Evening Star Newspaper, May 12, 1931, Page 8

P 'HE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON; D. C, TUESDAY, MAY 12, 1931 M“—W - ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. THE EVENING ‘STAR ‘With Cinday Morning Edition. o—e WASHINGTON, D. C. YUESDAY.. ... May 182, 1931 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor v d 8t Iding. ? apent | ., London, g Rate by Carrier Within the City. 448¢ per month 60c per month 5c L e erid of ‘each i, ey bt et 1 by mail of telepnone may be sent al 5000, Rate by Mail—Payab'- "1 Advance. Maryland and \irginia. F:ly ily only junday only All Other States and Canada. 7 and Sunda: ) fi;‘lnunonli Member of the Associated Press. The Acsociated Press is exclusively entitled o ths use for republication of all news dis- Paichss credited fo'it or not otheruise cred. ted in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rizhts of publication of Epecial dispatches herein are also reserved. 5c 1 mo., 50c 1mo.. 40c An Analysis of the Estimates. The Commissioners’ consideration of the estimates for the 1933 fiscal year resolves itself to much more than & cut-and-dried process of making both ends meet. On the one hand there is & set of figures, designedly large, rep- resenting the optimistic expectations of the various department heads. On the other are the careful computations by the auditor cf the money that will be avallable under the existing system of dividing expenses between the District and Federal governments, Something resembling a balance between the two muct be struck, and if local revenue re- ceipts fall off as naional revenue re- ceipts have fallen, it will not be easy to strike the balance. Some of the trade organizations that heretofore joined the Commissioners in the annual review of the preliminary estimates and suggested where and how the cuts should be brought about have dropped the practice as futile. Whether the Citizens' Advisory Counecil will con- tinue its work of going over the esti- mates and submitting recommendations Temains to be seen, in view of the agi- tation within the Federation of Citi- zens' Associations for the abolition of the council as at present constituted. For the most part, relatively few citi- 2ens take an active interest in the sum fotal of the figures and few of them know what they mean. Instead of announcing, after their study of the preliminary estimates, the approximate totals in figures represent- ing the budget this yeay, it would be interesting and worth while for the Commissioners to take the taxpayers into their confidence to the extent of explaining; what the budget will repre- sent in the way of city development. Bhall the Capital be able to continue an adequate program of development with the funds allotted arbitrarily un- der the present system of fiscal rela- tions and with decreasing local revenue? Has the budget reached the stage, or is 1t approaching the point where it repre- sents for the most part the mere cost of normal maintenance? Does the approximate one-third of the general tax fund set aside for the schools mean that the schools are recelving what they need, or is it adequate only to the extent of being & traditional proportion of other city expenses? Shall the Dis- | trict be able this year to continue work or to begin ‘work on certain long-time programs of expansion in various de- partments, or are the programs to re- main paper programs? It would be enlightening to have from the Commissioners a general state- ment apalyzing the budget in rehum? to the recognized needs of the - city. Such an analysis would be of value in eonnection with the studies of the fiscal relations problem ndw under way and it could be made, it is believed, .without violating any of the rules of ucr:ql that surround the general compilation of budgetary estimates. This year’s es- timates, compared with revenue avail- abllity, may shcw more clearly than those of otter years the unfairly large proportion of city expenses that has been shoved on local taxpayers, and the results of working a good horse too hard. S W P John Masefield, British poet laureate, on arrival at Constantinople tells eager newspaper interview:rs thit he honestly considers Mustapha Kemal ‘Turkey's president, a greater man than Benito Mussolinl. If he sticks to this system John should have 3 pleasant trip, provided he is not contemplating & return by way of Italy. e Air Corps Maneuvers. The forthcoming Army maneuvers, to bring together some six hundred and seventy-two airplanes fly- ing together in close formation over densely populated cit'es, such as New ‘York, Boston, Washington and Chicago, have been criticized on the ground that they constitute a militaristic gesture, that they will cost about $3,000,000 in fuel alone, that they will endanger the lives of the pilots and of the populace below and that they will interfere, in various ways, with the plans and run- ning expenses of the National Guard units ordered to participate in the dis- play Somebody might have gone further and computed the money to be lost to employers by reason of the fact that all the hired help will run to the windows to find out what the noise is about. To such criticism the War Depart- ment is able to make generally satis- factory reply. The air maneuvers con- stitute a part of the training program for handling large forces in the air. “They are no more intended as a mili- taristic gesture than the annual re- view and meaneuvers of the fleet. The money to be burned up in fuel has been appropriated for that purpose, and if not burned up .n these maneuvers Alr Corps| months has been intended merely to create popular interest in an event that would take place anyhow, publicity or no publicity, there can be no criticism of the Air Corps maneuvers that could not as consistently be applied to the everyday maintenance and training of the Army, the Navy or the Marine Corps. But if the publicity is the main thing and the maneuvers are necessary to back up the publicity, the Air Corps is undertaking a risky gamble. Spec- tacular in all its phases, the display will center public interest on aviation and on the grand armada of battle planes, If there are resulting tragedies, more will be lost than gained. ‘Those responsible for arranging the maneuvers have, naturally, taken these things into consideration and are obviously willing to put the'r good judn-' iment to the test that lles in what will happen. e emeee Religious Revolution in Spain. To what depths of fury revolution has stirred the Spanish pecple is graphically and terribly demonstrated by the latest news from Madrid, Mal- aga, Saragossa, Cordova, Cadiz, Bilbao and Seville. Anti-religious rioting | spread like wildfire yesterday and is apparently still in progress throughout the new republic. Churches, monas- teries and convents have been burned. Priests and nuns cre being subjected to physical maltreatment. Even an archbishop's home was not considered sacred, and, like other Roman Catholic property marked for demolition by the fmob, was put to the torch. Ten thou- | sand ordained members of religious or- ders, men and women, were sent fleeing for their lives from zones in which fanaticism secured the upper hand, de- spite the government's use of troops and guns. Catholic property damag: is said already to have reached $30,000,~ 000 in extent. The outside world will be at & loss to account for this insensate outbreak against the denomination which is the national church of Spain. The whole population adheres to the Roman faith, barring a relaiive handful of Protes-; tants, Jews and Rationaiists. Spain is| probably the most exclusively Catholic { country in existence, with the possible single exception of Italy. Therefore it is more than possible that the pillaging mobs engaged In outrages against church people and church/property are recruii- ed to some extent from Catholic ele- ments. If that is so, the only conceivable ex- planation is that Communism, which has marked all churches as enemies, and the Roman faith ih particular, is fomenting {his new and cruel “holy war” in Spain. ‘The Soviet has officially and repeatedly branded religion as “opium for the peo- ple.” Moscow's avowed purpose is to stamp out the worship of God every- where, no matter in what form it may be practiced. The Communists have sworn a special vendetta against the Church of Rome ever since the Vatican on fts part called upon Catholic fzithful throughout the globe to combat bolshe- vist teachings tooth and nail. 5 ‘The Republican regime at Madrid has been consclous, ever since it usurped power on April 14, that Communism is its foe: Doubtless Provisional President Zamora and his colleagues see the red hand of the Soviet at work in these anti-Catholic. depredations. Rut some entirely non-Communist sentiment may be responsible for the ferment, too. The old, constitution of Spain required the nation to support the clergy and the property of the church. As much 8s $12,000,000 a year has been drawn from the public treasury for these pur- poses. During the tortuous four weeks of the republic the demand for separation of church and state has been raised with mounting vehemence. The expulsion of the religious orders has been advocated, and the Zamora government is credited . with definite plans to that end. In 1926 there were 4,637 religious houses in Spain, devoted variously to education, charity, industries, training of priests and nuns and to a contemplative life. The total number of Roman Catholic individuals entitled under the Rome- Madrid concordat of 1851 to state main- tenance has been upward of 57,000, in- clucing 42,000 nuns. It may be that the prevailing crusade, with its deplorable horrors, is an ex-| pression of Spain's desire to terminate the siate’s alliance with the church, as well as a fresh manifestation of Com- | munism’s flendish warfare on religion of all creeds, — i The old saying “caught like a rat in | & trap,” strongly descriptive as it is, | must give way to the modern, “caught | in zippers that won't unzip.” SR PR Tempora Mutantur. Another citadel of classical education has fallen. Yale College has abandoned its compulsory requirements for {he !study of Latin and Greek for the bachelor of arts d:gree. The change which has come upon Yale is not a matter of overnight development. The struggle between the strict classicists who maintain that a mastery of Greek and Latin is without equal in the train- | Ing of students seeking & classical edu- | cation and thos> who contend that there is no particular virtue in the study of these dead languages has been raging fiercely in New Haven for more than! & decade, and really began long before that. 1In 1924 the Yale faculty recom- mended to the Yale Corporation, the governing body of the. university, that the study of Latin and Greek be no longer a prerequisite to academic hon- ors The corporation, however, re- mained adamant in its cpposition to the change. But now at last it has cepitu- lated. * “Tempora mutantur et nos mutantur in fllis.” The study -of Latin and Greek as & Tequirement in a classical or academic educaticnal course has dropped farther and farther into the discard in the last half century. The inclination has been to substitute the study of other lan-, guages — French, German, Itallan and Spanish particularly. At the same time I I | would be burned up anyhow. Safety regulations for flying above citles will be strictly obeyed, and as for the dangers to the pllots, they are always present. ‘The only important question regard- ing the maneuvers, however, is whether they are necessary. If they are neces- sary to furnish knowledge, now lacking, the breadth of the educational field ;hl.l spread wider and wider, keeping pace with the growth of knowledge fol- lowing & period of great experimenta- |ton. To the student entering college ‘lodly the fleld of learning is vastly different from that which confronted ‘lhe student of half a century ago and bears only a remote resemblance to the and to train pilots in certain typesfiela which canfronted the student of of aerial attack, and if all the at-la century or a century and a half ago. | time, ment for the degree of bachelor of arts. ‘The demand for a change in the re- quirements for a college degree has come in large measure from the stu- dents themselves. Many of them have chafed because of the rigid requirements of the older curriculum, believing that their time could be spent to more ad- vantage than in conning Latin and Greek, which few of them could put to practical use in their lives after they left the university. Unfortunately oth- ers have fought ths study of Latin and Greek for no better reason than that the dead languages have proved stum- bling blocks, tasks not only distasteful but too difficult. ‘The decision of the Yale authorities now is that in the attainment of an academic degree the student may sub- stitute for the old requirements of Latin and Greek an equivalent amount of French, German, Italian or Spanish. The faculty has not turned the back entirely upon Latin and Greek. Cicero, Ovid, Horace, Aristophanes and Homer are not taboo. Those students who wish to delve into the dead languages will be permitted to do so. The ques- tion arises, quite naturally, however, 2s to the number of students who will persist in the study of the classic lan- guages once the requirement has been removed, It there is to be eventually little or no study of Latin and Greek in the colleges and schools, the essential thing is that the courses substituted therefor be of equal value as mental training and also of equal cultural value, The preparatory schools are bound to feel the influence of the change in Yale and other colleges. They in turn will insist upon less and less study of the old languages since their pupils will have more and more leeway in the se- lection of subjects for entrance into the institutions of higher learning. Many graduates of Yale College will learn with regret of the decision to abandon the requirements of Latin and Greek for an A. B. degree, even though they may have sweated uncomfortably over their own courses. Yale went to the “Frogs of Aristophanes” for the cheer which has urged its heroes of the foot ball field and the River Thawes. In years to come even the derivation of this howl of defiance may be forgotten. e——— It scems that Charlie Chaplin's visit abroad was nct such a howling -success after all. Apparently he hurt the feel- ings of the Duke of Connaught, and many Englishmen hurt his feelings, and he wishes he had stayed home. Some one oughf to mail him the famous | liny, “Laugh and the world laughs | with ycu; weep, and you weep -lone."‘ —— e The Prince of Wales, traveling im- perial supersalesman, just returned from South America, meets at Birming- bham with great British business execu- tives to display, with pride, his order book. Many a humbler man in & similar job keenly envies him for the fact that no demand is made to see his expense account, e From Detrcit emanates a rumor that Comedians Altrock and Schacht have had a disagreement; are looking at each other askance and are re- luctant to pair up in stunts. Fans need not be too depressed; Weber and Fields, better fun-makers and more temperamental, came t-gether again. e Royal matrimonial reports from Ru- mania sre as confusing and contra- dictorf as bulletins of “trends” in busi- ness and the stock market. ey & A New York matron lost a $90,000 pearl necklace while on a shopping ex- pedition. Well, trat is just too bad, say the police. Queen Helen, affronted, tells King Carol he can parade his tin soldiers by himself. — e r—e— SHOOTING STARS. ' BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, The Other Fellow. The other fellow is the chap Who fills cur hearts with woe; We cxecute s moral map And show him where to go. We tell him what he ought to eat And what he ought to drink; And, just to make the scheme complete, We tejl him what to think, The other fellow does the same, We scarcely realize That each of us some one will name As careless ok unwise. Himself each citizen neglects, And does the best he can To bear up with his own defects And curb his fellow man. . ‘The Questioners, “My children ask more questions in an hour than I could answer in a week,” confessed the worried-looking man. “Yes,” replied Senator Sorghum, “but they're not in & position to defeat you in an election if you don’t succeed m guessing the precise answers they want to hear.” Jud Tunkins says the difficulty about getting even with an enemy is that the enterprise is likely to leave you with a lot of new ones on your hands. Rapid Results, ‘The gardener goes forth anew And plants a tiny seed with care, And later on is called to view A lovely burdock growing there. More Picturesque Calculation. “Is your boy Josh much help around the farm?” “Yes," replied Farmer Corntossel. “He manages to make farmin' more in- terestin' than it was by usin' algebra to figger out the losses.” The Ninety and Nine Per Cent. “You used to refer to your wife as your better half.” “I have revised my fractions,” replied Mr, Meekton. “I don't feel as Iif I represented more than 1 per cent of the combination.” Thoughts. With probkms strange fraught, And haste will seldom thrive. Some things require s second thought. And some need four or five, this life is “De man dat nts to talk all de " sald Uncle Eben, “doesn’t give tendant publicity on the maneuvers Yale's action is in line with that taken hisse’f a chance to pick up enough that has ‘ssued from the War Depart- at Princeton within & year, when Latin info'mation to make his talk wuf wontlin & steady stream for (several was dropped as a compulsory require- listenin' e | choly song’ we know. THIS AN ‘There is much to commend the prac- tice of staying in the El’dzn after sup- per until the night falls. Only the dewy dusk of Spring reveals a garden at its best. en one cannot see too much, One should never look too closely at anything, especially at the average home grounds at this time of year. Emllghl is charming light. usk covers the bare spots, as it points in were, and throws the g high, solid relief, * FE Let the porch sitter sit on his porc] and the gazer from a back windo: gaze through his glistening panes. They have their reward of solid com- fort, but they miss the touch of first- hand things, the fresh air at this sea- son, the smell of the earth, the wind in the face. To enjoy the garden after'the sun goes down it is necessary for the lingerer to be clothed in warm garments, pref- erably a woolen sweater of some de- seription, stout shoes and a hat. If the sweater is old and ragged and has a few holes in it, it serves its pur- e better, for there is something vast- y comforting in an old raggedy sweater. | Many a femous man has worn un! old, gray sweater. Just why gray we do | not know, unless there are more gray sweaters worn by renowned men than green sweaters or crimson sweaters or brown sweaters. * ok ok x Out-at-the-elbow and down-at-the- heels fit in well with a garden at this time of year, for it, too, knows some- thing of these conditions. There are ragged places in the flower borders which will have to be filled in when Summer comes and will be filled in, without doubt, if the water holds out. Yonder bare spots in the lawn jibe well with the holes in the old sweater, and we swear no other garment in the ‘world would do half as well. There are grazai gardens, where men saunter down e“%yple steps, dressed the while in peri$ i evening clothes, but our garden if such place; in it an old sweater an old pair of shoes and an old h#*d go very well. ook x Freedom tr ¢l things is tHe necessary note of the ilight hour in the garden. There one Mould do as he pleases. Doing as one pleases, of course, never means doing exactly that, if one is civilized, and has an ordinary regard for the rights of others. It does mean that if one desires to work, he works; if he prefers to sit down and contemplate anything from infinity to yonder thrush, singing in the tree, he does so. This is what one does when he does | as_he pleases in the garden at dusk. | It is what the brown thrush does. * o ox o | are glad to welcome the thrushes | | | We back. They returned only last week, after we had given.them up. Where they have been, or why they are late, we do not know. | All that counts now is that they are home again im our garden, as we hope | they are in pours. | This by! has the cheerlest melan- There is no other | way to describe it. While its funda. mental stgucture is minor, filled with sadness, its characteristic nuances are replete with happine:s, * oK % K ‘We suppose there is no one who, hav- | ing heard a thrush sing at eve, has| not been filled with a longing to turn | the song into a piece of written music. | Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newsp. OLOGNE GAZETTE.—A resolu- | tion presented in the Reichstag | will Taise, if it is carried, the minimum residence in Ger- many of those desiring to be- come German citizens from 10 to 20 years, and also provide that no one un- der the age of 25 may be naturalized. Pending decision on this new legisla- tion, 362 petitioners for citizenship are awaiting final action on their papers. Under the empire, a period of 10 years’ residence was deemed sufficient, but political and social developments of re- cent years have shown that even a decade’s preparation is not always suffi- | clent. Once admitted, it is impossible | to deport such persons to the countries from which they came. Thuringia and | Brunswick are particularly anxious to | have the era of probation extended. * ok R U. S. Achieves Record For Deaths by Automobiles. ‘The Evening Post, Wellington.— These Yankes are hard to beat when they s°t out after records. As noted in this vigilant column a few months ago, as far back as last October the United States statistical authorities calculated that 1930 would set new figures in the annual automobile death toll. A cable- gram reveals that success had been at- tained. Last year, in 32 States, motors killed 32,500 persons—an improve- ment(!) of 4 per cent on the 1929 list. * Doubts Whether Africans Have Been Alded. Manchester Guardian.—At a meeting in London, Lief Jones, M. P., moved a resolution, which was subsequently car- ried, that the government be asked to put an end to the sale of liquor among the native races of the empire. He showed that the amount of wines and spirits imported into British West Af- rica had increased enormously in recent years, with the most deplorable resuits on the general character of the native races concerned. He stated further: “The gibe that the gift of European civilization is heavily set off by the vices that go with it is familiar enoug d none the less true for being fa A true imperialism would scrupulously spread only the best it knew; a true imperialist regards himself as an apostle of civilization. Unhappily, what 00 often happens is that under- the stress of an unfamillar and often, for the European, an uncongenial environ- ment he gives way to the vices of civl- lization without in any way demonstrat- ing its virtues. And we may well won- der whether the African natives have gained at all, in any real sense, from their contact with us. 1t they have not, then our African empire, whatever it may have achieved economically, has been a lamentable failure. The gift of bad spirits to peoples unable to resist their ap) is not one of which we seed be proud; and if the government will take steps to stop, or at any rate severely to restrict, the traffic in such spirits, they will have done something toward undolnx‘ -'zr:n‘ wrong.” | | | | | Sir Oliver lodf Believes Dead Still Live. News-Chronicle, London.—Sir Oliver Lodge, speaking at Leeds, asked for & rational and hu‘.lenllflc investigation into chic enomena. “Poprflybo yelr:l now.” he said, “I have been acquainted with the fact that lndl\'ldul;‘n who have departed this life are not extinct. They still exist. They cannot display themselves continually, but under certain conditions they can give us messages “I say that eéverything in the uni- verse has a reason which we can un- derstand in time, “If sane, well balanced people give their minds to this investigation it will make progress, It is making progress now. !l‘:he clue, in my opinion, s to look for something In space.” Referring to his late wife. who died two years ago, he sald: "I apeak o her. It is mt'dlgm:n,: Jee Cream Making Depicted in Own Exhibitio ‘The Daily Mall, London now in the category of those things which have thelr own annual exhibi- Lion. Tee cream |llmout, in this light, in the thick vine, {ice cream, and in future years this .| anomaly that should occasion reflection D THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. No doubt it has been done, with the dissatisfaction which one always en- counters on attempting to achieve the impossible. No, the song of the thrush is its own music; we cannot take it from him. The liquid quality of the bird song is not to be captured by strings or keys of any kind. When we think we have it, then we lose it. EEEE A charming waltz, however, might be made from the song of the thrush in_our garden. It would have four well defined phrases, an introductory stave, quiet, calm, followed by a step upward, as it were, in a more intense style, followed immediately by two notes, a graclle, with a distinct- ending on a minor. IThe picture of this song is that of a “trlangle, bezmmnr at the left, going up at a slight angle, and then declining at a long angle to the right. Every song has its picture, thus; there is no melody under heaven which may not be bullt into blocks, or triangles, or some other shape, by the adept. | EE ‘The thrush is up early in our garden, chimipg away at half past 5 o'clock; but it is not until the twilight hour that his measures take on the shade of melan- choly which enshrouds them with a thin purple veil. Then, if it were not for the brisk third phase, with its two quick notes, the song would be sad in content and fact, in purport and rendition. ‘That quick couplet gives it a smile, a grin, one can almost swear the thrush is laughing. And there is another peculiarity about the thrush's song which every one who has ever heard it has noted: It is double—that is, certain notes come two at once, a harmony, almost “bar- ber shop.” This, too, tends to render the brown thrush's song glad in char- acter, despite its fundamental sadness; cheeriest melancholy bird song in ex- heeee | * ok ok ok ‘The shadows deepen over the garden. Has come now the best light for the grass. Only in dreams can grass look so well otherwise. A peculiar tinge is imparted to it; whether by the light filtering in through the ~half-leafed trees or by reason of the near lack of light it is hard to say. The wistaria blossoms, just opening on the vine on the tall locust, hang their lavender bells so that all may see. There are accommodating flow- ers. No matter how leafy the tree or the vine, the blossoms stand forth as if etched. :Surely there is something fearsome, I crawling around the tree, up and up, to | be lost in the branches. B o There is a stretch up there where the surface of the stem, an inch or more in diameter, takes on the appear- ance of scales. In the half-dark one touches the bark timidly, as if it might move. But the touch is reassuring; the harm it does will not be to us, but to the tree, it there is harm in it. And fif' it ‘strangles” the tree, as we have heard id, it will in itself be a sufficlent glory. How well it would be if all hurts could end so happily! The song of the thrush is dying down. Darkness is the only thing which can stop him. As long as there is light, he sings. Now dusk in the garden is at an end. It is night, and thelmn.uh's concert is over. Let us go in. | | apers of Other Lands Apart from the massive machinery, some of which actually represented ice cream manufacture, the rest being de- voted mainly to milk, the dominant feature was ice cream in material and tempting form, being tasted, made and lectured about. It is sald to be a matter for con- atulaticn that the ice cream trade as passed completely from the hokey- pokey days to a state of perfect or- ganization, with hygienic and epi- curean ideals. ‘What this means to the farmer with a herd of dairy cows it is impossible to overestimate. ~Many agriculturists ' already are turning surplus milk into outlet should sclve one of the dairy farmer's worst problems. There are over 300 samples of ice cream in the show sent from all parts of the kingdom. Also, to teach the virtue of a good ice, thousands ef samples are bcl‘nl given away free. * % % See Reduced Rates As Aid to Railroads. La Noticia, Managua —Tourist travel has been on the increase during the present season, especially for brief ex- cursions at low rates on the interna- tional railroads. We believe that rad- ical reductions in transportation rates, both on the raliroads and other con- veyances, would so increase traveling that the volume of annual business would b2 much more than is obtained from operating empty vehicles. Despite the present depression, many people still have money to spend, but that they do | not care w spend it at extravagant rates is evidenced by the avidity with which people avail themselves of the opportunity to see neighboring lands, when the charges for transportation are not exorbitant. Because of disturbed conditions, however, this year visitors from the United States have been few. * x ox % Charges U. S. Has Brought Violence to Nicaragua. La Noticla, Managua.—Along with the militaxy intervention of the United States in Nicaragua, there comes en ' on the part of both American and Nicaraguan leaders, really interested in improving conditions in this country. ‘This anomaly is this, that though the United States Marines have come here allegedly in the spirit of good will and helpfulness, they have brought in reality violence and aggression. ~Newspapers all through the country have protested against this most unfortunate develop- ment, but to no effect. Charles Thompson, secretary of the American League of Concilation, recent- ly made a trip through our country, to observe national conditions, and pro- tested because he was, as he claims, the object of abuses from a North American officer. When Mr. Thompson declared that such treatment was con- trary to international law, the officer replied that at present the constitution of Nicaragua is the National Guards (Guardia Nacional). Right there is the chief difficulty. Should the National Guard of Nicaragua be compelled to enforce the policies pro- claimed in the name of the United States intervention in Nicaragua—to apply militaristic doctrines s0 entirely at variance with the democratic theories of the great republic which George Washington and Thomas Jefferson founded? An armed dictatorship should not be, and must not be, the message of the United States for Nicaragua, but rather this message should be the faith- ful, temperate service of the Guard in protecting and upholding the institu- tions and statutes of the republic. Else, the armed . interference and restraint of the United States will in- crease, rather than decrease, the ravages of violence, as has already been seen in a renewal of offenses against the public ace. 8o far, United States interven- fon has cast but little credit upon the moral Influences of that country, and the Nicaraguan people, instead of being mollified and improved, have become, rather, more demoralized. For a foreign foree to combine with local organiza- tlons of natlonal police, to preserve order, s an unjustified procedure whieh thn meny of them resent, and con- Unually antagoniseS | of this absorbing theme. NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM 1. G M. PAN-SOVIETISM: The Issue Before America and the World. By Bruce Hopper, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Over in London a night or so ago Mr. Bernard Shaw let admoniiion loose upon a meeting of the British Institute of Journalism. “Time lag” was the label affixed to the Shavian fling. Tagging after events instead of running out to meet them. Such the charge upon this occasion against bolh press and public. Against the public, in large measure, because of delinquency in the press. To recognize an event as distinct from a mere happening, to appreciate some- thing of its potential importance to the world, to realize its sources in their es- sence, their trends, their advance or re- treat—this, in effect, Mr. Shaw contends is the business of men and women everywhere within the zone of our pres- ent prideful enlightenment. Instead, both press and public have the habit of looking backward at great and vital facts accomplished for the general good or for its ill. “Time lag” is a besetment to be overcome, To the body of writers before him Mr. Shaw cited times when the beginning of momentous events took lace as mere casual daily mention. The ar of American Independence was oné of these neglected bits of history. Com- ing nearer he cited the truth that even yet a Russian revolution is not fully and generally conceded. Not quite agreed that Russia has come out under a new form of political control, that it is a communistic entity, that it is 150,000, 000 people soclalized to an industrial commonwealth, ‘What is this Russia anyway? What is the grea. country trying to do? How much of this has it already done? Fair questions that all of us, so enlightened and wise, should be able to stand ex- amination under. And, just now, means of knowing Russia fairly well are at hand, at every hand. The period of hysterical reporting is pretty well over. That of barefaced and blatant propa- |that is why one may insist it is the8anda is fading. ‘In the stead of these are studies of high source, of good sub-~ stance, of keen appreciation, of profes- slonal insight, of excellent method, for the acceptance of those who want 4o know about this modern political phe- nomenon, the Russia of today. Books, and good books, are ready now for the study of Russia, Perhaps the ome set out with, at the moment, is “New Russia's Primer: The Story of the Five-Year Plan.” Comprehensive, simple, admirable as plan, this little book is calculated to clarify a deal of obscurity that, naturally, is in posses- slon of the geseral reader’s mind. Fol- lowing it are excellent studies of Russia upon its surface under the hew order. One of the best of these is Negley Far- son's “Black Bread and Red Coffins” (Century Co.). There are others to meet the special need of one and an- other in scizing the externals of Rus- sian life as it goes on today. “‘Pan-Sovietism,” by Bruce Hopper, drawn-off from his highly eff-ctive ccurse of Lowell lectures stands as an edmirable next step in one’s pursuit ‘The new primer becomes an atlas, or map guide to Russian plan. The lighter reports of journalists and adventure men give life and color and point to current Russian outlook and behavior, linking them to the rest of us in the business of getting along with the day’'s “job. ‘Then comes this book by Brucz Hopper which seats us before the scholar's findings—racial and historical to con- tribute to the amazing spiritual and political revolution that has worked the socialistic state from one of the great despotisms of the past. In order to get the most out of this finely reasonable study of Russia it would be helpful to concede the funda- mental fact that the world today is an economic probl:m. Not in Russia alone, but here in America and elsewhere. Not a political world, any longer, not even a truly spiritual world, yet—but quite certainly and indisputably,a great cconomic Institution, a gigan busi- ness concern for the feeding and cloth ing of every hungry and - man upon its surface. We are coming to see that, coming slowly to ‘see it. The President of the United States knows this and acts upon his convic- tion, the first of our prime executives to have this view and to live by it. What I set out to say is that with this as a fundamental belief in respect to the human trib , the reading of Bruce Hopper's study of Russia becomes mere- ly a rational st:p by step advance through country and climate and a vast submerged population out into at least the vision of wider and more equitable distribution of that with which the earth.is so bountifully sup- lied. P ‘That ylelded, however, this study be- comes both new -adventure and new vision. Under this writer, Russia divides into two parts. The World War, in its im- mediate antecedents and its lasting effects, marks the great line of separa- tion. Before this the vast domain in its climatic influences and the old- time spirit of class, lord and serf, de- veloped the early tyrannies and des- potisms. Since the war has come the swift fruition of long secret outreach- ings toward the human standard on the part of the enslaved peasantry. a few leaders were needed to precipi- tate vague_discontents into open re- bellions. Brutality? ~Yes. Outrage? Yes. What would you expeet from half humans, destitute to acute and habitual sufferings? Then the leaders came, the Lenins and the Stalins and the rest. They, brutal too, and remorseless? Yes —but they are all going somewhere. Get out of the yay! Bruce Hopper gives a finely plain picture of industry before the war. Farming and making things and dis- tributing them. Then, the story of the revolution itself, coming in from the west on the tide of Marxian capitalistic theory. Modifled sometimes, over in Russia, sometimes not. Advancing at this point, because it worked, for the moment at least. Receding at that one because it did not work. Then, by de- grees, came the Soviet state, in its con- stitution and its administrative instru- ments. And now we are hurrying for- ward through various measures pointed upon & unity of purpose and effort in every branch of the Russian state. And then crowded by its vast area, its limit- less natural resources, its inexhaustible man power came the great industrial- ization project which i3 at the moment running neck and neck with itself to do the five-year plan over into one of less duration—four-year, ' even three. Here is definite account of the man side of this speeding up. The story of living conditions, of work distribu- tion, of wages, of amusements, of sani- tation and art, of marriage and un- marriage. Here is the -collective man, the Russian of today. Better look him over. Better see what he is doing. For—and this is the point of the whole study—there is a “world issue” clearly rising just over the edge of the place where sea and sky meet. Its field is almost purely economic. The con- siderable combatants, but two, are this industrialized Russia on the one hand. On the other hand, America. Both by area and climate fitted for the eco- nomic battlefield which is already beck- oning. One, the soclalistic state. The other the capitalistic order. In both cases, the rise of the common man is as significint for the future as the submergence of this man, either in whole or in part, was an essential fac- tor in the makin< of Russian despotism and American capitalism, You will read Bruce Hopper with both profit and pleasure. He is so in- formed, so reasonable in his mind-ways, s0 clear and interesting and human in his expositions that one cannot fall to get that fine adventure, mental stir, out of his book. I know. We are all filled ugl with inhibitions, we Puritan folks. ard to find '.i‘fi other than our awn, worth much, t, beginn with this particular study, let us forge! for & minute that we are the mainstay of the whale earth in virtue and intel- lect and high intent. Throwing these -|way. ‘J’\::'":r u'lltu.o whiy le:, us alo of seein o rml}!( out of ‘mpnn I\J‘gr.bl. stand- ng on Whale fecl alw DAVAN M, ‘deart Just | DI Have we had the pleasure of serving you through our Washington Informa- tlon Bu‘r:nnv Otn'tuwe ?' &:o;ne h:): to you in your problems usin 1800 farnich you with suthoritative in- formation, and we invite you to ask us any question of fact in which you are interested. Send your inquiry to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Fred- D. C. Inclose 2 cents in coln or stamps for return postage. Q. Who were the Praying Colonels?— C. . K. A. ‘The foot ball team of Centre Col- lege at Danville, Ky., was known as the Praying Colonels. Q. What city owns the largest Amer- ican flag?—H. M. A. Canton, Ohfo. It was first un- home, then dedicated and turned over to the custody of the Chamber of Com- merce August 5, 1915. Q. Who invented the automatic sprin- kler?—J. A. A. The first automatic sprinkler of which we find record was patented in England in 1723 by Ambrose Godfrey, a chemist. It is referred to in Brad- ley's Weekly Messenger November 7, 1729. The first automatic device using water throcugh ystem of pipes was devised by John Carey in 1806. Q. How far does the City of New York extend north and south?—T. H. A. Includin, an extreme length of 36 miles. Q. What proportion of the world sup. ply of naval stores comes from the Southern United States?—M. G. - A. Nine-tenths of the naval stores used throughout the world comes from the pine belt in the South. The terri- '::‘rly embraces about 130,000 square es. Q. Can a fire start from spontaneous combustion?—W. F. B. A. The origin of fire by spontaneous combustion is an accepted fact. When- ever oxygen combines with anything | heat is produced. In some cases the oxidation takes place very slowly and no heat or light is observed, so that rags, cotton waste saturated with cer- tain ofls, newspapers, straw and many similar materials give off heat of suffi- clent amounts to reach the kindling | point of the materials, which then burst into flame. The loss of many - farm buildings is laid to spontaneous com- bustion of hay. Q. How long ago did our Army stop shooting men who wers sentenced to death by court-martial?>—R. J. M. A. The practice was discontinued about the time of the Civil War. Q. Why isn't the letter “J" used in naming streets?—R. W. H. A. It is believed that it would lead to confusion, e it is quite similar to the letter “ and follows it in the alphabet. Z cidqe‘ tn; it k:;o:n ."Vh’lt :Imued the ac- nt in which Maj. Henry Segrave was killed in & .peedboau—rl:.y E. A. The following statement was made by Lord Brecknock, president of the Marine Motor Assoclation and pub- lished in the newspapers at that time: “Subsequently it has been learned it 20 minutes after the disaster the water- logged branch of a tree, -approximatsly 20 feet long and' 3 inches in diameter, was picked up 25 yards off the stern of the boat, and, as near as can be esti- mated, on its direct path. This could eric J. Haskin, director, Washington, | furled in front of President McKinley's | the five boroughs, 1t has | have caused the damage, as there was no evidence pointing to any failure of the hull or machinery.” Maj. Segrave | was not taking part in & race, but was | carrying on a speed test on Lake Winde- mere in England. e Is & slave the same as & serf?— A. A slave is the absolute property of | his master and may be sold in any way. | A sert is usually one bound to work on | & certain estate, and is thus attached to the soil, although in somle countries | serfs are mere slaves. Q. Are more patents taken out in this country than in others?—G. R, | A About one-third of the paients | of the world are American. [ I8t cool on & desert at night?— A. The sands of the desert grow | quite cool at might. .The radiation at | night is very high, consequently the temperature is much lower. | Q. Why are shi rmitted to | quarantine in the Eiy&'m only.’—flrv&vf A. This is no longer true. An amendment to the quarantine law of | 1893 has just gone into effect whereby | ships may be inspected at any hour. When the law was made, it was believed dangerous to pass a ship at night, be~ cause the light was not sufficient for satisfactory inspection. With electrie lights on ships and wharves, this con« dition no longer exisf Q. Was Fra Dia T. M. | a real person?— | A, He was a monk, but was expelled |from his order. He then became the leader of a troop of Neapolitan high- waymen, | Q_What is the land ares of the | Northern Hemisphere and of the South- :ern?—’L G. K. . | A In the Northern Hemis) | there are 38,500,000 square mum | l-agl; in the Southern, 13,500,000 square mi Q. What can be used to paint faded awnings?—D. D. A. A good oil color thinned with | turpentine to the consist:ncy of water | 1s used in painting awnings. Q. What is Marle Dressler's real name? Where was she born?—M. E. G. A. Her name is Lelia Koerber. She | was born in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada. Q. Was Patrick Henry's father an educated man?—C. A. 8. A. Hi; fathef, John Henry, s well educated Scotchman, was the presiding judge of the Hanover court. Q. Was Sandow_ the strongest man. of his d-Ey? ‘Who has taken his place? A. Otto Henni, who was known fessionally as Saxon, made wel ing records that exceeded Sandow's. The Frenchman, Rigoulet, is the strong- est man of the present day, it is claimed, although he is not as,good as. was either Saxon or Sandow. Q When did France first tax salt? —A.V, N. | Al The salt tax was first imposed in |1286 in the reign of Philip IV. Q_‘w:hstundofmhulhfluqn1 Al The eyra is a South Amerlean wild cat, Q. How’many-different kinds of fish are there?—B. F. D. ' A. Of the true fishes, or Pisces, there are about 20,000 living species. lGovernment Expense Issue - Starts Warm Controversy . Senator Borah’s reply to the adyice from President Hoover that Congress should hold governmental expenses in check has created a warm controversy which is shared by the public. The Senator protests against the demands of bureaucracy, and is supported in some comments, but it is also pointed out that this congressional critic has shared in the demands for expenditures, and there is much dispute as to the primary responsibility. “A bureau once established is always thereafter with us,” complains the Champaign News-Gazette. “It cannot be gotten rid of. If it is held to nom- inal expenditures, the public has indeed won a victory. But wrong as they are, support in a national health program.” | That paper. neverthéless, concedes that “the Government and every right- thinking citizen is intensely interested in a broad of public health.” The Little 'k Arkansas Democrat adds that “our of Government sons—because of the demand of the States Jbeca: clans know that bigger, better and more bureaus mean bigger and better po- Htical control.” * The expense involved in the estab- lishment of commissions desired by the President is emphasized by the Roanoke they will continue to grow unless this | Sun ‘angry public opinion,’ forecast by the Senator, grows and maintains itself un- til 1t is felt.” The Port Huron Times Herald holds that, “as Senator Borah has suggested, it is likelyg to go on until the 123,000,000 people of the United States get mad about it.” “The popular indignation which Mr. Borah foresees will rise against a great Federal bureaucracy,” according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “will not, in our opinion. rise against the beneficent works of the Government, which not only supplement the work of the States t oftentimes supply their omissions. The true case, and the one against which the people are already rising, is against those unnecessary excrescences of Government which offen invade the States but accomplish nothing. Mr. Borah is himself an ardent supporter of the most flagrant of these, the Prohibi- tion Bureau. The Prohibition Bureau is a heavy contributor to those excessive costs which he ascribes to executive de- partments.” “Senator Aldrich long ago predicted,” recalls the Lexington Leader, “that he could save the Government $10,000,000- a year, which seems a small sum now, if the departments could be put upon 8 strictly business basis. No doubt many hundreds of millions could be saved today if reorganization could be effected, This is the very thing Mr. Hoover has been working on for years, while he was Secretary of Commerce and since he became President. He has accomplished more than any of his predecessors in this direction. But he has been able to make progress only within narrow limits because Congress has fafled repeatedly to give him the necessary authority.” * ok k% ‘The Senator's statement that “the Government has no right to exact from its taxpayers one dollar beyond the amount necessary to run the Govern- government that all too much has been disregarded in this country, not only by the Federal Government, but by many if not all of the States. Instead of holding down expenditures to essentials | and raising only the amount of revenue required to defray the necessary ex- | penses of government, the tendency has been increasingly to raise lp{n‘oprll- tions in general as high as possible and to make new appropriations that are not always for purposes that may fairly be classed as essential.” “It is high time that the taxpayers rebel against Federal support for bu- reaucracy assuming to usurp the func- tions of the States,” declares the In- ! dianapolis Star, with recognition, how- ever, of the fact that “Congress cannot escape blame, gestion that “at Borah was demanding an abatement of bureaucratic spending a conference at ‘Washington was censuring Congress for fallure to approve sufficient financial to put one foot before another along the interminable way of becoming more human, more humane, and more able for themselves, and those who are coming after. Mistakes—oh, innumer- able! But think, if you can, of a more stupendous spectacle than that of a reat raclal impulse toward advance. t scems to me that this is a good time to study Russia. Oh, no, neither for agreement nor for 'ment ! Just to know. study. Most interesting. ment, wisely and economically expended.” | is quoted by the Birmingham News, with | the comment, “That is one principle of | Borah's curfous assumption that there are other kinds of governments than bureaucratic governments — that a government has ever existed wi WS not bureaucratic to the core—this out- burst will be read with surprise by those who have followed the career of this loudest but tamest of all the sives. For Borah is perhaps the est believer in governmental that the Senate has ever entertained; and it is a hoary truth that the chief result of every governmental miracle is to create more jobs for bureaucrats. Produce a fancy scheme for saving the Nation, at whatever cost in money and new jobholders, and you will find Borah first to jump to his feet and ery * ox ok % “It seems,” suggests the Boston Transcript, “that Senator Borah, to- gether with all other Senators and Rep- * Tesentatives, is only a sort of involun- tary rubber stamp. The public sym- pathy will go out to Senator Borah. He does not mention it, but. doubtless the only thing to be done, to protect Congress from the ravages of the de- partment and bureau .heads, is to adopt a constitutional amendment pro- hibiting any department or executive officer from either asking or any appropriation, and leaving Con- gress to go on voting bonuses at its own sweet will.” Charging that the Senator “gets off on a tangent,” the Yakima Daily Re- public feels that, although “angry public opinion may strike wildly and hit the wrong persons, almost without excep- tion, whoever may be hit is to some extent responsible, and ‘may profit by a public chastisement.” That paper | avers as to responsibllity: “The Sen- ator’s statement that during the past 10 years Congress has cut the -Presi- dent’s budges by $414,000,000 isn’t even a half truth; it might be 10 per cent true, because for every dollar which Congress takes off the budget just to show* how economical it is, it adds 10 to show how the members are helping the needy voters who hold the balance :}‘1 p:fll;:‘ Even he doelund't claim that e total sum appropriated by Col is less than recon‘:mended b; {lu :’l:;: tive branch; it is always higher.” The Schenectady Gazette holds that “the Senator himself is not always so careful about holding ‘down expendi- tures,” and that “while helping the executive departments to cut down thelr expenses, he can perform an equally valuable service in leading his own extravagant body, Congress, into better ways." The Akron Beacon Journal concludes: “While we immense- ly enjoy the truthful thrusts of the Idaho ‘Senator, one wonders if the tax- payers could have found much relief in any of his remedies. If we remem- bg nc‘n;r‘eczl;e.r:::’ was olm favor of Gov- ernme lon Muscl he voted for the louldflm:qu and he got hot with the President for not spending efic clamoring to get to the ———— And One Zaro Agha. ' Prom the Springfleld (Mass) Union. u‘&:me one maintains, in’.effect, . that disagree) A very clear and penctrating | ere are 5000 different recipes for ‘What ho aoct “rald was s 5,000 coninarians in