Evening Star Newspaper, June 23, 1931, Page 8

THE EVENING STA With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUESDAY.........June 23, 1831 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company ty St ’éfi:?’"ufiy IVanta Ave. rork. e 110 East dand '=z. : Lake Michigan Buil 3 an Offce: u'm{em . andoss Englan Rate by Carrier Within the City. o Evening Star... Eiy Sunday ‘Siar e Y of ‘wach month. OXAmecHn BAYeR in by Tiall oF telepRone NAitional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ; Bl All Other States and Canada. 1yr.,$10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ only 1 nd Sund: 1yr., £12.00: 1 mo., §1 vy only 1yr 00 1\ $6.00: 1 mo., 50c ¥E 34.00; 1 mo., 0 3 . : 1mo., fi5¢ nday only e $8.00; 1 mo. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- d in this paper and also the local rews published herein. All rishts of publication of Epecial dispatches herein are also reserved. e No Time for Haggling. Secretary Stimson makes it plain that the Hoover plan for rehabilitating world economics, through a war-debt moratorium of one year, admits of no intennational bargaining. It is a time for action, not haggling. If benefits are to ensue from the project, it must be galvanized into actuality with a minimum of delay. One of the surest methods of promoting delay and post- poning action, the Secretary of State bluntly points out, would be an in- ternational conference, unofficial sug- gestions of which have emanated from Paris. Ccl. Stimson does not say so, but he permits it to be understood that there would be equal impatience at Wash- ington with counter proposals of other sorts, such as acceptance of the Hoover plan “in principle,” with vital reserva- tions such as the non-inclusicn of “un- conditional” reparation payments—re- habilitation indemnities due from Ger- many over and above annuities due to allied creditors—in any moratorium scheme. From both France and Italy have come intimations that the assent of those countries might hinge on abandonment of the Austro-German customs union. Such ideas have a transparent purpose—to water down the value of President Hoover's pro- gram, if not altogether wreck it. Before many hours are past the in- terested European powers will have laid their cards on the table at Washington. The White House stated in its original announcement that acceptance must be universal, If any one government hclds back, the plan will automatically col- lapse. It has to be all or nothing. Great Britaln learned from yesterday's proceedings in the House of Commons that all parties support the Labor gov- " ernment’s approval of the Hoover plan. Definite word has still to come from France and Italy. The French, as Germany's largest reparation creditor, undoubtedly hold the key to the situation. President Doumer, Premier Laval, Foreign Min- jster Briand and Finance Minister Flandin are thrashing out the situation in a meeting of the French cabinet to- day. In no other country in the world has a government to take public opinion into. consideration so meticulously as French cabinets must. The French popular attitude toward the traditional enemy is still saturated with memories of the war and the necessity for se- curity. But the wide-visioned statesmen now in control at Paris must measure at its full importance the peril that a France, isolated from the rest of the world, would face if it brought down upon ftself the ignominy of defeating a preject which the whole world yearns to see accomplished. r———————— Kentuckians may be tempted to feel rather low over the fact that their beauty contest entrant had to be con- tent with second place. They should be consoled, however, by the fact that she walked off with the “Miss America” award, and, if photographs are to be believed, lost only to a superpeach. Furthermore, in horses and whisky Kentucky ranks way ahead of Belgium. o Cannot something be done to warn stockbroke:s against cleaning pistols, i changing borrels in shotguns and rifies, end similar activities, especially this particular year? A farm boy can fool with a gun all day and come in hungry and sound to supper, but with a broker a touch seems almost certain to be Tfatal. b i F —————————— Foes of Jar and Friction. Some forty or fifty years ago a young printer who had had father poor luck in keeping a job at the case joined his brother in a small retail shoe shop in New England. Business was not very brisk and he had time’ to twatch 'the people going to and fro in the street. Being interested in shoes he noticed ! their feet particularly, and he came to consider the jar upon the body of the nervous system of the impact of hard Jeather heels upon brick and stone and concrete pavements. ‘This gave him an idea. If he could provide a cushion of some sort he could reduce this jar. The result was the invention of a rubber heel. But success came not frcm the invention so much as from its ex- ploitation. It was advertised probably more extensively than any other single product of the period. The public had %0 be made “rubber heel minded,” to use a phrase that was not then common. TFor some years all the profits of the business went into printer'’s ink. Eventually a rich harvest was reaped and at his death, which occurred the other day in a New England city, the inventor of the heel pad was & multi- millionaire. Perhaps some neurologist will even- tually compute the saving of health and perhaps the prolongation of 1ife incident to the softening of the foot blow upon pavements by means of the cushioned heel, It would be more difficult to com- pute the effect in health terms of the softening of other jars incident to traffic. An immense fortune, greater than that of the rubber heel man, awaits the inventor of a method of ‘65¢ per month | | R |rubber-shod, with cushioned tires and now balloon tires, and the actual traffic itself is noiseless. Street cars, however, are clangorous. ! Another great fortune awaits the inventor of a method of dulling the noises of steel construction, and there are many other opportunities for rich contributions to public convenience and comfort and sanity. The neighbor's radio, for instance, that beats so thunderously upon the unwilling ear— cannot there be some device to limit the nolse to the premises of the owner, 45¢ per month | be windows opened or closed? Cannot ‘s0c per month | there be some improvement in the manufacture of milk bottles so that early morning deliveries will not be so sleep-dispelling? And the airplane with- out sound—that must come soon if this air-minded world is to fly as persistently as now seems likely in the very near future Noise and jar! Clatter and shiver! The foes of peace, the enemies of com- fort! More glory to the rubber heel man and to his successors in the field of invention who are striving to reduce the friction of life. ———r———————— Economics Versus Prohibition. More and more it appears that the economic situation in this country is to be the important issue in the coming national campaign. And at the same time prohibition, which threatened a few months ago to become a paramount question, is shrinking as an issue. This may or may not be to the advantage of the drys, depending largely on the course of business and of employment in the next six or eight months. In 1930, when the congressional elections were held, the campaign was waged largely over the business conditions and lack of employment, the slump which had hit the United States after an era of unprecedented prosperity. The Repub- lican party, in power, was the target and the voters hit it hard, wiping out the huge Republican majority in the Houre and reducing it to & margin of one in the new Congress. Republican Senators fell like trees before the wood- man’s aX. The Republican party has come to be regarded as the particular champion of the prohibition cause, de- spite the fact that the Democratic “solid South” is ardently dry in its political leaning. The blow struck the Repub- licans in many of the congressional and senatorial elections was also a blow at the drys. In the campaign next year the Demo- crats are expected to place a wet at the head of their national ticket. Indeed, it would be regarded almost as a miracle if they did not. The Republicans, un- less there is some disturbance in the party not now visible or even conjec- tural, will renominate President Hoover, who is eminently satisfactory to the drys. Whether the Democrats will go 50 far as to place in their platform any suggestion of change in the national prohibition laws is extremely problemati- cal, and, at the present writing, unlikely. However, if the Democrats succeed in electing their presidential candidate, fa- vorable to a change in the dry laws, on economic issues, it will none the less be hailed by the wets as a victory. And such it will be for the wets. Under the circumstances it would ap- pear that the drys will have to gird themselves for a contest to uphold the Republican administration or else be acqulescent in the election of a wet Democratic President. A turn for the better in business will be regarded, therefore, not only as a benefit to the G. O. P. but to the dry cause. And this notwithstanding the fact that in the Republican party are to be found to- day many earnest men and women who are strongly opposed to national prohibi- tion. Hard times and liquor, it appears, advance together under the present political line-up. Good times and pro- hibition go hand in hand. The race is not now between the wets and the drys 50 much as it is between hard times and good times. ——————— Russia has tried to terminate the an- cient arrangement whereby the captain of a seagoing ship has not only entire responsibility, but the utmost in powers, even to marriage and burial, life and death. Instead, she tried to establish a sort of ruing, committee, which included representatives of every form of employment on the vessel. She knows better now, and has gone back to the old way. Some day, it is hoped, she may learn that the “ship of state” is like that, too. —er—s Ford and Detroit. The charges and countercharges passing between the Public Welfare Service of the City of Detroit and the Ford Motor Co. are less interesting than the outcome of the row, which the Ford company demands should be set- tled by a grand jury investigation. Detroit, and Detroit's Mayor Murphy, have won national prominence and praise for their dealing with suffering caused by the depression. The city has been one of the hardest hit. Layoffs in automobile plants, the city’s princi- pal industry, made the effect of the depression there particularly acute. Mayor Murphy was commended for having done something when too many other communities were merely flounder- ing. A dole system for the aid of the unemployed was established, & huge fund was raised, and disbursements have been made at the rate of $1,500,000 a month for the help of needy families, Ford, in Detroit, occupies a position that is unique. As an individual he has probably played a greater part in mak- ing the city than any other man. The huge plants for the manufacture of his automobiles, employing thcusands of ar- tisans, furnished much of the Ilife blood that formed the city’s bone and sinew for its remarkable growth in the last two decades. When all the auto- mobile plants were running full”blast, ‘with money flowing freely and the mar- ket open for labor, Ford occupied some- thing of the position of a mortal god, the giver of all geod things. It was another thing, of course, when the depression slowed down the wheels of the automobile industry. Thousands of men were out of work. The man who had spent s good part of his life learning how to screw the left front hubcap on an endless procession of au- tomobiles found himself pretty helpless when the flow of automobiles slowed down. Figuratively speaking, at least, he knew no other way to make a living than to screw on the left front hubcap of an automobile, Mr. Ford, having al- ready been made something of a sym- softening. the sound of trolley and rail- bol of all the gocd things in the world, soad gars, Other vehicles have been naturally suffered the fate of becoming THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, another sort of a symbol. mmmuu' over which he had no control whatever were laid at his door. Detroit's dole system has obviously supported thousands of otherwise help- less individuals this last Winter. But there have been accompanying compli- | cations. Two cases of misuse, or theft of funds, brought arrests within the city's welfare administration depart- ment. The city has attacked the Ford company with failure to provide for its own employes thrown out of work, and the Ford company has replied that as it employed upward of 300,000 men in the last seven years, a large proportion of Detroit’s working male population come within the general classification of “Ford employes.” The Ford com- ipany also charges that men actively at work, and drawing pay from its rolls, have also been recelving the city’s un- €mployment dole. It charges Detroit with efforts to make the Ford Motor Co. the goat, and to hide the city's own shortcomings in relief work behind a smoke screen of unspecified charges. A grand jury investigation ought to help Detroit more than anybody else. It ‘might show the difficulties of ad- ministering the dole, and it might shed light on the extent of responsibility rcsting upon the employer whose work- men have been cut adrift by world- wide economic depression. Detroit's experiment in dealing with unemploy- ment has bcen intensely interesting, |and the Netion as a whole would like jto see an impartial evaluation of its merits. When some Secretary of War wishes to add a few hundred officers or a few thousand enlisted men to the Army an agonized yelp goes up from pacifists over the warlike gesture of the Nation. Pope Pius XI has just decided to add proportionately enormous increase. Yet this country has no more evil or ag- grandizing intentions toward the rest of mankind than has the Vatican State. D It appears that “Little America” possessed one advantage not listed in previous glowing descriptions. It was that residence there on the Antarctic ice, but under the Stars and Stripes, qualified for citizenship. Rights enjoyed by participants in the expedition, there- fore, “included the Scandivanian” as Mr. Balchen, applicant for naturaliza- tlon, discovers to his pleasure. ———— It is a far cry from the days of “Tip- pecanoe and Tyler Too” to June, 1931. Yet at the unveiling of the bust of John Tyler, tenth President, at Rich- mond, there were present not only his great-grandchildren, but one of his sons, —————— Natives of West Africa have raised the sum of $3.77 to aid starving Amer- icans, Yes, and there are plenty of New York brokers who would grab it in a minute. e If Washington’s newest pitcher just lives up to his name, using it as a verb, he will make some 500,000 people ex- ceedingly happy. ———— vt Optimist: The man who starts on a piscatorial vacation equipped with but one rod and with a largs-meshed land- ing net. ————— Cornelius Vanderbilt, jr, of Reno, Nev., seems to be suffering from what a psychologist might call “delusions of Nick Carterism.” D ) SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JORNSOM. Constructive Criticism. {It's only human nature to ke kicking now and then. ‘The secret of the trick is knowing how and where and when— If everything is going smooth and joy knows no restraint, You need for contrast something in the way of mild .complaint, But in & time of stress, when there is work for all to do, The “sunshine-smiler” often frowns and says that he is through, For he and trouble have been total strangers for so long ‘That he can't endure a discord, as it interrupts the song. The kicker, on the other hand, when life has grown perplexed, Says, “Let's get through with this hard luck and ready for the next.” A man that’s always happy is unlike his fellow men. It's only human nature to be kicking now and then. All Manner of Men. “Some men,” remarked the sdmirer of poetry, “go into politics. with the idea of leaving footprints on the sands of time.” “Some do,” replied Senator Sorghum. “And others are lucky if they get out without having their fingerprints taken.” A Rebate. “You have to pay your hired hands & great deal of money.” “More'n I could afford,” said Farm- er Corntossel, “if me and my boy Josh didnt get some of it back playin’ pinochle every Saturday night.” Misjudgment, Jimmy has a base ball suit, Complete from head to feet. playmates all salute His uniform so neat. Johnny's clothes cling to his frame Without a trace of style, And when he starts to play the game ‘We greet him with a smile. | Appearances lead to mistakes In matters great and small; A handsome picture Jimmy make$— But Johnny hits the ball. “Some folks hab sech a tendency ter git wrapped up in deir own sorrors,” sald Uncle Eben, “dat dey gits ter lookin' at de hot wedder as er pus'nal grievance, an’ doan sympathise wif no- body.” Prospective Perfection. From the Indlanapolis Star. The local who killed a squirrel with & golf may grow up and hold a perfect hand. —_— Harsh Word. From the Albany Evening News. Now that they call them @ all the book e | m'&. Toweds thirty officers to his military force, | tion. TUESDAY, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Templeton Jones was losing his grip. Long had he heard that expression, u?dt‘lm.lo had he personal experience o Losing one's , he Mflht. if he ever thought fit it at all, was & mental failure. One made wrong decisions, he thought, and that sort of thing. He had yet to learn, what no man can learn under a certain age, that the expression, “losing one's grip,” has a purely literal interpretation, too. * ok ok % Jones discovered it ‘his way: He was sitting, his custom was, with a cup of coffee in his hand. Perhaps it is necessary to go back for several years, perhaps five years, maybe ten years, and say that T. Jones, esq., had held many cups of coffee in right hand. If this holding had been new to him, or strange in any way, a good excuse }vr ;lhnt happened might have been found. Onz might have sald his mind was distracted, or the shape cf the handle misled him, or that he simply became careless, 5 * Kk x Templeton Jones had been drinking his morning cup of coffee for so msnx years, however, that afterward he coul plead no particular excuse. You see, hz was holding the cup in his right hand, without thought one way or the other. A perfectly normal person does not think about such a slight task as hold- l.ngn: coffee cup. e fingers grasp it, and hold it firmly yet easily. Co-ordination takes care of it. ‘There is certainly no strain, no stress on the small muscles of the fingers. ‘The mind, above all, plays no con- scfous part in the act. ‘This is what it means, Jones realizes afterward, to have perfect co-ordina- * % x x ‘Well, here was Jones sitting with his cup of coffee, looking blandly out the window at the bower of green which surrounded his home. ‘We cannot imnress upon the reader too much that he had done this for 365 days a year for many years, that the action was normal, and unconscious to him, that he was not excited, nor did his mind wander. ‘While he was sittin~ there, with the cup held easily in his hand, the handle turned gently in his fingers, and the first thing he knew he was deluged with hot coffee. His amagement was complete. Physical surprise, of course, held first place, but not for long. Even while he was sopping up the coffee from his shirt front, his mind was actively at work, with some of the thoughts which h:ve been given here. O ok “Losing my grip,” he said, and then grinned, as he realized that the phrase seemed to have two meanings, one fig- urative, one literal. Perhaps the mental phase invariably i ‘The human hand, he confided to us, has long been assoclated with the rise of ;‘tmi: to his full mental status, such as 5 The beasts might have become famous for their intellectual qualities, too, if they had developed hands. The monkey shows what you can do, if you have hands, even if you are the proud Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands L _NUEVO DIARIO, Caracas.— From reliable scurces it has been learned that the government is planning to inaugurate a pro- gram of public works, which will provide employment for thousands of men, Nearly every other country in the werld is carrying out similar schemes, largely in connecticn with the necessary onecu for the support of their work- ss and destitute people. No doubt it is felt that if these men and their fami- lies are to be maintained out of public funds, scme return for tne expenditure is in order. Instead of disposing of money, food and clothing gratuitously, the bene- ficlaries are required to make whatever :’elndexln: back in service is possible for em. Such an arrangement works a triple benefit, for not only are the impover- ished relieved of hunger and other dis- tresses, but money is put in circula- tion for the betterment of tradesmen, and t"e state is able to accomplish m&rg vements in the construction or re- g of roads and erection of public uildings, to say nothing of many other helpful results of such labor. On a smaller scale Venezuela has been carry- lnf on her public works Ftolech.s for the relief of unemployment for some time. * ok ok * Spanish Professor Lectures on International Union. El Universal , Mexico City.—The presence of an illustrious Spanish pro- fessor of philology and ethnology in Mexico is the occasion of much interest and pleasure, especially in more erudite circles. This gentleman, Prof. Don Sal- vador de Madariaga, has lectured at the university, and also addressed other gather) on the subject of an Inter- national Spanish Union. accord- ing to Prof. Madariaga, would not necessarily be a political entity, such as, indeed, it was one or two centuries ago, but would at least be a world-wide association of Spanish peoples in all that pertains to a classic influence and iration. is great world-wide nation would be modeled in some respects after the ire, each country politically and self-governing, but Jooking to a common center for life and development and for the mutual main- tenance of Latin art and culture. The power ol the mother country, Spain, is in no sense decadent. mother that has borne many children. ‘They may be scattered, and they may at times have rel d against her ma- ternal authority, but nevertheless they are still children may be, and as such ideals and traditions that glorified their source. All the countries of South America are the daughters of Spain and, as such, are only domains of the sunny peninsula transplanted to ly con- genial shores. Her missionaries, explor- ers and pioneers brought with them an affection for the land of their birth that was both fervent and devoted. In- stead of adapting themselves to new conditions and environment, they worked—and it was a colossal work— to establish the art, the religion, the attributes and the sentiments of Spain in this New World, and as a result her thought and institutions are deepl{ rooted throughout all thc:: “~nds. If, for reasons of expediency and.mutual nt, political relations were , there was the only breach, and more than ever today Spanish-speaking people are one grand fraternity. * % Xk % Seventh Child Born to Russian Couple at Sea. Berliner Tageblatt—A safled on the Queen from H tion, San Prancisco. his | lieve that by so delving he may find out follows the physical, the figurative the | teral. possessor of & long tail and four legs as well, * K ok X Palmists for centuries have claimed that they were able to read the past, present and future, merely by peering 2t _the lines of the hand. Most human beings, at some time or other in their lives, have becn intes s in this pretension. We can recall in| our chu&mod days when we devoured a large volume by one Cheiro, or Chiero, | @ moest interesting work. i 1t we were able to do any palm read- | ing we do not recall it, but the impres- | slon remains over th> years that the subject was an interesting one. | There is something about the spirit| of man which inclines him to delve| into the unknown, and to wish to be-, something or other. Ordinarily, mankind is not given to ! following the nose on his face. He had rather look mysteriously into | the lines of his palm than see the plain signs visible el.ewhere. Templeton Joner was the exception. He wondered why that cup of coffee should have turned in his hand, after So many hundreds of similar cups had been held as firmly as the rock of Gibraltar. He was not conscious of any mental physical slackening—but the cup had slipped. The cup had slipped, and he had been forced to go back and dress all over again for the day. He wondered if it would occur again. Had it been a mere chance, or was it indicative of the handwriting on the wall? * k% % Jones forgot all about it, until one morning he was drinking a glass of water, while looking out the window at his_lawn. ‘There is no time like early morning, say 5 o'clock, for admiring one’s handi- craft in the shape of grass. ‘Then even grass full of dandelions appears to be a veritable sward, such as the England landscapes possess by the square acre, if one may believe the travel books. Suddenly, while Jones was admiring the dew, the glass gently clipped out of his fingers, and gave him an im- promptu bath. “Here, old fellow,” said Templeton Jones, to that most worthy person, himself. “You will have to get yourself together. This is entirely too much.” It was. * ok x % Templeton met his friend, Ben Bil- low, later in the day. “You have heard the expression, | ‘losing your grip'?” asked he, Ben had. Ben is a large, seemingly phlegmatic person, with an infinite capacity for work and humor. Jones explained his dilemma. “Just slipped out of my hand,” he declared. “Well, what of it?” asked Billow. Jones attempted to give his theory | that until one got to be a certain age | one never lost their grip, and that ifitxzr:m,u the figurative would follow the eral, He proceeded to give Ben Billow an | lustrative instance of a wrong de- | cision in business. | , “Why, that was not wrong, at all,” declared Billow. “You did exactly right. You have not lost your grip at all.” | Templeton Jones felt better. | Still, he was going to keep a good !'hold on his coffee cup in the future. ‘This last is a very small Russian, but a count, even if he first saw light |in a second-class state room—a very little count, who later on will make his schoolmates laugh if they ask him where he was born. Well, it was not on land. He first | accommodations as make for general | many to the few is, in the long run, opened his eye: on vast stretches of interminable waves, yet his birthday |may very likely be the richest and | grandest of his life. For it is the cus- |tom of all ships to make presents to |any baby born on board. And on the IQueen traveled only lords and ladies, | millionaires and wealthy merchants. |And a third-class didn’t exist! Among the women who distinguished them- selves with largesses, the Hollanders were by no means left behind, though all were eager to do the handsome lh‘:fi. for the birth of a genuine little Russian count is a wonderful occasion on shipboard and creates more of a sensation than if the captain had been murdered. The ladies outbid each other. The millionaires laughed, but turned over their checkbooks to their wives. older Russian count modestly pro. tested, but the custom of giving a baby born on shipboard the richest gifts pos- sible is an old and sacred one and must observed. The mother smiled feebly. i Au:ay(g:c %r.s&x:nmmncm ‘was cele- ra ptism. e passengers seized upon this as an -ddlfioml"o'p- portunity to bestow their benefactions. “Let’s give them another little bit of leasure,” said one American woman to er husband, a safety-pin king by call- ing, “for they are certainly most dis- tlnnutiflhed people, even if they are emi- ts” gra Well, these emigrants can easily live & year in the United States on the gen~ erous offerings they received, whether the original count can find any work or not. But rumors whispered that all is not so impeccable. A Russian count Journeys with his countess each year upon a luxurious ship. This year was the seventh time such an event has been recorded. Have they seven chil- dren:’mbch year a tri mchQ l}mr a new le passenger on —the pat- ent is legally protected! A Friendly Word for Radio Advertisers ‘To the Editor of The Star: Dear Sir: I have been an ardent “radio fan” for years, not only as a listener, but have read the radio news in papers with interest always. All this “hue and cry” about the adv seems to me rather far-fetched. In the first place, the sponsored programs are by far the best. When one con- siders the of music offered, the artists, that the majority of listeners would not, could not, hear oth h it shows little appreciation and a great deal of bad taste to object to the small amount of “cryl ‘wares” that actu- ally appears on the air. I read not only the local papers, but those of other ‘cities, and always experience a feeling of di: when letters appear objecting to advertising of If one does not like the particular program that carries jazz, why not switch to some other smaller station where little advertising is done if one cannot appreciate the quality given in the sponsore red 2 Radlo, is, without mfl, the greatest discovery in years, and I'm that my fellow Americans ruflflh to such & small such Primed. From the Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator. &}; is being urged in To- for the identification of It should be a le already ronto lost L. entidren Drocedure, with, the JUNE 23, 1931. AT RANDOM LG M LIBERTY IN THE MODERN STATE. By Harold J. Laski, author of “The Dangers of Obedience.” New York: Harpen & Bros. ‘The best that even Harold Laski is able to pull out from the c:!l he sets here is hope. A hope that in some in- determinate future the world, named civilized, will better its understandings and, upon that basis, will further such amepities and concordances in all mat- ters that concern the whole, A hope that some fashion of world-state will eventually stand in evidence of the ac- cumulated good sense of mankind. A good sense founded upon centuries of bitter evidence that serfdom of the bad business, rotten politics, evil and insecure government, also irreligion of blasphemous brand. The last item for‘ those who still cherich the idea that governments are divine in origin and fulfillment. A single glance over the world, by the least literate among us, would forbid assigning to superpower such handicraft as is revealed at moment in the making and unmaking of governments. Mr. Laski takes liberty up in his hand, so to speak. He measures and weighs and tests it, much as the sclentist treats his own specimens. Then he fastens it to man, external man, to see how it affects the movements and behaviors of the individual. He passes it on into the mental chambers of his “specimen,” noting the reactions of a free mind upon the quality of thinking and then upon the outer attitudes of the case in hand. A short road this. For in no time at all another steps up and then others, till the company be- comes a sizable group. A different matter. The one of concern now. Im- mediately, in any grouping, there comes that manifestation of inegualities in capacity, in readiness of adaptation. Unavoidable, incffaceable and constant diversities that breed superiorities, mental and physical, on the one hand, leaving below, as sediment, the less capable, the less receptive, the less active. Nature itself —whatever that may mean—ordains these inequalities. Hu- man natute, behaving in its supreme role of self-interest, converts the sit- uation into grades of mankind, classes of society, into the high and the low, into rulers and the ruled. It is an old story. Began eons ago, this struggle for freedom, that wrack- ing strain to get out from under the yoke set upon majorities by the few, favcred by worth or luck. No doubt that story began with a couple of cave- men, each trying himself out on the other for the possession of some trifle. And then there started with the win- ner small dominances, inconsiderable, but fine seed for future tyrannies. Tribes came to fight in the same way. A conqueror and a conquered. Petty nations were formed under the same rule. These joined, for one advantage or another, till kingdoms became the order. And “God’s anointed” sat upon thrones looking, more or less benignly, down upon the grades of mankind that Divinity had so thoughtfully assorted | for the convenienze of earthly sov- ereigns. In th> course of time “patriotism” began its mesmeric per- formance. And even the oppressed for a period kissed the hands that smote. licked the chains that bound. The world of the mind tock general posses- sion. The most glorious—and most dangerous—domain that time has, as yet, created. Yes, in substance, this is Mr. Laski talking, or I think it is. To be sure, he says it better than this. A man of keen intellect, turned natursally t> modern politics, experienced within that field, gifted, also, in a forthright way with the parts of speech that leaves no doubt whatever as to his own theories and beliefs and programs. And so he moves forward, carrying this jdea of liberty into the realm of social power. But here, as in the po- litical world and with the individual, there is no difference in effect. Again, inequalities of one sort or another result in class distinctions, in grade effects that—say what we will, resist as we may—are inherencies of the sit- uation itself. That there classes is inevitable. That there should be class oppression is another matter and a rem ble one. And it is here that Mr. Laski, tenta- tively and without any great show of confidence, projects his conception of a world-state. The discussion leading to such outcome is, to the reader in- terested in this subject, a clarifying one. A positive man, clear in his thinking, and far-seeing, not only into the historic past, but into the prob- lematic future as well. A fine book for the student and for the serious reader. The world-state is old in theory and fairly old as experiment. So far, as experiment, these have failed—save that they each may mark a milestone in human advance from utter individu- al selfishness grouped into societies of make-belleve altruism. Just now over in Russia an experiment of infinite im- portance is going on to declare the equality of man, to liberate 160,000,000 Zeople frommthe effects of du%"‘:‘x{“ iberty is the goal. Freedom e watchword. And when the experiment the | the producers. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘The resources of our free Informa- tion Bureau are at your service. You are invited to call it as often you pleage. It is maintained apt to b> ornamental as well, since many have pretty fruits, red in color and often clinging to their branches far into the Winter, furnishing grateful additions to the meager fare of the hard-weather birds. Among the most ps | frequented trees are the various wild postage. Address your letter to The Evening Star Information Bu- Q. In what year did E4 Walsh, the spit ball pitcker, win 40 ball games?— J. M. A. He won 40 games and lost 15 in 1908. Q. What is the name of the new college for Negroes in Louisyille, Ky., and when is it to open?—F. W, 8. A. The Louisville Municipal College {g;xflegmeg will open in Sepiember, Q. When was “The Black Crook” first produced?—E. K. H. A. “The Black Crook” was produced in September, 1866. The original pro- duction ran for 16 months and earned something like $1,000,000 in profits to Q. What department decides the proper spelling of a town or city names in case of a controversy such as that over Pittsburgh?—S. F. A. The Federal department which is the final authority on the spelling of geographical names is the United States Geographic Board. As far as is prac- ticable, the ‘United States Post Office Department accepts the decisions of this board in all its official spellings. In the case of Pittsburgh, Pa., the board was first asked to pass on the correct spelling in 1891, at which time it decided in favor of the spelling “Pittsburg.” This decision, however, met with a great deal of opposition among citizens generally in Pittsburgh, and in 1911 the board consented to re- consider the case. One of the deciding factors in the final decision was the “original seal of the Borough of Pitts- burgh,” which was struck in 1794, and which was brought forward as evidence. The Geographic Board's final decision in 1911 reversed the original decision and established Pittsburgh as the offi- c:‘tl spelling of the name of this city. city. Q. How did “Trader Horn" happen to be written?—M, T. W. A. Ethelreda Lewis, the South Afri- can novelist, was sitting on her front steps in Johannesburg, when an old man came ugaher garden path with a pack on his back. He tried to sell her a gridiron, but was not successful. She | was about to send him away when| something in his striking appearance aroused her interest. She questioned him, and out of that meeting sprang| the vidid and thrilling adventures of | Trader Horn, which were incorporated in book form by Miss Lewis. Q. Can you complete the quotation | and give the author of “He who knows | not and knows not that he knows not”? | —E. W.R. A. He who knows not and knows not he knows not, he is a fool—shun him; he who knows not and knows he | knows not, he is simple—teach him; | D. he who knows and knows not he| knows, he is asleep—wake him; he who | knows and knows he knows, he is wise —follow him. This was said by Lady Burton in the “Life of Sir Richard Burton.” It is also given as an Arabian | proverb. There is another rendering in | the Spectator for August 11, 1894.| There are other references, also. | Q. What trees or shrubs may be planted which will afford food for birds?>—K. L. B. ’ A. These bird-attracting plants are cherries (Prunus); dogwoods (Cornus); pepper tres (Schinus); (Nyssa); China tree (Pinus); oaks (Qu (Celtis); and thorns (Crataegus). mulberry (Morus) is the prime favorite and most used for tolling the birds away from cu'tivated fruits. For shrubberies one can plant all the ordi- nary edible small fruits and berries be- sl elders (Sambucus); bayber- ries (Myrica); and a number of others, Q. Please give some facts about tVicki Baum, author of the play, “Grand Hotel."—L. L. M. A. She was born in Vienna in 1888 and had her first verses accepted when only 14. Later Jakob Wassermann sent some of her stories to a Berlin publisher, who brought them out in book form. She was 22 when her first novcl was published. At present she is editor of Die Dame, a German wom- an's magazine. Her novel, “Menschen im Hotel” (Grand Hotel), was first dramatized at the Nollendorf Theater in Berlin by Max Reinhardt. Q. Has the agricultural engineering division of the Department of Agricul- ture becn reorganized? If so, who is its chief?—O. H. A. The Bureau of Agricultural En- gineering, authorized by act of the last Congress, will begin its existence as a part of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 1. This bureau takes the place of the Division of Agri- cultural Engineering of the Burezu of Public Roads. Secretary Hyde has se- lected S. H. McCrory to head the new organization. Mr. McCrory cam: to the department 24 years ago and for sev- eral years has been chief of the di- vision that now becomes a bureau. He is a past president of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. Q. What is the purpose of the Juil- liard Musical Foundation? Where is it located?—M. R. B. A. Its object is to promote the in- terests of music by aiding exceptional students through the granting of scholarships and fellowships, as well as assisting selected musical enterprises of national significance by means of money grants. The address is 49 East Fifty- second street, New York, N. Y. Q. When did John Davey institute tree surgery in the United States?— T.W.8. A. In 1890 he began the practice of tree surgery, and in 1908. organized the Davey Institute of Tree Surgery. Q. Why is Lille, France, so called?— ‘A. Lille is a corruption of the earlier L'Isle, “The Island,” alluding to an is- land in the stream on which the city is situated. Q. How large are the grounds of the woman's prison at Alderson, W. Va.?— L. 'A. 'The Woman's Federal Industrial Institution occuples & reservation of more than 500 acres. Q. When did the race horse, Flora Temple, make a world record?—W. J. H. A. The trotting mare, Flora Temple, took a record of 2:193; at Kalamazoo, Mich,, in 1859. Q. How much is paid for blood given for transfusions?—E. V. A. The usual price paid for one gill to one pint of blood is from $25 to $50. Inspires Facetious Comment The action of the motion picture producers, who paid P. G. Wodehouse, fiction writer, $2,000 a week for a year's visit to Hollywood, in the course of which he touched up some dialogue in one or two films and wrote a few Iyrics for another which was not pro- duced, is appreciated by the public for unusual reasons. Some feel that it is a sure sign of a need for efficiency experts in the film capital, while others assert the belief that the Hollywood producers seem to be able to take care of themselves. What Wodehouse, ac- cording to his own testimony, failed to do contributes to the amusement of a whole Nation, which is willing to forget the things he might have done. “He is dazed by the payment of $104,000 for his vear's work. He says it is unbelievable that he could havs received so much for doing so little remarks the Yakima Daily Republic, with the comment: “Still, if the check | is good, he need not worry too much about those Hollywood producers. They | seem to be able to take care of them- selves reasonably well.” The Rochester Times-Union feels that “anybody would be dazed who found himself all signed up and nothing to do.” That paper adds: “He quits friends with the movie falls far short of its high aim, or if it does, it will so fail because of the un- human qualities at the bottom, because of the grim overreachings of a pitiful deprived mass of peasantry sud- denly released with their hatreds and resentments full upon them. the true leaven comes, and it will come, it will be from the top down- ward, not from the bottom upward. No, this is not a hint toward religious set- tlement of the great political and eco- nomic debacle of the world. It is rather a conviction that wise men at the top will continue to do what many of them are already doing, though unheralded and generally unrecognized. What these are doing in practical business righteous- ness for the economic adjustment of an interlocking system of work and wages, of industry and finance, of sane and g;:nlul distributions based upon serv- all along the line and of substantial returns for such service, There will be no gushing fountains of industrial and economic . Not at all. Rather a seepage from the rich top downward i1l the very last layer of human society is nurtured into competence and happi- ‘That is coming. Tha already on its way in a measure that the ex- cited extremst fails to see or to admit when he does see. * kX % ODS. By Ed- win P. Norwood. Photographs by Charles Sheeler. New York: Double- day, Doran & Co. Not a word of theory, business or humanitarian, within the covers of this book. Rather is it a terse, straight bit of remun on the case of that huge Indus plant run by Henry Ford for the turning out of the various forms of “Tin Lizzle,” so serviceable to the joke maker and the song-hit genius. Yet despite the fact that this is prose of the most matter-of-fact strips, story is an inspiring one. It is huge and epic in its effect. No, not a classic fable turned rting natural easements of daily life, into work good wages and contentment. Under such titles as “Health and and people, but believes he them. We don't think so. a good time while Mr. Wodehouse and | other authors twiddled their thumbs and collected their pay, as any one La knows.’ “The net result of his year's labor,” according to the Worcester Telegram, “seems to have bejen tthe .\lllgtht uo;rl- tion of dialogue in two picture plavs and the wrl‘:fnug of some lyrics which were never used on the loud speakers. “Isn’t it amazing?’ he asks a palpitant public. Perhaps it is, and then again haps it fsn't. Perhaps Mr. Wode- mu displayed no great aptitude for the pictures. Perhaps his lyrics are unfashionable, like most musical talkies. Perhaps he was hired during an epi- demic of hiring—the result of some great picture producer’s whim. Those of us who neither write nor produce them have come to feel amazement at very few things done in the pictures. It is no morist_got more pay for a year's work than Herbert Hoover. Wodehouse was underpaid, at that. Perhaps he’s only lost his perspective. Perhaps he's 100 modest.” * ok ok * “We do not b;m in emcle;cy ex; perts, but Holl seems nee one badly,” advises the Chattanooga News, with the further contention that “his particular brand of wit is just what is needed to brighten up the heavy screen,” and that “freshness ob- viously is needed to rescue the cinema from despondency.” The Anniston Star declares: “Frankly, we doubt whether any one knows what it's all about, even the Hollywood producers. But we do be+ lieve that there are something over a hundred million Americans who would have liked the job, even though it didn't last but a year.” “It was just like an adventure of It is not desirable to skip any 2 book. If, however, in the press time, one gs : § 1 ] E°F g f 2% : ] | i i £ § s g E ; 2 2 i EE-;E E zg longer amazing that a hu- | Compared with | some of our sweet girl heroines, Mr. | Alice in Wonderland,” thinks the Providence Journal. “It seemed to him, and, as he describes it, it must seem equally astonishing, even to rea- sonably sophisticated readers who know that Movieland is indeed a Wonder- land. * * * As Mr. Wodehouse looks back upon his year in the sunny land of make-believe, he can only gasp anrd remark, ‘It’s all simply unbelievable, isn't it?” We may easily agree with him that it looks and sounds incredible but the world is slowly becoming con- vinced that if there is one place in the world where fact is actually stranger than fiction it is Hollywood. A full year of employment at $2,000 a week—a year in which economic depression and un- employment ruled the thoughts of mil- lions—for a total output of work for which & single week's pay would have been an absurd overpayment, according to the amazed recipient's personal esti- mate. Such pictures of Hollywood have been presented before, but the public has been inclined to regard them as fairy tales. Sober evidence of confirma- tion has been leaking out lately, however, and now we have Mr. Wodehouse as a witness. He would have no reason to spoof us concerning & mere matter of dollars and cents. But fundamentally the regents of Hollywood are business men, and there must be a reason for their marvelous customs. We can’t imagine why they should hire talent at huge prices and then deliberately scrap it, unless it is for the purpose of cornering the talent and keeping it sequestered from rapacious rivals.” R “Before now,” records the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, “there have been glitter- ing stories—and true stories—of authors hired at princely salaries guiding visitors around the film lots; writers who, after months in Hollywood, had not been able to locate their offices; other writers whose offices had not even been dis- covered by their employers—but who still continued to draw fancy pay checks in exchange for the use of their names as ‘staff men’ A New York paper re- ports one author, indeed, who resigned outright, but, happening to return to Hollywood some months later, found his mail box stuffed with the pay checks which had been continuing to arrive during his absence. If this isn't profli- gate waste, what do you call it? 3 Wodehouse convincingly confirms all these earlier stories. He paints an ine teresting picture of a film capital where ‘names’ are bought only to be scrapped. talents are retained to be left unused. We cannot agree with Mr. Wodehouss that ‘it's all so unbelievable,’ but we do contend that it's all very disgusting.” Sad Fate of a Man Who Worked Day and Night- | To the Editor of The Star: | ‘When a person knows his own capac- |ity he should not overtax himself. A machinist in the navy yard opened an | optician’s shop in this city some time |ago, working nights and days. Today he is dead. I was talking to him a few days ago, and he looked in the best o1 health, but working nights as a ma- chinist for “Uncle Sam” and running s place of business during day seemed to be responsible for en his too- busy career. Evidently he was violating | the “live and let live” rule by holding |down two jobs with unemployment sa prominent in our ccmmunity. This man’s experience should be an object lesson for others who ars engaged in similer overwork. If “Uncle Sam” would study the health of some of his own emplcyes who are holding down a couplé of jobs and let them attend to their utside work zltcgether by dropping them ld | fom Government pay rolls, he would b¢ i engaged in like to be the work of mission, but *“pull” extirpates all of such impediments of late years anc causes many to commit actual suicide t dollar. by