Evening Star Newspaper, March 11, 1930, Page 8

Ag ' THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON. D. C, TUESDAY, MARCH 11 Yo ~ . THE EVENING BTAR WASHINGTON. D. O, TUESDAY, MARTH IL 98 @—— THIS AND THAT THE EVENING STAR | o~ With Sunday Morning Edition. | WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY.......March 11, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES « . Editor ‘The Evening Star Nt per Company 11ty st “Ang Benhavisanta_ Ave New Otice: 110 8 i 8’& ke Michi ‘,gdfla. Shronean Office. 14 Regent Si.. London: England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. m enine Star... . .. 45¢ per month ening and Bundsy Star (when 4 Sundays) .. 60¢ per month The Evening agd Sunday Star (when 5 Mundavs) ... 65¢ ner month ‘The Sunday Sti ar ' of S5 D8r COBY tion made at the end of each month, Col Qiders maz be sent (o by mail or telephone Ational 500G: Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. | Maryland and Virginia. 7 and Sunday. .. .00; 1 a5 "on1y All Other States and Canada. E}:‘J’ ;&l, Sunday. ) yr.. $12.00: 1 mo.. $100 | a5 0n1y 1y B0 me: &8 "1 Assoc .e'a appn i at 18 exclusi 0 Ehe Uee 101 ‘repunhearion of i mow e Batches credited fo it or ot ‘otherwise cred. news RedIn (his pubijRed Perein. dispatches b The Greatest Problem. Herbert Hoover is the President of the United States. He is also the fa- ther of sons. Frcm these two viewpoints he outlined one of the Nation’s un- solved problems last night when, speak- ing at a dinner in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America, he said: ‘Together with his sister, the boy is the most precious possession of the| American home. I sometimes think that one of the sad things of life is that they will grow up. Literature and lore havé éstablished our boys in varied relations to life; as a growing animal of superlative promise, to be fed and ‘watered and kept warm; as a periodic nuisance; as a joy forever; as the in- carnation of destruction; as the father of the man; as the child of iniquity; as the problem of our times and the hope of the Nation. In any event, he is a complex of cells with affection, filled with curiosity as to every mortal thing, radi- ating sunlight 4o all the world; en- dowed with dynamic energy and the impelling desire to take exercise on all occasions. He is a perpetual problem to his ts, and the wisdom in his consists more often in the determination of what to do with him next r%b« than in what he shall do ‘when goes out into the cold world. The Boy Scouts of America have §rown in numbers and in prestige in the last two decades because they have held out a partial, but none the less tangible, solution of the problem not only “of our times” but of all times. In a complex age the Boy Scouts have f | siderable period. Great sums were final- destroyed now. But to remove it at this time, before the Eighth avenue subway is completed, would seriously reduce the north and south rapid transit accom- modations. To postpone the whole work x: Sixth avenue until the Eighth ave- e subway is finished to take over the Joad now carried by the Sixth avenue “L” means delay that will be pald for n terms of congestion. So it is a sort of viclous circle of dif- ficulties. Tt is exactly the same sort of thing that has been happening in New York for the past two generations, rapid transit facilities not keeping up with the increase in population and business, the stretching out cf distances of daily travel, the solution of one problem de- veloping another. This presént Sixth avenue elevated case has its own com- plexities. The question has been raised whether some of the cost of removal and recompense to the owning corpora- tion should be paid by the property owners along the route. When the ele- vated was constructed a good many vears ago the question of compensation tor easements adversely affected by the aerial line—easements of light, air and access—occupied the courts for a con- ly paid to the property owners on this account. Now the obstruction is to be removed and the impaired easements restored. Fully two generations have passed since those old suits were set- tled. The properties have changed hands in many cases several times. New owners will now perhaps be faced with part of the cost of removing the struc- ture that sixty years ago or so was both hailed as a public blessing and scored as a public nuisance. - The Supreme Court Vacancy. The duty of selecting a member of the Supreme Court of the United States has again fallen to Presidént Hoover. No appointment Mr. Hoover has yet made will attract so much attention. The fight which was made recently against - the appointment of Chief Justice Hughes, on the ground that he represented too conservative a view of Government and of property, focused attention strongly on ‘the Supreme Court. The appointment of a second member of the court rated as conserva- tive as Chief Justice Hughes would doubtless raise another storm in the Senate., ‘The people of the United States look with respect to the Supreme Court. It is the highest judicial tribunal in the | land. Its interpretation of the law is final. And because its interpretation of the law is final, there are critics of the court among those who pass laws which the court holds unconstitutional. Indeed, these critics would take away stepped in and offered harried parents the comfort that lies in offering to take the boy out of the house, off the streets, away from the alley and the dump; to provide a safety valve that will let him Tid himself of normal steam pressure ‘without damaging himself and the im- mediate surroundings, and to take charge of him in a manner that offers a pretty safe guarantee that he wil be réturned to mother safe in wind and limb and soul. But the members of the Boy Scouts can be counted in terms of thousands, while the number of indi- vidual problems that the Boy Scouts must solve are to be counted in mil- lions. The Boy Scouts offer a partial solution. Their chief task is to grow. The problem of which the President spoke is one that must be shared fundamentally between the two offices that the President symbolized—the State and the family. ‘The American boy growing up today is the hope and salvation of both of them. If either falters in its job, the boy is going to be left between them to &hift for himself. While he does this often and very successfully, he natu- rally fails in enough cases to make the problem of his disposition the serious matter it is. President Hoover offered the thought last night that one of the essential additions that must be made in the handling of our boys is to in- culcate in their training not only “Reading and 'Riting and 'Rithmetic,” but & fourth and major “R" that rep- resents “Responsibility.” That addi- tion can be brought about in part by broadened curricula and by such agencies as the Boy Scouts, catering to the development of the boy's character as an individual away from home. The State's chief contribution, however, lies in providing adequate rewards to those willing to shoulder the responsibility. ‘The State must somehow seek to con- vince the boy that it is incumbent upon him and worth his while to shoulder responsibility, not so much in the private affairs of his own life, but in the life of the State. The family will have fulfilled its function in providing the boy with a home—a function that unhappily seems to be losing prestige in an age when the boy's elders find that it can be dispensed with. The boy's elders can survive without it. ‘The boy cannot. The survival of the boy is by far the more important. e Justice Holmes is beyond question one ©of the most valued men who have sat on the Supreme bench. He vindicates the old theory that while young men must be depended on for energy, it is the old men who must supply counsel. r——— - New York’s Transit Complex. New York has paid severely in penal- tles for its growth in population and business, and it is continuing to pay in terms of inconvenience and congestion and transportation problems. The tardy provision of bridges, the slow construc- tion of tunnels and subways, the long retention of surface lines for transit, all plled up consequences that have caused much discomfort and some danger and expensive dislocations of trade. Just now an odd sort of problem arises in connection with the lack of co- ordination in the prosecution of the subway work. An underground line be- heath Eighth avenue Is in its last stages, to be completed in a few months. A line beneath Sixth avenue is planned, to be started soon. But the latter work cannot be instituted until some disposi- tion has been made of the old Sixth avenue elevated line, which for a con- siderable part of the route occuples the surface immediately above the projected tube. There are two ways of treating it to insure safe work on the subway: to from the court the right to say whether Congress has overstepped the limita- tions set by the Constitution in the enactment of laws, leaving to the legis- | lative body the sole right to determine what the law shall be. A majority of the two, houses of Congress, sometimes swayed by passion or desire for political advantage, would be in a position to say finally what should be the law, provided the Chief Executive should affix his signature to the bills sent him. If the Chief Ex- ecutive declined to sign, then a two- thirds vote in both houses of Congress would make the law. The court itself has divided on im- portant questions of construction of the law and ths Constitution. A division in the court itself has come to be recog- nized, with the conservatives on one side and the liberals on the other. The division, generally speaking, has been six on the conservative side and three on the liberal or progressive side in the present make-up of the court. With many economic questions confronting the country, problems that sometimes find their way to the court for final determination, the progressives in the Senate are intent, if possible, on in- creasing the number of “libsral” mem- bers of the Supreme Court, while the conservatives are intent upon maintain- ing the ascendency which they now have. The ideal theory is that members of the Supreme Court, casting aside all else, will determine cases brought to them merely on the law and the Con- stitution, hewing a straight line always. Under such a theory, the only qualifica- tions demanded of members of the court is that they shall be learned in the law and able to interpret it, and that they shall be of impeccable per- sonal integrity. The questions pre- sented, however, are sometimes capable of being honestly interpreted along dif- ferent lines. So complex have become conditions in this country that ques- tions involving new and unexpected problems arise. ‘There necessarily comes a latitude, under such condi- tions, that enable jurists to turn in one direction or another when it comes to interpreting the law in the light of the Constitution. Should the President now appoint a lieral to fill the present vacancy, it doubtless would do much to allay criti- cism, both of the court and of himself, which arose at the time of the selection of Chief Justice Hughes. Th: critics of the Hughes appointment have been de- cidedly in the minority. But it has been a vociferous minority, which has been able to make itself heard through the Senate and the press. It is unde- niable that there is one school of con- servative thought and another more liberal in this country today. It is fit- ting that attention should be given to both. There is, however, the need al- ways of protecting the rights of the people under constitutional guarantees and at the same time of maintaining the respect and admiration of the peo- ple for the Supreme Court. v No suggestions that seem practical have yet been offered for an effectual peace conierence between bootleggers and dry agents R TR Dead Permits. Traffic Director Harland has an- nounced that ten thousand District motorists have failed to renew their operators’ permits and that if they are arrested for traffic violations, regard- less of how trivial, they will face severe penalties for operating their cars with- out licenses. While no special drive on these delinquents is contemplated by the traffic office, the director feels that underpin it so as to hold the weight while the subway is being bullt or to remove it altogether. Underpinning would be very expensive and time-con- suming, and would possibly fail to safe- guard against disaster. Eventually the they should be warned of the infraction of the regulations so that penalties can be avoided by the prompt renewal of their permits. With this advice in mind, it is dis- ing permits, and if the date punched through the card has already passed, to g0 at once, by street car or as a pas- senger in an automobile, to the Traffic Bureau for a three-year renewal at one dollar per year. It takes only a very small violation of the traffic rules to cause a policeman to put the inevitable demand, “Let me see your permit.” The violation may be small, but it will im- mediately be transformed into a major one if the date noted cn the card has expired. Of course, some motorists will keep on driving on dead permits until they are caught. They know that their traffic record is so bad that much red tape and trouble will have to be gone through before they can get another and are perfectly willing to take the chance. Others are procrastinators of the worst kind. Being careful drivers, their per- mits are seldom displayed to policemen ! and are as seldom looked at by the own- ers themselves. Probably many of these permits have expired. In other cases motorists have taken up residence elsewhere than in the Dis- trict or have ceased to drive automo- biles. Therefore, the only ones who will heed the traffice director's advice are probably the procrastinators, and if they do they will save themselves much fu- ture trouble, oo i ‘Temporary dullness is reported from Atlantic Oity. The theory that sensa- tional reports of free and easy municipal methods attract visitors is not holding good. Old Father Neptune is the best patron saint any Atlantic coast resort evér had and Bacchus has always proved a poor substi.ut ——————— Communists are liberal in expendi- ture for political propaganda. Trotsky may not be altogether unwise in hunt- ing for cover so that he will not be expected to answer when Soviet tax- payers inquire where all the money is coming from. r——— If discussions of financial figures go much further beyond the billions, a system of mathematical abbreviations may be called for in fiscal calculations corresponding to that of the “light year” | the trees to in astronomy. —_————— Movie experts say that the element of psychologic conflict is essential to a good scenario. Authors should not neglect to study a Fox Film directors’ meeting. ————————— Another candidacy for governor is contemplated by Gifford Pinchot. As & political forester Mr. Pinchot still re- gards Penn's Woods as most attractive territory. ——————— A phase of unemployment not much discussed relates to the person who has & highly responsible job, but would rather play golf than attend to it. Activities to check the narcotic evil call for the vigilance of officials who are not to be soothed to slumber by any political sedatives. [—————_— SHOOTING STARS, BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Vernal Program. ‘The merry Spring song we will hear That oft we've heard before; “Twill ripple joyously and clear, Just as in days of yore. The early bird with cheery sound We'll welcome with a glee profound— And then a flareback will come ‘round Just as in days of yore. We'll sing about the purling rills That dance the meadows o'er; Of skies serene and blossoming hills Just as in days of yore. ‘We'll join the season’s glad refrain, Until we hear, with helpless pain, “The fruit crop's gone to smash again"— Just as in days of yore. An Orator’s Objection. “I understand that you do not ap- prove of grand opera.” “It sets a bad example,” replied Sen- ator Sorghum. “Instead of listening quietly when a principal performer tells ‘e something, the crowd on the stage talks back without hesitation.” Safe Measures. “80 you have encouraged your son to play the cello?” “Yes,” replied Farmer Corntossel, “he’s got to do something to occupy his time, and if he keeps trying to learn to use a crosscutsaw or a scythe, he's goin’ to hurt himself, Pride. The hen now chants her supercilious Blee. The porker stands on proudly pon- derous legs. It makes them grin with pleasure when they see ‘What's happened to the price of ham and eggs. Misanthropy. “An engagement ring is a beautiful object of sentiment.” “Beautiful, indeed!” replied Miss Cayenne. “What a pity it always has to have a man more or less associated with it!” “The hard-luck sto: said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “gets sympathy polite. But oft friends, in private, state, ‘It served him right!’ Patient Philosophy. I'd iike to have an aeroplane; An automobile I could use— But since these wishes are in vain, I'm thankful for my feet and shoes. “De way some people insisses on blievin’ in ghosts,” sald Uncle Eben, “makes me suspicious dat human na- ture would rather be skyart dan be happy.” ) Is Given One Way Out. From the Canton Daily News. It's pretty hard for a college professor to make enough money to live on these days, unless he happens to land a job as chauffeur for the foot ball coach. R Pretty Tough Either Way. From the Grand Rapids Press. It is about as bad to be old and bent as it is to be young and broke. Even a Taxpayer Will Smile. From the Des Moines Tribune-Capital. Nine times out of ten a soft answer turns away even the wrath of the tax- payer. ——r—————— Park Squeeze as Example. From the Fort Worth Record-Telegram. What a marvelous civilization we would have if all endeavor were as con- elevated must come down, and there are tinctly up to motorists to scan the centrated and active as that we use in Shose who contend that it should be perforated section of their blue operat- squeezing irito a sarking place! No one will be able to write the great | |novel of life in the National Capital without devoting a chapter to the let- ting out of the Government depart- ments in the late afternoon. Preferably he will select that bus section lying at the foot of Nineteen! street, where thousands pour out from large rambling structures called “tem- porary,” but which seem quite perma- nent, after all. | "This is a_low-lying neighborhood, a part of the Mall system, with the noble Lincoln Memorial and the stately shaft of the Washington Monument &S every- day neighbors. To the north and a little east is lower Seventeenth street, with its row of fine quasi-Government structures, such as the buildings of the National {Red Cross_and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Long familiar with the outpourings of humanity from such uptown build- ings as the Treasury Department, the writer here found the mass escape from the buildings to the south something of a novelty. He was down that way the other aft- ernoon at the precise time the exodus began. There were parked cars, street cars, busses and more private automo- biles coming down all the streets. It is & custom for thousands of wives to collect their respective husbands every evening—some way we like that word better than afternoon, because by 5 o'clock it seems more like evening-— and personally escort them homeward. “Look Homeward, Angel!” the title of Thomas Wolfe's fat book, might al- most do as the “theme song” of the 4:30 output of humanity down there. e * What does & Government emplg: think about when he goes through big_door to the street? Our guess is that he thinks about d inner. What could a man think about bet- ter at precisely 4:30 o'clock in the aft- ernoon? Then, if ever, come thoughts of Corn flakes, or bran, may do very well for breakfast, and for lunch, a cup of coffee and a couple of doughnuts may be sufficient, although searcely hygienic, ‘When evening falls and the ground reflection of Washington's shaft length- ens out to the east, and the sun begins to shine red as fire through the tops of the west, it is permissible that the thoughts of Government em- loyes and others turn naturally to efsteak. Perhaps the finest plece of news in the paper recently was that about the scientific bables who instinctively pre- ferred beef to spinach. Their little hands, spurning greens, 'greedily grasped beef. Here, at Ila: spinach had met its just Waterloo. No matter how great its appeal to the mind, through its vitamin content, it makes no _appeal now or ever to the taste. One may disguise it as he—preferably she—will, it is spinach still, a mess of greenery condensed by the action of water and heat to a glucose mass sup- posed to be “‘good for you,” but good for nothing else under heaven except to be spurned. So we love those babies, names un- known, who had the vast temerity, in the face of Holt and other infant spe- gin.llx‘u, to nb;‘nd as o‘::e man against e tyranny spinach. Spinach has wrecked countless home lives. It has turned the faces of hun- dreds of thousands of little children against their parents forever. Children are crafty little brutes. They may swallow their spinach, but they do so with dissimulation. They want ‘They prefer candy. They han- after pudding. Their little molars long to masticate crackers, hardtack, ice cream. Little children, turning their innocent faces dutifully toward their daily spin- ach, conceal behind those angelic exte- ple. ker fear, disrespect for parental opinions. riors utter hatred fog spinach, and, we | Not for authority. Authority can cram spinach down youthful throats, but it L UN! In the Carcel de Belen, or prison of the federal district, there occurred a near tragedy re- cently which gave the authorities much anxiety and alarm. It seems that some 500 inmates of the prison drew up a petition to the prison board complain- ing of the methods of the director of the prison, Col. Talamante, was signed in behalf of the 500, by the prisoners Rafael Travesi, confined for robbery, and by Augustin Orepeza, con- victed of felonious attack, but was sub- mitted to the officials after the release of the first named. ‘When the prison board called the second man, Orepeza, and acquainted him with the penalty for organizing a mutiny, he disclaimed all responsibility in the matter, saying that he signed the paper without know- ing what it was, a only because he had been offered a dollar, along with Travesi, for signing his name to the document, which was a very sensation- al_one. This ué;hmuon satisfied the court of the board, but not the 500 prisoners when they got wlnd"ol‘ é)h! autem;l"lél of Orepeza. - “Spy.” “traitor,” “renegade," “yellow dog,‘P were about the mildest of the terms they applied to him, after which they proceeded to “linchar” him. The guards, ncv.mr? the commotion and seeing Orepeza with his face bloody and being knocked about by the crowd of prisoners in the courtyard, mobilized, but were powerless to prevent the attack until they summoned the commandant of the prison, the same Col. Casimiro ‘Talamante, who immediately mounted a gallery and ordered the mutinous con- victs to their cells. Their fear of him and his methods was so manifest that they immediately dispersed and were locked in respective compartments. * K K K Predicts Fall Of Labor Government. Arab Falastin, Jaffa.—The following is the forecast of the Irish prophetess, Sara Modelli, for 1930: ‘“There will be more calamities and disturbances than in any other year of the twentieth cen- tury. The Labor government in Great Britain will fail because of the unem- ployment and the conditions arising in the Orient and in Arabia. In the middle of June the Arab lucky star will ascend from Palestine, and in Jerusalem the destiny of this old nation will be settled. France will not induige in any political complications like England, but will sat- isfy herself with friendly commercial treaties with the Arabs.” ‘The little Irish girl who utters the above prophecy goes into a continuous sleep for three consecutive days each month and keeps awake for the rest of the month. The wide-awake subcon- sclous mind of the prophetess is sup- gflud to answer any question during er sleep. * K ox % Sugar Beet Known as Farmers' Friend. Glasgow Weekly Herald.—While the cultivation of the sugar beet has almost completely disappeared in the High- lands, it is reported to be flourishing in England, where it is known as “the farmers’ friend.” Though in bulk the crop is not big, the yield in sugar content is very rich. In a year when the market price of potatoes does not meet the cost of rroduction the sugar beet is. eenllnlz populll". * * Launches Movement For Use of Foreign Clothing. The Trans-Pacific, Tokio.—The tailors of Japan are to launch a nation-wide movement for the greater use of for- eign clothing. By so doing they pro- pose to commemorate the anniversary of the day when an jmperial order made foreign style costume lmwr%at court. Such zeal on the part of the tailors Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands ‘The paper | many is admirable, “ut superfluous. That na- BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. takes more than that to make 'em like it. They want beef. M There is a tradition around Wash- ington that a great many Government workers eat dinner at 5 o'clock, and if that is true we want to be one of the first to congratulate them. o Custom is an absurd thing, at best, no matter how n or useful it may be. The custom of walting until full 6 pm. to eat rinner, or supper, as one chooses to call it, had its origin in another day, when there were no movies and no Amos 'n’ Andy. The Government clerk who leaves his office to go home and sit down at once to dinner is a_ helpful, honest type of citizen, who minds his own business— as long as it hurts no one else—and does as he pleases—as long as he harms no one. : If he wants to dine at 5, or 6, or 7, or at 8. or 9 o'clock, or whenever he wants to dine, we assure him that it is all right with us, and with all of us who belleve in the same course of action through life. ‘What a lot of things there are which would forbid us doing what we please! Yet certainly the average man or woman of today, in or out of the Gov- ernment service, comes a great deal nearer doing as he pleases than ever before, although in the main the mass ideas of humanity have grown more and more harassing. Even in so delightful a matter as books the urge of the day is to “keep up with them,” as though they were race horses galloping down a stretch, and we must kick up our heels, too, and after them as fast as we can go lest they cepeor. ‘Well, t 1s one way of looking at books, and at music, and at art in gen- eral, but we believe it is a very poor way to look at them all, and we refused to be coerced in that way, and we be- lieve the great majority of thinking men and women refuse, too. Does it not irk you to have some friend approach with a determined look, and ask if you have read “The Great Kidoodle,” I~ James Mashington Manners? No, you have not read it. “Why, it is a best seller! Every one is reading it.” The look which accom- panies these sentences says &s plain as day: “You are one of these absurd per- sons who insists on reading what he wants to read. Your silent contempt for my plan of keeping up with the new irks me mightily, so I am now and here getting my revenge by insinuating that he or she who does not read every single new book which comes on the market is an ignorant fool.” Of course, the person is a liar, for there were about 15,000 books published during 1929, and if he had read 24 hours a day from the first minute of January 1, 1929, to the present hour he could by no means have gone through a tenth of them. No doubt he is a cousin of the man who turned his radio set on six months ago and has not turned it off since, in an effort to see how long the tubes would last. We mean the tubes in the set, not those in his neighbors' ears, for the:latter must have given out days ago. Now happlly the neighbors are deaf—or insane. Either way one probably would be bet: ter off than listening to some one else'’s radio for 24 hours a day. As one looks at the hundreds of men and women pouring out of the depart- ment buildings as the sun begins to down, he is wondering about all of these things, and about many others, no doubt. Each observer will do his own little job of speculation, aided by the pictures painted on his mind by the faces which fiit by him, as their owners make for home at top speed. Going home! No, going home is not lugubrious, as the famous lai move- ment from “The New World” would insinuate. Often enough, perhaps as often as most of us deserve, it is a very engaging, interesting, happy and even thrilling process, whether we begin the movement from a Government de- partment or elsewhere. IVERSAL, Mexico City.— | tion-wide movement has been in full flood for years past,” swe all be- fore it. The capital was filled with Prince Albert coats and silk hats when the lm&eror gave a garden party, and, while they did not all vividly recall Bond Street, they were not, as was once the case, a collection of museum exhibits, jettisoned on these shores by past wave of fashion. The tai- lors are getting more skill as well as more custom, and the foreign-dressed Japanese is nowadays quite neatly fitted by native needlemen. * Kk ok Chinese Barred From Elevattor in Shanghai. China Weekly Review, Shangh: Alu-mu%h the signboards readi. X 5 e 0 o Wit oy ngha! 1} order of the Munlclpli Oounll’::l hllvz been removed for some time, the spirit which this arrogant, insulting piece of effontery typifies is not yet dead among certain elements of Shanghai's fore! population. This was forcibly brought to our attention recently when we en- tered an elevator in a foreign building on the Bund. Two Chinese lmmpus to enter the same elevator, but were stopped by the operator, who, pointing to a sign which hung above hflohcwd. indicated that this particular vehicle was for the use of foreigners only. The Chinese were indignant. They pro- tested. For answer, the operator closed the door in their faces. Since that incident we have learned that there are a number of buildings in Shanghai which enforce this petty, obnoxious ruling. In several of them Chinese clerks are required to use the rear entrances: in some cases they are obliged to walk up the stairs, being barred from the lifts. In one bullding there are two entrances and two banks of elevators, one for foreigners and one for Chinese. There is a sign in Chinese and English hung in the elevators re- served for foreigners, which reads: “Chinese employed in the building. please use eastern entrance and ele- vators.” . The other day we were descending in a foreign elevator with a Chinese friend (since he was not employed in the building this transgression of the inferior race was tolerated), who upon seeing the sign exclaimed, “A leopard does not change his spots!” The Eng- lish still harbor the intolerant views of their predecmn‘rx :t many decades ago. * * Firemen Protest Cut in Pay. Imparcial, Montevideo.—The economic situation in which the political elements of the republic find themselves placed, especially in the departments of the capital, instigated a movement of protest on the part of the subaltern personnel of the corps of firemen, who form in some respect a portion of the Metropolitan Guard, and are under federal supervision. The primal motif of the protest is the reduction in the ‘wages of this important unit, the reduc- tion being necessary because of the stringent financial circumstances of the government. Numbers of the firemen became insubordinate upon learning the new scale of remuneration, and ed to go on duty, which has resulted in their being placed under arrest. Other NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM L G M. THE DANCE OF LIFE. Havelock Ellis. The Modern Library. A “new book” only in the sense that the Modern Library confines its luues| to books that are permanently new. “The Danee of Life” is not philos- ophy, so Havelock Ellis says. Edging that way, maybe. A definite lpprulch.! possibly. Good for the majority of readers that It has stopped outside this | particular domain of thought. For | “philosophy” s a repelling word. Its!| content, not so much of hostile cast as that it has no meaning at all to the | average. Even to the student a degrce akead of the mere reader this subject rs neither proof nor program. To be sure, he s o weth‘tl.l det ‘§ “my philosophy of is or that,” bul is ltpbe!t a catch-phrase without sub- stance. Like us, this one has accepted the familiar formula, “philosophy is a love of wisdom,” 2n agrsement that im- mediately throws into a wide-open dis- putatious world a host of diverse views on the essence of “wisdom.” So, by and large, philosophy accruss to a budget of names, a rotation of sounds, gathered pretty much at ran- dom—Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, and so on through Germany, France, England and America, names and names names. Not even the clear service of ‘Will Durant has done much more to set the house of philosophy in order for the encouragement and invitation of curious students, eager to come to some understanding of the most bewilderin; In its destiny. * k x kx Havelock Ellis may not be a philos- opher. Though it is fairly certain that the craft would claim him as such and that the suspicion of the majority would lodge against him in this respect. However, he is beyond any doubt at all an artist, an artist in life, in the su- reme business of human existence. In is habit of mind a scientist as well as an artist. highest and best arz always one. How- ever, this man—artist or scientist—in of all phenomena, life in its nature and | Naval Observatory Perhaps these two at their | thinking about human behaviors is given to synthesis, to gathering a mul- titude of superficial differences into a handful of essential kinships. Just this way does the man of science work, dis- closing unity in vast bodies of seemingly diverse elements, producing order, sim- licity, clarity, revelation. And, just so, , does the artist work. Deeply impressed with the interrela- tlons and cadenced reactions of all parts of the universe, expressing itself grandly in the swinging rotation of ti spheres, expressing itself familiarly as well in the wavelike surge of the sea- sons, of day and night, of life and death and their counterparts of waking and sleep—indeed in every conceivable phase of life—Havelock Ellis gathers the world itself up in his own mind as a stupen- dous work of art. As a whole and in each of its parts here are cadence, pro- portion, balance, harmony, beauty and power—all in tune with some infinite, unfathomable in its inspiration, inex- haustible in its resources of expression. It is through some such conception as this—greatly deepened and widened, to be sure—that Havelock Ellis came to examine human life in some of its com- mon manifestations as of the pure es- sence of art itself. Dancing, thinking, writing, religion, morals—each an art, all subject to the common laws of art. Each potent and productive as it, in sincerity and tire- 8% |less effort, bends itsclf to the lawful spirit, the demanding spirit which must ever be the master in creative work. In the development of these themes, all illustrative of human activity as art it- self, Mr. Ellis moves, gradually, out from the logic of his thesis into many points of practical usefulness in the achievement of a proper conception of his own point of view and in a seizure of ways and means for testing and making use of this. “Dancing and building,” he says in the leading chapter, “are the two pri- mary and special arts. The art of dane- ing stands at the source of all the arts that express themsclves first in the human person. The art of building, or architecture, is the beginning of all the arts that lie outside the person, and in the end they unite. Music, acting, poetry, proceed in one mighty stream: sign, in the other.” There is no pi ry art outside these two arts, for their origin is far earlier than himself, and dancing came first.” at is why dancing a profound and eternal attraction”—but read this for yourself. It is fascinating, &rolound. convincing. Since time crowds, let us skip “the of thinking” and move over to the irt of writing, since there Mr. Ellis has a few very definite things to say. Not vital things in the discussion whole, but of good point, since they e , and still_are, questions of d'spute to many. I feel like apologizing here, since the discussion of writing is so very basic, so very illuminating, so much worth the while of any one who needs inspiration. But—Iet it for the mo- ment and come down to it very pesky matter of the “split inflinitive” and the use of “I" or “me,” as the quarrel runs in certain connections. In respect to that infinitive, Mr. Ellis tells us that the common dogma in respect to the in- violable infinitive rests upon the false analogy with Latin “in which the in- finitive is never split for the very reason that it is impossible to split.” Again the solemn warning against end- ing a sentence with a preposition loses out utterly by way of the finest litera- ture that has, so far, been written, where this practice is common enough to secure the clarity and strength re- quired. Again, “It is I"” or “It is me.” Without question, in practice and by the example of the French “C'est moi,” “me” has a nominative use as well as an 'nccunuve. For practical effect, today and tomorrow, you would better read right along here, since you will by so doing secure at least another point of view from the one to which you and I have so long pald heed. I wish Mr. Ellis had talked to us about that pes- tiferous habit of so many writers—best sellers at that—who go off something like thlli "I should have liked to have told him"—there are literally thousands of changes to be run upon this clearlv incorrect and awkward usage. He might have mentloned, too, that “I do feel bad” sometimes where I positively do not “feel badly"—nor do you, nor does anybody else, not in the sense intended here. However, this is a departure, a rank departure of hand-to-mouth char- acter, from the fine vision, the high purpose, the revelation, in fact, of ths sum and substance of “The Dance of Life,” which is in the line of a rare opportunity to reach the mind of a :rr(:.r:;md thinker and a most inspiring L FIREHEAD. Lola Ridge. Clstie. la idge. Payson & A narrative poem of the Crucifixion, 2 story that comes to a close with a vision of the Resurrection. Just now is one of the best of seasons to take up this important and beautiful epic in verse. Yet, the long recital covers but a day—from dawn to dawn of the day when Jesus Christ was cruified. Lola Ridge has conceived the supreme tragedy in the spirit of personal dedica- tion. To this she has brought a stead- fast purpose and an undisputed gift for the projection of such a deeply pitiful theme—such a truly majestic 'me. Around Christ, the stricken :a:x. are Peter and John, Mary Mag- | om, T e and Mary the mother. Judas is there, too. g The story as such is familiar to all of us. But to it Lola Ridge brings a constituents of the Metropolitan Guard | nearness, a poignant immediacy, a par- sympathize with the d taking of the grief that embraces Jesus, lend! g encouragement to rotest. [ & sorrowing in actuality over the in- Some fire houses have been cl pend- | tolerable expiation. ing adjustment of the difficulty, while| It requires more than courage o write ers have been placed in charge of llponn&‘h theme, It takes a sincere infantry soldiers stationed in the city. ‘Thirty-eight is the actual number of these malcontents who ve been laced in custody by the police. It is lieved they will be severely disciplined by their superiors unless they return to their duties at the lowered scale, until the period of their service is completed, belief in one’s own inspiration to follow, gravely, sincerely and in a deep beauty of thought and feeling, this moment in the rise of Christianity throughout the sculpture, painting, all the arts of de- | peg, questions ted hgre o 3y abg spscimaens m:k‘::imhambge each day are mass of inqui handled by our great information _bureau maintained in ‘Washington, D. C. This valuable service is for the free use of the public. Ask any question of fact you may want to know and you will get an immediate reply. Write plainly, inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage, and address The Evening Star Informa- tion Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, direc- tor, Washington, D. C. Q. In what city or section of the United States are most of the motion pictures released for public distribu- tion?—H. C. G. A. The distribution center of the mo- tion picture industry is New York City. There are 32 distribution centers in the country in key cities, such as Philadel- phia, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Memphis, Cleveland, Indianapolis, etc., which have branch offices or exchanges. Prints of the films are sent to those exchanges for distri- bution to the theaters in each of the territories. s Q. How long a bus ride is it from Dusseldorf to Cologne?—T. N. A, It i8 about a half-hour ride. Q. Is the time sent out from Arling- ton obtained from star readings or ad- justed from Greenwich time?—C. C. M. A. The Naval Observatory says that station is operated directly from the by observations of certain fixed stars made with a tele- scope. In reducing the observations ac- count is taken of the difference in longitude between Washington and Greenwich, but the time observations themselves are actually made in Wash- ington. Q. Where is the original of the statue of a boy with a thorn in his foot?— A. Spinario is the name of the statue. It is in the Palazza dei Conservatore, ‘The original is in bronze. Q. When was the Order of the Garter established?—H. V. G. A. Authorities differ concerning the éstablishment of the Order of the Gar- . According to Selden, it was insti- tuted on the 23rd of April, 1344, Nich- ?‘3‘4‘9 places it in 1347 and Ashmole in Q. Who founded and named Provi- dence, R. 1.7—H. J. B. A. It was founded in 1636 by Roger ‘Willlams, who bought a tract of land from the Narragansett sachems and built a house at the confluence of the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Riv- ers, and with a few followers set up a town government. In 1637, after a few mars lettlenthld n:;lved.dth':l planta- lon covenant was lopte ration of religions ma a complete civil ‘airs. It was incorporated as a town by the Colonial Assembly in 1649. Dame of Pr::mene- e °§e‘°‘” y Roger Williams in recognition of “God’ gercmfl providence unto me in my dis- ess.” t Who was Jack the Ripper?— K. L G. A. He was believed to be the author of a number of murders which took place in London in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Notwithstagd- ing special work by Scotland Yard and private detectives, the murderer was never captured. Q. is now Governor of the Philip, Islands?—C. W. A tht P. Davis is the governor. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Q. How many acres of land are un- der cultivation in India?—R. D. A. Two hundred and fifty-seven mil- lion acres are under cultivation. About one-third of this is in rice. Q. T have just become engaged to a young man whose family I do not know. Should I write to his mother, or should the first ':dvlnce be made by his fam- ily?—L. L. yA. Your fiance has doubtless commu- nicated with his family to the effect that he has become engaged. It is the duty of the man's family imme- diately to call uj the prospective bride and her family if it is possible to do so. is not, the family of the prospective groom communicates imme- diately with the fiancee of the son. Q Is honeyp ognn adulterated with r sirup?—P. E. m’\' Ho'nepy adulteration is exceedingly rare. A recent seizuré of a shipment of honey which was found to be adul-& terated was the first case of its kind in 10 years. Q. What county in the United States has the most extended library system?— . A. C. TAAA The Los Angeles County (Cali- fornia) Free Library claims this tinction. It serves a W&mpummn esti- mated at 488,000, sending books and other library material to 158 active branch libraries, several of which are nearly 100 miles away. Q. What Revolutionary heroes are commemorated in Washington, D. C., by statues?—L. H. A. Portrait statues of Washington, Kosciusko, Rochambeau, Lafayette, Von Steuben and Pulaski are to be found in Washington. Q. Is the Indian population of the United s'sze:’ increasing or decreas- ing?—W. B. N. ?A. It is increasing, due to decline in death rate, sanitation and general care of health. Q. How long did Napoleon live after his banishment to Elba?—D. H. A. A former answer to this question gave the length of time he lived after going to St. Helena, but neglected to state that he went to Elba about a year and a half earlier. He reached Elba on May 4, 1814. He took up his domicile at St. Helena October 15, 1815, and died May 5, 1821. Seven years had elapsed since his arrival at Elba. Q. How did it come about that Vic- g"l‘ais‘;:uéd;d to the throne of Great ritain?—E. E. ~ A. Alexandrina Victoria, born in Lon- don, May 24, 1819, was the only child of ihe Duke of Kent, fourth son of Sre iika O of'George 1i%, she was 1V, the third son of rge IT1, next 2ln line and succeeded tp the throne. Q. Where do the fairy stones come from?—W. G. C. A. The staurclites, better known as fairy stones, are found in a fleld of about 50 acres on top of Bull Mountain. Patrick County, Va. They are twinned staurolite crystals simulating the Ro- man, Maltese and St. Andrew’s crosses. The original staurclite mineral has cl to a compact, softer material so that the stones can readily be pre- pared for the jewelry trade. Q. Who filed on the first homestead in what is now South Dakota?—G. W.S. A. The first homestead entry in what are now the Dakotas was made an Jan- uary 1, 1863, by Mahlon Gore, at Ver- milion, S. Dak., the only land office at that time for the Dakota Territory. The entry was never perfected, but was canceled January 11, 1868. Selection of John N. Willys as Am- bassador to Poland is discussed by the pubu:: with the conclusion that it is in line with the policy of President Hoover, in looking to business men for the so- lution of problems such as might come fore an envoy to a foreign country. It is assumed by newspapers which comment on the appointment that the President views world complications as largely economic. “His is the kind of ability that will be a bargain for the Government at the salary which is attached to the of- fice,” declares the Cleveland News of Mr. Willys, and in support of the ap- intee’s fitness that pl;er says: “Pres« nt Hoover, choosing him for such an important post, probably was actuated by a belief in his capacity to represent his country in an office in which there is a chance to bring the business inter- ests of the two countries closer 3 And when that happens, closer friend- ship follows inevitably. In the old school of diplomacy, there was con- tempt for anything savoring of business or of trade. But times have changed in a world absorbed in business. Ohioans, who have watched the career of Mr. Willys from the time he was ploneering with ‘horseless carriages’ until he built up a great automobile business, are not doubtful of the kind 800d | 5t Ambassador he will be.” “Ample wealth, extensive travel, long association with important industry and men of afTairs, innate loyalty and a lon for constructive work,” accord- g to the Elmira Star Gazette, “com- bine to make Mr. Willvs well qualified for the high position he will occupy when senatorial approval is given. * ¢ ¢ Those who know Mr. Willys are assured that he will discharge his duties creditably to himself and to his The Chattancoga News sug- gests that “perhaps he can inject new energy into our diplomatic representa- tives in Europe,” and that paper adds that “Poland has been making strides,” that “in 1328 the adverse trade balance for the country was $95,800,000; in 1929 it was reduced to $33,000,000, largely through stimulation of exports.” “President Hoover has again indicat- ed his conviction,” in the judgment of the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, “that familiarity with business on a large scale is an excellent qualification for diplomatic service. That conviction is linked with the Hoover view that economic factors, rightly utilized, are potent for comity and the preservation of peace, and that those called on to manage international public business are assisted by their familiarity with the processes of private business, itself in these days inevitably driven by its growth into the international field. Poland is a country whose problems are largely economic. To the solution of those problems Americans have largely contributed. The economic ad- viser, Charles S, Dewey, who served in the American Treasury under Mr, Mel- lon, has won friendship as well as re- spect by the ardor with which he has taken up the task of aiding the coun- try's industrial development. American capital is being increasingly invested there and there is every prospect that the old historic ties between the two countries, extending from the Revolu- tionary period and enduring through the time when rhl‘llflm’\ed Poland lay under a threefold foreign tyranny, will be heightened in the future by the mutually advantageous relations devel- oping in the economic field.” “As paper also the v;euv:l: uf’o}g; Y;lln,‘onee the youth. ful _bicyel aler * of Canandaigua, later an automobile salesman, and until recently one of the wealthiest motor Choice of Willy ~ Typical of New and | and s as Envoy Diplomacy r car manufacturers in the United States, cbviously is a successful business man. As such he may be said to be typical of the brand of diplomacy which the President may wish to introduce into Europe. While not conforming exactly to the ‘shirt sleeve’ brand, it is, in many respects, the antithesis of the lofty, cultured art and methods of the days of White, Schurman, Page and Lowell.” A somewhat, different point of view is presented by the Memphis mercial Appeal, with the comment: “One possible disadvantage of the busi- ness man in diplomacy is that he may not know very much about diplomacy. It is to be hoped that Mr. Willys is an exception; that he can and speak Polish fluently, that he is deeply versed in the complicated history of Poland, Russia and Central Europe; that he knows something of the little entente that has sprung up under the leader- ship of France. That President Hoo- ver is convinced of the desirability of building up a professionally trained corps of American diplomats is evi- denced by the encouragement he has publicly - given new courses in diplomacy offered by some of the East- ern colleges. This movement is most hopeful sign on the diplomacy.” ‘The Columbus Ohio State Journal presents a similar point of view in the statement: “President Hoover has con- tinued his plan of choosing men who have won notable success in the field of business for diplomatic positions. The business-man diplomat has been an outstanding success in many posi- tions during recent years and the Pres- ident will find abundant justification for continuing that custom. Experience in the fleld of big business appears to have been helpful in the development of those qualities necessary in handling important diplomatic affairs and build- ing up confidence and good feeling.” Pointing to the “new American styles in diplomats,” the St. Louis Post-Dis- patch states: “The world's problems in these times of post-war reconstruction are largely in the involved fields of finance and economics. Our foreign trade, reparations, tariffs, all bring new complexities in their wake. Business men are the logical interpreters of America to the world in these fields. That they may also prove themselves first-rate diplomats in the upbuilding of international good will is proved by the record of Dwight Morrow in Mex- ico. The world of business is a diplo- matic feld in itself, which fits its lead- ers to deal capably with international affairs. Valuable as is the training of the ‘career man,’ commerce and in- dustry also can teach important les- sons to the potential diplomat.” ———— Two Bags of Frogs After a Rainfall To the Editor of The Star: cticle in The Sunday Star, "D a n The Sunday Star, ussion Is Raised on Raining Frogs.” It is true, for about 30 years ago, when I was a young girl, my brother had three of his college friends visiting him and I had two girl friends from Washing- ton at our Summer home, Nantucket, Mass. The boys were playing cards in the sitting room while the rain was Consedtanl we looked ot s we lool ou e s covered with small frogs. w:nt;ok": d want out and filled two bags mw}?okthemkmtomm’s was cal ‘we had them. When they turned o3 over, out hopped all those little and we had great sport. Of enu:, young men were very 0 felt we had paid off mmvzld m‘ b and were happy in 3 MAY H. Dgcxmson, f Treading an this one momentous day in the history of the world. It takes time to ripen a work of genius. And so, this work is world. And there is not the shadow of doubt about this writer in her own self-confidence to follow, with humility and with the gift of poetic divination, on the lap of the future. Yet, from R Disregards the “Foul.” From the Detrolt News. ‘Well-wishers visited Phil Scott in his here, it looks great, sounds great, feels great. ey et Miami tral arters and slapped him on the 3.‘:{ ot being in a ring time, Phil overlooked the ?fl "