Evening Star Newspaper, March 16, 1933, Page 10

i A--10 MIND TESTS GAN - WIDE POPULARTTY Parenté Should Not Worry if Child Brings Home 0dd Questions. By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, March 16—If Kinder- garten Peggy comes home talking about “pretty elephants,” and Junior High Dick asks “what is the opposite of if?” don’t be worried. ‘They've been having “intelligence” or “mental ability” tests, and by and by you may learn that Peggy might be much better off if she were placed in the second grade, and that Dick 'is better fitted for the ninth—or, pos- sibly, the seventh—than he is for the eighth grade. The report of the President’s Re- search Committee on social trends says the use of mental tests and measure- ments has been greatly increasing. A leading publisher, it states, sold less than 500,000 intelligence tests in 1920- 1921, bup more than 5,000,000 10 years later. Mental tests for the lower grades are composed largely of pictures. For | instance, to test “‘common observation,” the child may be asked to indicate, from pictures of a coffee pot, thread, ten, kettle, needle, thimble, frying pan“ and cup, what objects a mother uses irl sewing an apron. Or, to tests “esthetic differences,” he may be asked to choose from pictures of elephants, dancers, girls and houses the prettiest in each group. i0r, he may be given two minutes to | draw a line from a mouse in one maze to a piece of cheese in another, He may be asked to indicate whether | d south” and * h 3 sife meanings. 1 non sense,” he may be asked whether | nien raise their hats when they meet wpmen they know because * learned to do it when they were of “it is co red polite,” or &how their hair is brushed.” | «Tests for higher grades continue along much the same line. A pupil of grades 7 to 12 may be gsked, for in- stance, whether the guillotine causes death, disease, fever or sickness, and ‘whether “one swallow does not make a Summer” means “swallows come back for the Summer,” or “a single sign is npt sufficient proof,” or “many birds add to the pleasure of Summer.” ‘To test his ability to grasp the mean- ing of a sentence, he may be asked whether or not social contact tends to reduce eccentricities, or to state wheth- er, rearranged, such a sentence as “Cer- tain always death of cause kinds sick- ness” makes a true or false statement. One examination for “all literate persons” as well as for grades 5 to 12 tésts ability to understand complicated language by presenting such problems as “Write the letter which is midway | between K and O in the alphabet.” | In testing comprehension of relation- | ships, one of the problems is “ ‘Evolu- | 3 to ‘revolution’ as ‘crawl’ is to floor, stand, run, hands and | One authority, on intelligence testsi says the rapid increase in their use is | due to the conviction on the part of | thousands of teachers that the results | obtained enable them to teach more | easily and efficiently. ‘They can ascertain which pupils have similar mental abilities, he explains, and by placing them in one group can help make sure of an even progress. “When pupils of different abilities are tavght in the same class” he says, | “there is a tendency for some pupils who understand the teacher quickly to | Waste time while the teacher makes | further explanation to others. “And there is a tendency for slow- thinking pupils to become discouraged Wwhen they find their classmates forging ahead when they themselves cannot THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, Flea Jump Spreads Plague Federal Scientists Find That Privatg Tnvestigation Into the Insect’s Leaping Pow, Saved . U. S. From the **Black Deah.” BY THOMAS R. HENRY. OW far can a flex jump? measuaments were thade Somebody wrote to the De- Y of rat’ fieas m".{ partment of Agriculture about the me- it to settle a bet a few weeks | ., It § clinched quirements. the ago and received the desired|cyse for the dogbrs who held that bu- information by return mail. "As & Te-|ponic plague wa spread by rats. Im- sult, Bureau of Entomology meu 3 mediately a carpaign was started to claifn, the incident is being around the country as a lurid example clean up San :'.‘:e“”"'&' ?m'fd lfl‘: the aded of Tiow Government sclentists are frit- | the drgaded dease was held in tering away time and the taxpayers'|igter the plaguejbtained another foot- money. At first the sclentists were caught off ??lefcénug ez;co their guagd. They couldn’t recall when % or by whom the Jumping agility of the |4°T control flea had been tested and were at a loss Plague Routel in United States. to give a valid reason for such an in- Since then, lajely as a direct result vestigation. The question had been|of these flea-jthiping measurements, answered out of a book as a part of the | ship quarantine day’s routine. enforced all overfhe earth whizh have . W. A. Riley, chief entomologist the of the Minnesota experiment station, has just come to the rescue of his col- | although there jtill are threatening leagues by delving into the history of | reservoirs of it the case. First, he found, the Depart- | plague ever ment of Agriculture didnt make the|jp the United Stfes, with a population original study, although the entomolo-| which had develped no immunity to gists now wish they could claim credit | it it might have |early depopulated the for an activity some of them were eager | country before bt ning itself out. to disclaim & few days ago. Secondly,| " Dr, Riley cannt find that a penny he found, this determination of the| of Government acrobatic propensities of the flea was a |on an investigat! e si vital factor in saving the United States | which to the Aperican people could from the ravages of one of the most| not be measuredin terms of money. dreaded of all epidemics and probably | The work was dde by private investi- has been instrumental in saving scores | gators, of thousands of lives all over the world. | ture entomologisj are feeling better I " about it, and whh they see a cartoon ‘Black Death” Probe. showing some spctacled, long-whisk- ‘The question was first investigated, |ered old fellow spposed to represent a the entomologisf guessed the theory vouldn:x;enk dowp. & jans, but a systematic b soon brought it un- -D. C, THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1933. | CANCELS GERMAN ORDER Poland Makes First Observance of Jewish Merchants’ Request. WARSAW, Poland, March 16 (#).— of | The first concrete result of an appeal than standard ofublluuan Entomologists mental stations, Dr. Riley points out, continually are called upon to drop their more serious research work to look up the data on elementary phases of insect life. Evéry letter requires an answer, and it ig Jdittle more effort to supply the required information than to write that such information will not be furnished. ‘The entomologist is a pub- lic servant. FARLEY GIVES WOMAN FIRST APPOINTMENT Postmaster General Comments on Need in Government in Letter to Minot, N. Dak. By the Associated Press. MINOT, N. Dak., March 16.—A local made by -Postmaster Generg! James Farley. o postmistress here, recéived a letter from nature as Postmaster General. He went on “This is very pleasing ito me because I believe and repeatedly held that women, should play a larger and more prominént part in the affairs of government.” { woman received the first appointment | Miss Nellie Dougherty, new acting| i Mr. Farley saying her designation last | week was his first official act of this| said to have been made by Jewish mer- thants to the Jewish public to refrain from buying German goods was the can- cellation yesterday of a $50,000 order for German machines by Polish firms. ‘The Jewish newspaper Nasz Przeglad - |told yesterday of the appeal. Only a 1imif o A ited amount of German goods have entered Poland since the expiration of & commercial treaty in 1925. Finest THRU —— " NO CHANGES ] SHORTEST RUNNING TIME L8 to NEW YRK 6.50—PITTSBGH $8—L0S ANGLS 62.70 PHILAPHIA. II.SD—S'I.IM% GREAT EASTERN BUS TERMINAL 1119 'H' 8T, N.W. RXRarolishoTae REAT EASTERN < bus system TLESS POCAHONTAS COAL 102 Don't let the price mis- guide you. This is high quality coal—with every lump thor- oughly chemically treated to prevent dusting. It burns thoroughly and evenly, regardless of weather. Prac- tically smokeless—will not clog the flue. Start right now saving on fuel costs—burn a coal that has everything you want at a great deal lower price. Prompt delivery to city and suburbs. A.P. WOODSON CO. COAL FUEL OIL 1202 Monroe St. N.E. NOrth 0177 according to word just received from Dr. Riley, in 1906, when there was an sclentist looking fravely at a jumping flea through a miroscope they feel in- outbreak in San Francisco of bubonic | ciined to have i{ engraved and made plague, the dreaded “black death” | into an entomoldical medal of honor. which during the middle ages literally| He himself, Dr Riley says, included depopulated “parts of Europe. There | this information 3 a textbook of medi- was a_well-grounded suspicion at the | cal entomology 3 years ago, but ob- time that this disease was spread by |tained it from e other source and rat fleas which carried it from rat to | intimates that he only expense to rat and from rat to man, rather than which the Govenment ever has been by direct contagion. The validity of [ put in connectionwith it has been for this theory rested on an accurate paper and envelops required to answer knowledge of just how far a flea could | the letters of fresponsible wagerers leap from one animal to another, and if | who, being Ame citizens, have the the distance was slightly less than ontthe Government for Burt and Banister Are a combination that makes it possible for us to meet your Shoe ideas e)&(:tly in quality and style. And at revised prices whth are interesting— 8 and 10 Even Banisters are only D Burt Shoes for the older boys, 6.50-younger boys (including scout type shoes), 4.50. Let our X-ray machine check up on accurgy of fit. Caring for fect is better than curing hem. Burt's ..... B8F Park at the Capital Garage at Our Expens understand what is going o A Little Further Up the Street, But Every Step a Monty Saver Open A Charge Account! NOW'! KAGFMAN: 1316 - 1328 SEVENTH ST. We Give andrRedeem Red Trading ¢ Samps Tomorrow! One More Day... to take advantage of the most - Sensational DOLLAR SALE in Our History Every Dollar Spent Here Tomorrow Buys Extré Value! Follow the Crowds to This' Money-Saving Event! D, ) 7 Z O ‘Values Tha f | | dr DAY t Will Actually Amaze You « + « Sensational Savings for the Home and for th Family « « « Many Lots Limited . . . No Mail or Phone Orders Filled « s« Be Here Earl y for Record-Breaking SAVINGS 7 ' 37“_110(&?9)’1(11‘7 e ...AN OPEN *What Is NEWS These Days? \ Webster defines NEWS as “fresh information con- cerning something that has recently taken place— anything new or strange.” Ve In the past few weeks, all sorts of traditions are being upset in the banking business and political circles . . . and it seems to us it is time to upset a few hoary newspaper tradi- tions as well. . Newspaper editors have been looking for “news” in the dark alleys of pay-cut rumors, business failures, and other hysterical alarums. In our opinion it is high time newspaper men lifted their eyes to the skies to look for the silver lining by reporting some of the outstanding things courageous business men are doing to back up the President in his de-, mand for action. : For instance, in the face of nation-wide bank closings, this store—The Hecht Co.—. . had confidence enough in the President and the country to go full steam ahead with its 37th Anniversary plans, which meant the hir- .~ . ing of several hundred additional salespeople, —’--_ ACCOUNT AT Toow Il People Make News! This is an actual photograph of the Anniversary crowds that jammed our store on Saturday. e this news, or isn’t it? T0O THE NEWSPAPERS bundle wrappers and delivery men, the pur- chase of hundreas of thousands of dollars of new merchandise and the investment of a small fortune in newspaper advertising. We believe the fact that our customers re- sponded to this sales campaign in such crowds as to overtax our 1acilivies on Satur- day was of sufficient “news” value to warrant front page publicity. If something like oven 20,000 people were interested enough to come to The Hecht Co. to spend their money on one day during this crisis, we think that they and additional thousands would have been inter- ested to see this story in print, to see pictures of the crowds in which they participated, pub- lished in their favorite newspaper. In our humble. judgment, this story would have been of more relative importance to our twelve hundred employes, to their families and friends, and thousands of men and women employed by other retail establish- ments in the city than- anything you could have printed -about international relations, or whether some movie star is going to have to struggle along on a mere $100,000 a year. How do YOU feel about it? Is it “news” there's MORE BUSINESS, MORE WORK for individuals, MORE cir- culation of the MIGHTY DOLLAR? We'd like to have YGUR opinion—write a letter to THE HECHT CO., stating your ideas. Customers