Evening Star Newspaper, July 18, 1931, Page 4

_A-3 THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Merning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY.......July 18, 1831 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company 11p 8t S Fenstvivania Ave e York Shice " T10 East S2nd. 8 Ghicaso Office: Lake Michisan Bullding. uropcan Office: 14 Regent ft., London, ngland. Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Erenias star .. 45¢ per month Ev-mn! and Sinday Siar en 4 Sundays) ... 60c per month The Evening cnd Sunday Star (when 8 Bundsys) ~...85¢ per month ¢ Sunday Star kst SE PO CoBY Jlection made at the end of each month Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ily and Bunday. 1yr., $10.00: 1 mo.. Buily 358 130 ae 1 mes B unday only ... 1yr, $4.00: 1 mo. 40c All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday...1yr.$]200: 1mo. $100 g-n onl: <-1yr. 4800 § mo. 1% landay only 1yr, $8.00i 1mo., S80c ‘Member of the Associated Press. The Aseociated Press is exclu to the vse for repubilestion of atches credited 1o it or not otherwise ci ted in this peper and also the local news published herein. All righ's of publication of pecial dispatches herein are also reserved. e A Disentangling Alliance. Events have been writing themselves Into history with such high speed during the past thirty days that the world's sense of the important is in grave danger of becoming jaded. But thers 18 no hyperbole in saying that developments of the current week end, in Paris and London, are fraught with more of moment than any of their im- mediate predecAscors, with the possible exception of the Hcover moratorium plan, which touched them off. Apart from the concrete questions on the verge of decision, none outstrips in significance the plunging of the United States, full panoplied, into the prob- lems clamoring for solution in Europe. With the dispatch of Secretaries Stim- son and Mellon to the council of Euro- pean ministers convening in London on Monday, our twelve-year period of vaunted “isolation” from the concerns of the Old World vanishes into the dis- eard. Men talk of the unwisdom of our “getting into” European affairs, We are in them. It is to extract us from them with the greatest possible dispatch and profit to ourselves that the two chief members of the President’s cabinet are about ‘to pool their counsel with that of European statesmen for general in- ternational good. It is not an en- tangling alliance which we are about to enter. It is a disentangling alliance. Mr. Hoover has indicatéd as strongly 8s he can that our spokesmen in Lon- don will confine themselves to delib- erations over the ‘“economic” emer- gency which has arisen in “Central Europe.” It 1s, of course, the height of folly to think that any such emergency can be met wholly oblivious to political considerations. To do so would be like celebrating the sesquicentennial of York- town without regard to a certain event in which Lord Cornwallis played a con- spicuous role. American public opinion meantime &hould not jump to the conclusion that because the Hoover administration is participating in & discussion which ean- not help ranging over European politi- cal issues, the sacred honor of the United States is on the verge of being compromised, or any other action is imminent against which the American people would promptly and vigorously rebel. Bismarck, on & famous occa- sion, when Europe was about to in- dulge in one of its periodical wars, es- sayed and enacted the role of “honest broker.” Perhaps it will fall to the lot of Sec- Tetaries Stimson and Mellon to play that part at London. No ecountry in the world occupies so strategic a posi- tion at this hour as the United States. As the outstanding creditor nation, our influence is unparalleled. It is far more likely to be exerted on the Thames next week as a conciliator than for the pur- pose of embroiling us in what Senator Glass gloomily calls “the maelstrom of this Furopean panic.” Today at Parls German Chancellor Bruening and Foreign Minister Curtius| have their heads together with French Premier Laval and Foreign Minister Briand. Their confabulations will serve as a curtain-ralser for the seven-power ministerial conference at London. Sec- retary Stimson is in Paris and will} doubtless be at least an unofficial ob- server of the Franco-German conversa- tions. These are intended®o lay the groundwork for the conditions under which French capital will participate in 8 new $500,000.000 long-term credit to the Germans. Latest reports indicate that such a loan would be merged with the existing $100,000,000 credit just re- newed for ninety days. The entire sum would then be funded into a ten-year transaction repayable at the rate of $60.000.000 & year, beginning next year, when reparation annuities are to be renewed at the expiration of the Hoover moratorium. Presumably the French “political de- | mands” which have stirred ire and crystallized opposition in Germany will | be dealt with in Paris and ironed out before the London mecting. Franco- German amity is the bedrock on which further interrational aid to the Reich must be based. There is now definite talk of the abandonment of political terms branded humiliating and unde- batable by the Germans of purely business condit e mort- gaging of the German customs receipts as collateral for the transastion at pres- | ent in contemplation R Alfonso continues to assert that he has not resigned from his position as | King of Spain, but that he has exer- | cised the privilege enioved by anv cit- 47en, of taking a S vacaion. A short time will suffice to tell whether he will join the tourists who ret to their old occupations at about the date that is designated in this country as *Labor day." Police Court Prisoners. Five men and a woman were over- come by heat yesterday in the cell rooms of the Police Court and had to be teken to the hoepital for treatment. It is not surprising that this has oc- | curred. The “accommodations” for | prisoners at the Police Court are, and | have always been. decidedly inadequate. ! There has been some improvement in late years, but the best the District has| ever had in the way of detention cells' PN — | cupied are smaller still. ‘mfln an hour through the stratosphere has been called to this condition, the Police Court cells have, with measur- able justice, been likened to the in- famous “black hole” of Calcutta. Things will be better wheh the new court buflding is erected. 'That is to say, it is hoped that they will better. The public expectation is that court building will be designed with decent regard for the custody of persons who are so unfortunate as to have to wait there for trial. It is, of course, not de- sirable that these quarters should be luxurious or comparable with firsts class hotel accommodations. But they should be clean; they should be com- modious enough for decency, and there should be facilities for sanitation. They should be thoroughly ventilated and cooled in Summer and heated in Winter. ¢ ‘Whether the occupant of & detention cell at Police Court is awaiting trial or is, after conviction, awaiting transpor- tation to the jail, he, and especially she, should be merely kept in restraint and not subjected to the punishment of tormenting conditions. The person who has not yet been tried is in the eye cf | the law presumably innocent, though | probably guilty. A person who has been convicted has been sentenced merely to | detention for a period and not to as- phyxiation or expsosure to disease. It is the business of the District, thmulh: funds for such and other uses, to pro- vide a model place of detention at the Police Court. oo Who Controls the Streets? The attitude of some of the larger interstate bus companies toward the, order giving them until April to move their routes out of the first congested zone and establish off-street terminals in the second congested zone seems destined to make an issue of the ques- tion of who controls the streets in the National Capital. Do the transporta- tion lines have the right to go where they please? Are the bus companies taking s cue from the difficulties al- ready encountered in moving the tracks role of possessor of any and all rights public highways? The tremendous amount of dickering and palaver over moving a street car line out of an area needed by the Gov- ernment for its own buildings must offer encouragement. it is true, to other transportation companies in resisting moves toward regulation. If the Federal Government, with extraordinary rights | and authority, must hold up its bullding work and run around in agitated circles while it seeks to move a few blocks of track. what rosy prospects, indeed, are offered the bus companies for stalling off the orders of the local Public Utili- ties Commission and the District Com- ‘missioners! The secret of their opposition, how- éver, may lie in the simple fact that they have succeeded for such a lopg time in running and parking their busses where they choose that they are merely counting on the lack of any stiff resistance to their plans in the future. The Commissioners and the Public Utilities Commission should have been ready with their bus order on the first day of the new fiscal year. Instead, they waited half & month and when the order was finally issued there seemed some question whether all the curlicues of the law had been correctly followed. The transportation companies have thrived on the policy of being hardboiled and knowing definitely what they want. The District authorities, who have been fooling around with the bus question long enough without get- ting anywhere, might take a hint and adopt the same policy. i Strange Freak of Fate. When a tramp creeps into a box car on a siding, for a night's rest, he reckons himself lucky for finding so snug and safe a shelter. The utmost that could happen would be possibly the shifting of the car during the night, perhaps its dispatch over the road. But that would not be untoward, for a tramp never objects to transpor- tation. ‘This was probably the reflection of the six itinerants who climbed aboard an “empty"” at Horace. Kans.. the other | night. They were in luck. During the | night the wind rose and it blew as it lows tn few places 8o furiously as out | on the Kansas prairies. It blew so hard that the four box cars, in one of which the six tramps were sleeping, were started down the siding. They switched themselves to the main track. and there a few minutes later they were hit by an express train. Three | of the tramps were killed and the others were badly hurt. This is one of the strange freaks of fate. The chances of a string of emptles being blown from a siding to & main track are negligibly small. The chances of one of those cars being oc- And yet. that one rar of that one particular string of empties was occupied on the ore oc casion in tke history of raflroading out in that part of the country when the wind was high enough to move them from the siding to the main line, and to move them. furthermore. just in ' time to be bumped by a fast train. | e | Suggestions that Mr. Dawes exchange his work as Ambassador for that of National Committee chairman empha- | size the impression that American party relationships offer at present the | greatest possible opportunity for high- | class diplomacy. O Traffic congestion complicates parking | problems. even on the rural highways. | It is not alwavs easy to keep a car from parking itself upside down in a road- side dich i ——v—————— Speed in the Stratosphere. High speeds in the thin air far above the earth have been predicted for the future of aviation for a good many years, and this prediction has been taken, more or less, with a grain of salt by the layman. But when an authority such as Prof. August Piccard makes the statement that a speed of four hundred may ea‘ily be atained in the not far distant future it appears that the dream is nearer actuality than the scoffers| would have conceded possible. For Prof. | Ficcard and his companion, Charles Kipfer. are the only living humans who have ever reached the upper strata T | the grace of Congress, which allots the | of the Mount Vernon, Alexandria and Washington Railway, and assuming the | and privileges regarding use of the' THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1931 THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. who can spesk from actusl experience instead of theory. Prof. Piccard, ad- dressing a distinguished audience in Brussels concerning the remarkable balloon ascent of more than fifty thou- sand feet above the earth,” which he made a few weeks ago, had this to say: One positive result of our ce, at least, was attained. namely, it proved that traveling in & high altitude, where four hundred miles an hour can be attained with a! equipped with compressors and airtight cabins for passengers, is without danger. Constructors contemplating intercon- tinental air travel can safely push on their work in this direction and take it for granted that traveling through the stratosphere is not dangerous. Man- kind can live in the irrespirable layers |of the earth’s atmosphere. They ma: rest confident of it. . Prof. Piccard’s observations are of absorbing interest. He experiment was as daring as it was successful. The discoveries he made are of great scien- tific value. Humans, of course, can live on artificial air. That has been shown in the ordinary routine aboard sub- merged submarines. The first step, of course, in constructing airplanes capable of pushing through the stratosphere at speeds of four hundred miles an hour or more is the dévelopment of an engine which will support a ship at that alti- tude. The present record for an air- plane is something more than forty thousand feet, but this height was at- tained only by special equipment which could probably not be applied in its present state of development to heavy transport planes. It is significant to note, however, that in establishing this record the pilot was not inclosed in an airtight cabin, such as that used by the Belgians, but was able to keep conscious- ness by means of an oxygen mask. So a long road must be traveled before five hours to Europe through the strato- sphere can become an actuality. But in this day and age, with all its engineer- ing miracles, anything seems possible, and it may well be that some of us now living will week-end on the Continent in as convenient a fashion as we drive or train to the nearby beach today. ———— Expert publicity requires the stimu- lation from time to time of originality. Even weddings and divorces have be- come such usual matters that the com- petent press agent no longer regards them as especially helpful to a popular entertainer. B—— Sometimes a sage and philosopher comes out far ahead in the game of life. Einstein, equally at home in the wood, appears to be one of the few very eminent German citizens who have suc- ceeded in enjoying themselves. v Every temptation was placed before Charles Lindbergh to take a personal part in politics. He decides upon & | tour over Siberian wastes. Lindbergh is a fearless man, but he prefers to exer- cise some right of selection as to the kind of peril he wiil meet. - Some of the European statesmen who | have experienced sleepless nights doubt- less wish that a five-hour day could be established for the benefit of overworked officials. R r SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Too Late! | When there’s gayety assembled and the lights are all aglow, Why is it that we falter in the conver- sation’s flow? ‘Why is it that we do not think till half- past two or three Of something which at ten would have been first-rate repartee? Repose declines to greet you. It isban- ished from your bed As you keep on thinking over all the things you might have said. When your name has just been men- tioned in connection with a speech, And every thought you ever had has drifted out of reach; ‘When you say, accustomed as I am,” And then relapse into an imitation of & clam, You realize with bitt>rness that when three hours have fled You'll have insomnia, thinking of the things you might have said. “Tis the fate of many a statesman with a crisis on his hands; It's the same way with a lover who in bashful silence stands. In every line of effort we are likely to be caught In flerce resentment of some bright but useless afterthought. Of all the gloomy specters that oppress our souls with dread, The worst are recollections of the things we might have said. Waiting His Turn. “You are not so prominent in public attention as you used to be.” “My turn will come again,” answered Senator Sorghum. “My wife and I are living happy, and I am not mixed up in any alleged graft. These facts pre- vent me from participating in the pres- ent lines of notoriety.” A great many people regard them- selves as martyrs when they are, strictly speaking, advertisers Warm Weather, The asphalt pave grows soft at noon; The tar begins to 0oz:; “Twill not be safe to cross it soon Without your overshoes. Pride and Luck. “Some men seem to enjoy bad luck,” remarked the cynical observer. “I never met any such person.” “Oh, yes, you have. Every fisherman you ever knew took more pride in the fish that got away than in those he actually caught.” An Advocate of Rapidity. “Which party emblem do you prefer, the elephant or the mule?” “Well," replied Parmer Corntossel, as things go nowadays both them animals is pretty slow. What one of the great parties ought to do is to asso- ciate its ideas with something like the airplane.” Advice. Whate'sr may be the public need. B:fore you give advice, take heed. Advice too oft ere life is o'er Becomes a habit—nothing more “Some men,” said Uncle Eben, jes like dat yaller dawg ob min’. “am Ef at this court has been lamentably de- where such blzh speeds are contem- he kain't git noticed no uddah way Sclent. (At times, when public attention plated, and therefore are the only men he's puffickly willin' ter hk? beatin’ irplanes properly | saf realms of distant space or in gay Holly- | ‘We took the street car the other and rode downtown with our old friend, Templeton Jones. ;‘a-' your name in the paper,” we Jones unconsciously took on that look which most human beings assume when some one speaks about seeing their name in the paper. “Saw where you had a little repartee with & fellow passenger,” we continued, although Jones, of course, knew more about that affair than any one else. “I told him where to get off,” said Jones at last. He did not appear par- ticularly proud of himself, and we said no more about it. * k% % Jones was thinking hard, though; we could see that. He looked out the win- dow for several blocks at the unfolding panorama of the avenue. ‘Then he turned back. “Did you ever stop to think.” he said, “that the perfect street car rider must be the most tolerant person in the world? “The need for tact, patience and plain everyday courtesy s more outstanding on this vehicle than any place else in the world. “I have been in all sorts of situa- tions, even mobs, and have never found a one of them to compare with & street car for a cross-section of human nature as it is. “So many places human beings are on dress parade, or at least attended by the company manners, as we say. : “In church every one aims to be dig- nified, reverent and quiet. At the the- ater the public wants to be pleased, and is so occupled with that idea that it is willing to overlook much. g “At the base ball park the attention of every fan is on the field and the players. Unless you de'iberately slap somebody over the head with a pop bottle, or in some other manner arouse the mob spirit, you can get along very well, no matter how the game goes. * x % % “On the street car, however, every passenger is waiting for his toes to be trod on. “Mostly this is & mental trodding. ‘The toes are the mental toes. “For every actual foot which sticks out in the aisle and thereby gets cuffed by good shoe leather there are a hun- dred mental feet thrust forth. “Ordinarily we do not see them, or even know we have stumbled over them, because their owners do exercise consid- erable restraint, “That is why I believe there is no training ground in the world to equal a street car in teaching a man tol- erance. “And teaching it to him, believe me, when he is hardest to teach—when he arrives at middle age, or near unto it. “Then a man is sot in his ways, as | has his own ingrained habits, both mental and physical, and has got past the age of youth, when a man never notices anything. * ok K youth notices that is unpleasant? “That is one of the finest things about being young “You can sleep in a tiny hall bed room, in your youth, without thinking a thing abow. it, or feeling yourself wronged by a world conspiracy. “But just let you come to middle age, and later, and find yourself lumped | off by life into a small room, and you i will grow] at all and sundry. “When 1 was a kid I thought as a | kid, and, what is more, I slept as a kid. I could stand any amount of noise and confusion, without missing the wink of an eyelid. Now I ask for God's perfect silence before 1 can go to sleep. “I can recall a very little about so meny matters in my childhood. So they say back where I come from. He | “Did you ever stop to think how little | many things which interest me now, in & grown state, simply did not exist at all then, as hr‘n‘my Tenva-y goes. * . “On a street car you run into all sorts and conditions of men. If you are finicky about your personal habits, you will sit next to pecple who need baths. “If you dislike veing touched by strangers, you will be pushed and shov- ed and jammed. They will stumble over you, poke you in the back of the neck with their papers, and punch you in the ribs with their umbrellas. “Women, in particular, have most uncouth methods of carrying umbrellas on public vehicles, especially street cars. I do not know why it is the street car brings out more unpleasant traits than busses. Perhaps it is simply that there are more people in & car. i “Many women hold an umbrella clutched under the left arm, not with the point down, as you might think natural, but with the implement held almost, horizontally. “This makes it & menacing weapon, one fit to punch out an eye, or impale en ear with. If you innocently think to dodge the ferrule, do it secretly, for it the lady sees you dodging, she imme- diately becomes offended. There you have some of those mental toes I “was | talking about. * K ok % “I'll bet you can’t guess what hap- pened to a friend of mine on a street car the other day,” went on Templeton Jones. “He got up to give his seat to a lady, and a sudden start of the vehicle threw | him against one of the brass hand- holds. “He has been in the hospital ever | since. “That ought to cure any man of the | lingering cusiom of geiting up to give a woman a seat. Think of the argu- | ment you have when some standing | lady glowers down at you! “*Madam,’ you can declare, ‘T would get up and give you this seat, but a | friend of mine is now in the hospital because he did it, and I can't afford fo take a chance.’ +Sometimes I think you can't please people on street cars, no matter what you do. Maybe one has pcor fortune in getting seated next to certain types | of humanity. * ¥ ox % | “Oeccasionally & Jriend will play a | joke on you in the name of street car | merriment. “You know about that incident of mine and the man who glared at me beceuse I couldn't move cver any | farther. He thought I wouldn't move | over, you know. “Well, a friend of mine happened to read about that and he thought he would play a little joke on me. | " “So when he saw that he had man- | aged to board the car without my seeing | him he took a seat directly behind me | and began to unfold his paper. | "I felt a good punch on my right shofilder, but, being in a forgiving frame of mind, thought no more of it until he fluttered the paper some more and poked me vigorously in the neck. “This was almost too much, but I have matriculated in the street car school of manners and am proving my- self_a ready scholar. “So 1 sald nothing. even when he kept rasping_the back of my neck with | the sheet. My attention was diverted by a large lady who lunged into the side seat ahead of me and fell mostly |on my left knee. “‘Did 1 hurt you?’ asked the large lady. ‘Not at all, madam,’ T assured her. ‘You are well padded.’ It was a good joke and we both enjoyed it. It kept me from bawling out the man behind me, when he gave me a tremendous thump in the back of the neck. If it hadn't been for the fat lady I probably Wou]ld ave got my name in the paper again.” Wickersham Charges Stir Interest in Juvenile Cases General recognition of the fact that the Federal Government is not properly prepared to handle juvenile cases ap- pears in comment on the Wickers| Commission’s report of defects in trea ment_of minors under jurisdiction of the National Government. There is a tendency to agree with the conclusions of the commission that such cases should be turned over to the States. few instances is based on the conclus- fon that there has been some ‘sob sister” tendency. “The report ames America,” de- clares the Buffalo Evening News, with the feeling that the commission e- | serves high commendation for taking up the case of these children—for bringing to public attention the horrid conditions under which they are re- strained.” The Worcester Evening Gazette emphasizes the importance of “juvenile delinquency technique,” and holds that “absense of such technique under the Federal Government must be a dark spot unless the delinquents are released to the States.” The Char- | lotte Observer is convinced that the Government should abandon “super- vision of child crime,” and charges that “in its treatment of criminal children, it is itself almost a criminal.” “There is sound reason in the finding of the commission that it is desirable from every point of view ‘that the | Federal Government be empowered to withdraw from juvenile prosecutions, where such withdrawal will be in the public interest.” according to the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, and that paper further advises: “As responsibility re- turns to the States, if it does return, it will be well for the State to revamp outworn practices of housing and handling delinquents.” The Newark Evening News maintains that “there is no crime in the calender a boy or girl can commit that deserves the barbaric punishment the commission has un- earthed.” { “The more important and undeni- | able fact stressed In the report,” in ! the judgment of the Cincinnati Times- Star, “is that the Federal Govern- ment wholly lacks the machinery for dealing with felons of tender years. Many of the States have developed a distinctive modern technique for hand- ling juvenile delinquency, but the Na- tional Government continues vto treat erring children like adult felons. Ar- rested by United States marshals, they are haled before Federal commi sioners, prosecuted by Federal at- torneys. indicted, arraigned and tried in Federal courts. After conviction they are sent to Federal institutions, often thousands of miles from their homes and families, and _thrown among hardened criminals. The in- evitable product of such a system is the public enemy of tomorrow. The commission recommends that the refor- mation of child offenders be turned over to the States. It is far simpler |and wiser reform than attempting to inctall a juvenile court system in the National Government." | “Children do not belong in the Fed- eral courts” declares the Philadel- phia Evening Bulletin, while the Sait Lake Deseret News advises that ‘“the criminal system of the Federal Gov- ernment is not ada) to the treat- ment of young persons.” The St. Paul Pioneer Press agrees that “in the majority of cases juvenile offenders against the Pederal laws are of the typically delinquent class and it is only technically that these violators of the law come within Pederal juris- diction ” Expressing doubt 8s to the correct- ness of accusations against the Federal Covernme: the Miiwaukee Sentinel {remarks: “Any group which dared to seek the facts about all children’s pris- ons in the country would, we fear, find material for the most shameful eh.g- !Allr of tws entieth century history.” bany Evening News says 83 10 spe- Disagreement with the report in a| 1cific charges: “The Washington State Reformatory is severely criticized by the commission's investigator, Mirian Van Waters. According to this report, the ordinary impulses of children are repelled by punishments that might | have been permissible in the Middle | Ages. One concealed an apple in his bunk, another had a 2-cent stamp in his possession, another talked in mess line, and these were punished with terms in the guard house. There must be discipline, of course, but there is something wrong with the disciplinarian who shackles boys with log irons and flogs severely, as the investigator charges is done in one institution.” Suggesting that the people of Wash- | ington State “may not relish the un- | favorable notoriety,” the Seattle Daily | Times says in defense of the institution in its cwn territory: “The Monroe Re- | formatory is no longer a place devoted to the reform of young offenders, or of older ones whose temporary lapses from rectitude indicate that they have suc- | cumbed to isolated temptation rather than that they are criminal at heart. The courts are largely responsible for the change, in that through kind-heart- edness or strong influence they have sent many hardened criminals to Mon- roe instead of to Walla Walla, where they belong. The inmates of Monroe— even the most tender and unsophisti- cated—have not been sent there as a reward for good conduct; they are bad boys who have resisted all efforts to keep them straight. Many of them are repeaters in crime, hardened characters at an age when they are still rated as adolescent. They do not hesitate at any agt which will gain them even temporary freedom; they rebel at all restraint. They are tough.” o Says Yorktown Should Have Place in Pageant ‘To the Bditor of The Star: | Just a few lines about “The Sur- | render of Yorktown” in a pageant to be held next year in the celebration of the | 200th anniversary of the birth of our | first President, George Washington. ‘The writer has had the pleasure of meeting the associate director of the | George Washington Bicentennial Com- | mission, Representative Sol Bloom of | New York, and he is absolutely correct [ when he states that the true facts re- lating to the “surrender” scene should | be enacted. Because why should any | one be ashamed to enact a true version | of the Revolutionary War. Every Amer- | ican should feel very proud of that | great victory, even if it hurts the feel- |ings of any one connected with the | nation that lost the battle. | But when we consid-r what this great { country did for England in the World | War alone, England should feel indebted to the United States for a million years. | Because, regardless of what any one states to the contrary, without the help | of this country with money and men | England and France would be the na- | tions asking for the same help that | Germany is asking today. | FELIX A. URY. | | | New Way Out of Sing Sing. | Prom the Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator. | A base ball team has been organized at Sing Sing and there shouldn't be much difficulty geiting volunteers to hop over the fence and look for balls. ——ee—a i Just Same Old Stuff. Prom the Rochester Register-Republic. The new republic of Spain opens its career with 24 political parties in the field. But you will notice the two prin- cipal parties Republican and Re- publican A journalistic and kaleidoscopic view of the first quarter of the twentieth century is presented by Mark Sullivan th “Pre-War America,” Volume III of “Our Times.” During that time there were two frlends, “who later became foes, their friendship determining the presidency of the United States for one term, and their estrangement deter- mining it for two, and the whole of their relationship changing the direc- tion of history to s degree of which the consequences would be difficult to estimate.” The story of these two friends and the explanation of their political antagonism run through many chapters of the book. There is a pic- ture of the United States during the period when “the people felt all was well, because velt was in the White House and because whenever he ;lgum!yed from Washington he left aft ‘sitting on the 1id.’" There is an account of the insurance scandals. which involved the Equitable and brought into prominence a compara- tively young lawyer named Charles E. Hughes, who was selected by a com: mittee of the New York State Legisla: ture to investigate the big life insur- ance companies. The railroad rate fight, “the climax of Roosevelt's crusade for economic reforms,” is picturesquely described, with episodes “piquant or explosive.” During the early years of the century muckraking was in its first vigor. Roosevelt was responsible for the term, as he was for many other vivid expressions applied to public life. In a Gridiron dinner speech he took as his subject & passage from Bunyan' “Pilgrim’'s Progress,” in which he de- scribed “the Man with the Muckrake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muckrake in his hand.” Thomas W. Lawson, a “sensa- tional stock market operator . . . who had been a handy man for cap- tains of industry in some of their more sordid adventures,” became the fore- most muckraker of the era. Through his muckraking articles he swelled the circulation of the magazine which pub- lished them and furnished regular sen- sations for its readers. * ok ok ok As in his previous volumes, so in “Pre-War America” Mark Sullivan is much interested in the po?ullr songs and plays of the era. Explaining this interest, he says: “To the historian, some songs constitute an index to man- ners, vogues, even morals, the events and subjects’ that engaged national in- terest, the times of economic, philologic and other changes. Others are com- paratively slight in their relation to contemporagy events.” The early days of motoring\produced the song “He'd Have to Get Under,” which would- be, hardly intelligible today, when all mo- tor trouble is settled by telephoning to the A. A. A. The Spanish War was responsible fc the songs “Good-by, Dolly Gray,” “Blue Bell” and “There’ll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town To- night,” which was considered almost the official song of the war. That popular songs reflect vogues is shown by the song .“Her Golden Halr was Hanging Down Her Back.” Hair no longer hangs down backs, however golden and beautiful ‘it may be. Only a few of the popular songs of an era have enduring quality. “Several friend- ly collaborators who searched the at- ties of their memorles to ascertain which of the songs of 1900-1914 lingered most lovingly in the affections of those who as youths had sung them, agreed that the rusts of a quarter century had been best resisted by a melody whose theme and name was “In the Good Old Summer Time.” Songs of sentiment were led by “The Rosary,” to which “The End of a Perfect Day” was hardly sec- ond in popularity. The comic opera “Florodora” supplied the long-popular | song “Tell Me, Pretty Maiden," and erl? lm-esmr and May Irwin, re- spectively, popularized ‘“‘Heaven ' Will Protect _the Working Girl” and the “Bully Song.” * k% x “Pre-War America” is a sized book, full of entertainment for almost any reader who is not too young to re- member the events recounted. Not the least of the interest is in the many il- lustrations. We see “Roosevelt and Taft on.the south portico of the White House just before leaving for the Capi- tol, where Roosevelt gave up, and Taft took over, the Presidency.” A group picture taken on the 8. S. Manchuria represents Taft, as Secretary of War, accompanied on one of his Far Eastern trips by a party including Alice Roose- velt and Nicholas Longworth. The women's hats are platterlike affairs on high pompadours. Many cartoons are reproduced, including tne one published in the New York Herald Tribune, by J. N. Darling, at the time of Roosevelt's death, representing the rough-riding President, mounted on the horse of death, “waving the gallant farewell of an unconquerable spirit to those left behind as he started unafraid upon the long trail” One picture illustrates women's skirts in six different years— 1901, 1908, 1910, 1920, 1925, 1927. The Nt of 1001, just escaping the ground. described, from the Ladies’ Home Journal, as “the indispensable short skirt essential in a college girl's outfit.” ‘The 1927 kirt barely covers the knees. A similar page shows a “Washington belle” of 1908 attired in huge white feather boa, mull tie wound twice around the neck, and large hat adorned with ribbon rosette as large as a plate, and white feather. The “Merry Widow' hat, suggesting an airplane, and the chenille dotted veil, draping a hat as completelv as if for mosquito protection, are also illustrated. * ox o x In Brand Whitlock's “Lafayette.” Mme. de Lafayette is a rather pathetic figure, unless perhaps she considered the distinction of having a brilliant and famously adventurous husband a com- pensation for years of being left alone, bringing up her children without his help, and other years of sharing his forlorn exile. Mr. Whitlock leaves it uncertain whether she did think the compensation adequate. with an in- clination toward the belief that she did. In “Ardent Adrienne: the Life of Madame de Lafavette.” Lida Rose Mc- Cabe shows both the girl wife and the mature woman uncomplaining and unre- gretting. Adrienne D'Aven of the prominent Noailles family was not yet 15 when she married Lafayette, who was just 16. When he dashed off to America to aid the Colonists in their Revolutionary cause, he was only 18. Adrienne had one child and was ex- pecting another. Except for loneliness and anxiety over the fortunes of her husband in the wilds and dangers of Colonial America, her ot was not at this time a hard one. She had a fam- ily of wealthy and influential relatives. all devoted to her (though they did not approve of her husband), and Lafa- yette's income was a large one. Later, When the French Revolution broke, she knew real hardships and suffering. She ‘was imorisoned and her mother and sister were guillotined. When she was able to foin Lafayette in his exile, she was really happy. * ok x % “When Dara Wes the Sun: A Story of Personal Journalism,” by Charles J Rosebault, reconstructs the old days of journalism, when “journalism was not then a business. Neither was it a pro- fession. It was high adventure, and that editor outshone his rivals who could most impress the imagination of the readers. That Dana did it better than any other was due to the fact that he possessed that rare combina- tion, a gitmt intellect and the sym- pathetic understanding which makes for tolerance of human weaknesses: likewise a poskive mind and the high courage to follow its dictation against every obstacle.” Bescre becoming ed- itor, Dana store in Buffalo, a Harvard s™<: and a Transcendentalist member of the as a clerX in a [e’nrul‘ ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. uestions have been the first to condemn slavery signed the answers appear The space is limited and would not ac- commodate a fraction of such requests. The answers published are ones that may interest many readers, rather than the one who asks the question only. All questions should be accompanied by the writer's name and address and 2 cents in coin o stamps for reply. Send your question to The Evening Star In- formation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Q. Were the race horses, Man o' War and Sir Barton, the same age?—R. H. A. Sir Barton is a year older than Man o' War, as he was a 3-year-old when he won the Kentucky Derby in 1919. Man o' War was a 3-year-old in 1920 when he won the Preakness. Of course there may not be a whole year's Gifference in the ages of these two horses, as a race horse is arbitrarily called a yearling on the 1st of January x(oll‘g‘dvln( the date on which he was foaled. In playing poker, when a pre- mium is decided upon for “fours,” must the hand be called in order to ecollect the premium?—L. D. A. It nced not. The holder collects whether the hand is called or not. Q. What is profane history?—C. 8. A. Profane, in this sense, means sec- ular. Profane is the opposite of sacred or religious history. Q. How many ocean-going Ameri- c-nsvessels are equipped with radio?— A. There are about 2,200 American vessels equipped with radios. Vessels | traveling 200 miles or more and carry- | ing 50 passengers or more are required | to carry radios. Q. TIs England connected with India | by airmail?>—M. H. C. A. Airmail service between Eng- land and Karachi, India, was estao-| lished in 1920. This service is operated weekly in both directions. Q. TIs rabbit fur sold by the pelt or by the pound?—H. W. M. A. By the pound. Q. When did John James Audubon live?—A. K. A. He was born near New Orleans in 1780 and died in New York in 1851. Audubon was not a learned scientist or a great artist, but his self-d-nying en- thusiasm for his subject and the uni- formly pleasing qualities of his work made him the most distirguished and I&e:;a loved of pioneer American natural- Q. Who were the Essenes’—A. H. D. A. They were a Jewish brotherhood, originating probably in the Maccabean period, second century, B.C, and dis- appearing after the second century, AD. They were a sort of religious sep- aratists. No record of them is found in the Bible or in rabbinical literature, but they are spoken of by Pliny, Jo- sephus and Philo. They were exponents of ceremonial purity, asceticism, hyper- Sabbatarianism and believers in com- munity goods and interests. Entrance into the order was difficult, probation being required one year for admittance and two more years for membership. The principal ocoupations were agricul- ture and handicraft. Trading was pro- hibited to members as tending to cov- | ther lent nor gave money. as violating the brotherhood of man. Q. How many pendent citles are there in Virginia?—H. 8. A. There are now 24. Q. Must & person be a resident of the State in which he takes a civil service examination?—S. T. A. Generally he must be a resident and must have been actually domiciled in the State for a year previous to the examination. There is a provision, how- ever, for examination of applicants temporarily absent from their legal domiciles. Their applications are then credited to their legal residences. Q. Is it correct to pronounce “ac- climate” with_the accent on the first syllable?—F. P. A. It is not. The accent is on the second syllable. Q. Was there either a United States gift or loan of money to the Japanese at the time of their last great earth- quake?—W. E. H. A. The United States Treasury nei- Red Cross aid was given. The Japanese govern ment and the City of Tokio borrowec largely in the United States after th: 1923 earthquake, but through bond: purchased privately. The American Government subscribed nothing. Q. What is the difference between veneered construction and plywood in furniture?—S. R. A. These terms are used inter- changeably. They both refer to furni- ture in which several layers of WooG have been glued together, the wood with a beautiful grain being used on thr surface. Some of the finest furnitur: is made in this fashion. Q. When and where is the salut: to the Union fired?>—O. H. H. A. The salute to the Union—one gu' for each State—is fired at noon on th Fourth of July at every military poc and on board commissioned naval ves sels belonging to the United States. Q. Who has the original manuscript of “Alice in Wonderland”?—D. R. A. Eldridge R. Johnson is the pres- ent ownep of the manuscript. It wa: brought to this country by S. W. Rosen bach, who purchased it at a sale ir London. Q. wh}:: we,r:c theApr‘?mlflm of the Magna Charta? . A V. A‘:n There are 63 articles in the Magna Charta. It is said that the three articles of enduring value are: Justice shall not be sold or denied; no man shall be deprived of his liberty or prop- erty except upon judgment of his equals or tha law of the land; no taxes except the customary feudal taxes can be lev- jed by any one without the consent of the National Council. Q. How large is Palestine?—F. B, M. A. It is a small territory, only 140 miles long. north and south; 23 miles wide in the north and 80 in th= south. But 9,000 square miles are comprised in its area. Q. What is meant by the law of averages?—R. L. Z. A. The law of averages aims to dem- qustrate that while the trend of human affairs cannot be forecast with cer- tainty, it can be worked out to a con- siderable extent arithmetically by arriv- ing at averages based on statistics re- etousness. The Essenes are sald to HE Evening Times, Glasgow.— The popularity of hiking as a sport has so enormously in- creased during recent years that a great ceal of intercst is being shown just now in the question of hotel accommodations for those indulging in | walking holidays. It is interesting to | note that the Y. M. C. A. has been | working successfully towards this end for over five years now. 1 have to hand some particulars of the ¥. M. C. A. Holiday Lodge Scheme, which provides s chain of lodges for young men and older boys in the High- lands and in the Border country. The scheme has been taken advantage of enthusiastically and I am sure many who have hitherto been unaware of its existence would welcome its simple_and economical provision for an iceal holi- day. * ok x ¥ Italy Must Develop Trade With Russia. Glornale D'Italia, Rome.—The de- velopment of our trade with Russia must be accelerated in the common interest of the trade of both countries, which | may be described as essentially comple- | mentary. We. secure the raw materials | which we so urgently requir?, while in | return we deplete our heavy stocks of those commodities of which we have a surplus. ‘The agrecment signed in the | year ended last August gave emphati- cally desirable results for both nations, and there is no reason why such an in- terchange or reciprocal trading basis should not become a permanent feature of our trade relations. Progress along these lines has been made possible by the successful outcome | of the five-vear plan in developing all of the Russian Soviet's resources, and also because- of the fact that commer- | cial relations between Italy and Russia are based on the principle of mutual beneflt. Soviet exports to Italy will re- sult in a large increase of Italian ex- ports to Russia. The proximity of the two countries makes trading in their re- spective commodities more advantag=ous | on the basis of both volume and price. There is no doubt but that this com- merce begun so auspiclously will be rapidly expanded. * x X % Millionaires Give Funds to Ald Distressed. Jornal do Brazil, Rio de Janeiro.—De | spite the criticism of capitalists and other wealthy men for seifish exploita- tion of their riches, it is undoubtedly true that the present system of econom- ies could not exist and benefit as it does vast groups of the population, if it were not thus centralized for efficiency in production and distribution. More than that, thess wealthy men of our times not only promote great en- terprises with their potentialities for the help and profit of all. but spend part of their accumulations in donations to combat disease, establish schools and libraries. support the destitute and even restore the ruins of buildings and dis- tricts devastated by war, earthquake, flood or other calamities. It is to be noted that these gifts and co-operations are international. Mil- lionaires no longer restrict their kind- nesses to their own country, but serve and spend everywhere there is an op- portunity to help the human race. | Everywhere, that is, except perhaps in Ruseia, where the war against th> cap- italist and centralized wealth and power has resulted in poverty and misery for most of the population. The Soviet re- publics are antagonistic to all such eo- | op-rative efforts carried throughout the world and prefer rather a seifish isola- tion of their resources, which eventually will militate against its best opportu- nities for growth and power. An old Greek proverb says “One man is no man.” and the same may well be said of a single nation in these days of united thought and purpose. on a ranch in Mary Austin' Ty Adventure.” Gard Stillwell, son of an | exacting invalid father and a mother who devoted herself to the invalid, liv- in comparative poverty on the 11l Jooked forward to .1 es a starry adventure. Life did not make good his expectations of it. Per- Brook Farm community. *xx % A rich background in New Mexico gives charm to & not remarkable story of the and youth of & boy lating to the event. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands Would Make Von Hindenburg President of Germany for Life. Cologne Gazette.—Dr. Schifferer, the leader of the People’s party in the Reichstag, has introduced a resolution before that body suggesting that Paul von Hindenburg be nominated President of Germany for life. The motion was seconded by Herr Lambach, the leader in the Reichstag of the People’s-Con= servative party, but he was of the opin ion that the resolution should be of- fered to an immediate vote of the people, for though previously elected for the riod of his present term. Herr Lam- ach felt that those voting for him might not be willing to extend his length of office for an indefinite period. Gen. von Hindenburg is 84 years old, but his health and vitality are unii paired and the ratification of a life- office for him might easily lead to com- plications in the national policy not now foreseen. Difficulty in passing the measure, either by, resolution or by popular vote, was seen in the fact that whereas the representatives in the Reichstag total at present 577, a two-thirds majority would require 385 votes. A tentative poll of the measure, however, revealed only 349 for it. ‘The opposition consists largely of the National Socialists, the German Nationalists, the various Land or Farm- ers’ party representatives anc the Com- munists, all of whom tog-ther mustered 228 votes, or over a third. These last all are opposed for one reason or another, to a possible exten- sion of the presidential tenure. Herr Lambach, however, considers this initial defeat of Dr. Schifferer's project only a temporary reverse, and that President von Hindenburg's ‘ability, integrity a popularity eventually will' be successful in winning the confidence of all his critics. Constituting, as these latter do 8 minority in every walk of life, hi elevation to the eminence of life Pre.. dent cannot be long delayed. oo Value of Cotton Week Shown by Retailer. From the Little Rock Arkansas Demoerat With the passing of high-power sales. manship went a similar “Americanism" —the “week,” six or seven days set aside as a time when the people are supposed to concentrate on this, that or the other. All of us remember— some to our sorrow—the days when we had apple, pear, peach, prune, peanut, prayer, live home, and Heaven only knows' how many other weeks, But there has been one “week” which has brought real results, has meant something to producer, retailer and con- sumer. That is “Coiton week.” Evi- | dence of its success has been supplied | by heads of some of the biggest stores and corporations in the country. That this concerted effort to call pub- lic attention to cotton and its uses has ted in ‘substantial increase in re- tall sales volume is shown in letters re- ceived by the Cotton-Textile Institute | In commenting on those letters, George | A. Sloan, president of the institute, says: “National Cotton week was not a ‘flash in the pan’ but was conceived as the inauguration of an era of concerted selling effort.” One letter, from a New York com- pany’s president,. is indicative: “National Cotton week had a contin- uing favorable effect on our business. Our buying department in New York, which handles the more staple cotton goods, will ship to the stores for the month of June a considerable increased quantity over a year ago. This increase amounts to over 10 per cent in dollars and over 33%; per cent in actual quan- tity. We feel this actuslly represents demand created by the sales of cotton goods during the current month.” These results came from an intelli- gent campaign. Why cannot man; other commodities be so exnlumd'.« | thereby breaking into the so-calleq “buyer’s strike” we hear so much about? o Every Man to His Job. | Prom the Oakland Tribune. “Author to Quit Writing and Start haps the reason vfit:hlwdd;le:med of great things Wl | ppen him, of planning a place for )‘flmsell in k 5hlch he eould do usefully Chicken Ranch.” At a time when s of chicken lot raisers i they could not turn .a'"m'”mw writing poetry,