Evening Star Newspaper, April 19, 1930, Page 6

A—6 i HE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1930. /-~ e s THIS AND THAT {THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY......April 19, 1980 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Comrany iness Off 8 _Ave. “flu!l‘im. n. oo 44 megent S1.. Londo 5 egent St.. ‘Ensiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. ing Star..... . .. 45¢ rer month he Evening and Sunday smm oib " e mnln“::nayiundlr Saioo o \when § Mundave) - o ‘The St T day Cotlection ma. 8000 3 ok de at the end of ©rders may be sent in by mail National Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Vl‘rxtninl.l. 3. .00: 3 me Bl All Other States and Canada. fiz 8nd Sunday.. n,.nng:lmo.x ;L ARTIIIRED § 1 $8.00° 1 mo.. a: yr. $5.00: 1 mo.. Member of the Associated Press. Associated Press is exclu: use for republication of all crecited to it or not otherwise cr this paper aiso che lueal D B per and 3 ed herein. All rights of publication of dispatches herein are also reserved o th aty ted publ, epecia) in The Grade-Crossing Projects. The Senate subcommittee on District eppropriations evidently has sought to settle the controversy over the Michigan avenue grade crossing, but the proce- dure adopted remains something of a mystery pending the emergence from committee of the appropriations bill. Benator Bingham yesterday introduced, and the bill was immediately consid- ered and favorably reported from the District committee, a measure author- izing an appropriation of $500.000 for & Michigan avenue grade crossing along the line of the new and widened Mich- fgan avenue. The appropriations bill as it came from the House appropriated $135,000 for reconstruction of the Mon- roe street overpass over the B. & O. tracks and did not mention Michigan svenue, Interest now lies in whether the Senate committee plans to have both projects undertaken, or whether the Michigan avenue proposal is to be substituted for the Monroe street over- pass plan. ‘There has been some controversy be- tween the Park and Planning Commis- sion and the municipal authorities over the grade-crossing elimination. The municipal authorities have favored strengthening and widening the Monroe street overpass, routing Michigan ave- nue traffic over Monroe street and clos- ing Michigan avenue at the grade cross- ing. The Park and Planning Commis- . slon has favored going forward with the widening of Michigan avenue immedi- ately, and has regarded the Monroe street widening proposal as rather poor economy. There has been no disagree- ment between the two agencies as to the eventual necessity of the Michigan avenue proposal, but the municipal heads evidently took the view that straitened finances required postponing the Michigan avenue plan, while the Monroe street scheme, also necessary, should be started now. The Park and Planning Commission fears that if the Michigan avenue widening and grade-crossing proposal is side-tracked, it might be postponed for many years. If the Senate appropria- tions committee proposes to switch from the Monroe street plan to the Michigan avenue plan, the completion of the Istter will require some time, possibly two years. If both undertakings are wputemplated, the Senate appropriations committee must find a way to finance them. Elimination of the Michigan avenue grade crossing has been delayed too long already. Legislation authorizing the work was enacted in 1927, but the funds were never appropriated. The new legislation proposed by Senator Bingham is necessary because the act of 1927 specified the overpass at the site of the | present crossing, while the new plan is for the crossing along the new route of Michigan avenue, some distance away. ——— No doubt Calvin Coolidge, after the publicity of the White House, enjoys a Httle piece of ground of his own, where he can be comparatively unobserved while he raises a few radishes and may- be a row of lettuce. When a man defi- nitely renounces politics, he may do a lttle gardening without being suspected of trying to court favor with agricul- tural voters. ————————— The Heflin Case. Benator J. Thomas Heflin of Alabama 18 still officially outside the ramparts of democracy in his native State. But it has not yet been definitely settled that he will remain there. It is reported here that the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Alabama in an in- Junction suit brought against certain activities of the Democratic State com- mittee, which if it had been upheld would have prevented the committee from going forward with the primary. did not really go to the merits of the case Rather, it decided that the court had no jurisdiction in the particula- case as 4t was brought. The suggestion is now advanced that Mr. Heflin or his friends may attack the problem from a differ- ent angle and bring a suit which will eause a decision on the merits of the whole question. This question, in simplified form, is whether the State Pemocratic committee, under the law, 4= warranted in fixing one status for woters in the Democratic primary and another for candidates for nomination to office. The Heflin people have chal- lenged the right of the committee to do this thing. Mr. Heflin and other PDemocrats who opposed the election of Alfred E. Smith, the Democratic can- didate for President in 1928, have been barred from placing their names on the ballot to be used in the nrimary. but at the same time they have been accorded the privilege of voting in that primary. The effort of the anti-Heflin Demo- erats in Alabama is to keep shut the door which was closed against Sena- tor Heflin by the Democratic State eommittee. They fear him in the pri- mary. They fear him in any event. But they have figured that if he is eompelled to run as an independent in She election next November, he will be more vulnerable than if he is permitted %o run in the Democratic primary in August. The State committee, by a marrow margin, voted against Heflin's being permitted to enter the Demo- atic primary. The committee has #ace to change its stand, or has ignored the demands of Senator Hefin that it change. Mr. Heflin and his friends set con- siderable store by the case brought in the court. The refusal of the court to decide the case on its merits, thus leaving the door still closed to Mr. Heflin, has been a rebuff. But “Tom” Heflin is resourceful. Even though the door remains closed to him, he will make a fight in Alabama for the sena- torial election which will long be re- membered, whether he wins or loses. The two candidates who are at pres- ent included within the Democratic senatorial primary, John H. Bankhead, son of the late Senator and brother of Representative Bankhead, and Fred- erick I. Thompson, newspaper publisher and former member of the Shipping Board, quite naturally are pleased with the decision of the Supreme Court. In a three-cornered race with them, Heflin would, it is widely predicted, “win in a walk.” Without Heflin in the primary, one will win the regular Democratic nomination, and may have a chance to | defeat Senator Heflin if he runs as an independent in the Fall. — e Or What Have You? Speaking on the District bill recently, | Representative Stmmons of Nebraska | enumerated the various items that he construes as contributions to the ex- penses of the District furnished by the Federal Government—among them the salaries of Army officers assigned to the District—and reached the comfort- ing decision that all of such things lead “inevitably to the conclusion that the United States is being decidedly fair and generous in its treatment of the District of Columbia.” ‘Testifying before the Senate subcom- | mittee on District appropriations, Audi- tor Donovan—upon whom Mr. Simmons has so often relied as impartial author- ity for his facts and figures—declared that “I do not believe the present $9,000,000 is an equitable participation by the United States in appropriations totalling $42,000,000, exclusive of appro- priations payable from the gasoline tax fund and the water tund. * * * If the test of equitable contributions by the United States is to be determined on the basis of the proportion that the lump sum contribution represented to the total appropriations in 1925, it must be obvious that the amount of the lump sum does not meet the test when set up against the amount of the Dis- tric* bili for 1931, which carries $12,- 000,000 more (in divisible appropria- tions) than the appropriations for 1925.” For its value as an official pronounce- ment concerning the proportion of par- ticipation in the 1931 bill represented by-the lump sum, it is interesting here also to quote Mr. Donovan as saying that it is either 21.5 per cent or 24.5 per cent, depending upon the concept of certain miscellaneous revenues ac- credited to the District. In his speech on the District bill Mr. Simmons said that it 15 23 per cent or “slightly less then 25 per cent of the total,” these computations also depending upon the inclusion or exclusion of a part of mis- cellaneous revenues. Last year Mr. Simmons said that the Federal contri- bution represented “approximately 28 per cent of the cost of running the municipal government” in the fiscal year 1930. Calling on Mr. Donovan to back him up, he quoted Mr. Donovan as submitting a choice between 25.267 per cent, 25.482 per cent, 27.976 per cent or 28.214 per cent, depending upon the figures used in the computation. A table in the House hearings on the ap- propriation bills gives the percentage of contribution by the United States for the year 1930 as 23.66 or 26.20 per cent; for the fiscal year 1931 21.51 per cent (estimated) or 2395 per cent (estimated). All of which is an enlightening com- mentary on the fact that figures do not lie, and that substantive law, never re- | pealed, expressly states that the per-| centage should be forty. ——— The Potomac cherry trees; with their message of good will, are reminders that the Japanese are no less won-| derful as, diplomats than as arboricul- turists. N The Nemesis of Airmen. Fog. the nemesis of airmen, has claimed four more victims, among them Count de la Vaulx, founder of the Prench Aero Club and president of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the world governing body of aviation. It was a tragic and appalling crash that cost the lives of these four. Count de la | Vaulx, true of his lifelong hobby for travel in the air, was making a quick jump from Montreal to New York on his American tour of inspection. Leav- ing the Canadian city at noon yester- day he and a pilot of the Colonial Air- ways plane made fast time to Albany. There, they were joined by a man and | woman for the last lap to New York. Telephonic advices from the Newark Airport assured them of a nine-hundred- foot “ceiling” and the plane took the air in midafternoon. { Shortly after five o'clock people gath- ered in crowded Journal Square, in Newark were shocked to see the dim outlines of a big monoplane perilously | close to the ground and apparently | missing buildings with only feet to spare. The pilot, a veteran of more than two thousand hours in the air, was hope- lessly lost in the sudden fog that had swept in from the sea. A few minutes later the now desperate aviator made a last attempt to find a hole in the opaque mist to put his ship down; but just as it seemed that success would | crown his efforts, the plane struck a group of high-tension wires and, burst- ing into flames, fell like a plummet, killing all those aboard. Since man began to fly all kinds of mishaps have befallen him. In the early days plane structure frequently disintegrated in the air and the cough- ing, wheezing experimental engines just as frequently refused to function, mak- ing a quick descent necessary. To a | large extent structural failure and motor failure have been eliminated, but man's mastery of the upper elements cannot be called complete until the weather hazard has been reduced. Fog has prob- aoly cost more lives than any other single factor and despite the most ex- ‘haustive efforts of scientists no adequate means has yet been found to combat it. Cautious airmen immediately “set down” their ships when fog appears, but frequently the’ driving mist will sur- round the fiyer before he is thoroughly aware of his danger. That evidently is what happened yesterday. A quick re- made, but the ili-fated pilot would prob- ably have found himself no better off. In this connection the epic struggle of Verne Treat of the New York-Atlanta night airmail might be recalled. Treat was lost in an impenetrable fog between Washington and Richmond. He turned south, then north and then west, but everywhere he encountered the same conditions. Finally, with his gasoline almost exhausted, he pointed the nose of his ship as straight upward as he dared and, gaining eleven thousand feet of altitude, unhooked his safety belt and dropped nonchalantly to earth, safe in the folds of his big parachute. ‘The future, of course, will bring a solution to the problem of fog. All that can be hoped is that this day will come before the price paid in human life be- comes too great. Our Growing Merchant Marine. That was a stirring picture of the expanding American merchant marine which was painted before the D. A. R. Congress last night by Alfred H. Haag, director of the United States Shipping Board's research bureau. The Stars and Stripes do not yet fly from ships which carry the bulk of our sea-borne | commerce. But the volume is satis- factorily and steadily on the increase. In the decade preceding the World War only ten per cent of our foreign trade was transported in American bottoms. Since 1920 more than thirty-five per cent has been sent overseas in Amerl- can-flag vessels. Even more graphic figures were sup- plied by Mr. Haag to {illustrate the growth of the merchant marine, which in the days of the Yankee clipper knew no worthy rival. In 1914 six American ships of 70,000 gross tons were operated in the trade with Europe. Today there are 232 ships of 1,500,000 gross tons en- gaged in trafic with the Old World. In 1914 five of our vessels, of an ag- gregate of 23,000 tons, plied between the United States and South America In 1930 there are 90 ships of 550,000 tons in that service. Comparing the 1910-1914 period with present-day con- ditions, Mr. Haag tells us that Ameri- can-flag merchant marine activities with Europe have increased fifty per cent; with South America, 200 per cent; with Africa, 325 per cent, and with Asia, 380 per cent. The United States has the second | largest merchant marine in the world— with a gross tonnage of roundly 14,- 500,000 as compared with the British Empire’s total of 23,116,147. Our per- centage of the world's whole mercantile sea-going fleet is 17.4, as against Brit- ain’s 206. We are almost hopelessly outclassed with respect to large ships. Though the Leviathan heads the list in gross tonnage, the United States boasts only one vessel of that class, whiie Great Britain, Prance, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have manv liners | exceeding 20,000 tons apiece. Mr. Haag adjured the Daughters in Constitution Hall that the principal necessity for the advance and develop- ment of an American merchant marine is a progressive readiness on the part of our travelers and shippers to use Amer- ican vessels. Congress in passing the far-reaching 1928 shipping legislation has done the Government’s share in re- storing Old Glory to its once proud place on the seven seas. The rest is up to the people themselve: The designations “Republican” and “Democrat” are beginning to be side- tracked in national affalrs to make way for the simple monosyllables, “wet" and “dry.” - Ot ianee Entangling alliances are dangerous. It is now possible to discuss world re- lationships without creating the danger of entangling antipathies. —_————e— Announcement is often made that | certain legislative business will have to be postponed until Congress is through with the tariff. It is a matter of his- torical record that Congress is never through with the tariff. e A nation that contends for more battleships is never absolutely explicit about what it thinks it is going to want with them. ———— & SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Universal Fearlessness. The courage that we all admire Into excess may grow. To danger people now desire Indifference to show. The aviator seeks the sky Though planes are oft mislaid, And when we beg him not to fly, He answers, “Who's afraid?” Men fight with microbes to preserve ‘The lives of fellow men. Though battleships may try our nerve, They build them now and then. The theories that once seemed strange We study undismayed, And to the warnings 'gainst each change, We answer, “Who's afraid?” Optical Illusion. “You are recognized as a leader of the people,” remarked the friend. “What you are talking about,” said Senator Sorghum, “is a sort of opticai illusion. I manage to get out a little in front of the crowd and then run with all my might to keep ahead of it.” Jud Tunkins says he can't always feel cheerful, but he can at least put! a flower in his buttonhole and let it stand for a smile. Endless Conversational Power. We still orate in manner bold Without the slightest sense of dread. No matter how much has been told, ‘There’s always more that can be said Personally Fearless. “Are you afraid to drive in traffic?" “Not a bit,” answered Miss Cayenne. “But I seem to have a terrible faculty for scaring a whole lot of other people.” | “It is well,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “to forget the past; but not 80 much of it as to be unprepared for the future.” Photographs. 1 saw an old-time photograph. As I contrast it with the new I pause to sigh and then to laugh. It Jooks so young—and foolish, too. BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ‘This is a great year for dandelions. ‘We do not recall a Spring when these bright flowers were any prettier or more numerous. Children picking them to take to school have their hands full before they have gone a block. The blossoms unfolded almost over- night, the result of the unseasonably hot weather which struck the city im- mediately following the rainy week end. In every lawn, in every park, these | scapose perennials poked their yellow | heads into the line of vision of passerby. Every man, woman and child who| saw them rejoiced, although some may not have been conscious of the fact. | They might conceivably have called | their feeling “Spring fever,” but it was really dandelions. i ok | ‘We have no sympathy with those who sneer at this genuine perennial, this charming little fellow with the fero- clous name. The dandelion is a cosmopolite, belng equally at home in Europe, Asia an North America, and in every one of Lhosl de sections of the globe he is well liked. He may sit close to the grass. being without the dignity of his taller grow- ing brethren, but no flower shines with more reflected light of the sun, and few have more interesting botanical constructions. There is really no reason to frown at the dandelion, except that it becomes something of a nuisance in connection with the making of a perfect lawn. By a method, which we will later detail, we will show that the earnest lawn maker need not worry about these cichoriaceous plants, whatever that phrase actuslly means. (It means dan- delion, according to the dictionary, and that is enough.) The thing to do with dandelions is to enjoy them in their season, and then make sure that they do not spoil the | ass. This latter action will hurt the| s:ndelions little, in the long run; they | will come up the next Spring just the same. o ok The name ‘“dandelion” comes from the French dent de lion, or lon's tooth, no doubt given from a fancied resemblance between the toothlike petals and the bright golden color of the flowers. The scientific name for this plant is Taraxacum taraxacum. Its toothed or pinnatified leaves are what cause the trouble to the lawn connoisseur. They have a bad way of sprawling out over the grass, causing the latter to die out. ‘The long toproot is what worries most home owners and they make mighty efforts to dig it up. If they succeed, mostly they create a very large hole in their lawn. There is no particular reason flir‘ showing such spleen against the taproot, a truly marvelous invention of Nature. The root will hurt no one—not even grass blade—if the dandelion leaves | are kept pulled off. This is the true solution of the whole dandelion problem. If the roots are removed, we will have no more dandelions—and who would willingly give up his dandelions? It is only because they are so common that we are inclined to regard them aa less beautiful than the jonquils, etc. No doubt if they were unknown, and had just been brought to America from some far-distant country, garden makers would go into estasies over them. .w xS Personally we like these little yel- low flowers of Spring, which grow so lowly in the grass. The dandelions ttercups serve 8 most useful ;m, b‘l“l’ld we :’n glad that the children invariably have enough sense to_recognize it that the kids like e A Elad, {rery one with sense yellow flowers. loves yellow flowers, .lmou‘;,neup?e: sionall. u will hear some tending 70" dislike them. But their words fool nobody—the love for yellow mankind. = gm:::t]:n is the resemblance of yel- Jow to the sunlight that intrigues the fancy of mankind, but. whatever it is, there is little doubt that one of the favorite colors of the world is this same yeg‘:‘:, might speculate on the relation- ship between the worship of the sun and the universal fondness for vel flowers. The raylike massing of the petals of the flowerhead may help out this resemblance. * Kk The truth is thffl- Ellfl! experts, alizing the love of yellow, are con- ::lntly 8 o the lookout for Ways to bet- ter such yellow flowers as we have, and te the color in species which Thus tulip breeders it He tapier . but to date the fancier :fi:scnz.um to the cottage varieties if wants the color. h!Amon( the roses the search for a perfect yellow has been going on mer- rily for half a century and in all coun- tries, but plrttcullrlzlln France. Sev- eral years ago rosarians thought for a time that they had achieved it, in the Souvenir de Claudius Pernet, but time has shown this glorious rose to have several major drawbacks. To get back to our dandelions—one of the most interesting features of this lant, s true perennial (even if a weed), g the plumose pappus which comes later in the year, and which the chil- dren blow to the winds, thus inno- cently helping the divine purposes of the plant. EE ey The dandelion is used in herbal med- icine, and the leaves, cooked, are eaten, and we believe there is made from the plant a “dandelion wine. a sour va- riety, which declare to be pretty good. At one time the root was ground up and used as a substitute for chicory, which itself was used as a substitute for coffee. One may wonder what the next de; in this substitution would be. We have read statements to the el fect that French chefs can make bet- ter “coffee” from chieory than mos" people can make from coffee itself. P.erhaps this is true, if one may judge from much of the coffee one drinks. The dandelion is thus seen to be no mean plant, and rather worth more at- tention than the average passerby is likely to give us. It brings us back every Spring to the eternal problem of the common thing. Yes. it common, but what has that to do with its prettiness” Among the gladioli there is no more beautiful variety, all in all, than Mrs. Prank Pendleton, but nowadays it is one of the commonest of all varieties. Never has a more beautiful gladiolus been created than the old Schwaben, one of the most common varieties. For all of its willingness to bloom in every dooryard, or any place where grass exists, the dandelion is a fine little plant, one which the home owner should welcome, not fear. If he will take the trouble to pull off its leaves close to the ground every now and then he will be able to enjoy its beauty and have a good lawn, too. Dr. Welch Called Statesman Of American Medical World Following the notable observance of the eightieth birthday anniversary of Dr. William H. Welch, connected with Johns Hopkins University for 45 years, the press of the country emphasizes the outstanding modesty of the man and his remarkable contributions to modern science. Notwithstanding his avoidance of publicity, he is declared to be one of the most popular of Americans in his contacts with the university and with | the public. “One of the great men of his era,” is the verdict of the Portland Oregon Journal, which finds in his fight for public health a similarity to that af the successful military leader. ‘“He never piloted a naval fleet to victory. He never led an army into battle. He wears no_military crosses,” says that paper. “But he has been a brilliant leader in one of the great struggles of the ages, a struggle to protect un- counted millions against the ‘ages of disease. His fight was not accom- panied by military bands. His work was carried forward not with a blare of trumpets, but in the calm and quiet precincts of his laboratories. During his career science learned to centrol such diseases as diphtheria, cholera, malaria, yellow fever and typhus. Even yet the casualty lists for one year from germs are greater than in any war in history, but in_the struggle against the deadly germs Dr. Welch and his col- leagues have fought a brilliant and winning battle to save millions and mil- lions of lives.” o g “Annoyed as he doubtless is" ac- cording to the Baltimore Sun, “by the fuss that is made about his birthday, from Baltimore to Peiping and from Prague (o Chicago, Dr. Welch must reconcile himself to the occasionally dis- agreeable consequences of being a great man, a completely rounded human be- ing in an age of specialists, a_scholar who labored not for himself only, ‘but for all them that seek learning,’ a loved gentleman of whom everybody ha: his special anecdote, and for whom ad- miration and respect are sweeteneed with affection. Baltimore is naturally proud of Dr. Welch, who is Exhibit A among its civic assets and to whom it owes incllculnbé: debts for services gen- erously rendered.” 1 "Th}; substance of his achievements,’ as set forth in the tribute of the New York Times, “has been illuminated by an old-time spirit of scholarship and graced by an art which is the ‘happy science of the soul.’ Like the one wha is mentioned by Theocritus in his trib- ute to Asclepius, the father of med- icine, Dr. Welch ‘put all his art into the work.’ That is his special distinction He is both scientist and artist in_the highest meanings of both words. Hip- pocrates found life short and the art ot healing long. Fortunately the life of this great modern physician who took the Hippocratean oath has been length- ened to make more serviceable to his fellow beings the art of healing, in both its preventive and its curative ministries.” * ok ok % “Through all his 60 years of scientific work,” declares the Richmond News Leader, after describing him as “the happy scientist,” Dr. Welch “has been above all the inspirer of research, the | counselor of youth, the Mr. Justice Holmes of the medical world. And now, | at 80, his intellect as keen as ever, his natural force not abated, he enjoys the company of his disciples, the philosophy of his books, and the pleasures of his table with all the zest of a man in the midstream of life. He deserves it. He that sows in service shall reap in hap- piness.” &lis work is held by the Wheeling In- telligencer to have been “of supreme humanitarian importance,” and that aper points out that it has been “large- Fy in the laboratory and in the quiet field of research, wherein throughout a long life he has done much to extend the frontier of medical science. He has labored all his life for the welfare of humanity,” wncludu*thn paper. * % K x “A friend of mine done gimme a Up on de races,” said Uncle Eben, “but he didn’ turn out to have de friendship or twice since that time declined versal of direction might have been an’ confidence of de hoss.” “The things he has done for the human race cannot be listed, but the celebrations are only a faint expres- sion of their significance,” in the | From the San Francisco Chronicle. judgment of the Des Moines Tribune- Capital, zeal: “Dr. Welch went to Europe in a spirit of humility, studied the work of e brilliant old world doctors at Strass- burg, Liepsig, Breslau and Berlin, and returned with a passionate desire to revolutionize the almost primitive methods in vogue here. That he has accomplished, if not through his own discoveries, through his influence. He became dean of the Johns Hopkins Medical 8chool when it was opened in 1893, and resigned in 1917 to supervise the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health—a pioneer effort in its fleld which has since been copied all over the world.” Quoting President Hoover's statement that Dr. Welch is “America’s greatest statesman in the field of health” the Albany Evening News comments: “That is a fleld of statesmanship above all others. All his life Dr. Welch has de- voted to the service of mankind.” The Syracuse Herald is impressed by “his pioneer labors in the cause of public- health protection, a service for whlchl he was magnificently equipped by his | repeated studies under the most famous | European scientists, and by his wonder- ful proficiency in bacteriology and ex- perimental pathology.” ‘That he “began his career at a time of great opportunity” is recalled by the Manchester Union, which refers to Pasteur and Koch, who “were demon- strating that infectious diseases were caused by microscopic germs,” and credits Dr. Welch with having been “one of the first Americans to recognize the possibilities of this discovery.” The Hartford Times adds: “His militant and successful battle to spread acceptance of that theory was an outstanding per- sonal triumph, and much more. It saved innumerable lives and refounded pathology in this country.” —vore. Call on the Colleges. From the Worcester Evening Gazette. Now that college boys have done their best to settle this prohibition issue through whole-hearted referendums, won't they please turn their attention to this problem of international limitation of armaments? which says of his scientific | —— Hoping for Best. From the Toledo Blade We can't get over wondering how our magazine subscription solicitor of last year is getting along in college. As for the magazine, it is not at all inspiring e How to Relieve Farmers. From the Buffalo Evening News You can't relieve the farmers without changing the popular notion that a pea- nut butter sandwich and a milkshake constitute a square meal. A Truth, Forsooth! From the San Prantisco Chronicle. Nine times in ten you must go out of your way to find trouble. You never saw a telephone pole in the middle of the highway. China’s Harbinger. From the Oakland Tribune. China will be happler when the robin, instead of the bandit, is the first sign of Spring. = ey An Ancient i{nbil. Now they've found a prehistoric skel- eton buried with the feet up. The desk, however, had crumbled into dust. R Limit Wild Oats Output. From the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. In all our efforts to curtall wheat production, let’s not forget to limit the output of wild oats. —————— More Than Grain of Salt. From the Omahs World-Herald. We have to take Gandhi's movement, with several grains of salt, whether we like it or not. THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover. There are in existence several por- traits of Lucrezia Tornabuoni, mother of Lorenzo de’ Medici; one of the best is by Botticelll, another is by Verroc- chio. They show a beautiful, strong face, with straight, finely modeled nose. small rounded chin, large, dark, intelli- gent eyes and high, arched eyebrows. On.!' portrait of Lucrezia is reproduced in “Lorenzo the Magnificent,” by David Loth, but without the courtesy to the long-dead artist or to the reader of the book of an inscription mentioning the artist's name. Instead there is placed under the picture a quotation regarding Lucrezia from her father-in-law, Costmo de’ Medici, “She is the best men among us." Married to Piero de' Medici, son of Cosimo, Lucrezia Tornabuoni was, | Mr. Loth tells us in his book, “a great acquisition, for she was a beautiful, in- telligent girl with a large number of able brothers who could be used to good advantage.” Those were days when family connections which brought fight- ing allies counted for much. But Lu- crezia had her own value, though her mother-in-law, Contessina, did not es- teem her quite as highly as did old | Cosimo. She was not the exclusively home-keeping young woman that Con- tessina approved. She was interested in things unnatural for a woman— books, pictures, sculpture, music and discourses on philosophy and litera- ture—and she did not bring up her children as Contessina had brought up hers. Nevertheless, she was not very radical, for she trained them in the ob- servances of their religion. “Every morning when the family was in Flor- ence, Lucrezia took her four children— there were two girls, Bianca and Nan- nina, besides the boys—to pray at the chapel of the Confraternity of St. Paul. They were always attended by swarms of the ars that infested Florence, for Lucrezia had taught her children never to refuse alms.” Her children's education was also her great concern. She was never very well and spent much time in the country. “Careggi and the half villa, half fortress, whicl Michelozzi had built for Cosimo at Cafaggiuolo were her favorite resorts when her own weakness or a recur- Tence of the plague, an epidemic which hovered over Italy almost constantly, drove her from the city. Most of the l:,t;lr:e ‘;fo teachers went with her” and, n renzo was 12, he had read much of Ovid. e When the time came for Lorenso to marry, it was Lucrezia who went to Rome to negotiate an alliance with the important Orsini family, after first carefully inspectiyg the daughter, Clarice. Lorenzo remained in Florence, absorbed in preparations for a tourna- ment, in which he was crowned with a chaplet of violets by his mistress. Lucrezia Donati. Meanwhile his mother was writing from Rome about the pro- spective bride: ‘“She is of good height and has a nice compiexion, her man- ners are gentle though not so winning as those of our girls, but she is very mpdest and would soon learn our cus- . Her throat is fairly ele- it seems to me a little meagre. & & She does not carry her head ‘)mudly like our girls, but poked it a ittle forward; I think she was shy, indeed I see no fault in her save shy- ness. Her hands are long and delicate, In short, I think the girl is much above the common.” To this measured praise, Lucrezia added that, of course, Clarice was inferfor to her own daughters, but concluded, “Let us leave the issue to God.” 'he marriage of Lorenzo and Clarice took place in due season and was not remarkably happy. The Mag- nificent habitually spent as much time away from her as possible. * x ox X When Lucrezia Tornabuoni died, “her son lost the only really companionable member of his family. Alone of the Medici, man or woman, Lucrezia had been competent to share his troubles and his joys. Whenever her health and the plague permitted her to be in Flor- ence she had taken her part in the talk of the wits and scholars who sur- rounded Lorenzo. They never admitted their patron’s wife to the bright discus- slons, nor did she care to join them but they were all enthusiastic admirers of his mother.” She criticized and approved his poetry, wrote poetry her- self, advised him about political affairs, received all his confidences, and took an active, if more or less secret, part in the government of Florence. She was her son’s best friend. “All through her last illness he neglected his friends. his business, his family and his politica’ duties to sit at her bedside. He read to her from new books which had just arrived from his agents, he retailed the latest bons mots . . ., he talked of public affairs,” and when she died he refused to be comforted and shut him- self up alone, writing an account of her virtues. ms. . gant, but * ok ok ok A critical but by no means pessimis- tic view of England's present and fu- ture is that of a scholar of the nation which was recently England’s war enemy—Germany. Wilhelm Dibelius, professor of English in the University of Berlin, has written a book, which is remarkably free from bitterness and shows thorough research, in “England: Its Character and Genius.” The book is translated by Mary Agnes Hamilton, M. and has an introduction by A. D. Lindsay, master of Balliol Col- lege, Oxford. Prof. Dibelius discusses the results of the World War to Great Britain and then turns to the question which 15 of supreme importance to England herself and of great impor- tance to the rest of the world—the future of Great Britain as a world power. He differs from many histo- rians and economists in believing, on what he considers good evidence, that, though England is going through a difficult period and is menaced by dangers within and without, her end is not yet nor will be for years to come. He says: “Has England become power- less> Is it moving toward dissolu- tion? The answer to this question can only be a decisive No. The pessimistic criticism of civilization, universal at the moment in England, does not go very deep even there. Essentially, it is confined to London and to the younger circles at the universities. It represents the utterances of men of letters and of learning, of theologians and of many politicians——in other words, of thinking England. But England's greatness does not rest with its think- ing minority, but with the great mass of men of instinctive action and power- ful will.” it ot Clemenceau’s book “Grandeur and| Misery of Victory” has been called by some reviewers a hymn of hate. There 18 not much of the mellowness and sweetness of old age, of which the poets sing, in this volume of memoirs. At 87, the “Tiger” apparently felt as keenly and hated as vigorously as n his early public life. Foch and Poin- care thwarted Clemenceau during the war and he freely wrote his opinions of them. Woodrow Wilson and Gen. Pershing also come in for considerable denunciation. Of some of his inter- views with Pershing he says: “The more 1 insisted the more the Ameri- can general resisted. So much so that we often parted with smiles that, on both sides, concealed gnashings of teeth.” The peace treaty is denounced as a series of “abdications” to the Germans, and eternal hatred of Ger- many and fear for the future of France because of Germany breathe bitterness from beginning to end. * % ¥ * Herbert Adams Gibbons, author of “Wider Horizons,” just published, is now following his own advice, and is widening his own horizons by an ex- tensive survey of the interior of China by airplane. Recently he flew 1,500 miles over the Valley of the Yangtze River and its tributaries, observing the movements of the Chinese troops on the canals for which China i1s famous, and which, Dr. Gibbons remarks, take the place of the non-existent roads. His new book is a review of worla changes between 1900 and 1930, record- ing all the important out the world craft, This newspaper puts at your dis- posal a corps of trained researchers in Wi who will answer questions for you. They have access to the Gov- ernment departments, the libraries, museums, galleries and public build- ings and to the numerous associations which maintain headquarters in the Nation's Capital. If they can be of assistance to you, write your question plainly and send with 2 cents in coin | or stamps to The Evening Star Infor- mation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, di- | rector, Washington, D. C. | Q. What was Babe Ruth paid for his first season in base ball>—H. C. G A. In 1914 he played with the Bal- | timore Orioles for a salary of $600. He | went to Boston that year at a salary of $1,300, was raised until he was getting $10,C00 on that team in 1919. He went to New York at $20,000 in 1820, got $52,000 in 1922, $70,000 in 1927 and will get $80,000 in 1931. Q. How many tunnels has Los Ange- les provided for pedestrians at jammed | crossings?—V. R. A. There are now 40 tunnels for foot ‘ traffic at strategic points in Los An- | geles. Q. How many branches will the Chase National Bank have in New York City, following the merger with the Equitable Trust Co. and the Inter- state Trust ?—B. J. T. A. This nerger makes the Chase Na- tional the biggest bank in the world, with assets of about $3,000.000,000. It will have 52 offices in New York City and Brooklyn and 7 foreign offices. Q. What percentage of Negroes is illiterate?—J. C. A. The latest estimate of Negro il- literacy was 22 per cent. In 1880 the percentage was 70. Q. Can oysters be counted upon as a crop?—A. P. A. Oysters are now planted and cul- tivated like so much corn or turnips. Herbert F. Prytherch of the United States Bureau of Fisheries tells us that the oyster industry of the United States now constitutes its most valuable fish- ery, yielding annually about 73,000 tons of food, employing over 65,000 persons, and producing each year a crop valued at over $14,000,000 as it is taken from the water. It is conducted, he says, in e seacoast State from Cape Cod to it lo Grande and from Puget Sound San Francisco. Q. What city in the Middle West gives a Passion Play annually>—G. O'B. A. Bloomington, Iil, has for six years given the play. It is produced by the Bloomington Consistory Players and h]l.‘ been witnesed by about 100,000 peo- ple. . How much is paid for the gam- ing concession in Monte Carlo?—H. D. A. The concession to have gaming tables is in the hands of a company, which in 1898 received an extension to 1947. It paid 400,000 pounds in 1899 and 600,000 pounds in 1913, as well as a rent of 50,000 pounds per annum until 1906, 70,000 pounds per annum until 1916, 80,000 pounds per annum until 1926, 90,000 pounds per annum until 1936, and 100,000 pounds per annum until 1947, Q. Are there statistics to show whether boys between 16 and 20 are worse now than they used to be>— V. 8. The United States Children’s Bureau announced recently that a re- port based upon a study of crime among Chicago boys between 17 and 20 ye old indicates that youthful offenses are decreasing. Figures from the country ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. and 20 year-old males imprisoned has * decreased 11.7 per cent in the 13 years following 1910. How long has the comic strip, Hairbreadth Harry, been running?- A P. A. Hairbreadth Harry, hero of the comics, will be 24 years old this year. Belinda and Rudolph, companion char« acters, are only 23 years old, having been created by C. W. Kahles in 1907, one year after the boy hero made his first appearance. Q. called Sammy?—G. A. F. A. Various stories are told as to the origin of this nickname. One of the most plausible is that when the United States troops embarked in France the French children called, “Ce sont les amis! Ce sont les amis!” To the unac- customed ears of the marching Ameri- cans it sounded as though the children | were calling out “Sammy! Sammy!" and they took it to mean themselves. Why is there a Coast G 3 uard life- | saving station in Louisville?>—T. 8. C. A. The Falls of the Ohio at Louis- ville, Ky, are very treacherous. So dangerous are they to human life and shipping that the Government for years has maintained there the only inland life-saving station in America. In re- cent years it has been taken into the Coast Guard. In spite of the well known dangers of the falls, pleasure craft and commercial vessels sometimes find them- selves whirling through the eddies to=- ward the fatal rocks. The Coast Guard :Ih“ accomplished many acts of heroism ere. ] . Where were the first milleflore paperweights made?—A. L. . The very first ones were manu= factured in Venice, but later they were made in other foreign countries and in the United States. QP. When was Trinidad discovered?— B P. A. It was discovered by Columbus in 1496. It remained in the possession of the Spanish unti ltaken by the British in 1787. It was finally ceded to th British in 1802. Q. Has the rehabilitation of Tokio beeij o_rx;‘lll;epleud?~r'. W. program of reconstruction has been finished. A celebration and tour of inspection took place March 26, 27 and 28. The earthquake which laid the city in ruins occurred September 1, 1923. The cost of new streets, bridges, parks and public buildings has been $350,000,000. Billions of dollars have l;‘een npen_zrhmr x‘new offices, ps and lomes. e city has been greatl modernized. i Q. Is there a form of glue which after it has set and hsl’d!negfl will have & certain amount of elasticity and give a little without cracking?—H. T. R. A. The Bureau of Standards says that marine glue, such as is used be tween the planks of decks, would proba ably serve the purpose. Q. What countries the uAlmuThCou;mll?—M. P, 5 e five permanent members of the Council of the League of Nations are France, Germany, Great anmi Italy and Japan. The non-permanen members are nine and include Cuba, Finland, Canada, Spain, Venezuela, Persia, Peru, Poland and Jugoslavia. Both Brazil and Spain were asked to reconsider their resignation from the League. Spain accepted the offer and is a member of the Council. Brazil refused to do so and her resignation became effective in June, 1928. Argen- compose at large show that the number of 18 L UNIVERSAL, Mexico City.— One hundred and fifty thousand Germans are coming to colonize a district near Acapulco, in the State of Guerrero, Mexico. The territory to be occupied comprises 350,- 000 acres of land with a frontage upon the Pacific Ocean, owned by the Ger- man Mexican ‘The first emigration from Germany, consisting of about 3,000 men, women and children, will occur in the near future, to be followed by similar companies until the above aggregate is completed. * ok ok Virtue Abounds In London Night Clubs. Daily Chronicle, London. may still cling to the idea thaf clubs of London are haunts of wicke ness and reckless gayety will be dis- illusioned by the.adventures of a seeker after truth in a recent Sketch. Con- tinuing his__entertaining series of article “A Young Man Looks at So- ciety,” Mr. John Rayner says these hard things: “If you go out for excitement, you are disappointed! Virtue abounds! One barely nods to one's best friend. As to the difficulty of obtaining a knowledge | of such places and the vice they are supposed to harbor!—why, any taxi driver can tell you the names, habits, prices and patronage of every night club in London.” At one and all, he declares, you do the same things—drink champagne and talk to your own party, all of which you could do in far greater comfort at home. P Japanese Take Up Walking. Japan Advertiser, Tokio.—Ever since foreign residents have been permitted to move about freely in Japan, walking has been popular with them. However, during the last few years there has been a marked lack of interest in walking among foreigners, but in the meantime it has been taken up by large num- bers of Japanese, who appreciate this type of healthful exercise. There is a popular walking club in Yokoham: which takes frequent Sunday excursions. * % ok % Population In Denmark Increased. Danish Commercial Review, Copen- hagen.—According to the latest calcu- lations of the Danish statistical de- partment, the population of Denmark on July 1, 1929, came to 3,518,000, an increase of 21,000 from July 1, 1928, * ok Polo Popular Because of Dangers. El Mercurio, Santiago. sport that is becoming more and more popular in Chile, has its primal lure because of the dangers inherent in its desperate encounters. Any contest or game that is really worth engaging in has an emotional base, and the greater the appeal to the emotions—the more exciting the contact—the more enjoy- able the contest is both to participants and players. From what we have seen of the game of polo it affords a per- petual risk to the lives of those en- gaged therein, if not from collision of the horses, then from the tremendous strokes of the mallets, wielded on high like the battleaxes in the tournaments of old. It is like a battle of centaurs, man and horse so closely identified that they appear to be but one creature, and in the constant shock and turbulence of their pirouetting and clashing and cumulation, it certainly looks to the be- holder as if catastrophe were evaded by not more than a centimeter. But it is this gambling between life and death that is the soul of polo. That is the joy which is ever adding brave and noble spirits to the distinguished roster of its devotees. SR Soviet Officials Aim to Curb Illiteracy. Soviet Economic Review, Leningrad.— The problem of eradicating illiteracy and educating both children and adults has occupied the close attention of thc tina withdrew but is taking steps to return. Costa Rica is deliberating. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands lution there has been a sharp increase in the literacy of the population. Even luring the most difficult years of civil war, intervention and famine, the edu- cational system of the country shows an expansion over the pre-war condi- tions. The number of sehools was sub- | stantially greater in 1920 than in 1914, Over 9,200,000 children attended gram= mar schools in the schol year 1920-21, which was 2,000,000 more than in 1914. |18. ‘The literacy of the general po lation also showed a considerable E‘n ‘Thousands of schools for provement. the liquidation of illiteracy were | formed, which ve instruction to mil- ;lw%sngt :gun ::udenu, e return to normal condi- tions, both the number of schools and the number of students in practically margin, not only the pre-war figure but also the highest totals nllain‘:‘é i:l' the years immediately following the revolution. At the same time a great advancement has been made in the ma- terial conditions of schools and in the | remuneration of teachers, as well as | In_the quality of the school work. The literate population now come- | prises 539 per cent of the Russian Soviet Union, as against a pre-war figure of 23.5 per cent. *ox Autobus Information Premature. El Telegrafo, Guayaquil—The in- formation published in these columns recently that the authorities were g |ing to regulate the autobuses mo; | strictly seems a little premature. The | president of the council is for the auto- buses, and their usurpations of the streets, but the chief of police is in= terested more in our protection than in their revenues, so we still may expect some relief from his activities in our behalf. No doubt thousands of our readers, acquainted with the reckless and selfish driving of the decrepit ve- hicles by dyspeptic chauffeurs, were more than astonished when they learned from our article. now termed a fiction, that the authorities were going to take these dangerous vehicles under control. They feared we were stating and hoping too much. With our long term of years in Guayaquil, under the | present and similar city governments, we should not have been so credulous, but we thought the report was true. as it reached us through semi-official sources. We consider the electric stree! cars sufficlent for urban transporta- tion. R Rare Judgment Shown. Prom the Canton Daily News. The President again led his party in the number of fish caught, the other | members showing rare judgment in | picking out the proper places not to fish. B Must Be Tame Lion. From the Altoona Mirror. A movie lion is at large in Southern California. ~But with the new movie code of ethics effective, the animal must be indeed a very tame one. B Criminals Protest. From the Toronto Daily Star. The report that the provincial police will use radio to catch criminals has been denied. It is understood that | criminals protested against it as unfair e Page Senator Smoot. From the Lincoln State Journal. The ruling of the Treasury Depart- ment that goods may be imported from the South Pole free of duty is hailed as good news for the consumer. 0 B ) Additional Perils. From the Akron Beacon-Journal Home from the Antarctic, Rear Ad- miral Richard E. Byrd is being showered authorities ever nlnce‘.me inception of the Soviet government. Since revo- \ with public dinners. Explor is not the worst of an adventurer's perils. Why were the American soldiers » all types of schools exceeds by a large 7 )