Evening Star Newspaper, December 5, 1929, Page 8

8 THE EVENING STAR, 'WASfiINGTON. D. C, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 199, T e e S THE EVENING STAR .senlu. Far from it. The minomy'et exploration should have among thelxi With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C THURSDAY....December 5, 1920 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor Ave. 3 ast 42nd 8t Chicago Oftice: Lake Michigan Building. European Office; 14 Regent St.. London. England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. e Evenine Star... ....... 45cter month e Evening and Sinday ‘Sia, rnen 't Bundaye) Mot G 60¢ ver month e Evening ana Sun (when 5 Sundass) 6s¢ per montn The Sunday Star ; 5c per copy Collection made at the end of it each month. lers may be sent in by mail or telepjone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. g:lly In? Sunday. 1 yr.. $10.00: 1 mo., 85¢ iy only .. 1y: $6.00: 1 mo.. 50¢ | Siinday only . L1y 00: 1 mo.. dce | | Y | All Other States and Canada. Dally and Sunday..} yr.. $12.00; 1 mo.. $1.00 Daily enly ~........1¥r. $800°1mo. isc| Sunday only 1yr. $5:00: 1mol 80c( Member of the Associated Press. i The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news cis- patches credited 10 it or not otherwise cred- ited in this paper and also .l local Lews pubfished herein. All rizhis of publication cf special dispatches nerein are also reserved. Saving Wasted Water. The District budget contains an item | ©of $40,000 to be used in an int:nsive survey designed to discover the sources of watcr leakage in the city's distribu- tion system and to plug up the holes. It is reasoned that this water, which costs a great deal of money to purify and to pipe and pump into town, can be turned to better uses than irrigating the ! soil surrounding leaky joints in the mains. It can be utiliz:d to turn the turbines at the hydroelectric plant that | furnishes current for running th2, pumps, for instance, and it is far better 1o keep surplus water in the reservoirs than to allow it to go to waste. A} monstary saving of about $58,000 a: year, it is estimated, could be eff=cted | by preventing excess leakage. But, as paradoxical as it might seem, the saving of $58,000 a year by pre- venting water lcakage would actually serve to reduce the District's alleged members of the Senate privileges and elections committee hold that the elec- tion was so tainted with fraud that it should be asserted by the Senate that there had been no election and that the seat was vacant. The majority memberg of the committee, however, have reported that Vare was elected on the face of the returns. Whatever the decision of the Senate, Mr. Vare's chances of being seated are considered the slimmest. A resolution has long been pending declaring him not entitled to be seated in the Senate because of excessive expenditures in his primary campaign and because of corruption. This resolution, it is expected, will prevail. ‘The Vare nomination and election in ‘Pennsyh‘anm caused Nation-wide indig- nation. Attempts have been made to reform the election laws of Pennsylva- nia so as to prevent excessive expendi- tures of money and corruption in the future. They have been partially suc- cessful. One of the reforms carried was the adoption of voting machines. The gradual installation of these ma- chines is expected to improve condi- tions materially. The settlement of the Vare case in the Senate, which has hung fire for three years, is essential. The Senate is the final judge of the elections and qualifications of its members. And the Senate has determined, it appears: to do all it can to put an end to excessive expenditures in election of its members. ———— Secretary Stimson Stands Pat. Moscow having piped the tune in the Russo-Chinese incident, Washing- ton has had no hesitation in pitching its latest diplomatic action in the same sharp key. To the Soviet government's gratuitous charge that the United States committed “an unfriendly act” in re- minding Russia and China of their obligations under the Kellogg-Briand pact to keep the peace, Secretary Stimson returns a reply, in the form of a public statement, which leaves nothing to be desired in respect of dignified firmness. If Moscow “rebuked” Washington for exercising a fundamental and “return” on its investment in the water | Well-established international privilege, system. That is only one of the many Washington now ‘“rebukes” Moscow for inter:sting featurcs of the table that | venturing to lecture the United States has been prepared to show that the|as to how it shall “shape its own District enjoys a return of 6.3 per cent | policy.” on the water system, as contrasted to|our inallenable right to do that, In e yoyggy the return of 2.22 per cent r<ceived by | I discourteous, but not lacking in force the United States Government. Secretary Stimson vindicates language which is stern without being In estimating the District’s return |and forthrightness on that account. “on basis of water used and unac-{President Hoover's foreign minister has |, no occasion to feel that he 'comes off ccunted for“—the only basis that is computed—the United States Engineer | second best from his passage-at-arms Office gives to the water used and wasted by the District a monetary value of $738,320, and this amount, con- ceived as income and divided by the so- tenacious with M. Litvinoff. Far outstripping these diplomatic recriminations in importance is the stand Secretary Stimson number one who is so lacking in sports- manship. The late Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian, took first rank with the world’s greatest explorers and there have been many others of the same nationality whose names will never be forgotten. Amundsen made some of his contributions to science by drawing heavily upon his personal resources to finance his expeditions, but his com- paratively recent triumphs, such as flying from Spitzbergen to Alaska over the North Pole, were accomplished through the co-operation and financial aid of an American. Consequently, even in Norway, this scoffer at Byrd's statements of condi- tions found in the Antarctic will be playing practically a lone hand. The feeling between Norwegian and Amer- ican explorers has always been most friendly, and there are probably few, if any, who will follow the lead of this critic, Comdr. Byrd has too many achieve- ments to his credit to be doubted, and if his dispatches state that a range of mountains had to be crossed before reaching the Pol:, a range of mountains indeed was crossed. The derider of this statericnt, who characterizes the area described by Byrd as a “limitless plateau,” claims that the trip to the Pole could easily be made by motor cycle. There appears to be no reason why he should not purchase a little motor bike all of his own and some day when he did not have much to do put-put gayly to the Pole, if it is such a simple matter. Certainly it would be far less expensive and far more spectacular than the undertaking so successfully accomplished by the Ameri- can naval officer. o A “Bad Man” Quits Cold. Usually when a desperado, a modern | bandit gunman, wanted by the law, is cornered he fights desperately to a murderous finish. He is seldom taken alive op unwounded. But Frank Mc- Brine, who has a long string of aliases and rejoices particularly in the “mon- niker” of “Jersey Kid,” when trapped in his New York apartment, concluded that a live gunman is better than a dead one, although there might be five or six homicide charges against him. So, with sixty policemen and de- tectives surrounding his flat, with every exit covered, after a few shots had been fired through the door from and into he surrendered. He had fifty cartridges in his pockets when taken. Now there are several appli- cants for his custody and trial, some in New Jersey, some in New York, one in Philadelphia and another in Chi- cago. The Philadelphia case involves only a prison term and McBrine hos offered to compromise the conflicting claims by waving extradition and re- turning to that city, a proposition that i called investment of $11,713,785.32 in the | takes on the Kellogg-Briand pact. NO |paq peen rejected. ‘water plant, gives a rcturn of 6.3 per cent. Now suppose, the water that is | American-Russian doubt can any longer exist, after this diplomatic clash, wasted were saved instead. That would | that the Government of the United cut down the water “used and unac-|States looks upon the general treaty)jety hand is tattooed a five-pointed count:d for” by tl amount valued at $415.120. And if this | vital modified the attitude of the world 't of State asserts. This Government, he is conceived as the District’s income on its investment, the return would b2 3.54 per cent. thing. It has “profoundly oward peace,” the American Secretary This man had little chance of ever escaping detection. He is a living picture gallery. On the back of his District to an|for renunciation of war as a IVINg |gtar 1n red and blue. On the wrist is a bleeding heart plerced by a drip- ping dagger with the motto, “Death before dishonor.” Distributed on his chest and shoulders and arms are And this so-called return’ would be|adds, dared to send its reminder to |y, American eagles, the national coat even further reduced if there were some | Russia and China, because, assessing|o¢ arms, a liberty girl, and several of attempt to divide the benefits of ‘water | the pact at its full face value, We Ven- | preprine's names. used and wasted in the prevention of!t fire, street cleaning, public hydmms.;ltgis. ure to comport ourselves, under its with something resembling McBrine has been a confirmed crimi- nal for some years. He had his own etc. between the District and the Fed- | honest consistency. We do not 100k | gang which was rated as an exception- eral establishment instexd of ccnsider- ing all such water used as a part of the inccme enjoyed by the District of Co-[to these upon it as a scrap of paper. Col. Stimson does not confine himself straight-from-the-shoulder ally good one. At least three murders were charged against him and his asso- ciates and a long list of hold-ups and lumbia on its water plant investment.| blows at Moscow’s truculent conten-|, viherjes The latest pursuit, which These conjectures are interesting but | tions. Having delivered them, he Points | cngeq with the capture in New York, ‘unimportant. They are mentioned | at what after all is the chrdinal aspect | pag oost some $30,000, leading through merely as commentaries upon the|of an incident likely to be remembered | canaga Mexico and the Rocky Moun- studied attempts of certain tabulators | as deplorable on various counts, ViZ, | tain region of this country. And when to picture the. District as enjoying a high return on its water plant invest- ment as contrasted to the relatively low return received by the Federal Gov- ernment. ———————— December - calls for another incom tax installment which tempts the aver- age citizen to wonder, once again, whether there really is a Santa Claus. ———————— There are two problems connectzd with a vast fortune. One is how to get | 1t, and the other, what to do with it. — e Reports from Wall Street-are to the | effect that prices.wers steady and only the thorcughfare was skiddy. —— v aen— The Wilson-Vare Contest. The contest brought by William B.| Wilson, Democratic opponent of Sena- | tor-elect William S. Vare of Pennsyl-| vaniz in the senatorial election of 1926, | for a seat in the Senate has been de- | cided adversely by the committee on privileges and elections. It is expected that the Senate itself will take the same view. When the ballots were counted on election day three years ago Vare was declared to have been elected with a lead of 173,507 .votes ovc= Wilson. Mr. Wilson contested the election on the ground that fraud had been perpetrated and the election had been stolen from | him. Mr. Wilson came to the Philadelphia ¢ity line a victor in the senatorial con- test by 50,000 votes. But Philadelphia, the Vare stronghold, Tolled up a huge vote for the Republican candidate, long | the boss of the Republican organization | there, and gave Vare the lead in the State as a whole by more than 170,000. The relatively narrow margin by which | Vare had won the election in a State that is overwhelmingly Republican and the reports that there had been wide- spread registration and election frauds in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh led Mr. Wilson to file the contest on which a Teport goes to the Senate for the first time today. A subcommittee of the Senate finance committee examined, through its own experts, millions of votes cast in the election. The verdict of the subcom- mittee was that while there had been a considerable number of irregularities and cases of fraud, with all fraudulent and irregular ballots ecliminated, Mr. ‘Wilson still could not be considered clected. He simply did not receive a majority of the ballots honestly cast. This was the opinion of Democratic as well as Republican members of the sub- committee. It is expected that the Senate itself will tak. the same view of the situation. But the decision of the case against Mr. Wilson, who was formerly a mem- er of the House and after that a member of President Woodrow Wilson’s cabinet, does not neccssarily mean that that peace will probably remain un- broken in Manchuria. When everything the sole aim, of American “interven- | tion.” The Secretary of State concludes his statement with the significant observa- tion that “the public opinion of the world is a live factor.” That it played its role in persuading the Soviet gov- ernment not to extend its military oper- ations in Manchuria beyond border raids savoring of organized brigandage cannot be doubted. World opinion, the Stimson statement declares, “can be promptly mobilized.” ‘The United States has now placed itself squarely on record in favor of bringing about such a mobilization whenever trouble- makers and treaty-breakers, within or without the Kellogg-Briand pact, essay to re-establish the rule and reign of force in the arbitrament of interna- tional problems. That is the final result of the week’s acrimonious events—a result which will cutlive the specific cause which pre- cipitated them. If words mean anything, the American Government has now pro- claimed a doctrine vastly further-reach- ing in its implications than the Monroe Doctrine, That pronouncement com- prehended only the southern extremities of this hemisphere. The Hoover doctrine —the mobilization of world public opin- ion to preserve peace—comprehends the globe. vt The late Father Tondorf took note of earthquakes. He wisely refrained from studying the stock ticker for signs of convulsions of nature in finance. ——— Homicide mysteries develop so many clues that the police may be pardoned for mot being able to keep track of a few of them. B The Inevitable Scoffer. With every great accomplishment of famous men there are always those to deride it. Either from envy or from that insatiable lust for publicity, the achieve- ment of a notable feat brings with it those who rush into print to declare their views, generally in opposition to facts. It has been so with many an invention and it is so with the flight of Comdr. Richard E. Byrd over the South Pole, an achievement which has won world-wide acclaim. No sconer had the dispatches of the naval officer’s triumph reached civilization from the bleak deadness of the coldest spot on earth than a Norwegian explorer chal- lenged the accuracy and the usefulness of the discoveries made by the expedi- tion, shouts the critic from overseas. | are a fantasy,” he adds. And concludes saw do not inspire confidence.” It seems a pity that the Norweglans is said and done, that was the aim, and | with “Byrd's statements on what he it ended, this interesting young man “quit cold,” with his pockets full of ammunition, when threatened with the explosion of tear bombs. Which goes to show that courage is after all only a relative quality. ——— v President Hoover points out that the Nation is prosperous. Public interest is concentrating on the idea of remain- ing so, regardless of the temptations to spectacular finance. e Business is regarded as substantial and secure. The bulls and bears will retire in favor of Santa’s reindeer. —— e Many experts insist that prohibition laws can readily be enforced by some- body else. g — e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Always New Problems. It seems so easy, when you read Of some historic act; A hero’s bold, undying deed, The statesman’s thought exact. ‘The present task is still obscure; But in some coming day ‘Those who endeavor and endure The same old things will say. The future, as it bids us try Our common sense to please, ‘Will say, “The problems just gone by ‘Were not so hard as these.” Tariff Talk. “The tariff is much talked about.” “When lobbyists hang around,” sald Senator Sorghum, “it is more than talked about. It is positively scandal- ized.” Jud Tunkins says most folks are like doctors who like to give advice without taking any themselves. Obsolete Sleigh. The question we must ask again In a persistent way— “Oh, what's the use of snowflakes when There isn’t any sleigh?” Family Notification. “How is your wife going to’ vote?” “I never know,” answered Mr. Chug- gins, “until she notifies me how I am going to vote.” “We throw paper prayers at a joss, sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “so demonstrating that the principal need of superstition is a waste basket. Christmas Forecast. “A speculation in sensations,”| we should appreciate the freeze he mountains described by Comdr. Byrd ‘Which in December comes, because Che scene is full of Christmas trees, And each man is a Santa Claus. “Knowledge is valuable,” said Uncle Eben, “but it ain’ so good when a man Veiliam 8. Vare is to be seated in the with their proud list of valorous deeds knows & lot o' things he dozsn't tell.” BY CHARLES “Quo Vadis,” “The Last Days of Pompeii,” “Ben-Hur"—with these three great historical romances of ancient times must be placed Dmitri Merejkow- ski's “The Death of the Gods.” This story of Julian the Apostate is too little known by those who ap- preciate the merits of the other works mentioned above. There can be_ little question _that novels laid Rome, Greece, Jerusalem 2,000 or more years ago exert a strange fascination on many readers, but when they come to find really great examples of the art they often are disappointed, since the truly magnificent ones may be num- bered upon the fingers of two hands. Just what is the huge charm of those days and places to these readers is not altogether easy to say. To explain it by the influence of the exotic will not do, there is a great deal more to it than that. Perhaps some readers bring with fhem from their remote an- cestors more traces of the past than do others. Perhaps he who finds him- self a devout admirer of ancient Rome | had an ancestor in Brittany who stood in amaze on a chalk cliff as_the Roman legions came in. It may have been that this same ancestor was free enough from the spleen of racial dif- ferences to recognize at their full worth the various abilities and ac- complishments which made the Romans one of the two—or should we say three?—great peoples of antiquity Then, too, thete is the heritage of beauty. Lovers of beauty have been called Hellenes for all these centuries, not because Greece exhausted this di- vine commodity so essential to the wel- fare of the human soul, but because their aims and aspirations ever since have been the same. If there has been a residue of sophistication, mingled with tendencies toward immorality, it must be blamed on man himself, not on his quest for beauty. The abuse of great things but makes them the greater if they come out of the fire {.with their essential heart unseared. * K K K “The Death of the Gods” is based on sound research into the early Christian eras, ending in that inexplicable deba- cle, the fall of the mighty Rome in 410 AD. It is said that peoples on the deserts, thousands of miles from the Tiber, thought that the world had come to an end when they heard the news. We of today cannot understand, except intellectually, the effect of the catastrophe upon the minds of civi- lized -and uncivilized. The complete sacking and destruction of such a city as London, for instance, would not be :ompsrshle now to the fall of Rome en. For the fall of Rome Christianity has been held responsible by some his- torians, a few even going to the extent of giving it full credit. Thi8 would seem to be an overstatement, as all such single solutions of great historical events must be. Who or what caused the World War? Few historians in 1929 are as willing to say they know as they were in 1919. Great happen- ings in history, like death, are relent- THIS AND THAT E. TRACEWELL. less. One sees them coming and shrinks back, but whether he shrinks or not they come on just the same and no amount of tears can wipe them out. ‘They happened, that is all, and the wise man bows his head in acquiescence. The ancients called it Fate, today we call it the “course of events” or the “hand of God."” The beauty of Greece had suffered corruption, the power of Rome had shrunk long before Christianity came into the picture. The evils of slavedom, the cruelty of the rabble, the lack of love and the grossest animality evcry-l where conspired to make the ancient | world, as we know the term, a poor place to live in. The success of Chris- tianity was partly due to the fact that s0 many people then knew this to be so. Rome was ripe for its fall. We call it “animality,” but that is a libel | on the beasts. When man turns to his worst side, he becomes so far be- neath the speechless creatures that lions and tigers shun him, even to this day. The medicine of Christianity was a heroic draught, but a mighty medi- cine was needed. EE Merejkowski presents an interesting and brilliant picture of the pagan world resisting and succumbing to the religion of Jesus Christ. When one finishes the story he feels that it must have been so. Those who have studied the history of Christianity through the ages will recognize the wide research incorporated into “The Death of the Gods” by the Russian novelist. The structure of the story is unusual, being a succession of pictures, or sketches, yet so well related that they never give an _impression of disjointedness. The dialogue is exceedingly natural and goes far toward making the characters real men and women. Many of the scenes described are unforgettable. The read- er is taken into the streets of Antioch and shown the dance called the cordax “of which the people were fondly mad.” One is reminded of the present-day liquor question: “The fathers of the church thundered against it, the laws of Rome interdicted it—naught availed: ‘The cordax was danced everywhere, by the poor and the rich, by the wives of Senators and by street - dancing wenches.” The story of “The Death of the Gods” concerns itself with Julian's search for the truth. He is initiated into the Egyptian and Greek mysteries. The tragedy of the sincere seeker who cannot find—what man has not known it to some extent? Belief is easy; it is disbelief which is hard, and Jesus knew this better than anybody, for He said, “Except ye become as a little child, ye shall in nowise enter the king- dom of heaven.” The great merit of Dimitri Merejkow- ski's novel is that in it he brings out to the full both sides of the struggle for truth in the individual life. The reader is presented with a rare pageant of ancient life, colorful, interesting; in it lies the story of the Eternal Struggle like a diamond set in rich lacquers. But it is not a clear diamond. It is cll‘mged with the sorrow of the human mind. American editors, speaking as ob- servers of the situation, still believe there is a great struggle under way, as the fashion experts of Europe seek to impress upon the women of this coun- try the necessity for general adoption of long skirts. Some find that public sentiment involves certain reservations, as a result of which the authority of Paris is seriously questioned. Others expect a long debate with the out- come at present in doubt. “Strange as it may seem,” declares the St. Louis Times, “dispatches from Europe say women abroad are not heed- ing fashion experts. The same work comes from American style centers. And yet it is not strange, after all. It is a question whether the majority of women ever heed fashion experts. It's the other way around. Fashion experts heed the women. After all, though it may take them a little time to achieve it, women wear about as much or little as they choose, and what they choose. Fashion experts, unheeded, have to conform.” 3 . % "N “The fashion designers’ struggle to encase American women in ankle- length skirts once more,” according to the Augusta Herald, “is proceeding right merrily. Judging from our own observations, we would say it isn't meeting with & whole world of suc- cess.” ~ The Cleveland Plain Dealer records “praises for and fulminations against,” which, it remarks, makes it evident “that we're booked again for one of those eras with pens and voices wondering ‘what women are coming to, anyway.’ Funnily the very same ones who shricked a decade ago, or less, anent the ‘indecency’ of short skirts, are doing as sharp yelping and yowl- ing now at the long ones.” In Milwaukee apparently the matter has been settled, for the Journal sees very little ground for doubting that the new fashions have arrived. “The fair sex, for all the deflance it has from time to time hurled at the Paris couturiers, is at last following with more or less docility the mandate for longer skirts. To be sure, the mandate had to be repeated an unwonted num- ( ber of times—but the couturier won. The longer skirts are already flapping among us. * * * Madame, how- ever, is unconcerned. She will never, never permit Paris to trail her skirts upon the ground, and she will never yield her freedom from the stay that binds, mandate or no mandate. But of course, if others should be so spine- Jess, well— Well, naturally. that would create a situation, to be met in due time and with becoming self-ef- facement. One would hate to be con: spicuous, you \:‘nd'ers:‘ar;d. o r, perhaps, more than the usual ren‘:)rrggtm%ece,"psuzsesu the Hartford Courant, “they will meekly bow to the inevitable. But we have no wish to chide them; indeed we are in no posi- tion to do so. Mere man may not be willing to admit it, but he, too, in & more limited sphere, dons the garb that some tailors’ convention tells him is the thing. The transition between one style and another is not so marked as in the case of ‘feminine apparel, but it is there just the same.” The Lynchburg News, however, offers the advice: “Men, or some men, protested violently against short skirts until they were blue in the face, and women continued defiantly to wear them, Little by little men became accustomed to them and finally to ap- prove them, and about that time women decided to back to long skirts. The moral for those who don’t like the new styles is that they should start right out approving them. Observing that “Parls is sending over to this country several missionaries who are expected to educate American wom- en” on this subject, the Utica Observer- Dispatch argues that “it is a question whether this clever propaganda. will be swallowed by American women, . who have within the past few years shown considerable independence in wearing whatever they deemed most comfortable and suitable.” Present indications, it is said, are that women in this country are nob taking kindly to the French dic- tation.” The Savannah Morning News holds that “if women should return to the ground-sweeping skirts of other years, and the stay-pinched walsts of those times, it would be as amazing as if the hoopskirts returned. But there will be style modifications, ' because women like change; they know the deadliness of sameness. Skirts may get longer, but they will not get too long. * ok ok K “As a mere man,” suggests the Mont- real Standard,:“we dnggot wish to see the kilt adopted by women. The Paris | have suspected that some of them do it Columbia? dressmakers have, it is true, gone to the New Fashions Are Received With Editors’ Reservations other extreme, but no doubt extreme measures were necessary if the line of grace and beauty, shrinking for so many years, was to be restored. We believe, with_them, that the march of progress should be interrupted, say, four inches below the knees in front and somewhat more than that behind. We believe, too, that a compromise will be reached, that the line of beauty will go so far and no farther, that skirts will be just the right length for grace and freedom, and that corsets and wasp waists will never again be anything more than bogies."” One result of what it considers an ob- vious change is mentioned by the Al- bany Evening News: “It is reported now that longer skirts are even changing the manners of women. We read that women are finding that the manners that went with last year’s sport clothes do not.blend with the new and longer garments. From which we gather cyni- cally that longer skirts make a ‘lady’ out of the ‘girl friend’ or the ‘good scout’ of yesteryear. A girl can’t be the same in a long skirt. She has to go back to the manners of years ago, so we are in- formed by the writets. She even soft- ens her voice. All of which is interest- ing and beguiling, but some day the short-skirted girl is coming back and woman is going to be herself* again.” —e— Sees Capital Becoming New “City of Churches” From the Kansas City Journal-Post. The distinction that Brooklyn once enjoyed as the city of chul’l.‘hesy;s about to be shifted to Washington, through no lack of religious spirit in Brooklyn, and, we fear, through no corresponding increase of religious zeal in ‘Washington, Washington is_fortunate in having other people pay for the towering struc- tures, which have been so important a part of “the City Beautiful.” Most of these have been erected at expense of the taxpayers of the United States, to house the various branches and depart- | ments of the Federal Government. The fact that Washington is the Capital and & place which many thousands of Americans and foreigners visit is re- sponsible for many other _edifices, erected by great fraternities, with funds raised throughout the country. The movement for subsidizing churches of the leading denominations is comparatively recent, but it has al- ready made great headway. Probably the finest Protestant Episcopal cathe- dral in America will result from activi- ties which have been in progress since the most popular rector of Washington was made a bishop. Other denominations are raising huge sums to build churches in Washington in keeping with the size and dignity of the religious bodies, nationally. The Methodists, the Christians, the Bap- tists and the Presbyterians have all been considering the matter. Dur- ing the week an anonymous gift of $425,000 for a great Presbyterian church at Washington was announced at the Chicago meeting of the general council of the church. But more than great edifices will be necessary. It is highly probable that endowments will be made to maintain pulpits which will command the respect and attendance of Washingtonians, official and private. Credit Man Approves Article on Wife’s Debts To the Editor of The Star: I want to take this opportunity to thank you personally and also in behalf of our association on the very fair article published in your evening paper of the 2d in reference to the opinion handed ‘down on Monday, December 2, by Justice Charles H. Robb of the Dis- trict Court of Appeals regarding the re- sponsibility of the husband for the debts of his wife, Especially so, as the facts in this particular case were so different from the general methods of extending credit and should in no wise be con- strued as a precedent to relieve the hus- band of his common Jaw liability for necessaries, or as of principal and agent, or_where his credit is pledged. ASSOCIATED RETAIL CREDIT MEN OF WASHINGTON, D. C. S. H. TALKES, Secretary. ———— Cussedness? From the Florence (Ala.) Herald. Several contemporary authors have ad: mitted that they dislike to write. We out of pure cussedness, What Are Public Rights | In Car Fare Litigation? To the Editor of The Star: The car-riding public of the District of Columbia reads items of news con- { cerning preparations being made by the street railway corporations to take the question of increased fares into the courts, but we get no information as to what effort will be made to protect the great public interest involved in this litigation. We are told that the corporation is going to ask the court to put into effect at once the higher rates of fare. To us, this indicates that the court will be asked to decide the case at the be- ginning in favor of the rail lines and hear and determine afterward. With another period of long-drawn-out liti- gation looming, during which time the car riders would thus be required to pay the higher rates, what considera- tion will be given the great public in- terest involved if such an order imme- diately be issued? In the absence of any order of the commission fixing higher rates, does there re) in a court of equity, in advance of any con- sideration of the case, the power to fix rates that the commission has not ordered, but has emphatically denied to these corporations for good and suf- ficient reasons? And the car_ riders would like to know whether the lawyers designated to represent the people will refrain from agreeing to any present- ments or allegations, “to make up the record,” that the corporations may put forth for corporation advantage alone? ‘Will that raflway company, which so tenaciously hangs on to its “valuation” as of 1925, really have any valuation as of 1929 that the court may recog- nize when the corporation asks for an adjudication of the points at issue? And should the commission and its attorneys be prepared to stand on the law for public protection and unwaver- ingly uphold the right under that law to make the actual valuation as of 1929 that alone may be used now as a basis for consideration in a rate-making case? Should they scrupulously steer clear of acceptance of any figures of valuation put forth by corporation attorneys, cor- poration engineers, or corporation offi- cers and directors, who possess no authority under the law at any time or under any circumstances to make a valuation suitable to their particular aims and purposes? Will and should these people’s at- torneys maintain the right to ascertain the actual and observed depreciation of the railway properties that might be deducted not only from the valuation of 1925, but from all the railway physi- cal property “used and useful for the convenience of the public” as it exists further depreciated today? * ok ok ok ‘Whether it is known to the people’s lawyers that the valuation as of 1925, set” up “for rate-making p " only, has been so construed by a rail- way company or its spokesman as to claim a theoretical value for the stock of 166 to 170 a share—at a time when it would bring on the market no more than $110 a share, as admitted, and when it is now said to be far below that price—and whether such con- struction is an indirect “watering of stock” that is in violation of the in- tent and purpose of the public util- itles act in its enumeration of the ele- ments to be considered in ascertaining the actual financial condition of a public utility and the fair value of a street railway’s physical property? ‘Whether the valuation as of 1925 has been or.is being construed and used by any street railway company to take from the car rider the “potential earn- ings” “under said valuation—not the existing_rate of fare, but “a rate of fare which can be collected?” and whether that construction of a court valuation discloses an intent and purpose to take “all that the traffic will bear,” without consideration for the rigl d equities inhering to the public under the law and in the unamended charters | e ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. The resources of our free Information Bureau are at your service. You are invited to call upon it as often as you please. It is being maintained solely to serve you. What question can we answer for you? There is no charge at all except 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Address your letter to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Prcdenrlzcl. Haskin, director, Washing- ton, D. C. Q. Is Nick Lucas an American or an Itallan?—N. R. C. A. Nick Lucas, who sings in “Gold Diggers of Broadway,” is an American born of Italian parents at Newark, N. J., August 22, 1897. Q. How m‘%& statues of James Madison are re in Virginia?— A. There is not one statue of James Madison in the State of Virginia. Q. When did the “Jazz Age” begin?— W, W A. The Jazz Age is a name applied to an era in American life which began relatively between the years 1911 and 1914. Among the most- popular jazz dances have been the Bunny Hug, the Grizzly Bear, the Charleston, the Black Bottom and the Shag. Q. What business were the Packards in before entering the automobile busi- ness?—E. E. A. Two Packard brothers were manu- facturers of electric lights and electric suprms in Warren, Ohio. In 1899, they decided to go into the motor car busi- ness. Q. Why do some of our soldiers wear a cord looped about the left arm and fastened at the shoulder?—G. T. R. A. It is a French military decoration, presented to a unit of trooPs for dis- tinguished service qr conspicuous gal- lantry in time of war. It is worn by all the men of the troops thus hon- ored and borne on the colors. Four- rageres are in three colors, red, green and yellow, corresponding to the color of the ribbons of certain French mili- tary medals. Combinations of these colors are used to form the double fourragere. Q. Who was the first Protestant bishep of the Episcopal Church in the United States?—H. A. C. A. The first Protestant Episcopal bishop to be consecrated after the break with the English church was Samuel Seabury, who was sent to England to be consecrated Bishop of Connecticut, but the English bishop found a diffi- culty in consecrating any one unable to take the prescribed oath (which in- cludes fealty). Thereupon Seabury re- aired to the non-juring Bishop of Scot- land and was consecrated November, 1784, at Aberdeen, Scotland, by Bishops Robert J. Kilgore, ur Petrie and John Skinner. Later Drs. Provost and Wood were consecrated by the Arch- bishop of Canterbury in 1787. Q. What flags are flown on the three flagpoles in front of the Union Station at Washington, D. C.?—W. G. T. ‘The Bureau of Public Buildings says that when distinguished foreign visitors come to the city the flags of their countries are displayed from the poles mentioned. Some functions re- quire the display.of one foreign flag, some of two foreign flags, some of three American flags. ‘What names do other countries give to the game of checkers?>—M. J. A. England the game is known as draughts; in PFrance, Jeu des Dames; Italy, das Damenspiel; Holland, Dam- rdd; Poland, Dama; Egypt, Damah. The recurrence of the forms of “Dame” is attributed to the fact that part of the board and some of the draughts of Queen Hatasa, daughter of ‘Thothmes, who lved in Egypt 1600 B.C., have been found. Q. Which States are officially desig- nated as commonwealthis>—M. P. A. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania. Vir- g‘iall and Kentucky officially bear this title. in the Arabic of How much territory is one game warden responsible for?—D. V. A. In the best organized States in this country, one game warden is ex- pg‘cllcd to look after at least 100 square miles. Q. Are the feathers worn as a head- dress by women presented at court like the Prince of Wales' feathers?—H. G. A. An official in the British Libra:; of Information say: do not_th! that the plumes now worn by ladies in court dress have anything to do with the Prince of Wales’ feathers, though it is possible that the modern method of arrangement, by which there is one tall feather between two shorter ones, may have more or less unconsciously been adopted from the arrangement of the Prince of Wales’ badge. Nor do I think that these plumes have any connection with the old plume which a knight wore as part of his full armour, of which traces have descended into mod- ern heraldry. It seems much more likely that it is merely a fashion of about 150 years ago, which has bgcome stereotyped.” Q. Whose boast was “Give me enough npaow:lr End I will fly a barn door”?— A. Eugene Ely, pilot of the Curtiss Exhibition Co., used to boast thus, Q. What kind of wood is suitable for the manufacture of fancy fans?—B. T. A. Foreign woods that are commonly used are sandalwood, boxwood and ebony. Any fine textured wood that is available may be tried. Q. Where was Dr. Henry van Dyke at the time that he wrote his poem, “America for Me”?—L. 8. R. A. Dr. van Dyke says that he wrote it in Paris in 1909 at the end of a year's service as American professor at the Sorbonne, Q. When was _t_h;-flnz commercial dial telephone installed?—G. 8. P. lnAIIBStZ was installed at La Porte, Ind., Q. How far north and south do the Rocky Mountains extend?—E. C. A. The Rocky Mountains are an as- semblage of mountain ranges, which form the backbone of Nor America. They begin in Mexico and extend northward to the westernmost of the Aleutian Islands. The length of the Rocky Mountain chain from north to south is some 4,000 miles and its width between 400 and 500 miles. Within its borders are sevéral mountain systes and a large number of individual ranges, together with several plateaus, numerous valleys, parks and canyons, as well as multitudes of peaks and ridges, mesas and buttes. Q. Is hitch-hiking against the law? —C. H. A. A few States have laws against the practice, and several others are considering such a statute. Generally speaking, drivers of automobiles are warned against picking up stray pas- sengers, since in case of accidents the driver may be held liable. originally granted to street car lines? ‘Whether such publicly disclosed in. tention and manipulation, if so dis- closed, is reason sufficient for a court of equity to rule in faver of the public interest on the foundatfon principle of just adjudication that “those who seel equity must do equity”? ‘Whether the present rates of fare are not excessively adequate and capable of producing returns of 10 per cent or more under conditions of augmented traffic, as demonstrated by a return in previous years of more than 10 per cent under a 5-cent fare, a just valu- ation and a high peak of passenger support? Whether & natural and orderly progressive change in mode of trans- portation affecting passenger rail lines may ever be utilized legitimately, under a theoretical valuation, as reason or excuse for imposing on all car riders the obligation of making up losses so sustained by unrelated and unintended competition? Whether, in fact, a court in America has power over a com- munity of free people to decree that they shall be tribute bearers, with no added compensatory return, to main- tain and support a private corpora- tion, which evidences no business ability to overcome nor enterprise to regain lost patronage, though it have a free rein and an open field in which to achieve victory over such circum- stances? And may it not also be true that a court of equity is no proper place in which to ask for the imposition of penalties upon the innocent in order to obtain such relief? * ok ok % Whether a theoretical valuation on which the corporation relies for'revenues to pay dividends on invested capital is a valuation in its workings equitable to the public, when the car riders actually pay in net revenues sufficient to give to the stockholders all they are reason- ably entitled to, only to awaken to the fact that this net revenue so paid in is diverted in part to surplus and away from the pockets of the corporation’s own stockholders? And whether such segregation of net profits, temporarily or permanently, is equitable as between the car riders who fully pay and the stock- holders who are lawfully entitled to receive? Whether, also, this segrega- tion of net profits is employed or used as a device to exact higher fares? Whether such lawyers for the people should strive to show to the court that the obligation of contract may be seri- ously impaired if a rate of fare is ordered or charged unreasonably and unjustly 100 per cent in excess of the rate of fare originally specified in the charter or charters of street railways, when such organically prescribed rate of fare constitutes the most vital com- pensating advantage to the public in the contract which turned over the high- ways .of the people to a private corpo- ration for private profit? Whether the atforneys for the people have ever heard that the courts in such cases shall construe the law liberally in the interest of the public? And whether such lawyers should seek to hold the cornoration to the obligation of making a clear case with clean hands, consider- ng the fact that the strest railway com- panics are using the property of the people upon which to carry on their busingss? i And while the corporation are figuratively at the throlls“g;’rn:l!lm Who would dare question or impede the | operation of the sacred laws which they say are for property protection, would it be appropriate, as a contributing fac- tor, for the attorneys for the people to seek means of verifying reports in the newspapers this year that one or both of the street railway companies held and owned stock in other public utili- ities, purchased presumably with money furnished by the car riders to keep the properties of the raflways in “a state of efficiency corresponding to the progress of the industry”; and, if verified, should they be prepared to show that such ownership of stock—in violation of acts sup?lemenhry to or allied with the public utility law, if such it be, even to the extent of rendering the corporations liable to an action for forfeiture of their charters for such violation, if such it be found to be—presents no character recommendation in assisting the cor- gfln"‘)flfl to go into court with clelnl ands in any contemplated action | gainst the rights and pocketbooks of the street car riders of the District of | Whether it is possible, considering the | banking center of th BY REGINALD SWEETLAND. SHANGHAI, China —Shanghai, the city without a soul. is becoming self- consclous. In the realization that it is unique among the cities of the world, it has placed its finger upon the heart of its own complaint. Described sometimes as the Paris of the Far East, it is also referred to as a “malignant danger spot, liable to sud- den outburst, with results both far- reaching and deplorable.” It is grow- ing self-conscious because it is appre- clating the fact that it cannot forever enjoy its present status. While it knows full well the disease from which it is suffering, it is not sure of the remedy, for such remedies as have been sug- gested it refuses to take. * ok kK ‘Those who will ultimately decide the future status of this city are in Wash- ington, London, Paris, Tokio, Nanking, not to mention a score of others. For Shanghai is an international metropo- lis, resting upon a most peculiar legal , and the strings which bind Shanghai together lead into the impor- tant capitals of the world. Because Shanghali is in China, but is not ruled by China or the Chinese, the problem exists; and as lorg as the problem remains unsolved, ar.d with the present state of Nationalist feeling ex- isting in China, just so long will Shang- hai continue to occasion uneasiness. These facts should not be read as sensational. They have been true for a number of years and will probably re- main true for some little time to come. ‘That there are today something near to 3,000 foreign troops and Marines quartered in the city attests to nothing more than a recognition of this feeling of uneasiness. * kK % Speaking briefly and in general terms, Shanghai is governed by a municipal council, the members of which are elected annually, and include three Chinese. This council, in theory, bows to the consular body, which, in turn, is composed of consuls of the nations which have consular representatives in China. The consular body is topped by the diplomatic corps, which is composed of the Ministers of those nations having Ministers in China. These, in turn, have only their own governments to answer to. How different in status then Shang- hai is from any other city in China is obvious. The largest city in China, it is not governed by Chinese, even though it has a population of roughly a million Chinese. How this came about and its justification through the years is a rec- ord which is essential to all who are in. terested in China’s attempt to clean house and place herself upon a sub- stantial basis with the foreign powers. The American visitor, looking Shang-. hai over, is impressed with the size of the city. He sees that with its environs it has close to 2,000,000 residents, that it covers a large area, that it is built upon_ the danks of a muddy stream called the Whangpoo and stands about 15 miles off the famous Yangtze-kiang. Speaking in broad terms, Shanghai is the commercial, manufacturing and e Far East. In shipping it ranks within the first six ports of the world. To take a typical day, on October 25, as many as 24 ves- sels entered the harbor and 22 departed. ‘These carried the flags of 11 nations, and while they included river and coastal vessels, they also included the heavy tonnage of oceangoing steamers and freighters. * ok ok % Shanghal is also the mission center of China, and, upholding its name of the Paris of the Far East, the amuse: ment center of Asia. Within the for- eign-controlled area there are 14 movie theaters catering to foreigners and showing American, British, French, large amount of money involved and; the deep-seated interest of car riders | in the outcome, that such directly in- terested parties may be represented also by associate counsel, properly authorized to represent them as actual car riders, and have additional opportunity to pro- tect and secure their rights under the law? J 'H W. CHEYNEY, Shanghai, City Without a Soul, Is Becoming Self-Conscious Japanese and German fllms, and 65 cabarets. The last number fluctuates considerably, as the popularity of each BTOWS Or wanes. i¢ ‘st ot be ‘thoushs that.the daye must nof light hours are neglected or given over to amusement. As the commercial cen- ter of China it houses the CI se branches of huge American, British, German, Japanese and French firms whose names are household words throughout the world. Besides, there are the great banking institutions and the large Chinese hongs (factories or trade establishments), to say nothing of the thousands of small shops or the three large Chinese ;iegnnment stores. * % Nor is the residential section less impressive, less substantial in its signs of modern progress. Streetsare wide, well kept and well policed. Trans- planted in the United States some of the more pretentious mansions would be pointed out to visitors and their photographs printed in town-boosting folders. But in Shanghai, where pov- erty and fabulous wealth rub shoulders, they occasion little more than a passing glance, save by the tourist who is struck Wwith the fact that the Far East does have modern conveniences and com- pares more than well with the pro- gressive facilities of his own home wn. And yet these things have sprung up, have been built and have ex- panded, in spite of the fact that Shanghal is surrounded by the uncer- tainties of a nation more often than not in the throes of a revolution. More often than not this unique city has had to assume a warlike atmosphere, its foreign citizens have been formed into ranks, bugle calls to arms have been sounded down its main business and residential thoroughfares, and an attitude of ‘“defensive neutrality” has be;'!ll u?umed. of this to keep the looter from the door and the rabble of defeated Chinese armies from cleaning up the clty—not figuratively but literally. More than once Shanghai's peaceful residents, Americans and others, have had to doad rifles and patrol its streets to protect their wives, their children and themselves, (Copyright, 1929.) New Foot Ball Honors Won by Middle West From the Chicago Daily Tribune. Again the Middle West is supreme in foot ball. The boys from the prairies have taken the coonskins from the Har- vards and the Princetons, and they have deflated the claims of the Pacific Coast to Saturday afternoon supremacy. We have rebuked the South, too, The only consolation for the East is the victory of Colgate over Indiana, but that is canceled by the defeat of Col- Rate by Wisconsin, the last team in the conference. The humiliation of the Harvards at the hands of Mlchlcm‘ made the Harvard-Yale game a classic only in the sense that a reproduction of Aeschylus in the stadium by the college Greek class is a classic. Prince- ton, bewildered by Stagg's players, who are not counted tough according to our standards, must still nourish the tradi- tion of John and Edgar Allan Poe in lieu of contemporary triple - threat et s I to the Arm) a nols did e will bring little spiritual warmth to lh:'eolu Winter on the Hudson. Neither could the Navy save the honor of the East against Carrideo, Volk and the rest of the Irishmen from South Bend. Scarcely less profound was the mor- tification of the Pacific Coast. Press {5”“ for the teams representing Far ‘est reaitors had created a legend about their players. They were super- men of Annie Besant's new race, and they played intuitional foot ball and trained on the weather. Notre Dame exploded that legend by sending the most inspired sunshine team, Southern California, to the showers. And Ch! destroyed the circus eiants from Wash-