Evening Star Newspaper, June 4, 1931, Page 31

PROVTERWROTE SHILE DTOMRY Work Was Begun in 1895. Book Published in 1916. Read 50,000 Works. Bpectal Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, June 4 (N.ANA).— Frank J. Wilstach, business manager for DeWolf Hopper, met John J. Burke, city editor of the Boston Traveler, on a Boston street in 1895. Burke was thoughtful and slightly ‘worried. “I have just had another of those headlines handed in,” he remarked, “and it was the old one—'News spread like wildfire’ I tried my best to think of some other method of having news travel simply and swiftly, and it has been too much for me. You can’t say in a headline that it spread like light- ning, because lightning, while it is fast enough, doesn’t spread anything except occasional trouble. Get busy,” he urged, “so that I can sleep tonight.” Wilstach, who had been known as one of the smartest promoters of the country since his work for Hopper started in 1889, pondered. He tried a dozen, but they did not click. Then he gave up. Job Too Much. “No use” he confessed, “and you | have me upset now. Let's go down to the book store and get a dictionary of | similes and settle it.” They went down Washington street. to the biggest book store in town. Bul the proprietor had never heard of & volume of similes. Later, investigation at the Boston Public Library and finally the Congressional Library, revealed that there was no such volume in existence. | In 1916 Prank Wilstach came before the public with & tome containing 17,- 000 good similes, called the “Dictionary of Similes,” the Tesult of his spare time of 21 years. He had “managed” Viola Allen, William Faversham, Sothern and Marlowe, but had never been able to shake the challenge of John J. Burke in 1895. While other men amused themselves in various ways, his hobby became similes. Began Reading Classics. 3ags” come often when one is at- tached to the theatrical profession and listens carefully. Smart newspaper men occasionally put over a “fast one” in their headlines or copy. These, while setisfactory, were not broad enough in scope for Wilstach. Well read from his university training, he started all over again to review the classics of ancient and modern literature. He had forgot- ten his Latin and Greek and had to use translations, but those sufficed. And just as F. P. A, the columnist, has doted on picking up mistakes in the use of “who” and “whom,” Wilstach started his search for similes, with the {dea of his compendium always in mind. He went through all available papers when he was traveling with his famous stage people and after his own work had been done went to the public li- brary of whatever town the show was in, to pore over books to add to his col- lection of similes. ‘Ten years after the appearance of his much-hailed and much-needed book ke | issucd a second edition, with 2,500 addi- tional “nifties.” The accepted litera- ture of the world having been covered, | he had only to watch new books, the | newspapers, magazines—and his friends. Friends Were Problem. The last were his great problem. y of them didn't know what & was, and brought metaphors, aphorisms, hyperboles, alliterations or what have you. He is both pleased and annoyed when some one makes a complaint. Students of literature, in particular, delight in calling his_attention to aileged inac- | curacies. Wilstach, once he has for- | gotten the sarcasm of some letter, will smile and recall that he had read, thoroughly or in part, 50,000 books, from Chaucer down to Katherine Brush and Emil Ludwig. He has gone through prose, poetry, plays, either in the orig- inal or transiation, from every country that has produced great works. He met in Arkansas Opie Read, who told him of a simile used in the de- BEAUTY-PRODUCT seription of & ball game, which was “as nolsy as a living skeleton having & fit on a hardwood floor.” It was at- tributed to a newspaper man, Leonard Washburn, Twenty years later he found that the coiner's real name was Frank Washburn, responsible for “noise like the fanfare of drums in an empty cistern.” Some of the best are coming now, Wilstach will tell you. He gets about 600 a year, 250 of which will be suitable for publication. News clippings and books help. He found nine perfect similies in one of P, G. Wodehouse's novels. “The simile is a fact, and therefore it is important,” he states. “For in- stance, if I tell you that something is as useful as an umbrella to a fish, I say briefly that a fish doesn't need an umbrella, ‘and that the person or thing concerned doesn’t. No explanation is needed; none of this, ‘I_mean,’ or ‘to make my point clear.’ You ve the picture immediately before you.” Synopsis Not Possible. ‘The simile bibliographer balked at the request that he pick out some of the best ones in his book, explaining that while he could do it with classified lists, such as those concerning the word “nofsy,” of which he has over a hun- dred, or with Shakespeare, the groups are so variegated that a general synop- sis would be impossible. He did, however, dictate some of his favorites of lighter vein. “Dumb as the girl who had to burn down the kindergarten to get inlo the first grade.”—Anon. “Mean as the man who gave a hom- lAn: pigeon for a birthday present.”— 0 n. “Her halr is like an exploded can of tomato soup.”—Anon. “Tight as a one-plece bathing suit on a side show fat girl.”—Anon. “She looked like the symptoms on the medicine bottle."—George Ade. “Amiable as a wet dog.”— Alfred Henry Lewis. “He played the King in ‘Hamlet' as t | though he momentarily expected some one to play the ace.’—Eugene Field. “I had as much privacy as a gold- Irvin S. Cobb. As slow as a snail at another snail's funeral.”—Eunice Allison. “New as tomorrow's headline.’ Anon. (Copyright, 1931, by North American News- paper Alliance, Inc.) PRESIDENT RE-ELECTED Miss Katherine Cowsill Continues as Head of Home Economics Group. ‘With Miss Katherine Cowslll of Chil- dren’s Hospital, retaining the office of president for the next two years, the District of Columbia Home Economics Association elected Mrs. Ola Day Rush, home economics instructor at McKinley High School, vice president of the organization. Other officers elected at the meeting, held at the University of Maryland, were Miss Alice Webster, corresponding secretary; Mrs. Frances Westney, re- cording secretary; Mrs. N. R. Ellis, treasurer; Miss Emeline Whitcomb of the Home Economics Office of Educa- tion, Interior Department. counselor. Identify me MARINELLO SELECT DEPOTS by this d§ SYMBOL... * LET this emblem be your guide! It will direct you to the Marinello Select Depot. It will lead you to the beauty shop that offers the very highest type of service. Marinello Select Depots are a proved success in London, Paris and Berlin. And now Marinello is establishing these Select Depots right in your own neighborhood. Now you can obtain the same type of service which is characteristic of Marinello cel- ebrated European Depots. SELECT MARINELLO Seck the nearest beauty shop in your locality that displays” the “ Marinello Depot insignia. Ask them to diagnose your skin in accordance with the amaz- ing new Marinello basic skin principle. DEPOTS * HERE ARE THE FIRST OF THE SELECT DEPOTS CHOSEN BY MARINELLO Washingtoin, D. C. Anita’s Salon de Coiffure 5612 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Connell’s Daylight Shoppe 703—12ih St., MW, Corkery Beauty Parlors 819—18th St, N.W. Elizabeth Davis Beauty Shop 1203 F St.,, N.W. Emile, Inc. 1221 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Leon & Jules 1332 H St, NW. Mary V. Malone Beauty Shop 1843 Columbia Rd., N.W., Shaw & Stone 1101 Vermont Ave., N.W. Vanity Shoppe 1348 Connecticut Ave., N.W. THE EVENING DEBT CONFERENCE - |5 GERMAN CRISIS Reich Facing Crossroads in Bruening and Curtius Chat With MacDonald. BY EDGAR ANSEL MOWRER. By Cable to The Star. BERLIN, Germany, June 4.—Since the vast majority of Germans have be- come persuaded that reparations are chiefly responsible for their misery, the eyes of the entire people were turned upon Chancellor Heinrich Bruening and Foreign Minister Julius Curtius when they started for England to spend the week end with their British col- leagues at Chequers. For an entire year, the Germans, worried about their next meal, have muttered that “something must hap. pen” to rearrange the world more to Germany's liking. Herr Bruening may return from Great Britain with a definite s e by which he can tem- porarily lighten the reparation burden with British support. British Welcome Discussion. It is certain that the English, who | tried so desperately to start a world- wide discussion of debt and reparation cancellation at the Washington Inter- national Chamber of Commerce meet- ing, will welcome the opportunity of- fered by Germany's plight to open the question, whether President Hoover likes it or not. For Germany believes that it can- not wait and therefore the Germans will have to bear the weight of Presi- dent Hoover's indignation, if he be- comes indignant, and British business will share any profits, if there are any profits. The British’ havs everything to gain and nothing to lose. Not s0 the Germans. Herr Bruening STAR, WASHINGTON, would seem to Have allowed himself to enter a chénnel where he cannot go back. But if he should meet with unconquerable resistance on the part ot the world against any change in the reparations status, then he will have to act independently. Germans Talk Strongly, Already encouraged by their chan- cellor's quiet courage, a large number of German publicists are talking too loudly, stating not what Germany neeas or requests, but what Germany ‘“de- mands,” and all those whose absence from responsibility allow it, are begin- ning to tell the chancellor just what e must obtain from the British, e danger is apparent. Already the German situation fs sufficiently full of high explosive. Po- litical developments” in the near future are simply hidden from present eyes. Anything may happen, and ncthing in particular must. Danger to Business. But if, in addition to the present troubles, the chancellor under domestic troubles should be driven into a repar- ations policy without the proper prep- aration or assistance, and thereby provokes fhe withdrawal of foreign oredit frcm Germany, the national D. C., THURSDAY, :x:lmu fabric would unquestionably T, Until now this fabric, so uneco- nomical, but yet so tough, has suc- ceeded in holdi ‘The results of its rupture would be in- calculable. This is the danger of the Chequers visit. On the other hand, the step in a lon of peoemlc 'nnmtle-l health. (Copyright, 1931.) EXILES IN FR.ANCE CLING TO BITS OF NATIVE SOIL Members of Spanish Royalty Fol- low Custom of Russian Nobility. PARIS (N.AN.A.)—More than one Russian -noble now resident in Paris has among his treasures a small bag or box of Russian soll that is to be buried with him. It is a thetic custom followed by many exiles, and the Spanish royal family are observers of the old ritual. One of the Infantas has brought to Paris a box of Spanish soil from Madrid Over the Week-end $Q:50 New York On Sale for Use Every Saturday to and Including August 29th Tickets valld Ia Coaches or Pallman cars charges and fn Made in 3 sises, with X, 8% and 10 square feet of shelf area. 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