Evening Star Newspaper, January 28, 1930, Page 8

A-8 « {THE EVENING STAR [of the scheme and threat of prosecution, | year 1 WASHINGTON, D. C WUESDAY......January 28, 1980 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company 3 Pennesivania £ i 110, Bast sand & iding. J Klr.hl(lnu!u k Rate by Carrier Within the City. Re 45¢ ver roonth (g ‘The - mfi“gfim “Bar e European ‘60c ver month id_Sune . .85¢ per month 8¢ Der cepy Orders may be sent in by ‘mall of teleppone n by . National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. and Virginia. aily and Sunday aily only unday only . All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday. Daily only Sundey only 157, $5.00i 1mo.. 50c Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusitely entitled | to the use for republication of all news dis- | atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- the local news Allrishts of publication of herein are also reserved. T ein. special dispatches i Fill the Chest! Like an army moving to the attack, | ‘Washingtonians enlisted under the ban- \ ners of the Community Chest are leav- ing their trenches today and by to- morrow the big drive will be on, The special gifts committee, which for the last week has been putting down a preparatory barrage, has ceased firing for the moment to move up the bat- terles while the shock troops, repre- sented by group solicitation units, get into action today, to be followed to- morrow by waves of the second line— the five regional divisions of the metro- politan unit—that will penetrate every corner and sector of the eity. But such similes, useful perhaps to Visualize the machinery by which the | Community Chest collects the city’s annual contribution to charity and welfare work, become dangerous if used to convey the spirit of the march forward that begins today. For the Community Chest workers are not pene- trating enemy country or carrying their campaign into any but friendly terri- tory, and barrages, shock troops and waves of the second line become mis- homers. ‘There are practical reasons why the !drinks a cocktail or a highball when he fled to Italy, where he is now resting in security owing to the fact that under an old treaty offenders of this particular type cannot be extradited. This man was the one who proposed the forging of stock certificates when the scheme for the consolidation of British steel indus- f;‘:l ‘was imperiled through lack of capi- e A Logical Step. Attorney General Mitchell's rule that wets need not apply for posts in any branch of the Government service hav- ing directly to do with the prosecu- |tion of cases under the national pro- hibition act is entirely logical and cer- tainly should make for better enforce- yment. It has been the custom for those supporting wet candidates for public office to beat their breasts and |prociaim that their candidates believe in enforcing all laws and that they would not be derelict in their duties in connection with prohibition. But, as a practical proposition, the man who has the opportunity is not the man to lead in enforcing the dry laws against his neighbors. Furthermore, if it be- comes known, as it usually does, that an officer of the law takes his own drink, it is not likely that other persons in the community will be particularly care- ful about observing the law which the man sworn to uphold the law him- | self breaks. “I believe that no man who makes a practice of drinking intoxicating liquor, or who has definite or pro- nounced views in opposition to prohi- bition, belongs, during this administra- tion, in any pos. having directly to do with the prosecution of cases under the national prohibition act,” the Attorney General has written. Immediately there is an uproar among the wets because they are barred from United States posts by this rule of the Attorney Gen- eral. Senator Borah of Idaho is one ot those who have proclaimed the belief that the dry laws can be enforced if the proper personnel is found to en- force them. The Attorney General's limitation on the enforcement agents should please him. If the limitation had been adopted ten years ago, when prohibition became effective, the situa- tion in this country today might have been very different. The bootlegging trade might never have bsen able (o get the start which it did, or have be- come as flourishing as it has become. Community Chest idea has won and held its ground whenever it has been given a fair trial—reasons that lie in its ability to cut down useless expendi- tures for overhead, to systematize the duplication. But there is also a spirit- ual appeal that speaks through the Community Chest to the individual giver and furnishes him with the means to do his voluntary part toward the alleviation of suffering and the re- construction of broken lives, safe in the assurance that, however small or how- ever large that part may be, there is a definite niche for it to fill. Such an appeal needs no barrage to make it effective. The problem that now lies ahead of ‘Washington has assumed tangible pro- portions. The special gifts committee, having solicited a special fleld, has se- cured pledges that approximate $714,- 000, and there is hope that through continuation of its work throughout the campaign it will reach & quota of about $900,000. Beginning today a large group of “key men,” each re- sponsible for a unit in Washington's business and commercial concerns em- ploying more than twenty-five persons, will collect contributions that the Chest authorities hope will reach $300,000. And tomorrow a veritable host of work- ers will begin their visits to the homes of Washington, now counted upon for a contribution of more than half a million dollars. If the various units assigned to the work fulfill their quotas the total of $1,786,737.07 sought will be collected and the Chest will be filled. The Chest is twenty per éent larger this year than last. If contributors endeavor to increase their gifts cor- respondingly, there will be no difficulty in reaching the goal. But that is a matter for each contributor to decide alone. If there seems undue insist- ence that at times becomes distasteful, semember that the motive is sincere. | ‘There can be no doubt that the Chest will be filled again. | —_———— Antarctic explorers have been enter- tained by radio. News they send leL their safety is more than sufficient as @& cheering reciprocity. —————————— British Justice. English justice is not only swift, but severe. Lawbreakers in Great Britain are speedily tried and, when convicted— and there are few mistrials and failures of justice—are given sentences in ac- cord with the gravity of their offenses. In consequence there is less crime in proportion to the population in that country than in this, where justice is ‘@low, uncertain and often ineffective. Yesterday Clarence Charles Hatry and three associates pleaded guilty in London of forgery in connection with a great financial fraud that came to the point of discovery within half a year. Their pleas in confession did not, however, save them from severe sen- tences, the principal to the maximum of fourteen years' penal servitude and the others to seven, five and three years. During part of these terms the men will be put to hard labor—stone break- ing, for example. They will not be paroled. They will have no remission of time for good behavior. Under Brit- ish justice fourteen years means four- It became a habit on the part of too many persons in office, some of them connected with the enforcement of the laws, to make light of prohibition. ‘The Attorney General's statement ment of the prohibition laws. President Hoover has again and again indicated that he intended to give the prohibition laws a thorough try-out when it came to enforcing them. It is quite clear that laws should be enforced or they should be modified or changed. If the officers of the Gov- ernment permit nullification through inactivity, they become themselves nul- lifiers, The demand of the Attorney General for officlals who are in sym- pathy with the prohibition laws and who do not violate the laws themselves should be a real aid in testing out the enforcibility of prohibition. The wets insist that prohibition can never be en- forced. Some of the drys say that never before has there been a real ef- fort to shut down all illicit traffic in liquor in this country. With the policy now adopted by the administration, it may be possible to have a real show- down on the enforeibility of prohibition. If the law cannot be enforced, then the people are entitled to know it and to know why. A Timely Letter. Inspector Brown's letter to the street car companies anent the persistent vio- lations of the automatic traffic signals by motormen is timely and should bring about beneficial results. For more than a year after the lights were in- stalled the street car companies held that their vehicles did not come under the jurisdiction of the traffic director, and it was only after Congress amend- ed the code that the companies reluc- tantly recognized his authority. Motor- men up to that time paid little atten- tion to the lights, and even since they were indisputably brought under the traffic office jurisdiction violations have continued. At the present time, it is no uncommon sight to observe a street car crossing against a red light, while yellow-light crossings are everyday oc- currences. Unquestionably, there is much to be said on the part of both the street car companies and the bus companies. These vehicles have regular schedules to maintain and it is an acknowledged fact that traffic lights have slowed up operation. However, the lights do not disqgminate against this type of traffic alone. All other travel is affected. The signals were installed as a safety meas- ure and it is quite evident that safety demands more respect than does speed. All classes of traffic must obey the lights. Violations by one are likely to lead to serious results. Especially does it behoove street car motormen scrupu- lously to observe the rules. These huge vehicles cannot be steered out of the way, and if improperly handled con- stitute a menace. The companies, realiz- ing this situation, will naturally co- operate in order that traffic of all kinds will move with less friction on the streets of the National Capital. e Telephone investigation is to be based on a suspicion that the com- panies have been giving wrong num- teen years and not ten or less. ‘This is the second time that the maxi- mum penalty for forgery has been im- posed in England. It was first given to Jabez Spencer Balfour, who defrauded the public with & combination of build- mg societies that failed for over forty million dollars. Whitaker Wright, whose Tinance corporation bubble burst at & but committed suicide on leaving the by taking poison. Gerard Lee bers in their schedules of rates to the subscriber. Russia’s New Calendar. If the proposition that has been ad- vanced at Moscow is adopted, Russia will again change its calendar. It now has two “scales” of time recording and historians must compute their reckon- in “old style” and “new style.” change the sequence of the seasons. Primitive man doubtless recognized this ebb-and-flow of nature and sought to express it in some crude means of calculation. When in more sophisti- cated stages of racial development the element of calculation entered into time reckoning man found himself at 8 loss for exact definition. Astrono- mers discovered that a year contains roughly SUS‘V’/dnyS and a month rough- 1y 29% days.’ The day is the one defi- nitely fixed factor. When it comes to adapting the day to the month and the month to the year difficulties arise. Only by dint of the addition of an extra day every fourth year has it been possible to keep the calendar and solar vears in approximate coincidence. But even with this “leap-year” device there is & differential that in the course of a long period throws the calendar out of gear. One method of adjusting is to drop the leap-year day once in 400 BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, Is the Dickensian style in the novel coming back? In this column the other day we | bul | mentioned two new books which tend | writ to_prove that it is. Two novels out of so many hundreds may not show much, but surely they are literary straws which show which way the wind blows, riters are going back to the style of Charles Dickens, we believe, cause his way of writing was more natural than the present sophisticated mode which dominates the American scene of letters. In the first place, Dickens knew his grammar. Let no one think we mean he made no grammatical mistakes. His sentences were rather too long, and many of them too involved in thought. No doubt a purist might find many score slips from the strict path of e in the thousands of well filled pages of the master Victorian novelist. As 'a whole, however, his stories are distinguished by English well used, and by that we mean as the genuine Eng- lishman uses it, which is just a little bit better, everything taken into con- sideration, than any other English- speaking person uses it. There was a certain grace in the very relatior of thought to sentence struc- ture. This is something which many a modern American novelist, proud of his incoherent, jerky sentences, might well study with profit. years, which is in itself only an approx- imation, but it reduces the “slip” to a very slight fraction The proposed Russian calendar will have twelve months as at present, but each month will have six weeks of five days each, Saturday and Sunday being abolished. Nothing is mentioned in the present dispatches about the solar year adjustment. The proposed calendar accounts for only 360 days, leaving a balance of 5% days to be accounted for in some manner. Several political revolutions of mag- nitude in the world's history have been marked by schemes of calendar chang- ing. The most recent was that of the French Revolution, which resulted in a short-lived revision of time reckoning, but particularly in nomenclature. There is no occasion for surprise at the new Moscow move for a calendar revision. The wonder is that something of the sort has not been proposed before. Perhaps, however, if it had been un- dertaken earlier it would not be per- mitted, as is now proposed, to date foreign correspondence under both the old and the new systems of reckoning. It is evidently De Rivera's desire to retain office. He speaks of submitting himself to a sensational and decisive test. The Spanish premier does not admit that a change might be reason- able in the course of events. Few statesmen have the consclentious nerve required for that simple phrase, “I do not choose.” ———— ‘Whatever may be his views on prohi- bition, a Senator does not necessarily admit that any and every dry agent is necessarily an acquisition to his own State. ————— Russia is imposing the death penalty for theft. This is an experiment in re- form that has often been tried and that has never yét worked out satis- factorily. - ——————————— His employment in an advisory ca- pacity must require patience on the part of Lindbergh in view of the many avi- ators who refuse to take any advice whatever. ———— It requires a brave man to be a police- man and face not only physical danger but a fire of criticism that is often unwarranted. —ee— In the study of crime prevention some consideration might properly be given to what looks like a free dis- tribution of firearms in the underworld. o SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Beneath the Snow. Beneath the snow are violets blue, And Sanguinaria blossoms, too; And the “Spring beauties” to express A thought of lavish loveliness. A little patience must be ours Until the thaw reveals the flow'rs. Often the joys that life will show, Like blossoms, wait 'neath sorrow’s snow. The Great Game. “How shall I go about it to get into Ppolitics?” “My boy,” answered Senator Sorghum, ‘you'd better stay dht. If you're not politiclan enough to get into the game to start with, there would be no chance of your ever winning a trick in actual play.” Jud Tunkins says the only way to manage & farm successfully is to quit farmin’ and be a realtor. Genius, Though Education has fine ways, True Genius always gets the start. The best of eggs our old hen lays ‘With no instruction in the art. The Big Story. “Willle Wibbles says he lost fitty thou- sand dollars in the stock market.” “Men always exaggerate their mis- fortunes,” commented Miss Cheyenne. “Don’t you believe him?” “Not yet. To satisfy my mind hell have to start the story all over and show me that he ever had fifty thou- sand in the first place.” “You cannot always choose your friends,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China~ town. “You will be fortunate if you can live in a way that will make worthy meg:dl choose you.” February Preference. O Ground Hog, if you'll make your plan Accord with mine, Tl like you vastly better than St. Valentine! : “Fishin’ is better dan hoss racin’,” said Uncle Eben. “De big stories you thinks up 'bout fish ain’ liable to cost is planned by a governmental commis- sion which has just made an affirma- you any foolish bets.” ’ New Story: Old Theme. From the Toledo Blade. AT e taken for a ride. S aiics ——— Anyway, It Hasn’t Been Tried. From the St. Louts Post-Dispatch. from h!.umnll fllhh:;ln Florida with a workal prohibition enforcement L Basically, it is a matter of good gram- mar. The youngest novelists, both here and abroad, seem to have seen the absurdity of protesting against every- thing_just because it happens to old. They have stopped thumbing their noses at convention, and are going about their own g:od business of mak- ing art out of the written word. * * % %" ‘These youngest writers are not tak- ing life quite so seriously as their im- mediate predecessors. They are beginning to see that there is a great deal of fun to be found in men and events, if you have the eye to see it. They know, as Dickens did, that it is possible to describe a doorknob in such a way that it impresses the reader as a particular doorknob and not just another one of the mob of doorknobs. Thus they give the reader a ce quiet, solid satisfaction which is rather above and beyond the mere words. Part of this result seems to be se- cured because the quality of humor is incorporated in their work. But there is distinctly more to it than that. The humor is there not only because the author has it in himself and wants to share it with his readers, but even re because he is considerate of them. 'his consideration for the reader is something which many a hard “realist” of recent days has utterly forgotten, if h: el\iel‘ considered it worth his trouble at_al His readers, he vowed to himself, would have to take what he wrote, as he wrote it, or leave it alone, it made no_difference to him. He gave them Main street, according to his own neat formula, and if it pleased the Mighty Mencken, it should and must please the rest of them. R The “kind reader,” however, is not so easily put off as all that and all that. He may buy and read by the thousand copies, but all the time he is for something different, some- g away and beyond, something with more restraint in it. Restraint, as we see it, is not only mlinnunlo(wblu: speaking, - exem] now over the radio, t also Mcenlrya in lwd It is a of consideration for the lieves in you $2.50 to $6 every half year or so? Of course, you can give him the raw details of life, saturate him with blood, sex, misery and then look as trium- phantly as Jack Horner did when he s his thumb and pulled out his You can do it, but why? For too long the “why” has been answered §::IIXP}_Y. “Oh, just in order to shock Well, Dickens knew about sex, too. Probably men were men and women were women then. But he chose rather to let it alone, and to devote his writing time to other aspects of life. Yes, there are other aspects, although one might not know it after reading some of these “best sellers.” Dickens knew that his readers, sitting in_ soft chairs, beside shaded lights, amid decency, if you please, demanded the standards of decency in what they read. began easily, quietly, with the or He saving grace of humor, and he con- tinued so. He did not attempt to cram a large portion of obscenity down the throats of his readers in the name of pep, punch and progress. * ok ok X Dickens had, if it may be put this way, the French quality. . 2 Right here let us say that if any reader thinks that “the French quality” in a novel refers to nudity in art he is very much mistaken. "The French quality, the real glory of their fictional art, is a certain honesty of statement which yet is as far from the too vulgar honesty of some modern American writers as anything can be. A Prench novel of the real type gives you life, but it gives it to you with a saving grace, as befits civilized writing for civilized readers. It recognizes the facts, but the hospital “case” attitude is left out. Even the crudest of Zola's novels presents life with a smile. Yes, Zola, too, had the saving grace of humor. We challenge any one to read the scene about the feast of the goose, in “L'Assommoir,” and not realize that it is the Dickens quality all over again. It may ‘e some as strange that we attribute a French quality to the eminently British Charles Dickens. The clue, however, has beert given. The sterling honesty of fi“’m of French fiction incorporates humor, and at the same time makes no demand that every writer be like it. In other words, the typically French cuality of Dickens was not much like that of Daudet, it must be admitted, but it still was the same, too, in that it was grammatical, honest, restrained, conservative, humorous, con- siderate, The so-called general reader well may watch the movement we have indicated with interest. Perhaps we have credit- ed Charles Dickens with too much by saying that some of the younger novelists are going back to him, when they seem inclined to throw over the chains forged ,upon them by the literary movement of modern times. ‘These youngsters are pioneers. It was to them, as much as to any, that Walt ‘Whitman addressed those proud words: “Have the elder races halted? Do they droop and end their lessons, wearied, over there beyond the seas? We take up the task eternal, and the burden, and_the lesson. Ploneers! O Pioneers!” Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands L MERCURO, Santiago.—There has just been completed in Te- muco, the chief city of Cautin province, the first modern hos- pital that exists in Chile. We have long had the idea of hospitals, in- herited from Spain—vast, solid struc- tures, built for eternity, and without any consideration of convenience or sanitation. The ol hospitals were built with the idea of holding as many people as possible. Matters of ventila- tion, comfort and lighting were sec- ondary. In the new Temuco Hospital each patient has a large window admitting sun and air. The ital is built in the form of eight almost detached wings or ells, so that all sides of every department are free to light and air. Offices, operation room, wards for men and women, nurses' quarters -nd.lfi;- vate rooms for pay patients are n separate buildings. We hope that a program of erecting similar hospitals throughout the republic will gather im- petus from the appreciation of this beautiful and commodious structure. * x k k Nationals in Russia. to intervene in behalf of the German colonists from Siberia, Ukraine and the Caucasus districts who desire to leave their farms and emigrate to Canada. Soviet measures to prevent these exc- duses have been rigidly enforced, the effort now bel to prevent Ger- man peasants leaving their farms or homes preliminary to departure from the country, but a fund has been col- intly Spring Wh secured Dassporis st unf who sect a an earl&r date, in consideration of the forfeiture of whatever funds or prop- erty they had in Russia. * k x Mexico Moves To Restrict Narcotics. 3 El Universal, Mexico City.—By order of the department of public health all persons hereafter presenting prescrip- tions for narcotics to the various drug stores will have the prescriptions re- tained by the drug store. When neces- sary, coples of the prescriptions will be given the patients, but these coples will not be valid for any refills. The apoth- ecaries will also have to keep a register of all such prescriptions filled, includ- ing the name of the person presentin; the order, It is ho) Of Street Car System. La Nacion, Buenos Aires.—The city &mncfl of La Plata, capital of the State United States. To Englishmen it seems fiufllmpepmdbflnmwlof e. American workmen are in much bet- ter position to buy more things than their British brothers, though housing conditions in America appear to be less satisfactory than here. One thing is certain—the man in the States who commands something more than workman's wage, the successful busi- ness or professional man, who makes a comfortable income, is lving in a land where =ll the conditions exist for him to get the most out of life, so far as mechanical comforts and conven- {ences are wncemed& anyway. * * ok ok X High School Teaches Students to Fly. Neus Wiener Tageblatt, Vienna.—In the Technical High School at e courses have been established for the instruction of civilians in flying. Such courses are available for all students of requisite physique and also to extra- scholastics desiring to learn to fly, in anticipation of the coming vogue and monnm of this means of transpor- World Masterpieces Gathered in Exhibit From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The statement that the 350 master- ?;eoes of art which Italy has sent to ndon for an exhibition, opened on New Year day, are worth $70,000,000, is merely by way of satisfying a mod- ern urge to place money values on everything. re is no telling what these canvases would bring at public sale, the only true measure of material worth. ‘They are the properties of museums and will never be sold. It is certain, however, that the sum named is but nominal. Governments might m that much for only a few of these placeable works. Romance, world applause, the test of the centuries and the fame associated with their names have placed the great Italians apart among the old masters. There is a special place reserved for Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, Giorglone, | Jlioet Botticelli, Veronese, Correggio, Bellini, Pisanello and many another. All these Jvil be represented in the London ex- Ibit Not even in Italy have so many pic- tures by the illustrious men of the past been brought together in one lery. The temporary collection is really a world event for art lovers, interest in Wwhich is enhanced for America by the fact that some historic Italian paint- ings owned in this country are to be hung in Burl House at the same time, and by possibility that the great group may be kept together for exhibition later in this country. The Italian display will be third for foreign masters, the first bel.n’ for Flemish artists and the second for Dutch. In every case the museums, royal and private galleries were combed for the best. Governments assisted in w co-operation; in the case of Italy, Mus- solini took personal interest and helped ppro- | © give the display national significance , | will spend *$120,000, hm)fletl’dlh ' | table at London as the ship carrying it sailed. The whole probably will prove to be one of the greatest art attractions ever brought together. Who Said Talk Is Cheap? From the Wheeling Intelligencer. Talk may be cheap, but New York ogo to improve its telephone service this year, —————— But Who Will Be Dummy? From the New York Sun. ve been lald on the o Whitehead etaes Sesbiens Tor sl They Got the Best of It. From the Paterson Press-Guardian. There were men who went on reduc- ing diets in the old days, but posteri calls them poetses. 5 m o and Work with of 1930. :_Apostle of Modern Bernard Fay. Little, Brown & Co. shock the man who be- | testing enough to loosen up with o d later days. d to the they stand in active tous succt present, tendering to it the wisdom of old experience, offering to it the valid and unchanging things of and spirit—to that de are such historic llsum of perennial serv- ice to the world which long since gave to them curt bodily repudiation. ‘To be in any measure potential in the present, that man or this one out of the past, near or remote, must be of clear kin to it. He must look out upon life much as today logks upon it. He must take hold of it in the same sort of grip. He must assess its values in the current coin of common use. Then only does he call to the present, then only does he become influential as in- terpreter, guide, inspiration even. Other- wise, the historic re is of interest to the antiquary alone, to the pure scholar academically interested in the mlt, as such, regardless of the fact at it has no essential contact with after years and periods, either as inter- preter, guide or monitor, ‘There are not so many of these men of high fame in this respect in the ages that are past. And no wonder. is is a day of miracles—bewildering and dazzling to those even who are a living part of it, to those actually par- taking of its achlevements. And yet, after all, it is a certain quality of mind that makes for kinship, not the feats of material progress, not passing modes and manners, not words and gestures. So here and there, going backward in a search for old ties and tried under- standings, we now and then come upon one who is, in essentials, of our own era. One who meets the astounding day that this day h& with cz!nfldsncfl. and com- posure, and competency. He possesses “the modern mind"—that is, what we call such an appearance. One could—if this were the place to do it—select at random a few striking and enlighten- i Wotking i one-gone-periocs of " worl long-gone periods of history. However, let us not wander out upon such excursion. Let us, instead, 80 along with Bernard Fay through the adventures of one man’s life, adventures which the author has followed in the gusto of a personal partaking. Mr. Fay literally ransacks Benjamin Franklin for the full content of that rich and luminous American who moves out here as clearly and definitely cotemporaneous as Mr. Fay himself, or as any other of us who are a part of the passing throng. ‘The writer is, primarily, out for facts— { for all the facts of Benjamin Franklin as these come into the open under the inner drive of Franklin, boy and man anpd ultimate “patriarch”—under the outer impact as well of a wide range of scene and ciscumstance and activity. We all know the story. Went to school to_ it. Brought up on it. Yet, this fresh adventure of Franklin is strikingly different from those early les- sons on “a great American” or even from subsequent reading on the subject. Education, so fatally commif of electricity thereby and Mmyq.l';:{lombh attempts at inter- ference with lightning, one of Jehovah's gestures. Queer to re- but to re- the period which so influentially shaped the career of this man and S the it certeymy of the colies and the spi of the colon and of France itself in one of its critical picture by way of Ehl.n American, Franklin. You will it difficult to recall a personal study which involves also as an rent mt of it such close-knit substance of man, the period and the place as this blography projects. tha thing to inst the elders—just amiliar engagements, become an inherent part of the Boston of that day. These small-hoy activities embrace and y the community it- rweave of dour religion, hard work and exceeding thrift. Men and women of historic record come and 80 Mathers proclaiming the ever-present devil and the terrible wrath to come, and many another of the same hard stripe and, no doubt, of good worth to their day. So, through- out, in following the personal career of Benjamin Pranklin—his growth in years and influence, his man-size worth to his couniry at home and abroad, his rich and lovable nature, his quick and kindly comprehension of the man-ani- | lived mal—throughout in each phase of wth and increasing pub- rd Fay achieves the ibstantial effect of history, in its sa- t.:h:nd at a given period, em- cant and most. ly representative citizen of America it has yet come into thing like the historic valuation. ‘The book is history, It is It is mve,:mu out of ‘aspects ‘personality the public career of, probably, the that any- blography. ‘which the read- of a brand-new per. sonality given to this gerious and expert study of the life of one man. * % ok X “ee with A. B, LL. D,, in evidence * professor at Columbia, at Univer- sity of Chicago, at Northwestern, at Iowa State University. Author in litera- ture and history. Contributor to univer- sity and other reviews, to French, Ger- d riodicals. Soldier— " | prepared offhand to g?.r%: ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS | ‘This newspaper puts at your disposal a corps of trained researchers in Wash- ington who will answer questions for you. They have access to the Gov- ernment departments, the libraries, museums, galleries and public buildings, and to the numerous associations which maintain headquarters in the Nation's Capital. If they can be of assistance to you, write your question plainly, and send with 2 cents in coin or stamps to The Evening Star_Information Bu- l"’evlu, Frederic J. m, D. C. * ok ok % Sam and Henry?—P. L H. A. Gosden and Correll were first & vaudeville team and went on the air in 1925 as Sam 'n’ Henry. At the expira- tion of that contract, they started the Amos 'n’ Andy series. Q. How many aviation schools are recognized by the Department of Com- merce?—A. E. P, A. About thirty schools of aeronautics been approved by the Department of Commerce. Q. What State has the greatest per- centage of land capable of cultivation? —=8. E. A. Towa claims the largest proportion of actually arable land. Q. Who first owned Harpers Ferry?— S. ‘A. The first settlement was made by Robert Harper in 1747. He ran a ferry across the Potomac at this point. Q. Where were friction matches first made?—M. A. A. The first true frictlon match was not invented until 1827 by a man named John Walker of Stockton-on-Tees, Dur- ham, England. Ignition of sulphur and phosphorus by friction was discovered by Godfrey Haukwitz in 1680, and it was 150 years before this discovery was applied to matches. Q. Is Eleanor Spencer, the pianist, an American?—J. S. A. She is an American of pure Amer~ jcan stock. A great part of her musical education was received in Europe under Leschetizky. Q. Has the Nicaraguan Canal been A brigads of Army_engineers 1s y o en; making a survey of the proposed Nica- raguan Canal site in order to estimate the cost of building such a canal, also its advisabllity. The work of surveying will probably take two years or over. Q. Who gave Louisiana its name?— G. T. A. Tt was named by Robert de la Salle, Mississippi navigator, in 1682 in honor of Louis XIV of France. Q. How many people are there in the Irish Free State?—S. M. A. Its population is 2,972,802. Its area is 26,592 square miles. Northern Ireland, or Ulster, has an area of 5,237 square miles and population of 1,256,322. Q. well cold, when we are told that beyond the elnh'lu‘ czusé the temperature in- c"A. Only a few feet of earth on the very surface is affected by the daily range in temperature. There is then a larger layer upon which neither the surface temperature nor the tempera- ture of the de of the earth has any temperature of the earth increases 1 degree for every 50 to 75 feet one goes into the interior of the earth. cold water comes from the layer which is unaffected by temperatures from within Haskin, ~ director, | | . Why is water coming from a deep | washin; BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, the earth or on the surface of the earth. In some places we have thermo where the water comes from & below this in the region which is l.‘n;::;‘i by the heat from earth. Q. Is Abdu’l Baha still living?— B.C. A. A. This head and teacher of the Baha'i religion died in 1921 at the age of 77. He a inted his eldest ind- fendi, as first zu-tfln of son, Shoghi the uuflgl Q. What color was Beatrice's eyes?— Q. Are the men who give Amos and | W, C. Andy over the radio the same that were | A.”Dante speaks of them as emeralds. Q. What became of the land given to Gen. Lafayette in recognition of his services to this country?—J. McD. A. The land granted to Gen. La- fayette is in Florida—all of township 1 north, range 1 east, containing 23,028.50 acres, was granted by Congress to Gen. Lafayette December 28, 1824, and title passed to him July 4, 1826. It was sold by order of Gen. Lafayette many years since, and is now owned by a great many different persons. Q. In running a locomotive, can the throttle be open so wide that it hinders the engine from giving its greatest power by choking it with too much steam?—E. A. R. A. Tt would not be possible to hinder the operation of a steam locomotive with throttle wide open unless the boiler were over-cylindered and valves not properly set to admit exhaust of steam. For instance, there is no need of carry- ing 250 pounds of steam and then open the throttle only enough to admit 150 to 3.;5 mngi l‘l;to tbh:"x:m ch;ét When the throt! no open, the steam is wire-drawn and this is done to overcome other defects. Q. How large a price has been paid for a single pearl?—J. H. A. As much as $100,000 has prob- ably been paid for a single pearl, Dur- ing historic times, in trade, peatls may have been valued at even higher figures. Q. How many people are employed in the Community Chest drive in the Dis- trict of Columbia? What are they paid? —H. T. A A. There are 4,000 workers and are all volunteers with no compensation. Q. When was the Chevy Chase Club founded?—M. N. P. A. Its secretary says that the Chevy Chase Club was originally a hunt club and the E:-esenc site was for some years the meeting place of the Hounds. There was an informal organization which later became an organized club and was incorporated in 1892 and reincorporated in 1893. The old farm house was used as the club house until 1912, when the present club house was occupied. It was organized by prominent Washington people and as there was never any com- mercial feature in the organization it is difficult to say when or exactly how it grew and developed in the early stages. It is fair to say that the original mem- bers were all of the best type of old igtonians, together with the diplomatic set and with a few of the official set. There have always been a large number of Army, Navy and Ma- rine Cos officers in the club. Also most of the Supreme Court have always been members. Q. Where is the ink bought with which our paper money is printed?— A. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing says that the ink which is used in making American paper money is made by the bureau and for that reason is not on the market. effect. Then comes the layer where the | E. J. C. Chicago’s Riot-Gun Politics Blamed for Her Bankruptey those elected to admin. wnnmmanc. ‘They finan of a ecity of wealth. xcuh : perfect illus- tration of the results of gang govern: ment, where the first thought of in control was the distribution of wards among_their gang followers the leaders of the gangs. Ol undergone years of pillage at the of those paid to 'vnrn “Chicago politics is ‘malodorous record,” declares Phila- delphia Evening Bulletin, _quoting B s ound & aefcit ot hich has for a del 250,00 that he “has $23,000,000, and_staf characterized to its le and the public dependents are m‘:zzmm for, ‘complete collapse’ seems imminent.” * K Kk «“Jt is all a spectacle that is melan- choly more than amusing,” says the Portland Oregon Journel. “To what ends may our present increasing drift into crime be les more American cities? Could a civilization be broken down in modern times by the reck- lessness of part of its people, as th_-’ pened to several ancient civilizations? The Asheville Times suggests that “the trouble with Chicago, like many other municipalities, not yet so hard put to it financially, is that for years it has beyond its income. "Such living is not unusual for cities and individu- als in this prosperous country. The consequences of such living may vary, but in their general penal charac teristics they are alike—and Inmhb‘l:;‘ find a way is caused by a branch of government personnel of which could not be reached by the voters when they succeeded in cleaning out other public offices. Oity government was only indirectly affected by the X State got the benefit of it and the sanitary district was greatly im- proved, but men and methods were not changed in the city hall. Nearly all the trouble has developed in this left- over government, which includes the schools within its control. corrective took effect the re- sults have been in the main satisfac- * % k% “Were it the the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, “possibly wmec;:lny mltdln!‘ht be 'Lul-ln . But ‘llfl': ous Chicago departments are overs| and the school deficit is phcernlt $6,000,000. Even were private philan- thropy disposed to render temporary ald, what single individual or group is will not be collectible until some time next Spring, and the 1929 taxes that ght to be in now will not be collectible until late next Fall, perhaps not then. Almost any community would be strick- en with the verisimilitude of mendicancy and compelled to stand with its hat out at the financial corners if its revenues of current dependency were lackadai- sically permitted to be more than a year behing . * * * An exhibit of spe- clkl value for its warning force at Chi- pageant of Bill ompson's stuffe tration.” The Baltimore Sun also remarks that “as the situation stands, Chicago seems faced by the necessity of going about hat in hand begging philanthropic citi- mens to chip in and save her disaster of certainly ying through the nose,” continues 8:'“ per, “for its indiffer- ence to the duties of citizenship and its suj submission to a prolonged era of political corruption, waste and ineffi- clency.” ' does Chicago differ from Jersey cltz;; asks the Jersey City Jour- nal, with reply: “Chiefly in the fact that Jersey City isn't ‘broke’—yet. In other respects there seems to be very little difference between the two. Among financiers and economists, scarcely any topic has been more discussed than the steadily mounting debts of the country’s municipalities. The financial condi- tion of cities generally has been and is still being most severely criticized.” “Chicago needs a city manager to pull it out of its present deplorable condi- tion. Other cities need city mln.lgem to keerl them from getting into a hole throug! mismanagement,” concludes the Great Falls Tribule. The New Or- leans Morning Tribune feels that “it is really regrettable that at such a time Gen. Dawes should have to serve as Ambassador to England, leaving his city to work out its own salvation.” The Hartford Times feels that “perhaps if the citizens of the Windy City should be somewhat more critical and active at city-election time and insist on more honesty and efficiency in their munici- 1 officials, they would not con- nted with this kind of a perplexing mess.” it | Co-Ops’ Need Is Hel Working Together From the Flint Daily Journal Since the World War co-operative marketing has made great progress in the United States, but, as Secretary of Agriculture Hyde points out, more farmers must join e co-operative marketing associations and the co- operatives must learn to co-operate among th lves if agriculture 15 to receive the full benefit of the new Federal marketing act. Most of the co-operative units which are now existent are totally unrelated. The great need in this movement at present is to federate the local as- sociations into regional bodies and in co-operative selling at the terminal commodity markets. At present the co-operatives do an annual business of $2,500,000,000. Secretary Hyde estimates that more than 90 per cent of our co-operative assoclations have little contact with supply so enor- Ll 4 ’l%e 1928 taxes = B! 3 other co-operative bodies. For ex- t results, Thi Deep. Prom the chntis T day Voat 'a .w'g- down with parrot