Evening Star Newspaper, October 10, 1929, Page 8

i i . - * settlement. | ever, are questioning this, pointing out THE, EVENING, STAR|smotes e st 0.5 2 WASHINGTON, D. C. to deal with the tariff in this special session which began last April. The ITHURSDAY.....October 10, 1929 | farm rellef bill was the only other /THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening ll:r Newspaper cmnny iness Office: d Pennsylvania Ave. 11th 8t 3 New Yorl jee: 110 East 42nd St. e et Rate by Carrier Within the City. m ing Stal vhen's Bundare) The }nn’nhnnd ‘Bundsy Star (when 8 Bundass The Bunday 8t Oollection made hy may be sent in NAtienal 5000. ‘Rate by Mail—] M 65¢ per month 3 month. by mail able in Advance. Pa land and Virginia. 3 1 mo., 40¢ U1 yrl $4.00; All Other !h‘tn and ily and Sunda: yr. 812 lay only . _ Member of the Associated Press. e Associated Press ix exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news dis- atches eredited to it or not atherwise cred. in this paper an the Jacal news published herein. All rights of publication of pecial dlspatches herein are also reserved. — New Wine for 0ld. Pew either in Great Britain or Amer- 4ea but will wish that the joint valedic- tory issued by Prime Minister Macdon- 8ld and President Hoover, on the eve of Mr. Macdonald's departure from Wash- ington, had sinned more on the side of clarity. Its plainest note is its am- biguity, or rather-its failure to be trans- parently concrete, Indubitably the “joint statement” is most interesting at the point where it declares that Great Britain and America “approach old historical problems from ® new angle and in a new atmosphere.” The English-speaking peoples having agreed to assume that war between them 18 “banished,” these “old historical prob- lems,” the prime minister and the President now tell us, “have changed their meaning and character.” In a succeeding phrase of truly momentous character, the British and American peoples are informed that “the solution of these problems, in ways satisfactory to both countries, has become possible.” ‘These questions are now to become the subject of “active consideration” between London and Washington. The high contracting statesmen should de- lay no longer than is urgently neces- sary a crystal-clear expose of what the problems in question are. Public opinion, both in Great Britain and the United States, will be the final arbiter in their The cooner it is given a chance of becoming an informed public opinion, the better for all concerned and for the vital issues at stake. There is a gathering weight of opinion that the outstanding “old his- torical problem” to which the Mac- donald-Hoover statement refers is the freedom of the seas. Readers of The Star’s news columns learned several weeks in advance of- the prime.minis- ter's arrival that this ancient and acrimonious Anglo-American issue would in all likelihood bulk prominently in the Washington discussions just ended. ‘The news article just referred to pointed out how the implications of the Kellogg pact radically alter the traditional American conception of neutral rights &t sea in time of war. Yesterday's Anglo-American state- ment—as portentous a state paper as has come forth in either country in a century—directly links the Kellogg pact with the new approach to his-; torical problems which Britain and America are now able to undertake. New international wine is about to be substituted for old. Mystified as we seem doomed to be, for the moment, as to the precise nature of the libation, the world is at least secure in the con- fidence that it is the potation of peace. -——— The world has grown smaller and more neighborly. When statesmen have international subjects to talk over it 1s no trouble to exchange visits for the purpose of a friendly and intimate chat. Russia desires trade and mjight be better off if some of the bolshevists would give up political agitation and become high-power salesmen ————— Tariff in the Making. A month has passed since the Sen- ate began consideration of the tariff bill. So far not a single rate in the bill has been acted on. Indeed, not a rate has yet come before the Senate for discussion. That body has devoted its attentions to the administrative fea- tures of the bill. It has removed the so-called flexible provisions, permitting the President to change tariff duties on commodities by fifty per cent of the rate fixed by Congress after the Tariff Commission makes report and recom- mendation and has adopted several other amendments over the protest of the finance committee. But so far the real test of the pudding has not been made. It is when the rate schedules are reached and voted upon that there will be a clear demonstration as to the stability of the Democratic-Republican progressive coalition, which defeated the administration forces on the flexible provisions. The coalition leaders profess confi- dence that they will maintain the whip hand throughout consideration of the tariff bill in the Senate. Some of thel seasoned veterans of the Senate, how- | that sectional and State demands for tariff duties may have a strong influ- ence on the votes of individual Senators, once the rate making begins, They say that it is one thing for a coalition of Democrats and unfriendly Republican progressives to lambaste the President .| property owner. measure of importance in the program for the special session. That, after some delay, has become a law. T2 country doubtless would be pleased if the Senate undertook to act with ea little more expedition on the tariff. Certainly the Senate would thereby gain in its reputation for efficlency. How- ever, if the reports that come from out- 45c per movth | side of Washington are to be relied " 60c per month | Upon, the eountry is not concerning itself particularly over the tariff bill. 3¢ per cupy | The principal interest seems to be right ! orltiephone | here in Washington, where politics as well as economics is playing its part in the framing of the tariff. If the pres- ent rate of progress is maintained, the bill is not likely to be out of the Senate before Christmas. ————————— Zoning and Assessment. ‘The series of articles in The Star discussing the effect of zoning on lower Sixteenth street is not to be interpreted as an argument for or against proposals that have been made for rezoning that territory. The purpose of the series has been to disclose the utter and amazing lack of co-ordination between the as- sessor's office and the Zoning Commis- slon. Zoning is relatively new. It is still in the experimental stage. As- sessment for taxation is as old as the city itself. But zoning and assessments exercise important influences upon the destinles of property owners. Both should work to the advantage of the In the case of lower Sixteenth street the property owner is left virtually helpless and holding the bag between a conflict in the principles of zoning with those of assessments for taxation. Here, in brief, is what has happened on lower Sixteenth street. It will hap- pen in other sections of the city. The Zoning Commission has determined to keep Sixteenth street a residential area. It has been reserved as a location of fine ‘residences, high-class apartment houses, hotels and institutions. on both sides of lower Sixteenth street there has been a gradual encroachment of commerce. The area has been re- zoned to permit the erection of business and mercantile establishments. Lower Sixteenth street remains as an island, surrounded by the creeping tide of commerce. At the same time, Sixteenth street has become a choked traffic artery. The broad thoroughfare is one of the busiest in town. For this reason and because of its proximity to commercial areas on both sides, it has somewhat lost its desirability as a high-elass residential section. At first glance, this condition should present no great difficulties for the property owner. The land is highly valued. Good prices have been obtained in the sales of property. Why not sell the old homestead and move out toward the suburbs? But sell it to whom? No one who can afford to purchase property at the as- sessment value of homes on lower Six- teenth street is going to buy a residence there. Such purchasers are seeking homes in the uncrowded and outlying sections of the city. Why not sell the property as a site for a fine hotel? But in this case the assessment of the land puts it out of reach of the builder who wants to erect an apartment or a hotel of the class -that would yield a return commensurate to the value of the land. The assessments have ap- parently been based, in part, upon the value of the land for commercial use. But commercial use is barred by the zoning regulations. Owners of the property, unable to sell it for specified use, must pay taxes that have mounted exorbitantly. This problem on lower Sixteenth street may eventually solve itself by the work- ing of the law of supply and demand. But it will take a long time. If the zoning law prohibits the sale of a resi- dence for anything but residential use, #ssessments should be made on the basis of residential use, and not on the basis of the land around the corner that demands high prices because of its availability fot commerce. There should be proper liaison between zoning and assessments. The assessor should at- tach as much importance to zoning as he does to the other intangible factors that enter into assessmerit. At present zoning and assessment work independ- ently, and In the case of lower Sixteenth to the disadvantage of the property owner, ; E e Washington, D. C., is expected to be e best governed city in the Nation. The expectation is not unreasonable, in view of the fact that this community is permitted to turn to Congress, an as- semblage of great statesmen, for advice and example. ———— All the world desires a re-establish- ment of orderly commercial relation- ships. For the purposes of civilized un- derstanding, the cash register is better than the machine gun. e e Two Straight for Connie. Lacking in thrills,“just another one- sided base ball game, the second con- test in the 1929 world series between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Chicago Cubs passes into history as an eesy victory for the former. The scare, nine to three, tells the tale. There was only one moment when the contest gave promise of being exciting, when the faltering Earnshaw, Philadelphia’s pitcher, went wild and filled the bases, 5o that a single hard hit would have made a difference in the score. But that moment passed without disaster to the Athletics, and thereafter the only question was whether Philadelphia in the matter of the flexible tariff and that it is still another thing when it comes to voting against the interests of & State in the matter of tariff rates. * his is a matter, however, that time, ' apparently, alane can settle. At the rate the Senate is progress- ing in its consideration of the tariff bill, it may be a matter of much time, ! before the story is told. Nor does there seem any real desire to hasten the con- 7 tion of the bill, despite reiterated from Democratic and Progres- sive leaders that there is no intention “use obstructive tactics, or, putting , to filibuster, A sug- Senator Smoot, who ; g § g it any nearer & Two games pave been could get by with one pitcher or would have to use two. The latter was the case, Another twirler went into the box, a left-hander, thereby illustrating again the unguessable quality of the Philadelphia manager. Cornelius Mc- Gillicuddy—better known as Connie Mack—is one of those base ball strate- gists whose moves are always surprising. It has been well understood that the Chicago batsmen are “death to south- paws”—in other words, that they fatten their batting averages on left-hand pitchers. But out of the bull pen, at the critical moment, , cAme “Lefty” Grove, who proceeded to mow the Cubs down with speed and precision, adding end of the fray the total for two days was twenty-six Chicagoans who had But | THE EVENING STAR, more are to be won, by the m: if they are to gain the chamj . They have greatly increased their chanoes by taking these initial contests. Tomorrow, on their own field, they re- sume the battle with the Cubs., They have abundént :ecserves of pitching talent. They are hcartened by their succes, Correspondingly, their oppo- nents are depressed. Certainly there is gocl reason for an advance in the “odds” on the Connie-mackians, who seem to b2 bent upon accomplishing that most cherished of feats, a four- straight victory in a world champion- ship series. ‘Washington Off the Air Route, ‘Twenty-nine airplanes of all sizes and types, participating in the National Air Tour, passed over the National Capital yesterday afternoon en route from the municipal airport of Baltimore to the municipal airport of Richmond on the fifth dav of their 5,000-mile trip. The National Capital, having no adequate airport facilities for handling the “ tour, which is regarded as one of the important annual aviation events, was dropped from the tour itinerary, though cities like Winston- Salem, N. C., with a population of less than 50,000, and Greenville, 8. 3., with | g0q less than 25,000, boasting better air- ports than their Nation’s Capital, are included as tour stops. It there is any city along the tour route which should be a stopping point, it i3 the National Capital. Here are the Department of Commerce regula- tory officlals who have to do with the licensing and regulation of commercial aviation. Routing of the tour to this city would give them an opportunity to examine planes which are to some of them only features of a field in- spector's report. In this city are the commercial at- taches of foreign governments. Amer- ican aircraft manufacturers are en- deavoring to build up a foreign market for airplanes, motors and accessories. To give foreign attaches an opportunity to look over our latest airplane and motor models should be of benefit to the entire industry. For sentimental reasons it is obvious that the National Capital should be a tour stop. Many of the flyers and their passengers undoubtedly would welcome the opportunity to visit here, even briefly, during their 16-day com- petitive flight. . ‘The decision of the tour officials to eliminate this city from the tour itinerary is a national advertisement of the fact that the National Capital lags behind cities a fraction of its size in providing féacilities for handling the mounting tide of air traffic. ———————— Commercial combination has resulted in a rise in the price of cigarettes. The assumption that a willing public will pay more is a distinct challenge to those who think cigarettes should be abolished altogether. Nobody inquires how many fish a public official has caught on a fishing trip. Fishing is nationally recognized as a means of enjoying opportunity for close thought or undisturbed conversa- tion, —_—ae—————— Populer resentment is relentless. Al- bert Fall is broken in health and de- feated in ambition, but there are few to admit the mereiful thought that per- haps by this time he has had trouble enough. ————r—e—————— ‘When battleship restrictions are duly established, some steps may be taken Lo prevent a wandering and uncivilized airplane from dropping & nasty bomb. ——r—e—————— Sport affords the reliable safety. valve. ‘Whatever may be the topics of mo- mentous interest, the country never quite forgets its base ball. ) SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Police! With eriticism going strong ‘We vow our cares must cease. Whenever anything goes wrong, We call for the police. ‘The traffic problems day by day Disturb a city’s peace, And to send motors on their way. ‘We call for the police. And when the first page print is poor In startling news release, We find rellef both swift and sure And call for the police. Political Understanding. “Do you understand all the questions you discuss?”. “To some extent,” answered Senator Sorghum, “I have at least been able usually to figure out which side of a question would command popularity at election time.” Jud Tunking say he always feels that the man who is getting the best of a political argument is one with a good rich bass voice. Authors and Authority. They tell us that “The play’s the thing” For men in "all positions— Yet most authority will cling To stage hands and musicians! The poet careful thought may bring To deal with art conditions, But they who really have their fling Are stage hands and musicians. Pangs of Precedence. “What did you have to eat at the banquet?” “I didn’t notice,” sald Miss Cayenne. “The seat to which I was assigned was soclally so upsatisfactory that I lost my appetite.” “He who grasps great power,” said | Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “can compel many things except universal praise for the mannér in which he has exercised it.” Big Fish, Disarmament seems like a fish. As story-tellers scribble. We think that we will Jand our wish— We have a great big nibble, “If & hoss could talk,” eald Uncle Eben, “he’'d tell you he realized de uncertainties of de track so dat he wouldn't think of bettin’, even on finance committee | to the strikeout record until at the | hisself,” bill, that night ses- e Two Ways to One End. ignominiously whiffed the air Without| s .y tne Humbeldt (Bureks, Calit) Timer. To lose control of ve with mwwfla%\ Tesult. 4 won, and two 5 | People who insist on kissing their pet dogs and cats on the nose are making a big mistake. ‘This' is a habit which many per- fectly sensible people induige in, but if they would read a bulletin put out recently by the United States Public Health Service they would stop it. One may be the best friend in the world to his cat or his dog, and still remember that the creature is a cat, or a dog, after all. It is not & human being. Its ways are not those of mankind, although it may live side by side in a ‘curious and beautiful friendship. Man mosd{ prides himself on this bond, when all the time it is the animal which deserves the credit. Often when we look at Jack Spratt, the cat, sitting smugly In a sunshiny window, we marvel at what he has achieved. How does it come that this little tiger, unchanged in appearance since the pyramids were builded, has come to our house to live? And, having come, how does it happen that he is =0 thoroughly at home? It is his doing, not ours. Out of the few 'simple senses which he possesses he has learned how to make the best of circumstances, and to find for him- self the softest pillows and the best This same wonder besets all those who love animals that go on four feet. Yet he who Joves them best will re- member at all times, even though tempted to forget, that they are crea- tures unlike us, after all, * ok ok X “Cats and dogs are subject to various parasites which may attack human beings also, but the practical side of the problem varies according to cir- cumstances,” declares the bulletin of the Public Health Service. “In general, small house dogs are much less likely to transmit diseases than are big dogs which roam at large: and, in general, also, cats are less dangerous than dogs. “The two most important parasitic diseases transmitted to y in North America. are hydrophobia and hyatid disease, and of these, hydropho- bia is the most serious. Mad dogs, and less frequently, mad cats, can by their bite transmit hydrophobia to human be- ings. Hydrophobia does not devel n a do% unless that particular d as been bitten by some other animal which has the disease. Generally, therefore, pet dogs are not likely to transmit the disease. If, however, a pet dog Is bitten by a street dog it myst be regarded as in danger of developing the disease for at least six monthe.” is interesting to note that the Public Health Service says that cats are less dangerous than dogs, in respect to their tramsmission of rabies and tape- worm, and that mad cats less frequently transmit the former to human beings. Even the term “mad cat” is 1 nusual, whereas “mad dog” is & commonplace. All this merely confirms what every cat “fan” knows, that his particular friend among the animals is much less dangerous to have around than the dog, : (i:muul a friend of man as the lat- T i, It is interesting to note that the Government scientists also point out what most people know, that the small house dog, properly cared for, s much less dangerous in thess respects than the large dog allowed to run at large. ‘Too great an intimacy with dogs iray put one in line for these unpleasant diseases. The Health Service bulletin points out that the so-called “creeping eruption” of warmer locslities in the United States is due to the fact that if & person comes in contact with soll, as in the garden, which has been con- taminated 'y dogs or cats with young larvae of the Brazilian hookworm, the young worms penetrate the human skin and produce creeping eruption. ‘The home gardener may well take a general hint from this unpleasaat bit of information. No one can be fure WASHINGTON, D. C, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, of what is in the soil, even in the best Four new-old cities discovered in one day in terra incogniti by Col. Lind- bergh! Can any one imagine a more incon- fnwus combination than that of search- Ing the habitations of the ancients ol Yucatan with a modern airplane and beholding from the clouds the ruins of a city so buried in vegetation that it had never before been seen by a white man? That was yesterday's report by radio, broadcast from the skies over the interior of the Yucatan Peninsula by a party of explorers, headed by Col. Charles Lindbergh and wife and including cer- tain scientists. Incidentally, when the great winged airplane monster swooped over the savage region the natives were as frightened as we would be upon the appearance of an expedition from the planet Mars soaring in a comet with a tail entwining the moon. * ok Kk % ‘The fascinating nature of the Yuca- tan wonders lies in the unlimited scope they give to imagination. There is nothing that is impossible in the his- tory of the civilization of the race which outshone all other races in the ‘Western Hemisphere and dazzled the civilization of Europe - with its early achievements in science, architecture and organ'zation. It 48 the style to underrate the story of “Queen Mop,” by Dr. Le Plongeon: he was not technieal scientist and a many of his deductions as to the loca- tion of the Garden of Eden in the Maya country are scoffed at in the universi- ties and maseums. The romantic story of the reigning Queen who married her brother is discounted by the modern archeologists. That spouse was slain by another brother in jealousy and envy. Then Queen Moo was driven into flight by that murderer, so that she barely escaped with a small follow- ln&to the great empire of Atlantis, and subsequently passed on to Egypt, where she was recognized as a Queen and made the first Queen ruler over Egypt. Then Atlantis blew up or was flooded by the Atlantic Ocean and Queen Moo @ever returned to Yucatan. Before her flight she had embalmed the heart of her brother-husband, and Dr. Le Plongeon found it “as is” and sent it to Harvard University to prove his story. Harvard analyzed it and found it flesh. But Le Plongeon is not indorsed, even when he discovers Maya hieroglyphics in the isles of the Pacific and around the world, “proving” the location of the Garélen of Eden in Maya and the former existence of Atlantis. ‘What if Col. Lindbergh now discovers the original snake and apple tree, as he looks down from his ubiquitous air- plane? This is a great age of dis- covery. Nothing he tells us can beat his first noted stunt with “We” and the ‘undwlchn. * ok ok K Getting down to plain facts, take the story by our own highly credited Dr. William H. Holmes of the National Mu- seum, who, with a company of noted scientists, including Dr. Le Plongeon, visited that region more than three decades ago, and explored its wonders; what he then wrote of it remains a clas- sic to this day. In an introductory paragraph, Dr, Holmes wrote: “We are told by the early Greek his- torians that a broad continent, known as Atlantis, once spread over what is now the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that this land was inhabited by a vig orous and cultured race of people, who carried their arms eastward to the farthest limits of the Mediterranean, and that the Greck gods, righteously angered by these encroachments, re- taliated by sending Atlantis to the bot- tom of the sea. 1 has been a favorite theory of many students that the American races may have been derAved from this source, inheriting there: the germs of that strange culture now 1 ted by so many, ruined cities. may be the truth with respect tilled garden. The sensible thing to do then 1s never touch the ace with the hand while working in the garden, and especially never to place a finger in mouth, eyes or nose. The smeillest cut or abrasion of the skin <hould be st- tended to at once; do not wait until after the work in hand is done, but go into the house immediately and wash the place carefully, and apply some one of the better known antiseptics. Careless and thoughtless persons call such attention “ola maidish,” but old maids often are very wise persons, * ok kX ‘The bulletin points out that cats may have a skin disease caused by a mite which is closely aillied to the parasite which causes itch in persons. 71his cat parasite may pass fromn cats 10 persons, cspecially children, and cause & special form of itch. Sometimes this cat itch becomes almost epidemic among the children in orphanages, but it is a 1are condition in the general population, the bulletin says. ‘The builetin upholds the position taken in this column several weeks ago, that dog owners should watch their pets more and keep them from becom- ing nuisances to others, 3 “Dogs are much more important fac- tors in transmitting parasitic c.seases to live stock than they are in tansmitting diseases to man,” the hulletin declares, “In spite of the fame of Old Dog Tray, we should recall that he is a dog, not a human being, that he may harbor para- sites which attack man, and that as too intimate a companion he may become a distinct danger, ““There is a curious psychology among dog owners. The saying, ‘Love me, lcve my dog,’ is not an exaggeration cf the affection of many persons for thelr ca- nine friends. Some dog owners take proper precautions that their dogs snall be a nuisance neither to themselves nor their neighbors; but, unfortunately, too frequently dog owners, thrqugh a lack of reasonable cave, permit\their pets to be neighborhood nuisances and public health dangers. It must be said in all fairness, however, that the fault in these cases is more chargeable to the owners than to the dogs.” The blame is placed where it belongs. It is safe to say that no dog in world history ever annoyed any human being because it feloniously desired to do so. When dogs yawp at the moon by the hour they are barking at the moon, that is all. Th!% have no idea that Sam Jones is unable to go to sleep. They do not know that their own owner sleeps peacefully, such is the mystery of dog ownership. If a dog had any idea that it was annoying human beings it prob- ably would shut up, for the dog is a slavelike creature, and wants to do ex- acily what man wants it to do. Your honest house cat, on the other hand, is as stubborn as a mmule. It wants to do what it wants to do, and quite often this desire is in exact op- Pposition to what its human friends want it to do. The cat might be held up to children as a sort of four-footed.mod-l of persistency. “If you don't succesd at first, try, try again,” says the cat. Keep your dogs and cats at liome, as much as possible, and avoid annoying neighbors and exposing yourself to pos- sible diseases. House pets should be kept clean and their sleeping places changed frequently. Here again one cannot be too careful. No matter how clean you think your dog or cat is, re- member that it can have some awful things. TFake no chances. Wash your hands after you stroke your dog. Not just before meal times, but after every timé you pet said animal. This may seem carrying the thing to extremes, but it is only common sense. Children particularly, who are always sticl their fingers In their mouths, should be made to “wash up” after playing with dogs and cats. Every one, young and old, should refrain from kissing a pet animal on the nose. On the part elders it looks somewhat silly, and the part of every one it is unhygienie, BACKGROUND OF EVENTS BY PAUL V. COLLINS. m rS’:e1 tdi;anpen:nce ;fl u‘tlh:m conti- 3 a curious fact t another land has risen from its watery bed. We are able to clearly show by the aid of geology that a large part of the great block of terra firma now known as Yucatan is & new-born realm. The massive beds of limestone, of which the renlmuln is formed, contains and are argely made up of the remains of the marine forms of life now flouris] along its shores. Fossil shells obtainet from the rocks in various parts of the country are all of living specfes, and’ represent late Pliocene’ or Pleistocene times, thus possibly bringing the date of the elevation of Yucatan down some- What near that of the reputed sinking of Atlantis, some eleven or twelve thou- sand years ago, or not far from the Kg::'nl:mtlhwnm;sed the escillations . - Tt close of the glacial o * kK ¥ 9 hile Dr. Holmes wrote this disser- tation on the geology of Yucatan, some 30 years ago, it seems freshly con- firmed by the more recently accepted theories ‘of isostasy (chiefly promul- gated by Dr. Bowie of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey) based upon the idea that every section of the sur- face of the earth, while in equilibrium, must exactly balance in weight every other section of equal area; hence if the continent of Atlantis sank, it must result in the rising of other adjoining areas—and so came the rising of Yuca- tan out of the sea, or above its former level, being pushed upward by the flow” of rock, 60 or 75 miles below the surface, when Atlantis sank. * K ok X Dr. Holmes continues: He cites the fact that there are few surface streams in Yucatan, but many underground streams, and h> adds: “But a strange thing has happened to fit this land for habitation. As time passed by, the roofs of the under- ground streams were per.orated in Pplaces by the processes of lisintegra- tion and caving in, and yawiing sinks were formed, in the bottoms of which could be seen pools of darklng water. In the midst of the forest the traveler comes suddenly upon these great cis- tern-like pits leading down into the bowels of the earth. Many are irregu- lar in outline and section, taking the character of caverns, but others are so round and even-walled as to be taken for works of art. They are often 100 or more feet in depth and 200 or 300 feet in diameter, and in some cases the water cannot be reached save by ropes or ladders, while in others, portions of the walls have fallen in, giving steep pathways down to the water's edge. From these unique reservoirs the water supply of the ancient nations was al- most_exclusively obtained. “Into this strange new land, some thousand or more years ago, pioneers of the red race gradually found their way, and, taking possession of the great wells, built themselves habitations.” * Kk % One of the most famous of the ruins of Yucatan is called Chichenitza. The Maya word for well is “chichen,” so Chichenitza means the well of the tribe of Itza—one of the several Maya tribes. The too general impression is that the Mayas are today an extinct race. Dr. Holmes records: “At the period of conquest, the Maya tribes, occupying the Peninsula of Yucatan and considerable portions of neighboring terri to the south and west, are said to have comprised in the neighborhood of 2,000,000 souls. Today, they are distributed over nearly the same area, but are reduced in num- bers, it is estimated, to less than 500,000, half at least of whom continue to speak the Maya tongue in its purity.” * %k * X ‘What makes the Maya race so in- teresting is of its ancient in architecture o wmumv.m R THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1929, ; 7 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS . BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Plan to Aid Insane Commitments Approved To the Editor of The Star: ‘The article in Tuesday night's Evening Star, relating to proposed new meas. ures in connection with committing in- sane persons to St. Elizabeth's, is very interesting. I hope you will do every- thing you can to help the Board of Public Welfare in its efforts to change the law and thereby obviate the neces- sity of bringing insane and feeble- minded persons into court for jury trials in order to be able to furnish them proper hospitalization. It is manifestly as absurd to have the ordinary or even extraordinary jury pass on the sanity of & person as it would be for such a jury to pass on a person who needs care in a tuberculosis insti- tution. These matters must be left to physicians who specialize. The present method merely makes for delay, em- barrassment to families, and ds to the human suffering which feeble- mindedness and insanity entail. 1 can readily see that where a person may have an idea that he is being “raflroaded” he might ask for more than two physicians to pass on a case. In all other instances, however, the place- ment should be made as it is done in all enlightened countries and in the ad- vanced States of the United States, ‘There is no doubt.that with your assistance and ' co-operation the Board of Public Welfare will be enabled to obtain the necessary relief measurcs and thereby accomplish a piece of real human helpfulness. ‘Yours truly, OSCAR LEONARD, Executive Director, the Jewish Welfare Federation. R Believes Clemenceau Missed His Calling From the Omaha World-Herald. In some respects it is too bad that Georges Clemenceau, traditionally ac- cepted as the “Tiger of France,” was not a top sergeant in the United States Marine Corps. From all we can read about him, he is and has been all his life & perfect pattern of the successful topkick. He is hard all through, Georges Clemenceau is. At 88 he is just as hard as he was at 48, and he was hard at 48! Clemenceau is hard at 88, but he is licked. When the Republic of France failed to make him its President after the close of the World War, the Re- public of France turned its fighting premier into an embittered old man. He withdrew abruptly from politics and has remained withdrawn ever since. The presidency, obviously, could have meant little to him. He had had about all the honor and fame that a man can have these days, and he had had power, The post of premier carried plenty of power. The presidency of the republic does not. It is an honorary position, largely, and that was precisely why Clemenceau desired it. He didn't care for the office half so much as for the spirit of gratitude on the part of his compa which his" election would have indicated. * * * And so the Tiger dropped the whole business and retired to his little gar- den in the Vendee. We don't believe he even dreams there. Prenchman that he is, we don't believe he has ever had much time for sentiment, for reverie. Always he has been a fighter, looking not to the past—hardly to the future— but to the “thousand-eyed present.” He is like that hero of Robert Brown- ing’s who “never turned his back but marched breast forward.” He is a hard-boiled tiger. > et Congeniality and Precedence From the Toronto (Ontario) Daily Star. Miss Ishbel Macdonald, daughter of Britain's prime ministes, says she does not ‘where she sits at official ban- quets “so long as there is somebody nice to talk to.” Not a little human nature in that, and candor as well as modesty. ‘To talk to people and to be talked to in return is a yearning by no means confined to Miss Macdonald’s sex. To be altogether deprived of its fulfililment is, for most human beings, torture. Hermits wear this garment of silence, but it is a garment of self-punishment, and they probably do not wear it at all in the presence of the wild things about them. They,speak to the birds and to the trees, and when a dog licks their hand in reply they are for the moment happy. Roblason Crusoe's man Friday made all the difference in the world to that desert island. Human beings are not the self-contained units they some- times Iike to consider themselves. Miss Macdonald is quite frank about it She is more interested in having some one pleasant to talk to, in having congenial companionship, than in se- lace near the head of the 3 a sound principle and ca- pable of application in a wider sphere of life than that to which Miss Mac- donald refers. When a girl marries some one congenial and pleasant, some one in whom she can confide and who will confide in her in return, she is making a far more profitable invest- ment of her life than if she yokes her- self with some gruff and unsociable personality because he can give her head-of-the-table position. Gossip of the malicious sort is a thing to be despised. But the little bits of household news, the neighborhood hap- penings, the children’s sayings that find their place in the gossip of the family circle are not things to be condemned, for they are the natural and happy ex- pression of a human love for compan- lonship of mind. Many jests have been made at the expense of rural telephons lines, but the rural telephone enabled the farmer’s wife to assuage the lone- liness of her life with conversations un- important in themselves, but important in their bearing upon her happiness and contentment. The fact is that great and learned men, if their conversations could be overheard, would ng{en be found talk- ing about whether ‘they liked cabbage for dinner or some subject equally pro- saic and homely. and science. The ornamentation of their buildings was classic in design, recalling Greek and Egyptian figures. They built massive pyramids of maso: equal in size to the great pyramids of Egypt, but far more ornate. Their temples are marvels of construction and of beauty, not surpassed in the world to this day. Their masonry—done without metal instruments of any kind ——was massive, intricately carved and symmetrically built. While they did not know the principles of the arch, they made masonic arch: by pro- jecting layers of stones and cuttin, the openings as wanted, even with the pe of an inverted trefoil doorway, suggesting Moorish design. Their or- namentation of masonry of the facades of great stone temples often betrayed a knowledge of the fundamental prin- ciple of art—repetition of conventional design with variation of detail. Aside from their art was their mar- velous knowledge of astronomy and of the divisions of time—far more exact than the Copernican system, yet with- out Galileo's telescope to aid them in observing the planets. They oriented their buildings exactly to ‘the m: ints of longitude and latitude, and hey created observation orifices in their walls, great distances apart, which caught the rays of the sun and cer- tain stars only at the solstice or other vital moments of annual observation, By gazing through two of these far-divided orifices the observer got the effect of a telescopic view. Whether they originated in Asia or Africa or Europe, or were the fore- fathers of the world, the Mayas were the mental equals of any race on earth. ‘Their ruins today dot their wildernesses and the ical overgrowth alone hides marvels unknown to mos mined explorers. ‘What additional wonders are destined mwtobeunhckodngmuneo!ur g'l::‘e&;?un the tangled vegetation of NIYlan honest man like Hugh bury Republican (independent Repub- st Chll’“p:lnt This is a special department de- voted solely to the handling of q\u‘er:;l This paper puts at your jervices of an extensive organization | tions in Washington to serve you in any capacity that relates t information. This service is free. Failure to _make use of it deprives you of benefits o which you are entitled. Your obliga- tion is only 2 cents in coin or stamps inclosed with your inquiry for direct reply. Address The Evening Star In- formation Bureau, Frederic J. n, director, Washington, D. C. Q. Who is. the ball player having the lightest wel:ht in the American League?—C. E. E. C. Tavener, Detroit, 142 unds, is the lightest-weight player I;Vzfi’d in “Who's Who in Base Ball for 1929.” Q. When it is said that a word does not meet the three demands of usage, what are the demands?—C. B. L. A. The three demands of good usage are national use, reputable use, and present use. Q. How many Protestant missionaries are there?—F, A. 8. A. There are about 30,000. Of these over 17,000 are from North America. Q. Who first spoke of the newspaper wflg’l.!on as the fourth cshur— A. It is attributed to Carlyle. In “Heroes and Hero Worship,” he says, “Burke said there were three estates in Parliament, but in the Reporters' Gal- lery yonder there sat a fourth estate, more important far than they all.” ?‘. ;lofi are artificial diamonds made? A. The conditions necessary for the crystallization of carbon in the form of diamond would seem to be intense heat and a great pressure, such as ex- ist during the formation of igneous rocks. Successful attempts to repro- duce these conditions artificially have been carried out by Prof, Moissan of Paris, and also by the English chemist, Prof. Crookes. The method employed consists of heating pure prepared car- bon and iron in an electric furnace. By sudden cooling of the molten iron the surface contracts and exerts a pow- erful pressure upon the interior mass. When cold, the iron is dissolved in acid, and small black particles remain, which exhibit the properties of genuine dia- monds. No stones that are large enough to be'of commercial value have yet been prepared, and while the process is of great theoretical interest, it is far too expensive in comparison with the yleld to be practicable even for the manu- facture of diamond powder for polish- ing and grinding purposes. Molssan's 200 experiments, costing $2,000, yielded one-half karat of diamond powder. Q’i‘ How is Socony pronounced?— A. This word, coined from the initial letters of Standard Oil Co. of New York, is pronounced with the o's long and ac- cented on the second syllable. Q. How long have cucumbers been used as food?—P. N, A. De Candolle says that they were originally from the East Indles, but othér botanists ascribe them to Asia and Egypt. Literature proves them to be :;“Lro“thm ’d,w? li'n”“ old in M'l:t’ ;‘nd lown that they were to China 140-86 B.C. ';hey 'ebr:w'm to the Greeks and Romans and were men- tiened by Pliny, who says that they were grown in Africa, and that they were such a favorite with Emperor Ti- “w berius that he had them daily on his table. Charlemagne ordered them plant- ed on his estate in the ninth century, were wn by Columbus in and the e | Haitd m'yuu. c.::z. John Smith men- as ginis in 1584. Q. How high is e Titicaca?— 'A." Lake Titicaca, which is situated between Peru and Eolivia in the Andes rounmm. has an altitude of 12,635 eet. Q. In what occupations are foreign- ers engaged in this country?—B. H. A, ‘Ihey are found in all trades and professions, but their principal occu- pations are mining, construction work, factory work, agriculture and, in the case of Jews, trade and finance, Q. In what part of the country are there the greatest number of sunny days?—N. C. P. A. The Southwestern part of the United States has the greatest number - of sunny days. Q. How long have there.been chain stores in North America?—P, B. A. The g posts of the Hudson Bay Co. were tne first, and some of them existed more than 250 years ago. Q. Why wasn't Benjamin Franklin buried in the old Granary Burying Or\'mnr:l in Boston where his parents lie? A. Benjamin Franklin's life was spent, for the most part, in Philadelphia. It was the home of his heart, and he was buried in that city. Q. Of what verb is “wrought” the pasy tense?—C. F. A. It is the past tense of “work.” Q. Has the United States governed Cuba more than once?—H, G. H. A. ‘I'ne United States has governed Cuba twice. The first provisional gov- ernment’of ' thé United States in Cuba ended May 20, 1902, when President Tomas Estrada Palma became the first President of Cuba. The second zmm- can provisional government from September 29, 1906, to January 28, 1909, :;en Gen, Gomez took over the presi- cy. Q. What is sleepy grass?—N. G. A. It is a grass which produces a narcotic effect, particularly when horses eat it. Cattle are not affected to A (e oty T seaae all. coun! is found in the Southwest. Q. Does it snow often’ in San - Cl8COIE, E. o A. Snow 1s almost unknown and the average mean temperature is about 49 degrees Fahrenheit in Winter, Q. What is the Talmud?—E. M. H. A. The Talmud consists of 20 volumes .gu‘:“mnord':nnnoffiewunhn g ind opinions, consisting WO parts— the Mishna, the text, and the the commentary. The name Taimud being cultivated in Vir- N. A. As one writer puts it: Napoleon' scholastic career “V'“ not brilliant ln: he received his any attitude adopted. ek, st S} equal chamber :}.h:c h:mm«, he inherited rm.:dfl’ Productive When Senator Bingham employed Charles Eyanson of the Connecticut Manufacturers’ Association as a tariff adviser he brought down a storm of comment upon his head. While many papers discount the influence on the committee of the Yankee counsel, plenty of cries against sectionalism are raised by the critics. “So long has the infallibility of Sena- tor Bingham been recognized,” suggests the Hartford Courant (independent Republican), “that it comes almost as a pleasant surprise to learn from his confession in of Connecticut. Pestif ocra like Senator Harrison of Mississippi | Senator Robinson of Arkansas, can twil him for having a tariff expert at his elbow to give him aid and counsel, but we have only admiration for his wisdom in so doing. * ‘be-l nlsnfix;:t every Senator, and never before - wrrilnuh-m. 8o far as we can recall, who has had the e to admit even 1 of any matter of pub- The Courant adds, how- that “there seems to be really no good reason wly the Government should have paid for any part of the Senator’s instruction.” The Hartford paper concludes: “We find fault with him for not being equally diligent in trying to ascertain and correctly inter- pret the wishes of Connecticut with respect to Mr. Alcorn,” referring to the Senator’s opposition to selection, as suc- cessor to Mrs. Willebrandt, Hugh M. Alcorn of Connecticut, State’s at- torney for Hartford County. Quoting these’ comme 1ts, the Balti- more Sun (independen; Democratic) sees significance in them in view of the Xscflt that theh}; c(;me ‘;;t'on; gz lrlt\e::l an cal center of the - ucut‘ma'll:{anfl belt,” and believes that they “ought to be sufficient to make the Senator re-examine his credentials as ambassador from Connecticut.” The Hartford Times (mdep%x;ld‘:l;l‘r Demo- ham who puts a manufacturers’ employe on the governmental pay roll and ad- mits him to secret sessions of T subcommittee, where even Senators not members of the committee are not K:r- mitted to be, is the same Mr. Bingham who_thinks there is some reason why M. Alcorn ought not to be put in charge of pro- hibition enforcement.” “Eastern Senators like Senator Bing- ham had better beware,” advises the Minneapolis Tribune (Republican). “There is a limit to the patience even may not they can exploit and insult the Repub- licans in the West in so outrageous and cynical a fashion and still expect the ‘Western Republicans permanently to make common cause with them? It Senator Bingham and his co-workers are out to tear the Republican party in two, we must say for them that they have found the perfect road and are traveling fast.” Complaint that the Senator did act in the interest of the Connecticut is voiced by the not of ‘ater- lican), which mitted a serious blunder”; stead of secul he “com- that “in- vt h¥ ‘&'L'm.. -mmn itally int: one o vl or- in Connecticut ?;mm." and that there are more persons In tne ups other than the one for which the Senate that he has | purely it | peal (Democrat tariff | him, ¢ deter- ' good th represent any class, it is Bingham’s Tariff Adviser of Much Satire tions. The ary run of folk who-have nobody in Washington paid to repre- the en— e pr is the sent them—except that Congressmen ought to take care of.” e Fresno Bee (inde it) contends that “although scmetf the rhetoric of Senator Harrison is father inflated, in characterizi Bingham': action as ‘a brazen lguncm‘w m: fundamentals of American government," he for once did not overstate his case.” The New York World (independent) belleves that “it is time to ascertain to Just what extent interested parties hav- ing no official status are interfering in governmental matters while in the pay of people who seek to gov- ernment for their own aggr oul = cultural Congressmen were barfed from the secret formulation of an ‘ 1- f,';",},’,m ‘t’:‘;t while the paid agent manufacturers was presen opponénts of Sena- tor ham, “the Philadelphia iblic Ledger (independent )H‘I‘“: adequate pro- to_the industries of any o?her Mr. Norris says the b- lican Senators have ‘no thought country as a whole’ The members of the farm bloc ug'the are, of course, ting them an ex- umg:e’.s & & matter for astonishment,” as- serts the Chicago Daily Tribune (Re- publican), “that the same Senators ‘who are enlisted against the 'hr!fllsom- mission are ~l|l|:cm:¢nd1nl to be out- raged by the d re that Mr. Bing- ham took the best advice he could get on the requirements of his State. They :mn logrolling and they oppose the known alternative to logrolling.” The Jersey City Journal (independent Republican) suj s that, “as a mate :c': oi'.n ll.c't'; it lw:,lllfl bemve mzasu- eral applaud Mr. Bing- ham's honesty in i g Mr. .- son o to committee meetings with 3 use there is no telling when it will be shown that some of the Sen- ators have been accepting vi ‘experts' like St rg' g advice from —————— & Prison Outbreaks. From the Omaha World Herald. The heat was generally. accepted as a contributing cause of a series of prison mutiniés last Summer. This can bardly have been a factor in the out~ break at the Colorado State Peniten- tiary which ended with the death of 13 persons and the wounding of several others. What is at the bottom of these des- :l :evflt.:s is something :l::.h find- something wi ] States and the Federal Governh::tzfig acting 1n concert could well afford to mal thorough study of. What hap- ned at Dannemore and Auburn and venworth and Canon City might happen at Lancaster or at any other of the prisons in which men are immured to do penance for their crimes. do to dismiss such affairs ation that they it P S ey Savages many of them have ves to be in fact, and yet ln,uumhuhmlwnd. is not to blame bad food* nor harsh of prison discipline, :l.tmmmulwmnybemmtm The whole subject of - ment,notnlppwby?{:;nmmm Arden, but as a system with ex- tent to wi ald tra are ad- hueeuio the :.trofm - among its members at ,.m TS SR <oR e pur b Ak