Evening Star Newspaper, December 21, 1929, Page 6

\SHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 19%. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. —_— THE EVENING STA With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. BATURDAY...December 21, 1920 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor ing Star Ne C The Even! g Star Newspaper Company sing 11th 8t. and Pennsylvenia Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd &t. Ghicaro Office: Lake Michigan Bulldine. uropean Office; 14 Regent St.. London. Englan Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evenine Star . .45¢ Ler month o Evenin 54 60c per month (when 5 fund: : 85¢ per month The Sunday Star ... 5c per copy Collection made at the end of each mon'h. Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, fly and Sunday. 1y junday only .. .1yr.,$12.00; 1 no, $1.00 135 %800° 1mo- '3 | yr. $5.00: 1mo.. b60c Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Assoclated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news Cis- Patches credited to it or not otherwise cred- d al local rews of publication of also reserved. aily i inday only Tig #pecial dispatches nerein Private Building Control. The Park and Planning Commission has renewed its indorsement of and plea for the passage of legislation giv- ing to the Federal Government & measure of control over the appear- ance of private “uildings facing or ad- jolning land on --hich there are Gov- ernment stiucturss. Such contrl, vested in the Commission of Fine Arts, is al- ready provided under the terms of the Shipstead bill which was considered by the last Congress, but was not en- acted. The President mentioned the need for such legislation in his mes- sage to Congress. It has already been indorsed by iocal bodies of citizens and the neec. so wi..ly recognized, b>comes urgent with the Government's progress 1n building development. It is difficult to see how Congress can longer delay the affirmative action that should have been taken last year. While zoning regulations have be- come generally accepted and their value is universally recognized, the log- ical extension of zoning that lies in| placing the power of approving the ap- pearance as well as use and height of buildings in the hands of a regulatory agency has been viewed with some suspicion. But so natural and readily understood are the reasons behind such | control as that sought in the Shipstead bill that practically no opposition has been expressed in Washington. The control sought by the Shipstead messure is based on the recognized con- tention that the Government is spend- ing millions of dollars on buildings that | will provide, by their appearance alone, # distinct asset to the Caplital city. The investment thus made by the Federal Government should not be endangered by architectural whims on the part of | private bullders who own sites facing | or adjoining these Government building | areas. The value of such gsites is en- hanced by governmental construction. ‘The owners should recognize this fact by seeking the advice of the Fine Arts Commission on plans for new buildings. In furnishing this advice the commis- sion would establish a liaison between private builders and those in charge of the public buildings that would prove mutually helpful. The owner of a private building would stand to gain, rather than lose, by the advisory con- trol of the Commission of Fine Arts. The Park and Planning Commission suggests another argument in the fact that the Federal Government is itself making a sacrifice to esthetics and-set- ting a good example, for, while utilizing | a height of 97.5 feet, it is designing its new structures with floor space equiva- lent to a building only 80 feet high. “If the people of Washington did not | recogniz> and appreciate the self-re- straint of the Federal Government in the construction of its departmental | buildings,” said the planning commis- slon report, “it would not be long before the Government would argue that its self-denial was not appreciated and that it was justified in making fully as intensive a use of its property as was | made by private, and sometimes very | short-sighted, owners.” ———— Comment on an airplane crash can | point: only to the fact that human | courage is so strong that disaster con- veys no warning that will be heeded. | Alr achievements are brilliant, but the price paid for them is indeed heavy. SR i G A Progressive Step. Massachusetts, long noted for its pro- gressiveness in dealing with motor car | problems, has scored another triumph | dn its preparation of a list of rigid re- quirements for those who would drive eutomobiles in that State. In fact, so rigid are the new examination tests which became effective during the past sveek that seventy per cent of those ap- plying for operators’ permits were un- coremoniously turned down, thus almost doubling the percentage of those who Jailed to pass under the former method ©f aramination. All students of traffic will congratu- lJate the Bay State on its new attempt to kring about better traffic conditions &nd to provide a higher class of opera- 101 It has long been recognized that ! one of the fundamental evils relating to traffic was the ease with which oper- ators’ permits could be secured. With & few notable exceptions, States have issued permits with only a cursory ex- amination of the applicant after the payment of a small fee, and unfortu- nately this method h:s nurtured in the public mind the thought that driving an automobile was a right rather than | a privilege. | In these days of crowded traffic con- | ditions in every city and hamlet and | even on country thoroughfares it is im- perative that every operator of an auto- mobile should be abie to pass a rigid examination as to the rule of the road and driving conduct. The person who knows no more than how to shift gears or how to stop or start a car is not | wanted and cannot be tolorated in this day and age. There can be no justice to careful, intelligent and competent drivers if they are continually menaced the actions. of the stupid and in- petent. The fact that seventy per cent of those taking the examination in Massa- chusetts failed to pass should be a glar- inz example of what the States have run on tracks, are properly spaced, and engineers receive every aid that modern sclence has developed. On the contrary, motor car operators, with only the flimsiest knowledge of what it is all about, have been shoved in droves upon the streets of every city, there to attempt to guide their machines through the maze of pedestrian and motor traf- fic, generally with disastrous results. No State can make its examination for operators too rigorous or the penal- ties for violation of major traffic regu- lations too severe. It is the only way that some semblance of order can be brought out of the miiling mass that is observed today in all parts of the country. It is distinctly a privilege to drive an automobile and not one of the rights of the people. This privilege should come high and should be re- tained only by exemplary conduct. B The Lion and the Bear. Once again the Lion and the Bear are—diplomatically—lying down with each other. Yesterday, in old St. James' Palace at London, in the same gilded chamber where the five-power Naval Conference will presently assem- ble, the Prince of Wales, functioning for his father, bestowed the royal welcome upon M. Solnikoff, the Russian Soviet Ambassador. Thenceforward Anglo-Rus- 1924 following evidence of Soviet du- plicity in London, were formally re- sumed. How long will they last? The Mos- cow envoy is reported to have placed certain “pledges” in the Eritish govern- ment's ‘hands, respecting Communist propaganda in the British Empire There was an implied, if not regularly covenanted, pledge on the Soviet's part when the first Macdonald cabinet in 1924 tock Russla's hand in confidence and friendship. Has the regime which is the acknowledged tool and expression of the Third Internationale, with its in- corrigible antipathy to apitalistic” government, altered its attitude in any thing but external form—an alteration of political convenience? Time will tell and John Bull must bice it. The current issue of the Literary Digest, with peculiar timeliness, quotes some amazing comment from the Rus- sian Soviet official press—there is no other press in that country—on the re- knitting of diplomatic ties with’ Great Britain. As to the reported promise made to Foreign Secretary Henderson by M. Dovgalesky, Russian Ambassador to Prance, that the Soviet government would refrain from all propaganda within the British Empire, Isvestia, organ of the Moscow autocracy, de- clares, “The promise not to carry on propaganda is not at all binding for the Communist International, but only for the Soviet governmen To gain the significance of this truckling observa- tion, it needs only to be remembered that the difference between the Com- munist International and the Soviet government is exactly the difference between tweedledum and tweedledee. There is no difference at all. They are one and they are inseparable. Still more blunt is Pravda, organ of, the central committee of the Communist party. It blusters: “In its decision to resume diplomatic relations with Soviet Russia the ‘Labor’ government was actuated by the interests of the British industrialists, who find it more and more difficult to compete in the world markets with other countries. There- fore they can no longer afford the luxury of avoiding the enormous market of Russia. But we must warn the ‘Labor’ ministers in the most categorical man- ner that they will not succeed in im- posing conditions which their bullish Conservative predecessors vainly tried t force upon us.” Whether its proclaimed purposes— promotion of world peace and restora- tion of British trade in Russia—are to be accomplished or not, the Labor gov- ernment is at least now plainly, and even brutally, warned that the “Bear which walks like a man” is not yet ready to quit his old tracks. Wherever he has thus far trod, they are red with the footprints of Communist intrigue. Americans have much to be thankful for in the year now closing. Not the least cause for their gratitude is the at Washington to yield to the recogni- tion claims of the Communist Inter- natfonal and its friends in this country. ———— In city planning there is satisfaction in knowing that spaces purchased now short time. vt — The into line and take chances. et The Capper Award. Senator Arthur Capper of Kansas has instituted an annual award for Distinguished Service to American Ag- riculture. It s in line with the Kansas Senator’s efforts to aid the American farmer, which have covered a period of many years. Through his publica- tions, through his initiative in estab- lishing organizations of farmers and of the improvement of crops and of live stock, and through his interest in legis- lation designed to aid the farmer since able friend to the American farmer. ‘The Capper award will consist of a gold medal and five thousand dollars in cash. Any llving American who has rendered distinguished service to the agriculture of the United States is eligible for consideration, and no time 1limit is imposed as to when the service was performed. THe first award is to be made in December, 1930, and no one recelving an award will be eligible to receive it again. In explanation of the establishment of this award, Senator Capper has said: “My objective is to provide a con- crete expression of gratitude to some of the people who make contributions of national importance to American agri- culture and to assist in stimulating pub- lic appreciation of unusually fine service to our basic industry.” Other ewards have been set up by | public-spirited men for literary work, for work in the interests of peace, for advancement in sclence and for ex- ploration. The man, or woman, who performs distinguished service for agri- culture certainly deserves recognition. sian official relations, interrupted since | ! nouncements, adamant refusal of the Government | for parking purposes will be of inesti- mable value to the public in a very time for early shopping has passed. All that remains now is to get the sons and daughters of farmers for he hes been a member of the Senate, Mr. Capper has proved himself a valu- R |nations of the utmost severity, yet|not exist. A sudden arrest of hrmlnx' tral in this country would starve the entire people. ‘Today more than half the population live in cities and towns and are employed in pursuits other than farming. This vast population, which has no part in the production of the foodstuffs which it must consume, thinks little, if at all, of the labor of the farmer. Indeed, too often there is the feeling in the heart of the city dweller and industrial worker that he is forced to pay too high for the food he must eat. Such a feeling has manifested itself at ti~ >s through the representa- tives in Congress of great urban popu- lations when legislation has been up for consideration. The American farmer has played a part of vast importance in the history of the Nation, from Massachusetts to California. In the industrial and com- mercial development of the country, the farmer must not be lost to sight and memory. The country must still rely upon him. The Capper award is a fitting recognition of the men who strive to improve and to develop further the agricultural art. The committee of awards to pass upon the qualifications and the value of the services rendered includes some of the most distinguished students and practical men in the coun- iry. Among the members of the com- mittee are F. D, Farrell, president of the Kansas State Agricultural College; Frank O. Lowden, former Governor of Tilinois and owner of one of the greatest farms in the country, snd Carl R. Gray, president of the Union Pacific Railrcad system, e A Measure of Housekeeping. Early next month a hearing will be heid before the Commissioners at the District Building on a proposed new code of regulations governing signs and billboards in the Capital. A bill to this effect, empowering the Commis- sioners to perfect and enforce regula- tions affecting signs, has been drafted for submission to Congress. In an- ticipation of its enactment a proposed code has likewise been drafted, to be adopted and enforced in case legislative approval is given, At present the conditions with re- gard to signs, posters, displays of all kinds and outdoor advertising devices are decidedly unsatisfactory. Unsightli- ness is caused by the laxity of regula- tion. The Commissioners are without power to keep order, as it were, in the streets of the city. Take, for example, the case of vacant bulildings, stores particularly. The windows of such structures may be plastered with all kinds of advertising signs and an- remaining indefinitely and presenting a most untidy appear- ance, for the cure of which there is no remedy. Billboard advertising is a nuisance in this country that calls for correction. Some of the States have made a begin- ning toward the abatement of this nuisance, or its modification. Most large cities, too, have brought the out- door business displays under regula- tion and restriction. Washington has no means of protection against dis- figurement of this character and the proposed measure is designed to pro; vide that safeguard. Under the con- templated code large painted or posted signboards would eventually be elimi- nated, as replacements are forbidden. There will be opposition to” the en- actment of this enabling law and to the detailed regulations if the law is passed. But those who wish to see | Washington kept in good order and freed from disfigurements and slovenly conditions will support both the legis- lation and the regulations. ..... ) It is now the privilege of Pope Pius XI to leave the Vatican when he de- sires. . Freedom is valued by every man, but it 1s not expected that the Pope will find any place that pleases him so much. ————— America is a leader in the manufac- ture of mechanical toys, while Germany asserts herself in quaint and picturesque holiday productions. Nations, like in- dividuals, run pretty true to type. il hain Springlike weather in early Decem- ber is like a bull market on the Stock Exchange. Human optimism fails to see why the agreeable experience cannot last indefinitely. ————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Christmas Lights. ‘The lights upon the Christmas tree Bright rays of hope will send, Enabling lad and lass to see How future joys extend. And in our more mature estate, We greet the gentle glow That softly will illuminate The paths of long ago, Although the gleaming gay and free A tiny flame appears, Each light upon the Christmas tree Sends radiance through the years. Capitalizing Appearances. “Why do you refuse to have an inter- view with that lobbyist?” “Because,” answered Senator Sorghum, “if he can show his employers that I said ‘how-dy-do’ he'll enlarge on it and charge them fifty thousand or so for winning me over.” Jud Tunkins says he has heard some talk about stock speculation and is looking forward to an extra heavy crop of New Year resolutions. Policy of Concealment. No matter what suspicion deep Of him is being hinted, He's satisfied if he can keep The facts from being printed. After the Party. “It was a beautiful party.” “Beautiful,” agrecd Miss Cayenne. “What was the object in giving it?” “To have the distinguished guest list printed in tomorrow's paper.” “He who seeks riches in the hope of repose,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “finds he must live in wakefulness trying to protect them.” Penalty. Soon will the man with troubled brow Seem in a’ urry. He who doth not shop early now Must fret and hurry. “Experience - teaches,” said Uncle come to in the issuance of operators’The agriculturalist has beén the back- Eben, “but years 5 experience ain’ its to the unfit. Enging~s en rail- bone of every nation since the beginning tought me how to pick winners tn \ais are required to pass exami- of time. Without him the pople could hoss races.” THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Lack of greed makes some people unique in a world of covetous, grasping | human beings. i No one can say he understands human nature until he recognizes the existence of this type. The amazing ing is that many capable men refuse to admit that non- selfish persons exist, Yet nothing is more sure than that they do, and in numbers which prevent any one such person from being exceptional. ‘They are unique in the sense which distinguishes them from the great mass of hurrying men and women whose one aim in life seems to be to make money. * ok ok K ‘There are as many avenues to wealth, almost, as there are human beings. Some tumble for a living, some run banks, some sell in stores, others from door to door, some manufacture auto- mobiles, soap, pins, clothes, furniture, some play musical instruments— The list is too long to extend, nor is it necessary; the only point in begin- ning it is to bring to the reader a sense of the infinite variety of human occupations. ‘Those engaged in the busy ways of the world know the incessant search for money which goes on, sometimes for the money's sake, more often for | the sake of those things which money will buy, Now in this bulk of the populace there is a certain percentage, so very small that no one would dare say just how many, ofl men and women who actually have no liking for money. * K X ok These people sometimes are regarded as las ~ by the grasping type, who fail to un. .stand how any one can have a less ive for money than themselves. No attitude could be more unfair. Un- selfish men and women honestly lack what the members of the other type possess in abundance, a strong desire for more and more money, and unless the latter are willing to admit this they will continually do injustice to the others in their everyday con- siderations of them. Advantage will be taken of their easy. going dispositions, and their apparent lack of desire to get along in the world. They will find themselves re- garded as “easy marks,” and held up to contempt as unprogressive and lack- ing ambition, when the trouble is that they are misunderstood. ‘Theirs would be a sade fate, if it were not for their kindly dispositions, which save them from the slurs of their mates. The law of compensation has been vari- ously expounded, the general theory being that Nature attempts to com- pensate her children by giving them one gift for another denied. * ok ok % ‘The compensation given men and women lacking & sense of greed is noth- ing more nor less than an indifference :‘l’a ,w much that others regard as essen- It is related of one of the Greek phi- losophers that, looking into the shops of Athens, he came away remarking, “How many things there are I do not want.” This negative sort of virtue has its positive side. It is not so much renun- ciation as a helpful.lack of covetousness: It is not so much an indifference to beauty and novelty as the saving grace of satisfaction. ‘Those who forever wanting big- ger and better automobiles perhaps will never understand the man or woman who wants no automobile at all. He who is never satisfled cannot com- prehend the state of mind of him who cries, “Enough!” * ok ok * ‘The sneer of the “go-getter” for his less ambitious cousin must be tempered, in all honesty, if he would be fair to the man. It will not do to measure all men by one’s self, as great as one may fancy that latter precious person. ‘There actually are human beings who do not care a whoop for money, as| strange as that may sound. Perhaps they are wrong. Some one ought to show them the error of their ways, for this is a hard world in which we live, as in a boat sailing through the skies, a tough old | he had world for the man or woman lacking in money. ‘The world itself is no more obdurate, however, than the spirit of our man or woman under discussion. ‘Here we have granite meeting granite. The necessity for money, if one is to have anything, or to do anything, is off- set by the honest indifference to mak- ing it, and the refusal of the victim to exert himself in its pursuit, i It is here that Fate plays a part. Many such persons succeed royally, not through their own will, but by rea- son of friendly help at just the right time ,or through sheer ability. Some of the, greatest artists and writ- ers in world history have been men of this type. They made money because they could not help it, or because a friend with business instinct stepped to their aid at precisely the right moment. Other great men have been poor through lack of such friendly aid from Fate or friends. The most interesting class, nowever, is that of those who are neither great nor poor. These people include the majority, as it may be imagined, of those who are free from greed. The instinct for amassing money has been left out of their composition. They are inoculated, as one might say, against the dollar mark. They deserve neither praise nor blame. this is the stumbling block of the greedy, let us dwell a moment on the point. The “man in the street” has his greed as a part of Nature's plan for self-protection. His dislike for the unselfish man also is a part of that plan. Nature, how- ever, sometimes needs to be thwarted, and in nothing more than in this. The man who sees life as business only, is in great danger of harming himself more than he who is willing to devote a part of his time to play. * K It is only common sense on the part of both types to play fair with the other, and let him"pursue his way un- molested by deed or word. The un- selfish man will do this dily enough, :\1" the other usually wants to reform im. The philosophical implications are so plain that they need not b> stated in philosophical language. All that fis necessary is that men everywhere mind their own business. A man is his brother's keeper only in a sense. If his own temperament is to grab every penny he can get his bands on—well, that is his tempera- ment. If his neighbor not only will not grab, but refuses even to look at the penny, he should permit him to do as he pleases. Ncthing he can say will do any good, anyway, but it may cause hard feeling, and some sadness. Haiti, Richly Endowed by Nature, Also a Land of Bloody Tyrants “Picture an island more wonderful, more beautiful and more richly en- dowed by Nature even than the fabled isles that medieval mariners loved to dream about; & country of pleasant peaks charming vales and fertile plains; an idyilic land set in a Summer sea. “Picture, then, a land where the av: rice of conquerors, ruthlessly exploiting, has blasted promises of progress, where the passions of men have run riot, where tyrant after tyrant, some great, some petty, have waded to power through pools of blood; a land from which the gods of peace and industry seem to have turned away.” “‘Both are pictures of Haiti,” says the National Geographic Society. “To avold confusion, it must be ex- lained at the outset,” continues the ulletin, “that the name Haiti is used | Sometimes to denote the entire island, which is the second largest land mass in the ¥est Indies, sometimes to denote merely the Republic of Haiti, which oc- cuples the western third of its area. The possibilitles of confusion are in- creased by the fact that the island is also known as Santo Domingo and San Domingo, names applied likewise to the Dominican Republic, which occupies the eastern two-thirds of the land unit, * ok ok % “The name Haltl is much used be- cause it was the descriptive term, mean- ing ‘high land,’ given to the island by its aborigines. This wa: the favorite island of the West Indies to Columbus, who reserved for it the most compli- mentary name bestowed on the islands which he discovered—Hispanidla, ‘Little Spain.’ Something of the impression !which this beautiful and promising island made on the great discoverer can be gleaned from his reference to it as a ‘Garden of Eden’ and from the fact that he named the point at which he first set foot on Haiti, December 6, 1492, ‘The Vale of Paradise.’ “History has been prodigal to the Island of Haijti and has crowded one Interesting and tragic event after an- other into the relatively short span of years since the eyes of white men first beheld its towering peaks. On its north- ern coast, near the present Cape Haitien, the Santa Maria, which bore Columbus to the New World, was wrecked on Christmas eve, 1492, and from its broken, historic boards was set up by the crew the first structure erect- ed by Europeans in the Western Hemis- phere. This was the Fortress of Navi- dad in which the men of the Santa Maria were killed while Columbus was on his return voyage to Spain to report his epoch-making discovery of ‘the In- dies.” * K ok % “Farther to the east on the northern coast of the island, Columbus built on his return the first white settlement in the New World, naming the little town ‘Isabella’ for the Queen who had made his voyage of discovery possible. On this second trip Columbus brought with him to his magic isle a great fleet bearing a large force of soldiers and adventurers. After defeating the natives, the con- querors journeyed to the south coast and there laid the foundations for the city of San Domingo—first permanent city established by Europeans in Amer- ica, for many years the most important outpost of western civilization and fore- runner of the countless cities and vil- lages that are the seats today of the industry, commerce and culture of the three Amerioas. “It was a wonderful future that seemed to open before Columbus and his fellow voyagers as they took pos- session of the most favored of the Antilles. Those of vislon among them saw it in the future, no doubt, as & mighty island treasure house, ylfldma up its riches of mine and forest an field; harboring a great and prosperous population. But the avarice of man stepped in and blotted out the promis. ing picture. - Early adventurers, unwil ing to work, enslaved the native In- dians and drove them so cruelly that they died off by thousands. When death threatened to rob them of their Timbess o Athcan slaves who were n can slaves who were better able to bear up under‘the heavy tasks and who multiplied rapldly. Soon the natives were extermina Negro slaves and free mulattoes fax out- numbered the white land owners, * ok ok X “A brief golden age in so far as the exploiters were concerned. the arousing of ‘envy on the part of English and French buccaneers; wars which divided the sovereignty between Spain and France and finally left the latter in complete control—these were chapters that followed one another rapidly in the history of Haitl. By the time of the birth of the United States the blacks and mulattoes in the Western Republic of Haiti outnumbered the whites 15 to 1; while those in the part of the is- land now under the Dominican Repub- lic outnumbered the whites 4 to 1. “The seeds of oppression bore fruit under stimulation of the French revo- lution, and in 1791 the slaves rose, ushering in & decade of bloodshed and revolting crueélties on both sides. Fi- nally in 1804 independence was obtained, slavery was abolished, and the Negro Republic of Haiti was born. The coun- try passed through the stages of a Negro ‘empire’ and ‘kingdom’ before a republic became the accepted form of government. Haiti at one time con- quered and annexed the Spanish part of the island, but in 1844 the latter separated from the Negro republic and established the Dominican Republic. * ok Kk “The history of the Republic of Haiti, as well as the ‘empire’ and ‘kingdom,’ has been a series of revolutions, assas- sinations of rulers and general strife between factions in control of the gov- ernment and those desiring forcibly to gain control. Of 28 rulers of Haiti since its first, ‘Emperor’ Dessalines, only four completed their terms of office. Five were assassinated and most of the others were driven from office and even from the country. After a particularly bloody incident in 1915, when President Guillaume Sam was taken from the French embassy and drawn and quar- tered in the streets of the capital by an infuriated mob, the United States has occupled the island. A treaty was en- tered into similar to one with the Do- minican Republic, but going further in that it provided for an American-offi- cered constabulary, regulation of mat- ters pertaining to arms and ammunition and ‘the appointment of an American sanitary engineer to recommend meth- ods for cleaning up the cities of the republic. The latter were said by globe trotters to offer a greater affront to human nostrils than any other com- munities in existence. “The entire island of Haitl, with its two republics, has an area of approxi- mately 28,000 square miles—slightly less_than that of Ireland or the State of South Carolina. The Republic of Haitl covers an area a trifle greater than that of Massachusetts and has a population of about 2,000,000.” B Scouts Enough in Senate. Prom the Chicago Post. st ‘The “youthful movement” in the Sen- ate mlgyht be_carried to the point of organizing a Boy Scout troop with the resulting dally good turn for the tax- payers. e A Dreadful Liability. From the Muncle Star. ‘Those Dartmouth debates on the value of an alumnus should recognize that he is a wonderful asset in the resident’s commencement day address, Eut. a dreadful llability for foot ball liquor and slush fund proclivities, —— They Died Happy. Prom the Akron Beacon Journal. ‘Vaudeville artists who fail to interest their auditors ought to try the funny story that caused two Los Angeles citi- zens to laugh so hard they fell out of a window and were killed. vt Chance for Prison Reform. From the Worcester Telegram. What the amateur penologists see in the Auburn outbreak is evidence that we _have nmput to make our. pris- ons so pleasant prisoners won't wish and the | to get out of them. THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover thumous novel which shows few f the marks of the well meaning but unskiliful hand of the literary executor +is Donn Byrne's “Fleld of Honor.” This is a historical romance of un- usual type and originality, a story of the Napoleonic Wars, which is con- cerned only secondarily with battle- fields, though there are some dramatic scenes at the moments of Napoleon's greatest victories—and defeats. Chiefly we see the Napoleonic Wars as they were fought in English politics, under Castle- reagh, as secretary of war. Castlereagh is a notable figure as Donn Byrne por- trays him, probably with historical ac- curacy; an able schemer, none scrupulous about methods, none too honorable; considered a traitor by Ireland, the land of his birth, because gone over to the English and seemed to hate Ireland; a cold, intense man, with few friends and many enemies; a man whose death, when he killed himself with a penknife, caused rejoicing on the part of most English- men; yet the man who developed Wellington ‘and was probably largely responsible for the downfall of Napoleon. Donn Byrne's power of character analysis is evident in his vignette of Castlereagh. “No emotion, no distress showed on Castlereagh's white mask. The sight chilled her. Could anything move that man? Wherever he went, the country people said, the sickly sm.1l of spilt blood was in the air, and abroad he was thought of as some ravening wolf, passionate, snarling. But here he was, with his white mask of a face, his precise frozen speech, his clothes of a London fop, and to Jocelyn he seemed more terrible that way, for there was nothing human in him. He might have been one of the hierarchy of Lucifer (who had taken on human shape, but not human vitality, for the ruin of souls and nations.” * k% The personal romance of “Fleld of Honor” is that of young Garrett Mc= Carthy Dillon of Derrymore Manor, North Ireland, and his beautiful wife, Jocelyn. Garrett is on the side of the English Union and yields to the persua=~ sions of Castlereagh to go with him to London and become his confidential aide. Jocelyn hates Castlereagh even to go with her husband to London. Her uncle, Henry Munro, was & general in the army of the Irish patriots and was executed by the English. On Garr departure, "Jocelyn also leaves Derry: more, much as she loves it, and takes refuge from her misery in the home of an uncle in the Isle of Man. But the uncle dies and Jocelyn, at Garry's re- quest, goes back to Derrymore to care for the place, which is failing into neg- lect, without committing herself to & reconciliation. The descrintion of Derrymore, as Jocelyn sees it on her return, has all the charm of Donn Byrne's best work. ‘“Jocelyn was so thankful when she saw the oak woods at Ballinderry, saw the low manor house, saw the green-gray lake with the swans, that she could have gone down on her knees and cried in thankfulness. Each little moss-covered bridge, cross- ing the burfs that emptied themselves into the lake, seemed like an old tried friend.” She -had thought: “I shall never see Derrymore again, its oak groves, or small Ram’s Island, or Lough Neagh's self, with the glistening pebbles on its shore. * * * I had drcamed of it, of crossing the little bridges of the ‘Toone, of coming there when the sun was setting, over the braes of Gallion, and the lights of each tiny house com! out like stars, and the scent of pea smoke and clean lake water coming to us like the Draft of Healing in the sto- ries of old Irish bards.” Finally the wars are over, Napoleon is at St. Helena and then is dead, Castlereagh is dead, Garry and Jocelyn are together at Derrymore, reconciled, with children around them. In a moment of confi- dence, Jocelyn has admitted that she has been a bad wife, twice to desert her husband, because of political differences, but_the book closes with Garry's con- ‘fes§lon of ecomplete disillusionment. eon- cerning Castlereagh: “God! * ¢ * I 50 Wrong.” * % % X In “Field of Honor” the scene changes with each chapter: From Jocelyn at Derrymore, the Isle of Man, or the Hebrides; to Garry in London, Spain or Paris; to Nelson's flagship at Trafal- gar; to Castlereagh's private office; to the carriage which is bearing the dying Pitt from Bath to Putney; to the border of Russia, with Napoleon's grand army about to cross—a series of vivid pictures. Through the dramatic events move many historical personages: Nelson and Lady Hamilton, Napoleon, Canning, George III and the Prince Regent (aft- erward George 1V), the Elder and the Younger Pitt, with' Castlereagh always dominating and manipulating others, to further his policies. * X % X The story of the Bloody Assize of Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys in 1685 is told again in “The Bloody Assize,” by His Honor, Sir Edward Parry. Only 6 chapters really tell of the Bloody Assize, the remaining 15 dealing with the Popish Plot, the Monmouth Rebellion and the Revolution of 1688. In 1678 an impostor named Titus Oates made a sensation by disclosing what he as- serted to be an inclusive plot to mur- der King Charles II and all Protestants in England and to burn all the leading cities. The very size of the story should have discredited it, but it threw all Eng- land into a panic and thousands of Catholics were imprisoned and hanged and Oates was given a pension of £1,200. ‘This, of course, stimulated the appear- ance of other impostors, all eager for pensions. Willlam Bedloe told a big- ger story and received a large reward. ‘The fate of a Catholic was sealed if Oates or Bedloe looked in his direction. ‘The Terror of the French Revolution ‘was not more cruel and unreasonable. originating the plot and of instigating the assassination of the King. All of the older historians have considered the Popish Plot as & piece of national hys- teria, started by avariclous knavery. Sir Edward Parry disagrees and says that, though Oates undoubtedly exag- gerated, he had some foundation for his story. The proofs for this belief are not forthcoming. After the death of Charles IX, when his brother, James II, succeeded, the Duke of Monmouth, the illegitimate son of Charles, headed a rebellion to place himself upon the throne. The rebellion started in the west of England, never extended far- ther, and was of short duration. After it was suppressed, James II sent Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys and four other Jjudges to Somersetshire and Dorset- shire to try the rebels. Jeffreys was & brute who loved bloodshed and prac- tically all the accused were found guilty and executed by burning, beheading and hanging. One of the first victims was & poor old deaf woman who had merely saved the life of an escaping soidler of Monmcuth. Jeffreys’ farce of Justice, in which innocent and guilty were butchered together, is known as the Bloody Assize. * X K % One Dutchman writes about another in “Life and Times of Pleter Stuyve- sant,” by Hendrik Willem van Loon. Mr. Van Loon’s portrait is not that of ‘Washington Irving. He presents Stuy- vesant against the background of the colonial struggle between Holland and England for supremacy on the Atlantic Coast. The book is delightful in style and in its characteristic Van Loon il- lustrations, sketchy and impressionistic and always suggestive. e chapter Wi shows Stuyvesant as an old man, “An Old Man on His Bouwery,” is like a Dutch painting, a portrait by an old master. “There were two sons who stayed in the background. There was a garden and an old man who read his Bible and felt that the world was rap- idly going to the devil.” * * K Kk In “The Confusion of Tongues: A Review of Modern Isms,” Charles W. Ferguson shows that ctits and philo- 0] as well as established be- Hlle urished exceedingly more than she loves Garry and refuses | Finally Oates accused the Queen of |him in thel those #w call tes. There are chapters on really Tabid sectarians, figh thelems, New Thought, Ku Christ as Antic] This is & m department devoted solely to the %o{ jueries. This paper puts at your the services of an extensive organization in Wash- ington to serve you in any capacity that relates to information. This service is free. Failure to make use of it deprives u of benefits to which you are en- mlet Your obligation is only 2 cents in coin or stamps inclosed with your inquiry for direct reply. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic_J.. Haskin, director, Wash- ington, D. C, Q. Name the first photoplay in which John Barrymore appeared.—G. T. V. A. His first screen production Wi “Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman.” Q. Does a person get & charleyhorse in the arm or leg?—A. A_ A. This is a slang expression and in- dicates a stiffness of the arm or leg. Q. Why are jewels used in watch movements?>—C. W. A. They are there to make the bear- ings wearproof. Watches of 17 or more jewels are considered high grade. Q. What is the difference between time money and call money?—R. M. A. By time money is meant money which is loaned on condition of re- payment at a certain specified date. Call money is money loaned which is payable on demand. Q. What color of eyes is particularly pleasing to Spaniards?—A. T. F. A, Longféllow calls attention to the fact that the Spanish people greatly admire “emerald eyes” and celebrate them in song. Q. Do any women belong to the National Academy of Sciences?—N. S. A. Dr. Florence R. Sabin, famous re- search worker of the Rockefeller In- stitute, is the first and only woman member of this body. Besides this dis. tinction Dr. Sabin was the first woman member of the staff of Johns Hopkins Medical School and the first woman admitted to European research labora- tories, She won the 1928 Pictorial Re- view ‘award for the most significant achievement by & woman and is direct- ing the search for & cure for tuberculosis. Q. What is the purpose of th Trade Protective Association?—D. W. D. A. It is stated that the purpose of this organization is to put an end to book thievery and to resist the opera- tions of semi-private and extra-legal organizations. that harass booksellers and publishers by spectacular raids. It op} 's the distribution of “obviously indefensible books that have little or no artistic merit.” Q. Who was Clemenceau’s first wife? . A, W. A. While teaching French in a girls’ school in Connecticut, M. Clemenceau fell in love with one of his students, Miss Mary Plummer, whom later he married. Q. How many miles are traveled dally by airplanes?—W. C. A. A. A quarterly report of the Ameri- can Air Transport Association shows that 84,656 miles are being travcled daily by planes of airmail and pas- senger companies. It is estimated that of this mileage approximately 20,000 miles are flown at night. Night travel has been made safer by 10,183 miles of blinker lights placed along 29,227 miles of charted airlines. Q. Is there a law regarding fringe on the American flag?—G. G. A. For & number of years there has e_Book tal been prescribed in Army 3 knotted fringe of yellow silk on the national standards of mounted regi- ments and on the national colors of unmounted regiments. The War Depart= ment, however, knows of no law which either requires or prohibits the placing of a fringe on the flag of the United States. No act of Congress or Executive order has been found bearing on the question. In flag manufacture a fringe is not considered to be a part of the flag, and it is without heraldic signifi- cance. In the common use of the word it is a fringe and not a border.. An- cient custom sanctions the use of fringe on the regimental colors and standards, but there seems to be no good reason or precedent for its use on other flags. Q. Who is the youngest person in the United States diplomatic service?— B. T. A. It has been stated that Ralph Blake, 22 years old, vice consul at Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, has.this distinc- tion. He is from Portland, Oreg. Q. Is the treaty of Paris still in force giving Great Britain equal rights with the United States in navigation of the Mississippi?—J. A. M. A. The British government has main- tained that treaties concluded by it with the United States before the War of 1812 wer¢ terminated by that war. ‘While the United States has taken the position that the War of 1812 did not necessarily terminate those treaties, there would appear to be no doubt that the provision of article VIII of the treaty of Ghent, concluded on Decem- ber 24, 1814, endeavored to have a provision inserted in that treaty which would secure for British subjects the right to navigate the Mississippi, but, the American negotiators being unwill- ing to yield to that proposal, it was not included in the treaty. In a note dated October 30, 1815, from the Brit- ish foreign cffice to the American Min- ister at London, published in American State Papers, volume 1V, page 354, and following, the right of British subjects to the free navigation of the Mississippi is admitted to have been abandoned. Q. How great a weight can an eagle carry?—F. K. A. An eagle can carry about 10 or unds. ~ Occasionally s larger t has been carried a short dis- Q. Can an enlisted man purchase his discharge from the Army? If so, what does it cost?—K. 8. A. In time of peace, in certain situ- atlons. and conditions, discharges are thus allowed. Length of service and place stationed enter into the price, which ranges from $15 for a Philippine Scout after 11 years’ service to $170 after one year's service in the Philip- pines or China. Sometimes part of the payment is waived when the author- ities find it justifiable. Q. How hot does it get in the African desert and jungles>—T. A. A. The temperature rises to greater heights in the African deserts than in the jungle. The desert regions have a_very small percentage of humidity, while the jungles have an average humidity of 80 degrees, consequently the heat in the latter region is very oppressive to white persons. In the deserts of Northern Africa the tem- perature may rise very high in Sum- mer; the average in July exceeds 90 degrees; 110 degrees is often reached on the coast; 120 degrees in the in- terior. At Azizia in Tripoli the ther- mometers registcred 135 degrees in the le, the highest recorded on the earth’s surface. 4 Grundy as Member of Senate Wakesv Conflicting Comment Appraisals of Joseph R. Grundy, ap- pointed as Senator from Pennsylvania by Gov. Fisher of that State, run the gamut of comment from declarations that the stigma of lobbyism and cam- })alfln funds collecting should bar him rom Congress to praise for his ability, his knowledge and his personality. There is widely expressed opinion that on his record he should not have been sent to the Senate. “He will prove a competent Senator from Pennsylvania,” says the Philadel- phia Evening Bulletin. “He is a recog- nized expert on the tariff and all other matters affecting the industrial inter- ests of Pennsylvania. He is experienced in legislative matters. He is no stranger to Washington. When the opposition Senators know him better they will like him the more. He has capacity for making friends, as well as for fighting enemies, even with weapons of their own choosing. He can be relied upon to give a good account of himself.” * K k% “It is & brilliant and powerful suc- cession,” according to the Birmingham News, “that is continued by Mr. Grundy’s admission to the United States Senate. It is a political dynasty that needs to be recognized and reckoned with—a dynasty that cannot be awed by name- cllllnf or whistled down the wind by Jestful sallles. In its latest heir to the headship of this powerful political dy- nasty the Hamiltonian theory of govern- ment has an asset in the Senate the value of which only imprudent oppo- nents will underestimate. Mr. Grundy may be brutally frank. In this candor of his, he may be disarmingly ingenuous. But one thing sticks out plain as a pike- staff—this man knows. Others may have opinions, but Mr. Grundy knows. Where he does not actually know, he has faith so fervent that he mistakes it for knowledge; faith so fervent that he induces almost every one who knows to share his error. * * * Mr. Grundy knows. He knows that he knows.” “Gov. Fisher has expressed the temper of his people,” remarks the New York Sun, “by naming for Senator a man who only a few weeks ago showed his utter contempt for the crowd in the Senate which treated Pennsylvania as if it were outside the Union. ‘The deed isdone.’ as the governor said. The Sen- ate will have as a new member a clever man who knows how to say things that hurt and, moreover, has the courage to say them.” The Baltimore Evening Sun adds to this statement: “Thanks to the barring of Bill Vare, the Senators from the great open spaces are now to be confronted with the only man in public life who has dared to say what he thinks of them. The wolf’s in the fold.” . * ok ok % “We may think what we please about Mr. Grundy’s tariff-lobbying activities, and his_collection of funds in behalf of the Pepper-Fisher ticket in Penn- sylvania,” states the Providence Jour-- nal, “but we cannot deny that he has & way with him, that he disarms much criticism by his friendly frankness, and that his advent in the Senate has been in the nature of a fresh breeze blowing through aloof and solemn spaces.” The Yakima Daily Republic looks upon him % to stand sponsor for Grundy and what he stands for The Atianta Journal offc's an answer: “The fact is, he stands as a perfect type of the po- litical cult which for more than 50 years has been the inner shrine of the Republican creed—the cult whose usage it is to tax the many for the few ana to make government, first of all, instrument of privilege.” ‘The Roanoke World-News argues: “The interests that now control the Republican political machine in Penn- sylvania didn't want Vare, He beat their candidate, Pepper, in the Re= publican primary. But they carrisd their candidate, Fisher, for governar. Since Gov. Fisher couldn't name Mele lon, he has named the other man had most to do with office.” holds: “Mr. Grundy must what Pennsylvania Republicans sider the essence of sound and political morals; otherwise e Fisher would not have aj lm:thd to the senatorial seat B. was denied. * * * Senator Grundy does not sail under any false colom. As the lobby committee reported, business is politics.’ Protection is That contributors to dogma. right of Mr. Vare, who talks of rune ning again for the Senate, is the same as Mr. Grundy's, Mr. Vare has not been proscribed forever. It would be a cheering spectacle to see the Vare machine function without an aroms of suspicion.” * ok kX Condemnation of the appointment comes from the Great Falls Tribune, the Asbury Park Evening Press and the Richmond News Leader. The Springfleld Republican believes that “Mr. Grundy's influence in the Senate must necessarily be impaired by his sectional, not to say contemptuous, attitude toward parts of the West.” The Louisville Courier-Journal charges a “blunder” to the Republican party, and the Lima, Ohio, News calls the Senator a “party lability.” “He represents and is symbolic of a system and a school of political thought,” contends the Columbus Ohio, State Journal, “which is wrong. His appointment is bound to aggra- vate the spread of sectionalism and other national irritations that are not conducive to the well-being of the United States.” The Altoona Mirror says of the Senator's policies: “His peculiar methods are supposed to be specially helpful to Pennsylvania’'s ma- terial interests. But are they?” ‘The Dayton Daily News concludes: “It is & bad break for President Hoover and the Republican party. How can ever the party of Borah and Norris, even the party of Allen and Hiram Johnson, make common cause with the party of Bingham and Grundy?” The New Bedford Standard, however, sum- marizes the arguments: “He is an honest and estimable gentleman who believes in the Republican party and in & high protective tariff and who is interested in politics to the extent of exerting himself to raise money to help his party in elections. These as “one of the leading and most capa- ble citizens of the second State ot the Union,” and that paper thinks “it is doubtful if that State has had in 50 years a man of Grundy’s intellectual caliber and grasp of practical affairs.” ‘The circumstances surrounding his selection are discussed by numerous editors. The Portland Oregon Journal asks: “Has the State of Pennsylvania nothing to offer to the Senate of the United States but a Vare or a Grundy? | Be Paid And is the Republican party willing Kluxism, _Spiritualism, Mormonism, Christian Science, the House of David, Buchmanism, the Doukhobors, Theoso- phy, Unity, the Swamis and Yogis, the Shakers, the Swedenborgians, the Men- nonites and Aimee ’herson. Satir- ically characterizing atheism, Mr. Fer- guson says, “Atheism is by several howls the most fervent and evangelical cult things are not proof of virtue and nobility, but neither do they indicate the depruuy his critics pretend they see in them.” ——te Paying and Opening. From the Albany Evening Ne And besides “Do Not O Till Christmas” there should bsp‘:!l‘\omr slogan at this time, namely, “Not to for Till After Christmas.” Flyers Should Stay Up. Prom the Elmira Star-Gazette. !ent" Aa pefll:‘u': v;:rld for “lvlm T o r rained dnkle pelog oot T os tomobile: —on Order More of From the Detrolt News. the Kind. in the United States today.” Believing themselves to be {rreligious, he says, 1 themselves a;h:uu 'arn. agal hrist, freezing at this time, what Will. m% woekz of e pase 1t we uge up all our wea season?