Evening Star Newspaper, August 16, 1930, Page 6

THE EVENIN& STAR | With Sunday Eaition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY. .August 16, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor Busi 11th 8t and e S5 T i lnxl.n& Rate by Carrier Within the City. 45c rer month ar 60c per month 5c per month Sc per copy ach month. or elephone Rate by Mail-—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. afly and Sunday.....19r.310.00: 1 mo.. 85c ily only 151 mo.. 50¢ nday only .. 21 7£6:00: 1 mo.. 15r) $4.00: 1 mo. d0c All Other States )y and Sunday..lyr. : 7 1¥r 2800 1 mo. iy en'y E L unday on.s L 1yrl $3.00: 1 mo. Member of the Associated Press. ated Press is exclusively entitied for republication of all news cis- jted tn it or uOt otherwl and also *he iocal : rights of publication ot The o the use —e The Rapidan Air Conference. President Hoover probably did not convene his Rapidan air conforente this week end bescause of current events in the sky, but it happens to coincide with & number of outstanding achieve- ments in aviation at home and abroad. Capt. Hawks' record-breaking Cali- fornia-to-New York airplane flight; the new endurance mark set by Jackson and O'Brine at St. Louis and the land- ing in England this morning, after a * fast, though not quite record-smashing, crossing of the great British dirigible R-100, are all proofs that progress in the air is incessant and apparently il- limitable. It is with a view to achieving a higher degree of aviation efficlency in the United States, primarily through avoid- ance of uneconomic duplication, that the President has assembled at his camp in Virginia all the Government officials concerned with aviation. The Assistant Secretaries for Air of the War, Navy and Commerce Departments, as well as the Assistant Postmaster General in charge of the airmail, are on the Rapi- _dan. With them is Col. Lindbergh, who yesterday at a simple White House cere- monial received at Mr. Hoover's hands the special congressional medal award- ed him two years ago for his immortal hop frem America to France. It is a conclave of the pational air talents that is thered at the Rapidan White House. The President's immediate objective s to unravel the decade-old snarl be- tween the Army and the Navy over the . “shore rights” of their respective air gervices. In a nutthell, the controversy is the result of the Army's desire to shove naval aviation “off the beach” and compel the sailors to confine their flying to above-water areas. The Navy insists that certain shore activities, especially training, are indispensable if its purely sea defense duties are to be ‘performed. A mass of evidence and argument, pro and con, has piled up on both sides of the squabble. Knotty legal problems are involved—so inex- tricable, apparently, that not long ago the Attorney Genmeral declined to give an opinion when the Secretary of the Navy sought his intervention against alleged departmental excesses by the Secretary of War. Thereupon the buck was passed to the President, and the Commander in Chief, in turn, has asked the Bureau of Efficiency to ex- plore the economics of the issue on their merits. Purely military aspects will be tackled later. It may be that before light emerges from a confused situation Uncle Sam may decide to look further into the question of a separate Federal Depart- ment of the Air. The idea has been often advanced, and the experience of European governments with “air minis- tries” clted. So much and so rapid progress is being made in aviation, literally from hour to hour, that it is obviously iliogical to dogmatize as to the infallibility of any one system of ! eir administration. What is good and practicable tocay may be bad and ©Obrolete tomorrow. As to the pending quarrel between the Army and Navy over “shore rights,” each of the services must relegate its prejudices, its jealousies and its ancient rivairies, and bring itself to remember that what Uncle Sam demands is the very best system of military, naval and civilian aviation that can be worked out. That is the sole consideration. All . others are unworthy of serious thought. To put American airmanship on that bas’s should be President Hoover's goal, let the chips fall where they may. ——— A humorist declares that the return- ing traveler should arrive home with foreign labsls on his stomach so that everywhere fellow countrymen would be impressed. He does come back with semi-permanent labels there, but they are invisible. They are due to samples of foreign cuisine, —— e Another Grave Problem. I it is not one thing it is another. Just about a month ago the United States Lawn Tennis Association suc- cessfully disposed of the latest “Tilden case” when it persuaded the tennis! star to_play on the Davis Cup team and break his contract to write of the matches for a newspaper syndicate And even though the United States Jost to France the U. S. L. T. A. had the satisfaction of knowing that its best performer had been kept free from any taint of prefessionalism, which, of course, would not have been possible i he had, as a noted authority, ac- cepted money for “covering” the play. But now a real problem has arisen, and one that will probably take much de- liberation to solv~ Described by one tennis official as a “poser,” the situation that has arisen is this: Helen Wills Moody, champion of champions of thz feminine court | contingent, was left twenty thousand dollars in the wil of the late Senator James D. Phelan in appreciation of “her winning the tennis champlonship ~AE EVENING Mr:. Moody s professional. The U. S.|Kian, an important city in the center L. T. A. has looked silly enough in the | of Kiangsi, where, according to a past in some notable cases and there | Shanghal dispatch, a Red army at- is no need to repzat the offense. The late Senator was a gréat lover of his State. He left a fortune estimated at more than ten million dollars. He was passionately interested in anything that would promote the welfare of California and when Gertrude Atherton, author of “Black Oxen,” attalned prominence | in the literary world and Helen Wills, & native daughter, brought honor and glory to California in the tennis world he determined that they, along. with many others, should be equally remem- pered in his will. California, first, last and always, was the late Senator's motto, and it is a matter of no surprise to those who knew him that he made bequests to those, whoever they were, who, Indirectly or directly, promoted the interests of the State. It is as it should be that strict rules of eéligibility should govern amateur tennis. No one can possibly find any fault with that premise. But there are few, however, outside of the govern- g officials of the tennis bedy who believe that writing articles for news- papers, for instance, puts a tennis player under the banner of profes- sionalism. And certainly it is going more than one step further to attempt to brand with professionalism a woman who receives a bequést from a fellow Californian in appreciation of what she has done to bring glory to the State. Helen Wills Moody is an amateur, and probably always will be, the late Sen- | ator Phelan's will to the contrary not- withstanding. ———— Maryland Left Out. There is irony in the complaint of Maryland, through its distinguished chief executive, over having been left out of the conference on drought relief measures, If the conferénce had been in the nature of a clubby gathering, ad- mission to which was based on past records of the States in co-operating with the Federal Government, one can almost visualize the officlal inviter at the White House coming to the name of Ritchie and viewing it with alarm. “Now here is Ritchie,” says the of- ficial inviter. “What do we have on him?" Records are searched, and it is re-| vealed that when President Harding called on the Governors of ail coal mining States to hold their troops in readiness to deal with possible riots Jn connection with the soft coal strike, Gov. Ritchie replied tha; he would do nothing of the sort, and that Mary- land could take care of labor troubles in other ways than by shooting or threatening to shoot the strikers. “That locoks rather bad,” says the official invitéf. “Anything else?” l The leaves of the big book rustle again and it is found that when Presi- dent Coolidge called a conference of Governors to urge State co-operation in enforcement of prohibition, Gov. Ritchie not only made a speech to the con- ference declining to co-operate, but gave it out to the newspapers after- ward, and Gov. Ritchie's remarks at- tracted more attention than the con- ference itself. “That ends it. Strike him off,” says the official inviter. “He might tell the President that Maryland can take care ! of the rain without aid from the Ped- | eral Government.” But as a matter of fact this interes ing line of conjecture comes to nothing in the face of reasonable assurance that had Gov. Ritchie 50 much as sent & telegram or telephone message to the White House, saying that he would like to come, the White House would proba- bly have sent a guard of honor to bring him. The Governer of Maryland adorns any gathering. And the conferees-seem to have been selected from the group of States that asked for help. ‘The conference on the drought has shown nothing so much as the fact that the States themselves must take the initiative in putting through relief ‘measures for the farmers, and that the Federal Government's share is neces- sarily confined to helping those who help themselves. Those States that adopt relief programs will find no dif- | culty in securing co-operation from the | Government at Washington, conference or no conference. —_———— Theaters with artificial cooling de- vices are reported as not too cold, ac- cording to the New York Department of Health. They just seem that y after the cutdoor heat. It is the au- diences which e&re, complain the actors. . R If -cu do not believe there really is/ men who applied for forty jobs at vi rious prisons and reformatories? ——— Moves on China's Chessboard. Nationalist government in China is reperted in the recapture of Tsinantu, the capital of the province of Shan- tung, which was taken by the North- ern coalitionists abcut two months ago. Announcement to the effect of this achievement comes, it seems, from President Chiang Kai-shek in the field. It is characteristically reserve” by the correspondents Shanghai, corroborition from the Northern au- thorities. If it be true that Tsinanfu has been taken and the coaliticnists have been driven back {with a heavy loss of sup- plies, the situation for the Nationalist government becomes much easier. The occupation of the provincial capital has given the Shansi armies of the North a material advantage through the con- trol of the juncticn of the rail lines leading to Tsingtau, chief port of Shangtung, and to Nanking and Shang- hal. Tsinanfu, moreover, is on the Yel- ow River, a littie more than cne hundred miles from the mouth, and thus has a strategic value in contrcl of the water- course for troop transpcrtation. If Chisng Kai-thek has taken the eity and can hold it against counterattacks he will be in a stronger position to meet the Shansl onset in Honan, which is the real battleground in the war between the Southern Nationalists and the Northern coalitionists. for California.” Ofihand, and to the average person, it would seem not much of a problem, but apparently it is such The Communist menace in the Scuth has not besn lessened. The Na- tionalist forces have mainly concen- | unemployment, how about those 1,300 | A distinct victory for the Nanking| “received with | at inasmuch as there is no| Of things which modern progress balk tacked and was repulsed with heavy losses. Evidence accumulates that Marshal Chang Hsueh-liang of Manchuria has established relations definitely with the Northern coalition. The “young gen- eral,” as the Manchurian chieftain is styled to distinguish him from his late father, Chang Tso-lin, has been taking his Summer vacation at Peitaho, on the coast. a short distance north of Tien- tsin, and there has received representa- tives of the Northern governthent, but has sefused to receive special repre- sentatives of the Nationalists. And, meanwhile, two representatives of Manchuria have been permitted to join the Peking givernment. Yet the matter is complicated now by the sub- sequent announcement that Wang Chia-cheng, vice foreign minister at Nanking, representing Manchuria, who has absented himself from the South- ern capital for many weeks, is starting immediately from Mukden to resume his duties there. A Mukden report states that as a matter of fact the Manchurian alignment with the North is only sentimental at present, and will remain so until the Northerners show a decisive military advantage over the Natlonalists. e Public Base Ball Diamonds. The four base ball diamonds on the Ellipse, where Washington’s sandlot league base ball teams battle it out every afternoon, are in better condition this year than last, but it is unfortunate that more effort has not been made to might be. The base paths are narrow and rough. Fielding a sharply hit grounder in the infield becomes almost as much a matter of luck as of skill. The dust in spots is ankle deep. Every slide sets up a smoke screen that oblit- erates the play. And while the dry weather and the hot sun are largely to blame, there 1S no reason why these diamonds should not be adequately pre- pared and arranged and kept up to snuff during the playing season. Amateur base ball players who travel to other cities for friendly games point to the contrast between the public dia- monds here and those, for instance, in Indianapolis, Richmond or in nearby Baltimore. These cities, it is said, have ‘made the playing fields, with their care- fully cut grass and smooth, hard, rolled dirt surfaces, a joy to the heart of any ball player and an attractive adornment to the parks. Washington's public golf links have been well planned and they are well kept. The base ball diamonds deserve as much attention. The chief difficulty may lie .:i the fact that the diamonds have never been properly: laid out in respect to the base paths and sod. It ‘might be necessary to apply top soll that would respond more readily to regular rolling and wetting down. ‘Whatever the difficulty is, it should be remedied after this season closes, so that next year the diamonds will live up to their fine surroundings and rep- resent the best that can be made. — e What would St. Peter, toiling on foot, voyaging in frail salling craft and addressing at most a few thousand of the faithful, have thought of the Vati- can City's private radio station which will enable the present wearer of the Fisherman's Ring to send his voice to congregations all over the world? e Norman Thomas has tried running for President. Now he is going to tackle & congressional district. That is the way, Old Socialist; pole-vault and high: jump records are made by starting low and putting the bar up inch by inch. One thing can be said for Thomas, he is always a cheerful loser. —— b ! SHOOTING STARS, BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. No Good. He doesn't do a single thing To help some luckless friend. He wears a hopeless frown and bids ‘The grievous tears descend. He doesn't try to set a light ‘To guide the groping throng. He merely stands around and says That things are going wrong. The warrior whose ambitions yearn ‘To plunge the world in strife May do less harm than this one man ‘Who seeks the sorrowing life. Far better be a fighter grim And push the world along That things are going wrong. He Wanted to Know. “You are, I take it,” said the inter- viewer, “a self-made man. Your for- tune is the product of your handicraft. “Pardon me,” said Senator Sorghum, placing his hand behind his ear, “did you say ‘handicraft’ or handy graft?” Family Secrets. “I hope you'll grow up to be a good and intelligent man like your father,” said the patronizing relative. “That's easy,” answered the preco- clous youngster. ‘“Mother says I've got him beat alreas The Onl-crl;ll Instinet. The worst, perhaps, is this "un— ‘Most everybody wants to talk And no one wants to lsten, Perennial Oceupation. “Is your husband very busy?” “Yes,” answered the sarcastic woman. “He goes fishing all Summer and talks about it all Winter.” Held Up. “Were you ever the victim of a train " answered the traveling man, “unless you count the times I have been held up with a whisk broom by the Pullman porter. 4 Guessing. A man will struggle hard and long ‘To gain what he esteems success. He wins it; feels that he was wrong, And starts in on another guess, g “A wise man,” said Uncle Eben, “is hard to deceive, but a polite man mus’ sometimes make believe dat he’s easy.” ——— Loo—;ing in the Right Place. 1o the tennis body, and many meetings | trated in the North and apparently | pom tne Hamilton. Ontarie, Spectator. y now be held to Mrs. Moody's rmine little attempt is made to check the It is said of a womat who is going of the | movements of the Red armies that are | after a tree-sitting epdurance record States Y in the United make them the perfect layouts lheyl Than one who stands around and says | STAR. WASHINGTON. D. C. SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 1930. "THIS AND THAT 2" he asked. ‘No,” she said, smiling slightly. “They are calloused on the ends.” Hard iabor, playing of musical instru- ments, typewriting—these three will such a lie fingers to callous, or grow thick. sues beneath, which otherwise would suffer from repeated efforts of toil, the fingering of fretted musical instruments, the thumping on typewriter keys. Often hard labor is made out of the latter two. The novice on his mandolin or banjo raps time with his feet, presses {on the steel strings until his fingers ache, and scmetimes works his mouth in sympathy with his rhythms. 'writing, however, seems to cause the most perturbation on the part of the amateur. Here is an instrument which almost every one uses today, but which thousands never master, or even begin to master, and the fine thing is that it doesn't matter, There are whole tribes of writing men who, as typists, nevér advance beyond the absolute novice grade. These, some- times writing masterpieces, do fine work with one finger, usually the index of the right hand. At the most, many. persons whose daily labors call for the use of the type- writer never use more than three or four fingers, principally the index fingers and thumbs. The index on the right hand is the principal wonder worker. it handles | most of the keys from “t” over to the right side of the keyboard. The left index shines with “w” and so on. The right thumb strikes the spacer bar, the left functions mainly on the shift key. * ok ok % | Those who know and use the so- called “touch system” in typewriting may laugh all they please at the “hunt and find" system as outlined above; those who use the latter know that it suffices for their work. An amazing speed can be worked up by the handlers of typewriting ma- chines in the fashion mentioned—dnd praised. For it should be praised. doing anything and can turn out good work in some more primitive fashion, all the more credit should go to him. | A typewriter becomes more than a | machine to the one who uses it steadily. It becomes & part of himself. One may wonder whether the superefficient “touch system™ artist can say as much. With him-—or her—one _typewriter scarcely differs from another. But with the man who works up a fair typewriting speed with one finger, machine becomes solitary, unique. becomes used to its vagaries, its “fee1” beneath the fingers, and, above all, its tension. ‘Tension is the big thing. The curious fact is HI'S most le like a light tension, whereas Iymrl&r manufacturers universally want you to use a _heavy one. Perhaps some one can explain this; we can't™ We heard a writer sales- man once argue that one wanted a light touch, he could get an electric machine which jumped at the merest touch of the finger. But he was aside from the mark, we believe. What'the typewriting world of one’s own fingers, not that of the giant fairy, electricity. *k K K It is perhaps true that the smaller & person is the harder he beats upon a typewriter. But modern machines are ORTH CHINA HERALD, Shan, hai (from London correspon ent.)—"“Used airplanes are now on the market in the same way that one hand car, if one model, this being one of the results of the popularity of fiying and the rapid alteration and improvements in meth- of aircraft-building. -Pilot-owners are tempted by the new models, and new would-be flyers are now able to take the air in a used machine, pur- chased at a reduced price. will soon be figuring in the “small ads’ of the daily press. The used-airplane market is mostly confined to light air- craft, prices as low as $2,000 being asked for a machine which, when new, cost from 83,250 to $3,500. Unlike the second-hand car, the second-hand air- plane has had an overhaul in every- thing within the last year, since each year the certificate of air-worthiness must be renewed, involvi an official inspection and renewal of any worn parts. o T Madrid School to Honor U. S. Educator. El Sol, Madrid—The Residencia de Senoritas (large girls’ school in Madrid) will give a reception in honor of Mr. Neilson, one of the most distinguished figures in educational circles in the United States, who is now visiting Madrid. Mr. Nellson is president of Smith College, the famous university for women in the State of Massachu- setts, which, with its more than 2,000 students, is collaborating with the Resi- dencia de Senoritas in Spain for the ther education of woman through the International Collegiate tion, which already has been functioning with value for a number of years. . Mr. Neilson is expected to pronounce a brief discourse in Spanish relative to education of women in the United States and will be presented by the Senorita Maria de Maeztu, directress of La Residencia, in English. * ok % % Seek Uniform Price On Bread in Chile. El Mercurlo, Santiago—There Iis much dissatisfaction expressed in the papers with reference to the different s of bread in various parts of the country. With an abundance of flour and meal available at low prices, the inconsistency of the prices charged for bread is incomprehensible. For stance, at Caronel, a loaf of bread weighing a kilo (2.20 pounds) sells for 1 peso (Chilean peso is no: cents), whereas in Concepcion, only a few miles distant, the price of the same loaf is 70 centavos (10'2 cents U. 8). At Talcahuano, Valdivia, and many other cities bread is just as che or_even cheaper. ‘Why cannot there be a uniform fig- ure on this indispensable commodity, regardless of unreasonable variations in the prices of the more rare and deli- cate viands, The opinion of the pre: regarding this matter, summed up, seems to be that the authorities should take the matter in hand and establish a price on the standard loaf which shall be uniform throughout the coun- . 'We know our own active mayor would back such a project. . % Family of Nine Lived In One-Room House. The Evening Times, Glasgow.—How a cruelty prevention officer, going his rounds, found nine persons occupying was told at the annual meeting of the Royal Scottish Society for the Preven- tion of Cruelty to Children. The in- stance referred to comprised one fam- ily, consisting of the parents, four grown-up sons, A daughter and two grandchildren. who were living in a very small single apartment in old y. ’mo were two beds in the room, day cause the skin on the ends of one's | Thus Nature protects the sensitive tis- | If | any one can discard a proved system of | wants is a light touch, but a light touch | worth 15 | 4 one-room house in the Falkirk district | BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL., Steel is pretty strong, after all, and springs are made to rebound. ‘The rhythmical up-up.nw%m typewriter keys often produces a lullaby effect; in fact, pupils often are taught to write that way, almost in time, as | it were. ‘The average typist, of the sort we are writing about, is lucky if he can go an entire line without pausing. To listen to such a performer is to hear a succession of. furious tappings, fol- lowed by short pauses. It is possible to tell a person, who is engaged in composition, rather than mere copying, by listening to the sounds of his machine. If the taps come in gusts, sandwiched between short or longer rests, the listener may feel sure that the hidden typist is writing “out of his own head.” Such users of typewriting machines soon come to forget their typewriters, much as in the old days those who wrote with pen and ink never gave | much thought, at least during the throes of compoeition, to the actual quills between their fingers. Yet it may be questioned whether any one can write as well with a type- writer as with pencil and paper. The very rapidity of the machine process takes away opportunity for thought, in a sense, It is impossible, of course, to de- scribe the process of thought, especial- ly that involved in the work of com- position with words, but it may be sald that one thinks as he writes, and that if there is an actually longer time taken to put the words down, there is actually just that much more time to think between words. * % x ‘The average user of a modern type- writer is entirely helpless when it comes tu the care of his machine. We believe but foster it, on the theory that their own repair men can do better work when needed. Many persons who daily use type- writers are unable to take off worn rib- bons and put on fresh ones. When | they are forced to do it, owing to the absence of an office boy, they fume and fret and get their fingers plentifully besmeared ‘with ink. The most worn rlb?!on still bas a great deal of ink left in it. There are many small tricks of type- writer care which the habitual user learns, each one for himself, to suit his individual temperament. Often slight repairs can be made by a mere tap of a hammer held against a small screw- driver held at the pivotal point Re- pair men are glad to show users these slight mendings. Floating the carriages in oil is one of the common mistakes in the care of typewriters. While it is true that they should not be permitted to run without any oil, the slide way (or whatever it is called) needs but a few drops of oil, and that_seldom, for its best performance. To flood a machine with oil is much worse than not to ofl it at all. Yet most offices povsess at least one handy man whose sole idea of typewriter repairing is to squirt ofl all over a machine, and often all over the desk or the clothes of the unfortunate person who calls upon him for “first aid.” His ministrations should be last .l%h“n“ all. ort fingernails are desirable, espe- cially for the amateur typist, of whom | we speak. He hits the keys with the | ends of his fingers, whereas the taught | typist uses more the fronts of the | fingers. The one-finger artist is self- | taught; he has learned what he knows in the famous College of Hard Taps, Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Oiher Lands £6 4s & week. The family eventual) was persuaded to move into two rooms}t * % % | Songster Must Pay or Remain in Jail. Cologne Gazette.—The German singer, Elizabeth Rethberg, gave a concert re- cently after which an unprecedented scandal and commotion arose, A cer- tain Berlin concert syndicate, who had employed Praulein Rethberg some years ago, obtained in 1926 a judgment against her for breach of contract for refusing to sing after she had received advances to insure her appearance and service. The case against her covered two instances, and the amount of the Jjudgment was 82,000 marks, including default and damages. ‘When she sang at Dresden all the re- ceipts were confiscated by gz syndicate, Wwho were empowered to take this ac- tion without Fraulein Rethberg's knowl- edge. However, the receipts at the con- cert hall not reaching the full amount nor even one-half of the judgment, the Berlin syndicate not only appropriated the money, but ordered the lady's ar- rest until she made up the balance. As a result Fraulein Rethberg spent the | night in jail, it being manifestly impos- | sible for her to make any arrangements | to raise this sum before morning. It is | expected that in her inability to pay the entire amount awarded by the court a number of her influential and music- loving friends will come to her assist- ance. If not, it appears that this gifted songstress may have to spend a portion, at least, of the ensuing few days in a debtor’s prison (Schuldturm). Fraulein Rethberg has acquired an enviable reputation for her rare vocal- izations, not only in Germany, but also in a number of foreign countries, P PR Concealed Mantraps Discovered. The Bulletin, Sydney.—A motorist through the Jama area, on the Upper Sepik River, New Guinea, encountered a serles of cleverly concealed mantraps. These were holes from 6 to 8 feet deep, by about 4 feet broad and from 2 to 4 feet in length. In the bot- tom of these a number of poisoned spears about 3 feet long were planted, point upward, and each hole was cleverly camouflaged to resemble the surrounding ground. The tourist re- ports further: “My little dog was the unconscious saviour of the party, as he slipped through one of the traps and put us on our guard. There proved to be a network of such pitfalls in the vicinity, evidently intended to protect the Jama settlements from raiders.” * ok % % Many Dressed Chickens Shipped to U. S. La Presna, Buenos Airgs.—In addi- |tion to unprecedented shipments of chilled beef from Argentina to the ex- terior in 1929, no fewer than 3,400,000 ‘pupnnd (dressed and drawn) chickens | were exported to the United States In | 1929, o How About Spinach? From the Richmond News Leader. ‘The Department of Agriculture says every pest that afflicts America was im- ported. This includes the white bipeds. O it AR At True of Traffic Cops. | Prom the San Francisco Chronicle. Gandhi says the only way to deal with foree is by using no force. This is especially true of traffic cops. o x ],ililo Time Needed. From the New London Day. The United States is 43,000 shy of a population of 123,000,000. Wait a min- ute, then, and we’ll make it reund figures. e Americans Listed High. Prom the St. Louis Times. the manufacturers not only expect this.) THE LIBRARY TABLE By the Booklover School children studying American “Don't your fingers blush, writing made to stand just such a drubbing, | Nistory, with whom Lafayette is one of the most popular heroes, usually visualize him as a mature man, already full of honors, at the time when he first came to America. They rarely realize that he was but little older than themselves and that his American expedition was the first adventure of a very adventur- :\u life. © Brand t?;l\lfl:lt:k, ln'plil:s iography “La Fayette,” gives a - ited picture of the young Lafayette in 1777, when, at the age of 19, he landed on American shores, in North Inlet in the Bay of Georgetown at the mouth of the Great Pedee River, some 50 miles overland from Charleston. The por- trait, at the of Mr. Whit- lock’s first” volume, of Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, at the age of 19, shows a smooth, youthful, oval face, with reflective dark eyes, rounded chin, slightly ul ed mouth, and a white wig, neatly at the side and curled in two rolls over each ear. He wears the uniform of a French officer, with epaulets and a lace jabot. La- fayetle had been married at 16l; to & girl of 1415, Adrienne, Mlle. d’Ayen, daughter of the Duke d'Ayen and at 19 was the father of one daughter. He loved his family, he loved his country, out from earliest childhood adventure and liberty had drawn him more strongly than all else. So, when he be- came interested in the struggle of the American colonies for independence and fell under the influence of Baron de Kalb, nothing could hold him in #rance. His family pleaded with him and finally secured from Louis XVI a lettre de eachet commanding him to %0 into exile in Italy. Instead of obey- ing the lettre de cachet, which made him furious at both King and family, he galloped off in disguise to Los Pas. sajes in Spain, where Kalb was await- ing him with the vessel Victoire, which Lafayétte had bought with his own funds. * k% % The Victoire, with Lafayette, Kalb and a company of fellow eslventurers, put out to sea from the port of Los Passajes on Sunday evening, April 20, 1777, and laid a course for the nearest point on the coast of North America. “The Victoire made heavy weather rom the first, and the Argonauts were under hatches for days, too seasick for dreams of glory. When they could find their sea-legs and go on deck again, and stand forlornly at the rail and look out over that tossing waste of grey waters, it was to realize that they were ing for a long voyage. * * * La Fayette had brought some books with him, and he tried to study English which he could xrlctl.u now_and then on old Kalb and on young Price, and the science or the art of war—a major general ought to know something about the manual at least. But the sea made him melancholy, and he was lonely and homesick.” The landing of the aristo- cratic adventurers was as dramatic as their departure. They had headed for Charleston, but the wind had not fa- vored them and, c‘t‘:a com:n:: fm ‘:i! English frigates, 'y pul /AT shore wher“they sighted a sheltered bay, and after 54 days at sea, dropped anchor. They had no idea where they were, but “the marquis's first act was to swear that he would vanquish, or perish, with the American cause.” The place where they found themselves was at the mouth of a lonely river, in suf- focating heat to which they were un- used. Rowing up the river, they came upon some Negroes fishing for oysters, slaves from a plantation farther up the river. At about midnight they reached landing and saw the lights of the plantation home of Maj. Ben- jamin Huger, “And now, after all those miserable weeks in the fusty cabin of a merchant vessel, safe on American shores at last, La Fayeite turned in between cool linen sheets once more and fell sound asleep.” b * X KR More than a month later, after a rough journey, they reached Philadel- phia. “None of them had the slightest knowledge of the country. Over wretched corduroy roads that led through swamps or by mere wagon trails out through the forests they toiled on in the stifling heat. In four days the car- riages were in splinters, and they pro- ed on horseback. But the horses were old and broken-winded; they went lame, and several of the poor things died. They bought others on the way, and when these gave out they trudged along on foot. Unable to provide trans- port for their baggage, they were forced to al on part of it; the rest was They were tortured by mos- guitoes and flies; by day they were boiled by the insufferable heat, and by night, sleeping in the woods, they shiv- ered with the cold; they went for days without food; several of them had fever and dysentery. * * * But they kept up their spirits by thinking of the bril- liant reception awaiting them at Phila- delphia.” And then, when the ragged, weary men dragged themselves into Philadelphia the reception was not bril- lant at all. There had been intrigues carried on in Philadelphia, in which certain Frenchmen had been involved, and the suspicious officials of the new Nation were inclined to distrust all Frenchmen. But after only a few days, when misunderstandings had bee; cleared, Congress adopted the following resolution, which opened the way for the brave and generous services of Lafayette to the American colonies: “Whereas the Marquis de La Fayette, out of his great zeal to the cause of liberty, in which the United States are engaged, has left his family and connections, and &t his own expence come over to offer his services to the United States with- out pension or particular allowance, and J6 anxious to risque his life in our cause, Resolved, That his service be accepted, and that in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and con- nexions he have rank and commission of major general in the Army of the United States.” X Some of the personal characteristics and habits of Robert E. Lee, whose dis- tinguished history is so well known that little can be added to it, are described in “Marse Robert: Knight of the Con- federacy,” by James C, Young. Mr. Young does not, as so many of the “new” school of biographers do, invent anecdotes and peculiarities to attach to his subject in order to make him more interesting to the sensation-loving reader. But he does attempt to show the human man rather than the great eral. The material used is chiefly ee's letters, of which he wrote many. Deeply religious we know Lee to have been, and his letters reveal religious feeling in connection with nearly ail his experiences. As he rode about the country he saw God in all the beauties of nature, which he loved. One of the most common faults of the great, even when they have no worse, is a violent temper. Lee seems not to have had ane; at least he soldom gave ¢~dence of it. Lee rarely smiled, so this biog- rapher tells us, except with his eyes. He disliked personal contacts, even handshakin, ~ disliked the touch of another hand. or to have another person stand near him-—never behin him!" He learned how to cut his own hair, because he could not bear to have & barber touch him, and was especially usted when he once saw a barber gather up his clipped hair for souvenir purposes.” * ok ok writes James Truslow born Londoners or Parisians, as they are born Platonists or Aristotelians.” ) “was Londoner.” 1In fact, old John Adam: the founder of the dynasty and the second President of the United States, | by was one of the few Adamses who was temperamentally a Parisian. There is an entry in his diary to the effect that | ha “on will sometimes read Sunday 1 Ovid’s ‘Art of Love’ to Mrs. Savil” Jsmes Truslow Adams comment .o""fiu ANSWERS TGO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC Few Americans realize how much their Government does for them. lers of The Star can draw on all Government activities through our free information service. The world's greatest libraries, laboratories and ex- perimental stations are at their com- mand. Ask any question of fact and it will be answered, free, by mail di- rect to you. “Inclose 2-cent stamp for reply postage and address The Eve- ning Star Information Bureau, Fred- zDrlcc J. Haskin, director, Washington, Q. Are there standard rules for the operation of schoolboy patrols?—H. S. A. The Natlonal ~Safety Council, Chicago, Ill, has formulated standard rules. The purpose of the patrol is to safeguarc school children from acei- dents, and not to direct traffic on the streets. Q. What is the difference between a Texas leaguer and a line drive?—S. P. A. A Texas leaguer is a looping hit over the infielders’ heads and too short to be caught by the outfielders, whereas a line drive is a hard-hit, low-traveling ball. These are merely terms of de- scription and do not in any way enter into the batters' official batting records. Q. Where is the highest suspension bridge in the world?—L. E. A. A bridge over the Royal Gorge, 160 miles southwest of D-aver, Col, is the highest. It is 1,052 tset above the bottom of the canyon, is 1,260 feet long, 18 feet wide, and has a main span of 880 feet. It cost $250,000. Q. What can be done to keep a sink from stopping up?—R. C. A, A. A fine preventive is the use of very hot water after dishwater has been poured down the drain. Stoppage in plumbing is often due to hardened grease. Washing soda is ordinarily suffi- ciently strong to clean bath room lrlpel in the proportion of 1 pint of liquid soda to 12 pints of hot water. The drain pipe from the kitchen sink may some- times need a stronger cleaner, and for this purpose caustic potash is effica- clous, but must be carefully used. The hands must be protected from it and it_must nol be allowed to touch por- celain or porcelain-lined sinks, because it may destroy the glaze, One pound of srystals disscived in 2 quarts of water and stirred with a wooden stick should be poured down the drain. About half an hour later the pipe should be flushed with clean water. Q. Where was Glassmakers street in New York City?—T. B. A. This was the early name of South William street. A glassmaker, Jan Smeedes, was given an allotment of land on Manhattan Island and the business he carried on gave the name to South ‘William street. Q. What time is it in Providence, R. i, when it is 1 pm. on Saturday in Rome, Italy?—A. T. A. ‘It is 7 am. Saturday. Q. How fast do racing pigeons travel? How long does it take them to return to the home loft?—J. F. K. A. The Bureau of Biological Survey says that the average speed of racing pigeons is 40 miles an hour, although * speeds of 60 and 70 miles an hour are known. The usual distance for pm races is around 500 miles and in TACeS & many birds return to the loft in one or two days. The record distance from which a homing pigeon hl‘f returned to its loft is over 2,000 miles. Q. How long have dolls been known? —T. E. J. A. The oldest known dolls were the | J. HASKIN. toys of Egyptian children. The desire for toys is proi bly to be traced to the desire to imitate his_elders, which is born in every child. Egyptian children played with' jointed wooden dolls and crocodiles with movable jaws. Such playthings have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, Q. Where was the first Quaker Meet~ ing House built in America?—H. B. A. Newport, R. I, claims the first. It stands on Marlborough street. The oldest part of the building dates from 1699. Q. When was Emil Ludwig born? Where educated?—C. S. A. He was born January 25, 1881, and was educated at Heidelberg, Germany. Q. Who invented the Theremin and how is it played?—M. E. W. A. Tne R. C. A. Theremin is a de- velopment of the Therminvox, an in- vention of Prof. Leon Theremin of the Institute Physio-Technique of Leningrad. It 15 a musical instrument operating entirely by electrical circuits. It has no stops, keyboards, or any of the other mechanical contrivances with which musicians must labor. The music which can be obtained from the device de- pends upon the operator only, and the motion of his hands with respect to two electrodes, one for controlling volume and the other for controlling pitch., Q. 1Is it safe to remove wall paper by steam generated by a gasoline motor? I8 there any danger of poisoning?—W. B. A. The Bureau o Standards says that there are, to its knowledge, no chemicals used in wall paper that would react with steam to form poisonous substances: therefore, it sees no danger in using steam for removing old wall papers. If the steam is generated by a gasoline-operated machine, this ma- chine should not be operated inside a building, since dangerous concentrations of carbon monoxide gas may result as a | product of combustion. | Q. Please give the names of the 50 greatest motion pictures that were se- lected by David Wark Grifith?—M. F. A. At the request of the New York Evening Post, the neted film director listed the following motion pictures that he considers the finest yet pro- duced: “Stella Maris,” “The Birth of & Nation,” “War_Brides,” “Intolerance, “Quo Vadis,” “Avenging Conscience, “The Four Horsemen of the Apoca- |lvpse,” “The Miracle Man," ‘Broken Blossoms,” “Passion,” “The Mark of ‘The Dark Angel” “Driven,” ' “Greed,” “Way milin' Through,” “Robin Hood,” “Or- phans of the Storm,” “The Covered Wagon,” “Merry Go Round,” “Th Hunchback of Notre Dame." Beaucaire,” “The “The Ten Commandments,” “The Kid,” “The Merry Widow,” “The Last Laugh,” “The “The Valiant,” ‘Wings,” “Variety, Geste,” “Stella Dallas,” “What Price Glory,” “The Way of All Flesh,” “Ben-Hur,” | “Seventh = Heaven” “The Patriot,” rise,” “The Crowd,” “The King of “‘Disraeli,” “Hallelujah,” “All Quiet on the Western Q. Is George Washington's army tent still in existence’ N. A. Washington'’s marquee is pre- served in the Patriot’s Hall at Valley Forge. This linen tent was his head- 4 quarters during the first weeks at Val Forge, and he slept in it at night un! his men were sheltered in huts. It was also used at other times and places dur- ing the Revolution. ?—A, Individual Farmers’ Distress Distress among individual farmers who have been hard hit by the drought and excessive heat during the Summer months is the chief concern of the press as the Government approaches the task of relief. Pessimism as to the ‘Winter's food supply is not general, but there are numerous warnings that profiteering must be checked. “There is to be plenty of food for the people,” declares the Duluth Herald. “That is a good thing. Plenty of bread, meat and fruits. The land has pro- , duced and now let it be seen that the toiler in the flelds gets his due.” The | Columbus Ohio State Journal that “the drought has done for the farmer something the Federal Farm Board was unsble to do. However,” concludes the Journal, “the price has not yet attained a point where it will yield, competent authorities say.” Approving the idea that the Farm Board's revolving fund should be used for the benefit of the producers, the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat argues: “In an era of depression which already is being felt by the farmer in the re- duced demand for his products there suddenly comes & drought which sweeps away what little he had and much of what he may hope for. is politically vise he will move promptly toward alleviating the distressing condi- tions.” ‘The Atlanta Journal agrees that “the country as a whole, so vast and various are its resources, will withstand the worst, but for localities and individuals the drought is beyond measure lamen- table.” The Salt Lake Deseret News, points out that “in & terribly drastic manner the drought is helping the country solve its problem of surplus wheat.” The St. Louis Times com- ments: “Small erops do bring higher prices. Too small -output might bring in too small a total to compensate for expense. A fair crop, at or under the volume of demand, could be profitable— indeed, more profitable than a one. But it is hazardous to speculate on possibilities from prolonged. extreme torridity.” The Asheville Times re- marks that “in terms of real values, lasting values, it is pretty hard to evolve anything favorable from what appears to be a Nation-wide disaster fo growing * ok koK “Economic uncertainty” is seen by the Flint Daily Journal, declaring that “while it will serve to reduce surpiuses of farm products, it also serves to re- duce the income of farmers, thereby reducing their purchasing power.” The Fort Worth Record-Telegram remarks that “it is a sad commentary on agri- cultural and market economics when all manner of attempted governmental help has steadily reduced prices, that only took an upward trend at the an- nouncement of a Nation-wide drought, with almost ine potentialities in many localitie: “Th» most distressing disaster of the kind that ever scourged this country” is recognized by the Pasadena Star- News, with the commen “‘Problems may arise as to just what help is needed and in just what form it can be and should be extended. But as the situa- tion develops its hardships and suffer- ings, ways and means to give reli should suggest themselves from the cir- cumstances in each locality. “As some of our national leaders point out.” says the Schenectady Ga- zette, “this Summer’s drought contains a valuable lesson for farmers in the regions affected—and even in others. And that is the weakness of the one- crop method of production.” In a dis- cussion of the condition of the farmers, the Rochester Times-Union sugges “Whether producers will benefit greatly the ther price is doubtful. 1In thousands of instances wheat raisers sell their grain in the fleld. Those who apparen the higher ly_thousands in rural n | 3 compensate for the heavy reduction in | If Mr. Hoover | Greatest Problem of Droughi them in a crisis,” thinks the Lexington Leader, while the Charleston Evening Post advises that “the best that can be done is to relieve distress due to lack of food, if such a condition exists.” “It appears that no justification ex- ists for a general advance in retail food at this time, though advices from the large cities indicate that such a movement has ,” esserts the Springfield Union, and the Richmond News Leader says that “where the drought is actually responsible for cur- tailing seriously the country's produc- tion, the consumers must be prepared to pay more, but they must pains to see that the drought is a reason and not merely an excuse.” R Optimism from President Hoover Is mentioned by the Newark Evening News, and that paper makes the fur- ther argument: “Other officials as well informed as the President agree with him as to the sufficiency of human food almost everywhere except as to fresh vegetables, but these findings do not prevent extortioners from attempt- ing to boost prices on commodities not affected in the slightest by the lack of rain. A general decision by average consumers not to be so ‘choosy’ will have a salutary effect on the wretches who try to profit from adversity.” Referring to the States involved in the Pederal measures of relief, the San Antonio Express offers the judgment: “The belt here represented—stretching {from the Northern Rockies to the At- lantic Seaboard, across fertile prairie country—might be called the granary of America. Total crop failure in that region would be indeed serious, but that has not come to pass. The Winter wheat harvest is already in, and in many parts—thanks to local rains— enough corn and other feedstuffs will be produced to tide the community over to another growing season. Drought is not so bad as flood, for even the worst sufferers still have a roof over their heads. They have, or can large | obtain, food; the officlal survey shows that the Nation has abundant wheat, potatoes and other vegetables to meet all needs.” ) s | Britain Has Virtually Eliminated Murder Prom the St. Louis Times. Last vear London had 31 murders. Seven of the slayers committed suicide, six were hanged and four were sen- tenced to prison. That leaves only four not yet cleared up. In Chicago in a year there were 421 murders and 4 executions. In New York there were 428 killings and 6 executions Eng- land has practically wiped out murder by strict enforcement of the law. Judge Kavanaugh, well known Chi- cago jurist, blames public sentiment for difference between conditions here and abroad. He says the most popular judges in America are the most lenient. Probably the largest single reason for the difference is the delay in A.nerican court procedure compared to the fast- working English courts. There are those who claim the amount of crime news in the papers has some efiect on the amount of crime. In the first. place, the amount of crime news in comparison with other classifications of news is not large. And, in the second place, England’s own experience shows that the amount of crime news has no bearing on the number of offenses. English papers give much more space to crime than do American papers. English papers print crime news in greater detall. And yet murder is al- most passing out in London. e e Bring On Machine Guns. From the Altoona Mirror. Chicago is building its first all-metal Also Tnduces Profanity. Y e e e e