Evening Star Newspaper, August 22, 1935, Page 10

A—10 THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, — e ——————————————————————————————— = = THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, — . WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY .... August 22, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES. Editor o sttt e MR The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Bustness Office: ) Pe £\ 1a Ave. o Vork Sffice: 110 East 43nd 8t Chirago Office: Lake Michigan Building. Buropean Ofmce: 14 Regent St. London. Ensiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition. The Evening Star —-45¢ per month The Evening and S (when 4 Sunday. -60c per mongh The Evenlnl and Sunday Star (when 5 8 65c per month The Sunday -5¢ per copy Ni ight Pinal and Sunday St ght Pinai Star. 55¢ per month Collection made &t the end of each month. Orders may be sent by mail or telephone Na- tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, g:uy and Sunday...1 yr. $10.00; 1 mo. 8¢ ily “only_ -1 yr.. "$6.00; 1 mo. b0¢ Bunday only... 1 yr. $4.00; 1 mo. 40¢ All Other States and Canada, 70¢ per month Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exolusively 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. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved, Neutrality. The purpose of the neutrality legis- lation, of course, is to keep us out of war. With that high purpose there will be no dissent. But the maintenance of neutrality in time of war is not as simple as the Senate resolution, hastily passed yesterday, might indicate. And the hasty disposal by the Senate yes- terday, with very little debate, of the dangerous and delicate question of neu- ‘tral procedure in time of war suggests the thought that the Senate was just as anxious to dispose of a threat to adjournment as it was to dispose of a threat of our becoming involved in an- other war. That, of course, adds an unfortunate eomplication to an already highly com- plicated piece of legislation. The Presi- dent and the State Department hope, by changes written into the House reso- lution, to avoid some of the apparently unwise features of the Senate resolu- tion, which seems arbitrarily to tie the hands of the President in conduct of foreign relations, especially in efforts to prevent, or to end, a war. The Senate resolution imposes an arbitrary embargo on the shipment of arms and “implements of war” upon the President’s proclamation of a state of war between foreign powers, leaving to the President the duty of defining the arms and “implements of war” on which the embargo shall be placed. The House resolution would give more dis- | cretion to the President as to the placing of embargoes, and may extend such embargoes to one of the most vital “munitions of war,” which is the exten- sion of credit. Certajnly no embargo on arms or “implements of war” would be effective without a liké embargo on loans with which to purchase such materiel somewhere else. Under either the House or Senate plan of maintaining neutrality, however, a variety of complications may arise which would defeat the very purpose of the legislation—which is to keep us out of war entanglements. Should Italy go into Ethiopia to begin her conquest without a declaration of war—as Japan did in Manchuria—the President’s proclamation of a state of war in fact, followed by an embargo, for instance, on the export of wheat to Italy, might be accepted by Italy as an unfriendly act, even though the same embargo applied arbitrarily to Ethiopia. An embargo, at the same time, extending with equal force to belligerents, would constitute tacit aid for the stronger of the two belliger- ents. The principle of economic sanc- tions, as might be applied under the League covenant, extends to the “ag- gressor” nation. The United States, in its neutral role, would not, under the Senate resolution, distinguish in em- bargoes between the aggressor power or the power which is the victim of such aggression. But to give the President reasonable discretion in such a matter would be to place upon him the re- sponsibility of discriminating against the aggressor, which would lead to the even- tual entanglements the avoidance of which is sought. And if the economic sanctions of the League powers involved the ban of commodities which the Presi- dent did not place on his list of “imple- ments of war,” complications for the neutral would arise in its relations with the peace-makers, Implements of war have been said to include every usable object, with the possible exception of ostrich feathers. ‘The objectives of the neutrality legis- lation are beyond reproach. Leaving aside the moral responsibilities of pre- venting war, keeping out of war sur- passes in its importance almost every- thing else. But to keep out of war through avoidance of traditional pitfalls awaiting the neutral is a difficult and complicated task. Congress could spend months, instead of days, in its con- sideration. Care must be exercised lest in the effort to keep out of war new elements are injected which increase the other possibility. Queen Mary sets an admirable exam- ple in conservatism. The most eminent representatives of society are still hand- somely photographed with skirts below their knees, 4 Gas in the “Next War.” Lord Halsbury, British expert on gas warfare, takes a decidedly gloomy view of the next great conflict between na- tions. That there_will be another such war appears to be the melancholy ex- pectation of most Europeans. And it would seem that there is an equally unanimous belief that lethal gases will be generally employed. Lord' Halsbury voices & warning, in conjunction with the issuance of an official handbook by the British government foretelling a “reign of death” as the chief horror of the warfare of the future, that no one mask can possibly protect civilians against the myriad and deadly fumes which may be expected in air raids of the future. For, he goes on, there will be many kinds of gas, against which no single protection will serve. Lord Halsbury takes issue with the government for giving the British popu- lace a false sense of security against gas attacks. He says that there are gases today undreamed of during the World War, that scientists have been working on them ever since the armistice, in France, in Germany, In Russia and in England, #nd, he adds, the United States has new gases about which the other nations know little or nothing. This is a very dreadful prospect in- deed. It means that if it is true that gas will be the chief weapon of offense in the next conflict—it seems almast a mockery of civilization to speak of it in such terms as an inevitability—the chief sufferers will be the civilians, not the soldiers of the armies—the people at home, in the cities and in the fields, innocent and unparticipating, helpless, defenseless. The futility of treaties and interna- tional pacts restricting the modes of warfare has been demonstrated. The truth is that a nation at war cannot be limited by any such prohibitions as “those that were attempted before the Great War of 1914 and which were sought to be established by the treaty which ended that conflict. There is no power of compulsion other than that of the organized military forces which are only called into being and into action for war purpeses, when any means of defeating the enemy is re- garded as legitimate. The war to end war will probably never be fought in the sense that it will actually accomplish its purpose. Nor does it seem possible to limit the nature and the use of weapons to the actual field of combat. Yet if the full truth of what the chemists in their laboratories of the various nations are now downg in the devising of means to destroy the populations in the non- fighting zones were made known to all the world, there might develop an effective sentiment against interna- tional conflict more effective than treaties. — Music at the Water Gate. An experiment in public appreciation of good music has just been concluded in the rendition last night of the twelfth of a series of open-air symphony con- certs at the Water Gate. It has been | a most gratifying and stimulating suc- cess. These twelve concerts, started and concluded under the inspiring direction of Dr. Hans Kindler, leader of the Na- tional Symphony Orchestra, and includ- ing in the course the services of several distinguished conductors from other cities, have drawn an aggregate attend- ance of close to one hundred and twenty thousand people. The concluding con- cert last night drew the greatest throug, more than fourteen thousand. The hour and the place of the con- certs have been most effective in making this success possible. Nowhere else is there such & setting for an open-air musical entertainment. The scene is in itself an inspiration. The arrange- ments for the accommodation of the people have been wholly satisfactory. The prices charged for the concerts have been extremely moderate, just enough to meet the expenses. That has been, in large part, the cause of the great popular success of the experi- ment. Whatever may be the final ac- counting, there has been a large profit in the development of interest that will assuredly be manifest in a larger patron- age of the symphony concerts next Winter. For thousands have become stimulated into a love of good music that cannot fail to express itself later. To those who have conceived and arranged these open-air concerts-and those who have taken part in them, as directors and musicians and as man- agers, Washington owes a debt of thanks. The uplifting influence of the best music that the genius of composers has created and that the skill of inter- preters has rendered, must be lastingly wholesome. Washington has long needed this influence, which during the past few years has been exerted in the Winter season and which now is serving on a larger scale to advance the cul- tural development of this community. ——rate Wild hogs are hunted profitably in Texas. The sport is dangerous, but life is said to be reverting to primitive terms which will compel & man to go out and shoot his own pork chops. —_———————— As the Guffey bill is considered, even putting down a coal shaft is feared as a possible means of undermining the United States Constitution. e Thrifty men as well as men of for- tune go on fishing trips. When meat strikes are in order fish is welcome at home on the kitchen range. Training Youth. Perhaps it was the World Wer that taught Europe the wisdom of training the bodies as well as the minds of the younger generation. Cynics will be apt to suggest that the policy was insincere, that its purpose was the production of efficient “cannon fodder,” and that any- thing like a life more abundant for the individuals most directly concerned was far from the thought of the sponsors of the campaign. But that explanation is too easy. No American traveling through the British Isles or on the Continent today can fail to appreciate the vigorous health, the keen intelli- gence and the unconcealed joy in exist- ence which are manifest among young people everywhere. ‘Aml it is patently evident that the boys and girls them- selves are pretty effectively in control of their own destiny. They will not be wasted in another Armageddon, if they can help it. Certainly there is & traditional in- terest in outdoor activity in Europe. The Olympic Games of antiquity wers no accident. Rather they represented a fundamental ideology in the mind of the Hellenic race, and they were revived because the spirit which originally brought them forth was still vibrant in the Greek heart. Very much the same affirmation likewise may be made for the Germanic peoples, ancient and modern. The sturdy young athletes one meets in the streets of Berlin or Munich this Summer had Viking ancestors whose major capital was their physical per- fection—they came into history out of nowhere, barbarians possessed of only the rudiments of culture, and in one millennium developed & maritime empire which included Greenland and probably Labrador, the Gothic architecture which bears their name, the Norse sagas which record their progress and the philosophy of representative democracy which flow- ered in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, Only an embittered pessimist would dream of questioning the future of young men and women conscious of such a glorious past. But adults also are enthusiastically anxious to do their part. In London recently there was .organized a Central Council of Recreative Physical Training, designed to bring together all the scat- tered forces working for the improved physical and mental health of the com- munity. It was announced that a na- tional survey of recreational facilities is to be undertaken, and it is expected that one of the results will be an in- crease in the number of playing fields, gymnasiums, swimming pools, etc. Washingtonians probably think of the Capital as being well equipped in that regard, but in sober truth it really is not. European cities are far better furnished and outfitted for the recrea- tional service of their populations, young and not so young. —— e Reminiscences of old coriic opera will | be presented by the Marine Band. After | the direct satires of Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera began to fade, for the reason, perhaps, that it was too con- venient a method of conveying political innuendo. —— As an expert in agriculture, Secretary Wallace might have himself photo- graphed milking a cow. A cow fight would be an interesting feature for sports pages. P — So much authority has been vested | in the Department of Agriculture that other departments are left to proceed as best they can by dividing a residue of responsibility. e ———————— Bygone everts prove that keeping us out of war was a good idea, though ineffectually executed. “Try, try again,” | is & homely old motto which still dis- closes merit. e — Strong bids are made for American | tourist trade, under an impression, perhaps, that the tired taxpayer still has money to spare for tips. e —— Even a flat $5,000 gift will not alleviate poverty if roulette wheels flourish in suburban slums. —_— e Mid-August is a long time to wnlt{ for the assurance that Congress can | develop speed if it really desires. i B Tact is desirable in a sergeant at arms, at least in a degree to prevent him | from opening doors suddenly. B —— Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. X-Rays. My Uncle Jim he sat and sat And read and read— That's how it comes so often that We heeded what he said. His vanity we tried to touch— He answered, sad and slow: “It’s hard luck when you learn so much You wish you didn't know.” It's kind o' cheerless to forget The portraits in a book, And have, with lingering regret, Scme X-ray pictures took. When inside facts we must discern They make a gloomy show. So many things you have to learn You wish you didn’t know. Far From the Crowd. “Are you looking forward to & vaca- tion?” i “It won't be exactly & vacation,” said Senator Sorghum, “but I'll be glad to get away. A man needs some time to himself so that he can worry without being interrupted by speeches.” Jud Tunkins says back-seat driving is no good, but the word of the crossing cop is something you've got to pay attention to. Versatile Vehicle. An airship sails To starry skies, A mood prevails Of glad surprise. Should it proceed From bad to worse, It proves indeed A gloomy hearse. Distributing the Wealth. “How's business in the Old Guich?” asked the traveling man. “Pine,” said Mesa Bill. “We've given so much attention to reform that & whole lot of folks are enjoying prosperity besides the undertaker.” They sing: “Whatever you may choose, You ain't goin’ to run no more.” “A man works hard to have his say,” said Uncle Eben, “only to discover dat he says don't make any special difference.” o (= ~ D, ‘THE POLITICAL MILL By G. Gould Lincoln. The late President Woodrow Wilson was re-elected President nineteen years ago on the slogan “he kept us out of war.” In 1916 the neutrality of the United States in the conflict which had engulfed Europe and most of the rest of the world was & major issue. The Senate, without a record vote and after less than half an hour's discussion, .yes- terday passed & joint resolution designed to help maintain American neutrality in future wars between foreign nations. Not only did the Senate pass the joint resolution, but there were evidences that if the resolution be brought before the House it will pass by a sweeping vote— though perhaps in amended form. Con- ditions which finally drew this country into the World War in 1917 would in the main be cured by the pending joint resolution, its supporters urge, * x ok % The speed with which the Senate acted upon the neutrality resolution was due particularly to the war threats that hang over Europe and Africa today. There seems no slightest doubt of that, although the urge to wind up the pres- ent session and leave Washington may have much to do with holding the de- bate on this measure of tremrendous im- portance to 25 minutes. The resolution as it passed the Senate is mandatory. It makes it illegal to ship arms from America to any belligerent after war has begun. There is provision also that Americans who travel on the ships of belligerent nations must assume all re- sponsibility and not look to this country for protection or for any action what- ever in the event of their injury or death, * k% President Roosevelt has been repre- sented as opposed to such mandatory legislation. His wish has been for “per- missive” law, leaving it in the hands of the President to determine what shall be done in regard to the shipment of arms from America to belligerents, etc. Plainly the temper of the Senate, how- ever, was for mandatory legislation. Whether the President can prevail upon the House to back him up in the de- mand for amendments to the neutrality resolution which would permit him to use his discretion in laying a ban on the shipment of arms and munitions remains to be seen. There is a strong sentiment in the House, as there has been in the Senate, that something be done to make it as certain as possible that this coun- try be not involved in a foreign war, whether that war be between Italy and Ethiopia or between otHer nations. £ xox Tt is rather a ticklish situation for the administration. The President and his supporters could scarcely afford to turn | their faces so definitely against neu- trality legislation as to prevent the passage of any measure. To do so would be to rouse feeling against them in many quarters and among many persons. With Congress about to adjourn, the administration may be faced with a situation in which it must take what the Senate offers or leave it, even if it persuades the House to back the President's demand for permissive | legislation. The neutrality resolution was not on the President’s must pro- gram. It was forced on the Democratic leadership of the Senate by a de- termined group of Senators, headed by Senator Nye of North Dakota, chairman of the Munitions Committee of the Senate, which has been conducting for many months a searching inquiry. The purpose of the committee has been to “take the profits out of war.” The danger which American profits on muni- tions and other supplies might bring this country in the event of a new for- eign war gave the committee its chance. The threat of a filibuster on the floor of the Senate, drove the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to wind up a long consideration of neutrality legislation and to bring in a favorable report. The American people are intent upon keeping this country out of a future foreign war. This same sentiment, which was reflected in the Wilson vic- tory in 1916, is strongly in evidence today. Perhaps more strongly, in the light of the memory of American par- ticipation in the World War. * X % X The Guffey coal bill is expected to be passed and become law in these clos- ing hours of the present session of Congress. Again President Roosevelt will have had his way with the Con- gress. In part, he has been aided in his fight for this measure by the backing of the United Mine Workers and allied labor. There is, however, the belief on the part of some members of Congress that the Supreme Court will declare the proposed law unconstitutional. They are willing to go along with the President —even though they doubt the consti- tutionality of the law—believing that the Supreme Court will throw it out. If the proposed law is declared unconsti- tutional, and rendered null and void, the issue is likely to be taken into the next campaign. Court action, it is assumed, will be instituted against the law as soon as it shall have been signed by the President. * x ox % ‘While some other Republican presi- dential “possibilities” are peeling off their shirts and getting into the fray for delegates to the G. O. P. National Convention of 1936, Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg of Michigan is continuing to hold aloof. He has done nothing and said nothing to enter himself in the race for the presidential nomination. Never- theless, Mr, Vandenberg is by no means to be counted out. It is noticeable that, despite the fact he has repeatedly and consistently declared himself not a can- didate for the presidential nomination, he stands fifth on the preference po'l of Republican county chairmen and other leaders in the party which is being taken by Robert H. Lucas, former exec- utive director of the Republican Na- tional Committee. Furthermore, although he is fifth in line, the vote cast for ‘Vandenberg is large. Had he been out working for delegates and moving ac- tively in this pre-primary and pre- convention campaign and had then stood fifth in the poll, his friends might have been discouraged.- The fact that he has received so many preference votes without any effort on his part is encouraging to the Vandenberg sup- porters. * x * x The first presidential preferential pri- mary in any of the States is to be held next March, when New Hampshire goes THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 1935. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TR’ACI' ELL. If goldfishes in an indoor aquarium are to be placed in an outdoor pool, there is no time better than right now, when the weather is still warm. As difficult as it may be for some per- sons to grasp, in a comparatively few weeks the outdoor air will be growing distinctly cooler. In a few months the afr will be cold. And when Winter really sets in, which will not be many months off, air may go down to subzero temperatures, as it did last Winter and the Winter before that. The goldfish is & hardy creature, but even it must have some time in which to adjust itself to these rather drastic changes. Especially fishes kept for a time in glass houses need to be placed outdoors at & time when there is not much fluctu- ation of water temperature. Comparative steadiness of tempera- ture is the fact of the indoor aquarium. This deprives the fishes of the need for making much adjustment for heat and cold. In the outdoors, however, this be- comes & primary necessity. All fishes take their bodily temperature from the water they are in. The favorite American pet fish—and the goldfish still must be accorded that rank—needs a period in which to get acclimated to the outdoors again. ko % It is common practice for fish fanciers who have succumbed to the lure of the tropical or exotic specimens to keep, nevertheless, a few goldfishes in a tank, out of sympathy with the days when they were almost the only fishes kept inside. Yet such & fancier will find in time that the goldfish has lost all its lure for him. Then the question is what to do with his own specimens. Many tropical fish fanciers keep out- door pools solely for summering their exotic specimens. Guppies, platies and many other pop- ular warm, fresh water fishes, whose names are even in common speech now, grow large and breed rapidly in outdoor pools. Care must be taken, of course, not to place this type of fish in the | outdoors until the water reaches 70 degrees minimum, below which it does not go either day or night. This means, of course, that the out- door pool is not safe for exotic speci- mens until at least June, and this year it was scarcely so at that date. Fishes which might suffer at 68 de- grees in an aquarium often show no evidence of ill at very much lower tem- peratures in the pool. We have heard of cases of undiminished health and vigor in pools when the air temperature went down to 45 degrees. * % ¥ x The goldfish does not mind, being a fresh, cold water fish. Even he, however, ought not to be carelessly temperature to water of a distinctly dif- ferent degree. He may survive, but it is placing a strain on his economy which is totally unnecessary. The unnecessary in life is important. ‘There are magazines, for instance, which are unnecessarily vulgar. A little honest, Elizabethan vulgarity now and ! then will hurt no one, but when vul- garity is thrown in gratis, as it were, | for no good rhyme or reason, it becomes unnecessary and, as such, of a distinctly offensive type. The unnecessary in all walks of life is—well, unnecessary. It is wholly unnecessary for any one | to force an aquarium or pool fish to | undergo violent changes in water tem- perature suddenly. STARS, If this change is MEN thrown from water of one | brought about gradually, that is all right, for that is Nature’s way. Every one has had the experience of going through a warm spell on vacation during which the water got warm. Then, aftef & sudden cooling off of the air, the water remains almost as warm as ever, seem- ing even warmer by contrast. This shows that water changes temperature muca slower than the atmosphere. Fishes are accustomed to such ilow changes, but nothing in Nature has pre- pared them for jumps of 10 degrees or more, *xx % If & person wishes to get rid of gold- fishes, the best place to put them 1is either in his own pool or that of a neighbor. If he has not done so already, let him put them in their new home at once. The change from indoor aquarium to outdoor pool is easily accomplished at this time. Not only will the waters be about the same, but, above all, there will be enough time elapsing between now and Autumn for the fishes to be- come thoroughly used to their new en- vironment. Then when the first freeze comes they will be thoroughly acclimated and ready to change their bodily temperatures along with the constantly growing cooler water. Just how great a part the fish itself plays in this seasonal change is & ques- tion, but there can be no doubt that it has some part to play. The outdoor pool, prqvided it is the proper depth, is the best place in the world for the small carp which are sold in all nations now under the name of goldfish. It is by nature & native of fresh-water streams which grow very cold in Winter. Hence, cold is a part of its nature. That is why it does best indoors at a temperature around 60 degrees. Water really too warm for them is one of the reasons for common failure. Too much fish per gallon of water is the other main reason for failure. * x k% Goldfishes taken from the indoors to the outdoors during Spring and Summer | | AD.) evidence was so construed as to commonly get along very well. There should be several weeks, how- ever, of acclimating them at this time, ' in preparation for the coming cold. In this they will have the aid of Na- ture herself, who will provide them with many fine foods they ordinarily do not get in an aquarium. These will take the form of mosquito larvae, mosquitoes themselves, all sorts of insects and even earthworms, some of which are so careless as to crawl into the water. A common belief—that goldfishes are vegetarians—simply is not true. While they will eat oats with avidity and make a nice growth on them, they prefer in- sects and worms. Manufacturers of goldfish food com- monly make two sorts—for indoor and turer figures that in the pool the fishes | will get their due share of protein | through partaking of natural insects which strike the surface of the pool. One gentleman has rigged an electric light over the surface of the water, and this attracts myriads of insects which the goldfish population feeds upon with | gusto. The goldfish freshly put in a pool at this time will need one other care— leaves off the trees must either be kept out of the pool or removed before Win- ter sets in. Their disintegration acidi- fles the water to too great a degree for goldfish comfort. Some cleaning of the | pool, however, both Spring and Fall, is good for all the swimmers. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. This is the fourth “age of mammals.” ‘The mammal population of the earth today, including man, represents the fourth “irradiation” of the warm blooded stock during approximately 180,000,000 years since the type first ap- peared on earth, according to Dr. George Gaylord Simpson of the Amer- ican Museum of Natural History, one of the foremost living authorities on fossil mammals. Summaerizing his studies in the Quar- terly Review of Biology issued at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Simpson pic- tures the evolution of mammals through the ages as like four successive waves of a rising tide rather than as a steady progress upward from a first, reptilian ancestor. Each wave may have started afresh from the reptile stock and each went a little higher than the preceding one. Three broke and disappeared. The fourth, of which man himself is a part, still exists, although it may have reached its crest, so far as the mam- malian race as a whole is concerned, during the preceding geological era— the so-called Tertiary period of the earth’s history. Evidence of the existence of the first two mammal faunas, he points out, is rare and obscure. It consists only of a few teeth and fragments of skulls recovered occasionaly in widely sepa- rated parts of the world, in geological deposits dating from the so-called Trias- sic era, about 180,000,000 years ago. The mammals themselves must have been, for the most part, small, weak creatures having a hard time to survive in an age when the great reptiles were the dominant &nimals on earth. Their fossil vestiges have been found in Eng- land, South Africa and the Rocky Mountain area. Nobody knows exactly wl‘;l: theym looked like. le point emphasized Dr. Simpson is that the line came w‘zz end. Twice the mammalian race, so far as there is any evidence to the contrary, became extinct. The two “radiations” left hardly a trace of their millions of years of progress on earth, but the dinosaurs, big and little, splashed merrily on in the ancient swamps. 3 D There is much more evidence of the next two mammal “irradiations.” The third age of mammals came into ex- istence during the latter part of the so-called Cretaceous geological period, about 120,000,000 years ago. The crea- tures of this period were of three types —the marsupials or pouh-he-ml.m ge e multituberculates. The first of the type s represented today by the varied mammal | fauna of Australia and by the opposum. The gzecond order is represented by practically all other mammals on earth, including human beings. There is noth- | ing extant closely resembling the mul- tituberculates. They were tiny crea- tures, seldom exceeding the size of a rabbit, which are known chiefly for their peculiar teeth. The living animal with teeth closest to these creatures probably is the elephant. They may have looked like rats. All the marsupials of the third “irradi- ation” were creatures more closely re- sembling the opposum than any of the Australian fauna. All the placentals were insectivores—of the type repre- sented today by shrews, bats, etc. The ultimate ancestors of the simians from which man eventually sprang may have been insectivores. But these also disappeared. At the start of the Eocene period, about 80,- 000,000 years ago, and by many sup- posed to mark the beginning of mam- melian life on the globe, appeared the fourth great “irradiation” with a more progressive type of marsupials and placentals. The multituberculates had been left behind and they never re- appeared again. There is only & remote possibility that that platypus and the echidna, egg-laying mammals of Au- stralia, may be descended from them. It is not known whether or not they were egg-layers. These four successive waves, in Dr. Simpson's hypothesis, radiated over the world, each with new orders of a progressively higher type. It is almost inconceivable, he says, that any of them ived ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS By Frederic ]. Haskin. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Washing- ton Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washing~ ton, D.C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. What is now the most popular hymn?—E. J. A. Judging by requests made to radio stations, “The Old Rugged Cross” leads all the rest. Q. How many children have been born to one mother at one time?—J. A. H. A. The United States Public Health Bervice says that the largest number of children ever born to one woman at one time, according to available records, is eight. These octuplets, however, did not live and the famous Dionne quintuplets represent the largest number of children in a single birth which have lived for any length of time. Q. Who was the first actor to be ac- corded knighthood?—K. L. A. Sir Henry Irving is said to have been the first of the profession to be so honored, fn 1895. Q. What was the name of the Queen of Rumania who wrote under the pen name Carmen Sylva?—V. D. A. She was Queen Elizabeth. Her name was Pauline Elizabeth Ottilie Louise. Q. What is the origin of criminal investigation>—R. T. A. Although the beginning of crim- inal investigation is unknown, these is reason te believe that in a very rudi- mentary form it came into existence with the origin of legal trials. It is clearly laid down in the Code of Ham- murabi (c. 2250 B.C.) that suspicion does not give ground fer condemnation; receiving of testimory, and even elab- orate examination of sites or circu stances by the court its:lf, were estab- lished rules of procedure. In Athens by about 500 B.C., the examination of facts had become meticulous. In the Fuotinian legislation (sixth century, imply the co-operation of experts in certain cases. In 1507 a penal code con- taining exact instructions as to evidence was issued by a Bishop of Bamberg, and in 1532 the Caroline Code of the Ger- man states contained provisions for the examination of criminals. Q. How old was Florence Nightingale when she received the Order of Merit?— P.C. A. She was 87 years old when the Order of Merit was presented to her, | in 1907. Q. Who coined the phrase “Life’s just one damned thing after another"?— C. W. A. Tt is accredited to Frank Ward pool use. The former contains more ani- | OMalley. | mal protein; that is all. The manufac- Q. How many roses does it take to make an ounce of attar of roses?—C. L. A. Some 250 pounds of roses are | needed to make an ounce of the attar. Q. What district in England is known as The Potteries?—R. M. F. A. This name is applied to a district of North Staffordshire, the principal seat | of the china end earthenware industry in England. It lies in the upper part of the Trent Basin, the chief centers being Burslem, Hanley, Longton, Stoke-on- Fent, Fenton and Tunstall. In 1910 these towns were amalgamated as one principal borough under the name of Stoke-on-Trent, which was raised to a city in 1925. Newcastle-under-Lyme, though not sharing in the staple in- dustry, may also be reckoned in the district. Q. What is meant by nectar and ambrosia?—J. L. A The nourishment of the gods in Homer and in Greek literature generally. Probably the two terms were not orig- inally distinguished; but usually, both in Homer and in later writers, nectar is the drink and ambrosia the food. On the other hand, in Alcman nectar Is the food and in Sappho and Anaxan- drides ambrosia the drink. Q. TIs it true that college athletes die young?—H. R. A. According to a study of longevity made by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., college athletes live longer than average men of the same age. Histories of 4976 men who had distinguished themselves in intercollegiate sports were tabulated over a 20-year period. Base | ball players recorded the highest mor- tality, crew men next, then track men: lastly, foot ball players. Particularly favorable was the showing of men who had won letters in several sports. Q. How much did automobile produc- tion increase last year over the year before?—R. G. A. In 1934 the production of 2.895625 cars and trucks was 45 per cent greater than the 1933 output. Q. How many people are emploved by the telephone companies in this country?—C. F. A. About 300,000. The yearly pay roll is over $400,000,000. Q. Is there a paved road from Laredo to Mexico City?—W. S. J. A. Prom Laredo to Montemorelos the road is paved, but from there to Pachuca, near Mexico City, the road is improved but not paved. Q. Which of the nations involved in the World War was the last to conclude peace with Germany?—K. M. A. The United States. The treaty of peace was signed August 25, 1921, and ratifications exchanged on November 11, 1921, Q. Who invented the . o dnves carriage called A. It was invented by a Frenchman named Sauvage about 1640, but named from the Hotel St. Fiacre, where an of- fice for the hiring of them was estab~ lished by the inventor. A Rhyme at Twilight B Gertude Bro:ke Hamilton Angel of Youth Bereaved, they kneel beside her still, white couch. Their low outcry Voices what all the world might say of her: “Too young to die.” Her shinihg hair waves from a brow of snow; ‘The angel, Death, Stamped youth's bright smile forever