Evening Star Newspaper, May 28, 1932, Page 4

" A4 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Mosning Edition. ‘' WASHINGTON, D. C. BATURDAY. .May 28, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company ) Office: 11th, 8t "And Peonsyivanis Ave. New York Office: 110 East d i icago Office: Lake Michigan \Iflg‘. 3 | bean Ofice: 14, Regent . Londoss Rate by Carrier Within the City. per month Der copy ‘each monf e Sunday Sar 3 telephone y 4 Collection made at the end ‘of @iders may be'sent in by mail or Ational 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. B Sinday "only All Other States and Canada. {ly and Sunda; aily only . Hunday only Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news di atches credited 1o 1t or not otherwise er ted in this paper and > the iocal news published herein. Allr of publication of special dispatches here are also reserved. — Pork Barrel “Relief.” President Hoover has labeled the Garner $2,100,000,000 “relief bill,” now introduced in the House, “the most gigantic pork barrel ever proposed to the American Congress.” And a pork barrel bill it is, and so it will remain in the minds of the American people. Con- tained in the Garner bill is a proposal to expend $900,000,000 on public works. ‘There are 3,500 projects of various kinds —2,300 of them are new post office buildings—scattered throughout the country. At a time when the country is de- manding in no uncertain manner a balancing of the Government's budget so0 that financial stability may be main- tained and a real return to business be begun; at a time when the Congress is seeking to frame & revenue bill which will raise more than a billion dollars of additional revenue from the people, and at a time when the Congress is at work on an “economy program,” part of which cuts the wages of the Gov- ernment workers, along comes this proposal of Speaker Garner. It is ob- vious, as the President points out, that huge appropriations of funds from the Treasury, no matter how raised, will have to be made to build these post offices all over the country and for construction work for other depart- ments. How it is possible to balance the bud- get and at the same timg impose this new burden on the Federal Treasury is something that Mr. Garner will have to tell the American people. It is true that he proposes to borrow the moncy through a bond issue. But the money will have to paid by the taxpayers. That is the only way in which bonds can be retired upon maturity. The prospect of paying more and more taxes to care for these bonds and for the in- terest they bear is not likely to appeal to the imagination of the American people, who are about to feel greatly added tax burdens in the effort to bal- ance the budget. The President has correctly said that we cannot spend ourselves out of debt. Yet that is what Mr. Garner and those who support huge public works pro- grams are proposing. It cannot be done. In defense of his bill and public works program, the Speaker repeats statements made by President Hoover beck in 1928, showing that the Chief Executive then approved of a great | construction plan. But Mr. Garner forgets or wilfully ignores the differ- ence between the condition of the United States Treasury and business in this country in 1928 and the condition which exists today. It is one thing to engage on & big public works program when the country has plenty of money. It is a very different thing when the Treasury deficit is certain to be more than $2,000,000,000. ‘The Garner bill is indefensible. Ap- parently an adroit attempt has been made to line up the people of all the communities throughout the country { where a little slice of the “pork” is to be consumed. But when the people generally understand, in all those com- munities, that they are the ones who will have to foot the bill for these im- ‘provements, many of which are entirely unnecessary, they are likely to agree with President Hoover that this meas- ure, after all, is just a “raid” on the Federal Treasury and, through the Treasury, on the pocketbooks of the American people. “Pork barrel” is the label attached to the Garner bill. Nothing that the Speaker and the supporters of his measure can say will erase that label. ——e——————— Once regarded as a well-spring of campaign eloquence, his party now finds that Senator Borah is not only dry, but positively arid. ST America Calls for Action. Interpreting the genuine desire of the people of the United States for disarma- ment results at Geneva, Ambassador Gibson, chairman of the American dele- gation, opposes adjournment until con- crete action is taken. He informed Mr. Henderson, president of the conference, to that effect yesterday. Mr. Gibson's declaration was called forth by the plans of various European delegations, which favor putting up the shutters for several months, leaving the conference suspended, like Mahomet’s coffin, be- tween heaven and earth. The American people could wish that Ambassador Gibson's pressure for a continuous performance at (¢neva con- tained the possibility of eventual agree- ment on lines denoting progress toward disarmament. Everything which has ‘happened at the conference so far sug- gests that disillusionment will be the lot of those idealists who thought, and may still think, that the world is mil- lennially-minded. Only this week the differences that separate the powers on naval questions—the only ones under consideration which carry real interest ¢ for the United States—were revealed in all their disconcerting nakedness. ‘The Conference Naval Commission, Wwhich for weeks has been engaged in & Diogeneslike search for points of common agreement, submitted a re- port showing that the principal sea powers not only are at odds among themselves, but also hold views on vital points contrary to the views of small powers. The submarine and battleship situation is a classic instance. The American delegation considers uflgmwhn weapon and catalogues battleships and aircratt carriers as defensive, Great Britain and Japan agree 50 far as bat- tleships go, but the lesser nations de- clare big-gun battleships to be offensive. Argentina, while looking upon bat- tleships as offensive arms, indorses in general the American and British posi- tion on aircraft carriers. Japan, Po- land and Finland—a strange combina- tion—demand Tretentiof of the sub- marine unqualifiedly. Japan, Soviet Russia, Germany, Poland, Spain, Fin- land, Italy, Holland, Norway and Sweden as unqualifiedly reject the air- craft carrier, contending that it lit- erally carries offense, as against de- fense. There are fifty-seven countries repre- sented at Geneva and almost fifty-seven varieties of views. Ambassador. Gibson hss need for all the optimism he can muster if he really expects that out of this seething cauldron of conflicting attitudes a practical disarmament pact can be expected. But in pressing for action to that end, the American spokes- man is on the right ground, bleak as may be the outlook for getting any- where from it. The longer world eco- nomic distress prevails, the stronger becomes the probability that sooner or later the worid’s crushing needs, if not its intelligence, will compel the nations to sign on the dotted line of an arms- reduction treaty. A Pure and Profitable Friendship. Will they ever come again, those good boom times, when stock pools can be formed by altruists for the benefit of their friends? When philanthropists can start speculative investments in securities to which they will admit deserving public officials, who can- not manage to make both ends meet out of their salaries, so that they can live more fittingly from the profits of these adventures in values? When these benefactions can be conducted without responsibility on the part of the participants in case the market goes wrong? They were wonder times, conducive to the prosperity of hard- working mayors of great cities whose scale of living could not be trimmed to the limits of their normal incomes. It is not unreasonable to suggest that inasmuch as these buoyant days of soaring stocks may be slow in return- ing, perhaps not for a decade or so, the people of the great cities should see to it that the stipends of their mayors are brought to the point at which they can subsist properly on them, so that they will not become objects of the warm generosity of their charitable friends. For with all possible credence in the purity of the motives of these thoughtful friends—whether they act| upon their own initiative or upon the suggestion of their children, innocent themselves of course of any but the friendliest interest in the welfare of their father's intimates—there will in- escapably be thoughts of motives that could not be squared with the fullest consideration of the public welfare. Mayor Walker of New York has such | friends, and they have been very good to him. They have helped him, without hint of solicitation, to rich returns from speculative investments which have not called for the risking of a dollar. One | of these friends has just explained how | it came to pass that he included the mayor in a remarkably successful pool. He has reluctantly avowed that his urge was simply to enable the mayor to have an adequate income. He admits, rather plaintively, that his idea was “just a little silly and sentimental.” It is re- freshing to find, in these hard, selfish days, that kindly emotions still prevail | in business. This friend told the mayor that he wanted to make a “little money for him”—just a little, it would seem, { and yet the total ran to nearly & quar- | ter of & million dollars. What wonder- ! ful friendship! What wonderful days those were! | However the ‘“case” against Mayor | Walker may turn out—whether he is removed from office by the Governor or permitted to remain, whether re-elected after removal or allowed to lapse into the innocuous desuetude that Grover Cleveland made famous—this incident in American political history must stand as & demonstration that kindliness and unselfishness and genuine friendship still prevail, to the sweetening of human relations and the maintenance of faith in the essential goodness of man. The golden days of sttck booming and swift and rich profits out of philanthropic pools may not return for many years, but the lesson of this beautiful bounty will remain an inspiration to all. ————— In two cases detailed descriptions of costume are, for some reason known only to journalism, always expected: A fashionable social event and a public appearance of Mayor James Walker, ———— e The Passing of Rockville Fair. Announcement that the Rockville Fair will be held for the last time in August next marks the passing of an institu- tion that has been greatly cherished by more than two generations. In other parts of the country also the county fair has declined, and it may be that in a few years it will have gone into history as an interesting record of Amer- ican enterprise and entertainment. The present plan is to make the finale at Rockville particularly spectacular, as a farewell gesture, and doubtless there will be a large attendance, for old times’ sake at least. ‘The Montgomery County Agricultural Society was arganized in 1844 and has held seventy-eight fairs at Rockville. ‘When it began, conditions were greatly talnment enjoyed by the populace of the great area of farming territory. The motor car has been the primary cause of the decadence of the county fair. For the motor car brought good roads, and with good roads came a closer contact with the cities, and with this contact came a decline in interest in the annual shows of sagricultural produce and live stock, and also in the special entertainment features. No longer were the people isolated and de- pendent for their amusement and di- versions upon the occasional offerings of these shows. Furthermore, farms diminished in size and in number. Farming declined as an industry. -The breeding of fine stock lessened. But the climaxing misfortune of the county fair came when betting on horse racing was banned by law, or was reduced to a mechanical basis, and the glamour of these meetings was dissipated. ‘The Montgomery County Agricultural Soclety has been heavily in debt for a number of years, the financial condi- tion growing gradually worse until the decision to close the record with just one more fair was reached a few days ago, with a prospect of balancing the books by the sale of the fair grounds property to the county for school pur- poses. ‘Theré will be genuine regret at that passing of this long cherished institu- tion. In the past it stimulated com- petitive enterprise, on the part of a large community. It has furnished en- tertalnment to countless multitudes, spanning nearly three generations. Now 1t will pass into history after this last show, another “sign of the times” that has vanished. A young man in London is to change his name to Sir John Rutherford in order to comply with the conditions of his great-uncle’s will. His name is “Chalmers.” The fortune is consider- ably over a million. There is no rea- son to hesitate, for he might have had to work hard for many years to give the old name the prestige which the new one carries immediately. One satisfaction remains to Uncle Sam in his study of foreign relations. No one can be tempted again to refer to him as Uncle Shylock. His position as a sharer in financial difficulty might even call for that fellow feeling that makes us wondrous kind and revive the | old salutation, “Brother Jonathan.” [ S —— ‘The Gettysburg College paid a timely compliment to President Hoover in making him a doctor of science. No/ expert and authoritative business doc- tor was ever called upon to be so| sclentific. ——e———— Public imagination is receptive and | adaptable. In the course of time it| will be able to think along with Con- THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Jones had a clam. 4 He had it in his new pool in the gar- den, by the big tree, behind the garage. It was peaceful there, just suited to & clam, Jones thought. Ever sin co water lily in iy tub, and in the dfish, the tadpoles and thgmmfll, he pined for a clam. one the “fans” to have heard of mussels, or fresh-water clams. None seemed to think them necessary, the gente St of et gacseniag el wa , hel to his bellef in clams. = He had been ama¥ed at the number of persons he met everywhere who sud- denly popped up as greatly interested in garden pools. Men met him on the street and hailed hlg} n:. ; l;)n‘t-lllmt brMh"'th it n the paper,” they ust began, “that you had a pool."’ " Jones beamed acquiescence. They were all brothers in the bond of wn}tler lilles. ow a mutual subject brings hu- manity together! Here was old Bill Smith, a regular crab if there ever was one, Jones had thought, who now proved himself to be the most amiable of men in discussing the pleasures and trials of a lily pool in the back yard. Smith had no use for clams, however. gr;l;l:e); ::re ::tnlgslc:rmry. he said, with P! emphasis first syllable. i e Here is the way his statement sounded to Jones: “Clams are un-necessary.” Templeton Jones grinned to himself at this spectacle of two good citizens, solemnly standing on Pennsylvania avenue and discussing clams. At one end of the Avenue sat a busy National Legislature, engaged in the discussion of very weighty mat- ters, At the other end of the same thoroughfare a harassed man consid- ered equally heavy subjects. All in between, down the whole street, were hundreds of men and women, each and all busy about lesser matters, perhaps, from the national and international political standpoint, but each and all of vast importance to_those who talked about them. Men cannot forever keep their minds on grand strategy. “That way mad- ness lies,” as Melville said. Templeton Jones was willing to sug- gest clams, as a relief topic. Should a clam go into a lily pool, or should it _not? He thought it should; old Bill Smith thought it had no place there. J. Mickelson Thomasberry, who has a nice line of goods uptown, said he could see no particular reason for a clam, “Of course,” he admitted, “if one wants a clam—" And then he let the sentence drift in that irritating way some people have, which says as plainly as any words could, “What on earth do you want with a clem, anyway?"” Jones scarce could have explained to himself his enthusiasm for one, but all at once it seemed to him that no! pool, no matter how small, could be| considered complete without at least one clam. He must have a clam. ‘Theoretically, these bivalves were supposed to filter the water free from gress in terms of billions as easily as it used to think in millions. ———oe— ‘The ancient elephant and donkey have been worked to an extent that should cause them to thank the “pork ! barrel” for suggesting a new political symbol. It begins to look as if star performers in base ball, pugilism and films were about the only people who could be sure of liberal wages next year. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Journey. While riding in a railway car I saw the sunset and the star. And next the landscape took a slump, I saw the smokestack and the dump. I heard a song bird on the hill And next I heard the whistle shrill. Amid the rattle and the roar The car sped onward as before. The trave! brings us many a thrill, From Cradletown to Eiderville. In spite of the resentments small, Life's a fine journey, after all. Patriotism and Business. “It is said that George Washington was a fairly good business man,” said the historian. “He wasn't,” said Senator Sorghum, “If he had been he would have patented | consitutional government, despite the his portraits and would have forbidden their use on postage stamps without the | manhood suffrage—granted a few years permission of the original copyright | ago, after a long struggle—has aroused | owners.” Jud Tunkins says the only good thing about having your nose to the grind- stone is that it helps you to keep it out of other people’s business. Result of Argument. In argument I once aspired 'To settle some grave doubt. T merely found I had acquired More things to think about. Authoritative Art. “Do you. enjoy politics?” “Yes,” answered Miss Cayenne. “Only I think some of our statesmen would be more entertaining and influential if they would imitate Paderewski and learn to play the piano.” “Parents,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown; “seek to make fortunes for their children in the hope they will pre- fer ease to adventure. Yet children de- mand to learn life for themselves—its disappointments as well as its pleasures.” . Occupation of Leisure. The oratory starts anew ‘When there is little work to do; And people on a holiday Amuse themselves as best they may. different from those of today. The area around the county seat was almost wholly agricultural. There were no “suburban” residential developments there. The “distance” of the fair grounds from Washington was much greater, in point of time required for travel, than it has been in these latter days of motor cars and good roads. It was an all-day adventure to go out from the Capital to the fair. Just so the farmers of the county, taking their prize- seeking exhibits to the fair, devoted practically the entire week to the enter- fair seventy-eight years ago and for a long period after that—the show of produce and live stock and the horse racing. The biggest pumpkins, the finest wheat, the largest specimens of living animals, the daintiest examples of domestic fabrication, the bed quilts and knitted work, the choicest “pre- serves” were the objects of the keenest attention. Then there were “side shows” and other carnival features that were sub- the delight of old and young, furnish- erigis too, jve ing almost the only means of enter- many white elephants u‘e have. There’s opportunity immense For gifts of public eloquence. Its charms may freely be enjoyed By those who loiter unemployed. “De foolishest of all men,” said Uncle Eben, “is one dat plays all kinds of games 'cause he honestly believes he’s smarter dan anybody else.” —— e Merciful Oblivion. From the Boston Evening Transcript. Some of the politicians pleas for “the forgotten man.” From a progress ling of the newspapers the last few | in history, but the wonder always has ve should say that some men | been modified by the suspicion of sy- rgotten. ‘accompanied would pray to be fo: e Sure Cure for Nudism. From the Harrisburs Telegraph. Canada’s cam] the nudists might not be lgdd?fim they were simply shipped a few miles nearer the Hudson Bay district. Siam’s Crisis. From the Lynchburg News. is suffering from an economic even though it hasn't. as sediment, thus helping to keep it clear | at all times. Actually, Templeton Jones wanted a clam because he wanted a clam. Every time some onc came up to| him and told him that he, too, was a | water lily enthusiast, Jones fell to talking clams. an old-fashioned dollar Its thickness impressed Jomes. Here was a fellow who could take care of himself, in a pool inhabited by three miniature carp (lo wit, goldfish), six tadpoles and two snails. Surely the greedy goldfish would not bother his thick shell, but would be glad to let him alone. If they managed to get their nose into his shell at all, no doubt he would pinch down on them good. Jones put his fist into the 1, and released the clam, which thereupon sank down to the sandy floor as if by right of eminent domain. Well, it was & pool, nowl It had a clam. Jones surveyed the round of water with a critical eye. He could image better pools, but it looked very nice, at that, despite the fact that the Japanese iris in the back- ground had as yet grown little, and the cattail was more or less standing still in a holticultural sense. ‘The clam would set them all up. He would be a good influence, fn that round of life, that sunk tub filled with earth, bonemeal, sand, one root of Odo- rata minor, and o on. Jones had made a vast improvement in his pool by bailing out the water and removing from the floor the inch or so of ordinary builder’s sand, which he had placed there. None of his books or catalogues had specified white acquarium sand; so he had used some plain brown sand, which he had on hand. It was a mistake, and he wanted us to pass his acquired wisdom on to cthers who might be interested in the subject. “Tell 'em,” said he, “never to use plain sand, but to get this white sand. ‘The other sort tends to make the water dirty, but the white sand keeps it nice and clear, and above all furnishes a pleasant background for the fish and oxygenating plants. The use of this sand has improved the apparancee of my pool at least 1,000 per cent.” We thought Jones was going to tell us something about “my clam,” too, so we hastily said we had an engagement up the street. It was only later that we learned what happened to the clam. Alas! ‘There it had been, reposing gently on the sanded floor, the very picture of health. ‘The next morning, when Jones went out to make his early inspection of the water garden, there wasn't anything left but the shell. ‘The greedy goldfish had cleaned the poor clam out as completely as if they had done it with a knife. ‘There was not a shred left inside the shell, which gaped widely, upside down. The goldfish looked quite well satis- fied with themselves, and kicked up their heels around the pool after the tadpoles’ tails, But the latter merely wiggled furtively, giving the little carp the slip. The snails were intact. The round of Na- turé was still round, and peace brooded upon the waters. But the clam was gone. Templeton Jones felt quite bad about it. He thought of building a clam cage, out of wire, and getting a new clam to put in it. No pool, he said, could be considered complete without one. Japanese Premier’s Death Laid to Resentful Jingoes While some Americans look upon the assassination of Premier Inukai of Ja- pan as a gain for the strong arm of the military caste, the majority inter- | pret the act as evidence of resentment | at the growth of popular government. | The premier himself represented the | military party, but his concessions to constitutional methods are believed to have come &s a climax in the fight | against army dictation. | “It is doubtful whether the dreams of the militarists can be realized,” in the opinion of the San Jose Mercury Her- ald, which points out that “industry is powerful, and it does not want a gov- ernment dominated by the army and | navy.” The paper adds that “the work- | ers are organized and have the sam consciousness as Western workers,” an that “they want a state which will male their aims, aspirations and wel- | fare its concern.” The San Antonio Express believes that “the mad act of extreme Nationalists probably will not | block Japan’s progress in developing present impediments.” The Expnss; takes note of the fact that “universal | most Japanese to the need for sgronger constitutional guarantees and the vention of a return to conditions which | would be worse than the feudal system | tlha'. Emperor Mutsuhito abolished in | 867." “If resistance to their program was so strong in Japan as to cause assassi- nation,” says the Oakland Tribune, \'there is evidence of a peace and anti- militarist sentiment which can only be strengthened by these latest events.” * K ok x “The situation,” in the opinion of the San Francisco Chronicle, “depends greatly upon the Emperor, his character and who has hi; ear. He has an op- portunity now, .f he has the mdtal strength, to pui his country where it belongs, in the forefront of enlightened leadership, or, if he falls in with the glory-mad Chosu generals, to throw it back to the days of Hideyoshi, the principles of Genghis Khan. If the Mikado has not personally the moral courage, much perhaps depends upon the aged Prince Saionji, sole survivor of the elder statesmen, who carried Ja- pan through her transformation from meédieval to modernism, now_on his way to counsel with his Em- eror. * * ¢ The Liberals, headed by Wakatsuki, declare they will resist the army’s attempt to dictate. Let us hope their courage is backed by knowl- edge that their Emperor, too, is cour- ageous.” The danger of further gains by the military power is emphasized by the Ann Arbor Daily News, the Toronto Daily Star and the Birmingham Age: Herald. The Des Moines Tribune feels that the assassination “tells the world of grave political instability,” observing that “economic distress is superim- posed upon an essentially unstable gov- ernmental set-up—a set-up that is half medieval in the midst of all the prob- lems of the moger;l i:ldl;.strhl ‘world.” “Within an average lifetime,” ac- cording to the Fort Worth Star-Tele- gram, “the whole scheme of existence in the Far East has been transformed by the activities of a race which has negotiated the journey from a feudal system to a place among the five great world powers. Nothing parallel to the of the Japanese people exists perficiality which the march. There are those who assert that the Japanese de ly jcial and has no grea than a remarkable ability to adopt for their own uses the items of military es- tablishment necessary for control of Asiatic areas :l;d'the auxiliary units : industry needed for furnishing a sul stantial base for the modernized Sa- murai ethics.” “Disregard and the civil arm of the Boise Idaho Statesman, even contempt for the government” is is pure- int seen with tfi ccnclusion that “it was evidert to observers that the ruling motive was the desire of the soldiers to put to use the magnificent machine of destruction they had created.” Th> New Orleans Times-Picayune observes “an attempt by this blow at a thoughtful regime to strike down conservatism” and’ voices the hope as to the influsnce of the slain official that “the old statesman’s leadership wi'l have established a suffi- cient following of his own kind to hold head against the inordinate ambitions that have sprouted in the younger mili- tary soil.” * kK % “The nature of the mcdern world is all against the militarists’ success,” avers the Dayton Daily News. “They have control of the instruments of de- truction and can cow and conquer their eople, but they cannot operate or com- pel the operation cf the complicated economic machine by which they, along with the rest of the people, must live. It has been evident for months that the maddened militarists of Japan were leading their country into misery, if not ruin. The costs of their adventure of the last eight mcnths have been of bankrupting weight.” Declaring “the events in Japan have moved rapidly, the Baltimore Sun offers the judgment as to the climax: “Since the conservative premier’s assassins were members of a reactionary terror group, perhaps the Young Officers’ Association, which is miltarist and Fascist in its ideology, it is obvious that the ‘Old Fcx' was not murdered because he was too hard on the Chinese. On the contrary, it seems probable that his death has some connection with the decision to withdraw soldiers frcm Shanghai. Fanatics pledged to the eternal hatred of all foreigners would hardly have con- sidered the citation of foreign odium as a reason fcr such a retreat. That these young zealots fcund the premier's ex- planation a national humiliation neces- sitating vengeance upon the man who made it possible is far from impossible. The policies of an ‘Old Fox,’ who may have scught to distract odium from Manchuria by conceding it in respect to Shanghai, would be too subtle for Oriental Hitlerites.” A Critic of “Buy British.” From the St. Louls Post-Dispatch. “Buy British” is a slogan that has roused stclid Englishmen to crusading fervor. The way out of the depression and to restoration of imperial glories is pointed out by - street banners, wall posters, windshield stickers, newspaper advertisements and public addresses. Foreign wares are largely taboo, British films are favored by the cinemas, and even radio concerts are given over to a preponderance of British music. A critic now makes his voice heard in the patriotic uproar. He is Baron Kirkland, ! story begins, olnl:kn?‘:hlu- bearded when it ends. “The Pirate,” “Brothers” is a romance, but the subtle characterization unlike anything in tale of intrigue. Old Hector had derstood his two sons fairly well, but has probably never visioned the full de- velopment of Peter's cowardly, treach- erous character nor the fateful results of his own dying exhortation to Fergus to support his brother in all things as the head of the 1 of the Macraes. When Peter was 18, leaving school with the record of being the cleverest oolmaster had ever had in the bleak little school house, he helped his father with new methods of distill- ing and kept the accounts of the trade. Fergus, at 12, was a failure at school, but he was very strong and could row tirelessly even though the oar was much too big for him. When Hector Macrae pursued his secret business at |that the eighteenth amendment does night it was Fergus who held the boat out a safe distance from the schore, while his father hid his kegs in the w or among the rocks, where they could be found by the expectant cus- tomers the next day. Proud of his strength, Fergus once expressed scorn of his weakling brother to his- father and old Hector sharply told him that the scholar Peter was worth far more to him than 10 strong fellows. But when Peter, under the pretense of con- cern for the family honor, revealed to his father that Fergus was drinking nights with Capt. Aeneas and was on the way to “ruin” Hector burst forth furiously: “A dram too many will not ruin Fergus. It might ruin you. Fergus is strong.” If the story of the Highland Macraes recalls Scott, its many dramatic cli- maxes suggest the method of Victor Hugo. The struggle of Fergus with the big conger eel immediately recalls the struggle of Hugo's Gilliatt with the oc-|the occasion with appreciative observ- | topus in “The Toilers of the Sea.” Fer- gus, in search of a lobster, thrust his hand into a deep recess in the rocks and touched something else, “something cold and rubbery,” and found his mid- dle finger caught in a paralyzing grip. Gilliatt entered a cave in pursuit of a crab and in its dark crevices encoun- tered the octopus, which almost stran- gled him to death. The narrative of “Brothers” progresses from one dram- tic situation to another. The admin- istration of Highland justice to an in- former who had given secret informa- tion to the excisemen took the form of the most complex cruelty. It was the clever Peter who suggested the means by which the whisky-runners could rid themselves of the traitor without having his blood on any man's head. Only a man of brains, complimented the neigh- bors, could have thought of setting the doomed man afloat in the sea lcch, with corks arranged to keep him upright. and a fresh, silvery herring fastened on his head, so that his death was dealt him by a swooping ircn-bezked solan goose. ‘The rowing Macraes and the Jrarishe:, under- taken to prove wh was the better family, - after the threshing of Willie McFarish by Fergus because of his se- duction of Mary, the orphan ward of the Macraes, furnishes one of the most stirring scenes of the story. The Mac- raes won but the contest was the cause of the death of old Hector. His fu- neral is the subject of a chapter of fine description. The punishment of Mary for harlotry, with her removal as a cause of temptation to the brothers, was Peter's idea. It could never have been Fergus'. Fergus had disciplined himself and had won mastery over self and circumstance. When the day came for the accomplishment of Peter's plan, ntest between the | TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. maint in the Nation’s Capital. If they can be of assistance to you, write your question plainly, and send with two cents in in to The Dlen.lnc’ &r Q. Who with Lindbergh?—D. H. A. Phillip Love and Donald Keyhoe Q. Did Enrico over the radio?—L. M. A. He did sing over the radio for Lee De Forest in 1909 from .he Metro- politan Opera House, singing “Sicili- Q. Does_the prohibition amendment apply to the Philippines?>—S. A. A. The Bureau of Prohibition says apply to the Philippine Islands, but that the Volstead act does not. This is due to the fact that in section 5 of Jones act, an act of Congress in 1916, the statement thereafter no laws passed by Congress shall apply to the Philippine Islands. Q. When in a theater?>—L. H. A. This occurred in the Savoy The- ater, New York City, in 1882. The play was “Iolanthe” and King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, was present. Q. Has Soviet Russia entirely scrap- the literature of pre-revolution days?—M. M. A. By no means. While literature glorifying the capitalist system and the old royalty and nobility is not permit. ted to be circulated, pure claseics of certain kinds continue to be admired. This being the centennial of the death of Goethe, the Soviets are celebrating ances and the State Publishing House has just issued a memorial edition of Goethe’s works in 13 volumes. Q. Should & bride carry a bouquet or a prayer book at her wedding?—E. A. A. Either is correct. The cholce rests with the individual. E Q. Who was taller, George Washing- ton or Abraham Lincoln?—M. S. A. Abraham Lincoln was 6 feet 4 inches in height. At the time of his death, George Washington was 6 feet 31; inches. He doubtless was at least 6 feet 4 inches in his prime. Q. Will sharks follow a ship for man; days?—P. G. A. They have a most extraordinary power of swimming, great endurance, and a rapidity of motion. Many large ones inhabit the open ocean, following ships for weeks. Q. | Catholic Cardinals are there?—A. L. | _A. There are four: The Very { wililam O’Connell, Boston. the_Ver Rev. Dennis J. Dougherty, Phila me‘ k | is made that| was electricity first used American Roman | = . T, AT M.| Q. When was the Lavatorio estabe - in series. It occasionally 8 serial number is impr: bill is discarded because of som perfection. gee'n o ed h prepared for such an emergency, and bears a number not in the regular series, but which is distinguished by a star preceding the number. Q. How many kinds of trees are there in Lafayette Park, across from the White House?—W. F. A. There are 92 kinds. Q. What is panada’—E. R. A. The name is given to bread or cracker crumbs soaked in boiling milk or hot water and flavored. Q. Who was the first president of the Royal Academy?—O. F. A. Sir Joshua Reynolds was made president of the Royal Academy upon its establishment, in 1768. The son of Rev. Samuel Reynolds, master of a grammar school, Joshua Reynolds Q. How are dogs killed that are taken to the pound’—E. K. G A. The dogs at the Distri | lumbia dog pound which i | killed are suffocated highly charged with gas from either charcoal or g | They are placed in a cell w pipe arrangement for carry smoke. This is very painle and the dogs merely go to never wake up. Only diseased dogs which ar destroyed. Dogs which can with homes are kept unt not be used for scientific | mistreated and will be home. Dogs e held for 48 hon | are not claimed become the prope:t Columbia and may the discretion of the pou most cases homes are found for them, . What does Vox Pop mean?—A. E. A. It 15 the abbreviation of the Latin phrase, Vox Popull. It means the voice | of the people. Q. How can an automobile radiator | be entirely cleared of alcohol>—L. R. R. A Drain the alcobol from it and | then fill the radiator « | sal soda. Run the soiution in the ra- diator about half an hour, drain and flush with' clear water. . What js mean: by reference the guillotine in Great A. The guillotine is not 2 ment of execution in n Frence. It is the the rule for limitin House of Common: not_heads, are c guillotine. It is sim | rule in the America: | sentatives. n lar to the clot House of Repre- ished in Spai A. This custom on Holy Th v delphia; the Very Rev. George W. during the reign of Ferdinand the Sa Mundelein, Chicago; the Very Rev. Patrick J. Hayes, New York City. Q. Where did Thornton Wilder write | Q. How many new destroyers are being built>—E. W. B. A. The initial app .D. | been made for 11 d “The Bridge of San Luis Rey"’'?—C. A. This novel was written while Thornton Wilder was at the MacDow- ell Colony, at Peterborough, N. H. Q. Why does some paper currency have a star before the serial number?— V. A H. A. Paper currency is printed and finished in sheets of 12 subjects. The finish includes imprinting the numbers for five were let sevc They | Donough, De other destroye: Q. When was the reservoir at F second street, New York City, —D. T. A. The reservoir 11900 to make way for as torn down in e Public Library, the crafty originator was ill with an| indefinable illness which the docter | could not find. So Fergus, the stupid, | the simple, the unsuspecting, following literally his father's command to look | Highlights on the Wide World to Peter for direction, became the crim- inal, and Peter repudiated him. Poetic justice is meted out at the end of “Brothers,” as it always is in a ro- mance, and sometimes is in life. Peter would not have come to his violent death if he had not insisted that when- ever the brcthers went .about together on their work Fergus should walk at a good distance behind him. “There was no reasqn obvious to those of the local moralists who knew his story why Peter’s visit to the village should have been his last. e vance in his end. He was cut off in no spectacular sin, and by an instru- | ment which had nothing at all to do with the circumstances of his life. Why on that day of all others his life should end, when % might so well have ended earlier, was a problem beyond their powers. On one particular, however, they fastened greedily. Peter for sheer envy would not let Fergus walk close behind him; and, but for the space be- tween them, his life might have been saved. Of this they made the most. Father Lenahan, who, though a young man, had long since given up trying to understand the occurrences of the physical world, sought no appropriate- ness in Peter's end. God moved in & mysterious way.” * ok ok x ‘The author of “Russia: My Home,” Emma Cochran Ponafidine, is the daughter of an. American missionary who went to Persia. In 1885 she mar- ried a Russian nobleman, P. E. Ponafi- dine, who acted as Russia’s consul gen- eral at Bagdad, Tabriz and Constanti- nople. Mme, Ponafidine lived during her husband’s diplomatic service at many places in the Near East and for other periods in St. Petersburg and on. the Ponafidine estate at Bortniki® in the province of Tver. She learned the Russian language and, through admin- ister; her husband’s estate, learned also the Russian peasant. Her happiest experiences were with the old Russia before the revolution, when the life of the nobility on the country estates was an affair of luxury and gracious hospi- tality, when there was no “five-year- plan,” no, dlmwnhég of the proletariat. She shows that in those days of aristo- cratic autocratic rule the peasants made definite cultural progress. The latter part of the book tells of the revolution, which resulted in the confiscation of the Ponafidine estate, since turned into a state farm. Mme. Ponafidine, con- tinuing to live in a bungalow on the estate, saw what had been a prosperous farm under her management brought to Tuiw by the ignorance and lack of ef- ficlent organization among castes require 2| and that the lower strata do not; that who rendered a bit of adverse comment | ness. in his presidential address to the Com- mercial Travelers' Association. He said of the campaign: “However justified it may be in a time of crisis, with an unfaverable balance of trade, it has in it real elements of dan- ger in normal times, especially for a nation as dependent as ours on imports of raw materials and foods. first step on the road to nationalism.” It is quite possible that this warning against commercial provincialism will g unheeded, even after Britain sue in her traditional “muddling through,” and that the forthright baron’ will be set down as a traitor to the cause. Yet paigns p i imnovtant obstacles to world pro_ngrlty. - possesses Aseems to i’ family. It is the |of aberration. economic They could see no rele- land AVANGUARDIA, Barcelona.—“We are the only country,” writes a geographist, “in which the arid | | L i per cent of the whcle area.” The | intimation is, of course, that this excess of dry and barren land is a most un- desirable and even pernicious situation; that such a proportion of arid to arable is an unconscionable anomaly. Perhaps it is natural that this should vex and alarm us more, as We contem- plate the future, than what is shown by an approximation of our mental and spiritual barrenness. Government bureaus have just com- leted the compilation of statistics which show that 43 per cent of our so-called “analfabetcs” (“analphabetes”) know neither how to read or write. The remaining 57 per cent can do one or the other, but their education ceases with that single accomplishment; nor is art is absolute. The existence of this illiterate multitude is purely an animal existence, or, better, we might say a existence, retaining this analogy to the comparative fertility of the soils with which we began this homily, and so represents an insuper- able obstacle to our country in its advance along the highway of human progress. £ Pondering this lugubrious pancrama of our aggregate intellectual tardiness, the mind is incapable of imaging in the number of years which will be neces- sary to change radically this aspect of Spanish immobility. In consequence, is recognized more than ever the necessity of resorting to a definite program of educaticnal intensification. Unrelent- ing warfare must be waged upon illit- eracy. Ignorance must first be driven into the remotest corners of the repub- lic and then exterminated. . . If Spain is ever to resume her once eminent and glorious place among the chief nations of the world the idea of | a dominant and cultured class must for- ever be cbsoleted. Education must be thorough and it must be universal. It must bs for the proletariat as well as the aristocrat. -It must be without dis- ‘tinction for all classes of society. delay in combating mental obfuscation is not only ({m‘etmu—-lt &::un It no ‘we com- el A, s L Ty opinicnate that education—and espe- clally a sufficiently liberal education—is for the few and not for the many; that certain enlightenment the “hoi polloi” need no mental train- ing preparatory to digging the trench or hewing the tree. They must be fitted for their ccoming heritage of and the most serious problem ther than the militia, become the bulwark of the country, but it must not be a pusillani- mous and Een:rloul pagagogy, which ore, use of inca) ity and indifference, has aggravated the gross lack o(muaellll instruction it was em- portion of the territory exceeds 80 | it likely that their qualification in either | Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands 1 Egyptian Y. M. C. A. Helps Uncover Jobs. p Egyptian Gagette, Alexandria —Whei you have a place in your office to fill, it is worth remembering that the Alexan- | dria Y. M. C. A. (telephone 3370) has a list of its members available for all kinds of positions. Expert English and French stenographers, typists, countants, bookkeepers, general cle and young fellows just out of schos (English, Egyptian, Greck, Armen |and Syrian) are among thise e | Practically all of these men hav known by the Y. M. C. A. f erable time and can there! | oughly recommended. ~ Only members of the association whose qual | fications have been examined are i cluded in this list | —— ree |Gulf Stream Cleared In Weather’s Vagaries | Prom the Fort Worth Star m. | For the last several years the marked changes in climate, both in the North | American_continent and in the coun- | tries of the North Atlantic. have been | charged to the vagaries of Gulf | Stream. One specific charge has been | made that American development in the | region of the Florida Keys has served | to deflect the route formerly followed | by the warm ocean current, thereby increasing the temperature and thick- |ness of the London fogs and building | up another layer to the wall of ice sur- rounding Greenland and Iceland during | the long Winters of that region But recent announcements dispel all those theories and at the same time discount the notion that we shall be having “Summerless vears” because the cauldron in the Caribbean Sea wherein the water is warmed by all-the-vear | direct rays of the sun, for the the Gulf Stream has been thrown off its schedule by “sun spots.”” No less suthority than the Merchant Miarine Bul says the Gulf Stream neither is changing its course nor its “normal- ity average” of temperature. Then the scientific explanation is given. The well known ocean current came into being because of the thou- sands of years' activities of the trade winds. e motion, once started, be- came immediately influenced by the topography of the bottom of the ocean, When the movement reached its maxi- mum activity it meant, simply, that it had followed the lines of least resistance as among the tides, the hills and val- leys of the ocean bed and the resistless Influence of the trade winds, now in one direction at & fixed rate of speed and then in the opposite one. The ocean currents are within the mass of still water very much as rivers are in the land areas. THe volume of water, constantly moving through the fixed channel of the Gulf Stream is estimated to be equal to the volume of fresh water in all of the world, multi- plied by 22. As the water begins its Journey the replacement comes from the wall of water surrognding it and the of the prooer along its sides treats the stream somewhat as h it were passing through a hose. We are told that the process has been on the year which saw the American and European continents os- sume their present shapes and the ocean fill the low ground between. The suggestion that a railroad embankment frem the tip of Florida out to Key West could influence that force appears to have given the scientists their equiva- lent of “a laugh.” ‘The interesting article fails to inform us what is the real reason for the -down climatic conditions, but we may be reasonably sure that the Gulf ®ream is not the culprit. R The Real Land of Opportunity. From the Des Moines Tribune. ¢ It this is & land of opportunity, what of Prance, where every little citizen has & chance to grow up and some day be- come premier from 2 to 14 times.