Evening Star Newspaper, September 17, 1932, Page 6

"A_6-£ * - ", ASHTNGTON, D. THE EVENING STAR THE EVENING STAR With Sundsy Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY. .September 17, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor Star New”:_)er Company i Fennsyivania Ave Dffce. Lake Michi ’5@1:5;' Chil ce: Lal chigan ing. Biropesa Offc 'u:neanm 8t.. London. ngland. Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evening Star_ ... 45c per month The Evening and Sunday Star 60c per month r 7 65¢ per month Sc_per co; The Sunday St . D Dy Collection made at the eid of each month. | Orders mav be sent In by mail or telephone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Datly and Sunday ,%yr.sm.no- Dally only ... Sunday only | All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday...1yr. $12.00: 1 mo. $1.00 Daily only _.........1yr. $800: 1mo. 18¢ Sunday only . 1yr.. $5.00: 1mo. 50c Member of the Assoclated Press. The Associated Press 13 exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news PREiE fhis paver and published herein Al righi special dispatches h mo.. 85¢ = Public Opinion and Bonus. President Hoover performed a Teal public service when he described in straightforward, simple terms the real nature of the obligation that the Amer- jean Legion and other organized veter- ans are demanding that the Federal Treasury assume in immediate payment of the bonus. Some of his statements, of course, may be debated. But those who take the other side must at the outset champion inflation of the currency through the printing press. The weight of the evidence, as shown by tragic con- sequences wherever it has been tried, is against them. But it is not believed that what the Legion spokesmen describe as this “peace-time fight for immediate casn paymsnt of the bonus” will be decided, eventuallx, on purely economic grounds. The question now is whether the Legion, in asking for the bonus at this time, has not placed itself in the position of Aesop’s dog, Wwhich, begqiled by fits image, dropped the meat from its jaws in order to get that which was so en- ticingly reflected from the water. This was the line of attack chosen by those few courageous souls who braved the hisses and the taunts of the Portland convention to speak against the bonus resolution. Samuel W. Reynolds of Nebraska, who led the fight against the bonus, said that the critical danger was that the Legion’s demand would pro- voke what he called an “anti-veteran campaign” and cause the breakdown of the legislation thus far built up to pro- tect the veterans, adding: We have got to be able to say to the people of America, “We, the able- bodied, ask nothing for ourselves, but these, our disabled comrades, must and should be cared for.” How can we Taise our right hand in defense of the dis- abled men, while at the same time sticking out our left, palm up, begging for gratuities for ourselves? And Col. Henry D. Lindsley of Wyo- ming, & past national commander, as- serted that: The real strength of the Legion lies not in its million members, but in the support of public opinion. Without that support no: a single piece of veteran legislation would h-vc been enacted. The coming year will see no important Veterans' legislation. Every unselfish purpose of the Legion will be measured by the self-centered selfishness of the bonus resolution this convention will pass. While some men may be enticed by the golden dreams of inflation and the erroneous belief that the country is suffering from an actual shortage of cash, easily remedied by pressing the button and starting the printing presses, the same men will also see the strength of Senator Borah's argument: When ten million men and women face the Winter without work, when homes are being lost and farms are being abandoned because of taxes and debts, when it is & very serious ques- tion of how the Government is going to get through the Winter with its ter- rific load to carry, it would have been far better for the standing and repu- tation of the Legion if it had post- poned action. There is no getting away from the | fact thet hard times have turned Na- tional thought toward the heavy cost of Government as never before, and | that this heavy cost of Government, Te- flected in increasing tax burdens that make it a personal matter with a large section of the population, is throwing new light on that part of the cost rep- resented by veterans’ benefits. ‘The veterans may boo and hiss thei mention of the National Economy League. But the league is representa- tive of & public opinion that is being molded by the strongest of senti- ments—sad reflection over the depleted condition of pocketbooks. The league 1s quick to point out that the bonus— requiring immediate payment of about $1,600,000,000 over the amount orig: inally voted by Congress—is only a part of the “vast and increasing ex-; pense of veterans' benefits,” with more than five billion already having been paid to World War soldiers, and with annual charges in their behalf now reaching about $700,000,000, practically & fourth of the yearly budget. About half the amount now being appropri- ated for veterans can be cut, the league points out, “if benefits are Testricted, as they should be, to the ‘dependents of men who lost their lives in service, and to veterans who actually suffered disability through the war.'” It should be a matter of grave con- cern to the organized veterans whether their bonus challenge will assume the hurtful aspects of a boomerang. ‘The veterans learned service discipline admirably. Teaching them political In the Nation's Capital two kinds of { Just economy is a different matter. — vt The Spiders and the Snake. For a good many years the question whether a snake could be caught and held in a web had divided the spiders into two schools of thought. Those who believed that it could be done were more or less regarded as representing the radical left wing of spiderdom, dis- | capable of spinning & snake-catching web anyhow, and hid thelr impotence behind anti-snake-catching “policies.” One old spider, however, much ad- i mired by the younger generation for his | intellect, as well as for the fact that he | never seemed to forget that he, too, was | once a youngster, proposed that the best way £o end the controversy was to make ,an experiment. “Of course you can juwh a snake,” he sald. “Go ahead and do it. But you will find,” he cau- tioned, “that there is something, after all, in tradition.” So the experiment was made. A snake was caught, and, moreover, held. The younger spiders were delighted. The old fogeys retired and consumed their | fleas and flies in shamed silence. A celebration was proposed, “the biggest thing ever,” with iree snake for all But the elder spider asked for delay. “This thing is not ended yet,” he | said, “and you must not taste your snakes before they are eaten.” And sure enough, something snipped into the web one day with a noise like a pair of scissors, and the snake fell free. “What was that?” asked the young spiders, in alarm. “Was our web, after all, not strong enough?” “That noise,” sald the old spider, “was Public Opinion. It is about the only thing that keeps us from doing | exactly what we want to do. But no web was ever spun that could resist it. You youngsters had to find it out for yourselves. But never try to smash a tradition until you have snared Pub- lic Opinion. It is stronger than any | snake.” e Germany Means Business. Something bearing a close resem- | Rlance to a blow in the solar plexus is | delivered to the cause of disarmament in general, and to the Geneva Confer- ence in particular, by Germany's action in declaring that she will have no further part in that glittering futility's further deliberations. Formal notice to that effect was yesterday addressed to Mr. Arthur Henderson, chairman of the conference, by Baron Konstantin von Neurath, German foreign secretary. “Only one solution of the disarmament problem can be considered,” Baron von Neurath says, “and that is that all states must be subject to the same rules and principles, and that for no state shall & discriminating exceptional re- gime be provided.” The specific cause of Germany's de- cision is the French government’s Teply to her recent “alde memoire,” in which Berlin sought to take up with Paris, in the first instance, negotiations which would eventually and with French acquiescence lead to the concession of the armament rights now denied the Reich under the Versailles treaty. Prance did not unequivocally reject Germany's proposals. It was merely pointed out that “unilateral” efforts to abrogate the Versailles military clauses could not be undertaken—that if Ger- many sought relief from them she must deal with all the signatories of the peace treaty. Berlin was told to take her troubles to the League of Nations at Geneva. The Relch’s action in reading herself out of the Disarmament Conference brings before all the great powers the controversy hitherto confined to Ger- many and France. They will have dif- ficulty in dodging it. The Steering Committee of the Geneva Conference is to meet next week. It will have to devise some means of satisfying Ber- lin's equality demands or weigh the wisdom of proceeding with the disarm- ament talkfest without German par- ticipation. The Reich will not be rep- resented in the committee session at which this fateful proposition must be confronted. Meantime Germany signals in tangible fashion that she means business and is disposed to carry out the recent threat of War Minister General von Schleicher. That strong man of the Von Pepen cabinet declared that, come what may, the military restrictions im- posed by the Versailles treaty are things of the dead past for the Reich, and that she will henceforward mold het own “defensive” and “security” destinies. As a visible token of that ! determination, Germany announces the keel-laying of another 10,000-ton “pocket battleship.” While the con- struction of six such vessels is per- mitted to Germany, she has actually gone ahead with only two of them. They cost her roundly $18,000,000 apiece, and Germany can ill afford such luxuries. The Reich’s determination to expand | its sea power is an ill omen for world disarmament. It carries within it the definite menace of a reopening of that ruinous naval competition which the nations for ten years have been bending their every energy to abolish. e s Airplane journeys in all distances and | directions are accomplished. so securely |as a rule that in a short time it will soon be only the extraordinary crack- | up that will be regarded as news. | o | Comedies are said to be difficult to secure for film purposes. Considering | the tragic atmosphere of the Hollywood studios, this is not surprising. ! Picture Postcards. The word “postcard” signifies a mul- ! titude of artistic sins, but there is no particular reason why it should be so. Americans traveling in Europe invari- ably are impressed by the superiority of | the cards offered at public galleries, na- | tional monuments, historic landmarks | and other focal centers of tourist in- terest. Returning home, they find the cards produced by domestic manufac- turers crude and commonplace. ml | aifference 1s so striking as to be the cause of much comment. | cards are to be had. The better type ' { are photographs. The others are wicked | | chromos, vulgar in design and color, abominably printed. Visitors to Wash- ington must choose between the two. In Paris or London, Rome or Berlin they could buy far more attractive cards at half the price. { | Possibly the basic difficulty is that| of the absence of sufficlent institu- tional competition. In England the | Cathedral seversl years ago authorized | Maine. This is naturally the case. The | fluence the quality of the cards pri- vately printed. Even in the British “three-and-six” stores good cards are to be had. Americans buy them in quantities to send to their friends and/ to serve as souvenirs of the sights and scenes they have experienced on their travels. What can be doae is demonstrated by three Washington institutions. The dean and chapter of Washington the printing of postcard views of the | church fabric and grounds, and a varied assortment is now available in the curator's office. The trustees of the Corcoran Gallery permit the sale of postcard reproductions of some of the paintings in their care, And recently the regents of the Smithsonian have made the experiment of allowing the sale of postcards reprgsenting a few of the principal exhibits of the insti- tution’s several departments. A um:' guidebook, also issued under the regents’ patent, is reported to have had a circulation of 90,000 copies to date. The postcard is an humble instru- ment of education, but it has its func- tion nevertheless. It is a means of democratizing cultural values. Walt Whitman had the postcard habit. Gladstone and Roosevelt felt its at- traction. Frederic Harrison, the prag- matist; James Gibbons Huneker, Bir Gilbert Parker and many another ‘busy writing man found it convenient. Even Mahatma Gandhi, rejecting modernism in all its other forms, sends postcards to his friends. S By becoming an editor instead of an | orator, Ex-Gov. Al Smith will have the | privilege of blaming the patient com- positor for slight deviations from usage in matters of language, should there be any inadvertance on that score. If nowever he spells “radio” with two d's he will doubtless be unhesitating in de- claring that he thought that one up for himself. The obliging dictionary makers, always alert in listing variants in spelling or pronunciation, will doubt- less afford him the orthographic au- thority which his achievements in pub- lic life and his position in popular es- teem so abundantly warrant. ———r————————— Vice President Curtis is mentioned as being disappointed with the result in outcome might have been different if he had taken as strong a part in the procedings as he did in Kansas. ot o A e Oratorical occasions are, as a rule, un- accompanied by violent demonstrations. It has become a general custom ot American audiences to listen to & speech, read it over in the newspapers and then form their own-conclusions. e One of the remarkable features of the current campaign is the fact that it should have proceeded so far without causing anybody in particular to change his mind. — e Statesmen are coming to the rescue of the magazines by demonstrating that in order to be interesting it is not neces- sary to limit the table of contents to mystery stories. In considering the superabundance of production and scarcity of supply to the consumer some interesting data might be furnished by so-called middle men. Any speaker who does not get through without a few “boos” at present must be recognized as a spellbinder superior to Marc Antony himself. m SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Detractor. I envied him the interest Which life held for his kind When he set out with youthful zest Some great success to find. I envied him the passing word Of praise and e'en of blame When first the public voice was utlrredl At mention of his name. I recked not of the loneliness And smart of wounded pride, But joined the cynic crowds that press To hinder and deride. And when his little day was past I still made bold to laugh, For I was envious to the last, E'en of his epitaph. Enmity Utilized. “You have made many enemes,” said the friend. “Of course,” replied Senator Sorghum. “But if I can convince the public that my enemies are in the wrong they're all good press agents for me.” The Preface to Trade. “I had a curious experience yester- day,” said Farmer Corntossel. “What was it?” “A stranger came along and told me s\ funny story and didn't try to sell me anything ” No Telling. Oh, ye who seek to change the drift ©Of things, this warning hear: A landslide travels mighty swift— But it is hard to steer. Seeking Variety. “T think,” sald the mild-mannered man, “that I will go into politics.” “Ambitious?” “No. I'm tired of being told my faults by cancid friends whom I really esteem. I'd lite to read about them in the newspaper for a change.” The Oracle. When Willie gets into a fight, Or Jimmy stubs his toe, Or father stays out late at night, Or sister has a beau, Ma looks as worried as can be, And when the day is through She reads & magazine to see what she ought to do. If there is naught to ease her mind In picture or in text, She knows full well that she will find An answer in the next. So when the postman, grave and stern, Comes ’round, we block his way To get the magazine and learn ‘What ma is going to say. “De quarrelsome man,” said Uncle | pecting to Eben, “is likely to make slow progress. holding, as they did, that it was noth- | government takes a hand in the busi-| You dowsn’ git forward by dealin’ in ing more nor less than silly tradition that kept snakes from being caught in spiders’ webs. Gradually, however, these attained a majority, due chiefly to their demand that the business of snake catching should undergo a thor- ough debunking. Those who still op- | posed them were decrepit, old standpat- ness. At the British Museum, the Na- | tional Gallery, the Wallace Collection, | the Victoria and Albert Museum and elsewhere cards issued under the su- Ipervmm of the crown are for sale. | They are priced at cost and hundreds of thousands arc disposed of in a year. They constitute an educational enter- back taik.” Gas and Gin. 3 5 ‘were ), the gasoline tax amoun! ters §nd reactionaries, who, the ypunger prise on the part of the.state. Because some motorists anflmmmwflfllh; they in- 000. - However, it may be Sssumed m‘s [ liquar, s they did | jout of the group. | eye to tell one from t'other. ~ THIS AND THA BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Just as there are no more ugly women, so there are few beauties, in the old sense. Is this 0 because there really aren't any, or simply because in the old days the level of homeliness was higher? A woman had to be loveliness itself to shine under a pompadour. She had to posses the features of an angel, in order to strike the beholder as beautiful, in the days of the silly unnatural waists. Today all the girls look so much alike that few of them have any chance of standing out from the crowd. Even in the musical comedies the only way the audience can tell the principals from the chorus is by the Fhysical fact that they step forward It the leading lady stayed back in the line, most of the gawkers would select, instead, the fourth from the right in the front row. * k% % If any one doubts the terrible uni- formity of the modern female face, let him look at a row of magazines hang- ing on the newsstand un& There was a time when the proprietor had much the best of it. He had the backs of all the maga- zines to him, while the customers faced the gleaming array of Hollywood teeth. Now all that is changed. The cigarette ads have substituted real colored photographs of the very same girls, so that whether one looks at acmodern magazine from the front or back he sees the same old charmer. ‘The movie 1ueen vogue has grown so that this lovely lady actually the ideal of America as to “looks.” From a distance of 10 feet, however, one may successfully defy the sharpest * * % x And these women, it must be held in mind, represent a careful search made for appearance’s sake. They no doubt come to their star- dom, at least partly. because they pos- sess the certain sleek “looks” which modern America prefers. But things have come to such a pass | that the real distinction among them is based almost solely upon what used u; be called “a woman's crowning Miss A is a blond, Miss B is a “red- | head,” and Miss C is the possessor of raven locks. When the screen appeal of Miss A begins to wane, the directorate sends | her to a hair dyer, and she becomes a “red-head,” whatever that means. Mostly it's nothing but henna, anyway. *ox ok % If it wasn't for these periodic heady | overthrows, not even the most devoted n” could tell 'em apart. | And what applies to the motion pic- | ture “stars” of course, applies with cven more force to the millions of ‘women who ape them. The crowds along F street any after- noon all look like one girl, mysteriously | divided and subdivided. | One has a green dress, and another a brown dress, and still another a white outfit, but exactly the same sort of | face appears under every hat. The tilt of the brim over one eye or the other may fool one, at first, | into thinking he is seeing a different girl each time. Let him look closely, however, he | sees nothing of the sort, but one woman | endlessly repeated, block after block. | * ® x x The theory and practice of being | alike is a gigantic program undertaken by_the entire womanhood of America. This program has four facets, three physical and one mental. The four iactors in this startling merging of types, so that most women come at last to look amazingly alike, are as follows: 1. Bobbed hair. 2. The exact uniformity of dress. 3. Lack of individuality in teeth. 4. The mental desire to look alike. This quartet demands a few words of | i explanation, and the honest reader shall h:lve them. t 15 obvious to & tyro in such mat- ters that bobbed hais has done bed than any other one factor, ps, to make homely women passable, in the beauty sense, and, on the other hand, to dwindle really beautiful women to the same passing le. The net Tesult is that whether a girl is rising from ugliness to & passing mark by the bobbed hair route, or fall- ing slightly from a sheer beauty emi- nence through the same device, at the exact point of passage no one but a master of ceremonies can tell them apart. The gain from cropped hair has been much larger than the loss. There are more homely girls, anyway, and few will gainsay that the average woman becomes better looking when she bobs her hair. This is made surer by the certain fact that few women, in the old days, ever went to the trouble to find out which was the best sort of “hairdress” for them. They just “wadded” it on the top of their heads, and let it go at that. And, unfortunately, as many women would admit in private, their long hair never got as much washing as it needed. Short hair is easier to shampoo, and s0 it gets it oftener. “Interesting, if true,” as the Republicans said about the reports of t:xz Maine elections. * *x % ‘The second big factor in the passing of the exceptional beauty from the stage of American life is the crass uniformity of clothing adopted by the ladies. For decades men wore what might be described as uniforms of a sort. Their business suits, their so-called sack suits, their dress suits, put them into | standardized clothing, so that all easily |attained the universal desire to look as alike as possible. All during the years the womenfolk secretly wanted to dress like men, at least to enjoy an approach to the uni- formity of costume which the men clung to 5o fervivdly year after year. The growth of “spectator sports,” as bleacher and grandstand sitting has been called, gave the women their chance. The “sports costume” came into its own, with the result that soon afternoon dresses and evening gowns fell into line. With the single exception of dress colorations, women now wear r uniforms. ' This similarity is attained by the “silhouette,” dear to every wom- an's heart. One silhouette may be a thin silhouette, and the next one a rather plump silhouette, but they are all trying to be “silhouéttes,” and that explains it. * x % % What may be good for the health, and good for the dentist, is not neces- sarily excellent from the standpoint of beauty. The uniformly wide smiles of our motion picture actresses, while they reveal excellent sets of teeth, give their possessors a vapid look which spoils the individuality of mouths. Broad, forced grins make all mouths look alike. The truth is that there is no individuality, as such, in teeth. The better teeth they are, as teeth, the less individuality they possess. Any first- class dental surgeon csn duplicate them with absolute fidelity. The fourth and last factor is the desire of women to be alike. Fashion has its best hold on them here. To be “in style” is everything to them, even with the least stylish. The mind holds up a mirage forever and a day, and just as most men never give up dream- ing that they will some day attain the “success” they crave in business, so women, always picture themselves, in some dress and hat of the future, as raving beauties. But their own habits, mental and physical, are against them. As long as they insist on bobbing their hair, dressing uniformly, smiling per- petually, and actually wanting to look alike, they will achieve these desires, and reduce themselves to a level uni- formity, in which no man can find either a really homely woman or a really pretty one. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands EUES WIENER TAGBLATT, Vi- | enna—A new national traffic | ordinance has just been pro-| mulgated in Czechoslovakia whereby, among other provi- sions, all motor cycle riders will be re- quired to carry with them their own first-aid kits. This is the tardy result of recommendations made at the Inter- national Highway Conference in 1926, which have already been followed in some respects by other countries. Offi- cials at Prague have deoided that this | protection to motor cyclists is no longer to be a matter of personal option, but that each one must carry & portable medicine chest with standard supplies of drugs, splints and instruments, ready to be used in case of any accident or m ney. VRIS * & * ¥ Composer Continues Study of Folk Songs. Moscow Daily News.—Alexander Za- talevick, an authority on Kazak folk music and a composer, is about to start for a prolonged stay in Kazakstan for the purpose of new researches in the music. of this Soviet republic. Za- talevich has published already two vol- umes containing & collection” of Kazak folk tunes, amounting to 1,500 songs and instrumental pieces. Some of these have already been separately arranged for planoforte. ‘Water Famine Scored in Jerusalem. " Palestine Bulletin, Jerusalem.— open letter to the high comissioner of ‘water supplies: Your excellency: On behalf of a num- bero(myreuhbonlhqwnddmu the following observations to you on in my y an average of 750 mils per mm&' in water rates. Yet they recelve water only once in every five or six days, and the amount of water then received is a trickle, little more than sufficient to clean out the S B, o T d the intel since the - g of the houses in our vicinity which it is to draw for additional supply. We are, therefore, not so n:})puy situated as the various members the water board, who either reside in quar- ters where there is a more generous supply of water or are able to draw * kXK in order to provide sufficient water and ! safeguard the health of the community. SELIGMAN. * X kX Natives Quit Farms In South Africa. Cape Argus, Cape Town.—The drift of natives to towns was one of the im- portant problems _investigated by the Native Economic Commission, whose re- por:lwn.s presented to Parliament re- cently. A comprehensive section of the report deals with the growing urbanization of the native population. The drift of young natives to towns, particularly, is described as one of the outstanding ml grational movements in the unfon. The general view is that the prob- lem must be tackled in the reserves. Mr. Lucas holds that the remedy lies in recasting the whole system’ of na- tive taxation. “On the European-owned farms,” he states in a special addendum to the report, “the effect of the general tax is definitely to drive the natives to the towns. Their cash wages being cften either nothing or so small as to be insufficient to meet their simple needs, they must, to obtain tne money to pay their tax, go to the towns to earn it.” The general report remarks that young natives frequently abscond from their homes, leaving their work un- finished, leaving the cattle untended and giving no notice to their parents of their intention. “As against the monotony of the farm they have heard from their com- rades of the glitter, the movement, the excitement of town life. In_ the eyes of a young native, a visit to Johannes- burg frequently ranks as & necessary preliminary toward the attainment of manhood. = A large number of incen- tives, from the lowest to the highest, draws the young native to town— potent drink, amours, fine clothes, bet- ter opportunities of civilization, con- tact with civilization.” A comment which will find favor with the supporters of the native serv- ice contract bill emphasizes how this lure of the towns est the rela- tions between farmer and labor tenant: “The farmer takes on a labor tenant in order to obtain the labor of his children; the children abscond or do back when it is their turn f labor; the water from private wells. And we are th much better off than hundreds of m le who reside within a few hun molmmdchmornmrdom ;‘Vn"y'mfl":rm‘!fl"-h!mdlm‘ "The members of the water board do not suffer as we do, and we, therefore, to believe that your ex- find it difficult erdl o bors, our plight is a miserable one. Mnt’l?newhe‘:x t is difficult to sufficient water out of the tap to pro- with his daily shave, s of Hope. . Prom the Oklshoma City Daily Oklahoman. Fourteen cotton mills in Georgia and the Carolinas have resumed full-time THE LIBRARY TABLE BY SARAH G. BOW:RMAN. The salamander, lizard fabled to live in fire, was the symbol of Francis I | of France, Carved in stone, it formed part of the ornamental sculptures of his chateaux and was used in the! and brass . Jehanne phy, “PFrancis 1. ce,” translated motifs of his tapestries, sllver ;frk and wood carvings. 'Orliac in her bl of the Renal by Elisabeth Abbott, mander a symbol of the character of that extravagant king who tlirove only in the flery atmosphere of excitement, adulation, " love airs and warfare. lcermnly Prancis was not cool, calcu- &tllnund pattent like his lgudtm rlv:’lolt peror Charles V. endure adversity with _philosophical equanimity, but hastily sought a way out by throwing his responsibilities and difficulties upon others. Taken prisoner after the Battle of Pavia and shut up in a fortress by Charles V, he chafed and pined. “His exuberant vitality collapses with all its weight upon him. His one real enemy is tedium.” Be- fore long he arranged to have his two sons given as hostages in his place and as he crossed the boundary and reached Prench soil he exclaimed, exultantly: “Once more I am & king.” Consider: tion for the rights or feelings of oth- ers was not one of his weaknesses. If he wanted estates which belonged to his subjects, he took them; if he grew tired of a mistress, he discarded her and asked for his gifts back. Perhaps in these respects he was not different from other royal personages of his time, and before and after. Absplute power is not likely to make any one just. History records him as one of the “great” Kings of France and Jehanne D'Orliac |land at the service held on November | says of him: “His vivid life was to leave on the face of Prance a line of beauty that would never be erased; for the impulse which he gave to arts, letters and thought had all the force of his own energy.” Yet as we read the story of his life we feel that he was as entirely selfish and unscrupuious as his “great” contemporary, Henry VIIL x x X % With the salamander as his symbol, Francis I should have had as motto “Cherchez le Femme.” From his birth he was surrounded by women and liked it. His mother, Louise of Savoy, was the unenthusiastic young wife of the cultured Count d’Angouleme, 17 years her senlor and before his marriage well satisfied with the domestic life pro- vided by his mistress, Jeanne de Polig- nac, and their daughters. Louise felt no jealousy and became the friend of Jeanne, with whom she continued to live after her husband’s death. Not long after the marriage of Louise “the blessed Francols de Paule” at Plessis- les-Tours, prophesied that she would ve a son who would be King of ance. When Francis was born, his mother was 17. His cradle was sur- rounded by a group of adoring women and little girls. He was the only male, and to his mother at least he was the prospective King of France, though at that time two others stood between him and the throne, and the Queen, Anne of Brittany, might have many sons. A comforting fact for Louise of Angouleme was that Anne’s sons had the habit of dying soon after birth. When the Count d'Angouleme died, Francis was a year old and was already noticing and appreciating the feminine admira- tion and coddling by which he was encom) He was object of devotion and caressing” not | 'Coolidge Suppo only to his mother, but to his father's mistress, Jeanne; to his own older sis- ter, Marguerite, and to his three bastard sisters. Throughout the years while Francis was waiting for the throne, he was leading a life of pleasure, riding. hunting, feasting, tilting, on rainy days listening to music and reading romantic tales. As Anne’s children continued to die, Francis was proclaimed Dauphin of France and became a favorite of the King, Louis XIL His mother grew in importance and arrogance and wor- shiped him the more. His sister Mar- guerite, afterward Duchess d’Alencon and later still Queen of Navarre, author of “The Heptameron,” that collection of amorous tales supposed to be based on the exploits of her brother, idolized him throughout her life and put his inter- ests before all others. Court ladies flat- tered him and sought his favor. Only Anne of Brittany hated him and his scheming mother. * ok x % The only women who did not in- terest Francis I greatly seem to have been his two wives, Claude of France. daughter of Anne of Brittany, and Eleonora of Portugal, sister of Charles V. His two, chief favorites, or “titular mistresses,” exerted much influence over him during the periods of their su- premacy, but did not interfere with numerous minor amours. Both aroused the jealousy of Louise d'Angouleme, who brought about the downfall of the first, but died before she could wreck the second. The Countess de Chateau- briant was the beautiful wife of a nobleman -of Brittany, who refused to bring her to the lax court of Francis I, but she was lured there by a trick dur- bsence and quickly became the King’ . When she was displaced by a newer beauty, she went back to her husband and sought forgiveness. He had her murdered. Francis I expressed regret. Her place had already been taken by Anne de Pisseleu, whom the King made a duchess by creating her husband Duke d’Etampes. “Just the reverse of the Count de Chateaubriant, * /* * he knew how to use his wife's favor to ad- vantage.” When Francis I died, an old man at 52, the Duchess d’Etampes “became hysterical.” Was it grief for her royal lover or because she knew that her star had set ard a new one was about to rise, Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II? * k kX In his story “Barton’s Mills” A. Hyatt Verrill has told of the pioneer attack upon the Maine forest wilderness. Enough of that wilderness remains to- day to show what the task of the pre- Revolutionary settlers must have been. The events of the story are taken from the history of Mr. Verrill's own family, whose early members came from Fal- mouth and cut their path through the Maine forest, fighting Indians and wild animals. Their first home was of rough logs, surrounded by a stockade. A saw mill and & flour mill followed and soon Barton's Mills became & successful trading post. * % kX *x - In spite of the antipathy of m American students preparing for col- lege, Edmund Burke was a statesman and his famous speech “On Concili- ation With America” is a masterpiece argument and oratory. It is per- haps a pity that it has been spoiled for so many young people by the ne- g and otherwise sees in the sala-|in “the constant | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. This 1s & special department devoted solely to ‘handling of queries. This paper puts dt your disposal the services | of an extensive organization in Wash- ington {relates to information. This service is free. Failure to make use of it deprives you of benefits to which your are en- titled. Your obligation is only 3 cents coin or stamps inclosed with your in- quiry for direct reply. Address The Pvening Star Information Bureau, ‘Parnedglch. Haskin, ‘ashing Q. Are Roosevelt and Hoover Masons? —R. W. i A. President Hoover is not a Mason. Gov. Roosevelt 15 & Mason. Q. What is the origin of the expres- slon, “hell-bent for election”?—W. M. A. According to a study made Claude E. Robinson of Columbia Uni- versity, the phrase originated in 1840. Before that time Maine was a Democratic State. The panic of 1837 turned Maine oyer to the Whigs, and to the surprise of every one, Kent, the Whig candidate for Governor, was ielected in the September election. One of the campaign slogans was “Maine went hell-bent for Gov. Kent.” Q. Does the heat of the sun produce sunburn?—W. M. A. It is not the heat of the sun, but Franklin burn. Q. What is the hymn played at the ‘Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Eng- |11?—K. L. A. The hymn played at the cenotaph ;cax;vtice is “O God Our Help in Ages Q. How many persons are born each | day and how many die?—W. T. H. | A. It has been estimated that 150,000 | persons are born every day and 100,000 die each day. | @ Are flowers used at the wedding of a lleutenant in the Chapel at West Point?—D. V. Military Academy says: “Flowers are It is believed that the idea that flowers are not permitted originated in the mis- | taken interpretation of the advice I al- ways give to the young officers who are to be married here. ration seems an unnecessary expense, considering the meager salaries of of- ficers. This is not a regulation and every party to a wedding in this chapel has been assured that they may deco- rate the chapel for their wedding in {good taste.” Q. Please give ranks of the British police force—T. F. D. A. At the head of the British polce dent, with an advising committee. The iranks under the commissioner are: | Chief of police, captains, lieutenants, | sergeants, roundsmen and patrolmen. i s | Q. Who was the greatest flute maker |of the latter part of the eighteenth century?—H. B. S. A. Theobald Bohm was perhaps the to serve you in any capacity that | by | in Maine | the ultra-violet rays which produce sun- | A. The chapain of the United States | | always placed on the altar by this of- | fice for any wedding that takes place. | ‘The chapel being | exceptionally beautiful, elaborate deco- | any way consistent with reverence and | force is & commissioner or superinten- orig ~ator and outstanding flute maker of v.hat is known as the modern flute, He manufactured flutes in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth cen- turles, They originally were made of metal, but later w : iy ere made out of cocoa Q. How large a shark | caugnt?—N. J. o | A. The largest shark of which we | have any record was a whale shark, | Rhinodon typus. which weighed ap- proximately 26,600 pounds, having a length of 38 fect and a girth of 18 igg FI_‘t wa; harpooned at Knights |y A, Jue 1. 1913 by Capt Q. Where can I find the quotat Which starts, “Yet each man qkt‘!’l; !;‘: lhkng he loves"?—D. K. . It is in “The Ballad of Read: | Gaol” by Oscar Wilde. = Q. What is the word for trailing S::rymh&; or .’ur}:yi\rfs. as of the straw- plant, which will take | the tips>—L. T. G A. They are called stolons. | Q What can be done for sti | IcaAth(:xl:hsans.—S. O. Secky | A They may be ‘carefully cleaned ‘;exczfl b:!nzlne or g:sr‘llne and, when per- ly dry, varnished with a good | of varnish. i | Q. How many Presidents of {arethere ' the world’—f1. W0 | . A. Thirty-nine countries have Presi- | dents, Q. What difference is there between | the Catholic and Protestant Bibles?— | _A._The principal differences between | the Protestant and Catholic versions of the Bible are a slight difference in the division of the verses containing the Ten Commandments and the fact that the Roman Catholic Church rec- ‘ognlza as canonical the 14 books of Apcerypha, which are not regarded as canonical, ' but of literary or his- torical interest only by the Protestant churches. Both are founded upon the Hebrew records and writings and the works of the Apos Q. What color was used in writing the decrees of the Byzantine Em- perors?—A. H. A. The royal decrees are said to have been written with purple ink. Q. In the eighteenth century was there a school of medicine in New | York?—C. T. A. In 1769 there was a school of medicine, recognized as entitled to give degrees. Q. What is the greatest known depth of Lake Tahoe?—M R. A. This lake, at the base of the Sierra Nevadas, on the border of Cali- fornia and Nevada, is about 20 miles long, 8 to 12 miles wide, having an altitude of 6275 feet above sea level and an extreme depth of 1,650 feet Q. How many circulating or rental libraries are there in the United States?>—T. S. A. It is estimated that there are about 35,000. It may be assumed that at least 4.500.000 borrowers are served and 8000000 books in circulation. Probably $5.000,000 is invested in books by rental libraries each year. From former President Coolidge comes an indorsement of the official acts of President Hoover, with the result that a wide national debate on the chief issues of the presidential campaign is launched. Republican arguments are based on the assump- tion that Mr. Coolidge speaks as one who has had to face the problems of the White House, while Democrats, as a rule, assume that the two Repub- “Mr. Coolidge, with his usual cool moderation, setting forth the common- sense view of the situation,” according to the Milwaukee Sentinel (independ- ent), “does much to set the American people to thinking straight about the whole business.” Tributes to the earnestness and sincerity of the former President are paid by the Lincoln State Journal (independent Repub- lican), the Santa Monica Evening Out- look (Republican) and the Rockford Register-Republic (Republican), while the Youngstown Vindicator (independ- ent Democratic) states that those who have been reading the ‘“radical week- lies” must be “surprised at the frank- ness of Mr. Coolidge's defense of the two political parties.” An answer to the “cynical slur in the plea for the ‘forgotten man’” is seen by the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin (independent Republican), which as- serts that “the program of recovery and relief. planned and directed by President Hoover, with the aid of the ablest counsel he could summon, has been mindful of the man who works, to an extent never paralleled in the his- tory of the Nation.” The Pasadena Star-News (Republican) avers (hat “constructive achievement, on the one hand, prevention of ill-advised, ruinous action on the other hand," represent the Hoover record “which Mr. Coolidge presents to his countrymen.” The Cléeveland News (Republican) advises that “in pointing out that the causes of the depression, with the exception of early speculation, were outside of control of the United States, the for- mer President appeals to the average citizen's sense of fairness.” * K X X “Mr. Hoover ought to feel particu- [ fice,’ the Boston Globe (Demo- cratic), “Not only has Mr. Coolidge stilled the anecdotal undercurrent im- plying that the relations betWeen the two were far from cordial, but he has offered Mr. Hoover poiitical support of a kind rare in American political his- tory. Seldom, indeed, has a_retired President backed the efforts of his suc- cessor. On the contrary, a former President usually has been a thorn in the side of the man holding the office. Not even George was an exception and at the crisis in the ad- ministration of John Adams he sided with the severest critics of his suc- “What Mr. Coolidge has written ishould be of great aid and comfort to President Hoover,” in the judgment of hy the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern (Re- publican), while the San FPrancisco Chronicle ¢independent Republican), noting that he “knows Mr. Hoover as one who sat with him in the councils of state for six years” concludes that he “speaks the thought of the American people.” The Toledo Blade (independent Republican) says that he and | “offers no half-hearted approval of his succgssor, but makes a thorough job of it.” The Buffalo Evening News (in- declares that lican leaders have & common interest. | larly grateful to his predecessor in of-| thinks rt of Hoover doing. He has proved himself safe and sound, and at the same time construc- tive and resourceful. Mr. Coolidge is in |full sympathy with the President's ! handling of prohibition, which, as he says, is not a partisan < i * x x Observing that Mr. Coolidge “goes all the way in indorsing the administra- tion,” the Rochester Times-Union (in- dependent) remarks: “The praise be- stowed on the Republican party and all |its acts and policies equals the best ef- forts of the writers of platforms, | though the former President uses a less florid style than is customary in such documents.” The Charleston, S. C. Evening Post (Democratic), observing that the indorsement emphasizes the fact that the President “has shown high qualities of leadership, if anybody has,” suggests that “maybe he means to say that nobody has shown any sort of leadership, and there he would be more | nearly right.” | “It is an earnest plea and should be given careful and open-minded consid- eration,” advises the Omaha World- Herald (independent Democratic), but that paper maintains that “Mr. Coolidge | shares responsibility with Mr. Hoover | for the record and policies.” and asks: | “What are the fruits of the 12 years | of leadership that Mr. Hoover now prin- | cipally represents>” The World-Herald concludes: “Mr, Hoover's administra- tion is on trial. It is on trial on its | record. It is on trial for the results of its policies. The people must decide whether they want these policies con- | tinued without essential change. They will listen to what Mr. Coolidge and President Hoover have to say in their own behalf. But they will listen also |to other voices and arguments: voices |and arguments that come from their |own homes and firesides, from the seats of their own activities, from friends and | neighbors in distress, from conditions as | they see and know them, and, most of | all, from their own judgment and con- | science.” * X kX “The Coolidge statement,” observes the Roanoke World-News (Democratic), “glosses over the immense injury done to the working people and to business generally by the passage of the Hawley- Smoot tariff act signed by President Hoover, and announces, despite present= iduy conditions, adherence of the Repub- lican party to outworn and discredited theories of protection. The most in- teresting part of the Coolidge article is not his defense of Mr. Hoover, or his prediction of what a_continuance of the Hoover regime will mean to the country. The article is in reality a de- fense of Calvin Coolidge.” “Mr. Coolidge reflects the same unim- aginative absence of ideas as other Re- | publicans of recent years,” charges the Baltimore Sun i(ndependent Demo- cratic), and that paper continues: “He chants’ the administration story about our troubles originating abroad, ignor- ing the fact that he, Mr. Hoover and the whole Republican choir have re- peatedly told us how effectively the protective tariff insulated us against all the pernicious influences of the “‘pauper labor’ of other countries.” “The Pfesident has the satisfaction of knowing that Mr. Coolidge thinks almost as well of the Hoover adminis- tration as he does of his own,” sug- gests the Birmingham Age-Herald (Democratic), with the further com- ment: “It cannot be said that the sage of Northampton has found anything new, or that he states his warmed-over stuff with any effectiveness. Here is the stale plea of confession and avoid- ance done in the oracular manner with which we are well acquainted. But Mr. Coolidge surprises in one respect. He could be expected to speak warmly Linking Coolidge with that of former Gov. side, the