Evening Star Newspaper, April 28, 1931, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY........April 28, 1831 THEODORE W. NOYES. . ..Editor The Evening Star Nmn Company e Fopean Of Rate by Carrier Within the City. ¢ per month 60c per month month y e id ‘of each ment by ‘mail or telephone N Lake Eni ening !lal‘ on "4 Sundary) Tne Evening and Bundiy 8iar (when § Sundays) ........ The Sundey Er liection made at t! Orders may be sent in NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. M d Virginia. E}}y apd Sunday das "oty 1 1 : 3 . 13051000 1 mo- B8e $4.00; 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada. ily and Sunday. + $1200: 1 mo., §1 A0 iy 1y B $8.00: 1 mo., 7! das’only 2 1806 i mon 8 Member of the Assoclated Press. The Associated Press fs excl: Tor Tepublication of il hews di atche edited to it or not otherwise ered- Babliened” Rereine” AT F1eHs of pubhcation of Al ublication o BobelalGiumatches herein are aiso 1 e —— ‘Washington's Exalted Visitors. ‘Washington is privileged this week to be host to the Kipg and Queen of Siam. They have journeyed around the world on a mission of purely per- sonal import—to enable Xing Praja- dhipok t> con-u't American oculist. whom the National Capital claims as its own. No word of welcome to our exalted visitors can carry more meaning than the wish, in which the entire country joins, that his majesty may find here that com- plete relief which he seeks. Since the King and his charming ‘eonsort arrived on United States oil, a ‘week ago, they have impressed all who have had contact with them as young people of genuine personality and ca- pacity. They speak our language with entire fluency. Though Prajadhipok is at the head of one of the world's oldest and few remalning absolute m-n- archies, he is an ultra-modern ruler, bent upon giving his 12,000,000 people democratic government in effect, if not in fact. The seventh of his line to occupy the throne at Bangkok, his five and a half years of sovereignty have been marked by a consistent lib- eralism and a rugged patriotism which apparently have endeéared him to his pecple. Slam is depicted by her own citizens and her friends abroad as the cnly truly independent nation in South Asia. Her story under the present dynasty has been a tile of struggle against colonization by Europe, and her rulers have shown extraordinary ability and tact in preserving Siam's political lib- erty and territorial integrity. One day some American historian should find romance in the stern and steady efforts of the Siamese to maintain the tradi- tions of the Orient against the at- tempted encroachments of Western cul- ture. Under the leadership of its royal house Siam selects and rejects elements xu both civilizaticns, and remains Siam was the first country in the Far Ezst with which the United States had treaty relations. Our first pact with her ‘was negotiated in 1833, ten years before treaty relations with China and twenty years prior to the establishment of such relations with Japan. So in King Pra- Jadhipok and Queen Rambaibarni we greet the representatives cf a nation and s government which we can truly describe as old friends. Here at the se:at of Pederal Govern- ment the high official honcrs awaiting them are meant to be corresponding tokens of the interest, regard and good will which the whole American people Zeels for the tight little kingdom cn yon side of the globe. ————————— » Representative Sol Bloom has cleared Gecrge Washington of chopping down the cherry tree by the simple means of e also raserved ‘unearthing proof that no trees of that | epecies, existed on the farm in question when the yeuthful Pather of His Coun- try lived there. It may surprise a good meny to hear that Parson Weems in his original story never charged George with chopping down the tree. One who! is inclined to be skeptical has only to gt out the yarn and read it carefully. — ‘The man who dropped into a warm church and robbed the poor box during the Winter wiil socn be able to swarm arcund the countryside and strip the dogwood trees. ———— Racketeering in the Catskills ‘What was a first reported as a prob- ably harmless assault upcn the person of John Diamond, alias “Legs,” gangster and target extraordinary, proves now to have been in fact a deadly onsct, with the prebzble consequence of the passing of this eminent performer in the ficld of racketeering. He s ly:ng at tae point of death in hcspiel at Albany, the mis- siles that psppered him in the porch of | the road houss in the Catskil's having been found to bs buckshot instead of birdshot. ‘The precise nature of the gangster's woundss 1s not, hcwever, a matier of publiz consequence. but the action of the Governor cf New York, prempicd by the assault upon Diamond, is of im- portance. H directed the atiorney general of t::» Siate to conduct an in- ' quiry before a grand jury into ths crim- inal activiis cf the Diamond g= and the attoney goneral has b2gun hi work in that direction. Sta'e t: s have been crdered into the 1 for the protection of witnesses. Already the wheels of justicz are turning. This com- mendably prompt and vigorous acticn may bring about some measure of refor- mation in the Catskills, where for a period of many months the gangsters have been holding a relgn of terror. distinguished - he was in custody for the infliction of torture upon & truck driver who was held up by his gang. Diamond represents a Nation-wide evil. Nobody cares a rap about his personal fate, save that there is hops that he may be adequately punished.| But behind him and alongside him are many others, of his own ik, deed'y grafters upon soclety, seeming® im-| mune from the statuie law and vulner- able only to the gang law of reprieal The proceedings in Greene County, N. Y., will perhaps open the way for the round-up of the racketeers throughout the State, &nd show the path to pros- ecutions and punishments in other re- glons. oo Staggered Hours. If traffic congesticn forces the adop- i tion of a siaggered hour plan for open- ing the Govirnment departments and points to the desirability cf moving school op:nirg back half an hour, one a Mussolini or a Stalin, whose word will be law. Lacking such imporis, it is a serious quesiion whether staggered hours and a changed hour for opening school will ever advance beyond the ttage of proposals that blossom peren- nialiy. The big obstacle is the change in domestic customs and routine tirat would perforce accompany the adop- tion of new schedules. That obstacle will loom large in any serious discussion of how to make the plan acceptal Theoretically, 1t would be re! sipple and veiy wise, indeed, to dis- period, instead of concentrating most of it in the short time now chosen by thousznds of persons to start to work for offices that open their doors simul- taneously at nine o'clock. The same theory holds good for the closing of the departments, and there is much merit in the proposal that school hours be changed to keep the children off the street during the peak of the office- bound traffic. But when the time comes to put the pian to work, which office is going to cpen at 8:30 and which cffice is going to cpen at 9:30, and which office will be given the opening time that falls be- twe:n? How many households will be thrown out of step by scrapping a well established routine that permits the de- parture of working parents and school- bound children from home at the same time? What would be the effect of depriving children of the additional minutes for outdoor recreation’in Win- ter by requiring them to remain an ad- ditional half hour in class rooms? Will harzssed mothers welcome an additional half hour in the morning after break- fast before the little dears are sent scurrying off to school? The answers to such questions might be obtained by conferences and ques- tionnaires, and if the necessity for the changes is emphasized by an acute traf- fic congestion, probable with the con- centration of more thousands of Gov- ernment workers in the Avenue tri- angle, the authorities could at least make them effective with a knowledge in advance of the nature and strength of the opposition. The proposals con- stitute merely one of a number of plans that should be studied seriously and dis- cussed thoroughly in connection with the increasing complexity of Washing- ton's trafic problems. —————————— Noise Germs. Motorists of New York City really have something to worry about now be- sides trying to prevent accidents in the maelstrom of traffic. For if they obey the edict of the Noise Abatement Com- mission of that city they will have to of the chief steps necessary to effect the changes will be the importation of tribute the flew of traffic over a longer { TE*Z EVENING STAR, WASHI before he was shot at the road hmu’tm their extensive holdings. The bill | would create a national farm torpora- | tion, which would be empowered, under ,the ministry of agriculture, to acquire land without permission of owners for !allotment to the unemployed. On its! (face, it constitutes one more desperate attempt by Labor to grapple with un- employment, which hitherto has bafed iall its efforts. The land tax sword will not descend upon the gentry’s hapless neck at once. ne Snowden posal calls for two rs of preliminary preparation in re- valuation of the ccuniry's acreage. It ' could thus not bé put into effect for at least two years. Mr. Baldwin and his Conservatives expect long before that | to be re-established at No. 10 Downing |street. In that event Monday's devel- (cpments in London will “take their place as merely .an interesting chepter ,In Hansard—the British Congressional Record. | The Labor party's absorbing task is to ameliorate the industrial crisis, which persists in Britain as in regions with which the American people are more familiar. How to do so Without piling ever heavier burdens on the bent back of the taxpayer is the rub. Nearly | eighty per cent of the money now randed 'over to the unemployed under the dole 'system is taken directly from tax rev- |enue, being the lion's share advanced |to the unemploymént insurance fund by the government. Mr. Snowden told Parliament yester- | day that ke will not hear of & protec- |tive tarift #s & means of raising addi- ional revenue. He prefers to invoke temp-rary expedients, of which the land tax is apparently a sample, until |trade recovery restores normal sources of treasury supply. o s Foreign economic leaders are headed for the convention of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States “with | chips on their shoulders,” according to an eminent observer. They have worn ! these so long and so consistently that |nuny began to think they were a sort of epaulette. s — , China, it appears, is to embark afresh ! on the raising and exportation of opium. Two trade slogans will be applicable to the Celestial Republic—"Back at tihe Old Stand” and “No Interruption to Busi- ness During Alterations.” B It is just too bad Congress is not in session to form Exhibit A in the mysti- fieation, entertainment and, possibly, amusement of their Siamese majesties, who represent one of the few remaining absolute monarchies on earth. —t—e————— Chicken hearts have been kept alive in glass dishes for twenty years. It is astounding how long those things live, both in crockery and behind human breast-bones. —r———————— A loose bull gets press notices for overturning many dozens of ginger-ale containers in a Chicago bottling works. Pooh for him! Nothing but a lot of set-ups. r——————————— A movement is on foot to designate May 21 as “Lindbergh day.” Just how will ordinary folks célebrate it—every- body eat two ham sandwiches? It seems as though the advent of gentle Spring tended to bring not only the flying of kites but the kiting of checks. o His kinglets, Carol of Rumania, sends his younger brother to Paris to engage in & course of study. A co-ed one, like big brother's? ———— The entire Iberian peninsula appears to have gone “Spanish omelette with a dash of Madeira.” add quietness to their skill in driving- that is, if they do not wish to expose themselves to illness “just as if they had a typhold fever carrier in the seat beside them.” In its code of etiquette Just published the commission gives a few pointers on how to preserve the mo- torists’ good health. Here are a few excerpts: Buy a quiet car; buy quiet |tires; shift gears silently; never race | your motor; investigate unusual noises | immediately that develop in your en- | gine; never permit your brakes to com- ,mit the faux pas of squeaking; grease | your car often; be careful of your choke =0 that your engine will not backfire, and correct immediately any squeaks or i rattles that may develop in your car. S0, outside of these few things, the motorists of New York have nothing {much to think about. Most of them, | however, the motorist does anyway, the {only new and worrisome aspect of the case being that failure to comply will ‘rflull in fllness just as if “a little germ | was riding on the seat beside you.” | Certainly, if an unusual noise is de- | tected in the motor, the repair station ;will be promptly visited in order to prevent great damage, and certainly no one is deliberately going to purchase a noisy automcbile. Howsoever, every- thing will probably work out all right despite those little germs riding on the front seat. B | alphabet” and a monosyllabic language 1 in which three fundamental tones—mi, do and sol—play an important part. This will be a bit hard on the naturally | tone-deaf. i ————eate— Blue Monday in Britain. Yesterday may go down in contem- porary British hitory—at least in the annals of the grouse-shooting classes— A distinguished State Department | translator has invented a new “magic| R In the line of novelty the very tall, thin garage is matched by the hori- zontal silo. v SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JORNSON. The Policeman. Spite of all the churlish chatter, It is quite a serious matter To become a proper guardian of the peace. ‘You must have a disposition That would fit you for a mission To Turkey or the Balkans or'to Greece. You must treat the children kindly, And when people jostle blindly At a crowded crossing 'mid the dust and noise, You must grab & perfect stranger And convey him out of danger In & way that won't disturb his equi- poise. You must learn the regulations, And likewise the laws of nations, To avold the chance of diplomatic jar. You must listen uncomplaining, All your sense of mirth restraining, While they come to tell you what their troubles are. You should have a fund of knowledge, More than could be learned at college, | To assist each weary wanderer in dis- tress. And your compensation should be | Al a bank director's could be— Though I fancy it's considerably less! | Severity Relaxed. “What makes that eminent official have his photograph taken so often?” “I suppose,” replied Senator Sorghum, “that he enjoys getting some plat where it is his duty to look pleasant. Jud Tunkins says some men manage THIS AND THAT ‘The Catnip Pig is very fond of his weed. ps the reader does not know Catnip Pig is, and so we shall to sketch his portrait. Th's Big is about two feet long and one foot high. He goes on four striped legs, which harmonize with the broad black and gray stripes on his body. His face is very fat, with a human expression in it, elmost. His ears are small. His eyes are deep set and his mouth rather petulant. The reader has no doubt guessed by this time that the Catnip Pig is a fine epecimen of the domestic house cat. He 1s every inch a cat. . His calls at our back door are made for ro other rexson on earth than to get catnip. isearch, and his sheer pleasure in the | eating, which earns for him the name of Catnip Evidently his people have never thought to provide him with the dried blossoms and leaves of the catnip or despite the common We know several of these animals who in- varisbly turn up their somewhat snub- bed ncses at the weed. The Catnip Pig, however, is not of their number. Nothing else tastes quite 78 good to him as Nepeta Cataria, and he doesn't care who knows it. As a matter of fact he is glad when i you do know it, for then there is a good i chance that you will give him some. x % % % ‘The Pig hailed his advent by the re- | doubtzbl- sdventure of chasing yellow ! Quincy (who likes his catnip in moder- ! ation) up a t-11 locust tree. No sooner did Quince spy the Pig than he decided the tree was the best place for him. This left the Pig a free entry to the kitchen porch, up the steps of which he came with a bound. Perhaps he smelled catnip even then. | Upon being asked if he would like a bit, the Pig signified his willingness by a characteristic meow. * % % No sooner was the gray-green weed poured upon the porch than the Catnip Pig demonstrated the fitness of his name. Greedily he ate it. gayly he rolled. Soon his watermelon str.pes were dusted with the stuff. When he was given the empty box, he began to bite it with his strong white teeth, and shortly had it reduced to kindling. It was here that he first showed what he could do in the quick roll, which later he was to carry to perfec- tion with a catnip mouse, i. e, & bit of flannel shaped to the resemblance of & rodent, and stuffed with Nepeta. ht side, the Catnip box, th quick flop to his left side. no sooner get there than he would flip back. This action was one move- ment of the entire body, somewhat re- sembling the flip-flop of a fish in the bottom of a boat. * ok x * ‘There is no tinge of hypocrisy in the attendance of the Catnip Pig at our back door. He wants catnip, and he makes no pretense of anything else. A dog would fawn around, slobber if he were pining for our companion- ship. quite an acceptance with us. In general, it is not wise to adopt too precipitately all the vogues and customs coming from abroad, for, more often than not, while they amuse and divert us, they certainly do not suit us. But the popularity of the “living room” appears to be the exception. It is the apartment one sees. It is the place where all the family can pleas- antly assemble in one group. It is the natural center of all domestic life, where relatives and friends can assem- ble in comfort and intimacy. The “liv- ing room” does mot have the cold and formal atmosphere of a reception hall, or Jor, nor yet the somewhat re- ing utility and individuality of the dining salon. In the “living room” one may, without impropriety, eat, sleep, read, chat or work, as best suits his mood. It is the friendliest corner of any large house, and the very heart and soul of & small home. It represents the veritable hearthstone of family life, and in many instances is really that. In an epoch when all the world fidgets, an oasis where sedentary pursuits are cherished is but the more prized! * x x 8 Charcoal Burners Find Gold in Mounds. Tageblatt, Berlin—"“Charcoal burn- er's luck” has not had many important exemplifications of recent years, in our own country, but a dispatch from Ma- drid announces a revival of the strange events which formerly were associated with the experiences of those engaged in this prosaic and generally unremu- nerative occupation. It seems that some charcoal burners in Spain recently built their mounds, and charred the hard- wood contained therein, after the usual manner. Returning after several days to gather up the fruits of their labors, they found a glittering residue beneath the charcoal piles, which challenged a closer inspection. It was gold—pure gold! It lay in great lumps among the ashes on the ground. Needless to say, they gleaned carefully every unusual vestige of the charcoal-burner's craft, and carried the accumulation to the city. Appraised at the mint in Madrid the treasure was found to weigh 44 pounds and to be worth $8,748. It is unnecessary to add that there have l E MATIN, Paris.— The mode of the “living room” is winning been a large number of recruits to the ranks of Spanish charcoal burners. * k% % Kipling Poem Sold For £630 Coming to U. S. Manchester Guardian—“An _suto- graph manuseript of Kipling’s ‘Rec sional’ was sold for £630 at Sotheby recently. It is to be sent to America.” | News item. Far-called, our vain possessions flee; | _ ‘The hali that graced an English shire s now transhipped to Tennessee For coal-black mammies to admire; as Blue Monday. It is the sporting 10 B¢t ® reputation for profundity by . U E0% P sheence with regret; country gentry at which Chancellor of the Ex-hequer Snowden hurled his bud- get .thunderbolts. Faced by the neces- sity of squaring a deficit of $186,830,000 | to balance national expenditure aggre- gat'ng $4,016,830,000, the Labor watch- log of John Bull's treasury projected !a new and heavy tax on land. | To the impromptu refrain of “God This development is important in|83ve the land to the people,” a line that it demonstrates that eriminal rack- | from an old English political song! eteering is not a wholly urban enm.lthouud in the House of Commons prise. The spread of the geng gime,8s theschancellor rose to speak, Mr. into the rural sections is likely to oc- cur at any time and in any quarter.|ish land on the basis of & penny to roundly, two cents to ‘While the “pickings” are not so rich in the rural sections es in the cities, they are mevertheless tempting and the ter- ror methods employed in town are ap- plicable to the country. Diamond, upon Jeaving the prison hospital on Welfare Island, having recovered from the wounds received in & Manhattan hotel | signals that it will be & fight to the Snowden unfolded his plan to tax Brit- 1 the pound, cr, every five doliars, of capital vhluation. | As the scheme thrusts at the vast i landed estates owned by the aristocratic and wealthy classes, it is headed for certaln and stubborn opposition in the House of Lords. Premier MacDonald reeling off the titles of a lot of books that nobody actually reads. | Reminiscence. | A Winter strangely gaited | Youth pauses to recall. You either roller-skated i Or you didn't skate at all! { Impractical. “In my opinion,” sald Farmer Corn- tossel, “that hired man o' mine is a very remarkable invention.” “Why do you call him that?” | “Because o many Inventions are things that ought to work and don't.” ‘The Merry Life. We stay up late and strive to keep Old Morph:us on the run, And think because we're losing sleep We must be having fun. “When s man ;;- dislike to you,” Lest we forget, lest we forget. ' The treasured script takes wings and ies, | _ The first editions 211 depart; { There is no thing that man can From manor house to works of That doth not rise and float away To U. 8. A, to U. 8. A. The buyer comes and states his need, ‘The buyer waves his wad—and, lo! Recessionals themselves recede ‘To where all other uagh!es go! ‘These also leave for U. 8. A, ‘Without delay, without delay! | ‘With books and pictures all withdrawn, The very stones shall come unstuck; | Undoubtedly a day shall dawn { _When all must take, with any luck, The primrose (or ths dollar) way To U. 8. A,to U. 8. A | When H]?mpwn Court shall hear the cell, ! Trefalgar Square and Euston, too, The Marble Arch and Albert Hall, The Old Kent Road and Waterloo— Belleve me, it is safe to bet, ‘They'll have them yet, they'll have —By Luclo.’ rize, art, It 1s his assiduity in his flavorous re- | all over our shoes, and make out as!agal BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Now, no cat would do that. In ail the history of Feliniana no honest cat has ever put up a bluff. But the Catnip Pig is even more di- rect than the average of his tribe. “Meow,” he says, which, being inter- plr:c:ed. means ‘“Catnip,” and nothing | else. It is a command, rather than a plea. o He does .not say, “Please give me catnip,” or “I would like a bit of cat- nip, it you don't mind.” Not a word of it. Catnip,” says the Catnip Pig, as }he sits on the porch and looks up at the door. When it opens, he voices his com- ! mand again in a single word, “Meow." | Yes, that is a word, as truly as any word. Monoaceticacidester is a word, too, ana it you don't believe it you will find it on aspirin boxes. Eut it is, in the long list of words, no better word than meow, and not haif as expressive. * W w “Catnip,” commands the Pig, with a glance from his piggy eyes wiich says plainly enough, “Inis is the third and |iast time; 1 you have no catnip say |50, and 1 will go at once.” We go over to the shelf, where we keep his supply. It is a choice im- ported brand, according to the printing on_the label. Surely it is swell catnip. The downtown druggisi who stocks |1t ‘'would have the suftrage ot every cat in town if they knew about it Tne Caunip Pig indicates, with every |roll, that he ne.er tasted weed half as He knows. { ‘Grea. s.u.,’ e meows, condescend- |ingly, as if willing to make a siight | concession for the sake of futurity. | We have a sneaking belief that the |house—to the Catnip Pig—sends up a grand aroma of catnip which surrounds it as if it were banked high with tube- roses or narcissi, or other particularly fragrant flowers. Sometimes we spot him coming uj the street half a block away, his tal straight out behind, his snub nose held carefully in our direction, and we know | instantly that he smells catnip. | * X kX On the few occasions when we have been caught with no mint in the house | we have felt very much ashamed, and Jl;nvg tried to expiain the matter to the ‘e are very sorry, old fellow, but the | gentleman sa1d you had ebout eaten the | Baltimore importers out, and that it will be necessary for us to wait for several days.” “Meow,” replies the Pig; and this, being liberally interpreted, means: “It may be necessary for you to wait, my friend, and it may be necessary for this druggist to wait, but I never wait. Cats wait on no man, not even phar- macists, not even newspaper men. “Since you have no catnip today, I bid you fatewell. But I will return anon, and shall expect to hear the old familiar rustle of the cardboard box, and find my nostrils bathed in that de- lightful fragrance. Do not disappoint | me the next time. I go, but I shall re- | turn.” Waving his striped tail grandly, he pokes down the driveway, without a backward glance, and disappears be- hind the garage. ‘Well, perhaps we had better call up n and put in an orders for three boxes instead of the usual two, for he is a Catnip Pig if there ever was one. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands an iniquity. It is a vice, both subjec- tive and objective. To inflict it or to submit to it is sinful. It is a crime that is flagrant, profound and formidable. It is the union of the vices and the mother of them. From its pestilential source spring all the maladies which suffocate the faculties of mankind and which obscure and disfigure the image of the Creator. One of the attributes of the Infinite is liberty. Therefore, if He made us in His image, is it not clear that we are free? And those that subvert His laws, and act in opposition to His goodness. is it not clear that they are impious? But too many men consider liberty only the opportunity to exploit their vices. They are not free who are slaves to their passicns and their appetites and who do not, in their freedom to choose, choose the better part and the way that leads onward and upward. * ok x * Boy Inscribes Gift Bible “With Author’s Compliments.” Evening News, London.—A schoolboy, 8 years old, was giving his aunt a Bible as a birthday present. Not knowing just what to write in it as an inscrip- tion, he went to his father's bookshelves and examined the flyleaves of a num- ber of the volumes arranged thereon. After a rather protracted inspection and comparison of the various dedica- tions, he finally decided upon the fol- lowing as the most suitable and wrote on the leaf, in his best hand, “With the author's compliments.” California Welcomes Prospects of Academy Prom the San Francisco Chronicle. California welcomes the idea of hav- West Point and Annapolis estab- ed here. The Governor’s prompt assurance that the State will provide the finest locations in the world for either or both institutions shows where California stands on the proposal in the bill of Representative McSwain for | transfer of West Point to the Pacific Coast. Representative McSwain, who comes from South Carolina, is not in- spired by any desire to boost any local- ity, but puts his proposal squarely on the best national interest. Of course, it may be too much to ex- ct & complete transfer of either the ilitary Academy or the Naval Acad- emy. Tradition and sentiment are strong. But both of these institutions have pressing need for extension, and it would seem better policy to provide additional facilities by establishing branches on the Pacific’ Coast than to attempt to expand where they are. Such expansion means purchasing land from owners who already have the in- stitutions at hand and who expect high prices. Establishing branches here would be on a very different basis. From the smndfiolnt of efficiency such a program has everything to recommend it. The officers being made | in the two academies are to serve in the Army for the whole country, not just the Atlantic seaboard. Both Army and Navy have increasingly important Pacific Coast establishments, certainly fine backgrounds for the education of the Officers’ Corps. ‘West Point and Annapolis were both ereated at a time when the national aestiny seemed focused on the Atlantic seaboard. Now times have changed and the empire of the Pacific Coast is under a rising star. It is good policy to give the future admirals and gen- erals in the academies as wide a view- point as possible. California will be a mighty fine place for the military and naval students and the files of snappy cadets who make so splendid an appearance will be a welcome sight to our people. By all means let California bend every effort toward putting a West Point and an Annapolis in this State. ! We warrant that if this be done, the California departments will set a pace for the Army and Navy to be proud of. oo Eelish. From the Hamilton (Ontarjo) Spectator. A sclentist an eel’s brain is like -u'l.whla:" account for some PRIL 28, 1931 NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM LG M. THE TRAGEDIES OF PROGRESS. By Gina Lombro: auther cf “The Soul of Wom: etc. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. ‘Then—"“the monstrous cities will split ’PP: the colossal factories will subdivide into many smaller u ; production will turn to proportion itself to con- sumption; the conquests and slaughter to impose products or to obtain raw materials will ccase; men and women will return to the formation of small groups wherein they will have an op- portunity for exp:cssion and develop- ment of individual talents and leader- ship. Men will cease to be merely ‘animals of consumption’ to whom ths expansion of their own intellectual and moral personalities are denied. The present orientation which places its faith only in material enjoyment will change; the genius of man will turn again to dedicate itself to philosophy, | perfecting self and human society Man will study how to better his social relationships; he will devote himself to real learning, to faith, to justice. He will arrive at a civilization which will truly lead to a higher plane than that which we are leaving.” Such is the conclusion of this study by Gina Lombroso, daughter of the fa- mous criminologist, Cesare Lombroso, and wife of the historian, Guglielmo IFerrem. Intellectualist in -her own right, besides. Scholar and writer as well. . At the moment this distinguished author is here in America. . In substance “The Tragedies of Progress” is a back journey into history along the special trail outlined by the title of the book. A most interesting study. That, in part, by virtue of its breadth of research and in oth°r part by way of the writer's enthusiestic ap- proach to it. By an evangelcal sin- cerity as well in its purpose and design. From ancient days up to the present, chapter after chapter devotes itself to a survey of the applications of science to industry. These unite in a picture of the growth of industry, of its recessions, of its revivals. Of its final outburst of amazing activity in modern life. In effect, the study is a challenge to the present. In spirit it is a repudiation of it. In mission it is an impassioned plea to abandon the machine age in which we are living, and to retreat into the past of simplicities and wider lati- | tudes for the individual. The main road of this adventure runs along in proot of the fact that | most, if mot all, the achievements of | sclence and industry. now working | together, were intellectually, practical- 1y and expertly, already in the hands of Chinese, Egyptians, Assyrians, Greeks and Romans in the ancient days when the world was young, &8s we say. it was to the long foresight of the eat ones of those times that the evouring creature, Progress, Was_rig- idly and sedulously suppressed. That it was in the interest of individual nurture along the lines of philosophy, art. politics and other sedentary occu- pations and preoccupations, that the masses of humanity were held back, or | under, away from the unsettling influ- ence cf any widely diffused measures of advance and well-being. And today the ancients are still in our midst. The world is divided, not evenly, to be sure, but divided, nev- ertheless, between thore, on the one hand, who hate and fear this “machine age,” this “materialistic mind” of ours and, on the other hand, those who glory In it. These, the second group, seeing it but as a stage for-wider o] portunity, for a more general dealing with the beauty and true ute of life. | Seeing it as certain approach to that which in the course of time will mag- nify human existence. broadly and deeply, in its irresistible outreachings toward a spirituality: that will ulti- mately st ount the material in which we, at the momgnt. appear to be 50 hopelessly entangle A few philosophers in the past, a few poets and seers and mystics were the seed of the present and the future. But even yet are we by no means free of that ancient preoccupation— warfare, Hordes of unwilling TS, following some tyrannous leader, falling by thousands, dying or, merely wound- ed, being slaughtered by su g ranks of comrades as the only way to be rid of the impedimenta of helpless men. Tpwers made of human skulls to feed the vainglorious posturing of some conqueror. On the side df peace, artisans working in guilds that pro- duced beautifully and permanently as we know by our own eyes today, but these only a handful among the many who were living like cattle and worse. And the guilds warred among them- selves, and were warred upon by jealous and suspicious rivals. And so one might cite on every hand the rise of states, the animosities springing up among them, with the gage of bat- tle immediately offered, with the ap- peasement, of siaughter as the only one conceivable, Religion, too. Where the peace and freedom of this sole promise of man’s happiness? No wars more terrible than those set in the name of holiness. Iz considering any phase of ‘history ore must keep in mind, it scems to me, that it is the emergence of the mass that counts. It is the growth of the many into responsibilities based upon personal rights and duties that must di- Tect historical conclusions. A few, anointed by either God or man, will no longer serve the cause of humanity. It is the many—the you and the me and the rest—that must be summoned to measure history. Yet, today, the haters of materialism, the advocates of idealism are, like Gina Lombroso, ardent evangels of the roomier days of the past. An those, the others, who are seeing the multitudes in every walk of life possessed of privileges, of comforts, of easements undreamed in other days cannot help giorying in such expansions for the great democracy of mankind. ~Foolish? Reckless? Mindless? Oh, all of these and more! But this is the first move- ment of release, of escape, of adventure past bed and board and decent cover- in(. Culture is a late flowering, but it will come. Growing a soul is slow and Jaborious business, but that, too, will surely be the issue, however late its fruition may be. Unavoidable, this, for if the story of man means anything at all—and it does mean the full ultimate goal of man out of the slime and mud on to yet inconceivable ends—that story must mean the growing of a soul to animate this amazing physical creature, man. This day, so bewildering, so men- 2cing even, so disturbing, is but a mo- ment in the passage, but a day on the way of a greater becoming. A pretty glorious day at that. Fine men and wemen—industrialists of one brand and ancther, competent and successful peo- ple all over the world, lending hands here and there in deliberate decds of brotherhood, deeds substantial, well plauned, practically executed. The hu- mar. himself, ignorant as yet. unstirred arné_ unambitious, is that which often hincers helpfulness and well doing. But he, too, is going to learn in his slow way the lessons of beauty, and kindness, and stahility and forthright thinking, even in tbe midst of the turmoil that appears, to some, to be all of the present. Now, to the book. A beautiful book. Facts finely drawn and eloquently set forth. Yet, a book of special pleading, nevertheless. And, as exemplar and mcae of procedure, it is nonsense. Hu- marity does not go back. It may here and there fall through some inherent disease of its own. But the general course is onward. Mistakes, certainly. And will be till that far end of body and souvl and spirit, close knit, acts in unison. Tii that end is reached, the errant hu- man will be on hand messing up many good gehemes of redemption for him. Eut the course will be forward. “Trage- dies,” to be sure. Life itself is a traged: A ruthless thing that overrides the weak, that destroys the incompstent, that neither regrets nor realizes its demonic onward surge toward the goal that for- ever drives it. Vegetation, the surface of the earth itself, countless millions of animal life—all these, and man, too, are in the forward drive of that appalling energy, life. Ar. an idealist, com; intellectual, warm sincere, has made & ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS . i BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Stop a minuf and think about this fact: You can ask our Information Bureau any quesiion of fact and get the answer back i1 a personal letter. It is a great educwtional idea intro- duced into the liveg of the most in- telligent people in tre world—American newspaper readers. Jt is a part of that best purpose of newspaper— service. There is no u&ut except 2 cents in coin or stamps for return post. age. Get the habit of asking questions. Address your letter to The B\/ening Star Information Bure2u, Frederde J. Has- kin, director, Washington, D. C. Q. When did the underharhl throw and the curved ball come into base ball?>—W. 8. A. As early as 1860 the disguised urderhand throw came into use, and iun “d“ the curved delivery was irgro- uced. Q. Was Gen. Smedley Butler in aa- tual combat during the Werld War?— to learning, to politics, to the arts of | w™y D) A. He was at the front during Lhe} World War, but not in combat. He was stationed for the most part at Brest, Franc Q. For whom was the Filson Club of Louisville, Ky., named?’—F. R. A. This historical society bears the name of John Filscn, an- early Ken- tucky school teacher and mapmaker. Q. How many miles of gas and ofl ipe lines are there in the United tates?—J. A. C. A. Gas pipe lines are estimated at 80,000 miles, while oil pipe lines are | estimated at 100,000 miles. Q. How long did the Waldorf Hotel | function before the Astoria Annex was added?—E. D. A. This famous hotel first served the public as the Walderf in 1893. liam Astor'’s _house at Thirty-fourth street and Fifth avenue. The new Waldorf-Astoria is in process of con- struction at Forty-ninth street and Park avenue. Q. Please glve the verse which ends. "Ansth; best will come back to you.” A, It is from “Life'’s Mirror.” by Madeline Bridges and runs as follows: For life is the mirror éf king and slave. just what you are and do; Then give to the world the best that you have And the best will come back to you.” Q. To what industrial hazard are most workers exposed?’—H. 8. A. Workmen employed in dusty trades comprise the largest group. Some kinds of dust are definitely poisonous, while others are harmful when breathed into the lungs in large amounts of small particles, Q. What became of the house in which Gens. Grant and Lee met at Appomattox at the end of the Civil War?—W. H. D. A. The house was constructed of brick and was taken down in 1893. The material was permitted to lle about on the ground and many visitors carried away pieces of brick and wood as souvenirs. Q. From what language does the word “bazaar” come?—H. N. A. The word is Arabic in origin, and refers to a market place in the East. Some of these bazaars are in the open, some are covered over. Q. How much of Norway is in the Land of the Mi tht Sun?—R. 8. A. Norway reaches 300 miles into In 1847 the annex appeared on the site of Wil- | the Arctic zone, and nearly one-third cf the country is in the domain of the midnight sun and Winter darkness, but even in the extreme south the Summer day is long and the Winter day is short. - . Which color should a girl baby | wear, pink or blue?—C. G. A." The choice of color for girl and boy babies is merely a traditional mat- ter. Usually, if any distinction is made, blue is preferred for boys and pink for girls. Pink and blue are now used interchangeably for boys and giris. Pink, since 1t is universally becoming and will stand frequent tubbings, is much more popular for both. Q. What kind of bread was eaten { by the Romans?—J. C. A. Various kinds of bread were used. Wheat bread was the most com- mon variety. Barley bread was eaten by soldiers and slaves. The dough was prepared by moistening the flour with water, adding salt and kneading %1 a trough of wood or pottery. The | laiven was added, the dough shaped and placed in an oven to be baked. comyse bread was sometimes made of spela Q %!o;' are typewriter ribbons made? —A. P. 8. in the better cotton. sorbing and retaining the ink. inking is done' by special machinery, 88 hat every fiber is thoroughly soaks Q. Is the yard the standard of length?—I. C. W. A. Meacures arg tested by meter, & ard being .9144018 of a meter. gl Q. When will tix Department of Commerce move into its new mflflnfi mv.w; will there be A. The department move January 1, 1932. will have 36 elevators. will bably The o ly sole and 1814 inches from heel 6> toe. Q. Does the mulatto have a great: g c‘k;tnu of success than the Negao?— A. Recent studies made by E. Reuter, professor of sociology in University of Iowa, show the following conclusions: at “the mulattoes, composing at present less than 20 per cent of the N:mw'glununn. ha duced more per cent xumflw men of -the race” Fw §3 t, available, the enemy by during the World War at 6:05 am., on October 23, 1917, near Barthlemont les Bouzemont, France, by Battery C, 6th Field Artillery, 1st Division. A Alex Arch of South Bend, Ind., was command of the gun crew that fired the shot. The gun itself, a 75-mm. rifle, now at the United States Military Academy. Women in Wet-Dry Battle Stir Interest Meeting in Washington of a wom- an'‘s organization opposed to ibition, following a meeting held by feminine supporters of the dry law, arouses in est chiefly in the effect that these tivities will have upon the alignments in the major parties in the presidential campaign 1932. The utterances of the “antis” are studied especially in :}mr relation to conditions in both par- es. “We have evidence that women are figuring both ways in the impending prohibition contest,” says the Charlotte Observer, taking note of the statement from Mrs. Charles Sabin that “in five hitherto ‘arid’ States, these being Ne- braska, Oregon, South Carolina, Ten- nessee and Washington, congressional seats have been won by repeal advo- cates.” The Observer continues: “Her further claim was that in eight States, represent 25 per cent of the popu- lation of country, prohibition has been repudiated by refusal to provide State enforcement. The wet women are further en put up a wet candidate on the ground that in 1928 no party in any State had embodied in its platform a plank for repeal, while in 1930, in 21 States, plat- forms embodying repeal planks, have been adopted by both Republicans and Democrats. In proof she submitted: Democrats in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti- cut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsyl- vania, Delaware, Maryland, Illinols, ‘Wisconsin, North Dakota and Washing- ton; Republicans in Rhode Island, Con- necticut, New York, New Jersey, Illi- nois, Wiscor.sin and Washington. This was submiticd to show that the pro-|be hibition issue ‘is cutting squarely across d | both parties’ and, Mrs. Sabin shouted in glee, ‘It won't be long until we have both of them!' Concluding as forecaster, she predicted that in the next House the repeal group will have 83 Republic- ans and 77 Democrats and that 22 Sen- ators, evenely divided between the two parties, will advocate repeal. ‘The New York Evening Post quotes Mrs. Sabin as stating that “in this de- bate y lines are disappearing to the dismay of timorous politicians, whose only strength has been in party regu- larity,” and that paper comments: “As Mrs. Sabin further said, the drys may take refuge in some ‘cyclone cellar’ and assert that ‘there is no change in pub- lic sentiment.’ If they do, they weaken their cause by a blindness that has never characterized the women who are seeking true temperance through the road of ‘national prohibition reform.’” * ok ok K Dissent comes from the South Bend Tribune as to the effect of this agitation on the current political situation, for it believes that there are more important issues that must take their place in the coming campaign. The Tribune de- clares: “Prohibition is regarded as an important issue by a substantial num- ber of men and women, as shown by the publicity coming from all fronts, but only short-sighted people are intent on making it the paramount issue next year. If prohibition were the only mat- ter deserving political consideration now, the United States would be extremely fortunate, It is obviously not the only deserving matter—indeed, it has been losing ground lately. Taxation and business conditions probably are more in the 1]‘))I,I’l:lll(: mind now. The business depress! apparently will be in the past when the people vote in the Na- tional and State elections next year, but taxation will be very prominent, The -party talk is heard. It is quite plain &t no solutions of impor- tant problems will be achieved through a third party next year.” “Where organized effort is opposed by organized effort,” in the opinion of the Lincoln State Jourhal, “the effect on the workers may be lessened. Presi- dent Hoover could smile when those —_— kind. An inte; book, too, for those the A survey to ponder, iciate, to ad for the m ment ‘Then a book to ve for the tremghdous existence that¥at the mo- ment is drawin sting g the Democrats to | Part: in Party Lines opposed to hibition called. He had smiles as well when those on other side had appealed to him. It's a big question that will never be settled a show of personal interest or feeling. Out of it all, however, arises a disturb- If those interested in to_organized interests? _Possibly some scheme can be devised to again invest the voter with power. The is worth considering at least.’ * K kX Reviewing the conflicting movements in various parts of the country, the Omaha World-Herald offers the ment: “These occurrences the prohibition question is not & issue. Republicans are db and so are the Democrats. y convention takes a it the decision cannot be bin the members of the party. The will be to split and demoralize party that is forced to take this non-partisan question. Birth con- trol is like prohibition, a public issue involving moral and social considera- tions, yet no one would think of propos- ing it as a party issue. Yet one is about as ldm&llhle in a party conven- tion as the other. The fact is that tion without a party fight and by a non- partisan vote. If it is ever taken out or modified, it ought to be and it must by non-partisan action. Demdcrats will be divided and so will Republicans in that struggle d come together on the question,” advises the Charleston (S. C.) Evening Post, “they could settle the whole matter. But they seem no more capable of disposing of the mat- ter than the men. Which is a disa) pointment. The women ought to able to do better in this, as in all other things, than the men. It is dis- couraging to find that they are as great- 1y confused as are the foolish sex.” The Davenport Democrat finds significance in the fact that Mrs. Sabin “resigned her official connection with the Re- publican organization of New York in order to be free to act as she wished on what she considers the most im- portant issue of the day.” ‘The Seattle Daily Times, referring to the pledge to President Hoover from the woman advocates of prohibition that they would support him in his “en- deavor to enforce that great protective law,” criticizes the attitude assumed by the women as being “in a single line of endeavor,” and as “falling short of the needs in his case.” The Times con- tinues: “Public officers, high and low, the nature of whose duties gives them choice of two or more courses of action, may need and welcome, from time to time, the suggestions and advice of eitizens’ groups and organizations. But those charged with the duty of ad- ministering and enforcing law have no alternative save evasion and neglect. Such a ‘pledge’ as these ladies have given the President could quite as an- propriately, and no less ridiculously, be the United States Supreme makes the application: know how many women in the United States are militantly opposed to pro- hibition, but at least 300,000 went om record against it when the Women's Or,lnluuon for National Prohibition Reform met in Washington. have petitioned Presit ‘They are also attempting te line up the women's vote behind anti- prohibition candidates in the 1933 primaries. Apparently this will be a political factor not to ignored in the coming cam has become an article in the the least ofus into & cir of activity, into a zon& of. terri- fying stir, w! beauty is iable, indubitably and for the o wi hitf of an | true,