Evening Star Newspaper, July 27, 1935, Page 6

" A—6 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. RATURDAY .. July 27, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES.. .. Editer The Evening s{-} New:pnptr Company. 11n 8 Pad Pepntyivania Ave New York Office: 110 Ea: ind St. Chicage Office: Lake Michigan Building. European Office; 14 Regent 8t.. London, Engiand. the City. Rate by Carrier Within Regular Edith The Eveninz Star = = The Evering and Sunday Star (when 4 Sunaays) The Evenine and Sunday Sta (when 5 Sundays) The Sunday Stal Night Final Edition. ishi Final and Sunday Star ar 85c per month 1SNt Finl "Siar 0 o = Coliection made ai the end of each monih. Orders may be sent by mail or telephone Na- tional 5000 _45c per month _60c per month _65¢ per month be per copy 0c per manth Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Marviand and Virginia. Drily and Sunday___1 yr. §10.00: 1 Dsilv only __ £6.00 Sunday only__. $4.00; Al Other States and Canada, Dailr and Sunday . $12.00: 1 mo. $1.00 Daily only . $R00% 1 Buncay onl ri $5.00; 1 mo.. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press Is exclusively entitled to | the use for republication of all news dispatches | credited to It or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news published herein Al rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. — Communism and War. Significant alteration in the world the congress of the Third Interna- tional at Moscow on Friday. slogan of “Turn imperialist war civil war” is shelved, in the face of the Fascist menace, and Communists now are adjured to adopt entirely different procedure. In future, in case of an attack, for example, by Fascist Ger- many on any small country, such as Lithuania, Latvia, Czechoslovakia or Austria, Communists take their piaces alongside other citizens of hitherto despised “bourgeois” states and fight with them shoulder to shoulder for preservation of democratic and par- liamentary institutions, Comintern's decision represents a complete about-face. Looking upon war hitherto as exclusively a “capitalist” mechanism to be condemned and com- batted under any and all conditions, the Communists' creed called upon them by every means at their command to rabotage war efforts. To that end they were sworn to transform “imperialist” war into civil war and concentrate forces at will in each country at vital parts of the | war machine. “Practical organization of mass action” was projected. Stoppage of shipment of arms and troops and of manufacture of munitions and sup- plies for belligerents was & primary feature of the war-against-war program, along with the creation of mutiny armies and navies. Nothing capable of crippling “imperialist” power to carry on hostilities was to be ignored. The Third International discards that policy, at least as far as war to repel Fascism is concerned. Nazi Germany chiefly in mind, but there were references at Moscow that war ventures by Fascist Italy and militarist Japan are to be resisted in the same spirit. This new Red concept was elucidated by Wilhelm Pieck, German Communist Jeader, speaking for the Third Interna- tional's Executive Committee. “Where there is a Fascist dictatorship,” he de- clared, “the proletariat is deprived even of the most significant rights and oppor- tunity legally to defend its class in- terests. Therefore we Communists will battle whole-heartedly to retain every ounce of democratic freedom, in com- pany with those who have held in some degree to the principles of bourgeois democracy. * * * If German Fascism attacks the independence and unity of small states, a war waged by the na- tional bourgeoisie of those countries will be a just war, in which proletarians and Communists cannot avoid taking part.” Communism’s revised views may not deter the Hitlers and Mussolinis from waging wars of conquest, but they at least know that Communist-staged in- ternal strife within countries which be- come the objects of attack can no longer be depended upon for aid and comfort to the aggressors. o A campaign against reckless drivers helps to hinder the activities of nervous | | bootleggers and kidnapers. e Naval ratios are discussed with in- telligent energy. Bombing plane ratios are harder to calculate. - e Embarrassing. ‘The deal which shifted Judge Wilson from the Virgin Islands to the Federal | Parole Board was apparently devised, in part at least, by thoughtful officials { in the Department of Justice who wished to spare Dr. Amy N. Stannard, & physician and psychiatrist of high standing, the “embarrassment” of dis- cussing with her male colleagues on the board cases concerning male prisoners. It is explained by these thoughtful gen- tlemen that only a small percentage of | cases concern women: that the Parole Board is no place for a woman and Dr. Stannard should not be subjected to | &uch embarrassment any longer. Well, this is a relief. undoubtedly many who, ‘Vandenberg of Michigan, like Senator feared the shift was merely political and who, like | Senator Vandenberg, concluded that “anything which indicates a willingness to prostitute the parole system to politics is a very unwelcome development.” It is comforting to know that the reason | Dr. Stannard was removed from the board was to save her embarrassment, and that politics had nothing to do with it. The fact that Dr. Stannard herself laughingly denies she was ever em- barrassed, of course, has nothing to do with the matter.. Who is she to- know whether she was embarrassed or not? But in this connection the attention of Secretary of the Treasury Morgen- thau is respectfully called to the fact | that his Assistant Secretary in charge | of public health is Miss Josephine Roche. And Miss Roche succeeded Assistant Secretary Lawrence Wood Robert, jr., i | led to the repeal of prohibition | attitude of the House, in shouting down all attempts to place the new Federal | | Alcohol Administration under the civil | civil Its old | into | in | indicating | ‘There were | THE EVENING who has since been placed in charge of engraving and printing and the mint service. It is not known whether dis- cussion of details of public health with Surgeon General Cumming embarrassed Mr. Robert, a former foot ball player, but they must assuredly embarrass Miss Roche, whether she admits it or not. And for this reason Miss Roche should be removed, in deference to her sensi- | bilities, and replaced by a man. Surely the Treasury Department will not permit itself to be outdone by the Department of Justice in a matter of gallantry and respect for womanhood! B Political Liquor Control. After the abuses under the liquor traffic that led to prohibition and after the abuses under the liquor traffic that the service, in specifically exempting it from service, cannot be justified on grounds of reason or common sense. But, unfortunately, it does not have to be. Civil service has been subjected to more vicious attacks under this | patronage-hungry administration than | under any previous administration in the history of the civil service. Congress has " | demonstrated before that it is more in- policy of Communism Wwas prnrlalmed‘ terested in jobs than in civil service. It is to be hoped, however, that the Senate's consideration of the bill will | bring evidence of a sincere desire to | place this important new agency of Gov- | ernment and liquor traffic regulation be- yond the reach of the politicians. And | the only practical method of guaran- | teeing that objective Is by strict appli- | cation of the civil service and merit system princjple. The Federal Alcohol Control Admin- istration, under Mr. Joseph H. Choate, jr, was a temporary agency created under the national recovery act to deal with the highly important and difficult | job of regulating the revived liquor in- dustry. There was some excuse for exempting its employes from civil service. | | Now the agency is being re-created as a permanent agency of Government. It | will regulate the liquor traffic as far as Federal jurisdiction under repeal per- mits it. As a branch of the Treasury Department, under Secretary Morgen= thau, the new agency might later be covered into the civil service. But the wording of the House bill specifically prevents that by declaring that the ad- ministrator “shall” select without regard to the civil service or | classification acts. If politics becomes a part of liquor traffic or liquor industry regulation it will become the dominant part. The evils of that domination have been manifested time and again. It was merely reasonable to expect that every precau- tion possible would be taken to prevent | their repetition. Its action has | ——————————— Freak Base Ball. Base ball games produce some strange | situations, odd feats of playv, accidents | that turn the course of events and by their peculiarity make base ball history. Yesterday in New York such a play de- veloped. With two men on base and one out, & New York batter slammed the ball on & line toward the pitcher, who threw up his hands to catch it or to pro- tect himself, but it crashed through to his forehead, hitting with such force that it bounded back on & fly, which the catcher took and, throwing quickly to second base, made a double play to re- tire the side. The pitcher fell to the ground in agony, was carried off the field and found to be suffering merely from a concussion. Truly, to use the phraseology of the sport, a bonehead play! dumb performances when players do the wrong thing. In this case the player inadvertently, and quite unwittingly, did the right thing, as far as the game was concerned, and used his head materially if not mentally. Washington once had on its base ball staff a pitcher who was so frequently used for relief work, and was so effective in that role that he gained the sobriquet of “Rubber Arm” Russell. team has never, however, had until now a rubber-head pitcher. aspires to fill that role regularly, or even ! occasionally, and the pitcher who yes- terday so performed—fortunately he was not seriously hurt—will seek to acquire an effective technique of dodging line shots in the future. Already this season one of the Nationals’ pitchers has been disabled for several weeks by a crashing liner that broke his kneecap. Is there & conspiracy of enemy batters to ruin the Washington staff, none too effective this | year, by sharpshooting tactics? o When Jules Verne wrote “Twenty- Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” he | had no idea of the mechanical genius | which would one day cause delightful fiction to be taken so seriously as to de- velop the merciless submarine. ——— - A Long Legislative Day. What is a “day”? To all but a very small coterie of people, centered here in Washington, a day is twenty-four hours of sixty minutes each. A day is the time elasping from midnight to mid- night. But to that coterie mentioned, members of the Congress, a day may be something else than that span of time. It may be many solar days. For instance, yesterday a day that began on the 13th of May came to an end. It was, in fine, a “legislative day” seventy~ | four solar days in length. But long as it was, it did not make a record. Back in 1922, when the Senate was consider- ing the Fordney-McCumber tariff bill, a single legislative day covered one hundred and five solar days. The fiction of an uninterrupted legis- lative day has long been a feature of Senate practice, adopted supposedly in the interest of time saving, a strange anomaly. Under the peculiar Senate rules of procedure that body may merely “recess” at the end of a sitting instead of adjourning and thus continue the consideration of the pending measure n employes | This term is applied usually to | The Capital’s Probably no one | without the formality of daily session openings with prayer, the reading of the journal, the making and entertain- ment of routine motions, the transac- tion of miscellaneous business, starting at once upon the fall of the gavel each morning with the unfinished business, a tariff bill, a bank bill, or what not. As a matter of fact not much time is saved by this device, for the usual run of current routine business is attended to by unanimous consent, which 1s usu- ally granted because every member of the Senate is interested in minor mat- | ters and consent is almost always granted for such minutiae lest objec- tions lead to reprisals. ‘The maintenance of a single legisla- tive day over a span of many weeks is not the same as a “continuous ses- | sion,” for the daily recess occurs at about | | the usual time of adjournment, whereas | in a session that is continuous the Sen- ate sits without interruption night and | day until a vote is had upon the pend- | | ing measure. Historlans of the future, | meticulous in respect to chronology, | must be careful not to confuse legisla- i tive and calendar days in their time | tables of congressional happenings. —— - The beautiful benediction of Tiny ‘Tim holds its charm, although the novel- ist failed to describe what happemed to | old Scrooge's business after he became | | so impetuously philanthropic. - Seed distribution by the Department of Agriculture fades into the limbo of insignificant practice when farmers are | educated to expect more money from re- duced crops. e Fishing was made prominent by Grover Cleveland as a presidential sport. He permitted no fictions as to the size of his catch, being an avowed foe of all forms of “intellectual dishonesty.” e When Herbert Hoover spoke con- temptuously of the Virgin Islands he did not know how much politics they were capable of developing. r——— FEthiopia has a king of kings, but a question remains to be solved as to who shall be dictator of dictators. R When mills are coined some admirers of a previous Secretary of the Treasury | may favor designating them as “Ogdens.” STAR, WASHT | people.” e A severe Summer reveals the resort hotels as active in circulating some of the most misleading propaganda. o — Again the same great question is before | the League of Nations, which is, “What are you going to do about it?"” e LT With billions of dollars for relief comes the greatest problem of distribution that ' has ever confronted the American public. Shooting Stars, BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Incomprehensible. We waltz along in merry style And sometimes we reverse. We think we're making progress while We go from bad to worse. The saddest lot existence brings » In any age and land Is trying to explain the things We do not understand. A baby cries when first it meets The light of earthly day. And somber ceremony greets When life must fade away. The world a glimpse of laughter flings, Yet fate with stern command Still keeps us struggling with the things We cannot understand. Publicity Sport. “Whny don't you quit work and go fishing?" “What for?” said Senator Sorghum. “The public is excited about so many other things nobody would care whether I caught any fish or not.” Jud Tunkins says what the country needs is more Einsteins whose figures astonish you but don't require a dollar mark to start them. Versatility. Oh, Katydid, if you foretell A bit of frosty alr, Your music surely will compel A salutation fair. | They say with your hind legs you make Your tunes throughout the land, And both to be, you undertake, The ballet and the band. Inheritance. “What is Mesa Bill so gloomy about?” said the traveling salesman. “Family fortune,” said Cactus Joe. “His old folks left him a marked deck | of cards to make a living with. He's | | wondering whether he’ll have to pay an | inheritance tax.” Unfavored. Proud plumage flaunts where threats are hurled ° Into the battle ring. The peace of & long suffering world Seems not to mean a thing. As strange revenges grimly thrive And foemen fiercely meet The old taxpayer can't contrive To get a ringside seat! “A camp meetin’ don’t always reform | | de county,” said Uncle Ebe: ut any- how it does more good dan a political convention.” — S Low Price. From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, American dancer has been fined $3.50 for outraging the morals of Paris. It | seems queer that this stupendous achievement should be rated as a light offense. it The Ultimate Beneficiary. From the New Haven (Conn.) Journal-Courier. From the looks of things now, the AAA is helping the lawyers more than the farmers. — e Diplomatic Housekeeping. From the Watertown (N.Y.) Times. We notice that they have taken the Kellog-Briand treaty down and dusted it. el - ! D0 Depressions of 1865 And 1935 Compared To the Editor of The Star: The depression following the big war between the States was as to the depres- sion we are now suffering as the Wash- 4ngton Monument is to & match. At that time we had no glorified dole to help us over. The woods in Iowa were full of wjld plums and very sour crab apples. These we guarded as precious Jewels. At breakfast if there wasn't milk enough for every one to have & full glass my mother added water, and never in Washington, where I have lived for some 50 years, have I ever tasted champagne that tasted as good as that watered milk. Everything was salvaged and some use made of it. In Summer we hung our butter and cream in the well to keep it cool and sweet and in the Winter we hung our eggs and other things there to keep them from freezing. We had an old osken bucket and we didn't know anything about the germs that might have been in it and we prob- ably ate and digested millions of them. This was really the horse and wagon age. Now, some men on relief go to get it in a car that looks like it just came out of the varnish pot. The depression of '65 made men strong as Hercules. The depression now is making beggars and parasites of the American people. I go downtown so seldom that there seem to be new laws and regulations every time I go down, so I take a taxi because of the cursed left hand turns, and because no one cares for the one on foot. the driver of the taxi “Mr. Operator” and I tell him I am writing a taxi cate- | chism, and tell him not to tell me any- | thing he does not want to see in print. 1 start out with, “Where were you born?” The last one said, “Virginia.” “Are you a Democrat?” “Yes.” “Are you a Glass or Roosevelt Democrat?” He said, "I am not for Roosevelt.” T asked, “Why not?” He said, “I have just been home to my rooming house to get my mail and | there were seven relief checks and each one can work as well as I. The Presi- dent is making beggars of the American One might add with truth, also parasites, People make such merit of doing with- out things their mothers never had, A | man had been out of work for some months and his rent was long overdue. He finally got a job at $15.00 a day and his wife took the first money he received | and bought & new dress at the best shop in Washington. She said the wife of her husband’s boss had & dress from that shop and she was as good as she. One wonders what our grandchildren will say of this spree of spending and we make such a time about a few little hardships. | What would Lincoln have thought about our want of courage and our inability to do without? I heard a woman say the other day that she had to have what she wanted, but she could do without | | what she needed. The more one studies about Lincoln the more one thinks that Washington could not have done what Lincoln did. Some time, I believe, when we have enought information we will decide that Lincoln was the greatest man the Republic has ever produced. Wash- ington lived to enjoy the glory of his | victories. Lincoln was shot down in the middle of the greatest tragedy the Re- public has yet known. If one will only take into account what the people of this country suffered at the time of Lin- coln we shall feel very small making such a time about the present depres- sion. There is plenty for our needs. It's our wants that bring devastation. There is enough food thrown in the garbage cans of Brookland to feed all that need it, if it could be salvaged while it were fresh and good. It is this deplorable waste that is mortgaging our future for | about 500 years. CAROLINE HARRISON. e E | Why Few Escape From The Federal Prisons To the Editor of The Star: In vour paper last Sunday vou had an article about few men escaping from the Federal Penitentiary at Atlanta, Ga. I am of the opinion that many | people will be surprised at this state- | ment, in view of what is happening at the other prisons around the country. | But as I am & Georgian, I am not at all surprised at this record. You see, Southerners, and especially Georgians, are taught from infancy, honor, . pa- triotism, fidelity and respect for law. Now this is not taught them by $50-a- day character teachers such as here in Washington, but by their own parents, who may live in a log hut or stately mansion. The guards at Federal penitentiaries are drawn from civil service register and may be from any State, but after being among people of honor and fidelity for a few months they become imbued with this spirit of honor. No, convicts do not escape from Federal pens without | help from the people employed there. I know a man in Washington, a former guard at Alcatraz, who is willing to finish the term of any man who escapes from Alcatraz. I am willing to do the same for those escaping from the Atlanta pen. PERD L. CAIN. ----- e r——— Traveler by Bus Drops Into Vers | To the Editor of The 8tar: The following, the authorship of which is not herein disclosed, may lack poetic polish, but it serves to convey an idea of seeming sensibleness: In the afternoon of a real hot day . Two travelers started on their way. | Both looked neat in laundered suits, | Collars stiff as they chose their route: One in his auto front-air could boas The other by bus to suffer most. Near a circle in Chevy Chase. Each other’s clothes they did behold, Then their feelings to unfold. The man who chose the bus was fussy, Pores exuding, wilted, mussy, While the man who journeyed in his Was neat and trim with moistless coat. Moral: Open fronts for air, Treat the riddrs fair. EDWIN S. HEGE. ——— Gen. Johnson Says He is Not for Boondoggling To the Editer of The Star: Paul Mallon has a column in yours | of July 19 which gives a false impression. 1 am no more for boondoggling now than ever and have consistently said so and will continue to say so. In order to prevent an hiatus, T let all boondoggling projects stand until the whole subject can be reviewed, and, be- lieve me, it will be reviewed. Also the idea that I was enticed by any allure into my present job is a joke. I took it as an unpleasant duty and will leave it as soon as the job is done. HUGH S. JOHNSON. ————— Dangerous Prosperity. Prom the New York Sun. Cincinnati fans got so excited over the | interruption of a seven-game winning streak that they threw pop bottles at the umpire, which shows that it isn't always advisable to leap from slow starvation to a rich diet. 1 call | | to nausea, is | the fifth and sixth centuries. | the fertile coast | came with the rise of Mahomet. | customs. SATURDAY, JULY 27, 1935 THIS AND- THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Hot weather brings home strikingly the slavery of most persons to custom. No matter how the heat affects the stomach, especially if a slight nausea is induced, few persons seem to think they shouid eat except at the customary times. A little milk whenever needed is very good. The European custom of having six or more meals a day is particularly sen- sible during Summer. Just a little—not very much—but just enough food to tide one over the empty spots of the day. Now while there are a great many people who fail to give in to these good urges for more nourishment, no doubt there are countless hundreds who, in one way or another, do succumb. They manage to patronize a soda fountain or other place where foods and drinks are dispensed. You will see them at all hours whiling away & few minutes, at the same time easing the strain of hot weather on the digestive apparatus. * % % % It is not always recognized that the heat has a great effect on that time- honored organ, the stomach. A slight sense of nausea is induced by the continued heat. The sensation is nothing heat on the skin, perhaps. | Just how to explain this the layman will not know, being no physiologist. He realizes that the interior of the body remains at the same temperature | no matter what happens outside it. In the tropics, or in the Arctic Circle, there is no variation inside, except in | disease. * % * ¥ It may be that the unusually heated condition of the epidermis calls forth some sympathetic condition within. A slight feeling of uneasiness, akin very common in hot weather. Perhaps it is the most com- mon symptom, next to sheer discomfort, Not to remove it, by partaking of a bit of nourishment, is akin to mild foolishne: A litue food will go a long way in such a case. Whenever the symptom occurs is the time to eat. In all likelinood the set meals of the day are sketchy affairs, at the best, and no doubt this fact has something to do with the desire for more food at unusual hours. We often have seen the human cus- tom of certain hours for meals at- tacked as inimical, but it will remain a question whether it is not founded | directly in Nature. Creatures of all sorts have their fa- vorite times for eating. The house cat, for instance, prefers to eat at 4:30 pm. The angel fish, in the aquarium, would rather be fed at 6:30 oclock in the evening. We have verified these two favorite times in so many instances that there can be little doubt about them. Animals, of course, will become used to anything, so that if they are fed at set times of the day, no matter what those times may be, they will look for- ward to them. Permitted to select their own time, however, each creature has its choice, and will make it known definitely and without doubt. The only trouble comes in with the observer, who may not permit the ani- mals to make their own selection. He may intrude his own wishes and con- veniences. In the case of the aquarium fish, instanced above, there can be little doubt that its preferred time for eating STARS, MEN but the | reaction of the stomach to the extreme | is induced by the sun. 8o its preference varies, being about one hour before official sundown. At this time of year it will eat best and most at about 6:30 o'clock, but as the days grow shorter, and Autumn comes on it will put the time forward, so that in September it will be eating between 5:30 and 6 o'clock and toward Christmas at about 4:30 p.m. S ply because they have come under ‘the influence of man. In Nature no doubt they would eat whenever they could find food. In the case of the angel fish, it is likely that the hour before sunset is natural, being chosen because at that time small insects in their native pools haunt the surface of the water. With most animals, however, the choosing of a time to eat is thrust upen them by mankind. Watch the monkeys at the Zoo and see them eat constantly. In this habit the animals are making sure of a good thing while they have it. Man, too, in certain ages, and in cer- tain countries even yet, eats all he can whenever he can get it, on the sound theory that if he doesn't, perhaps there | will be none when he grows hungry in. Man under civilization has had such to devise a system of eating at stated times in order to prevent the total wreckage of his inner economy. In our country the eating times are three in number, in the main, spaced | about five hours between the morning and the noon meal and about six be- tween the noon and the evening meal. A great many people “eat a little something” before they go to bed, bring- ing their total number of meals to at least four. If we add the occasional chocolate soda, candy bar or apple, we find that many persons, no doubt a very large percentage of the populace, at least in the cities, eat at least six meals a day whether they count them or not, * o x Surely they do themselves good. in most cases, by the fact that several of the extra meals are composed of just one item. Thus they approach the continental | system, which has its double breakfast, its tea and before-bedtime repast They illustrate the advantage of just a little food taken at shorter intervals than customary. There is something pernicious about the prevalent comparison of the body to a machine. | 'The world is lectured roundly eve now and then by some one who telis us we take care of our motor car., but would not go to the trouble to do a thing for “that infinitely more complex machine, the human body.” ‘Well, that sounds all right, but really it is hokum. The body is not & machine, a thing of wheels and cogs and levers, in any sense of the terms. Its chemical selections are made by power of intelligence which never re- sided in any machine made by the hand of man. The body is scientific in a way no inventor would dare claim for any ma- chine of his invention. If we want a comparison we can sav the body is a vast laboratory, where subtle combinations are going on constantly. In this process materials are needed and these materials we call food. If hot weather causes a slight demand for food bevond normal, let us eat a little whenever it is needed. In this every ' human being is a law unto himself. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Civilization may have originated in Ethiopia—the “land of Phut” of the an- cient Egyptians. The present-day Beja, the basic Hamitic stock of the mountain empire, are pronounced by anthropologists to be almost the physical duplicates of the predynastic Egyptians of about 5000 B.C., who laid the foundations of Egypt's an- clent civilization. From them it spread to Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, ‘Western Europe and America. Nobody knows where these predynastic Egyptians came from. They may have been the descendants of desert nomads whose traces, if they left any, are buried under Sahara sands, or their fathers may have made their way down the tributaries of the Nile from the African highlands, bringing with them the ves- tiges of the world's first culture. For ! thousands of years Egypt was in contact with Ethiopia, sending regular expedi- tions to the “land of Phut” to secure wild animals, spices, etc. * x x X The African kingdom was a fabulous land to medieval Europe. There were all sorts of legends re- garding the great Christian empire of Prester John, or John the Priest, which were not dispelled until the visits of the Portuguese in the fifteenth century. After the expulsion of the Portuguese the country was again a land of almost unbroken mystery until it was visited by the Scotch explorer, James Bruce, searching for the source of the Nile, late | Their journey ended in homeward race ‘ in the eighteenth century. LR ‘Ethiopia was a world power during At that time it controlled most of Egypt and belt of Arabia. Its commerce extended to India, Ceylon and China. There is still a trace of Mongol blood among the people. The downfall of the African empire the seventh century the converted Arabians under the leadership of the prophet broke the Abyssinian yoke in | Asia and then invaded Egypt. Over- whelmed by the driving fanaticism of the followers of the green crescent, the Ethiopians were pushed back into their mountain fastnesses and for nearly 1,500 years, with occasional interludes, the empire was almost completely cut off from the rest of the world. This isola- tion explains many of the peculiar * kX X Churches are thicker there than in any other part of the Christian world. They are circular structures of mud and straw with doors at each of the four pomts of the compass. The religion is | primitive and picturesque. Every Chris- tian wears from birth a blue neck thread of silk or wool at the end of which is suspended a silver crucifix or bell. Each church has a pile of crutches mear the altar—not left there by miraculously cured cripples, but for the use of the priests and monks in a strange crutch | dance which is part of the religious serv- | ice. Judas Iscariot is revered as one of the Apostles. There are 260 fast days each year, each Wednesday and Friday, all the days of Lent and Advent and ’~ During | several in addition. They are rigidly observed, nobody being allowed to break a fast until the shadow reaches a pre- scribed length. Thus a fast is much harder on short men than on tall men. TR Law is equally primitive. Murder can usually be atoned for by a money pay- ment. If a murderer cannot raise the price, he has his choice of death or of being chained to a relative of his victim until he can get the money by begging. For the detection of thieves troops of “hound boys” are kept in some places. These boys are fed a stupifying drug which is supposed to endow them with clairvoyance. Then a priest leads them out on a long leash and they go sniffing from door to door until they smell the stolen article. There are many cities of refuge. Once a criminal, regardless of his crime, gets into one of them he is safe from justice so long as he stays there. Such places are filled with scoun- drels. There are certain rivers beyond which pursuit of a criminal cannot pass. R The country is beset by “witchcraft.” Many of the priests practice as sorcer- ers. Travelers describe some curious mental diseases, found especially among women and probably forms of hysteria. They often end fatally. One is the hyena disease, of which there are epi- demics during the rainy season. First, the woman falls in a cataleptic fit, after which she starts barking like a hyena, runs on all fours and has to be re- strained from running into the forest when the actual hyenas are howling. This disease is so common that a sup- posed medicine against it is kept in every house. Another is the leopard disease, almost entirely confined to un- married women. The victims imitate the growl of the leopard and slowly waste away until they die. - Curls and Curves. Prom the Indianapolis Star. That girl who “when she was good she | was very, very good and when she was bad she was horrid” must have had a lot of brothers who were base ball pitch- ers, e A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrnde Brooke Hamilton The Eagle Era Oh, who in his heart with this era of flying Has not felt an impulse to soar thru the night, Or rise like the eagle with swift pinions plying To scale the far crest of some blue mountain height? | And who in his soul does not feel a desire | To sometimes ascend from the earth | he has trod, | Beyond all the summits to which men aspire Toward clarified regions that lead up to God? These animals select hours to eat sim- | a comparative plethora that he has had | NSWERS TO QUESTIONS By Frederic J. Haskin, A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Washing- ton Evening Star Information Burecu, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Wazhing- ton, D.C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Please give the pronunciation of | the name of the Emperor of Ethiopia and of the capital of the country.—F. §. A. The name of H. I. M. Haile Selassie I is pronounced as if spelled Hi-la Sa-lahs-ya—long i and accent on the first syllable of the first name. Accent on the second syllable of the last name. Addis Ababa is pronounced Ahd-is, accent on first svllable, Ah-ba-ba. accent on first syllable. Q. Why are billiard tables always covered with green cloth?—N. B. A. The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co. was asked this question and could lanation except that green s been the color used on billiard tables. They have now substi- tuted another color which,is said to be more restful on the eves. Q. What is a heel fiy>—M. H A. This is a local name in the South and West for the ox botfly, derived from the fact that the adults hover around the heels of cattle for the pur- pose of laying their eggs on the hairs. Q. Should signatures written in ink be blotted?>—M. N. A. The National Bureau of Standards says that signatures to important docu- ments should never be blotted, but allowed to dry, giving the ink a chance to soak into the fiber of the paper Experiments of the bureau have shown that blotted signatures fade quickly and become indecipherable, whereas those allowed to dry will last as long as the paper. Q. Was President Harper of Chicago University a boy prodigy?—W. H A. He was graduated from Muskinzum College at 14. He was a Hebrew scholar and professor of note. He became first president of the University of Chicagn in 1891 and died in 1906. Q. Who was the first man to go up in a balloon?—L. S. A. On October 15, 1783, M. Pilatre de Rozier made an ascent in a eaptive balloon. On November 21 of the same vear he made a free ascent and wa- aloft 20 minutes. Q. What is the longest ocean yacht race ever held”>—E. W. A. The one in which six vach started from Newport on June 8 over a course of 3.050 miles to Norwav. The Vamarie, owned by Vadim S. Makaroefl of Oyster Bay, was the first across the line. Q. Why is balbriggan so named?—F. T A. It takes its name from Balbriggan Ireland, where it was first manufac- tured. Q. Was Australia ever a penal colon: —M. P. A. Originally Australia was a Britis] penal colony to which debtors, crim- inals and rebellious Irishmen were sent for disciplinary purposes. In 1783 a British _settlement was founded at Botany Bay and during the early nine- teenth century convicts and free col- onists arrived in considerable numbers A confederation of six Australian states was granted dominion status in 1901 under a governor general who repre- sented the English King. Q. Were colored teachers ever trained at Berea College in Kentucky?—K. B A. From 1867 to 1904 there was = teacher training course for them, bu it was discontinued in 1904 and the work transferred to an independen school Q. What children's book won the latest Newbery Madel award?—R. M A. “Dobry.” by Monica Shannon, wor the award of the current year, Q. What was tion?—J. D. C. A. A congressional committee of five investigated charges that President Bi chanan had sought to influence le lation corruptly, the Republican ma- jority sustaining them and the Demo- cratic minority exonerating the Presi- dent. No action was taken the Covode investiga- Q. Ts it true that it takes seven yea for an elephant to be born?>—R. W. H A. The period of gestation in elephan! is from 18 to 22 months. Q. What is Henry Ford's definition of an idealist>—K. R A. One who helps the other fellow to make a profit Q. By whom and when was the New England Courant published?—C. J. § A. This was the fourth newspape: published in the Colonies. It was estab- lished in 1721 at Boston by James Franklin His friends were much opposed to the publication of a new journal, but Franklin inaugurated a new departure by attacking Govern- ment officials and the clergy. The sup- pression of his paper was threatened whereupon Benjamin Franklin assumed the editorship. It was suppressed in 1727. Q. Where is the Haw River?—J. H A. This name is sometimes applied to the upper course of Cape Fear River in North Carolina, above its confluence with Deep River, the two being re- garded as the head streams of the Cape Fear. Q. Who was the first person to be treated for rabies by Pasteur?—R. G. A. Joseph Meister was treated on July 6. 1885. Recently when scientists gath- ered at the Pasteur Institute to honor the scientist, Mr. Meister recounted the story of his treatment which was given when he was 9': years old. Q. How much does a swarm of bees weigh?—J. T. K. A. The Bee Culture Laboratory says that there are about 5000 bees in a pound and that a hive of 20,000 would therefore weigh 4 pounds. Q. Give some facts about the book, “Deep Dark River.”—D. M. A. It is a novel of Southern life by Robert Rylee. The author was born in Memphis and the most of his early years were spent in Tennessee and Mis- sissippi. After attending college he went to Dallas, Tex., where he secured a job in an insurance agency. He worked on his novel at night. One reviewer says “Deep Dark River” is a latter day “Uncle Tom's Cabin. Q. Who was Mme. Tussaud who had the waxworks?>—R. M. A. Marie Tussaud, founder of the London waxworks exhibit, was born at Bern, Switzerland, and learned the art of wax modeling in Paris. After & three months’ imprisonment during the French Revolution, she brought her col- lection to London. A.