Evening Star Newspaper, December 20, 1930, Page 6

THE EVENING STAR | With Sunday Morning Edition, | WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY...December 20, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES. . . . Editor ;Bl Evening Star Newspaper Company Business- Office: Lith St and Pennsylvania, Ave, 'a'::uoygm ke, Michisan Bulldjns. An Office; 18 Repent 8i., London, Englan Rate by Carrier Within The Evehing ane Sunday City. Per month i 60c per month r .€5¢ per month , Star C per copy Collection made at the end of each month. rders may be sent in by mail or 'elephone Ational . Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. .1 ¥r., $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ y only 36.00: 1 mo.. 50¢ day only All Other States and Canada. {ly and Sunday. §r.. $12.00 ily only . 1yr. $8.00: day only yr. §5.00: 1 the Ry mo., $1.00 | Mo, i3 | mo., 5bc Member of the Associated Press. The A to the u n this paper and also the local news published herein. ~All rights of publication of soecial dispatches herein are also 1eserved. - Relief. The first of the promised relief meas- ures has been passed by both houses of Congress and gocs to the President for his approval. It is the bill to aid the drought-stricken areas of the country, providing $45,000,000 out of the Federal ‘Treasury fcr this purpose. It was a foregone conclusion that in the end such a measure would be put through without a dissenting vote. For days the bill and its companion measure provid- ing an emergency construction fund to help relieve the unemployment situation have been made the vehicles of political attacks upon President Hoover and his administration. In the end, however, the administration’s opponents took the bill, rather than be placed in the posi- tion of further holding up relief for the farmers. ‘The people, especially those who are suffering for want of food and clothing THE - EVE not be recognised until it holds office | plank. None of the Romanoffs ever by virtue of assent by elected repre- | wielded more autocratic power than, sentatives of the people. To meet this|in consequence of these shiftings at provision the new Guatemalan pro- | Moscow, will henceforward be wielded | ernments of the past few days con- visional President, or any permanent officer, must be in authority with the consent and approval of the National Congress, which is now in session. Gen. Manuel Orenalla, who is the third President Guatemala has had within a week, appears to be installed ‘with some prospect of durability, though that, in the iight of Guatemalan his- tory, past and current, is only a rela- tive term. One of the ephemeral gqv- trived to secure Washington's recog- nition. The foreign diplomatic corps at the capital seems to have lent a mediatory influence and sat in on con- ferences looking to the re-establishment of peace. A congressional statement declares that “the critical period 1is over” and calls attention to the fact that “the recent political difficulties resulted in a minimum of blood spill- ing.” Unfortunately, the outside world is confronted with the obvious neces- sity of remaining prepared, at almost any moment and almost anywhere beyond the Rio Grande, for the ad- Judication of “political difficulties” through “blood spilling.” They are not our ways, and we deplore them, but as long as they remain the purely local method of composing differences in Latin lands, America's role can be only that of a sorrowful and always well- wishing observer. e Low School Fares. ‘The action of the Senate District Committee in reporting out the bill for reduced street car or bus fares for school children, as well as the sensible changes made in the bill as it passed the House last session, brighten the possibilities for passage of this measure during a sessicn of Congress when strictly local legisiation will not receive much attention. As it is now phrased the bill is apparently approved in prin- ciple by the street car lines, and lan- 1 vital int:rnational problems confronting by Czar Stalin. In the January number of “Foreign Affairs,” Paul D. Cravath, distinguished New York corporation lawyer, discusses “The Pros and Cons of Soviet Recogni- tion.” He says it “Is one of the most] the American people.” Mr. Cravath is a frank advocate of recognition. He does not argue that the Soviet is the ideal state or is maintaining a system worthy of American regard. But, he points out, “our Governm:nt has fre- quently established cordial diplomatic relations with governments that were notoriously autocratic and vicious.” It would be difficult for Mr. Cravath or any one else to give a better epitome of what Moscow stands for than to call it an “autocratic and vicious” govern- ment. Because it is that, four Amer- ican presidential administrations in succession have withheld recognition of it. Mr, Cravath finds it “a great pity” that the United States alone among the great powers “has deliberately excluded itsell from exercising any influence through the usual diplomatic channels in the development of the institutions of the most populous nation in Europe.” In almost the same breath, the New York lawyer observes that American| diplomatic relations with Russia “might be hard to maintain, for the Soviet statesmen have not shown an aptitude ; for co-operation.” That is putting it very mildly. Far from showing aptitude for co-operation in countries which extended it diplo- atic fellowship, Soviet Russia time | and again has abused the privilege by using embassies and legations as cloaks for Communist intrigue in foreign capitals. Great Britain, France and China, among others, have had prac- tical experiences with Russian recogni- tion. It has not been of a sort to per- suade the United States of the wisdom of making things easler for the or- guage in the House bill which might have discrimnated against the pupils of and the work which would enable them ; parochial and private schools has been to purchase hoth, are not so much in- [suitably changed to include all school terested in the political ambitions of | children. the men on Capltol Hill as they are in| 1In effect, the bill directs the Public ganizers of “world revolution.” —————————— It was a long, hard drought and the work of restoring land productivity must begin before much time has THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Pictures in the fire are not as inter- esting as the behavior of the burning logs themselves. Sitters by the fireplace are not al- ways in a mood for creatifig dream pic- tures out of flame and smoke. Dream pictures require mn};nce, and romance is not always on tap. Always, however, the logs in the fire- place have a way of burning which is rely their own. en:.«loe&o fingerprints differ more than two logs in their methods of burning, even if they are chips off the same old block. stick of wood placed on the lnglvr:rlgs ‘:l‘:fi its own 1nd¥vldull way of catching fire, bursting into flames, sending up smoke, exuding resins, emit- ting those gaseous bits of blue fire so exciting to the fireplace sitter. * K K K every chess game is different from ife predgcessor, even it one has been playing the royal game all his life, so every fire in a fireplace is a little different from every other fire, even those kindled in '.hef sama place and ith the same type of wood. i ‘AA for us, we like wood that snapples, and crackles, and hisses, and sparks. Some would-be fireplace experts, -we understand, claim that no connoisseur lerates such logs. ol upon snappling, crackling fire- wood!” they assert, or are said to as- sert. They have measured the exact moisture content of the approved wood and demand a written certificate from the old countryman who sells it by the cord. “Tell me, fellow, whether your wood measures an exact 20 per cent of moist- ure,” they ask. very haughtily, or their idea of haughtiness. *The old man looks at them wonder- | ingly. He takes his wood as it comes and has no more idea than the man in the moon whether it is a gay deceiver | in_the matter of water content or not. He knows that sometimes logs will contain wood borers, pernicious worms with white bodies and hard, black heads, which will saw away until the fire hits them. ‘The heat, evidently, stirs them up to extra effort. Sometimes their noise is covered up by the stewing of the wood, the crackling, the snappling. But the countrywise person can hear them, by the peculiar sandpaper-like noise they make. Closer and closer will creep the flames down the log. ‘The wood borer's rasp is a song of life. Suddenly it expires in a loud, long hiss, as the flame strikes it. Upon its unknowing, peculiar and ugly black a little real relief. Words count mighty little at certain times. This is one of them. For that reason it may be ex- pected that an agreement will be reached, perhaps today, upon the bill carrying $116,000,000 to be used this ‘Winter for additional work on Govern- ment construction projects already au- thorized by Congress. The value of these relief measures depends, not so much upon.their exact wording as upon the administration of the relief itself. The President has sought, and has sought rightly, the most elastic kind of legislation possible in order that the administrators of re- lief should not find themselves tied hand and foot and unable to ald where ald was most needed. His critics in Congress have sought to fix the bonds upon the hands of the Chief Executive and his assistants, with the object, ap- parently, of hitting at Mr. Hoover. For three weeks the contest has proceeded. ‘What the critics of Mr. Hoover have left unsaid regarding his life, character and career are only the real facts. They have twisted truth again and again to make a case against the Chief Executive, until even many of Mr. Hoover's.. opponénts -themselves have become sickened with the exhibition. In the end, it appears, the adminis- tration is to haye in the main the measures which its program calls for. It will be up to the administration under the circumstances to make good in carrying out the relief plans. Gov- ernmental red tape, the failure to set up a machinery that can and will act promptly, would nullify the efforts of those seeking to bring relief to the un- fortunate. . Apples. ‘The apple has come in for a bit of publicity recently, not only in the public press, but in the minds of all men and women who go downtown. Owing to a surplus of exceedingly red apples and their use by the army of the unemployed, these fruits have come more and more in the public eye. Today it is impossible to walk a block in the downtown section without stum- bling over baskets of red, ripe apples. The truth is that neither one apple a day nor one of any other fruit will se- cure the blessing of health. o But since the apple is a splendid thing to eat and to behold, at once clean and luscious, it is exceedingly fortunate that the unemployed are able to sell it in such large numbers. Let no one become disgusted with apples, therefore, just because they are | literally being thrown at one on every corner. It should be remembered that many useless things might have been offered | and that many passersby would have bought them. under the circumstances. The apple needs no sign, although it has many. It is good to look at, good to eat, and good for you. What more could be asked? ——— Soviet theories are said to be break- ing down. There is no production so} abundant as new thorles in Russia. If| one set is abandoned, another is always #%s outer concourse, whence lead the | The traveler entering it is exhilarated, Utllities Commission to put into effect reduced fares for school children, but fixes a maximum rate of one-half the adult fare. Whether the fares can, in the best interests of all concerned, be brought even below this figure would depend upon an investigation by the Public Utilities Commission of the facts. Leaving to the Public Utilitles Com- elapsed. Many statesmen in earlier life | head has descended something un- knew something about farming them- selves and are displaying a wise appre- clation of the value of quick action in affording relief. ————— Remains of Lenin, preserved with such lifelike semblance, are said to be showing the effects of time. Lenin's mission the duty of actually fixing the Tate of fare is not only fair to the street car companies but is the reasonable and proper course. Fixing rates of fare is one of the most important of the Public Utilities Commission’s functions, but it is not the function of Congress. The actual rate of reduction for school chil- dren under the maximum half-fare should be based on the determination of a reasonable price for the services that the street rallway companies will render. Now that the bill’has won a place on the Senate calendar, it is to be trusted that the members of both houses will for the time being waive any objections that are based on a fear that the meas- ure is not as far-reaching as it might be. As reported, the bill represents a desirable gain in the long campaign that has brought it this far, and with- out obstructive objections, as well in- tentioned as they might be, there should be no difficulty in securing its final enactment. RS RRSSTS, Union Station Illumination. One wonders if; when the great plaza between the Capitol Building and the Union Station of the Capitol of the United States shall have been cleared, landscaped, illuminated and otherwise beautified according to the best avail- able expert thought along those lines, the company controlling the station it- self will get around to a better lighting of its own structure, both inside and out. One wonders and one hopes, al- though in the past there has been little to inspire such hope. ‘That this great and handsome ter- minal, fitted both as regards archi- tecture and location to be a foil for great public structures and with a close relationship thereto, is illuminated in an entireiy inadequate manner is ap- parent to all. Its outer colonnade is| dim; its waiting room is gloomy and trairn, gates, is so dark that one can scarce rcgdgnize a relative, or familiar friend, or one’s own hand baggage. And it is in such a place that immediate recognition is essential. Compared with the Pennsylvania Sta- tion in New York, for example, the contrast is greatly to the detriment of ‘Washington's terminal. The metropoli- tan station is brilliantly illuminated. not depressed. It would seem that of all stations, anywhere, the one that is the very threshold of the Capital City of the greatest Nation should possess high-power lights, artistically installed, and plenty of them. e There might be less prolonged inquiry if 1t were as hard to get a Senatorial Investigating Committee as it is to secure an ordinary Jny. ready to take its place in the mill which politics has devised. v Revolution Comes North. Guatemala beccmes the fifth Latin Unchanging Russia. Alexis Rykoff has been relieved, at his own request, of the chairmanship of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Soviet Union. The post cor- American republic in 1930 to upset a | responds to what would ordinarily pass government by revolution, taking her | for the premiership of Russia, were the place alongside Bolivia, Peru, Argentina | Communist state under cabinet rule and Brazil. The northernmost country ! instead of a dictatorship. Rykofl's of Central America, with Mexico (m‘ideplrmre has been anticipated for its neighbor, is no stranger to govern- | some time, because of violent differences ment upheavals by force. A year after |on policy within th: Soviet high Manuel Estrada Cabrera was turned out | command. of office by a revolution in 1920, fol-| Now that he is definitely out, his Jowing twenty-two years of presidential | retirement is mainly significant in that dictatorship, his successor, Carlos Her- | it fortifies the position of Russia’s real rera, was himself overthrown by a coup | ruler, the iron Joseph Stalin. To an fame is, after all, but transient. In fu- ture centuries he will not be known even as the King Tut of Russia. ——————— Possibly the “bears” in Wall Street let the market get away from them and are left in the foolish position of having no public remaining to frighten into abandoning good stocks to be picked up as bargains. e Farmers who use wheat for fuel are unfortunate in the comparatively slow advancement of water power and elec- tricity to grind it into flour and in- crease its consumption by making bread and other cereal products. —— e A statesman who desires to enjoy his Christmas holidays must study the methods of the small boy who at this time of year makes a particular study of courtesy and adaptability. ——e—v Not all the foolish money has been wasted in reckless speculation. Any truthful bootlegger will admit that he got some of it. ——r——————— A 2-cent car fare would have been a fine Christmas gift for the school chil- dren if it could have been worked out in time. England has what is known as a “labor government,” with circumstances creating a serious lack of work. — e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Ol Man Trouble. Old Man Trouble went a-scowling on his way. He saw the stars all shining fit to make a holiday. The evergreens were growing and he said, “It seems to me That the lights above the glowing over many a Christmas tree, I've no excuse to stay Where the world is all at play.” Old World said, “Just drop the scowling | from your plan. If you tell 'em what's the matter, folks will cheer you if they can.” And Old Man Trouble when he found & helping hand Showed pathos we had missed, becauscj we didn't understand. We Said “Just wait awhile, And we'll teach you how to smile!” Same Old List, “Have you selected your list of New Year resolutions for 19312" “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I remind myself of my patient constit- uents who listen to the same old ideas from me year after year." Jud Tunkins says a man who wants to do all the talking deserves to be hanced a disconnected microphone and | e allowed to go on and entertain him- | self. Figures, More and Larger. We're figuring now for all we're worth ©On theories here upon this earth. Now Einstein comes and sets a pace For figuring out in distant space. The Big Interest. “Has Josh learned much at college?” “No doubt about it,” answered Farmer Corntossel, “He tried to tell me some- Trojans, but I told him he was wasting Lis time. What us home folks wanted detat. Now the regime which was|important extent, Rykoff's disappear- headed by a constitutionally elected [ ance from the Council of Commissars President, Gen. Lazaro Chacon, has)mcans the absolut: domination of the gone the way of Cabrera and Herrera. | Soviet administration by.Stalin. The There is nothing new under the blaz- | late premicr had ventured to lead the ing Guatemalan sun. right wing of the Communist party In 1923 the Central American states, | against the governmen ‘economic policies, but inevitably succumbed to pressure and at the recent party con- gress “confessed” his sins in daring to espouse an opposition attitude. Two other commissars, who shared Rykofl’s views—Tomsky, in charge of labor affairs, and Uglanov, who was head of | “when he writes to Santa Claus gits his | be as the Soviet trade union movement— as the Now it of thelr s0's dey'll be sure to kn walks the de lettes” to hear abovi was the foot ball game.” According to Abilities. Though multimillionaires we see thing about a fight between Greeks and | found to contain many surprises. Who, heralded. * & % ¥ No, a great deal of the interest of the fireplace comes about because of the behavior of the wood and much of this will be absent if the logs do not snap and crackle, ‘We wouldn't give a cent for a log that wouldn't put up & pretty display of sparks. One may have a suspicion that those in favor of sparkless logs have bad fireplaees, with defective flues, and chimneys with poor drafts, Given a good fireplace, an excellent draft in a splendid chimney, the more sparkle there is in your wood, the bet- ter fire you have. Why, many folk even buy stuff to sprinkle on their theoretically “correct” logs to remedy this lack, to make them sparkle with pretty lights, the various hues supposed to come from driftwood. ‘The only place we ever burnt any drift- wood was on the beach, and then we were more interested in the marsh- L TIEMPO, Bogota.—Don Leandro Medina protests against lot- teries. We dissent with his opinions. While lotterics are perhaps not necessary or ex- cusable in a prosperous country, in times of depression and in financial crises they are as yet the only institution | whieh continues to elicit the interesl‘ and maintain the healthful functions of | commercial activity. After all, almost any business is a lot- tery. No one knows whether his judg- ment and investments will prove profit- able or the reverse. The lottery is an investment on the part of all the peo- ple, of which, while few get the direct | benefit, all share in the indirect benefits, comprised in new business stimulated by the spending of the money. The government cannot very consist- ently argue against the material ad- vantages consequent upon lotteries, for it is estimated that one-fifth of the tickets sold each week are purchased by one of the ministers, who thus pa- triotically keeps his money in circula- tion for the benefit of all the people. If everybody purchased lottery tickets, it ‘would make financial stringency a little less evident over the hoiidays. BIX R New Laws M:y Prevent Large Purchases by Wives. La Prensa, Buenos Aires.—While the gentlemen of Buenos Aires are not be- Jow the average of other great cities in generosity, when it is a matter of supplying their wives with funds, they feel nevertheless that there are times when too lavish spending is not to be encouraged. There have been several cases in recent months where commercial establishments in the capital had to take court action against husbands who refused to pay their wives’ bills. The defense in all these cases has been the same, viz., that the husband did not authcrize the wife to buy the articles in question, and therefore the husband, knowing nothing of the transaction, ;h’tlmld not be held responsible for the ill. Under the present Argentine code, which may be revised under the regime of the new, government, a husband is deemed fully answerable for all his wife's obligations, even those contracted before marriage, so it has the natural result that these protesting husbands had to pay for many silks and furs for their wives whether they desired to do 50 _or not. However, it is likely that the new statute will provide that shopk:epers, befcre obliging the ladies who present themselves for credit at their respective establishments, must ascertain beyond all doubt that their spouses have accorded them permission to incur the bill. A man cannot very well govern his finan- clal affairs if he is subjected to req- uisitions upon his rescurces which he cannot anticipate. * * ok ok U. 8. Still Long: Way From Being as Crowded #s Britain. Irish Independent, Dublin—With the decennial census due to take place throughout Great Britain next year, it is natural that interest should be awak- ened in world-statistics of population, especially in so far as they affect and e alfc by the present economic crisis. * Such figures, when examined, will be for Instance, would have guessed, amid all the current talk about increasing unemployment, that there are actually half a million more persons employed in Great Britain today than there were six years ago? It is int-resting to note, in this con- nection, t} certain American pub- All willing to do good, No man as generous can be As he will wish he could. But hope is sure to shine anew For every mortal man, It each one of us will promptly do The very best he can. “De bright child,” said Uncle Eben, pa an’ ma to help him speéll de words pw what's in licists are already beginning to com- plain that their country will socn be too crowded. Its population today Is some 120,000,000, or about 35 inhabit- ants to the square mile, But to be as crowded as FEngland and Wales America would have t) have over 2,000, 000,000 of inhabitants—more than the’ present population of th> whole world. Or, In putting the matter in another way, if England nowadays were only to crowded .as America, her popu'a- tion would be less than, that o Irish Pree State. England shates with Belgium the dis- tinction of being the most ‘densely in: mallows we were roasting there than in the conduct of the wood as a burn- ing medium. We are just a bit afraid that too many fireplace sitters are content with a dull, prosaic burning process, as if there were no pictures to see, nor any individual logs to watch. Now it is this watching of each log, log by log, that constitutes one of the greatest charms of the fireplace. We recommend it to all who have not discovered it for themselves, and many will not, because it 1s not every one who consciously recognizes the smaller charms of life. What is more intriguing, however, than the way yonder backlog bursts into blue flames in a row of jets, exactly after the manner of a burner in a gas stove? One might suppose it to be con- suming artificial fuel, as it were, it burns so evenly. % It even makes a sputtering noise like a noisy gas burner of the old school. Somewhere within the rotund depths of the as yet scarcely charred log is a well of gas, imprisoned there by the ca- price of Nature. The burning away of certain barks lets the gas be tapped. The result is a well in miniature. At the other end of the log another type of well has been struck. This one devotes its energies to making smoke. Thick clouds of it roll straight up, caught by the draft of the fireplace, and vanish into the chim- ney. Amid these two main phenomena exist a score or more of minor ones, ranging from spark shooting to com- bustion in its varying ranges. On this smaller log there is some sort of ar- rangement which every now and then explodes with a loud “bang,” sending a small piece of charred wood forward three or four feet, if one has no firea screen. All the time the entire aggregation of logs, in defiance of the “experts,” is sending up sparks, some of which catch on the sides of the firebricks, linger, and go out, others of which shoot heavenward out of sight. If you go outdoors into the chilly night and look up at the chimney, you will be able to see some of those sparks, as they strike the alr, still sparkling. While the miniature gas well continues to burn, and the geyser to throw out its smoke screen, and the sparks to jump up, there goes on a continued snapping and cracking which help largely to make the fireplace interesting. Blessings upon that extra amount of moisture in our crude logs, we say, if it is responsible for this fine snapping and cracking! 4 Fireplace wood should not burn too quickly, nor, on the other hand, should it burn too slowly. So much we are willing to concede to the “experts,” but for the rest we rather suspect that they are a set of fireplace charlatans, talking about something they have read some- where. Surely they have never sat beside a real fireplace, with real logs burning n it, or they would not sneer at this divine' snapping and cracking. Down with the man who wants no snapples or crackles in his firewood! Give us plenty of both, say we, and let each log offer us something different in the burning line. This one will need & little prodding, or to be turned over on its back, when it will burst into flames from one end to the other. This one, with free burning, will help set alight this slow-charring log. In this way we enjoy the evening symphony of the fireplace. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands habited country in the world. No East- ern lands approach them in this respect —-not even India or China.’ China, with England’s density, would contain over three thousand millions of inhabitants! Further surpris:s lie in wait for any one who examines the population statis- tics of the British Empire. Its total population is now estimated at some 435,000,000, of whom 365,000,000, or 85 per cent, are colored inhabitants. Thus the white population of the empire is Just about equal to that of modern Ger- many. It is Interesting, and perhaps signifi- cant, to calculate that every year India alone increases its Eopululon by a num- ber equal to half the present population of “white” Australia which inciden- tally has nearly twice India's area). Coming to no less stupendous mat- ters, one may note that London has now to yield to New York the dubious boast of being the world's most popu- lous city. Yet, since the entire popula- ticn of the world could, it has been reckoned, be given fairly comfortable standing room on the Isle of Man,. we may perhaps feel that even the crowds in Lancashire are largely a matter of relativity. As for the city having the largest Irish population, it is neither Dublin nor Belfast. New York, Chicago and London are easily first, second and third in native-born Hibernians. 4. Town Meeting Ends In Vote of Thanks for Discussion. Avon News, Stratford-Upon-Avon.— Stratford’s once-a-year chance to dis- cuss the town's affairs brought to- gether a crowded audience at the town hall recently. The introductory speech dealt with the bridge question, hous- ing, gas prices, open access at the pub- lic library, waterside properties, aero- drome, recreation grounds, field foot- paths, rates and such affairs. Then followed questions. Ought cor- poration officials to be employed as elec- tion officers? Should the guild chapel bell be rung 100 times at 6 a.m.? Would it be correct to say that 80 per cent of the townspeople were opposed to the proposed new bridge? Were the new shops to be built in Wood street and Henley street likely to compete with ex- isting shopkeepers? ‘There was much _discussion upon Clopton Road Canal Bridge and Coun. A. M. Bailey thought there ought to be no fresh expenditure for the next 10 years. Coun. E. P. Ray remarked that true economy consisted of careful spending. As the meeting was about to disperse, Mrs. Wheeler proposed a vote of thanks. This was seconded by Alderman Winter, who cleared that such discussions were most helpful. Proposed Bus Routes Draw Rider’s Protests To the Editor of The Star: As a resident of the first ward, and as a patron of the Capital Traction Co.'s lines the F and G streets routes, st of Seventeenth street northwest, I for one am positively against the aboli- tion of these car lines which I under- stand are to be covered by busses. I am sure I have the fullest co-operation of many other residents in this neigh- borhood and the West End Citizens' Association. The Public Utilities Com~ mission should not grant this change. This section is a growing one, and the cars should be kept running .be- cause they pass George Washington University and other universities on these routes and besides it is the route to the Naval Hospital, where many men are ireated. ' To give us busses on these routes is in my estimation not practical, and the Public Utilities Commission should not grant the request. I am sure that this request of mine will be duly approved by other car rid- ers who see the situation as I do. FR C. HEIL, i The French Wood. the | From the Albany Evening News. Prance uses the old timber, however, am%fl?m and that m:m By the Booklover Caste in India, from the caste of the highest Brahmins to that of the lowest “untouchables,” is perhaps the most| stubborn force to be reckoned with by those who wish to bring India into line with ideas of Western civilizations, Low- ell Thomas, in his book, “India: Land of the Black Pagoda,” says that the Brah- mins divided the Hindus into thousands of castes, which are now subdivided into many more subcastes. “Some one has said that India is not a country but a religious controversy. If you ask an Indian what he is, instead of replying that he is a Bengall or a Madrasi or a Punjaubi, he will tell you that he is a Hindu or a Muhammadan or a Parsee or a Jain or a Buddhist or & Sikh or a ‘Theosophist, or some other of India's one thousand and one religious persua- sions.” The four original classes of Hin- duism are the priests or Brahmins, the kings and military leaders or Kshattri- yas, the merchants or Vaishyas and the slaves or Sudras. The only escape from caste is by reincarnation, after death, in a higher caste. And, of course, rein- carnation may work downward as well as upward; a Sudra may find himself reincarnated a pig instead of a Brah- min. Lowell Thomas is not hopeful about the elimination of caste in some millennial future of India. He says: “As to caste's breaking down, because of Western civilization and railways—it will happen when the Ganges flows backwards from Calcutta to Kedar- nath.” * ok kK A caste in India not so much writ- ten about as the Brahmins and the “untouchables” 1s the criminal caste. Mr. Thomas devotes a chapter to this caste and its disconcerting habits, somewhat suggestive of those of gang- sters who have had all the advantages of our Western clvilization. Members of the Indian criminal tribes are pop- ularly known as “Crims” and “are the most_snobbish criminals in the world, for they have their own separate Hindu caste.” They worship the crow and hope in future incarnations to become crows. They number about 14,000,000. “Every child born among the crows is a criminal and so recorded in the books of the Indian police. Further, every child goes through many years of pre- liminary tutoring and then through a post-graduate course in the science of picking pockets and burgling: houses and the gentle art of clipping bangles from the ear-lobes of Indian dowagers, just as the Honourable Reginald Fitz- what goes to Eton and Balliol.” Paradise is the immediate reward of one killed while engaged in the practice of the crime which is his sacred calling. Mr. Thomas vouches for the truth of the almost incredible statement that two distinguished Rajahs belong to the criminal caste. Their training has car- ried them far from the traditions of the caste, but in order not to break caste they must commit a crime at least once a year. So they arrange a friendly interchange of thefts. “They do this once every year in much the same spirit that we observe Christmas.” ‘They exchange visits and each leaves in a conspicuous place some trifling object, such as a jeweled betel-nut box or a wrist watch, which the other secretes in the folds of his sumptuous robe. Of course the police are not notified. ‘The religious ceremony is accomplished and they are able to sleep “that sweet innocent sleep of the man who has done his duty in that state of life to which it has pleased to call him.” * K K % ‘Women play an important part in the criminal caste and often the female of the species becomes more deadly than the male. “The Crim intelligence corps is made up entirely of women sples. Disguised as simple gipsies, these adroit Jezebels go about selling baskets. ‘This enables them to get in touch with the garrulous women of the villages without exciting suspicion, and gives them the desired opportunity to ex- tract bits of useful information from witless housewives. * * * Soon they have gathered enough knowledge of vil- lage affairs, from silly women and fickle men, to enable them to make their plans, Then the spies report to their chief, who calls his councilors to- gether. * * * The women of these tribes do a considerable part of the more dangerous work. In addition to acting as spies they also carry all of the loot. Most men in Southern Hin- dustan wear the merest excuse for a loin cloth. This makes it impossible for them to conceal much stolen erty about their persons. But with the women it is different, for they are able to carry a great deal under their dresses. * * * It is only under the most exceptional circumstances that the law justifies a policeman in searching a woman.” Hard as the lot of the In- dian woman is, according to Katherine Mayo, she still seems to have some perquisites. * K ok X Sinclair Lewis in his address given at Stockholm last week on receiving the Nobel prize for literature belabored sev- eral American writers. He especially blames William Dean Howells for his taming influence over Mark Twain and Hamlin Garland. Howells, he says, was “actually able to take Mark Twain, per- haps the greatest of our writers, and put that flery old savage into an intel- lectual frock coat and top hat.” He says that the influence of Howells is not altogether gone today, since “he is still worshiped by Hamlin Garland, an au- thor who should have been in every way greater than Howells, but who, under Howells' influence, changed from a harsh and magnificent realist into a genial, insignificant lecturer. Mr. Gar- land is, so far as we have one, the dean of American letters today, and as our dean he is alarmed by all the younger writers * * * yet the same Hamlin Gar- land, as a young man, wrote two of the most valiant and revelatory works of realism, ‘Main Traveled Roads’ and ‘Rose of Dutcher’'s Coolly” I read them, as a boy a Dutch prairie village in Minnesota, in just such an environment as was described in Garland’s tales, They were vastly exciting to me. * * * I discovered there was one man who believed Mid- western peasants sometimes were bewil- dered, hungry and vile. And, given this vision, I was released to write of life as living life. I am afrald Mr. Gar- land will not he pleased, but actually annoyed to know that he made it possi- ble for me to write of America as I see it and not as Mr. William Dean Howells so sunnily saw it. And it is a complete- 1y revelatory American tragedy that in our land of freedom men like Garland, who first blast the roads to treedom, be- come themselves most bound.” * ok kK In a recent interview, Andre Maurois, the French novelist and biographer, who has been giving a lecture course at Princeton, made some interesting com- ments on American literatu t only through the novelists,” said M. Maurois, “that Europe can understand America. * * * In France, we are await- ing a_whole host of novelists to explain the United States to us. We need an American Balzac 'to interpret the soul and mind of your Nation, 1 us what America is really like, a vast novel on & vast scale is needed.” It is also of interest to get M. Maurois’ opinion on the recent award to Sinclair Lewis of the Nobel prize. “It is a good thing,” he says. “The award was well re- ceived” in France and elsewhere in Europe. We recognize it not only because Lewis is a great novelist, but because American literature is thereby recogniz- ed as great. Until 30 or 40 years ago— is it not so?—American literature was felt as & E‘ln‘. of English letters. That certainly is no longer true, and Sinclair Lewls is a symbol.” * xRk In the nineteenth century Mary Ann Evans had to mm?fxmm her name into Eliot in order to be ac- cepted by the literary public. Today, in | this cont trast, woman authors have won such & secure place in the literary world that the feminine name 0 mendation instead ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. Expert researchers, who can get any information on any subject, are at your command, without charge to you. A 2-cent stamp wil bring you a per- sonal answer to any inquiry of fact you may make. Thousands of news- | paper readers use this great service. Try it today. Make your inquiry easily read and easily understood and ad- dress The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, ‘Washington, D. C. Q. Are men permitted to hunt game birds from airplanes?—C. B. A. The regulations under the Fed- eral migratory bird treaty act make it unlawful to hunt migratory game birds from an airplane, and the law pro- vides_.a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for mot more than six months, or bbth, for violations. Q. When will the new Waldorf- Astoria be finished?>—A. W. A. It is planned to complete it dur- ing 1931. The topmost steel column was placed 625 fect above street level October 22, 1930. The stone and brick work is well under way. The hotel oc~ cupies the block between Park and Lexington _avenues, between Forty- ninth and Fiftieth streets. Q. For whom was Mount Rainier in ‘Washington State named?—F. M. T. A. Mount Rainier was named for Admiral Rainier of the British Navy by Vancouver, the navigator, who saw it from Puget Sound in 1793. Tt is also ll?m:“ by the Indian name of Tacoma eak. Q. Where is the American Library {in Paris>—T. N. T. . A. It is at 10 Rue L'Elysee. The library was founded in 1918 by the American Library Association in con- nection with war work. In 1920 the book collections and library equip- ment, together with $25,000 toward an endowment fund, were presented by the A, L. A. to a society formed to make the library a permanent insti- tution. The greater part of the library’s income is from the endowment fund, a three-year grant by the Rockefeller Foundation, and special gifts from patrons and life members. Q. Was Hispaniola, discovered by Columbus, the present-day Haiti?— M P T A. On his discovery of the island, Co- lumbus named Haiti, La Espaniola, which, however, soon became cor- rupted into Hispaniola. Q. Who wrote “The drying up a single tear has more of honest fame than shedding seas of gore”?—J.J. K. A. It is Byron's. It is in “Don Juan,” canto 8, stanza 3. Q. Was a Victorla Cross sent to America for the Unknown Scldier?— P G A. To honor the American dead of the World War the British nation dedi- cated a Victoria Cross with the simple yet expressive words, “The Unknown Warrior of the United States of America,” inscribed on the cross, which, by direction of his Majesty King George V, was laid by Lord Beatty on the tomb of the Unknown Scldier at the Arlington National Cemetery near :unm;;wn on the 11th day of Novem- T, 1921, Q. Are electric lights considered effi- cient in the consumption of energy?— N. B. A. All man-made lighting devices are you | very inefficient, since a he great deal of energy is dissipated eat. Q. What is the of the “match”?—M. O. Hm b A. It is probably from the Greek and Latin “myxa,” meaning a nozgle of a lamp. In 1337 we find reference in literature to matches, the name being applied to the wick of a candle or lamp. The earliest reference to matches in their present sense is found in 1530, Q. What was the salary of the Ger- man Kaiser?>—H, W. A. The salary of the former Kaiser was about $3,700,000 a year. This in- cluded his civil list as King of Prussia and as Emperor of Germany. Q. How small was the smallest of the Indian axes?—E. E. J. A. While no record is kept of the smallest Indian battle-ax found, it is said that axes have been found which weighed scarcely an ounce. Q. How is excelsior made?—J. E. W. A. Excelsior is made from logs of wood which have first been divided into 18-inch blocks. The fibers are sepa- rated from the blocks with great rapidity by knife points and packed in bales of 250 pounds’ weight. Not far | from 140,000 tons are annually manu- factured in the United States and of this output large quantities are exported. . Under whose sponsorship is the bicentennial celebration of the birth of George Washington?—D, H. L. A. It is under the direction of a commission created by act of Congress and appointed by the President. Repre- sentative Sol Bloom of New York is at present acting chairman of the commis- sion, U. S. Grant, 3d, having recently tendered his resignation, Q. When was the first United States census taken?—M. G. W. A. In 1790, Q. Did Cy Young ever pitch a shut- out game against Philadelphia?—L. I. R, A. On May 9, 1904, Cy Young, pitch- ing for the Boston American League team, shut out Philadelphia without allowing a man to reach first base. ms. gx telloxto&etmn. about the um York.—A. R. E T e A. It has been erected at a $1,500,000 on Fifth avenue. 'rheog.fi'u:! ing, designed by Joseph Freedlander, is in Georgian Colonial style and the same style prevails throughout the interior. In the entrance hall is a circular stair- case of solid marble, constructed with- out steel support. The museum will gradually be filled with exhibits de- picting the city’s history. Among these will be a gallery devoted to the history of retail selling, history of transporta- tion, a history of the New York stage, models depicting the history of New York architecture and exhibits fllus- trating the growth of the telegraph, telephone, cable and postal departments. The Museum of the City of New York was incorporated July 21, 1923, to Vvisualize by exhibits the development of New York City life f sl y rom the earliest Q. How much water does a piece of floating wood displace is porti luAlb: n&,‘elflht?—-fl‘? gr o e . t sinks displaces its own volume; a that floats its own 'ellhtjm, o Film Under Ban in Germany : Viewed Here as Inoffensive Suppression in Germany of the war film, “All Quiet on the Western Front,” is a source of much speculation on this side of the water, because it had been hailed as an expression of the German feelings on war which were shared by much of the world. Explanations of- fered in the United States center around the fact that the menace of the Hitler element of opposition to the gov- ernment made it necessary to remove an excuse for jingoistic violence. “Government censors,” observes the Milwaukee Journal, “say it is not a pres- entation of the World War, but of German defeat. This criticism seems strange to Americans who saw the film. For it is not a picture of eithar defeat or victory but ef incidents of a sol- dier’s life. Moreover, with a change of uniform and insignia, most Americans would have accepted it as a portrayal of the French or the British Army, though the book was by a German sol- dier. We can sympathize with German objections, however. The German gov- ernment is having a difficult time with the hopeless, destructive demagoguery of Hitler. Anything that gives the Hit- ler following something to shout about is bad for the stability of a new gov- ernment. Plainly ‘All Quiet’ was giving the Hitler crowd an occasion for mak- ing_trouble.” “Few who saw the picture in this country, if comments are to be be- lieved,” says the Utica Observer-Dis- patch, “thought of this picture as a slur upon the German soldiers or people. The fact that the characters were Ger- man was merely incidental. There was no attempt to get at the issues for which the war was fought, merely a graphic painting of the ghastly side of war. The German boys who wen® through paroxy§ms of terror when under fun fire for the first time, were no dif- erent from the boys of any other na- tion. The transition through which they passed from eager, youthful en- thusiasm to disillusioned, bitter de=- spair was the common experience of ail the soldiers who served as they served. Probably this is understood by the mass of German people who were flocking to see the picture. The protests have come mainly from the groups of vet- erans and other patriotic organizations which are naturally especially sensitive on the subject of the war.” o “It transcends particular armies and Wi It has a sweep and a breadth of sympathy that no other war play has achieved. In objecting to it the Hitler- ites are objecting to legitimate propa- ganda for the Fatherland,” declares the Kansas City Star. The New York Eve- ning’ Post believes that “to a certain extent the battle which has been waged about the film has been one in which the disruptive forces of Fascism were pitted against the elements which stand for law and order.” That paper con- tinues: “In their zest for a reawakening of Germany and a more aggressive and against what they regard as for- ign oppression they will brook no re- flection upon the bravery of those Ger- mans who vainly fought to preserve the empire. Behind the Fascists' scorn of is [the republic and their aggressive de- mands for a new regime are economic conditions of the sort which always supply fertile ground for radical move- ments, Dr, Einstein is not particularly known as a political observer, but in this connection one of his statements upon his arrival in this country may well be cited: ‘The minute Germany's stomach ceases to be empty,’ he told the reporters who greeted him on board hhdlhlp, ‘Hitler's role will come to an end.’” American surprise is voiced by the Indianapolis Star, with the comment: “The situation scems almost incompre- hensible to movie fans in the United States, who seldom become aroused over the political angles of screen presenta- tions. Some films have produced caus- tic criticism on moral or social grounds, but few have felt like starting a riot because of @ play.” The St. Louils Post. patch v attacks 's creation” as 1 of its worth,’ 'The fact that the dazegd le through war's n N d con- lads reference to soldiers of other countries. Barbusse, the Frenchman, did it in ‘Under Fire’; Sherriff, the Englishman, |in ‘Journey’s End’; Dos the American, in ‘Three Soldiers’; Remarque, Quiet.’ No thinking German will take cflense, for the picture’s application is not to Germany alone but to the world. 1t is only Hitler's frenzied followers that it el chauvinistic principes that chauvi ic es that the picture is :lm:d; % e “Just how old the human race is on this day and how long it has waged war we do not know,” says the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat, “but we sus- pect that it has been at it since the first tribe envied the possessions of the second tribe. We might add that, for all we know, men may fight until the last survivor sits down to pray for ofher worlds to conquer. As conditions exist today, so long as we have Mussolinis, and Stalins, and militant French leaders, we will have nationalism, and so long as we have that we will have youthful mobs like the ones that have been csvorflnglt:l :Beru{\.“ e e “The plain people, who must fight battles and undergo the abo = tions of war, certainly will continue to look upon it as one of the most hideous of evils,” in the judgment of the Spring- field (Mass.) Union. The Worces- ter Telegram, however, believes that “no book or play dealing with the World ‘War or with the general subject of war could be produced without controversy following.” That paper adds: “Many of the Fascist critics are so young that they were little boys when ‘the World War was fought. But probably many German veterans who admire the book are reluctant to defend the film because of their fecling that it is so untrue to life as they knew it in 1914-18." ——————— ArmamentandParliament, Holidays Contrasted From the Cincinnati Times-Star. “It has been suggested,” said Owen D. Young in an address in New York, “that if a holiday of armaments is good, a holiday of parliaments would be better. It is the uncertainty which po- litical action threatens which paralyzes economic efforts in this world recovery.” Holidays of parliaments are pretty much the fashion nowadays. Wherever there is a dictator—and there are a good many in the world, including some South American Presidents who are not called such—there, in effect, is a par- liamentary holiday. In our own coun- try, public opinion generally, and “the responsible leaders of both political parties, are in favor of the degree of parliamentary holiday that will ensue if Congress votes the supply bills by March 4, 1931, and adjourns until the following December. There is a curious aversion to an extra session. The explanation is that, here as well as elsewhere, we are living in an eco- nomic world, while Congress is a po- litical body. Business fears that, with the best of intentions, Congress may throw a wrench into complicated - ma- chinery, or, with intentions not so good, may make irresponsible and costly ges- tures in the domain of tariff revision, taxation and regulation for the favor ot the unthinking, or that, by facetious opposition to worthy appointments, by insincere “investigations” and by fili- busters against the supply bills, it may handicap the effective conduct of af- fairs through an administration which has its confidence, However, no government can get along without annual appropriations, and only Congress can grant them. We shall all wor along in the cheerful hope that a itical body will not over- play politics in an economic world. Gossip Always in Demand. Prom the Florence (Ala) Herald, ring “a | the de; Racket Traced to Bible, in n jhe it uniforn happen to wear the Gegg ¥is of no importance in aspect, The same thing ml n in fact, similar thil this theme From the Worcester Daily Telegram. According to modern methods ideals, even the good Samaritan have been engaged in some