and perhaps no equal, in the base ball history of his last dec- ade.” The Canton Daily News offers the judgment: “Huggins was necessarily a stabilizer of wayward men, His suc- cess in finally holding the mereurial Ruth tc a steady course was, in his field, a notable achievement. In an age where war was the national game, as used to be the case, Huggins would have been a famous and beloved ‘little corporal.” with somewhere between 100 and 100,- 000 men at his back. Within the range of his opportunities, the little manager of the ‘Yanks’ performed as nearly per- fect work as this imperfect world often | sees. ‘To his memory be praise, respect and admiration accordingly.” “In that tense hour of expectancy which precedes the dawn of another | world_serfes, where for so many years he held the spotlight, applause for rival teams dies away to give place to silent grief of multitudes over the passing of one of the great of base ball. A fighting general of the diamond, Huggins de- manded that his players give to the game precisely what he gave himself- the best that could be given to win. How right he was he proved in the for- midable team that he made the New York _ Yankees—champions of cham- pions” In the victories that followed each other through tkLe years, Huggins stimulated interest in base ball .to an extent that cannot even be estimated: not only to the Yankees and the leagu: but to the game, his loss is irreparable Says Cats and Dogs Not Needed in Cii:- To the Editor of The Star: Referring to letter of Katharine Birney Seip in Friday's Star: It would be a strange kind of man or woman who hated dogs and cats in their proper places. I love dogs in the country, where they are needed to pro- tect property, and cats to keep down rats, etc.; but in the city they are out of their element. ‘The poor things suffer from bein shut up, and should never be abused, a% ;l::&:s nr: mmyflgre:dterbdisturbmg ele- , as mention - !Pg‘l;fien& Y your corre. s is my point of view, gained by yencrs ol; e{gerlence: i y ‘oun e money spent for licenses and food for the thousands of animals in the District. This should be given to aid poor aged men and women, many of whom have possessed means, but for various reasons find themselves without homes, {ncney or ability to make a living. 1t is heart-breaking! kn‘g:“; r:aey!ge fige g‘fm one, and, God , Wi oul ve a little to g these indigent ones? R. B. Bl e.lp Two Bodies Interested In Preserving ‘Wayside’ To the Editor of The Star: Private citizens interested in the pres- ervation of “Hawthorne's last home,” as described in a letter in a recent edition , of The Star, should communicate with either Lawrence Fletcher, executive sec- retary Trustees of Public Reservations, 50 Congress street, Boston, or Sumner Ap- pleton, secretary Society for the Preser- vation' of New England Antiquities, at Lynde and Cambridge streets, Boston. Both of these organizations are inter- ested in “Wayside.” Either or both are suitable instruments through which friends may work or contribute to this cause, CHARLES W. ELIOT, 2d. a L]