Evening Star Newspaper, March 4, 1930, Page 8

{THE EVENING STAR With Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY........March 4, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star N iper Company iy S Sh FopSitien, o : Lake Michigan Buildine. 14 it St.. London. it 60¢ cer month 85¢ per month A 4 T copy the end of eack month. t in by mail or telephone mn ional 5000. Rate by Mail-—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, E}y lng Sunday. das”"only All Other States and Canada. I and Sunday..lyr. sl 1.00 iy - ay only Member of the Associated Press. P R i o g tohes credited 0 It or DOt OUAEFWise in this paper and also the locas ' published herein. Al rights of publication of pecial dispaiches herein are ako ieservi The First Hoover Year. President Hoover's first year in the White House closes today—a year of real accomplishment, despite the critics of the administration, and a year of laying the groundwork for much con- structive work in the future. To judge an administration by its first twelve- month is not a fair test. But even in such a test the Hoover administration stands out a success. A farm relief act bhas been spread upon the statutes which promises real aid to agriculture. The President took the lead in this matter, although Congress shaped the measure and put it through. A revision of the tariff, also a measure of relief for the farmer, is in the making. If it has been unduly delayed in the Senate, that is not the fault of President Hoover. The country understands the situation. A coalition of insurgent Republicans and Democrats took charge of the measure early in its consideration in the Senate. ‘This coalition has in some respects bet- tered the bill. The charge that must be laid against the opponents of the ad- ministration in the Senate is that they have through five months of debate de- layed final action on the bill while the country has waited for this legislation. Chairman Smoot of the finance com- mittee has computed the hours used in the Senate debate by regular Republi- cans, insurgent Republicans and Demo- crats. The regular Republicans used 30 per cent of the total time and the coalitionists 70 per cent. With the tariff bill expected to pass the Senate within the next ten days, Senator Wagner of New York, Demo- crat, rises in his place and denounces Mr. Hoover because he has not seen to 1t that the Senate acted more quickly on the measure. Mr. Hoover, the New York Senator asserts, should have welded his party together in support of the bill. Here is an unkind cut, indeed, man, was done. Often persons rather well acquainted with matters artistic run across the name of some painter which may mean nothing to them, al- though they may like his picture, Comments on the paintings them- selves are exceedingly valuable in these days of all sorts of diversified art trends; a far better understanding of the aim of the artist is thereby gained by the uninformed spectator. The brief labels referred to are believed to excite his interest, stimulate his imagination and eventually so build up in him a real art appreciation that he no longer feels he is wandering wistfully through a colorful maze. If more galleries and more museums and art institutes would embark on some plan along this line, as regards both paintings and sculp- ture, their patronage would be pleased and also benefited. —at———— Idleness and Communism. Yesterday members of the Senate dis- cussed the question of unemployment in the United States. One of the speakers declared that the administra- tion is concealing or misstating the number of persons who are now out of work. One said that nothing had been done by the administration to make | work for the jobless. One declared that | a “red scare” has been started by cer- tain interests to distract attention away from the unemployment situation. It is rather an idle undertaking to | cite statistics on unemployment, be- cause statistics cannot be had—that is to say, accurate statistics, With all | the resources of the Department of Labor it cannot reach the exact facts, cannot enumerate the jobless. Short of a Nation-wide census it can only approximate the total number by esti- mation, based upon weekly returns from typical industries or establish- ments. Nobody, in or out of the administra- tion, has said that there is a normal percentage of employment in this coun- try. Nobody has claimed that there is no more than the normal degree of | privation due to enforced idleness. The administration officials have asserted that the tide has turned and that there are fewer men out of work now than three months ago. They may be wrong, but their error is one of information, not of design. For there is no point to the making of deliberately false state- ments about the economic condition of the country. To say that more men are now at work than in December is not to make more work for men. And nobody knows that fact better than the be rhade public. If thelr views were taken down and spread upon public records as facts, the witnesses would face the risk of becoming involved in civil suits for damage brought against them or those who employ them. As the de- partment's own investigators must ob- tain their information from these wit- nesses, it resolves itself into a question of whether they will get some informa- tion by promising that statements will be treated as confidential, or whether they will get no information. The for- mer procedure has been adopted, with resulting criticism against the depart- ment for “hushing up” the facts. Senator Bingham has proposed an amendment which would require spe- cific information concerning the cause of air crashes, initiating the definite practice now followed by the Interstate Commerce Commission in its reports on the cause of train wrecks. The Depart- ment of Commerce in this case would necessarily be empowered to subpoena witnesses and compel their testimony under oath, clothing those who testify with immunity from prosecution for their statements, There are those who take the view that the Department of Commerce has gone to extremes in reading the law and that it should immediately make public the cause of accidents, with the necessary discussion of all the factors involved. But as long as there is un- certainty, Senator Bingham's amend- ment should be passed. One of the quickest ways to dissolve fear and dis- trust of air transportation is t» divest it of mystery. Accidents shrouded in mystery become more fearful, for the public does not understand them. ———— Intimations that the courts ought to work harder proceed, of course, from lack of information as to the amount of close study & judge may have to engage in during the hours when he is not for- mally in evidence. Efficiency experts agree that the best results are not ob- tained from men in any capacity who have to be regulated by the time clock. . Priestess of a “mystic cult” was con- victed in California of swindling an oil magnate out of $40,000. It becomes more and more shocking to observe the frequency with which some adroit and unscrupulous person seeks to take ad- vantage of an innocent and unsophisti- cated oil man. R Camera men ought to join in a trib- ute to William Howard Taft, whose courtesy was unfailing and superior to President or the Secretary of Labor or the Secretary of Commerce. About the “red scare” which it has been charged has been raised for camouflage of a bad econemic situa- tion, just the same observation is per- tinent, Mr. Matthew Woll, an officer of the American Federation of Labor, who is accused of starting, as a means of distracting public attention from the high percentage of unemployment, the report of a proposed Communist dem- onstration in the United States day after tomorrow, perhaps knows better than administration officials, or even for the Progressive Republicans who have banded so loyally with the Demo- crats in their efforts, not only to amend the tariff bill, but to embarrass and antagonize the administration at every possible turn. But Senator Wagner and other critics of the President in the Upper House go further and charge the Pres- ident with responsibility for unemploy- ment in the country. It is even charged that the “red” riots in New York and elsewhere are a plot of the supporters of the administration to turn public attention from the unemployment sit- uation. The lengths to which even Senators of the United States will go in their efforts to belittle political op- ponents apparently have no limits. Congress, and particularly the Sen- ate, has been the baiter of Presidents since the Government began. It is & forum of political attack. Every Pres- ident must expect it. Roosevelt met it constantly, and so did Wilson and Coolidge. Administration Senators dur- ing the present session have held their tongues for the sole purpose of expedit- ing the tariff bill, when the adminis- tration has been under attack. Once that bill is out of the way the political debates in the Senate are not likely to be so one-sided. Discussion of the first Hoover year in the White House must include mention of the work which the President has undertaken in the interest of disarma- ment and world peace. He took a lead- ing part in the movement which brought about the London Naval Conference, now meeting. Political opponents in the Senate go so far as to deride the conference, even while it is sitting. And it would be amiss not to mention the call for law observance, which the President has sent forth—a call which should be heeded by all Americans. Under ordinary circumstances, when & new President goes into the White House, without a change of party, his first year develops little more than new appointments to public office and his first recommendations to Congress. That body ordinarily does not meet untit the December following the President’s inauguration. When President Coolidge was elected in 1924, he had already been in office for more than two years. There was no special session of Congress called. ‘The first year of the term of office to which Mr. Coolidgs was elected in 1924 passed with little event. Mr. Hoover, however, tackled the problems confront- ing his administration without delay. He had promised to call a special ses- sion of Congress to deal with farm relief and tariff revision. The results have been considerable and of moment to the country, politics to the contrary not- withstanding. ————— Soviet rifiemen slay peasants without studying the sawed-off shotgun as & suitable weapon for use in social disor- ders. Laudable Labels. A brief item in the mid-February issue of the Art Digest gives food for thought to all interested in art ex- hibitions. At one such recent display held under the auspices of the Phila- delphia Art Alliance each painting was labeled with a brief sketch of the artist and a few authoritative comments on the picture itself. ‘The sketch of the artist was not a biographical one, &lthough naturally his nationality and period were noted in order that he might be placed chron- clogically. But certainly his school, than any member of the Senate, how prevalent is idleness today in this country. But to charge him with de- liberately inventing a tale of Commu- nist agitations for the sake of drawing & herring across the trail of the labor statistician is altogether unwarranted. It is just as absurd to deny the pernicious activity of the Moscow-di- rected Communists in this country as it is to deny an unusual degree of unem- ployment. There is nothing inconsis- tent or illogical or improbable about such a statement as that of Mr. Woll, to which exceptions are taken. Com- munists are unquestionably trying to take advantage of the prevalence of more than usual idleness to stir up trouble, to incite demonstrations, to make converts to the cause of radi- calism. They have no remedy for idle- ness to propose other than the abolition of what they call capitalism and the institution of a Communist state, such as that which is being attempted in Russia. This is their harvest time, when the streets are filled with job hunters, when bread lines are forming. Let there be a truce to such displays of short-sighted partisanship. Let the fact be frankly faced that there is impending a concentrated assault upon the American system of government by a small but perniciously persistent group of deluded theorists. Even if they are numerically an infinitestimal minority they may make trouble. To softpedal their activity, to deny their existence or their purpose is to en- courage them. “Darkest Russia” is an obsolete term. ‘The great, awakening country is now embarrassed by too much spotlight. —————————— Publicity for Air Accidents. A full-page discussion of the subject in the current Literary Digest is indica- tive of the Nation’s interest in the con- troversy over whether the Department of Commerce should make full reports on the cause of all serious air accidents, or whether what has been called its “policy of silence” should be continued. Unfortunately much that is being said upon the subject is based upon the wrong premise. Failure of the depart- ment to make public reports on specific accidents, together with names and a description of the causative factors, has been erroneously attributed to a policy founded on the beliaf that such in- formation should not be made public. As a matter of fact the Department of Commerce believes that it is not legally qualified to furnish the information. The air commerce act provides that the Department of Commerce shail fur- nish information on the cause of acci- dents. This it does by making public, twice a year, a tabulated summary of air accidents, attributing them by per- centage to engine failures and the like, but contamning no information that identifies the report with any particular accident. If a plane crashes in Kansas City and five lives are lost the accident will be investigated and the findings of the -investigators incorporated in the semi-annual report, but in sych a man- ner that it will be impossible to identify that crash. The reports of the investi- gators are not made public. ‘The department.bases its policy upon the fact that exact information con- cerning the cause of air accidents is often obtained from a few eyewitnésses who may or may not know enough about aeronautics to qualify them as experts any personal vanity that might insist on a favorable pose. One of the secrets of Taft's popularity was that he took the | & public frankly into his confidence and insisted on no shams. ———————— Few people understand precisely what a “glider” is expected to do. The fact that Lindbergh is willing to devote so much attention to it is an assurance that it has large possibilities in avia- tion. N Figuring on the tariff calls for acute mathematical ability and is good inten- sive training for figuring on voting in the Fall elections, —————— Malaria attacked the Prince of Wales. Even a most popular prince is compelled at times to share the dependence of common humanity on quinine. ——— e As a labor expert Secretary Davis sees some hard political work ahead in Pennsylvania. s SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Coquette. Springtime smilin’ from the sky— Pirst a blush an’ next a sigh, Next a crocus blossoming, ‘When a robin tries to sing! Springtime haughty and severe In frost jewels, drawing near— Springtime sweet and charming, yet New and always a coquette! Two Kinds of Patriot. “Do you regard our friend as a pa- triot?” “He’s one kind of patriot,” answered Senator Sorghum. “Are there two kinds?"” “Oh, yes! One loves his country and the other is only flirting with it.” Jud Tunking says he's thankful for superstition. If it weren't for the ground hog his relations would blame him for the weather. Unusual Experience. Bumped into a neighbor's car ©On a right unlucky day. Humbly I inquired, “What are Your demands for me to pay?” Said the neighbor, “Little harm Have you done, 50 be of cheer!” Life takes on a sudden charm— The millennium seems near! Reputed Source of Income. “Mrs. Flimgilt allows it to be hinted that there is a bootlegger in her family.” “I don’t believe it,” said Miss Cay- enne. “Maybe she encourages the sus- picion in order to improve her credit.” “There can be no Heaven,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “for one whose only idea of future bliss is to see his enemies in torment.” Progressive Discontent. The Communist, in language fine, Declared, “I'll show what's yours is mine.” Then in a Tage he quit the game. An anarchist had said the same, “You can't judge by name,” said Uncle Eben. “I knows folks who hired a man as a pastry cook because he could prove by de Government dat he had been a doughboy.” —cate. The Proper Punishment. From the Canton Dally News. Instead of giving some of those Sena- tors breakfast, President Hoover should have sent them to bed without their supper. Changing Values. From the Buffalo Evening News. A roll of $800, left in a New York taxicab, was returned. Just a few months ago the .driver would have thought it a tip. v Striking at Fundamentals. speaking with suthority. But these are tendencies and specialties could be told | willing to talk freely and tell all they in & few words and that was what, for may know with the understanding in &ufldnmu@mw- advanes thak their information will not From the Muncle Mtar. Getting & college education will be harder than ever with the National Au- % Chamber of Commerce trying to the colleglate fityver, . Everyman's Library, time-tried col- lection of books known to every high school and college in the United States, has taken on a new lease of life re- cently, a fact which will please millions of readers. ¢ It is true that this oldest of standard “libraries” might give wider margins iand larger types, but these two lacks are common to cheaply printed books. As far as we know, the young men and women who buy them are not offended because they do not approach $5 edi- tions in appearance. Wherefore the words of J. Ramsay Macdonald, proudly printed on the cover of the new catalogue, are emi- nently just: “I cannot imagine a bet- ter set of books for young men to pos- sess. They meet all the tastes and requirements, and bring culture—in the very best sense of the word—to the humblest of firesides. ‘The world of book printing and buy- ing has made a great splurge during the past decade on ‘large, luxurious and expensive editions, particularly in the fields of fiction, biography and travel. They are handsomely printed on ex- pensive paper, with the proper margins all around, according to the best stand- ards of William Morris. Yet there is now, and there always for want of a better term, is called a cheap book. The Everyman edition {filled the bill for many, many years, appealing especially to boys and girls who did not have a great deal of money, yet loved books enough to want to have their own. During the past 10 years, constituting what may be called an era of sophistication, several other “libra- ries” appeared upon the market, each notable for some one feature. One of them was ultra-modern, and probably hit the Everyman Library a severe blow in_sales, Merit, however, deserves to win, and often does, strange to say. So those who see the new life which the Ever: man has taken on during the past year or so will be glad of it. P SR The 25 most popular books in the library, after a sale of millions of copies over a long term of years, are given as follows: Jane Austen's “Pride and Prejudice”’ Charlotte Bronte's “Jane Eyre”; Samuel Butler" vaguely Comedy”. Dickens’ “David_Copperfield” ver Twis George Eliot’s “Adam Bede” and “Mill on the Floss”; Henry Fielding’s “Joseph Andrews” and “Tom Jones”; W. H. Hudson's “The Purpl Land”; Henrik Ibsen's “A Doll's House”; Marco Polo’s “Travels”; Herman Mel- ville's “Moby Dick”; Poe's “Tales of Mystery and Imagination”; ~Charles Reade's “Cloister and the Hearth’ Shakespeare's “Comedies,” “Historfes” and “Tragedies”; Scott's “Kenilworth'’ William Smith’s “A Smaller Classical Dictionary”; Stevenson's “Treasure Is- Thackeray’s “Henry Esmond” and “Vanity Fai Since this library always has had the support of educators, it is probable that and “Oli- sales to a large extent, so that the average reader will not be able to judge with precision as to how far the above list represents the free choice of the people. In the main, however, it is a representative selection, containing Miss Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, Scott, gflugupeln. Poe, Fielding, Stevenson, ot. The 100 most popular books in the library include the above and the fol- lowing: ‘Aucassin and Nicolette”; Jane Aus- ten's “Emma” and “Persuasion”; Barbusse's Fire”; Blackmore's Willilam Blake's ': Boswell's “Life of Johnson Emily Bronte's “Wuthering Heights’ Robert Browning's *‘Poem: ‘Thomas Bulfinch's “Age of Fable”; John Bun- “Pllgrim’s Progress”; Fanny Bur- Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands HE BULLETIN, Sydney.—There has been what is called a dread- {ul increase of juvenile crime in Sydney's western suburbs, and the influence of Hollywood films is blamed. Hollywood films certainly have a great deal to answer for, but so have publications which present pseudo- romantic pictures of crime in order to catch pennies. Bad boys are imitative, and fond of “showing off,” and it is the same with the criminal class and with persons of criminal tendencies. Maudlin accounts of malefactors, 99 per cent of | whom are really uninteresting, and ex- cessive descriptions of their evil deeds inevitably inflame subnormal minds, and feed the dangerous vanity of ruf- flans. Accounts of gunmen and their deeds are far too often embellished by the press with a wealth of detail and | imagination much too flattering to the underworld. The impression is gener- ally conveyed that these conscienceless villains are dashing feliows, and their vulgar womankind paragons of virtue and beauty! A good many of the juve- nile budding criminals are found to be silly young skylarkers out for a bit of newspaper glory, and who could be dis- g;r.:d with some well aimed police ots. * oK ok ok France Sets Price on Sports Articles. Le Matin, Paris—There exists in the financial law-code a certain schedule “B,” which establishes the maximum prices which may be paid for any arti- cle or equipment used in sport, after which the payment of a higher price makes the article a luxury, and subject to taxation as such, at the rate of 12 per cent. The price fixed upon most articles of sporting outfit is 140 francs, with the exception of any implements, such as rods and nets, used in fishing. For these adjuncts, one must pay the luxury tax, if they cost more than 45 francs per article. ‘That such a discrimination is a grave injustice, every one agrees, but it has been impossible as yet to obtain any modification of this part of the public revenue law. So a fishing-pole costing 50 francs continues to be an article of luxury in the eyes of Mr. Tax-Bureau, while a tennis racket that costs 140 francs is an article of indispensable necessity, and can be considered a lux- ury under no circumstances whatsoever, A delegation composed of selected members from all the fishing clubs in France has been organized to call upon the minister of finance and demonstrate to him the anomaly of this situation. ke Words Taken From Dialects Held Good Spanish. El Nuevo Diario, Caracas.—The Span- | ish Academy is incorporating in its mas- ter dictionary many *“Venezuelanisms,” some of which we quote in our pages from day to day. In some cases there are merely local spellings of Castilian forms. In our own vocabulary, we have come through habit to regard as good Spanish many words taken from the dialects of the aboriginal tribes. Such of these words as are in common use, and have a significance not derivable from any word or root authorized by the academy, are taken bodily into the dic- tlonary of the Spanish Academy as ‘‘Venezuelanisms.” It is right that the Spanish tongue should so enrich itself, for Spanish is not the language of decadent nation, but the living, vital e: pression of more millions, possibly, than speak any other tongue; certainly more than speak any other tongue in a purity that is universal, whether written or n, save on such occasional local idioms, as the “Venezuclanisms” alluded to above, which are appropriated to ex- press commodities, customs or condi- tions n digenous to Iberian life and thought. In all other respects the la guages of Spain, of of Mex: has been, a legitimate field for what, | teachers have been able to influence | Henri | Highlights on the Wide World ney's “Evelina”; Carlyle sartus”; an anthology, “A Century of Essays” Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” | Cooper’s “Deerslayer” and “Last of the | Mohicans”; Dana's “Two Years Before |the Mas! Dickens’ “Great Expecta- | tions,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” “Old Curi- | osity” Shop,” “Pickwick Papers, |of Two Cities”; Forster's “Life Charles Dickens”; Dostoieffsky's “Crime | and Punishment”; Alexandre Duma's | “Count of Monte Cristo” and “The | Three Musketeers'; Eliot's “Romola” |and “Silas Marne Emerson's “Es- | says”; “Everyman”; 'Everyman’s Eng- |lish Dictionary; Franklin's *‘Autobiog- { | raphy”; Goethe's “Faust”; Goldsmith’ "‘V]car of Wakesield’ Hawthorne's | “House of Seven Gable: and “The | Scarlet Letter*; Eomer's “Iliad” and| | ““Odysse: Hugo's “Les Miserables” Ibsen's “Ghosts” and “Peer Gynt”; Irv |ing’s “Sketch Book”; Willlam Jame: “Selected Papers Philosophy"; | Keats' “Poems”; Kingsley's “Westward |Ho"”; the Koran; Lamb's “Essays of Elia”; Lytton’s “Last Days of Pompeii” | Machiavelli's “The Prince | “Morte d'Arthur”; Poems”; Melville ;Golden Treasure b D “Diary" | Plutarch’s * Poe's “Poems” Augustine’s “Confessions’ Scott's ‘Heart of Midlothien, Ivanhoe,” “The | Talisman”; Sheridan’s “Plays”; Smol- | lett’s “Roderick Random"; Sophocles® | ‘Dramas”; Spinosa’s “Ethics”; Sterne’s “Tri “Sentimental Jour~ “Master of Ballan- iver's Travels”; Tol- Anna Karenina”; Tomlinson's The Sea and the Jungle”; Trollope's “Barchester Towers”; Vasari's “Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects”; | Whitman's “Leaves of Grass, 2N Lewis Carroll's “Alice in Wonder- land,” one of the world’s popular books, |both with adults and children, is not included among the best sellers. Neither is Caesar's “Commentaries.” | _So the reader may see that there is nothing terribly definite about such lists, after all. They are indicative of something or other, but it will not do |to push them too hard. The reader | brought up on the tradition of the | American school system will see at a glance the part the teachers have played in the sale of such books. Yet he would be a hardy man, indeed, who would insist that such lists do not rep- resent the free choice of the people. The lover of books will find much amusement and some instruction in matching his own knowledge of the world's literature against these 100 most popular books.” Surely a majority of them ought to have been read by any one interested in books. It is almost impossible to see how one could have escaped reading most of them. Yet the happy thing about the Every- man is that it gives a reader a taste of a great many things, and whenever he finds something peculiarly to his! liking he may leave the rest alone and | concentrate on his find. (Thué after all, is the of rea When a boy or girl, reading | “Pickwick Papers” because ge has be'e]lgl told to, discovers that Dickens tastes good to him, he will go on reading Dickens because he wants to. | Or it, by chance, he reads “The Count of Monte Cristo” on a young com- | panion’s suggestion, he may decide to | 8o on with a lifelong love for the heroic |man of French letters who so happil: | has been called * rather than a writer. g! Milton's “Poems” Plato's “Republis great happiness | | | The only criticism which has ever been | made against the set of books under ' consideration is that the type page is| | rather crowded and the margins too| narrow. Yet it is perhaps true that the | | young people who mostly buy these | | books care little about such things. And | When they grow older and come to real- | ize the gain in a fair, large page, with | wide margins, they will continue to keep | their shelf of the Everyman in an hon- | ored position in the home library be- cause it deserves to be there. | ico, of Cuba_and of the Philippines and |all” other Spanish colomu%&m, are identical. This unanimity is born of noble origin. More than any other tongue .we revive the glories of ancient Rome. Caesar and Cicero would have | no difficulty understanding us were they | to reappear today. * Ok ox % Rio de Janeiro Honors Young News Vendors. A Noite, Rio de Janeiro.—A Noite recently inaugurated the banquet hall in its new building with a feast in honor of the newsboys. All the young sellers of the city’s journals were invited, and an elaborate repast was prepared for all, We consider these little news merchants those upon whom we are mostly de- pendent for the sale of our paper, and are glad of an opportunity to show our appreciation, by dedicating our new hall in such a manner. The boys, our in- defatigable co-workers and well-wishers, we trust enjoyed the function as much as we did, and we judged from the noise that the affair was a complete success. We trust that the campaign for the quiet city will never reach the point where the shouting of the little news vendor will be prohibited, though our | newsboys in Sao Paulo have been ar- rested not only for shouting the news, but for even displaying the pictures and headlines of A Noite in the streets, * ok ok ¥ Firemen Held in High Regard. La Prensa, Buenos Aires.—The fire department of the capital has long since earned the sympathy and gratitude of the people for the superb functioning of its personnel, without any private con- siderations or interests ever interfering with the order and discipline required by the exigencies of its work, or necessi- tating the exactions of the quasi-mili- tary control under which the men are organized. The career of the firemen is a pecul- farly arduous one. Thss not only have their regular daily work, of a technical nature, which must be attended to with precision and thoroughness, but they are subject at any moment to be called to duties of great risk and prime necessity. The imposition of these onerous duties, in the daily round, offers a dis- tinct jeopardy to the public good, how- ever, for as often as not the firemen are not at their best when thev are called to & fire. Their strength and vitality should not be exhausted in these menial tasks, but rather conserved for the dangerous occasions when their ability to act promptly and vigorously may preserve the entire community from disaster. If it happens, as seems very likely, that the firemen are continually re- quired to accomplish work at their sta- tions which reduce their physical res ance, and enervates them for their real duties, it is only right that they should ask for modification of the regimen to which they are subject. e A Chance for Genius. From the New Castle News. So far none of the modern composers has written a symphony to be played by two loose tire chains spinning in the slush. N The Back-Pounder. e Duluth Herald. not enough to be tolerant to- ward our enemies, There is the friend who slaps us on the back—we must, too, be charitable in our opinion of him. Prom the Tt is ——— | NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM I G. M. MY TROPICAL AIR CASTLE. Frank M. Chapmen. D. Appleton & Co. Chagres River, dammed, wrought an astonishing change in the features of the Panama Zone. Checked in its natural flow, to meet a purpose of canal construction, the confounded river spilled itself in reckless urgency over the surrounding land. = Wide bodies of water took the place of green fields. Valleys became lakes; Hilitops, islands. The shore line of these, a maze of cove and creek seeking inlet to the jungle depth and greenery that had been left by such strange and flighty behavior on the part of a full- grown river, a supposedly sedate stream. Upon such an outcropping of land from the surrounding sea is Barro Colorado. A red clay hill-summit made over into an island of hospitable scope and promise. A veritable Noah's Ark of a place besides, to which in the great overflow bird and beast retreated for safety. Not all the animals of earth marching in “two by two,” to be sure, but, instead, & truly representa- tive abundance of animals native to s this tropical quarter. This Ark of Refuge, this Barro Colo- rado, has become a happy hunting ground for the explorer of indigenous life, plant and animal; for the scientist bent upon research within these fields. Barro Colorado has become a sanctuary by legal enactment. It has been for- mally organized as an institute of re- search. And Barro Colorado looks ex- actly like an Ultima Thule for the hunter of native characteristics and be- |G haviors on the part of local flora and fauna. Remote, serene, undisturbed, prolific—asking only to be left in peace and safety, here is a paradise for the tribe of original investigators. It is upon Barro Colorado that Frank M. Chapman, “curator of birds in the American Museum of Natural History,” built his “tropical air castle” in order to add still further to his already large knowledge by “Nature Studies in Pan- ama.” Not birds alone, you see, become the preoccupation of Mr. Chapman at this particular point of rare opportu- nity, but, instead, the whole natural life of the place moves spontaneously into the engrossing quest of this ex- perienced and trained investigator. So with the birds, this scientist's prime preoccupation, come the other animals of the summit isle. And in company with both of these is a mot- ley of plant life inextricably inter- woven with their own existence to which the author pays adequate due of acceptance and defined relationship. * Kk ok ‘The prime object of this book is to give the news—the authentic animal and plant news of Panama. To give such dependable news acceptably it must be fresh, simple, communicable, with its general theme one of substame tial, inherent interest. And here you are with a story that is 100 per_ cent | fact, rounding up the animals of Barro Colorado in an economy of daily ex- istence that is tremendously absorbing. Not a heavy line in the entire record— and scientists are, sometimes, dreary under their dead weight of pure truth. Not this man. A good teacher, with all of his other powers, Dr. Chapman, the daily stories all done, gives, finally, his list of birds for the ready use of the student, * Surprising, at the outset, to meet so many that we already know. Not only surprising, but warming, too, as 1t is to meet in a strange crowd this jand that one whom we have known be- fore. Makes for geniality and better acquaintance all around. So it does here. And with the birds there are other interesting inhabitants on Barro Colorado. Monkey, puma, peccary, ocelot, tapir, coati, and so on and so on, One story, as charming as it is pitiful, has to do with the “conquest of Claudia,” a waif of a monkey, who ‘fell into the hands” of Dr. Chapman when she was only a baby and upon whem he expended all of his arts of kindness and understanding. Every- thing moving forward with Claudia, seemingly domesticated and happy, until one day there came the “call of her tribe.,” And at this point Dr. Chapman makes confession that he ought to have let her go—and so he ought. But, I suppose in missionary mood, he refrained from giving Claudia , her freedom—and Claudia died of the refusal. However—this is about the only count against this man, making “nature studies in Panam And the book is not only a solid body of useful information along its own line, but it is also & clear delight—save .for Claudia—from the first page to the last one. * e Now and then Dr. Chapman falls into a sort of beatitude over his good for- tune in Panama—over its richness of material, over the rare opportunities of- fered by this fact, by the freedom, by the aloofness of his” human relations. In such moments he climbs to a high place and looks off toward Taboga, “whence Pizarro sailed, and toward old Panama, scene of Morgan's raid.” Looking below him—“to see bullring and ballfield at a glance and the cities of Panama and Ancon lying side by side is to contrast vividly expressions of two cultures. The - wide-spreading, graceful pavilions of the Gorgas Hos- pital tell an unequaled story of man's conquest of disease, and the narrow sil- ver line of the canal leading to the Miraflores locks is, in part, one of the fruits of this victory. The administra- tion building, the orderly rows of at- tractive dwellings, the docks and ma- chine shops at Balboa are all parts of the machine through which Canal Zone life functions flawlessly. The airplanes above their field, the troops at Amador, the fortified islands beyond and the men-of-war at anchor in thé bay are symbols of protection and hence of peace. And as I entered the forest and was greeted by the exquisitely pure, mellow, appealing notes of the wren I had come to hear, I asked myself could one find deeper inspiration from the beauties of nature, the romance of his- tory, the works of man, and the songs of birds? A high uote of joy that is, certainly all the more joyous, for hav- ing produced a work that is sound in useful knowledge, that is beautiful and companionable throughout its full course. N SEED OF LIBERTY: The Story of the American Colonists. E. Keble Chat- terton. The Bobbs-Merrill Co. This great story—it is & truly great | story—ends with America’s Declaration of Independence in its adoption on July 4, 1776. It begins far back, long before Columbus—begins with the sea strivings of hardy mariners, who, # their rude craft, gained little by little, scant and precarious mastery of the waters. As knowledge deepens and broadens | it becomes manifest that every con- siderable human achievement is sourced in remote beginnings whose ultimate significance had no part whatever in those far and crude outreachings of peoples and individuals, Any one of the marvels of the present may be traced back to innumerable trials, to as many seeming failures, in other ages that were bent, maybe indirectly, upon the end only now so gloriously reached. Such is the stand upon whis this epic book is founded. The story of “America striving for liberty ever since those remote days of ili-found ships wallowing in Atlantic_waves to- ward an uncharted coast. It is, With all the sadness, the courage, the enter- prise, the follies and disappointments, one of the most human as well as one of the most fascinating chapters in the volume of the world records. How- ever we study this subject—as the account of ploneering, the evolution po- litical autonomy, the peopling of the seaboard, or the beginning of Western culture—we find therein the, compelling ‘qualities of an epic drama, which has for its background a tapestry of sea and ships, with rugged sun-tanned sail- ors, weather-stained hulls and storm- o Nearly a Twin, From the Omaha World-Herald. Discovered that ice cream was in- vented in 1777. Practically as old as the Fourth of Julg, torn canvas. For, if ever a country owed its very soul to seafaring, it is America.” Pitched to such high key, Mr. Chatterton goes back to the forgot- ten centuries when the Mediterrancan was the school of all seamen. When the I This is a special department, devoted | solely to the handling of queries. This | Ppaper puts at your disposal the services | of an extensive organization in Wnsh-; ington to serve you in any capacity that relates to information. This serv-| ice is free. lure to make use of it| deprives you of benefits to which you are entitled. Your obligation is only 2 cents in coin or stamps, inclosed with your inquiry, for direct reply. Address The Evening Stat Information Bureau Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washing- ton, D. C. Q. Who made the first s corded for talking picture: . R, A. Will H. Hays, president, Motion | Picture Producers and Distributors of | America, Inc., made a short specch as an introduction to John Barrymore's “Don Juan,” the first Vitaphone talk- | ing picture, and is therefore the first to have made a speech for the talkies, Q. When did Paul Whitem:; his orchestra?>—R. H. A. Paul Whiteman organized “White- | man's Orchestra” at Los Angeles in 1919, a dance organization, which played | chiefly in New York until 1924. He gave his first jazz concert in New York in 1924, Q. Are any women members of the New York Stock Exchange?—J. C. A. No woman has secured a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, Q. What is the picture which occu- ples a circular room in Atlanta, Ga.?— peech re- | R. an form . A. P, A. In the Cyclorama in Grant Park, Atlanta, hangs the painting of the Civil War battle, “The Battle of Atlanta.” This weighs 18,000 pounds, measures 40 feet in height and 400 feet in circumference. At one time it was sold for $1,000, bui_ $500,000 would not buy it now, according to a local autharity. One hundred thousand persons view it annually. ;dpnlers" in the weight of silk thread.— thread, the size being measured in denier: The French denier weighs one-twentieth part of a gramme. basis for raw and thrown silk ado) by the permanent committee of the Paris International Congress of 1900 was a fixed length and & variable ‘weight, the standard of length being 450 meters and the weight the denfer. Thus a bale of silk of 13 to 15 deniers means that a thread is required of which 450 meters, measured off, will weigh between 13 and 15 denlers, Silk is reeled as fine as 8 to 10- deniers and as coarse as 28 to 30 denlers; for some purposes even 38 to 40 deniers. Q. How are the small, tublike boats, called “koofahs,” which are used in Southwestern Asia, propelled?—H. L. P. A. Koofahs have salls as their only means of propulsion. Q. What does “laissez-faire” mean?— E. T. P A. The full expression of which laissez-faire is the first element is “laissez-faire, laissez passer,” which means “let do or make, let pass or .” The whole expression is inter- Preted as meaning “non-interference.” Q. Why was the city of Newport News given that name?—V. K. A. Newport News received its name in honor of two men—Capt. Christopher Newport and Capt. (or Sir) William Newce. The word “News” is a corrup- tion of the latter name. Q. Who was the first president of Liberia?>—R. 8. A. Joseph Jenkins Roberts was the last governor under the Colonial Society of Liberia and the first president. He Q. Please explain the use of the term | A. Silk. is graded for thickness of | ‘The | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 2Y FREDERIC ]. HASKIN, served from 1842 to 1856 as president, and was called back to office again in 1871, serving until 1875. He died in Liberia, 1876. He was an octoroon, and ‘was born in Virginia, 1809, Q. How many persons can stand in- side the head of the Statue of Liberty? -R. P. G. A. Fifteen or twenty persons can stand on the inside platform in the head and about the same number three steps lower, but the latter group not have a satisfactory view. Q. Is the word “pergol on the first or second sy! ?2—T. €, A. It is accented on the first syilable. Q. Which State has the most timberp -S. F. A. Oregon has the most. It ha 26,000,000 acres requiring fire protess tion. Q. When will the new Welland Cangl be opened?—T. A. N. A. It is scheduled to open July 31, 1930. Q. From what countries did Thomas A. Edison’s ancestors come?—M. B. A. The ancestors of Thomas Alva Edison were mainly Duteh. His father's ancestors trace back to Revolutionary families on Long Island. His grand- father was a_banker. His mother was a cultured Massachusetts woman of Scotch ligeage. Q. When was it that a snow spoiled the Mardi Gras carnival in New Or= leans? I think it was in the ninetfes.— accented only remaining G, P. 'A.’ It was in February, 1899, Q. Who was the first book agent in America?—F. A. A. Parson Mason Locke Weems, first biographer of George Washington, was America's first itinerant book . A biography of Weems, just published, reveals that with a copy of his “Life of Washington” under one arm and tracts on morality under the other he made house-to-house canvasses of the citi- zens of the then young Nation. Q. How many stock companies are there in this country now?—J. L. L, A. Billboard Magazine says that be- cause of the transient character of stock companies, which are constantly opening and closing, it is impossible to give an authentic estimate. Surveys are made from time to time, but in a few weeks the figures may be radlcllx changed. At a guess, there were 1 operating in the United States and Canada the week of February 17, 1930, Q. What is the national anthem of Germany?—R. M. W. A. The present anthem of Germ: is “Deutschland uber Alles.” The Rels anthem is “Die Wacht am Rhein.” Q. Has the atom of hydrogen been split into two gases?—E. S. A. The Bureau of Standards says that the atom of hydrogen has not been split into two different gases. What was discovered was that hydrogen gas contains two different types of hydrogen moleculés, and a partial separation of these two types has been effected. Q. How was the hanging bridge near Canyon City, Colo,, built?—W. G. S. A. The hanging bridge of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad was designed and built by C. Shaler Smith in 1879, By placing the bridge close to one wall it was possible to.support the floor sys- tem on that side on a bench wall and one girder span. But on the other side three girder spans were used, supported by eyebar hangers suspendea from two “A" frames, supported from the two sides of the gorge. This bridge is situ= Ewld in Royal Gorge, near Canyon City, olo. Although a plurality of the votes in # referendum conducted by the Ameri- n Nature Association was cast for the wild rose as choice for the American mational flower, there is promise of op- position to the selection. Ratification by Congress, it is pointed out, after all, won't change personal preferences. “According to the most recent esti- mate,” remarks the New York Sun, “the population of the United States is 122, 000,000. Thus it appears that 40-100 of 1 per cent of the population, includ- ing Indians not taxed, were sufficiently interested to record a preference for the wild rose—not a convincing demonstra- tion. The wild rose is a pleasant enough roadside decoration, though it does not elicit enthusiasm from farmers When it establishes itself in the crevices | of stone walls. Its blossom is a fragile bloom. This gratifies the cynical, be- cause when wayside despoilers pluck it, not yet plumped for a national flower. Perhaps our ballot will be marked for an exotic orchid—a transplanted for- eigner would excellently symbolize a country made great by transplanted hu- | man beings.” ¥k % Emphasizing the point that its own State of Washington was strongly in favor cof the columbine for the national i T emblem, the Seattle Daily Times tates as to the result of the balloting: “How little chance Washington and other States that favored the columbine had in the contest may be seen by ex- amining the record. The wild rose is the State flower of Iowa, the Cherokee rose is Oklahoma’s flower, and the rose is New York's. Also the rose is the national flower of England. Consider~ ing everything, it is remarkable that the columbine made so good a showing. One is sorely tempted to suggest that the jury was packed against the lovely blossom named for the dove. It will be argued that the English flower is the cultivated rose, while the American preference is for the wild rose, a differ- ent member of the great family. How- ever, we might well have left the rose for England and picked a flower of our dwnr “No one could dispute the beauty of the wild rose,” concedes the Chatta- nooga News, but that paper upholds the argument that “it has been the national flower of England for hundreds of years,” and argues as to an American choice: “It does not grow as exten- sively in the United States as the colum- bine. In the South a great favorite of the voters was the dogwood. Soon the creamy white of this beautiful tree will be adorning our forests. Some Southern cities are transplanting it to their drive- ways and parks. Ponce de Leon avenue P journeys were no longer than the day- light hours, with landings for the nights of darkness and uncertainty and fear. Then the slow and wavering growth— better craft, better seamen, more daring’ lengths from shore, better knowledge of the ways of storm and sea, clever management of these. And so, out from the great inland sea of the an- cients. Out into the Atlantic skirting its coasts with a Henry of Portugal, or another, to add knowledge and daring and skill to new enterprises. And all the time these trials of the sea were unconsciously heading upon the later navigators—those we have come to know a little about through the records —true and false—of history itself. It is from this point of view and develop- ment that the great story d moves—really moves in a majesty of action and of word as well—on to our own days of discovery and trial, of suc-~ eess and failure, of long sight and sh on through the many expedients that have brought us, finally, to the place where this country now stands. What place? That is not the point. Besides, The point is that here id book whose founda- nobody knows. is a very splend! tion s Choice of National Flower Stirs Debate Wise and Otherwise in Atlanta is already lined with doge woods. Of course, mere voting in & referendum does not make the wild rose the national flower. A bill in Congress would be necessary. However, this wild flower contest has served a useful pur- pose—it has directed the attention of the people toward the beauty to be found in their forests and meadows.” * ok ok ok | “The wild rose, it seems,” accor to the Geneva Daily Times, “got 492,81 of the 1,067.672 votes cast—150,000 votes ahead of its nearest competitor, the c?lumblgmhflxu on‘xer flower came even close. Such favorites as the dogwe violet, goldenrod, daisy and mounmum laurel finished far down the list. We'll all continue to have our favorites, of course, no matter what flower is offi~ cially chosen. But the wild rose, if & choice mus be made, is a good choice. That this flower “will do as well as |any"” is the conclusion of the Appleton Post-Crescent, with the added comment; “We have a national musical setting all ready to go with this choice. Mac~ | Dowell's ‘To a Wild Rose’ is one of the | loveliest of American compositions, But why ask Congress to ‘ratify the selec- tion'? Did a Scotch parliament ever officially designate the thistle as the | national flower of Scotland, or an Irish "par:‘igment set its sanction on the sham- rock?” ol “The only thing that could be against the wild rose,” in the judgment of the Cincinnati Times-Star, “is that it is a bit too shy to symbolize a proud and self-assertive republic of continental dimensions. We like the phlox very much indeed. It is democratic without being plebeian, is a sturdy grower, and turns a friendly face to mankind.” Be- cause of the decorative masses that it makes, we like the magnolia, which is native; and the buginvillaea, which in origin, however, is East Indian; the zinnia and dahlia, which are Mexican; the canna, which is tropical; the broom of the Northwest, which ‘is Scoteh; scarlet sage, which is Mediterranean, and the gladiolus, which is per! African. When Congress takes up { matter of ratifying the selection already made, we apprehend the formation of mountain laurel, poinsettia and trailing instead of the wars of s of regional vendettas against the sweetest of their kindred.” “The ballot,” contends the Oakland Tribune, “may have a purpose in inter= esting more people in wild flowers. It did not paint a single petal.” That paper also says: “It remains the same wild rose by the roadside, and the glories of the violet, dogwood, laurel, daisy and the rest are in no way dimmed.” The Tribune also argues: “One may say, after the vote is taken an the flower designated, ‘What of it?* Is anything gained by naming a free flower to office?” On the fitness of the choice the Oakland paper adds ere are reasons why the wild rose should lead the lists. It is found in so many Places, is so pleasing and gracious. The Violet perhaps is a bit too modest for honors so high; the goldenrod suggests hay fever, and in office would be em= barrassed 'by a sneezing minority; the American beauty, though it carry the Nation's name, is too formal and is not associated with the open spaces. Thers are many parts of the country wii: the mountain laurel is never seen.” D, No Clues. From the Detroit News. St. Paul candidates who put placards on ule&hone poles will be ted., Since the pictures are invariably hand- :l‘nne'rm the subject, they will be of tance in running doy ooy a) g down the e —— Preparedness. From the Cleveland News. gunmen may invade hos‘x!nm- it i b vision, w] medium is no shade below the big and dramatic qual- ity of the gutiook mnu. but it isn't as C] to shoof its 't de mp"lll t have g;mu under thei