Evening Star Newspaper, March 29, 1930, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR With Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. BATURDAY.,....March 20, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star N Company "l'"-‘ -... anis Ghicaso ¢ 5‘1?& lh&%n‘fi:‘;fim jce: 14 Regent St.. London, Engiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. enine Star.. .. .45¢ per month and_8us Star dary - . .60c per month. .fllll 65¢c per month Sc_per cop: end of each month. telephone % mads &t ihe rs may be sent In by mail oF National 5000, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia. ly and_Sunday. 1yr. 510 g: 1mo., 85¢c 1t 1 6.00: 1 mo., 50c Exgefu""umv : i All Other States and Canada. fi‘l}, and Sunday..1yr.. $1200: 1 mo.. 81,00 ndayonly RS mo., mox 62 Member of the Associated Press. e Assoclated Press iy exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news d ited to it or not otherwise cre aper and also the lncal ne 151 publication of Is0 reserved. Another Commission Needed. The Nation is now applauding the splendid work of the Forbes Commis- sion, which recently returned from Haiti with a formula designed to pacify the grievances of alien Haitians con- cerning alleged unsatisfactory condi- tions that have developed under Ameri- can control of their republic. The work of this commission may eventually clear up a situation that long has been & source of passionate and acrimonious dispute. It assumed the role of & third party and heard both sides of a con- troversy between two other parties whose views were apparently irrecon- cllable. ‘Why not apply the same procedure to settling a long standing and bitter conflict between Americans who live in the District ¢f Columbia and those who have the exclusive power of legislating for them in Congress? ‘Thesé Americans who live in the District are assuredly as deserving of & hearing by a disinterested third party as the alien Haitians. The American principle of square-dealing certainly extends to the District of Columbia as well as to the independent Republic of Haiti. Representative Moore of-Virginia has again introduced in the House his bill, presented last year, providing for the appointment of & commission to inquire into the fiscal relations between the District of Columbia and the Federal Government. ‘The proposal is based upon neither the assumption that unrepresented tax- payers of the District are unfairly tregted by Congress nor the belief that Congress is fair to the District of Co- lumbia. The proposal simply takes the view that there is ceaseless conflict be- tween the two over a matter that is of vital importance to both. Why not ex- amine the causes of controversy, and after hearing arguments on both sides decide the matter on its merits? Members of Congress contend some- what plaintively that the people of the District persist in asking for things that have to be paid for, and then rebel when they are asked to pay for them. Al- though possessed of exclusive power of legislating for the people of the Dis- trict, Congress, or some of its members, r@ssci. that if the residents of the Dis- trict ask for a bridge, a grade crossing or a schoolhouse—whatever the project that is indorsed—it must be granted and money furnished to finance it. The District is warned to keep quiet con- cerning needed undertakings, or else @accept a heavier burden in taxes. Here is something that the District is asking for that will cost nothing; that will not subject to strain the gen- erosity of the House members who guard the purse strings of the District, or bring a heavier burden of taxation upon the petitioners. In fairness to Washing- ton, Mr. Moore’s bill should be passed. ‘The make-up of the commission sug- gested is subject to examination, but as proposed by Mr. Moore it would be aeceptable to Washington. Serving on the body would be the chairmen of the District committees of the House and Senate and the chairmen of the House and Senate appropriations com- mittees, one of the District Commis- sioners, the director of the ‘Budget Bu- reau and three citizens of Washington, choser by the President. If the District Commissioner is eon- strued as a Federal officer the Federal Government would be represented by the majority. But assuming the members of the commission to be fair-minded men, the District need have no fear of its findings. Members of the House who plead that Congress is always being attacked by the District—and they cannot under- stand why, having just voted to allow the District to spend the largest amount of money the District ever made avail- able for expenditure—may indicate their sincere desire to understand the source of the District’s criticism by favoring the Moore bill. The commission would undoubtedly shed light in places that now seem destined to remain dark. —_——t——————— Investigators who find that prohibi- tion laws are being violated must have the kind of bravery that deflies both pistols and poison. ot Dr. Kober’s Anniversary. It was appropriate that on the eightieth anniversary of his birth Dr. George M. Kober, should be honored medical officer of the Army at.the time of the American occupation, has given him a standing of high merit through- out the world. Indeed his service there in virtually eradicating one of the most debllitating of diseases afflicting man- kind has been one of the greatest boons ever bestowed. He is now engaged in & more extensive work in the study of other tropical diseases, in research for treatments and cures, and this work was appropriately the subject of his lecture last evening. Dr. Kober as the dean of sanitary science in Washington, and Dr. Ashford as one of the most effective workers in that field, have thus come to pub- lic note happily together. To the for- mer on his eightieth birthday ge the congratulations and the thanks of the community that he has served so well, so faithfully and so valuably. -To the Iatter go the felicitations of his fellow ‘Washingtonians upon a service rendered in another fleld in a manner to bring honor to the city of his birth. Pt oS The Career of Mr. Grundy. The more recent career of Joseph Ridgeway Grundy of Bristol, Pa, has been unusual. For a couple of genera- tions Mr. Grundy's place in the pic- ture of business and politics was as constant as the stars. But a. few months ago the limelight was thruwn on Mr. Grundy and he took on the proportions of a newly discovered politi- cal planet. His appearance before the Senate lobby committee and his testi- mony there; his allusion to some of the States of the West and the South as “backward States,” and his proc- lamation that he placed the principle of the protective tariff only second to his religious beliefs pitchforked the veteran manufacturer and “king of lobbyists” on to the stage, When the Senate declined to seat the Senator- elect from Pennsylvania, William 8. Vare, the manufacturing interests of the State demanded the appointment of Mr. Grundy to fill the vacancy and Gov. John S. Fisher, for whose nomination four years ago Mr. Grundy had raised some hundreds of thousands of dollars, made the appointment. From lobbyist to Senator was quite & step, even for Mr. Grundy, who had been president of the Pennsylvania Manufaeturers’ Association for 'years and who was a millionaire manufacturer himself. His entrance into the Senate ‘was hailed in some quarters as the birth of & new Pennsylvania boss. And from all accounts Mr. Grundy appears to have accepted that view of his new condition. At all events, when it came time for the selection of a ticket for the gubernatorial, senatorial and other nominations, Mr. Grundy let it be known that he had his own candidate for governor, Samuel 8. Lewis, and none other would do. That was flat, ac- cording to the new leader. And right there the new leader seems to have come to grief, Mr. Lewis was not satisfactory to the old Philadelphia boss, Mr. Vare. Mr. Grundy may have believed that since he had obtained the seat in the Senate and Mr. Vare had been turned down, Mr. Vare was finally out of the picture. The new Senator would have nothing to do withr the selection of Mr. Vare and his Philadelphia organization for gov- ernor, Francis' Shunk Brown. And there Mr. Grundy's foot seems to have slipped: For whether Mr. Grundy is elected to the Senate or not, it has been quite definitely settled that Mr. Lewis is not to be elected governor, Mr, Vare and his organization have seen to that. Furthermore, Mr. Vare and his organ- ization are supporting Secretary James J. Davis of the Department of Labor for the senatorial nomination against Mr. Grundy, and Mr. Davis has elements of strength among the electorate in Penn- sylvania which Mr. Grundy lacks. Possfbly Mr. Grundy could have saved himself all this trouble if he had not been so stiffnecked and had ac- cepted Mr. Brown as a gubernatorial candidate when the Vare organization leaders put him forward weeks 8go. The Vare leaders in Philadelphia today roof & two-hundred-foot mm_ something like the Eiffel in Paris —to which great dirigibles like the Graf Zeppelin and the Los ‘Angelesand the newest American. airship soofl to, be turned out could be jnoored. Pacilities for landing passengers would be pro- vided, making the Empire State Bulld- ing & world-noted air termimal. But Dr. Hugo Eckener, the commander of the Graf Zeppelin nd acting head of the Zeppelin Company of Germany, who is in this country, demurs to the feasi- bility of this project. He says th: the difficulties of mooring a great air- ship to & mast over New York City would be very great. Violent alr cur- rents up and down are caused by the tall structures, and these, he holds, would cause the mooring of heavier- than-air craft dangerous and Virtually impossible. 1t is well known that the air over the skyscraping area of New York or any other large city which has a concen- tration of very high buildings is greatly disturbed vertically. There is no con- sistency in the atmospheric tide. There are eddies and counter-eddies, pockets and back-drafts making ordinary flying at low altitude most difficult and dangerous, To bring a dirigible to “anchorage” over a deeply chasmed mass of structures would be a feat of extraordinary aerial pilotage. "This opinion by the German authority on dirigible construction and use, per- haps the leader in the world in that regard, will probably give pause to the project of bullding an expensive spindle of steel on the roof of the new building. Already the architects have devised the plans for the structure to take care of the additional strain of weight and stress due to the pull of & dirigible when anchored to the mast. At least they have worked out a construction formula theoretically adequate for this decidedly exceptional pull upon the structure. Whether the project will continue is to be seen. The proposed mooring mast would add very considerably to. the cost | of the construction, and this would have an effect upon the scale of rents in the building, always an item to be seriously considered in such enterprises. ‘Work of regulating movie morals con- tinues to engross the attention of Will Hays, who shows no sign of future elec- tion activities. The movies just now provide abundant occupation for' the most accomplished politician. ————e—— Baltimore expects to show Dr. Eckener a fine place to land dirigibles. How- ever filled with enthusiasm the occa- sion may be, the steadfast and devoted realtor remains instinctively alert to the possibility of a prospect. ——————————— American stock market speculators have learned a lesson. A bull market is studied with close attention and without extravagant delusions of op- timism. e wem e Enormous fortune left by the late A. L. Erlanger is made the subject of | litigation, Some of the most impres- sive dramas are enacted in the court room instead of the theater. ——o—. ‘When it comes to a discussion of relativity in armament a French citizen is not afraid of Mussolini himself, SHOOTING STAI“l. ?' BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Snowflake and Blossom, A snowflake beauteously rare Comes floating from & cloud up there, A mimic of the blossoming ‘Which kinder seasons used to bring. It hastens proudly in disdain Of apprehension and of pain. Earth’s humble blossom tries to grow As best it may, despite the snow. Yet permanency is denfed Unto life of radiant pride. ‘The snowflake swiftly fades away. ‘The blossom smiles through many a day. Ornithology. “Some of these statesmen say the same thing over and over.” “I have noticed it,” answered Senator are declaring that it is entirely tooj Sorghum. “They get into the habit of Jate for such a compromise. If they stick to their present position, there will be no deal which will permit the election of Grundy as Senator and Brown as governor. In fact, if such should be the result, the Philadelphia organization would be branded as a double-crossing outfit. Furthermore, it is likely that Mr, Vare and his or- ganization will be successful in back- ing both the senatorial and guberna- torial candidates, and why under those circumstances should they be willing to relinquish one of the plums to Mr. Grundy? Mr. Grundy has been credited in Dem- ocratic quarters with having brought about a rewriting of the tariff bill in the Senate so that rates have been raised. That is a little political pleas- antry of the Democrats which should not be taken too seriously. The same outcome would have taken place had Mr. Grundy never been appointed to the Senate. No one seriously believes that the eight Democratic Senators who finally were recorded for the passage of the tariff bill in the Senate were demanding a particular thing until their speeches sound something like ‘Polly wants & cracker’ I am afraid this queer parrot disease is on the verge of becoming an epidemic in politics.” Jud Tunkins says this world will be easy to run if all the small boys and girls grow up to be as smart as their fond parents expect. The Chiliy Season. ‘The beauty contest’s almost here. And they who go in swimming ‘Will find that bathing suits, we fear, Have icicles for trimming. Psychological Relief. . “What has become of that old ‘road agent who used to cause Crimson Gulch so much worry?"” “We reformed him,” answered Cactus Joe. “Of course, he had got in the habit of ‘aking money away from people whether they liked it or not. So we let him do it legitimate by makin’ him tax collector.” “It shows wisdom for a man to say influenced by Mr. Grundy. Nor is it likely that Mr, Grundy had anything to do with the votes on lumber and cement and sugar cast by some of the Democrats and progressive Republicans which made for tariff duties on those articles. It is quite true, however, that Democrats will be disappointed if Mr. Grundy is not nominated for the Sen- ate. They wish to keep him in the po- in part by a lecture in the founda- tion course endowed by him at George- town University, delivered by Col, Bailey K. Ashford, a Washingtonian and an eminent worker in the field of sanitary and medical science. Dr. Kober has been a resident of Wash- ington for more than fifty years and has devoted himself for the greater part of that period to the cause of public health, beyond the field of his pro- fessional practice and his instructional labors. In every campaign conducted in this city for better living conditions, for pure foods, for the prevention of disease, Dr, Kober has participated energetically and valuably, He has never spared himselt in his service upon boards and committees and in wel- fare organizations to the end of the eradication of unwholesome conditions and the establishment and maintenance of high standards of living. His advice has been always sound and practical. ‘The Kober Foundation lecture at Geargetown University has hecome s rivalry, This ides was to build on the people siill are litical limelight as a target for their shafts during the coming campaign. ————— However desirous of universal peace, the average European statesman finds 1t impossible to forget his local politics. ] An Anchorage in the Sky. Alfred E. Smith, several times Gov- ernor of New York and once candidate for President of the United States, as- pires to physical as well as political heights. He wants to promote the con- struction of the tallest building in the world. He is'at the head of the cor- poration which is erecting a new sky- scraper office bullding on the site of the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, which was originally planned to rise to eleven hundred feet above the sidewalk. Then Mr. Smith had an inspiration—to put the bullding, by means of & unique superstructure, up to such a height that it could long resist nothing,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “unless at the same time he thinks nothing.” Landing Facllities. Doc Eckener once more flies high. ‘This world, he will enrich it, If he, when a great blimp draws nigh, Can find a place to hitch it. “I ain’ got no use,” said Uncle Eben, “foh a man dat gits so interested in labor savin' dat he lifts chickens 'sted o' raisin’ 'em.” B Egg Throwing in Order. Prom the New London Day. 3 A “Radio Theater” has beén opened in New York, where patrons may see actors, ac ] rs and whatnot _broadcast. lot_of people will try to throw at the chap who broadcasts the wea reports. 2 - Maryland, His Maryland. Prom the Boston Evening Transcripl, Gov. Ritchie being practically assured of nomination for a fourth term, it ‘lm:‘l'd seem to be Maryland, his Mary- n T Strange Cause for Pride. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. ‘With all these psychiatric studies and. experiments revealing tha averages are very $roud of' X t the low, it's strange that bu; being “normal.” “If you expectorate on_ the floor at home, ‘expectorate here. We want you to feel at home.” Sometimes one will I"%e ?uch :o .g‘: in a public building. It belongs variety of informal signs commonly l\lgbfled to be clever. ut we often have wondered about this bit of philosophy. ‘There are a great many things one can do at home which wemld not “go” in_public, but which, aggftheless, are alk right, Delightful, in fact. In the case of promiscuous expecto- ration the sign may be said to be just, but behind the plain words hides a second sub-rosa statement—that no one ought to do anything in public which he would not do at home. Now, any one knows that there are any number of delightful things one may do at home which by no means would he do in a hotel lobby, for in- stance. * kX % Take the little habit of strewing the big Sunday paper all over the living- room floor. ‘There isn't a man alive who does not like to do that or a woman alive who likes for it to be done). q By the time he has worked his way through to the sporting settion and the financial pages & papery snowstorm seems to have descended upon the house. The “funnies” are over in front of the fireplace, the picture section by the door into the living room, and the news in fragments all over the place. One by one the sheets fall as the reader gives them the “once-over.” Of course, & man cannot so read in a lobby! Not that the hotel wouldn't stand for it. It probably would. The trouble is that an officious bellhop would carefully. pick up the separate sections and sheets, Whereas the real pleasure of the pro- ceeding lies in the after look at the happy consequences. In a public place some Tom, Dick or Harry would pick up the very sec- tion one wanted to read more carefully and would make off with it around a corner. * K % % ‘We submit to the world the following self-evident proposition: ‘That strewing the big Sunday paper all over the living room is one of the joys of life—if you happen to have the temperament to enjoy it. Not every one has, one may say with no little pride. Some strait-laced souls must carefully place each sheet on a table or try to handle the whole affair in a piece, the which is impossible. ‘What is more trying than to read a per at home in the same cramped paj physical style one must adopt in a| l}.{e:t car or bus out of public neces- sity? ‘The true newspaper reader slings his paper to the far winds of a room, per- mitting the other members of the fam- ily to seize portions as it comes from his hands. ‘Thus they get a bit of the thrill of |a news story coming hot off the type- writer of the reporter, and are insensi- bly immersed in the true spirit of the press, * k% % Does one commonly sit in a public place in his shirt sleeves? Yet nothing is more delightful at e. Let us rephrase our slogan: Kkeep your coat off here. We want you to feel at home.” Let us be honest. The hidden slur in this is that ones “If you sit in shirt sleeves at home, | bl ‘With this provision satisfied, and does, sit around the hom sleeves whenever one feels like it. Even in magnificent mansions where rooms are s0 ornate that no one would feel like it, usually there are separate living quarters or apartments where the in- mates may do as they please—be ordi- nary human beings, in other words. In public even the least formal man is somewhat on parade. Consider at- tentively yonder magnificent person, high hat and all. Certainly one cannot conceive of him strutting down Penn- sylvania avenue in bathrobe and sli] pers, but one may be very sure that he often wears them at home in the privacy of his bed room and bath. Probably even then he calls it a “lounging robe.” Maybe it has & silk facing and all that, but it is really a bathrobe disguised. * K ok % How many thousands of women daily throw their legs over the side of chairs, pick up novels and read, the while eat- ing candy or other foodstuffs? * Not one of them would take such an unconventional pose in a hotel lobby, and a sign which would adjure them to refrain would be right, in so far as the mere restriction was concerned, but wrong in the underlying sneer which it would cast on the practice at home. e is in itself and for itself. We do not see how the most relentless critic of the sex could find fault with it. * K K ¥ The novels of Alexandre Dumas, pere, are filled with boudoir scenes of the old French nobility in which kings and queens think, talk and act like “regular fellows,” as it were. Surely these representations must have been true to life; for, after all, those kings and queens were men and women. Im- agine how they would have felt, visit~ ing some great art gallery, if they had discovered a big sign staring them in the face: “If you don't act like -kings and queens at home, don't do it here. We want you to feel 8t home.” Even royalty, one may suspect, must have its moments of relaxation, and surely this is one-of the divine accom- plishments of a real home—to permit human beings to relax out of their formal or inhuman state into their in- formal and intensely human status. Even in the home there are certain things one doesn’t do in certain rooms. One does not shake the furnace in the living room, nor wear in the latter the rough cotton gloves which he dons to wrestle with the iron monster. Thus informality is driven from floor to floor and from room to room. ‘What an absurdity it would be to find i3 by the piano: “If you trim your fingernalls in your bed room, do it ere. We want you to feel at home”! The injunction is correct, but the nasty slur lies in the impossibility of answering it; for ordinarily one does not use the living room for such a pur- pose. But the point is that if, upon some occasion or other, one wanted to 50 use it, he might do so with impunity in his oWwn home, free from the indig- nity of insulting signs. Such signs, like generalities in the search for truth, are likely to be false in quantity as well as in quality. They overlook the one essential fact that you cannot make a gentleman out of a man Wfiflng at him. If he has any red in his veins, gentleman or no gen- tleman, he is likely to do the very thing yn:x do not want him to do out of sheer spite. Possibility that an interstate conflict between Wisconsin and Texas may be brought to an end is now seen. This development, however, follows much comment on the action of Wisconsin in relation to certain Texas real estate and the retaliation from the Southern bor- der, The effort for settlement comes in the form of an invitation from Gov. Moody of Texas to Gov. Kohler of Wis- consin {0 make & personal visit to the land involved. ‘Wisconsin seems to have started the trouble with the discharge of the secre- tary of a Wisconsin real estate because he bought & farm in the Rio Grande Valley while on a tour of in- spection of land in the Lone Star State for the board, which had refused to license dealers to sell this land in Wis- consin. The Texas Legislature then declared a boycott on Wisconsin products. Several questions are asked by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “What will | Texas do for cheese, cranberries, Door Cpunty cherries? What will the fash- ionable women of Dallas, San Antonio and Houston do for tinted bath room fixtures invented and manufactured in Wisconsin? What will it do for Green Bay lake trout when the palate palls of Gulf fish? Pinally, where will Texas go for the Summer, now that it is & matter of State patriotism not to visit Wisconsin’s delightful resorts?” * K K K “The next thing, presumably, which we will hear of from Wisconsin is a law forbidding residents of that State leav- ing it,” says the Fort Worth Star- Telegram. “When they get out and see some real country it appears they are lost to Wisconsin,” it continues. The Racine Journal-News laconically re- dation the threatened financial catas- trophe because Texas refuses to buy Wisconsin products. If it occurs, we may all have to go to Texas to make a living,” it suggests. But the Beloit Daly News speaks in more serious vein, saying, “The State board involved in this dispute has been maladroit in per- mitting the issue to get to the position where it is today.” It advocates the taking of “prompt steps to bring about renewal of pleasant and friendly rela- tions with the people of Texas. Cer- tainly that can be done without one whit of jeopardy to the pocketbooks or the welfare of the people of Wisconsin,” it insists. Analyzing the situation, the Madison Wisconsin State Journal explains that “Wisconsin has established a board having for its purpose the protection of investors in land. It must use its judg- ment as to whether the propositions offered are likely to yleld returns. In- dications that they may not do so result in license denials. Brokers in Texas and Wisconsin must recognize this fact,” it concludes, as it declares the Texas legislators should not have “pronounced for a boycott simply be- cause its sister State has adopted a policy long demanded for the protection of land buyers.” * * k% Discussing the Texas boycott act, the, Charlotte (N. C.) Observer says: “Fair~ play advocates might adjudge that a proceeding exactly in order. In these days of reciprocity in trade, action like that on the of Wisconsin naturally the State dggrieved. The one-way trade avenue is not a pornlu institution in this country,” it declares. Criticism of both Wisconsin and ‘Texas, “sqlemnly shooting boycotts back and forth at one another,” is voiced by the Grand Rapids Press, and it goes on to say that the actions in both States are “totally un-American. We are & rich country chiefly because we are an| the almost continental Nation, with no State-line barriers against each other's goods, such as .exist in Europe,” this paper points out, and declares “the two children should sf their pea-shoot- ing.” But in to this the Dallas Journal declares, “If Wisconsin hopes of Texas as & ucts it-will do Attitude than Lone Star Versus Badger Stage Real Estate Bout marks that it “awaits with much trepi- | g ¥ the recent developments indicate it holds at the present time.” x ok ok % “States’ rights are most desirable, but not so interstate rows,” in the opinion of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, which recalls that “our Nation has been remarkably free from internecine scraps among our Commonwealths, even bound- ary-line differences having been few, far between and not very serious. This is well,” it continues, “since the only serious danger facing our great Republic is such divisions opinion as might set the neighboring units at each other’s throats. In the above connection it is probably well that Texas and Wisconsin board | are not neighbors,” this paper concludes. “Presumably the intervening States can keep Wisconsin and Texas from marching at each other, but neverthe- in a more perfect union,” says the Chi- 'ago Daily Tribune, as it suggests: ‘American internationalists should be called home. They can find work here preserving peace between the States and g‘:fl“‘ them in the good old brother- ‘That Wisconsin is not alone in its land laws is the contention of the South Bend Tribune, which suggests that “the Texas legislators evidently let patriot- ism cloud their judgment when they passed the resolution to boycott Wis- consin products. If they really want to benefit Texas.” the Tribune declares, “they should tighten the land laws.” ‘The Rochester Times-Union concludes as to the original incident: “Some of Wisconsin's boys became sore at one of their number who bought a small tract of land in another State and went home and bragged about it. Being in the real estate business, he might have been a little enthusiastic over his vurchase. Anyway, his brothers bounced him out of the job, fearing that perhaps he mlxl;n; induce others to leave the home o Nice Legal Decisions Aid Chicago Gangland From the Chicago Dally News. In the Criminal Court of Cook County last Monday Judge Schwaba released a notorious gangster who had been arrested by the police on the sus- picion that he was carrying a goncealed deadly weapon. They found that the gangster actually was so armed. His pistol was produced in court. Judge Schwaba’s action in turning him loose ‘was based on the argument of the pris- oner’s attorney that the: police, acting without a search warrant, had no right to arrest and search the loutraged unman. 5 In the cr:mlgud Cm‘l’rt reE:;m}‘r dge McGoorty fined and mprisone i:o':nen who had been arrested with- out warrants, but who pleaded guilty to the charge of carrying concealed weap- ons. Judge McGoorty asserted that, under the law, he could have made no ision. On’}“}{zfee ccuu {llustrate a puzzling dif- ference of opinion among local iud | as to the meaning of the law b | the carrying of concealed weapons an | the purpose of the search warrant sec- | tion of the criminal code. The police clal | inals on the suspicion of gun toting. , i o ata | invites recipfocal action on the part of | s o8t i1y are amply justified i making that claim by the decision of the Iilinois Supreme Court in the cele- brated case of the hoodlum, Saltis. Gun toting in Tllinois is & misdemeanor in some cases and in others a felony and in either case proof of violation of the law seems to provide ample war- rant for arrest and punishment, Judge Schwaba, learning too late that n toter he had released was a member of a notorious gang of terror- ists, said his decision might have been different had he known all the facts. He complained = that the assistant | State's attorney had not presented the case properly. Weak-kneed prosecutors and trustful judges are contribut! than ncthing to the effort to ©ago of its curse of armed less Chi- less things are not as they should be|Y' " | nature like Monsieur Rosseau.” m the right to arrest known crim- | ‘Though he had become one of the greatest of the American colonials and the leading citizen of Philadelphia, Benfimin Franklin spent many. years of his prime and his old age abroad, in London and in Paris. return to Philadelphia, where he was welcomed by crowds of fellow citizens at the docks, by ringing bells and uniformed bands, were the more sweet beu;hu of cated foreign capitals. Some of the most interesting descriptions in Ber- nard Fay'’s “Franklin, the Apostle of Modern Times,” are those of Franklin's life in London and Paris. Franklin first went to London in 1725, when he was only 19; he remained a year and a half, had varied experiences and brought back to America “the latest doctrines of the English radicals” In 1757 he was sent to London to represent the colony of Pennsylvania in an attempt to settle erences with the Penns, especially over taxation. In 1771 he again went to London, this time to pro- test against the stamp act. His mis- sion was not successful, and he returned home to help draw up the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolu- tion he represented the Congress in France in an attempt to secure friend- ship and aid, and in 1778 was recog- nized as Minister of the United States to France. After negotiating the Treaty of Paris, he remained in Paris as Min- | J. ister until, a very old man, broken in health, he was allowed to return to his native country to die. * ok ok K Franklin liked London and the life he led there, he established what was al- most a second home, made many friends and became thoroughly familiar with the social and political lifé. He found a home with “a poor but distin- j guished widow, Mrs. Margaret Steven- son,” who lived near the Thames and gladly organized her household to meet the needs of the great man. She and her daughter “pampered him, plled his newspapers—which were always scat- tered all over the room—in orderly heaps, arranged his clothes and made him little presents like the Chinese ivory back-scratcher, when he suffered from the itch. Mrs. Stevenson aired and warmed his shirts before he put them on, avolded serving boiled or roast beef, as he found these meats injurious, furnished him with long-sieeved cotton nightgowns, flannel trousers and warm slippers so that he could sleep snugly. She trained her servants, the maid, and the cook, Nanny—even the cat—to re- spect his mannerisms. There was no doubt but what he was well cared for in this comfortabie little home, where he occupied four rooms and ruled over all.” He frequented the London taverns and coffee houses, attended lodge and acad- emy meetings, made the acquaintance of politicians who could help him in his mission, and took occasional trips into the country “to calm his nerves and to restore his health. which the life of smoky London had somewhat im- paired.” During one Summer he vis- ited Scotland, where he “studied the farms, learned about industries and ob- served the different customs of the people.” At Edinburgh he was given a warm welcome by the scholars of the university and the ladies of the most cultured society. Franklin was always a favorite with ladies. His varfous re- turns to America were always accom- plished with difficulty because he was so reluctant w:nve England. * k¥ Franklin loved Paris even better than London and his popularity there was almost phenomenal. From the 4time when, at the age of 70, he entered that city in a cabriolet, wearing the big fur cap with which he h: Tepl his wig and accompanied by his boy grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache, and his 17-year-old illegitimate grand- son, Willlam Temple, until, eight years, later, he departed, feeble and gouty, in a litter loaned him by the King, he was “the last word in intellectual fashions.” Soon after his arrival “the ladles gave him the greatest honor they could give to any man. They created a ‘coiffure 2 la Franklin,’ dressing their hair in & high; “ourly which imitated his famous beaver” In spite of his age, which imposed a slowing down of so- cial activities, he won many salon tri- umphs and remained a favorite with the ladies to the end. Several women of fashion became his intimate friends, and to one of them, according to Mr. Fay, he made a proposal of marriage. As his litter wound through the Bois de Boulogne on his departure, “Frank- lin knew that behind him in Passy, in an excuisite white and gold salon, there were two women in particular who were dabbing their eyes with lacy kandkerchiefs.” ‘Oh, Franklin, Frank- lin, why did you go?’ cried Madame Hel- vetius over and over again, while Mad- ame Brill swered with a trace of bit- terness, ‘His staying depended only on ou’” Pranklin’s success in masculine society, political and philosophical, was equally satisfactory. “His foreign sim- plicity won over all the beautiful souls at a time when persons plumed them- selves on having beautiful souls. They doted on Quakers, whom they called ‘primitives’ * * * Franklin was * * ¢ too old and wise not to take advan- tage of being thought a Quaker, if that added to the enthusiasm of the French, for it was his country which would benefit from this harmless error. * * * Pranklin appeared among them with a double halo—he was a rational sage like Monsieur de Voltaire, and a chuPd"or olit- ically, Franklin was adaptable; without. adaptability he would not have won his way with the French. “Versailles want- ed to aid America by plotting, so Franklin plotted. Others would have found it humiliating to be re- ceived always at the back _door. Franklin knew it was just as flat- tering as any other door and was quite pleased to plot. since it was with Monsieur de Vergennes and against the King of England. He made the most of these meetings and by his charming company Mnd af- fectionate conversations won the hearts of Gerard, Hennin and all the men he met there. Thus friendship and his great fame as a savant put him above the ambassadors.” It is made clear in this most recent biography of PFranklin that his successful diplomacy ‘was the result of his great intellectuality in combination with his pleasing, many- sided personality. * kK K ‘The beliefs that whisky will cure snake bite, that night air is injurious, that knocking on wood will prevent ill luck, that a receding chin is a sign of weak character, that champagne pre- vents seasickness, that pains in the joints indicate a change. of . weather, that bolls and pimples show that the blood is purifying itself, that kissing causes cold sores and many other bits of wisdom handed down through gen- erations are ridiculed by Dr. Morris Fishbein in his book “Shattering Health Superstitions. An Explosion of False ‘Theorles and Notions in the Field of Health and Po.vullr‘M'edlnin&" * All that most people know about Ed- ward Gibbon, the historian, is that he wrote “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.” Alone among the great men of the eighteenth century, Gibbon’s whole story has never been fully told. 'For nearly a hundred years letters and private papers vital to a lete knowledge of his life were hidden away, but now, with the first publication of Gibbon’s “Journal,” some of this lost material is coming to light and much that we have been eager to know about early youth is revealed. ‘The “Journt covers the years 1761- 1763, while Gibbon was in camp with his company in the Hampshire militia. Included in the “Journal” is the much discussed Suzanne Curchod corréspond- ence, and the editor, D. supplied a biographical introduction. * K K K ‘The explanation of that mystical pen name “AE” employed by George W. Russell is explained in the current issue of the Bookman. 'Russell relates tha originally he signed his too | because of the immutability of some of z::‘ themes, but the printer could not arst ‘his handwritis be; the Fiwo letters, 50 "AE" sesuited. M. Low. has|Asturias her arifted | in alongside the tiny cmooun&““ the lutlcukhrll?‘nno. Once y BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. There is no other agengy in the world that can answer as many legitimate questions as our free Information Bureau in Washington, D. C. This highly or- ganized institution has been bullt up and is under personal direction of Frederic J. Haskin. By ing in con- stant touch with Federal aus other educational enterprises it is in a position to pass on to you authorita- tive information of the highest order. Submit your queries to the staff of ex- perts_whose services are put at your free disposal. There no charge ex- cept 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Address The Rvening Star In- formation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. . Are any motion picture companies making pictures with lines spoken in English and in French?—M. F. 8, A. Several companies are en| in the experiment. “The Big Pond,” fea- turing Maurice Chevalier and Claudette Colbert, was recorded in both languages. Q. What is the expectancy of life for a person who has reached the age of 70?>—E. E. C. A. At 70 for males it is 9.43 years, and for females 9.80 years. Q. Has a man ever been released "h'&“‘f a torpedo tube and survived?— A. The Navy Department says that in the Philippines two Navy men freed themselves from a submarine by the means of torpedo tubes and reached the surface alive. However, the great- est depth at which this experiment was tried was 40 feet, and the water was warm, Q. What proportion of the land area of the United States was originally in forests?—I. D. T. A. Nearly half. About half of this virgin forest is gon Q. When were London and Paris founded?—D. W. A. The exact dates of the settlements of London and Paris are not recorded. London first rose out of obscurity early after the Roman occupation of Britain in the first century of the Christian era. Caesar makes no mention of the town, but Tacitus refers to it as having been & place much frequented by mer- chants in AD. 61. Paris was formerly known as Lutetis, Caesar describes in his “Commentaries” how -1t was burnt during the first Gallic war, 52 B.C. Dur- ing the first century there was refer- ence to Lutetia as a Roman town. Q. Are television and radio record- 1;( ‘;)f photographs the same process?— 'A. Television is & projecting process, while the transmission of a photograph a recording process. Q. Has a coin detector ever been in- vented for vending machines which will refuse slugs? If so, how does it work?— K W.T. A. Such a contrivance has been made and it part of the robot vending ma- chine, The coin which is put into the robot is first tested for weight. n it passes to the chief detector, which is an electromagnet. True coins are not halted, but any disk containing fraudulent metals is drawn aside into a channel which rejects it. In passing, the guilty slug forms an electric con- tact, which starts a disk phonograph in the top of the cabinet. The person who inserted the counterfeit coin is startled by hearing the words, “Please o T TR Tt B cor on a groove. en revolution is complete, the contact is broken and the record stops. Q. Are many birds brought into the United States from other countries? I | biras: ‘The voice is re-|in mean any considersble number.— A, In 1028 682,308 birds were im- ported into the United States. Of this number more than half, or 358,449, were canaries and 56,307 were parrots, im- mainly as cage or exhibition Of those imported to be turned i‘?fis quail were the most numerous— Q. Why has the head of the Sphinx been so badly muttlated?’—R. C. A. The mutilations ' of tl Sphinx which now disfigue it date from the Arab domination. Baedeker says in his “Guide to Cairo and Environs” that in 1380 the Sphinx fell a victim to the iconoclastic zeal of a fanatic sheik, and it was afterward used as a target by both | the barbarous Mamelukes. Q. Will the growth of ivy on a stucco | house cause it to crack?—G. A. B, A. The Bureau of Standards says that ivy will not cause a stucco house to crack. It will, however, tend to pre- vent evaporation of the moisture from ¢ | the walls after rainfall, with consequent possible dampness in the house. tendrils of the ivy may bore into the stucco and may cause disintegration at these points, provided the stucco is not of good quality. Q. What do the experts say is the greatest. population that the earth could support?—P. B. M. & A, Prof.lfl&bert R. Kuczinski of Ber- n, one of e recognized authorities, has stated that, assuming that there are 15,000,000,000 acres of arable land and that 1.5 acres on the average are sufficient to lupfi)rt an individual, the maximum population would have to be placed at less than 10,000,000,000. “Even allowing for all conceivable ad- vances in technique, and assuming that all human effort will be directed to the maintenance of a maximum number of people,” he says, “it seems impossible that the earth could sustain more than six times its present population, or about 12,000,000,000 people.” Q. Does the population of cities in= crease more rapidly thgn the increase in the population as a whole?—F. L. K, A. From 1900 to 1920 the total i3 ulation increased 39 per cent, while% urban population increased 49 per cent, Q. T wish some information about the Shewe Dagon , Pagoda in Rangoon, Burma—I. P. A. It is one of the most magnificent Buddhist pagodas on earth. Mecca of the followers of Enlightened One in that-part of Asia. It is literally tovered' with gold leaf, ‘The long flight of s ‘which leads to the shrine is covered by a series of wonderfully carved teak roofs, sup= ported by pillars of wood and masonry, The pagoda has no interior, being & solid mass of brick raised aver a relic chamber. Carpenter describes structure as “a gilded mountain ending in a spire nearly 400 feet high.” A great shining umbrella, from which hang more than 1,500 bells of gold and others of silver, IS a feature of this Ppagoda. Q. What is Paseism?—E. H. A. It is'a form of nationalism, rex sulting from the determination of the Fascisti to extricate from the chaos resulting from the World War, to give her moral unity, and, in fs to make her a new state. The Fasc were formed to opYose. :{ violent means it neu’cuu.l.ryc.;l radical lemfi country, su uBohbesuu Communists. - % BB —iB Q. Who wrote the poem in which each stanza ends with the line “Even this shall pass away”?—B. D. A. It was written by Theodore Tilton. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands Bath City counefl recently passed & by-law raising the school- leaving age to 15 years, effect- ive on April 1.. Under the by-law, however, any child obtaining beneficial employment after attaining the age of 14 will be released from further school attendance. ‘The aim of the new by-law is to pre- vent children running about the streets with nothing to do. Experience has shown that it is far better, both for the child and for so- clety, to have a child at work rather than idle after he is 14 or 15 years old, in the event that he does not go to school after that age. ERE O Tm MORNING POST; London— Mechanical Music Affects Musicians. El Comercio, Lima.—The situation of musicians throughout the whole world has become of so serious a nature that their predicament has been receivin . 4 the shatter, captain! I am just taking & trip in my yacht, and having run out: of matches, made bold to ask you for & light for my little " Our inform= Eamoe S e T e T, impelled him over the rail. Palestine to Fight Grasshopper Army Prom the Detroit Free Press. % Arabs and Jews have buried the re- ligious hatchet in Palestine and are preparing to fight shoulder to shoulder against the grasshopper, a common en~ emy, which threatens to invade their orchards and grain fields in even force than it did in 1915, when wide armies of hoppers marched up and. down the ¢:o\mLl ml.nd destroyed every n. Palestine administration has consideration from the Internatic Employment Conference at Geneva. The victims of the inroads of mechanical devices for producing music are not only the orchestral and band musicians playing for restaurants, dance halls and plaghouses, but even the most artistic performers and soloists also are without opportunity to exercise their talents. But those who used to furnish the music in theaters and cinemas are the chief sufferers. In- most establ ents of this sort, because of the competition of rival houses, necessitating every possible economy, whole orchestras have been dispensed with and mechanical playing devices substituted. Radios, too, no furnish much of the music that for- merly employed many brass or string organizations. The employment confer- ence sees nothing ahead for these un- occupled players but education for other professions. * ok ok x Japan Must Become Industrial to Care for Babies. The Transpacific, Tokio.—What will become of Japan when her production of babies outstrips her production of food? The question is the first which occurs to every one who writes about Japan, and the answers, especially when the inquirer comes from a land of plenty—Ilike, say, America—express nat- ural alarm at the speed with which the baby curve’is climbing. Statesmen and officials now tell us that Japan's national policy is “industrialization,” by which they mean that Japan must be- come a country of factories, like Eng- land, paying with her exported manu- factures for the food she must im- port. Prophets of other schools believe that Japan must expand or perish and that pressure of population will drive her to seek fresh territory. Others again dfeam of a social cataclysm which xw break down the discipline #nd patriot- ism of the nation. The only thing com- mon to all schools is a scarcity of re- liable and properly sifted statistics, and in the absence of evidence one predic- tion is as good as another. * ok ok % Stops Liner To Ask for Match. La Nacion, Buenos Aires.—One of the umoa‘-; of fiegfitfi:mu;m« recently arriv port here from Lis- bon, Vigo, Cherbourg and Southamp- ton, says that at a point several hun- dred miles off Buenos Aires his ship encountered & small yacht with a soli~ tary occupant. The sea was smooth, and the ‘sallboat appeared to be in no jeopardy, but inspection through the oculars revealed the lone 'mariner making most frantic and extraordinary gestures, as for assistance. The and on deck, many expressions of sympathy were heard on all sides: “Poor man! Is it true you are perishing with hunger and thirst? How came you 5o far at sea in that frail sloop? Was it not fortunate our com- voted a war supply of $250,000, and nearly 3,000 men are already in the field in the Jordan Valley and adjacent ry, where more than 500 square miles are egg-infested. They are or- ganized on a military basis in the en= emy’'s country, with front and re~ serves and complete comm] transport services. The-Hague lifted. Quarter will not be none would be received. locusts that are not entrapped in the trenches dug for them will be treated to poison bait sprayed with liquid sodium arsepic or singed with flame-throwing guns. The menace undoubtedly is great, as_ even Saskatchewan can attest, when the grasshopper-locust invades a wheat country; but that the promised in sion is “the most colossal on record,” one Palestine official is reported to have called it, we have excellent reason for doubting. We recall another occasion, when Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt and the east wind brought the locusts, and “before them there were no such locusts as they, nei- ther after them shall be such.” They covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened, d they did eat every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left, and there remained not any green thing in the trees or in the herbs of the field through all the land of Egypt! And, lo, when they had had their fill a west wind, at Moses’ en- treaty, swept them into the Red Sea as easily as the east wind had brought them! The only advantage of sodium arsenic and flame-throwers over me- teorological weapons is that they hait the hoppers before the latter consume the country. ‘Arms and Hero’ Recalled By Virgil Pilgrimage Prom the Toledo Blade. ‘Toledo will be represented in the cele- bration abroad this Summer to mark the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Virgil, the Roman events will be route described for Aeneas in Virgil's epic poem. ‘Those head one group of "",’,f:;",”’""” about which the great epic tells. i h 20 centuries Virgil's verses mmmummmmvglnm of the human Just now?” the and al naviga