Evening Star Newspaper, October 28, 1930, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR Sunda; Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY......October 28, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor ,The mh.-gx:‘aeg-flzpu Company 11th St and Pennsyivi ch."%'* 's'&fl'fi '&n higan Bullding. Sliosea. %&fé,‘ A:; :nelim . "ondon, Rate by Carrier Within the City. The 43¢ per month r. EVeniRg ana Cenen 4 Bundavs) 60c per month The Evening and Surdiy’ Sidf (when 5 Pundays) 65¢ per month The Sunday St er Sops ar ¢ Cotlection mads ut the iid of taeit Orders may be sent 1n by Mall GF lelepaone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, d 13r- #10.00: 1 mo.. 3% ¥r, $6.00: 1 mo.., S0¢ YTy $4.00; 1mo.. 400 All Other States and Canada. Dally and Sunda: .+ $32.00: 1 mo.. §100 Binda0hy /e men &8 Member of the Associated Press. Associated Press is exclysively enti publication of all news Cis- d ot otherwise cred- alfo the ,0cal new: in. All rights of publicat hes herein are also :cserve The tled o the = The Mystery of Mussolini. 1Is Mussolini merely talking war and really planning peace, or has he defi- nitely embarked upon the creation of a Fascist empire by those “cannon,” which ‘yesterday he glorified at Rome as! mightier than “fine words"? It would | be difficult to conceive a more disquiet- ing outburst from the head of a Euro- pean state than I1 Duce’s fulminations | on the eve of the eighth anniversary | of the Black Shirt conquest of Rome. At a moment when the whole world, and in particular that part of it which lies across the Atlantic, clamors for | calm #nd stability, ' Mussolini once again shakes it to its foundations with a Kaiseresque detonation. The Italian ruler demands revision of the fréaty of Versailles. It is “only toward the East,” he thunders, “that we can direct our peaceful expunsion.” Hence, he blusters with disconcerting candor, “our friendships and alliances.” Mussolini declares that Fascism's “hard- ened policy” against its external foes is Justified by their plottings and prepara- tlons. To his frenzied partisans in the Palazzo Venezia on Monday, he dramatically exhibited maps of “bat- terles posted, forts constructed and armaments predisposed and consign- ed”—a palpable reference to extensive mew military works in Eastern France. Predicting that “by 1950, Europe will be on its last légs and decrepit,” Mus- solini hints that Italy alone will be “a country of young men.” The implica- tion, of course, is that by that time the banners of Fascism will be firmly planted all over the continent, with dictator- ship supplanting popular government. “Fascism,” he tells us, “is an army on the march, whose battle has become world-wide,” and which aims at the creation of “the twentieth century state, far different from states existing before 1789, or formed later.” That takes in a lot of territory. Incidental- ly, it embraces the United States of America. In 1932 11 Duce purposes staging a Wascist show avowedly designed to stagger an unbelieving universe. On the tenth anniversary of the march on! Rome, he plans “the greatest armed | gathering Rome has seen in its 3,000 years of history.” Fifty battalions of Fascists, with 50,000 young Fascists, and 90,000 standard-bearers of 9,000 combat groups are to gather in the capital. Similar manifestations will be organized in Milan, Perugia and Nafiles. Mussolinl would persuade the world that Italy is arming “materially and | spiritually, to defend herself—not to sttack” Pescism, he asserts, “never will take the initiative of war.” Ttaly “will disarm, if all disarm.” Mean- time and conversely, she is arming, “relatively speaking, because all are arming.” He excoriates disarmament proceedings at the League of Nations @s a mixture of sham and hypocrisy. “A childish game,” he calls them. Perhaps when a full decade of I Duce’s dictatorship has passed into his- tory, we shall have a clearer perspective of it. Till then, the mystery of Mus- solini is likely to persist, unless in the interval explosive words kindle & con- flagration. Some unbiased observers think that the Fascist czar aims only st galvanizing Italian life with a spirit of virile nationalism which was lack- ing before he took charge of the coun- try. To these observers, Mussolini cuts the figure of a barker, rather than a biter, and one, moreover, who on the ‘whole is barking to the inestimable good of his people. How conducive militant nationalism thus processed is to the cause of peace 45 open to question. There is an exiled old sutocrat in Holland who could tell Il Duce a thing or two about the partments with electricity. Congress at since been interpreted as merely ap- | planes entered, there can be no ques- way to Alexandria, the barrier seems destined to remain. ‘There should be a relatively simple remedy for the trouble. Instead of placing the barrier squarely across half the wide road to the point where it joins the narrow road, it should.be Pplaced obliquely, so that the driver ap- proaching the narrow road will be warned and given time to make the curve gradually. As it is now the driver approaching Alexandria on the right- hand side of the highway comes upon the barrier so suddenly that nothing saves him. He must either stop sud- denly, endangering those behind him, or crash through the fence. Many have crashed through the fence. ———————— | The Power Survey. | The taxpayer who makes an honest effort to see reason and common sense through some of the mazes of legal red tape that bind legislation is apt to be rewarded with an attack of vertigo for his pains. The Commissioners have an :-ppmpnnucn for rebuilding the power plant at Occoquan, to furnish power | for the reformatories there and at Lorton. In the meantime the question has arisen whether the District cannot buy power cheaper from the Virginia Public Service Corporation than it can | make it. One report indicates that it 2an buy power cheaper, and the authori- ties are now discussing with the power company scme changes in the form of contract which would enable the Com- missioners to put the matter up to Congress. | In the meantime, after considerable study, the Engineer Commissioner is about to let a contract to one of several bidders for the job of making a survey | to determine the feasibility of a munici- pal-owned plant which, presumably, would furnish the various municipal de- the last session appropriated $25,000 for this purpose, though the debates did proposal and left the reading public considerably in the dark as to whether the members of Congress who voted for the item understood exactly what it was meant for. Senator Norris, at least, seemed to construe the appropriation as an opening wedge for his long-sought municipally-owned, or Government- owned, power plant to supply the Capi- tal Oity with electricity. But ‘it has plying to the manufacture of power for municipal government use. The District buys its electricity cheaply. It is doubtful whether it could make it so cheaply. But suppose the survey now about to be undertaken shows that it can make its own electric- ity more cheaply. What then? Is there any indication that Congress, on the strength of the figures, will order the municipality to manufacture its own electricity? There is none. To make electricity for municipal use alone would hardly ‘be worth while. The logical step would be to have the municipality supply electric current to the Federal Government, as well. And does Congress intend to do this? Public ownership of the electric light plant might be ideal, though there are plenty who will contest that. The ques- tion is why there should be any expen- sive power survey without some faint guarantee that Congress intends to make use of the results. There have been power surveys in the past, and they have come to nothing. Airplane Racing. Presumably becayse one of its chief pllots lost his 1ife in the recent Trenton air meet, the Curtiss-Wright Flying Service, one of the best known aviation companies in the United States, has issued a ban on racing by members of its organization. The accident which is declared to have precipitated this bunched as they were about to round a pylon. One of the contestants, trying 0 escape from such close quarters, sud- denly zoomed upward with the ap- parent intention of dropping out of competition. As he did so, however, he sheared off the tail of a plane directly above him and both ships, after wab- bling crazily for a moment, crashed to the ground, killing the pilots. The an- nouncement of the Curtiss-Wright com- pany, couched in the following words, was issued a few days later: “After carefully considering the expenses, re- wards and risk involved in racing, it has been decided that this organization will not participate in any airplane races.” It is to be hoped that this decision does not mean that the company in- tends to abandon the development of high-speed planes. Speed is essential ; in commercial aviation. But in so far as “country fair” racing is concerned, with unskilled pilots and dangerous tion of the wisdom of the action. Asa disadvantages of saber-rattling. o matter of fact, all airplane racing, even under the most ideal conditions, has An ancient stone monument has been uncovered on the Cathcart, Scotland, ®olf course bearing marks which are| believed by some to be a record of a| solar eclipse occurring in the year 2893 B.C. Nonsense; it probably was erect- | ed in commemoration of a hole-in-one by some cld-time Caledonian linksman. —v——— When President Hoover canceled his plan to attend the Navy-Princeton game he got a break. A one-sided romp, & cold crowd, a high wind and an | ace-cold stadium are a poor combina- | tion e —— A Montana executive has just com- | pleted an 1,800-mile business trip in a| taxicab. Would it not have been cheaper | to buy the contraption outright and pay | the driver day wages? | ——— Remove This Hazard! It would be impossible to believe that the Virginia highway authorities would permit the outrageous traffic hazard to remain on the Alexandria ryoad at Four-Mile Run, were it mnot for the fact that the road was built that way in the first place and a score | of accidents have failed to remedy the dangerous layout. Nearly everybody who drives in and near Washington is famillar with the place. The high- ‘way has been widened from Washington to Four-Mile Run, but from that point received & figurative black eye from the public as a result of the National Air Races In Chicago, in which four able pilots lost their lives. It is little wonder, therefore, that the organization has decided to bar future competition. —————————— The Government is going wholesale at the objective of obliterating illit- eracy. ‘It is wondered if it will utilize that snappy style of advertising—"Sur- prise your friends; be the life of the party!” and “They laughed when some one handed me a letter written in Eng- lish.” The Black Death. The bubonic plague still is at large in the world. Perhaps the greatest terror in human history is recalled with the report of the Public Hedih Service that four cases of this malady have been dis- covered at the French seaport of Marseille. The story of the fourteenth century in Europe, when the black death killed approximately 25,000,000 perscns and almost depopulated some countries, is not yet a closed chapter. closing chapters of Sigrid Undset's great trilogy of medieval Norway, “Kris- tin Lavransdatter,” to appreciate in some degree the most terrible fear and to Alexandria it is so narrow that two vehicles passing have little room to spare. The wide road terminates abruptly with a barrier, which has been knocked to pieces and rebuilt ten or eleven times. Nothing seems to have helplessness that can fall upon & people, waiting for the hand of an invisible demon to fall upon them. ‘War, flood or famine hardly can dupli- cate such a picture. During the historical visitations of the bubonic plague medical science hardly had begun to ewolve out of magic and could do nothing. But dur- A— ' THE EVENING STAR, ‘WASHINGTO — ing the last century it has discovered the way the plague is spread, by means of lice parasitic on rats, and has been able to keep it effectively in check so that the outbreaks have been restricted to the Orient. Moreover, an abti- plague serum of some value, although far from a specific cure .r preven- tive, has been made. But insurance against a future pandemic demands the most whole-hearted international co- operation. The fact that the disease has come as far as Western Europe ine dicates that there are weak spots in the line of defense. One of the peculiar properties of an epidemic disease is its deceptiveness. For generations it will lie'dormant until| the world is lulled into a false sense of security. It will be assumed that the defensive measures are adequate. Then the discase will break out again with all its old virulence. The reappearance of the black death in the western world emphasizes the extreme value of the quarantine meas- ures enforced by the Public Health Service as one of the chief safeguards of the Nation. The landing of a regi- ment of enemy troops probably would be of far less significance than that a single rat carrying ‘with it the bubonic plague should slip past quarantine. —————————— A Texas clothing store orders forty-two morning coats from Chicago by tele- gram in anticipation of a tea to be given in honor of Mary Garden. It appears that there was not one to be had in the entire Panhandle district. No spats, S0 far as can be learned, were asked for. | The East m be ahead of them as far as footgear is concerned, but those two-gallon hats set off a cutaway in a manner that no effeminate derby or topper could possibly emulate. e Cheering at athletic contests and fre- quent smoking are so lowering the pitch of the youthful feminine voice in Amer- ica that the proportion of those qualify- not indicate clearly the source of the [ing for soprano parts is noticeably re- duced, declares the head of the music department- of a New Jersey college. Yes, and masculine voices, due to the crooning craze, are becoming muted and more indeterminable, so everything is all mixed up. B This ancient-modern backgammon is cerfainly one stylish game. New York specialty houses have gotten out dis- tinctive “backgammon frocks” for women. Just one more “dud” to pack for week end house parties, Think what a faux pas it would be to go to a back- gammon soiree wrongly equipped with bridge shin guards! ———— “Only God can make a tree, favorite poem. A man like the late James E. Lanham, tree expert of the office of public buildings and public grounds, who planted, protected, pre- served and beautified them for thirty years, worked for Him as well as for th Government. ' ————— The press agent who thought up that gag about bandits robbing the pay roll of poor little Mary Pickford's miniature golf course surely has his finger on the pulse of public interest and is slated for even higher realms. — s A London dispatch reveals the fact that women outnumber men two to one in offering petitions for divorce. It is probably not so much that men treat women worse than women do men, but that women's feelings get hurt more easily. ———— From the pulpit of a New England | Unitarian church, states a news dis- patch, Earl Carroll bitterly assailed Boston for its stage censorship. He should have used a bathtub. ————— It must seem strange to the new Queen of Bulgaria to arrive at and live in an old-fashioned country that is ruled by a king, a cabinet and a parliament. o SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Reminiscence. The lass whose charms could so beguile, She’s far away, the Summer girl. The months have swiftly hurried by, And lonely, 'mid the breakers’ swirl, ‘The ocean zephyr breathes its sigh. I wonder was she short or tall, That lass whose charms could sa be- guile. But all that fancy can recall Is just a freckle and a smile. I know not if her eyes were blue Or if her hair was raven black! Of graces such as these we view Each day no noticeable lack. But nature ne'er again has caught ‘The archness, the unsteadied wile, The psychic combination wrought By just a freckle and a smile. A Limited Ambition. “Do you think you will live in his- tory?” asked the somewhat sardonic friend. “I don't know about that,” answered | Senator Sorghum, “but I'll live in the best hotels while I'm here.” Palmistry. “Do you think that there is anything in palmistry?” “I don't know,” answered young Mrs. Torkins, “Charles told a friend that every time he looked at his hand last night he knew he was going to lose money.” That Shining Example. "Twere sweet to be a busy bee, And never do a thing But eat and sleep, from duty free, Until some time next Spring. Really Glad. “Those two women must be l‘ea]lyl glad to see each other,” sald Miss Cayenne. “What makes you think so?” “When they met today they had so much to say to each other that they did not stop to kiss.’ Discouraged. “There is no use trying to please peo- ple,” said Mr. Dustin Stax. “What is the trouble?” “If you don't contribute to campaign funds they say youe parsimonious, and l1¢ you do they say you're corrupt. All That's Needed. This world would be exceeding good, A perfect paradise, in sooth, It voters voted as they should And candidates all spoke the truth. “De trouble wif some men,” said Uncle Eben, “is dat dey can't bring deir se'fs to holler foh work as loud as dey Kkin hurrah in & mufip campaign.” Perhaps our lady readers might like a description of a burlesque show. Many women of today harbor a con- viction that a stage entertainment of this type is very, very wicked. ‘They not only do not go to such en- tertainments themselves, but they do not think that their menfolk ought to 80, either. Hence the menfolk quietly sneak away once in so often to witness the nearest thing to the slap-stick of Eliz- abethan drama which remains to the stage. The burlesque stege has a way of sie,ing remarkably the same, year after year, in essentials. What has happened 1o it, since the World War, is that the ladies of the chorus have taken off most of their clothes. This same thing, however, has been done so often in expensive musical comedy that it should be no_particular cause for a knitting of the brows. . The two main props of the modern burlesque show, as of the old ones, are tiac comedians and the girls. Oftentimes the ‘comedians deserve thefr name only Lhmu’h courtesy. Sometimes they are funny. Their humor is of the crude variety, with a great deal of slap-stick. The off- color tinge is not as prevalent as one \rhnkhas only heard about it might think. Hugely apparent situations are creat- ed, often of a rough-house character, with the broadest characterizations, built up on misunderstanding, aided by plays on words. The Irish and Jewish comedians still hold the center of the stage. Then usuglly there is the typical, well dressed young man who has such a difficult time making the clown of the piece under- stand. * K K K The trouble they all have with the ladies offers the excuse for such “action” as_a typical burlesque show offers. The girls, of course, give the show its flavor. Without the women, neither musical comedy nor burlesque would be_much. dress, and their good looks (and most women would be surprised at the good appearance of most of these choruses) the modern burlesque show stands its ground. Let us enter such a theater. The average male being hopes that he won't meet his Aunt Hattie coming along the sidewalk just as he enters. Inside the lobby are typical pictures of the chorus, in vagious states of un- dress. From the auditorium come the sounds of the orchestra, with brass pre- dominating. Some day some genius of this type of show is going to take the trombone in hand. Inside, a blue haze of cigarette smoke hangs in the air. But the atmosphere is no more troublesome than in a sweil Testaurant where smoking is permitted. * K ok K £ ‘While the audience is made up mostly of men, there are a number of women present, and, strangest seeming of all, several children. The kids sort of give you a start, till you realize that they belong, by EWS AND CHRONICLE, Lon- don.—Don't waste your dead cats and dogs. The Sovict has found a new use for them. 2p must be made from cats and dogs,” says Pravda, the Soviet newspaper. “One medium sized cat, boiled down, gives five ounces of fat, and the average dog, more than & pound.” y will be used in preparing & popular toilet cake called My Grandmother's Bouquet. Boiling, instead of throwing away, the carcasses used by the State Fur Syndicate, will yield annually 5,000 tons of fat for soap, releasing an equal quantiéy of other fats edible for the workers. An official circular urges but to keep each litter for a year, and then sell them to the soap and fur syndicates. Soon, indeed, we sh-ll’ be speaking of Russia as the “Soaplet.” * k k ok ‘Germany Restored To Rhodes Scholarship List. Neues Wiener Tagblatt, Vienna.—The rector of New College in Oxford de- clared at a banquet given the stewards of the Rhodes Scholarship Funds, at London, that Cecil Rhodes, in estab- lishing the foundation, had in mind the furtherance of world peace and an advancement in international social and industrial co-operation. Originally his project included the participation of students, not only from all parts of the British Empire, and from the Amer- ican Republic, but also from Germany. “We believe,” said the rector, continu- ing his address, “that in spite of the break-up in friendly relations due to the war, time has soothed mutual resentment to an extent that makes it no longer necessary to delay the admis- sion of German students to the privilege of these scholarships. Therefore, both the Oxford authorities and the Rhodes trustees have decided to admit German scholars to all the rights and advantages of the kind, so_ that, beginning next term, Germ Rhodes appointezs will again be seen at the fount of British learning.’ * ok ok X Messina Cathedral To Have Elaborate Clock. 11 Gazzettino, Venice.—The immense and beautiful cathedral at Messina (Sicily) now under construction is to have one of the largest and most elaborate clocks in the world in its bell tower. This clock will have an illumi- nated’ dial which will show the time for great distances both day and night, and | 15 to be equipped with other mechanism | which will show the positions of the | celestial bodies and their phases. Other | devices will indicate the ebb and flow of the tides and changes in wind, weather and temperature. A chanticleer upon the summit of the tower will crow at dawn and sunset, and at noon a lion will emerge from a lofty recess and roar. Chimes will mark the passing of each | quarter, and an infant, & youth, a| soldier gnd a septuagenarian will appear | successively each 15 minutes. Bronze | figures of Sicilian heroines will strike | the hours, and other 'symbolical figures, also of bronze, will mark the season and the month. The clock is said to be the most intricate and inspiring work of man yet devised and will be one of the chief wonders of a world long accustomed to the marvelous. * kK % Moving in Moscow Not Way Out of Housecleanin, Japan Advertiser, Tokio.—In Moscow | moving is not an easy way out of Spring and Fall housecleaning. An ironical tale is told first about one divorced couple and then another, de- scribing their difficulties and delays in finding separate quarters after the de- | | cree was signed. Changing living quar- ters is a tedious business in Moscow. First, one advertises in Pravda, or in| any other of the government papers of Moscow (and their circulation, by the way, is enormous). One tells what one has to exchange in the way of living quarters, say, two smail rooms in an apartment with three other families, or one large room accommodating Iwo other families (according to the gow ernment’s specifications), and a bit to spare. No need to add the rental figure. That depends upon the pay checks of father and mother. When their pay goes down, or one of them is out of work, down goes the rent in exact pro- portion to the drop. And the same token of Communist justice up goes the rent the minute one of the wage earn- ernnv‘!:‘lrm " AR ant ad, on “‘uybod.vmw somethipg sits down to wait. that there must be Upon their agile caperings, their un-| Rats, mice and marmots also | peasants not to do away with puppies, | D. C, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1930. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. right of birth, to this lhnmn. No doubt their mothers once woi in just such choruses as these. The general tone of the meeting is a bit ribald, to the sensitive taste, but not enough so to be offensive. The footlights do a great deal to tell all and sundry that this display, after all, these jokes, these occasionally crude ‘actions, are in line with the oldest stage tra- dition. The man with a taste for anclent things in the theater may well believe, as he sits here, that he is watching a bit out of the sixteenth century. Open your Shakespeare at random, dear reader, and perhaps read some- thing approximating the fooling of the average burlesque show of 1930. * ok K K ‘These comedians are very dull. If only they would hit each other = bit more, or fall down, or something! But no, these are .quiet fellows, who cheat us out of our slap-stick. Per- haps they aspire to some “big show.” We close our eyes, waiting for the scintillating Sally to appear. Eally was what we came for, and whom the remainder of these gentlemen came for. Sally is the show. Yonder is a bill clerk, and over there is a business man, and behind him a saflor, and beyond him a writer, and over there a retired gentleman with much money at his command. We all are waiting for Sally. * k% ¥ Sally is one of these girls who are all things to all men. Men who fancy themselves tough hombres say she 15 “as hard as nails. Those who respond to the more dei cate phases of humanity declare heat- edly that Sally “is all right” and is only a nice kid “doing her stuff” for a lving. Anyway, Sally can pack this house merely by the mention of her name. Here they have been waiting for an hour and a half for her to appear She will come on in a minute in a violet bathrobe, or whatever it is, and walk around for about four minutes, And every one will be happy. Sally is like that. * Sally is a tall towhead, whose hair shines like silver beneath the glare of the spotlight. She cannot sing, but her talking voice has a quality to it. Sally does nothing much except walk, but it 15 decorative walking, i must be admitted. Sally has an air to her that none of the rest of them has. Every one admits that, even those who pose as experts in the discussion of “burlesque queens.” As a matter of fact, no one thinks of Sally a_ burlesque queen. Shs is Sally, the scintillating. A pathetic something lies in her eyes. ‘There is a childish quality to the lines of her face which time probably never will obliterate. For four minutes she makes a dream palace out of an old burlesque theater, | Personality is personality, wherever |you find it Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands with quarters offered for exchange. The point is, “Is that something wrong as wrong as what is wrong with our place?” Poker face is the motto. Why tell, for example, that all the other tenan of the house co-operating to the “nth” degree can’'t make an intolerable nefgh- bor anything but intolerable? Let Michel Ivanovitch Stambuloff Kous- tetzov and Katrinska Kousttetzova find out for themselves when they are moved in, and there is no turning back to their two tiny rooms in the suburbs half way to Sparrow Hillsl There is little trouble getting settled. It is only & matter of bringing pressure to bear on the various pieces of furniture, and of hanging the pictures of Lenin and B:«nlin in dpsropcr 1sl’po'.s. dOf cg:l’se, the | pPlace needs repairs, and probably has | ince 1614, bus 1t Is ‘ustlese to 1eleyhone the ufent, Besides, the housewife has a full n{!?;noon'sc job standing in a queue outside a “Co-op” to get a loaf of black bread for dinner, 5 * x x % Brussels Wants Liguor, But Would Penalize Drunkenness. Le Soir, Brussels.—The chairman of the Liberal Federation in the Brussels district has just presented the following resolution in the National Legislature: | _ “Considering that the Chamber of Representatives is setting up a commis- | slon to inquire into present liquor law enforcement, we deem it timely to make suggestions for a revision of the laws | of 1919, for the control of alcohol. While it is true that the laws of 1919 have exercised in a certain measure a | salutary effect, they have on the other hand engendered multiple frauds and a clandestine collusion between all the baser elements of the population, which logically have had a detrimental effect not only from the viewpoint of morality, but also from the viewpoint of public health. These conditions we consider as grave a danger to the social welfare | as any other abuses the Legislature has plo combat. “We believe that any legislation which conflicts with the character and the traditions of the Belgian people, instead of helping the battl: against the evils of alcohol, risks & contrary eventually We desire to warn members of the Chamber and of the Senate to be on guard agafhst the new legislation now being motivated which would place in the present laws against alcohol the prohibition principle, which we do not believe could be applied to our popula- tion. Instead we favor a return of the commercialized liquor traffic with heavy and repressive penalties for drunken- ness. We trust that before the end of the Dr!uat‘leflsl;tl:fi session there will a revision of e present law restraint of alcohol.” o o | London’s New Skyline Is Hardly Convincing From the Chicago Tribune. | [ew i - | gaged upon the greatly AT RANDOM L G M. CATTLE. By Willlam MacLeod Raine and Wil C. Barnes. Doubleday, Doran & Co., .~ ‘That early invasion of the West from the East by way of the covered wagon is famillar, in outline. at least, to every schoolboy. The_later counter invasion fyom South to North, however, by way of countless self-perpetuating hordes of the Genus Bos is known chiefly in the shreds and patches of official com- ment or personal adveniurous account- ings, That this stupendous trek up country has definitely modified and positively changed the color and quality of life throughout the West is not so generally realized, not so fully taken into account. To be sure, libraries have been writ- ten about this vast region from many a point of view. The pioncer, the hun- ter, the Indian fighter, the gold digger and the pure adventurer bave contrib- uted to the common sum of information and legend concerning it. The Govern- ment, has given official concern and attention to many demanding, points in the great West. And, indeed, to_the matter in hand—cattle. This book is among the first to give a full and adequate survey of thai ‘tre- mendous movement of cattle northward from Texas to Canada—that is, “Cattle” is clearly one of the first to set this eple circumstance to suitable dramatic recital. Trailing the yanishing bison and the retreating Indian, uncounted millions of bovines filled vast plains, foraging northward through valleys and along hillsides. Owners of limited herds soon became cattie kings. Thieves of live stock became the fashion. Local warfare was a commonplace. Swilt punishment, as lawless as the “lifting" itself, was all in the day's work. Dis- order and public menace demanded the intervention of the Government. And, right there, the matter stands today. At the center of this cattle invasion and expansien is the cowboy, a product of the new order. A picturesque figure who, whatever shortcomings he may have , had, unfailingly, never- theless, the commanding virtue of cour- age and daring. Good here, not so good there—like the rest of us—the cowboy stands to win in the estimation of all who secretly long for. a touch of ro- mance in a world that is largely of a literal prosiness. In this book you have thte cowboy—all there is of him. . “Cattle” is, in substance, a chapter in the economic history of this country. As such, it is compound of economic fact and the logic of modern industrial development. One of its authors is an expert in this fleld. The other writer, William Raine, knows the West from ground to sky-limit. He has written more than 30 novels upon that single theme. The two come together in a keen apprecia- tion of the tremendously picturesque quality of this chapter in the ope: of the West. It is clear that the cow- boy embodies in his personality and experience such romance as fills and overflows the subject. So, quite as mat- ter of course, these iwo impose upon story of the great cattle movement to- ward the North. A tale that is packed with incident, charged with electric flashes, ting each moment with new turns d trends and issues. Under- neath such surface glitter -and charm there is, nevertheless, the slow drive of an irresistible force, the glacial move- ment of economic factors working out through invincible laws toward certain significant industrial ends. A brilliant book. A useful one, gisédsfm :nd a grent; ly engrossing one. a story of c’;ttle, of Cosls and calves and bulls, all bent to the business of getting some- thing to eat—odd, that such a story in its full action and effect should turn out to be of pure epic effect. But so it does. A thing, indeed, to make Trojan wars and Persian conquests sing sort of low away back there in the mists of antiquity and incredulity. Alive, tre- mendous, lxclfinl——this;‘cuuu"l * * ok GIANTS OF THE OLD WEST. By Prederick R. Bechdolt. The Cen- tury Co. Here they are! John Colter, Stephen Austin, John Sutter, Brigham Young, Ashley, Goodnight, Becknell and others —glants of the West, all. Men who, ac- cording to this writer, made the West in certain of its large and lasting and productive effects. A group of stirring tales whose common center is pioneer- ing in one or another of its important aspects. Frederick Bechdolt appears to have but a single purpose in this study. And that is to devote to it his wide experi- ence in that section of the country, his deep knowledge of it, his patience of re- search, his practice in _recording events that have definite influence upon the subsequent run of historic development. With no apparent concern about pre- vious judgments rendered upon one or another of these chosen pioneers, Mr. Bechdolt confines himself to facts and to their fair interpretation as influence, both immediate and more remote, in the surroundings of each. Money- minded men, each of these leaders, save one. Brigham Young is the exception. And the story of Brigham Youn{lu one of the most absorbing of them all. One gets a fresh view of this captain of a new faith—or of a new interpretation of the old faith. And despite the spirit- ual connotation of the man, despite his absorption in a new Zion. Brigham Young is, after all, the modern business man—efficient in the current sense, practical, go-getting, masterful, not to be gainsaid, the lord in his own house, the house of the Mormon Church. He is an invigorating figure, strenuous to- ward his goal, zealous: to make the desert blossom like the rose—which is exactly what he did, that and many another useful and progressive thing. ‘This is not the only vital story here. All of them are of that quality. "And all of them are wonderfully worth while to us who are only today, and yesterday, beginning to realize even a small part of the resources of our own country in a ‘history that is surpassing both in its human content and in its surpassing natural grandeur and richness. The book, this sort of book, is invaluable to every reader who wants to know, and should know, that which devolves upon him as a partaker of so much that sums both as inheritance and obligation. The manner of “Giants of the Earth” is the manner of the historian who is more WAGONS WEST. By Elizabeth Page. Farrar & Rinehart, Inc. ‘This is a novel. momentous theme of the Oregon Trail. A thema From October 1 on, no doubt to some | whose character fits the interest of millennium, buildings in London may go| young students of American history. It 80 feet, no farther, toward the sky. Though his new law excludes ttl):) stories in the roof and spires, turrets and other incidents that may aspire higher, 80 feet will be the rule, and London will hereafter be miles long, miles broad, and 80 feet in thickness. America builds thicker cities, layer on layer toward the hundreds, but London and the Continent, where 20 stories soon to be in Antwerp will tower over all the plain, like their sandwich thin, ‘There are good reasons, and if Europe prefers low buildings and distributed metropolt, such styles ave theirs to choose. But there are bad reasons, too; for example, that of Maurice E. Webb, quoted solemnly in the Times of Lon- on. A large skyscraper in New York, says Mr. Webb, houses some 10,000 people, equivalent to a town the size of Maidstone. In fire or a panic, even though each person could get out at once, the street belov, he says, could not hold them. And so it goes. On the assumption evidently that a Loncon skyscraper must be of old and hallowed non-fireproof construction, the English want no skyscrapers. They want new styles in the old-fashioned way or not at all. Good reasons there are for| keeping a low skyline, but such terrify- ing fantasies hardly are convincing. r—.—— Tome Used as Private Bank. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A heavy work on philosophy in the library of an Eastern college contained $11 in bills, the finding being more re- markable than that the tome was used as a private bamh is adventure throughout, and to this sort of study the boy and girl give them- selves in ardor. It came about that three generations of intimate 1ecord fell to the hand of this writer. 1ndeed, she appears to have been brought up on the family story of going out into the West, of covering in the course of time the trail to Oregon it~ self. With such material in hand, Elizabeth Page undertook the big job of turning the family adventure into a novel. The result is a very intimate egoing along on the part of the reader, a sort living in actuality that which had formerly been a series of lessons in_history. Histary is dry stuff, as a rule, though it is picking up in that respect nowadays. This story is at no point dull, &t no point destitute of action and deep interest. The covered wagon becomes a reality and the region that today is mapped with cities and roads in quick succession becomes again the long miles of uninhabited land, of roadless prairies to cross, of bridgeless streams to ford. All very real, very absorbing. And it is due, in great part, to the story that such actuality of effect is secured. It may be counted too long a tale for these days whose hours are so filled with numbers of things. Yet, while I myself decry the long story because of the pressure of the modern day, yet I read this sto: nd would do it again if a few of the other things would just let up for a little. A meritorious piece of work. Better yet, a vivid account of e st s R s ly & _part of the vital history of the couniry. 8 | more of this hero the busine.s of delivering the‘ than half the poet and the story-teller.| * K kK 1t is also history, en- | ‘What do there some or personal mfi"nfimm‘ yolu ou lelay? Submit your question to {Frederic 'J. Haskin, " direc! of our Washington Information Bureau. is employed to help you. Address your inquiry to The Evening Star Informa- tion Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, direc- mr,uw’lshlnglon, D. C, lnd, inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. . Q. Of what descent is Richard Barthelmess? What are his chief suc- cesses in the movies?—C. 8. A. He is of Bavarian descent. His father was an importer, his mother an jactress. His first successful part in pictures was in“War Brides.” Among his silent pictures are: “Broken Blos- need to know? Is ou? Is River." X . -y “Young Nowheres,” “Son of the Goas” and “The Dawn Patrol.” Q. Please give me some idea of the number of passengers carried in various countries on regularly scheduled air routes?—W. Y. H. A. The following figures indicate the number of such passengers carried in 1928: Austria, 5477, Belglum, 9854; France, 19,698, Germany, 113,615; Great Britain, 36,769, Italy, 8936, Netherlands, 17,00° Russ| 8,966, Spain, (,1#4: Sweden, 55,728, United | States, 49,713, jcover an automobile windshield during |@& drive in the Summertime?—G. E. L. A. During the Summer there are myriads of small insects in the air. When driving they are smashed against the windshield, causing the glass to be covered with fine specks. Q. Is Benny Leonard coaching box- { ing somewhere?—S. H. A recent report states that the former leight. eight champion has been appointed to coach boxing at the School of Business of the City College of New ork. Q. In which of the national the most geysers found?—R. Yellowstone than in all the world together. Q. Which is sweeter—white sugar or brown sugar?—D. L. H. A. Sucrose is the sweetening agent in sugar. White granulated sugar is 99 per cent sucrose, while brown sugar is between 96-99 per cent sucrose. Brown sugar may seem sweeter at times, but white gunulurgd sugar really contains the sweetening agent. | Q. How many men are buried in the | Confederate section in Arlington Ceme- tery?—L. P, A. There are 408 soldiers buried there. Q. How long have sausages been | known?—T. R. A. Sausages are mentioned by Athe- raeus in the Deipnosophistai, A.D. 228, the oldest cookery book which has come down to this day. He says that sausages | ;v;{esmenc tioned in a play written about Q. How many Jews are there in Ar- gentina?—F. E. 8. A. The Jewish Year Book estimates that there are about 100,000 Jews in Argentina. Q. How much water is discharged by rest of the with- | Q. What causes the fine specks which perks aje A. There are more geysers in the ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY,FREDERIC J. HASKIN. the Silver Spring in Florida?—L. N. A. It discharges on the average of | 368,913 gallons a minute. It is about 200 feet in diameter and 30 fect deep, and steamers from the Ocklayaha River come right up into it. Q. What wine was named the Glory of God>—S. K. L. A. The cordial, Bencdictine, origi- | nating with the monks of that order on account of its supposed recuperative | properties, was named by Francis I of nce in 1534 Benedictine ad majorem | Dei_gloriam (for the greater glory of God). Liquor is now distilled at Fe- camp on the site of the old abbey And the bottles bear the ecclesiastical ini- | tials D. O. M. or Deo Optimo Maximo (to God most good, most great). | @ What proportion of the popula- {tion of the United States is concen- mv:d in cities of 100,000 or over? 3 | "A." Over one-third of the population is dwelling in such largs communitics A, How tau is Pompey's Pillar?— A. This monumental pillar is 114 feet high and is about 1,800 feet from the southern gate of Alexandria, Egypt. It is composed of red granite, Q. Can I get a Federal permit to |carry a gun anywhere in the Unitod | States?—H. 8. C. A. The National Rifle Association says that there is no Federal permit is- [ sued which will permit one to carry a | revolver and which is good anywhere in | the United States. This matter is gov- erned by local statutory law and the |licenses are ordinarily issued either by municipalities or counties. i Q. What experiencé as a cook had ‘Georze Tennant had before he went to | the South Pole with Byrd>—W. F, A. He had gone previously with Byrd on his North Polar Expedition. He also | made the sandwiches which Byrd took | along_when he crossed the Atlantic by | air. “Tennant, left home at 16 to become :w dkeckf;{nnd h::nd soon after became & | cook. He cooked on shi parts of the world. o Q. Do people in Canada have a tax to have a radjo?—B. K. s A. There are over 500,000 licensed |radios now in use throughout the |Dominion and by the end of the Canadian government fiscal year on March 31, 1931, it is expected the |total number of licensed sets in use will be about 600,000. All owners of radio receiving sets in Canada are required to take out a license from the radio branch of the Canadian | government department of marine at |& cost of $1. Q. What figures are to be done next on the Rushmore Memorial in South Dezkota?—R. P. . A. Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lin- coln and Theodore Roosevelt are to be done, in order. . Q. Is the Flonzaley Quartet still in existence?—C. B. A. The Flonzaley Quartet was dis- banded in 1029 efter 25 seasons. The last concert was given on March 17 in New York City. It was originally es- tablished in 1904. Q. How does the heat of the sun which reaches the earth compare with ;heRneéc generated by burning coal?— L Oy ¢ . A. Abbot estimates the solar energy reaching the earth equal to that released in burning 507,000,000,000 tons of coal per day. Man actually burns the equiv- alent of 5,000,000 tons a day. [4 Relations between public works and | taxation have been considered as | factors in the efforts to decrease un- employment. The debate follows ap- pointment by President Hoover of a Iromm!ttee to obtain relief. While this is balanced against the demand for economy, it is pointed out in some comments that the public is taxed ultimately for idleness as surely as it is taxed for increased public expendi- tures. Satisfaction is expressed tha greater preparations for relief have been made this year than ever before. ‘The Hoover committee receives ex- pressions of good will, but there is some demand for greater practical results in the efforts under way. “The President’s committee,” says the New York Sun, “invites co-operation from Governors of the States and from State and municipal agencies. Com- mittees have already been established in several States and cities; others no doubt will be formed as need becomes parent. The essential thing for all agencies is to proceed with sanity and firmness, neither stirring up unnecessary alarm on one hand nor failing frankly |to face difficulties as they come up. The oldest temporary remedy for un- employment is the execution of public works. A Pharaoh or Napoleon could order the construction of a pyramid or a highway and_put thousands of idle men to work. Democracy moves more slowly.” 2 “It is doubtful” according to the Chattanooga Times, “if ever in the history of the country so much prep- aration has been made for relief of the unemployed as is now under way. And this should not be taken as indica- ting that the situation is worse than in former periods of depression, so much as that Government and those who have plenty are awakening to a keener realization of their obligation to those who are in what President Hoover called ‘honest difficulties.’” It is an in- dication that the country which has | succored starving Russians and Near | East unfortunates is not going to neglect its own in a time of temporary distress.” * % % “The dole system has been a complete failure in England,” avers the St. Joseph Gazette, demanding for this country “a more rational scheme.” The Hartford Times advises *“no foolish ekxtravagance in governmental provision of work, but a liberal attitude and prompt action.” Pointing to work al ready done in Illinois, New York and Ohio, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat holds that “they are typical of a work that ought to be and must be done ‘Wheeling Intelligencer believes that “every citizen can assist by hard work and wise spending,” and concludes that “with a long pull, a strong pull and a pull together, unemployment will sharply subside. “What public psychology needs,” de- clares the New York Evening Post, “is a plain statement of the construction work and other re-employment agencies actually put into action by former com- mittees.” The Champaign News-Gi zette insists that “no practical solutio: has yet been presented by which the slack in the lines of business may be taken up,” and argues that “the best of the suggestions made so far seems to be that growing out of previous confer- ences wherein it has been suggested that Government building construction be pushed to the limit. On the subject of tendency to reduce budgets, the Milwaukee Journal empha- sizes the dilemma with the statemen! “Whether any President or administra- tion would have the courage greatly to multiply . public spending, thereby de- llbemtel{emcreuln‘ (;nure"::‘);'lotd.! before the very eyes of prot tax- ?'y"" is & question. But it is the ques- ion the President faces. The he advocated of increased public tures comes presently uonn of now. Will the adminf¥ :V‘l _V{'-. or announce pol e expendi- place tion go along inge of posi- Idleness Is Costly to Pul‘)]ic, Say Advocates of Job Plan marks: “Business and administrative leaders, employers generally, should take into account that when the unem- ployed reach the end of their resources they must be taken care of. They will have become dependents. They do not want to be dependents. What they want is work. Giving them work brings returns, not only to them, but also to the community.” It is argued by the Grand Raplds press that “both from the standpoint of public economy and the self-respect of those unemployed, it is better to put men to work than to support them in unhappy leisure.” The Albany Evening News records an increase of $700,000,- 000 in savings bank deposits in “a little more than half a year,” and urges that “if the public would buy now it would ¢ help tremendously.” The Chicago Daily News believes that “there are millions of persons who are depriving them- selves of necessities and comforts be- cause they are apprehensive in a vague way lest unknown evils develop,” and “they help to develop or intensify eco- nomic evils which rational expenditures would make impossible.” “The man with the same job and the same wages he had before the depres- sion,” asserts the Fort Worth Star- Telegram, “can best make sure of that job and those wages by spending as usual, thereby refraining from adding to the depression by unjustified restric- tion of his own purchases.” The Annis- ton Star advises widespread effort to add to such normal expenditures by ex- haustive search for “odd jobs” that may be found for those who are out of work, “even to the extent of straining a point , sometimes.” Definite advantages in buying now are stressed by the Milwaukee Sentinel, with the statement: “The hundreds of thousands whose incomes have not been diminished and whose buying power is greatly increased by prevailing low prices must in some way be brought to see that their reluctance to buy is hold- ing up & return of normal business and 5;0:\;51:}115 &hr ;ery mcnnditlom the dread vhic] induci them to withholy their purchases.” . . Highway From Arctic To Antarctic Planned !‘run’n the Los Angeles Evening Express. Rifluential men of Mexico are here to confer with Americans and make * plans for an international highway of the Pacific. The highway envisioned by these men will extend from the f Arctic circle to the Antarctic along the ¢ ;::cmgl fi%‘f‘h:“& X realized will prove” al luence in the lif & dosen nations. s e present conferences are not ex- pected to deal with the project as a whole, but only the planning and financing of the highway through Mexico. A scouting party from the Au- tomobile Club of Southern California went over a part of the route a few months ago, when meetings were held with President Rubio, former President Calles and other high officials and business men of Mexico, and. much progress was made. The meetings here nn_:r ;‘ seque‘l1 to that tour, road practically’ is comple through Canada. Jolning. 1n. e marth Wwith roads in Alaska and south those of Continental United States. Now the Mexicans are eager to get to work on their link of the chain. Then will come the countries of Central and South America. Over this entire_route only Wo languages are spoken, English and Spanish — excepting the dialects of aborigines. No such conditions exist elsewhere in the world, nor is a similar undertaking: elsewhere ‘concelvable, o Mussolini Own Speed f-w. From the Oakland Tribune. Mussolini, a dispatch says, drives miles an hour. But, ther‘l’,' he is speed law in Italy. e Jawbone Economy Planned. From the Duluth Herald. 81 the 7 . s * %k %k k 3“"“"’ 1l toward ‘Droblem, the Kansas Citpffimes Te. Eventually the time wasted in’talking tisfactory condi about unsat tions devoted to improving them. m"’