Evening Star Newspaper, March 23, 1935, Page 8

A-8 x THE EVENING STAR | With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C SATURDAY.....March 23, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES. . .Editor —eee The Evening Star Newspaper Company A Busln;n Offl‘ce' aiave 11th 8t. and Pennsylvan) N!I1 York Olm;:. li‘f: %flnt:?fin‘fl‘f’l‘“ Englan Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. ‘The Evening Bldlxs 4 !‘:rwnermomh and Sunda Thrzwfl;m:"s A giS0ever month r The Evening anc Sunday Star == o hen 5 Sundayi Tne Sunoy Star be per copy Night Final Edition. o tar 702 per month t Final and Bunday Star 702 per month month TS telephone National 5000 Rate by Mail—FPayable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Bm;v ana Sunday. %yr $10.00; 1 mo. Nbe aily nly 6.0 mo.. B Stnday “only $4.00: 1 mo’ 40¢ All Other States and Canada. Patty -ndlsuminy Jl.vl.. s;; 00: 1 mo. oniy......1 9. : Bundav only 1yr $500: 1 mo. Member of the Associated Press. The Associatea Press 1s exclusively en- titled to the use for republication ot al news disnatches credited to it or not other- wise .redited in this paper and also the Jocal news published herein Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein | are also rererve 1yr 1,00 28¢ 50¢ Not Our Affair. President Roosevelt states that in | & protracted luncheon table conference with Senator Borah on Friday he did not discuss the German rearmament crisis “specifically,” but talked over the European situation “pacifically.” Earlier in the week Mr. Roosevelt said | that the United States’ toward current controversies across the Atlantic is that of the “good neighbor” and that he continues to hope that a similar spirit will prevail among European countries and enable | them eventually to solve their prob- | lems, including armaments, in peace and amity. Generalities and abstractions though | they be, these statements by the Pres- | ident seem plainly to indicate the de- termination of the United States, at | least at this juncture of the European | gituation provoked by Germany's defi- | ant violation of the Versailles treaty, not to inject itself into it either di-| rectly or indirectly. Undoubtedly that | policy is expressive of the overwhelm- | ing bulk of American public opinion. | It is true that our separate peace | treaty with Germany confers upon us | all the “rights and advantages.” in- cluding the military clauses, which were granted to the allied powers by the treaty of Versailles, but there is | little disposition among the people of this country on that legalistic account to interfere in the armaments quarreli that has now arisen between Germany and her European neighbors. Sumej provocation far more overt than any that has so far been offered would | be required to persuade the average | American that the latest fracas “over | there” is a matter calling for mwr-" vention by the United States. | Secretary Hull nevertheless strikes & timely and appropriate note in| stressing the abiding interest of this| Government in the sanctity of trea-| ties. He declares that the American! people must always use every possible adopted permanently. Independence of thought, he knows from his read- ing of history, has been a fruitful asset in the past—the Nation's art and science, if not its normal prosperity and progress, have been the cultural | result of independent genius applied to circumstances, and even the great mass movements of the populace have had leaders. Shall all this rich tra- dition be tossed overboard capriciously to make room for a machine psychol- ogy of willing slavery to a single set of fixed ideas? ‘Theoretically, a dozen men should be able to create a better sonnet than one man working alone; actually, “too many cooks spoil the broth.” And the same rule applies to social issues. A regimented democracy would be, in effect, an institutionalization of the least common denominator of national intelligence. Let it be conceded that every individual then would enjoy ab- solute equality with every other in- dividual. Would everybody be happy? The answer is “No.” Charles Darwin was right when he postulated the pragmatic utility of variation. Differences serve useful ends, and unrelieved uniformity signi- fies a form of death. It follows that the current tendency toward a nega- tive state socialism should be resisted by such portions of the population as believe that personality is a sacred America, and surely there must be| at least a few citizens still extant in the land who prefer to do their own thinking and who view with distrust penalize non-conformity. | The Menace of Dust and Drought. Looking for an answer to the prob- lems confronting the great areas of the Middle West as a result of dust storms end drought, more drought | and more dust storms, Willlam Allen | White, the distinguished editor of the | Emporia Gazette, writes: “There is no answer, except in the eternal re- silience of man. He bounces back | out of trouble with an unbelievable energy, with a faith that moves moun- | But there are others who evidently believe there is an answer which goes beyond the brave philosophy expressed by Mr. White, and which lies in| | immediate adoption and carrying ouv.i of a great soil erosion control program. | One of the menacing aspects of the | repeated calamities which have over- | taken the mid-Western areas is the | fact that is beginning to be emphn-f sized by observers, which is that if| conditions are permitted to continue | as they are there will be no place | for man to “bounce back” out of his | increasing troubles. H. H. Bennett, | the director of the Soil Erosion Serv- ice, warns that large sections of the | great plains erea are in danger of | becoming useless desert. The most | recent storm which struck Kansas, he thinks, is the worst to date: but others are to follow, and they will | increase in severity. Mr. White's!| | article in yesterday's Star discussed the lack of rain last Summer and the | | possibility ~that more drought is 18 no solution. to abandon self utterly and to go upon attitude | the growth of a system which would | the battlefield, a sacrifice, if necessary, as great political medicine. ber of countries are protesting that THE EVENING STAR, adversaries. Their spiritual elevation is too high for their own good. William Morris, English poet and painter, may be cited as example. In one of his noblest passages he tells how. he sees and hears the brutality of his environment in a suburb of London. In the street under his win- dow passes an endless parade of vice and sin. But his reaction to the spectacle is not the passion of re- sentment. Rather, it is the passion of pity. “There, but for the grace of God,” he cries, “go L” And his genius, his wealth and all his dreams, to the last moment of his career, he devoted to the masses that mocked him. Beaedict Spinosa also was a char- acter unfitted by temperament for the rough-and-tumble society of his times. His days were spent in philosophic solitude, grinding lenses and pondering the riddle of the uni- verse. For more than a century after his death he was stigmatized as an atheist and a blasphemer. Then, at last, he was understood and appre- ciated. On the three hundredth anni- versary of his birth, celebrated in 1932, he was called “the gentlest of the sages.” But Morris’ effort to help mankind was more to be commended than Spinosa’s. Love is useless unless it be | manifested, and those who are hurt trust deserving to be defended. Free- |by their fellows have in their pain dom as well as bread is wanted in } an object lesson in the need for. the courage which charity and mercy should have. Retreat from the strife Instead, it is better | to love rejected and denied. ————————— The Versailles treaty was regarded A num- they feel worse after taking than they did before. ————— In spite of the many incidents that attract the interest of the brain trust, the appetite of the proletariat is fa- voring more concentration on the plain old hog and hominy problem. — et A private luncheon with the Presi- [ tains. And through it all he 1aughs.” | dent may be expected to add imme- diately to Senator Borah's prestige as one of the best-informed men in the United States. e School children in Seattle are quoted as saying Shakespeare was a good scout: which indicates a way for propaganda agitators to change the subject. .o An American sentiment is to the effect that if there is to be another war over there Uncle Sam'’s best pol- icy will be to let it stay there, with as little interference as possible. ——————— It is perhaps too much to ask the entire world to be concerned while France and Germany observe certain | ancient feud customs. —————————— It may be inferred that one of Gen. Johnson's complaints is that people are trying to throw Blue Eagles at bim. ——ee————— Business may somehow be kept out moral influence to encourage strict | threatened for the coming season,!of politics, but keeping out N. R. A. adherence to all treaty obligations, | Indicating that the terrible hardships | is not so easy. Judge Hull adds that the United States | Of 1ast Summer will be increased| — ———— is deeply concerned over possible de- | velopments in Europe and is watching them with corresponding vigilance. All signs indicate that nothing in the shape of a formal protest to Ger- many is at present contemplated in ‘Washington. Very definite opposition to anything of that sort has just been expressed by Senator Pittman, chair- man of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and there is reason to believe that he accurately reflects con- gressional opinion as a whole. Yet Secretary Hull's reaffirmation of the| American principle, once enunciated | by President Roosevelt—that | | the | sanctity of treaties is the corner stone of international relations—serves a highly useful purpose. It is not going too far to interpret it as a veiled re- buke of Hitler’s repudiation of cov- enanted agreements and as a manifes- tation of American resentment of the menace to world peace which Ger- many’s action constitutes. The Nazis will be grievously mistaken if they read into our failure diplomatically to protest against it any approval of their high-handed step. o Furopean nations are engaged in an effort to abolish the practice on ® large scale of carrying concealed ‘weapons. R Individual Thinking. Dr. Lyman Bryson, professor of edu- cation in Teachers’ College, Columbia University, presents for public atten- tion the problem of the effect of the shifting of social control and responsi- bility to the State. Writing on re- cent trends, he argues that current changes inevitably will have a “marked influence” on American family life, industry, the school and the Govern- ment. “Larger use of socialized wealth in education, health, recreation and general service to the people,” he says, is likely to accelerate regimentation. A “sameness * * * is spreading across the continent and into every nook and corner of American life.” ‘To some, of course, there will seem to be little danger in a “drift toward collectivist thinking,” but to others a certain peril is involved in an unnat- ural development of a disciplined mass-mind. Dr. Bryson submits that: “The unwieldiness of democratic forms in a widely scattered nation of 125,000,000 people; the corruption and deluding of the voters which mechan- {cal communications have made easier; the reduction of regional differences by these same communications—all these and other influences appear to work against the original conception of individualism and democracy.” And he adds the warning: “Independence may cease to be a doctrine as it grad- ually ceases to be a possibility.” Granted that a united front is de- sired in time of emergency, a by- | manifold this year. The problem of procedure is great enough to stagger the imagination. The soil of the Great Plains must be anchored again, by vegetation, before there can be any control. And spread areas of land in order to carry out a consistent program of treat- ment, or else bring about a co-oper- ative undertaking on the part of all the individual owners of land. Gov- ernment aid has already been ex- tended in some sections as demonstra- tions of the possibility of soil erosion control. Such projects are reported to have proved the success of control measures. But to be effective, the control measures which lie in plant- ing, grading, terracing, etc., must be carried out at the same time over wide areas. Control in isolated spots does no good, as such protected areas are soon destroyed by the descending clouds of dust from unprotected areas. But the size of the problem may be Jjuaged by the fact that Civilian Con- servation workers in Nebraska, after iwo years, have covered only 31,900 | acres in soil erosion work, construct- ing in that time some 517 ponds, sixty-two dams, 500 acres of terrac- ing and have planted more than a quarter of a million trees. There are millions of acres to be treated if the menace of dust storms is to be met adequately. e et e Moscow had to shoot three boys as a part of a program for checking a crime wave. Communism has not enabled Russia to avoid the old habit ot digging up problems that lack a formula for solution. e Retreat? Life in many of its aspects is so cruel that numbers of individuals learn in the course of years to fear it. Circumstance crushes the hearts of sensitive men and women, and each day’s quota of pain and sorrow sobers the receptive mind. The race suffers, and it happens that the kindliest of its members bear the brunt of its agony—the self-centered mob, ignorant, illiberal and violent, has its egoism for an armor against any fellow-feeling, charity or mercy that might by chance disturb its dominance of the human scene. But the problem of survival in the world is complicated for the sentient few by the fact of their love for those who despitefully use them. Those who cannot hate are handicapped in the struggle to exist. They lack the power to strike back. Their gen- erosity provides opportunity for their exploitation by the greedy, their peace- ableness furnishes invitation for their abuse by the vicious. Yet even when their cup runneth over with accum- ulated misery, they cannot protect standing philosopher well may won- before the soil is anchored the Gov- | ernment must take possession of wide- B SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Out of Place. | Uncle Jim knocked his pipe free from { ashes And prepared to address a remark; He has intellectual flashes That often illumine the dark. “One cause of the troubles we're know'in’, | In the sky or or on land or at sea, Is folks who insist upon goin” Where they've not any business to be. “The mint that is turnin’ out dol- lars Sends a man to do gardenin’ work. The farm hand is buyin’ white collars And in dance halls the gigolos lurk. The bad bovs a jail are evadin’ And appear amid frivolous glee. We're bothered by people paradin’ ‘Where they've not any business to be.” The Problem at Hand. “What do you think of the foreign situation?” “One thing at a $ime,” said Senator Sorghum. “Let's attend to the do- mestic situation and abolish alimony.” Jud Tunkins says when you turn the other cheek to an enemy that won't necessarily prevent you from slippin’ in an upper cut for the chin. Old Army Game. Mars is a god of war, So people say, Who's always looking for Increase of pay. Mars is no hero bold, Clever and neat When he is playing old Shell games that cheat. Proceeding As Usual. “What do you intend to do about your excessive taxes?” “The usual thing,” answered Farm- er Corntossel. “Make a loud fuss and then pay 'em.” Have a Look. Oh, racketeer, please go and see The “pink slip” which I sent along To show the little left to me Since business has been going wrong, ©Oh, bandit bold, pause to behold ‘The tear drops leaving many a blot And spare the little I've controlled Since those collector chaps would not. “Mebbe one reason our neighbor- hood has so much trouble,” said Uncle Eben, “is dat we inclines to craps an’ blackberry ’stead o' bridge an’ cocktails.” Looking Forward. From the Roanoke (Va.) Times. When the time comes that the country has a woman Presidert, we shall have an executive who can der if such a doctrine ought to be'equal in character with those of their ! can, themselves by the use Of Weapons |ehange her mind as fast as Congress | ticles far below the range of percep- ~ i " WASHINGTON, The home aquarium {eaches, in miniature, many a good lesson which may be carried into other walks of life with profit. One of these is to subject every piece of advice to one's personal ex- perience. “You can't do that,” says the know- it-all. ‘Well, refuse to accept his word for it. Try the thing out, whatever it is, and see if he may not be wrong. Not entirely wrong, perhaps, but in the individual case. Thus the advice, in all the books and the magazines, is that you can’t cure “green water” by adding fresh water, ‘This condition, which makes the water look like pea soup, is caused by the multiplication of free-living forms of algae under the influence of strong light. Drawing off some of the water, and adding fresh, so goes the general ad- vice. simply causes the algae to mul- tiply more vigorously than ever. Such is the prevailing advice, given so often and with such authority that many an owner of an aquarium dares not test it out for himself. | He must go to all the trouble of re- | moving the fishes, taking out sand and | plants, securing entirely fresh, then cleaning the aquarium thoroughly with | water and salt, then setting up the whole thing again, placing it in less- ened light—and praying. * ok x ‘Well, suppose he tries drawing off a quarter of the contents of the green aquarium, and adding fresh tempered water. Then let him put over the light side | of the tank a sheet of pink cellophane, This will give a particularly fetch- | ing tone to any fishes which ma: | happen to have blue in their colora- | tion. Best of all, it may end the re-| | mainder of the “green water.” | What if the entire tank clears up in a week or so, and the water is as clear | as a crystal? | Then he will have proved to him- self that it is never good to accept general advice too slavishly. ‘There are many things, of course, with which one cannot make experi-| ments. That is all the more reason, | then, why one should experiment in | the minor affairs, where mistakes | make little difference. { | This method of clearing a “green” | | tank is not sure-fire, but it has worked | | for the writer twice within a month, | The pink cellophane 1is recom-| mended mostly to take out the red rays of the sun in western exposures, | | but our researches to date seem ‘o | prove that it is equally good for east- ern and southern exposures. * % % % Many a man has been told by his | | doctors that he had no chance to live, | only to confound them later by his persistence in survival. | chance. | He must start thinking for himself. | Now what will this thinking con- sist of? | make discoveries which no man yet has made. vert himself into a doctor without a | | degree, or into any sort of “crank,” in | | something or other have not been able to discover. Thinking for one's sel{ means none STARS, MEN Laboratory Nineteen hundred and thirty-five | has had an unhealthy start. The country has had the worst scar- let fever Winter in recent history. In-| fluenza and meningitis are more prev- | alent than during the past two years. | | The general death rate is higher. A/ | curious fact is that there has been| a two-year measles epidemic. The| prevalence of that disease in 1934 was | the highest on record up to that time. | But this year's curve for that malady | of children, as compiled in the office | of Assistant Surg. Gen. R. C. Williams, | is identical. Hitherto there has always been a sharp drop in the incidence| | of measles after an epidemic year. The anomaly has been hidden by the great increase in scarlet fever. * kX X = Scarlet fever, according to Public Health Service doctors, is a disease which still defies sure-fire methods of prevention although considerable progress in immunization has been made in recent years. Attempts at active immunization had their beginning with the work of the Russian bacteriologist Gabrit- schewsly in 1910. He prepared an antigen made from a culture of the organism responsible for the disease, the ubiquitous hemolytic streptococ- cus, which had been isolated from the heart blood of children recently dead of the malady. This was only indiffer- ently successful, but pointed the way to future progress. Little additional advance was made until 1924, when the Dicks of Chicago demonstrated that a sterile filtrate from a culture of the streptococcus produced in certain individuals, when injected subcutaneously, the symp- toms of scarlet fever except for the active throat infection. For purposes of active immuniza- tion they prescribe a series of five graduated doses of the toxin given at weekly intervals. It produces satis- factory immunity in from 80 to 90 per cent of those treated. Severe con- stitutional reactions, however, are relatively frequent and largely for this reason there has been no general application. Within recent years the research staff of the Public Health Service has experimented with the production of more potent toxins and of a toxoid containing the immunizing principle but which does not produce any symptoms of the disease. The re- sults, they report, have been highly favorable, although the experimental work is still in progress and the product is not yet available. Im- munization tests with a limited num- ber of susceptible children have shown that one dose of this toxoid will produce immunity in over 90 per ‘cent of those treated. * ok K ¥ The most ambitious recent effort to fit the observed aberations of the planets with the theory of gravity is that of Sir Shah Sulaiman, noted Indian mathematician. His theory, purporting to disprove much of the idea of relativity, was recently declared by Dr. Harlow Shap- ley, professor of astronomy at Har- vard, as one of the outstanding scien- tific contributions of the year. But in order to explain the known anomalies in the planetary orbits the Moslem scholar was obliged to _?redl- cate the existence of “gravitrons,” pare | | | | of the School of Advanced Studies at D. C., SATURDAY, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. of these, but simply a mode of ap- proach to any given problem. Doubt of authority is at the base of it., He who bows the knee too much to human authority is in grave dan- ger,.in any line, of cutting himself off from the resplendent God who made all. There are more things in heaven | If and earth— Thinking for one's self is not revo- lutionary, it is just common sense, and has been done since man was man, although often enough little Has been said about it. Some of the real progrggs of the race has come out of it. ‘When it is backed with intelligent study and training it goes on to make the grand discoveries which are the heritages of mankind. * x % % But what shall not be said, in lit- tle, for plain everyday thinking for one's self. It, too, is mighty, though the con- tent may be small. He who refuses to be browbeaten by the edict of authority, although it be in a very small matter, such as clearing up a “green” tank, will have in a small thing a vast satisfaction. He will enjoy the famous crystal clear aquarium while his neighbor | labors over a pea-soupy one. More than that, however, he will| have inward satisfaction. He will have it, that is, uniess he has too slavishly swallowed the mod- ern doctrine of bowing low to au- thority just because it is authority. That is where the trouble to the soul comes in. It may be convenient at times to assume the “timid soul” air. It may pay. But sureiy it plays smash with the soul of man. * * x ¥ | It is a pleasant occupation for the | inquiring mind, as distinguished from | the accepting mind, to question what- ever comes up. | Though it comes with the trump of angels and the glitter of mighty armaments, still may it be questioned in the secrst places of the heart. Nature is sly in the earth when, silently and secretly, she prepares to‘ bring the tiny, frail first leat above | the earth. | The soil may be clay, hard and impervious; the shoot may be peony tip, crushed by a fingernail; yet surely MARCH 23, 1935. THE LIBRARY TABLE BY SARAH G. BOWERMAN. THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE. An Anthology. Edited with an Intro- duction by A. K. Wickham, F. 8. A. New York: Oxford University Press. This volume is No. 1 in the Life and Art in Photograph series, a new enterprise which has great possi- bilities of value in the way of both information and interest. Nos. 2 and are “The Polar Regions” and “Dogs.” The present volume con- tains 104 plates, illustrating the architecture, sculpture and painting of the Italian Renaissance, which means some of the finest the world, has ever produced. Giotto's carapa- nile and Brunelleschi’s dome in Flo- rence appropriately begin the series were pioneers of the Renaissance who carried over the spirit of Roman clas- sicism into the Middle Ages. Some of the other architectural plates show details of famous churches, including the dome of St. Peter’s at Rome, the central portal of the facade of the Certosa at Pavia, the nave of S. Fran- cesco at Rimini, and the nave of Il Redentore at Venice, the last church designed by Palladio. in Rome, Florence and lesser Italian cities are shown. Among the plates Ghiberti in the baptistry of Florence, Tlaria del Caretto, Donatello’s David, several of the Della Robbia terra cottas, Cellini’s Perseus, Verrocchio's | equestrian statue of Bartolommeo Col- | leoni and a number of Michelangelo's | sculptures. Paintings include Cima- | bue’s and Giotto’s “Madonnas of the Uffizi,” Masaccio’s “Expulsion From Eden,” Fra Angelico’s “Annunciation” and the best works of Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinei. Each plate bears a caption giving the artist, the name of the subject, its location and in many cases the date. ‘The book is one which any amateur lover of art and travel would be glad to add to his Itbrary. * ok ok % A WINTER DIARY AND OTHER POEMS. By Mark Van Doren. New York: The Macmillan Co. In herolc couplets Mr. Van Doren tells in his title poem of a Winter in the country, from October to April. drawing his inspiration from the soil and the elements, as Thomson did in “The Seasons” and Whittier in “Snow- bound.” Four city dwellers remain in the country when the last of the it comes tirough the crust of the earth, and smiles disdainfully at the authority of the hard soil Nature has three worlds for life, the world of aw. the world of water and the world ot blood. | We think so much of the first two worlds, that seldom does the average | person stop cnce to think of the great | silent world of the blood streams of life. Yet, the world around, they must total many billions upon billions of | tures. | This vast sea is inhabited. alas, by | creatures criled parasites The Iatest | and part in the dog. | | - These things are silent they make | It will not mean that he can con-| no noise, but veritably exist as well The lyrics show a wide range of sub- as any. | Yet say to your dog-owning friend, | such a case, or that he will be able | “Your sick pet may have heart worm.” | former {to find out facts which others who and he probably will laugh you to | Thunde: 5 have concentrated their life study on| scorn, because he has never heard of and “Jonathan Gentry the thing. He who thinks for himself never laughs. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. | sentially that of light. or 186,000 miles | a second. | Now some of the methematicians | Princeton, with which Prof. Einstein | himself is assoclated, have taken the trouble to subject the idea to critical analysis. The result, according to a note in this week’s Science, is that they find in order to explain the aberations of the orbits of earth, this velocity of gravitron propagation must | be several million times that of light. For Mars and Venus a minimum speed of 60.000 times 186,000 miles a second would be sufficient. For earth the requirements would be about 2,000,000 the velocity of light. The existence of such unimaginable speeds | in the universe is considered at least as fantastic as anything which has come out of the theory of relativity. * ¥k *x Dr. F. A. Vening Meinesz of the Netherlands Geodetic Commission, who four years ago co-operated in a Navy Department-Carnegie Institution expedition to investigate variation of | gravity in the Porto Rico Deep, soon | will start on the most ambitious of all his gravity expeditions. It will be a general gravimetric sur- vey of the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Thus far most such surveys have been in the Northern Hemi- spheres. Geophysicists believe that Dr. Vening Meinesz may be able to shed some light on the reasons for the ex- istence of the mid-Atlantic ridge, the great submarine mountain system that extends North and South through the middle of the ocean. Gravity measurements at sea are possible only on a deeply submerged submarine with special implements de- vised by the Netherlands scientist him- self. * ® ¥ % The “cold light” of the firefly can be produced in the chemical laboratory— but it costs 25,000,000 times as much as the same amount of light from elec- tricity. The duplication of tne firefly light has been 2ccomplished in the re- search laboratory of the General Electric Co. First a mixture of luminol, sodium hydroxide and water is placed in a glass tube. Into this a second mixture of potassium ferro- cyanide and hydrogen peroxide is al- lowed to run A bright glow results. It is essentially the same operation as that which takes place in the firefly. The insect, however, produces the chemicals in its natural processes and there is no cost to be considered. But producing the same amount as would come from & very large-sized firefly by the laboratory process costs $35. It can be duplicated for a ten-thou- sandth of a cent. e A Safety Drive in Kansas. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A Kansas weekly reports the traffic safety drive in its town has made some gains, as motorists are now sounding the horn before running down pedestrians, —————— Young Kings. From the New York Times. If King Peter of Yugoslavia and King Ananda of Siam and Crown Prince Mihai of Rumania should form an alliance, one might call it the Junior League if a person had nothing o do. < | to explore the West. Summer people have returned to test the Winter solitude of the country. face of the country as October sun- | | shine gives place to November rains, | December snows and the settled icy cold of January and February are recorded in the “Winter Diary.” with the corresponding changes in the routine life of the family in the farm- house and the animals in their stables. The verse form, so well adapted to the subject; the delicately chosen | ""No man's condition is so hopeless, | gallons, a vast internal sea for the phrasing and the depth of feeling it is good to think, that he has no ' habitat of scores of microscopic crea- combine to make this one of the best of modern pastoral poems. The volume also contains a sequence of 34 sonnets and a number of lyrics | of these 1s the dog-heart worm, which | grouped under the headings: “The | It will not mean at all that he must | pasess part of its life in the mosquito | Eyes," The Tower,” “Return to Ritua The Story-Teller,” “Report of Angels” and “Here Then He Lay.” | Jject and meter and represent some of Mr. Van Doren's best work. His “Spring * X ¥ ¥ FROM THEN TILL NOW. By James Barnes. New York: D. Appleton- Century Co. When only 18 James Barnes left Lenox, Mass. and New York City, where his family lived, and wert forth He has been exploring soinething ever since, places, people, ideas. He writes as familiarly of Europe and South Africa as he does of Marhattan. His whole life has been spent with mer of affairs, artists, writers, and much of his own time has been given to writing. He Was & newspaper correspondent dur- ing the Boer War, was a highly-paid personal secretary to Joseph Pulitzer quring a private cruise, worked as an engineer /n the Middle West, did edi- torial work with various publishers, has written novels and juveniles, went | on a photographic expedition with Kearton to South Africa, served in the World War, and now lives at Princeton. He has had a rich life, one in which he has been able to choose his way instead of being pushed along it, and his reminiscen- ces, written with delightful informal- ity, convey the impression that he has enjoyed every bit of it. * ok % x ROME AND THE WORLD TODAY. By Herhert 8. Hadley New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons The Roman Empire gave to suc- ceeding centuries law and the prod- ucts of a “golden age” of literature. All high school students are famil- iar with these contributions. Histo- rians and economists have in recent years found in the events preceding the establishment of the Roman Em- pire, its comparatively long duration, its decline and fall, numerous paral~ lels with world history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth cen- turies and have not hesitated to base prophecies on their comparisons. Dr. Hadley, professor of law at the Uni- versity of Colorado, some time ago made a study of the similarities be- tween the reorganization of civiliza- tion under the Roman Empire, which “brought a war-worn world 200 years of peace,” and conditions prevailing in ,the modern world almost shat- tered by the World War. Since then the economic collapse has been the sequence of that war and some of Dr. Hadley's forecasts seem already to have been realized. So this new edition of his book is worth while. * X * X SUNLIGHT ON THE HILLS. By Elizabeth Carfrae. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. Love that lasts, that overcomes ob- stacles, that is worth the sacrifice of a career, really romantic love that grows out of initial antipathy, or the pretense of it, is the theme about which Elizabeth Carfrae has con- structed the events of this almost old-fashioned novel. It is prevented from being entirely old-fashioned by its pleture, certainly somewhat ideal- ized, of London theatrical life of the present time, from the experiences of the struggling actress playing small parts to those of the star whose dress- ing room is crowded with admirers after the play; and by the suggestion oi the heroine for a trial marriage, from which she is saved at the last moment by the arrival of the right man and the pmm of immediate, orthodox wedding ki Kay Douglas, child of poverty, has by dogged determination and an un- usual allowance of beauty worked her way up to the star part in “A Lady of Leisure,” when her health breaks under the combined strain of hard work and late parties and & famous and expensive London physician tells her that she has tuberculosis and must resign herself to a quiet life in the country for a year or two if she wishes to go on living. At first she thinks she will continue the life she loves and accept early death as its purchase price; then mere living seams 100 good o abendam of plates, for Giotto and Brunelleschi | Many palaces | of sculpture are the bronze doors of | Jacopo della Quercia’s monument to | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Washington Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D.C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. How much money does the av- erage American spend on movies, cigarettes, soft drinks and other luxu- ries?—M. G. A. The National Recreation Asso- clation estimates that on“an average each American spends annually $4 for candy, $7.70 for motion pictures and theaters, $5.10 for cigarettes ard $4.50 for soft drinks. Q. Over how wide a range does the | | human ear hear sound?—P. E. W. | A. The average human hearing capacity ranges over nearly nine octaves, varying in vibrations per second from about 30 to more than 16,000. Ordinarily the human ear is most sensitive to sound of a fre- | quency of from 1,000 to 2,000 cycles a second. The soprano high “c” is approximately at the lower of these two frequencies. Q. Is the Gulf of Mexico salt and is it as clear as the Atlantic Ocean?— | E. 8. | " A. The water of the Gulf of Mexico is as clear as that of the Atlantic and has a high salinity, namely, 36, Q. When did James Walker resign | as mayor of New York?—R. C. A. Mayor Walker resigned on Sep- tember 1, 1932 Q. How many duck stam been sold>—R. T. A. The Bureau of Biological Survey says that up to December 31, 1934, ps have | | been sold for the open season of 1934- 1935. These stamps are sold at $1 each for the purpose of creating a special fund, to be known as the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund, to | Agriculture. Ninety per cent of the | money so received is to go for this purpose, while the remaining 10 per |cent is available for administrative expenses. | each stamp shall expire and be void after the 30th day of June next suc- | ceeding its issuance. Q. How long has Scotch whisky been exported?—R. T. A. The export to England began in 1776, but it was rectified there and | sold as English gin or French brandy. | town, for “it is the year we stay,” to|It was not until 1825 that Scotch | whisky became recognized on its own | The changes in the weather and the | merits outside of Scotland. Q. How many Italians are not liv- | ing in Italy?>—L. W. B. A. The number of Italians living abroad—that is, in other countries | | of the world, including non-European | ones—is estimated at 9.600.000. There are approximately 1,800,000 Italians | in this country. | Q. What became of Eva Tanguay | of “I don't care” fame?—H. H. | A. The former musical comedy | singer has opened a costume shop in Hollywood. ants of South Sea Islands, Africa and similar places to take parts in { motion pictures>—W. E. G. A. Primitive peoples are natural | is little difficulty in persuading them | to act. | demic in the Middle West>—M. T. | A. The great horse epidemic known | as the horse plague occurred in the vear 1912. The word sometimes used to refer to this type of disease is| | epizootic. Thousands of horses died during this plague. | London. | by a small headstone, but the English 572,638 duck hunting stamps had | be administered by the Secretary of ' For the purpose of use | Q. Is it difficult to train inhxblt-[ actors and when their aversion to | | being photographed is overcome there | Q. When was the great horse epi- ' Q. What is the name of the sensa- tion that a certain incident happened a long time ago as well as at the pres- ent time?—W. N. B. A. This feeling is known as param- nesia by psychologists, It is a com- mon experience and, briefly explained, the reaction depends upon a little trick of the mind manifested by a momentary loss of a sense of time and space. Q. Can students at the United States Military Academy changz to the Naval Academy?—C. B. D. A. Students at West Point cannot change to Arnapolis without first re- signing from West Point and getting an appointment to the Naval Academy. Q. Who is known in American his- tory as the Pathfinder?—S8. D. A. John C. Fremont. Q. How much would 1,000,000 new dollar bills weigh?—G. M. A. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing says that 1,000,000 $1 bills of the new size of currency would weigh approximately 2,031 pounds. In the old size they weighed 3,000 pounds. Q. Where is Daniel of “Robinson Crusoe,” buried?—E. F. A. The author died in poverty in 1731 and was buried in Bunhill Fields, His grave was marked only Defoe, author | boys and girls who had read “Robin- | son Crusoe™ subscribed the money for a monument with a suitable inscrip- ‘ tion. | Q. Has the Walters Art Gallery an extensive collection?—E. M. A. In a recent address one of the directors of the gallery said that when the entire collection is exhibited Bal- | timore will be revealed as one of the | art centers of the world. Q. What is the largest chunk of gold ever found?—T. P. B. A. The United States Bureau of Mines says that so far as it knows the largest piece of gold ever found was a chunk from a deep mine in Chile. | weighing 4,900 troy ounces, or 336 | avoirdupois pounds. The largest | loose piece was a Beyer and Holter- | man nugget found at Hill End, New | South Wales, in 1872, weighing 630 avoirdupois pounds gross and con- taining 193 pounds net of gold. Q. What is meant by vernalization” —B. D. A | A. It is a process new to agricultural science by which seeds and bulbs are treated before planting in order (o | accelerate development of flowers and | fruit. Q. Was President Franklin Roose- velt ever a meinber of a President’s cabinet?>—R. H. W. A He was not a cabinet member He was Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the Woodrow Wilson admin- istration. Q. How many meetings have been held by the National Rivers and Har- bors Congress?—B. T. A. Twenty-nine. The thirtieth an- nual convention will be held May 2 and 3 in Washington, D. C. Q. Please explain how Mongols u:c lassoo ponies?—J. H. W. A. The Mongols use horses or ponics extensively. The ponies in immediate use are kept tied up near the village. One especially fast and carefully trained is always at hand to act as the lassoo pony. When an animal is | wanted from the herd, a rider mounted on his pony takes a rod with a noose at the end. picks out the animal he wants to take, rides up and drops the noose over its head, tightens the noose and plays it as a fisherman, riding it round in circles until it gives in. The lassoo pony must be sufficiently fast to keep a neck ahead of any pony to be captured. | ‘Utility Propaganda Charge Creates Sha President Roosevelt's active support | of the Wheeler-Rayburn bills to regu- ! Iate holding companies in the public | utility field has aroused a spirited de- | bate over the effect of such legislation. | The President’s charge that leaders in | the industry have been using propl-l ganda is echoed in some comm!n'.!.! while others reply that the adminis- tration itself has made liberal use of propaganda. ! “Mr. Roosevelt,” suggests the Chi- | cago Daily News, “is now talking like | Grover Cleveland in the days when | the Sherman law was being forged. | Cleveland attacked the ‘communism of pelf’ as Roosevelt now assails ‘pri- vate socialism.” If Mr. Roosevelt hews to this line consistently, N. R. A., A. A. A and many others of the alphabetical gadgets of the New Deal will have to be junked or profoundly modified.” “The President is right.” according to the Sacramento Bee, “in declaring the private utility holding company is & device which does not belong to| American traditions of law and busi- ness. Its record has branded it as vicious, an interloper in the field of commerce. The country stands be- hind the President in his courageous | fight.” Need of regulation of such com- | panies is emphasized by the Rochester Times-Union, the Portland Oregon Journal and the Geneva (N. Y.) Times. while the Newark Evening News feels | that difficult measures “may be fitted together to curb the scandalous abuses and colossal greed that have brought the system into such grave disrepute.” ‘The Kansas City Times refers to “the parasite top company” which generally “has defled regulation.” The Youngs- town (Ohio) Vindicator feels that the President “is on solid ground” and “will win new support.” The Austin (Tex.) American looks for “a straight line-up on Congress of those who are for and those who are against the holding companies and their masters.” Arguing against the President’s posi- tion, the Providence Bulletin states: “There is no gain, it is apparent. in lifting the controlling hand of a ‘few obeys the doctor and finds a home in a quiet cottage in Cornwall. The theatrical world soon forgets her, but after weeks of bitterness she finds at Polpendor & new standard of value, through a small boy who attaches himself to her as a friend—and through the small boy's father. Her career is not as completely finished as she thinks, for after two years her health is restored and she is brought back to London and a star part by a successful playwright. Then Michael, apparently at the point of death, needs her; she abandons the play. just going into rehearsal, and goes to him in Cornwall. In spite of an- other comeback, her career is ended by Michael and his father; but we leave her ecst:tically happy, so it’s all right. Elizabeth Carfrae’s stories, well written and packed full of wholesome sentiment and ideals, give pleasure to many who are tired of problems and do not particularly care rp Controversy financial centers’ from operating com- panies only to replace it with the clammy paw of the bureaucrat. There is no benefit in moving the control and benefits of operating companies from their localities to Washington.” Replying to the President’s charge of utility propaganda, the Cincinnati Times-Star contends that “more than any peacetime administration before it, Mr. Roosevelt’s administration has used propaganda.” This view is held also by the Charleston (S. C.) Evening Post, while the stand that some hold- ing companies may be useful in ex- tending service and improving rates is taken by the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. Right of the utilities to defend themselves when under attack is sup- ported by the New Haven Journal- Courier, while the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram offers the argument: “There are abuses, to be sure. There are both petitions and protests that are mischievous propaganda and ques- tionable politics. These should be curbed by an aroused public senti- ment, but care should be taken not to stifle justifiable public response to is- sues that are honestly debatable.” The Akron Beacon Journal hopes that action will be confined to “getting a better deal for consumers.” and the Roanoke (Va.) World-News says: “There are many abuses to be remedied before the utilities field can be restored to full public favor. But we do not see that either well-managed com- panies or innocent investors need to be made to suffer because the Govern- ment has been negligent in the past in the exercise of its right of super- vision.” “Many of the worst abuses of the holding companies in the boom era,” advises the New York Times, “died of their own excess. Others have been correcled by State commissions or State Legislatures. If any remain for congressional attention, under the commerce clause, let them be set forth in the bill and subjected to regulation at the hands of the proper Federal agency without setting the entire in- dustry on its head.” ———— Blissful Ignorance. From the Willlamsport (Pa.) Sun. If a vote were taken to find the country’s most fortunate citizen, a likely candidate could be found in a Chicago girl who has been sleeping throughout most of the years of de- pression. e A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton. Panorama A midtown populace going by, Out of the concrete, under the sky. Here and there in bolder view A girl with mittens of azure blue, A small child hugging an alley cat, A beggar panhandling a diplomat, A merry vendor of evening news, Native and alien, jumble of hues. to know all there is to know about &nd parvarsions of uis. A A city populace pouring by Out of the eoncrete, undar she sky. e