Evening Star Newspaper, November 26, 1929, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C TUESDAY.. 51 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. Sifce: 110 42nd 8t ‘Bullding. London, ichizan 3 ratiand. 3 e " Rate by Carrier Within the City. ‘The Evenine Star 43¢ ¢ er month + :The nln! and ‘e Evening And’ Suri et ey R ‘65¢ pef month (when § days) he funday Hte 3c_per cop: Collection made at nu.end of each mon'h. - 3:««- may be sent in by mail or telephone Ational 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, .g:lly and sunday....:1 r. ily only inday’ onty aily only g Bally and sunday..1 g ¥ Sunday . only Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news cia- ted in this paper and also che e published herein. s of publication cf special dispatches herein are also reserved. = How Many District Non-Voters? ‘The executive committee of the Board of Trade asks that there be added to the census questions put to District resi- dents the query whether the individual District resident has or has not the legal residence which entitles him or her to vote in national electifns in a State; and whether he or she in fact exercises this right to vote. ‘These questions are pertinent and the answers will furnish to Congress information which is necessary to in- telligent and just legislation concern- ing the political status of residents of what remains of “The Ten Miles Square.” In classifying population, the census ascertains the number of aliens by foreign birth. It will be logical and consistent if the census ascertains also the number of political aliens who are such. only through residence in the District of Columbia. Census Director Steuart was credited: by the newspapers last Spring as reply- ing, in response to a question from Senator Vandenberg, that there was no insuperable objection to the addition of this question to the list of census queries. This answer gives confidence that the reply of the Commerce Sec- retary to the Board of Trade will be favorable. In the absence of definite, author- {tative information on the subject, we have all been ¢ timating. L According to the census of 1920, there ‘were in the District in that year 305,255 persons (over 21) of voting age, a num- ‘ber of potential voters exceeding those of nine of the States. Until the vicious apportionment of .November 26, 1920 +. -THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor being considered by the municipal council on the theory that the old style transportation slows up modern traffic and is a menace to safety. 'If the resolution is adopted merchants of the French metropolis who still utilize these antiquated means of conveyance will be compelled to operate before and after the rush hours of motor trafie. * ‘While at first blush this measure would appear unreasonable and fan- tastic, it must be remembered that even in Washington horse-drawn traffic is at present barred on certain streets. Paris thoroughfares are not nearly as | wide on the average as are those here and banning this type of traffic would ‘materially speed up travel. There can be no controversy over the fact that slow-moving vehicles of any type not g:‘only impede traffic but-are breeders of accidents. ‘The world today moves fast and the anachronism of horse-drawn {vehicles in the traffic stream will soon be at an end either through legis- lation or the natural reduction in the use of animals for a job that can be done much Wbetter by machinery. s ——e— Two More Justices Needed. Blame for congestion in the District Supreme Court can be laid almost wholly upon the law of supply and demand. The demands of litigation ex- ceed the supply of personnel available to handle it. The seven justices who now sit in the District Supreme Court are unable to keep abreast of turrent busi- ness. With a docket containing an ac- cumulation of old cases—many of them four Vears and more old—there are daily ndditions that exceed in number those disposed of by court action. In the Criminal Courts the situation is particularly bad. The Police Courts, far behind themselves in their ability to furnish jury trials, are piling up more cases every day for the grand jury. ‘The grand jury has reported 756 in- dietments that have never been brought to trial, some of these indictments stretching back for more than four years. When District Attorney Rover came into office, he disposed of 780 old cases by nolle prosse which he had inherited from former administra- tions. But even with this attempt to wipe the slate clean and get a fresh start, he has witnessed the number of indictments grow with astonishing rapldity. When he relinquishes office, his successor will probably resort to the “nolle” route also, in an effort to weed out obstructing cases, with the result that time and money spent in securing these indictments will be wasted, not to mention the fact that those legally indicted will escape trial, ‘The Star's court npo}kr emphasizes the fact that in the years since the number of justices for the District Su- preme Court was fixed at six, the popu- lation of the city has trebled. This in itself might explain the congestion to- falling was returning to Mukden, his capital, when he was killed. His son, Chang Hsleuh-liang, has car- ried on since his father's death with shrewdness and ability. He is less than thirty years of age and is rated as THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES exceptionally astute politician and uv a capable military commander. Just how far he is responsible for the actions which led to the breach with Russia is not clear. It has been susp:cted that he at least welcomed the break as af- fording an opportunity for a definite separation of the three eastern provinces from China. It is altogether futile to attempt to predict events in China. The factors of intrigue are entirely too mysteri- ous to warrant any judgment regarding the outcome of such a complicated sit- uation as the present, with the Na- tionalist government in actual control of only five of the nineteen provinces, with several aspiring “war lords,” each with an army at his back, operating in the central and western sections,” and with Manchuria in a most dubious state ! as to loyalty. Should Chiang Kai-Shek effect a truce in Central China to permit him \to present a “united front” to Russia in Manchuria, he must still reckon with the leader of the three eastern prov- inces, who, as the dispatches state, is now maneuvering for a compromise with Russia. And meanwhile Japan, occupying a strong strategic position in South Manchuria through ownership of a railway system flanked by a zone of territory, is closely watching the trouble that has arisen between her two former enemies, China and Russia. r——— Men who have lived long depart with & reminder to the world that age should be looked to for wisdom and advice. Figures in fame who have recently de- parted went far beyond the tradition- ally allotted threescore and ten. —ee—. Clemenceau was xeferred to as the “Tiger” by those who did not know him intimately. Like all men of genuine greatness he was, for those who under- stood him, gentle andNovable: ] Archeologlsts continue to discover an- cient kirgs and queens who in the pass- ing of time have been left'more remark- able for their jewelry than for their regal histories. — e Henry Ford will build more motors and the Government will improve high- ways. Despite its wonderful develop- ment the automobile industry is appar- ently only in its infancy. —— e ‘While falling on the Chinese, in war- like rage, the Russian “reds” do not neglect their home industry of dooming opponents to persecution and death. ——— e Students of business are paying less attention to the stock ticker and more to the genuine and permanent values of offices Jaw is modified or repealed there | aay. The court was recently increased | productive enterprise. must be deducted from this number District residents in the national clas- to seven justices. But this increase is wholly inadequate. The.city has treb- —_————e———————— Alexandria, Va., no doubt feels com- sified service who hold office as VOUng|jed in size, and with this growth there | plimc ited bv Mr. Ford's interest in cu-l citizens of their respective States. has been the normal increase in the lonial architecture and would be pleased If every worker in the United States| pusiness of Government transacted here | to welcome him not as a collector, but classified service in the District were|yn washington. This growth has natu- ' as a resident. counted as possessing and retaining permanently his voting residence in a State, and the entire number of these workers (including those from the Dis- trict) were subtracted from the Dis- trict's population of voting age, the District's voting copstituency would; after the deduction, be greater than those of eight States. % The United States workers in the classified service in the District on December 31, 1927, were 60,000. If without deducting the men and women in the classified service who are credited to the District we cut out this en- tire number from the total District population over 21 years of age, this population will still exceed the voting age population of Idaho by 10,519, Utah by 15,913, Vermont by 27,553, Arizona by 56,666, New Mexico by 59,409, Dela- ware by 108,074, Wyoming by 128,156 and Nevada by 192,377. The maximum public estimate of the residents of the District of Columbia entitled to vote in the States, made by aggregating the maximum figures of the rival campaign managers, was, in 1920, 65,000. It is estimated that in 1920 there were about a quarter million of com- pulsory non-voters in the District. This number is today largely increased, since the total population, the census esti- mates, has increased over one hundred thousand and the State voters in’ the classified service have decreased about 80,000. ‘This District quarter million of poten- tial voters exceeds the total votes act- ually cast in the presidential election of 1924 in any one of 22 States of the Union. It exceeds the total Vote actually cast in neighboring Virginia in 1924 by the Democrats, Republicans and Progres- sives combined (223,535). Virginia has 12 electoral votes. It exceeds the combined total vote cast by all parties in the 1924 election in Defaware, South Carolina, Wyoming and Nevada (248,437). These four States have 18 electoral votes. Do not the District’s quarter million of potential voters, steadily increasing. indicate a political strength worthy of consideration? But if our voting population were viewed today as inadequate in quantity to entitle us to national representation no reason would thereby be found to oppose the pending constitutional amendment or to delay its consideration until after the 1930 census. For this amendment does not directly and im- mediately admit the Washington defec- tives and delinquents to national repre- sentation. It merely empowers Congress in its discretion at some future time to admit District residents to the status of citizens of a State for the purpose of | ;;oyements fllustrate the sad division natiohal representation and also Prog of oping, “There is no real cohesion be- vides the machinery to be utilized Wher | pyeen e main body that 15 called Congress wishes to exercise this POWeT. | oping proper and the three provinces Adoplion of the amendment dces not |y, tne portheastern corner of the former | mean a decision that the quantity and empire. quality of the population are now suf-| ,o/ioq these provinces have been main- cient to entitle the District’s VOUNg con- | by od ga & virtually independent unit. stituency to representation in its House | iy ooy 6 0 PG TTR o) overesgnty and Senate. Rejection of the amend- | yoieg jy the central government, such ment does not merely decide that the |y fG S erever located, at District’s pcpulation is unfit for na- Peiping—then Peking—or Nanking. tional representation now, but that it never can be fit. PRI\ ety LS Horse-Drawn Traffic. Paris, ever progressive if a trifie ec- in trafic’ matters, may bar horse-drawn and hand-drawn vehicles 1rom its streets between ten o'clock in! centric the morning and five o’clock in’the aft: . wRooD, A resolytion to this effest is rally been accompanied by increasing Federal litigation. Suits against cabi- net officers and those involving the manifold activities of Government bu- reaus and commission are filed in the local courts. Purely local litigation is sidetracked in favor of Federal con- demnation cases and other Federal bus- iness. This Federal business alone has been enough to bring about congestion. The trials in the Governrien®s prosecu- tion of cases growing out of the oil scandals have been many and lengthy. The Government's building expansion program has resulted in a flood of con- demnation cases. If there was any possibility that the District Supreme Court could catch up in its work, even though that process required a number of years, the situa- tion today would not be so seriously re- garded. But there is apparently no hope of catching up. Each year the legal blockade becomes worse. With two more justices on the bench, it is pointed out that the situation would in some measure be relieved. This may not be the only solution or the correct solution to the problem. But i there are others Congress should spend some time at the next session in discovering them and putting them into effect. The present condition must be remedied. ——— vt Business men assemble to see that business hares in the responsibility for the general public welfare. Business depends on those who spend it, and it is frankly recognized that those expect- ed to spend money must have oppor- tunity to earn it. ——r————— War in Manchuria. After many weeks of smoldering, the flames of war have developed in Man- churia and now Russian forces are ac- tively engaged in offensive operations, driving into Chinese territory and tak- ng important strategic positions with seeming ease. All the negotiations for a settlement of the trouble between Moscow and Nanking have broken down, and the continuous sniping of small bodies of troops on both sides of the boundary has finally resulted in actual warfare. Immediately upon the development of serious hostilities comes word that negotfations have been instituted by Marshal Chang Hsieuh-liang, who as military commander presides over the “three eastern provinces” which con- stitute Manchuria, for a ‘separate peace” with Russia. At the same time comes word thgt Chiang Kai-Shek, head of the Naffking government, has moved to effect a truce in civil warfare in China in order that a united front may be presented to the enemy in Man- lchuru. The announcements of these two Indeed, for a considerable Under the marshalship of the late Chang Tso-lin, who was slain by @ bomb explosion & year ago last June Manchuria was regarded as & quasi- ‘The “old mar- independent territory. —_—— et SHOOTING STARS. 'BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Sir Know-all. As time goes slipping on its way ‘With interest I recall That hero of another day— ‘The man who knows it all! Inventibns great, which now we own, Gave him a cynic smirk. He said they should be let alone, Because they wouldn't work. He vowed that women must not vote; ‘That dresses must be long; 4y That cigarettes would keep the throat Forever going wrong. And while the world, all different, goes ‘Through contrasts great and small; The same discouragement he shows— The man who knows it alll Speechmaking. “Have you decided what you will say in your next speech?” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “Statesmen now have to work so hard and radio time has become so limited that I don't know whether Il get a chance to talk.” Jud Tunkins says the world has grown so selfish that anybody with a kind word is suspected of having some- thing to sell. Preparing for Christmas. Again we'll gladly congregate, ‘Without a moment surly. Thanksgiving day we'll celebrate And then start shopping early. Faith Depleted. “You should love and trust your fel- low men.” “You can't always manage it,” replied the sad-faced citizen; “not after you have served on as many “juries as_ have.” “He who does no work,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “finds that Il health is the reward of a life of ‘ease.” Overlapping. Some folks regard a fight as fun, And never quite get through one; For just before one fight is done They're ready for a new onel “sm‘ne men piles up so much worry,” saild Uncle Eben, “dat de holidays don’ mean much ‘ceppin’ mo’ time to think about troubles.” ——e—————— Gold Filling Is Right. Prom the Hamilton (Ontarlo) Spectator. A dentist is suing a telephone com- pany for $10,000 because his name was left” out of the directory. That's a |'cavity that takes quite a chunk of gold | filling, it seems. Yes! Just as Much. Prom the Cincinnati Times-Star, Since the Carnegle Foundation’s | muckraking, we can all enjoy a college foot ball game just as much sas if it were a professional ball game. Worse When They Don’t. Prom the Muncie Morning Star. Purdue students condemn college movies, where the foot ball game is ai- | wi won in the last minute. But it's | & durn sight worse when some of them actually it that way. ! o Yes, It Must Be. shal,” as he was called, who had risen from the role of a mere bandit to the head of a large army and commander of the three provinces, had aspirdéions public officials there has to to bécome $he chief of all China and adulterating olive oil, From the Cleveland News. Life in Portugal must be sort of aceful, if the worst scandal involving do with “Dear Sir: Thank you for your fine articles on Epictetus. This is the man 2 ofher Through Teading. Many find any of ug] . Many this philosopher hard to understand, think the ideas involved, but they suil me. Yours with appreciation. M. P. L. ‘What makes any reading difficult to understand? In a surprisingly large number of cases it is not so much the thought content as the way the whole is put up. Closely packed paragraphs, small type, fallure to utilize natural divisions of thought for equally natural blocks of reading matter—these are a few of the mechanical difficulties. Failure of a reader to really read what is before him plays a very large part, There are an amazingly large number of people who do what might be _called “half read.” Instead of reading every word, they skim over everything, so that in the end they have no real idea of the thought before them. Somewhere they have gotten the idea that swift reading is.the only sort, that modern ideas of high speed may be ap- plied to type as well as to automobiles, to book pages as well as to open roads. * koK X Now if there is one book in the world which cannot be read in a haphazard fashion, it is the “Discourses” of the old Stoic philosopher Epictetus. The form of them precluded that. They are just what the word says, dis- courses, or talks, taken down by one of his puplls, Arrian, for his own use. ‘The way they are ordinarlly printed makes the perusal of them rather dif- ficult, & fault which could be remedied easily enougl® by the application of com- mon sense to their placing on the printed page. As far as we know, no publisher has yet tound the sale of Epictetus suffi- clently large to warrant a big new edition, with the questions and answers of the old man and hi: students set out plainly as such. ‘The difficulty is enhanced by the fact that often it is difficult to determine whether it is Epictetus himself who answers his own questions, or the man to whom the question is addressed. Hence our idea of & new edition of Epictetus would be one in story for: which one who loves this work, peculiar even among ancient manuscripts, yet surprisingly modern, will bring to it§ interpretation a large understanding of Roman and Greek manners. * K ok % In such an edition there would be nothing hard to understand and no involvement of ideas other than those inherent in the words themselves. Today’s editions of Epictetus, one must admit, make hard reading to all except those who find in this philoso- pher their soul's desire. Such readers as our correspondent need no introduction, no urge. They discover in the grisp sentences of Epic- tetus -omnmni other ancient savants. is mood is 'so based on what we moderns call common sense that the reading of him is almost like the daily scanning of the favorite newspaper. Epictetus is no more difficult to un- derstand than a good newspaper ac- count of an up-to-the-minute bit of nelvrvs, if one will read him in the :ame spirit. This is true, as we see it, because what he wrote about are the problems of everyday life and the personal ac- ceptance of life, a little matter in which every one of us is no less involved today than he and his friends were 2,000 years ago. - * ok * % 4 “The Everlasting Yea, stripped bare of rhetoric and illusion.” in | prepare to be read by numbers after- which is lacking in| mi E. TRACEWELL. Such is the illuminating_ sentence applied by the late Prof. T. W. Rolle- ston to the teaching of Stoicism. reader of ledge willing to admit that this grand old philosopher came nearer to modern needs t! most of them. In his own day and age the courtly Seneca, polished, suave friend of em- Rerun. taught the same doctrines, but e did it with his tongue in his cheek. ‘Seneca praised poverty and had many mansions, far-flung gardens, slaves. Eplctetus praised poverty and was poor. Seneca was the admired writer, whose scrolls on Stoieism were in the libraries of all wealthy Romans. Epictetus wrote nothing. Seneca no doubt thought, if he ever considered the matter at all, that in the centuries to come his “works” would be widely read. Today no one reads him. Epictetus. granting that he might have looked to the future, could have had little idea that thousands of his utterances would be treasured and loved in the year 1929. * K K K Nor could he have foreseen that his name would crop up 2,000 years later on the editorial page of The Evening Star, a paper published at the seat of Government of the United States of America. Perhaps Arrian might. who must have had a shorthand system of his own. If any one doubts this, he has but té turn to the “Discourses.” Their authenticity is on their face. No man could have faked them. No man but Epictetus could have said them. Arrian was one of the first good newspaper men in world’s history. He did a “swell job,” as we would say today. “I neither composed the Discourses of Epictetus in such a manner as things of this nature are commonly composed,” he declared in his dedica- tion of the correct edition, “nor did I myself produce them to public view any more than I composed them.” He says, further: “These Discourses are such as one person would naturally deliver from his own thoughts, extem- pore, to another; not such as he would wards. It would seem, therefore, that Arrian not only admits the difficulty of reading Epictetus but also upholds our conten- tion that a totally different kind of edition of him is necessary. Was neces- sary then, and is necessary now, if the thoughts of this great man are to reach the greatest number of readers (the modern idea of education). Somehow Arrian’s “notes” fell into other hands and were published with- out his consent. His subsequent authoritative edition contains the fol- lowing preface, which should urge the modern reader on to read this best of philosophies based on the power of ind: “It is of littleonsequence to me if I do not appear an able writer, and of none to Epictetus, if any one treats his Discourses with contempt, since it was very evident, even when he uftered them, that he aimed at nothing more than to excite his hearers to virtue. “If they produce that one effect, they have in them what, I think, philosophi~ cal discourses ought to have. “And should they fail of it, let the readers, however, be assured that when Epictetus himself pronounced them his audience could not help being affected in the very manpner he intended they should. “If by themselves they have less efficaey, perhaps it is my fault, or per- haps it is unavoldable. “Farewell.” Move to Halt Frauds of Fake Chinese Priests Is Under Way BY REGINALD SWEETLAND. SHANGHAI, China—An indictment against what he terms “so-called Bud- dhist priests” has been made by the greater Shanghai commissioner of so- cial affairs as part of the current cam- paign against superstitions in China. The commissioner, who is a Chinese, declares that “these so-calied priests when they are invited to rform Buddhist rites on occasions of death, sing Buddhist songs in happy tones and play flutes and other musical instru- ments to please and entertain those by whom they are invited. Further, the indictment charges that these shaven-head monks have opened temples for the purpose of making money and not for the purpose of preaching. The commissioner would suppress such activities, disrobe the monks and open schools for poor people in the. temples, provided they are fit for such pursuits. Not all of them are, though, for many such temples are nothing more than dilapidated shacks almost unfit for human habitation. With a few idols squatting on pedestals in the corners made dark by the smoke of incense aud joss sticks provided by the worshipers, and with half-clad beggars displaying their sores at the door, they attract the superstitious and those who are in need of some sort of spiritual guidance, but who do not_know where else to go for it. The Chinese is a gambler by nature, and one bronze god is as good &s an- -| other provided the means of placating him are to be found. He 15 willing to try them all. * k k k The local Chinese press has taken up the campaign launched by the commis- sioper and compares some of the local Buddhist priests with merchants who are wise in the arts of money-making. One Chinese paper states that the ra- tive priests of Shanghal are unlike those of the interior of China, who are re- uired to practice asceticism and to &t in boxes for a cerfain number cf years before they are considered true followers of Buddha. Tt says they are unlike .priests in Western countries who devote their time to preaching, hospital work, teaching and other useful occu- pations. Native priests, it goes on to say, are just merchants who know how to make ‘money. They start business by renting houses on busy streets, decorating them, placing an arch or signboard over the front doors, inscribed with characters representing “God of Wealth Temple,” “Goddess of Mercy ‘Temple” and others’ of their sort. They then fnstall shrines in which they seat idols of wood or clay. Their income comes principally from people who invite them to perform Buddhist rites for their dead relatives. Though educated people, the Chinese press says, have abandoned this super- stitious practice, the ignorant, conserv- ative, old-fashioned and superstitious still employ these priests, and the latter realize that their practice is dwindling. Except for thobe who come from large read the Buddhist doctrines, nor have they any knowledge of them. W Another charge against these monks is that much of their income comes from Hwo Wei lottery gamblers, who, in order to win geod fortune, go to the temples and buy good luck at so much per head. A still further source of income is found in the number of persons who come before the idols of the temple and pray for prescriptions for sick relatives and friends. To supply such prescriptions the monks have n charging_high fees. Not all Buddhist priests, however, are in this Ssame category. There are many splendid Buddhist monasteries and temples still existing . in China which are regulated by the most severe discipline and have a very sane and strict conception of their duties. Many persons go there and after ‘a severe temples, the priests of Shanghal do not | as Buddhist monks with the right to preach and to make pilgrimages. However, there are always the para- sites, just as there are quack doctors who make capital out of the supersti- tious populace. It is against these, the parasites, that modern China is war- Arrian was a shrewd young fellow | j, r makers, pmight live in unity. Such™ NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M WASHINGTON PAST AND PRES- ENT. Charles Moore. Illustrations, E. H. Suydam. The Century Co. In New York, Elihu Root, guest of in be | ceremoney to the National Academy of Design, will receive from that body its choicest tribute, a gold medal, in . nitlon of Mr. Root’s high service to the cause of art in America. Two cabinet officers and Charles Moore, chairman of the National Commission of Fine Arts, will be present at this formality, For our particular pus Tet us transport these official visitors, aiong with Elihu Root himself, back to Wash- ington. Back, indeed, to 1910, when President Taft approved a bill creating the Commission of Fine Arts., Senator Root was chiefly responsible for the shaping of that measure upon a broad- ly organic conception of the Federal City in whose special behalf the bill was originated. This city in its fulfill- ment was to be of unsui physical beauty. It was to be also a city of deep inspirational effect reflecting a great Government, created and supported by the free choice of the gfiofllc living under it. For 15 years Charles Moore has served as cl an of that com- mission. ¢ Still further back, in 1901, James Mc~ Millan, chairman of. the Senate Dis- trict committee, proposed and brought to pass in Congress the Senate Park Commission. This, too, for the im- provement and beautification of Wash- gton. Serving Senator McMillan in secretarial capacity was a young jour- nalist and university man, who, after the fashion of, the most competent of this clan, came in no very long time to be carrying a huge bulk of precise detail concerning the no-system condi- tion of the park situation—came to be in command also of the sum of remedial projects bearing upon the existent-con- fusion. Charles Moore, again. Ncw, for something like 28 years, Mr. Moore has been engrossed, with various groups of associates, in the supreme enter- prise of redeeming Washington to its orl design of structural beauty in keeping with its high purpose as the seat of a great Government. * K KK And here he is. “Washington Past and Present.” Charles Modore. In effect, Mr. Moore’s first move is to open to us a long vista, a stretch of 130 years, At its further end, leading up to 1800, stand three’ men looking westward upon fhiles of dense forest, impenetrable undergrpwths, and upon two rivers, which, flowing through marshy lands, unite right here to make common course to the sea.’ One of the three, clearly an_excitable man, contends that this is no wilderness across which they are looking. No, it is a great and splendid city instead, with wide streets, broad avenues, noble buildings, long arcades of shade made by beautiful trees, parks and drives, and a happy official citi- zenry transacting business for the whole United States, of which it is the legis- lative and administrative center. And in proof of his contention he flourishes a paper upon which the eity stands, ordered and complete, Maj. Charles Pierre L'Enfant, telling Washington and .{fflerson all about it for the hundreth ime. At the near end of this vista stands the group which today is seizing its better opportunities for achievement than the engineer was able to command. Still, these artists. engineers, law m: Presidents and philanthropists who' believe in beauty, are building with L’Enfant and never against him. Between éhn two end groups lies the welter 6f Washington grown through the short-term expedi- encies that every city meets and gener- ally succumbs to, naturally. It seems to me that at this point one of the clear triumphs of this book comes out to meet the reader. A com- petent, even austere, process of simpli- fication lifts the essential Washingt in its basic elements up above the city for its own self-disclosure. Here at a higher level is the Capitol for the law- across there ‘is the White House for the Presidents. To the left, @ mile and more away, is the shaft that embodies the spirit of W: - ton, true originator of our city, and Farther on at the river bank is Lin- coln, memorialized in au as the one who dled W ring, although it also intends to rid the country of those superstitious prac- tices which cling to most religions, * Kk K X Meantime there is considerable con- sternation on the Buddhist Olympus. The question which has to be decided is which of the gods will have to be unseated if the war on superstition is 1o be 100 per cent effective, for not only must the “pafasite” priest go, but many ?( the temple images will also have 0_RO. ‘This cleansing of the temple process, coming from without rather than from within, is doing much to line up the Buddhist priests against the govern- ment leaders of modern China. This conflict has only just commenced, and few can say to what lengths it may go. Shipowners Fight 8-Hour Day at Sea From the St. Louls Dally Globe-Democrat. A maritime conference at Geneva de- cided by a vote of more than 4 to 1 (76 to 17) to recommend that the work- ing day for sailors on board ship shall not exceed eight hours. ‘The decision was only advisory, for the eight-hour day must be embodied in the legislation of the countries repre- sented to be effective, and, in fact, another conference is to consider the problem. It was, however, opposed vio- lently by the shipowners' delegates present, who at one time bolted the conference by way. of protest, though later they returned. The incident gave rise to a curious criticism. 7 Although the British government is a Labor government, it was said that JAts official representatives in the con- ference gave less support to the eight- hour day at sea than did the repre- sentatives of other govermments that profess no special concern for the inter- ests of workers. In fact, the London ministry’s position was authoritatively stated to be one of aloofness on the question for, the present. While the eight-hour day on ships, like the eight-hour day on American railroads, may tend to greater safety, the only proposal looking directly to protection for passengers was one con- templating an international agreement as to the minimum requirements in' practical navigation for masters of mer- | chant_ ships, is proposal was ap- proved, as were likewise proposals relative to sailors’ welfare in port and to the care of sick or injured sailors at sea. At the time of its adoption in the United States the La Follette mariners’ act, along with certain humane features, imposed obligations far in advance of the legislation of any other country, so much so. in fact, that American vessel owners' handicap in greater costs -as compared with those of other countries was much increased and the effects of the act were even damaging on the Great Lakes as well as the ocean. The standards ?mcribed by that law, how- ever, are slowly bsing approximated by those of other maritime nations and will be given an enduring basis as the sub- Ject ;l international treaties or agree- ments. That's Real News. From the Canton Dally News. A New York woman was run down by | a horse the other day, and we've been wondering how long she had to stand out in the street waiting for one to come along. ) What a Change! | From the Canton Daily. News. President Hoover went out to see a foot ball game the other day, where nobody kicks unless he has a right to, fact that Mr. Moore lifts from m‘ sand detalls for our eyes to see, for our I hearts to feel. To be sure, he, there- after or all along the way as may be. fills in here and there to pof upon the advance that is being made— bullding, systematic park expansion, the reclamation of river front, a bridge of beauty and use here, a highway there—all joining as parts of the new becoming which the Capital is so cer- tainly reaching out to meet. The engrossment of 30 years upon any single theme would pack a n past his own holding were it not for the power to organize the contents of his mid. Mr. Moore has that power. The multitudinous facts of a new and more beautiful Washington emerge from the mind of this writer as much a unit as a tree is a unit—root, branch, stem, leaf, flower, fruit—all essential ?l::?ho{h. .«gnzlte (‘hinm As simple as e effect o - g this book of Wash. Now and then Mr. Moore pauses to gather up bodies of fact belr‘l’ng upon the growt!®of the city toward its mani. fest destiny. In Grant's period it was but a straggling village, In Roosevelt's a modern city much like its kind throughout the country. In the Cool- idge period the advance was greatly accelerated through that sagacious man’s influence in securing & long- term program of building. Today that plan ' is operating actively south of Pennsylvania avenue, *where Govern- ment departments will eventually be properly and adequately: housed, Having organized the Capital in its reanimated progress, Charles Moore be- comes the historian. Against the new background he sketches the events that have overtaken the city — domestic events and foreign. He projects a mov- ing picture of its social preoccupations up to the present. But, best of all, he, in the company of Saint-Gaudens, French, Burnham, McKim, White and many another, walks about the city with us in a passing estimate of art in its expression within the Capital. Archi- tecture, painting, sculpture, landscape art, highways and a reclaimed river front are all brought into this summary of Washington in its outreach toward a beautiful future. Again, there is the same unpretentious attitude which, all along, has marked this story. ' Again there is the same effect of certainty and conviction upon the reader. This may be due to the fact that there is not much of art language here. This equestrian statue is good because—and a very simple reason is given quite to the reader’s satisfaction and assurance, 'hat one is not so good, because—why, one can see that now that he is rem! . The Joan of Arc in Meridian Hill%Park is a joy. Soisthe French Fountain in Dupont Circle. The Adams Memorial—yes, you know, but he has some new and intimate and deeply interesting things to say about it. As for the Freer Gallery, and as for Charles Freer its donor, you cannot find_anywhere a more adequate and helpful inlooking upon this rare insti- tution than Mr. Moore gives here. 1 know—for I've hunted for it without real success until now. Read here about the Corcoran Art Gallgey. Read anew here, I mean. Go on down the street to gather up the dignified com- pany of buildings which, beginning with the Corcoran, ends with that Moor- ish dream of a building, the Pan- American Union. All along this story there are intimate touches that even we living here Nhd passed by. Houses of historic flavor, corners of art In- terest less conspicuous than the most, individuals of personality and power and charm—some of them coming back even to remind us of their vitality and power. s A joy of a book. Useful? Abun- dantly useful with nev!ex]ev with forceful and dramat m&ecflm. useful in its suppressions as as in on | Mo ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. pape: dis, G veriens r puts at your e services of an l:xunllve organization in Wash- ‘&m you in any eapacity that ites ‘This is Lfilfl department, devoted solely” to the dling of information. This service is free. Failure to make use of it deprives you of benefits to which you are en- titled. Your obligation is only 2 cents in coin or stamps, inclosed with your inquiry, for direct reply. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Fred- eric J. Haskin, director, Washington D. C. Q. What are the real names of the Marx brothers?—A. M. A. Chico's real name is Leonard, Harpo is Arthur, Groucho is Julius, and Zeppo is Herbert. They call each other by their stage names, and so does every onfi ;l;e In ages they are 36, 34, 32 and 26. Q. Is the greater lift on the top of an ‘:lrplnna wing or on the bottom?— A. The lift o2 the top of wings of an average plene (. .eraging biplaner and monoplanes) is about 70 per cent. The boost on the bottom of the wings equals lltt;:ut the remaining 30 per cent of the Q. Was the song “The Little Brown Church in the Vale” inspired by a real church?—S. K. A. The same Little Brown Church in the Vale about which the song was written is still standing in Northeastern Iowa in the valley of the Red Cedar. Dr. W. S. Pitts, a physician and writer, was inspired to write the song when the little church was dedicated, in 1864. ‘The revival of the song has created fresh interest in the church, and now visitors from all over the tountry visit the shrine. Q. Is neon lighter or heavier than air? What voltage is used to cause Jt to become incandescent?—E. O. S.- A. The Bureau of Standards says that neon is lighter than air. Assum- ing the specific gravity of air to be 1.000, the specific gravity of neon is 0.6964. About 400 volts per foot plus 400 is required for this gas incandescent, but this depends upon the diameter, of the tube. Q. Why was the strawberry so named?—S. R. 5 A. The reason is not known defi- nitely. It may have been because straw was used to protect the plants, or more probably the word is a corruption of strayberry, so named because of thé manner in which the plants throw out runners. Q. How old was Bdna Millay when she wrote “Renascence”?—-W. T.. - A, She was 19. Q. In the early days of our Republic who passed upon applications for pat- ents?—J. H. G. A. The first act of Congress, April 10, 1790, placed the granting of patents in the hands of the Secretary of State, Secretary of War-and Attorney General. Thomas Jefferson as Secre- tary of State personally examined many petitions for patents. i Q. What is “cascade dra; P W.T. C. R A. “This is a type of drapery for win- dows or valances on beds, in which the material is arranged in loops which give the ‘effect of a cascade. This is par- to become | ticularly suitable for rooms having high cemnp‘or beds having high posts, b 3 Q‘ gvhen was radium discovered?— ‘A’ Radium was first obtained from pitchblende by M. and Mme. Curie and M. Bemont in 1898. Q. If I give an order to buy stock at the market price, does that mean that I have to pay the highest quotation that tEhe stock reaches during day? A. Market price means the price at which the stock is selling when the | order reaches the hands of the broker on the floor of the exchange. Orders are usually taken in turn. For weeks the tape has from one to three hours behind the actual quotations tak- ing place on the exchange, and for that reason one may be misled as to thé price at the time the order was recef on the exchange. Q. In how many of our industrial plants is there danger of dust explo- sion?—T. M. E. A. In ‘about 28,000 plants are there such hazards. A great many of them use scientific precautions. Q. What kind of leather is used in Cape gloves?—B. R. A. The name is taken from Cape ‘Town, South Africa, and the leather is made from the skin of the hairy goat. bth;oxg‘d Taklngt:;i u:nl?:ld the water WO or three to a boil once?—C. L. M. b A. It should be brought to a boil once and used immediately. Q. How many grape growers belong to the California Vineyardists’ Associa- tion?—D. E. A. The association is an organiza- tion of between 7,000 and 8,000 growers, Q. What is meant by the terms “Rights” and “Lefts” as applied to So- clalists? . L. A. In any organized movement the moderates or conservatives are known as the “Rights,” or members of the right Wwing, while the radicals are designated by the,term “Lefts,” or left wing. Q. How many plays did Shakespea 'flAw?S_}k D. SR 2 L kespeare is usually sald have written 37 plays. i izg Q. Please give some information con- cerning the English castle which has been built in Richmond, Va—P. A. D. A. The Virginia Historical Society says that several years ago Mr. and Mrs. Alexander W. Weddell purchased the remnants of Warwick Priory, sit- uated in the town of Warwick, Eng- land, the priory at this time being great disrepair and the materials of Wwhich it was built being effered for sale. This material Mr. and Mrs. Wed- dell had carefully sent to this country, and from it have had assembled a most beautiful Elizabethan manor house, but it is in no sense a castle. One end of ;L)eng;lmxfig l‘: .knmw‘d“ of Sulgrave A 0 as “Virgini House.” i y of our fllustrators Q. How man; suxizfl with Howard Pyle?—D., M. F. American Art says that half of our illustrators of today studied under Howard Pyle. Of these probably the most_notable are Violet Oakley and M?xfll:ld Parrish. Both ar® great mural painters, American . Public Opinion Denounces “Mercy Killings” ishman 1ivi er, whose agonies from an incur- able disease had become unbearable to her and to him, and his subsequent ac- quittal by the French jury before whom he was tried, has aroused much com- ment as to the legal and moral side of “mercy killings.” “/There can be no doubt that in some instances death is preferable to wretched existence, but what parliament, what congress, what legislature will assume the responsibility of enacting a law to prescribe exactly how and under what set of circumstances a human sufferer shall be put to death in defiance of the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill'?"” asks the Toledo Blade. * kR X +Whatever individuals may think of the moral quality of the- act, soclety cannot safely permit people to take hu- man life with no better motive than their own good intentions. And this ap- plies to physicians as well as laymen,” says the Worcester Evening Gazette, which points out that “people today are being cured of innumerable maladies which in the past were accepted by the best medical knowledge as incurable.”. ‘The Texarkana Gazette declares that “medical ethics, as well as law, con- demns the practice, although there have been many whispered stories of resort by physicians to euthanasia, with the consent or without the knowledge of the surviving family, in cases of hm— less suffering,” this paper consides that “even if it were regarded as justifi- able when both the family and the vic- tim consent, a dangerous precedent would be established, which could be used as a cloak by designing murderers ,when the victim’s iliness is not hope- * kR ok On the other hand, as the Chatleston Evening Post says, “it is easily arguable that there are many such sufferers whose every hour of life is a torture to them and who would rejoice to have their sufferings terminated by death,” but in spite of this fact the Post be- The killing by Richard Corbett, an ing in France, of hi ‘lieves that “society cannot entrust to -{&‘even to the most learned physi- 3 , the power to say when life shall be left and when it shall be taken,” and contends that “the Corbett verdict was an unfortunate one in its example.” Conceding that “there is pathos in this case to shake the heart of a world that is not wholly insensible o human suffering,” the Dallas Journal, however, deglares: “But many of us who know too well the human tendency to make a precedent serve evil purposes will hold that the verdict of this French tribunal is one of the most dangerous that been rendered in modern times, al- though it is not the first of its kind in that country. The French jury would better have served the world of men if it had imposed upon the ‘mercy slayer’ a mercy-tempered sentence.” Similarly the Haverhill Evening Gaszette declares that “the only danger to society in such verdicts is the danger that the chance for acquittal for merciful murder will make murder easier. We doubt that this is a real danger,” continues the Gazette, which believes, “Human be- ings defend life too strenuously and too vigilantly to be deceived frequently by false pleas for mercy like this.” x kX % ‘Touching another phase of the sub- ject, the Schenectady Gazette points oul that “some of the finest characters have been developed in those who have borne unflinching the pain of incurable disease. Some of the greatest lessons in life have been learned by these wm] 0| From the Detroit News. der their ennobling influence. one can wish long years of suffering for himself or for those near and dear to him,” the Gazette continueS, “the faith in the tltimate good in all thln{: that has carried millions through frial its exaltation of the essential and sig- nificant. A practical guide—I wish I bhadn’t said that. Measures called “prac- tleal” connote to some a lack of savor and delight. Not here, though. For this is a book of glamour and essences and fragrances. One, too, that pic-: m;ru -dvenug: g thhe great ‘huslné:s of creating beauty by way of a city and embodied in the 1 of a great -country of vast resour people trying to realize itself. and tribulations in the past is just as is | potent today and will be no less so in dn%:‘to come.” . erring to the easerof Corbett, Lansing State Journal says: ~Homever there Wil be consiae sympathy the world over with the attitude of the young Englishman and the jury which acquitted him, in so far as it is felt the judgments of defendant and Jury were truly unalloyed with respect to the mercy involved. If there were not the least taint of selfishness in the act; if, indeed, it were wholly a sacrifice of love, , a T With the French flusy. 3 Suent. will b Topsy-Turvy Pictures ‘. Caused Many Rows | From the 8t. Louis Fost-Dispateh. Offhand we would say that any who paints a picture myat Iool:n’tbm li! well upside down or sidewise as top- side up hardly deserves to win a prizge— assuming the work to be anytl be- yond a mere pattern. The case win E. Dickinson, however, out ‘precedent of ;‘;&m "‘I;he Fossi award in the Na i of Design show in . Yo lacking in perception, had wril Whistler's “Nocturne, Black lnd"ah’?’t’ at he had never expected to hear of & coxcomb’s asking 200 guineas, for i & the public.” Af trial all well. " Whistier's barrister. waxed® oly: glexent, waving the challenged art work fore the jury, when the artist screwed '}"f(ymoo':&m a bit tighter and exploded, do;:‘“u , man, you've got it upside e jury awarded Beplindy nominal damages— Housing Shortage In Several Cities Pmsl: the Butte Daily Post. veral industrial cities are - encing another housing shvfllze.expfle:l estate men say it is impossible to find enough houses and apartments for the People who want to rent them. The situation is a reversal of that which ger:vllled a year ago. Population has’ N increasing, and business has been good, but these evidently are not the m'-i.n reasons for the change. “The lending situation,” says a real estate writer, “has been very bad Financing of houses for the market has been extremely difficult because of the great flow of money to-the stock mar- ket. Good builders have not been able to produce so many houses a They could have sold twice as .\ some builders say, if 1t had been pos- sible to arrange better financing terms for buyers, and if the builders them- selves could have procured the money for financing construction of. work.” Such a ‘situation has probably pre- ivailed rather widely. There is a strong ilmpresslnn at present that it is going to be remedied, as a result of the turn of the stock market and the flow of credit into normal channels. If this { happens, there may be a resumption of the building boom on a national scale, not only improving housing conditions. but providing new stimulus for generai prosperity. % ————— Of the Blushing Variefy. J. P. Morgan, well known kale fancier of New York, has branched out and won first prize at a flower show for raising large violets. —————— Unkind Comment. From the San Bernardino Dafl Sun. Radio rmers comple a that it is bhard not to be able to hear the vlause. There probably isn't l.nyA/ Sopranos F'rinstance. From the Lynchbure News. oel’v‘e ,uv'c are told, do not 00 it it lodern poets, mliw mm other for 4