Evening Star Newspaper, October 17, 1935, Page 10

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY ...........October 17, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES..... ditor eeten Dob S oreie anee e SO, The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: 11th St and Pennsylvania Ave oo SR P d Michitan Belldine. c ce: Lake ; Suropean Ofce: 14 Rerent t.. London. Engiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Editton. he Evening Siar . ---45¢ per month 'he Evenize and Sui Fen' s Blindays —==-60¢ per month e ) vening and Sunday Star en 5 Sundays) 70c per month ~~65c per month end of each month, Orders muy be ail or telephone Na- tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Sunday only..... Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press fs exclusively entitled to fhe use for republication of all news dispatches eredited to it or not otherwise credited in this the local news published herein, nd al paper and also [T i rights of publication of special erein are also reserved. ‘A Sterile Field. Search for possible new sources of Dis- trict revenue has been instituted through the agency of a special committee cre- ated by the Commissioners under the chairmanship of the corporation counsel. Numerous suggestions have been ad- vanced, including inheritance and in- come taxes and a diversion of the gaso- line tax from road and highway main- tenance to the general fund. Other pro- posals will doubtless be concretely brought forward before the time comes for the committee to report to the Com- missioners and the Commissioners to re- port to Congress, Larger revenues may be required if the new District budget, now estimated at between $45,000,000 and $46,000,000, an increase of approximately $5,000,000 from the current appropria- tions, is in any material degree adopted. This additional tax levy, which would still further raise the District's heavy per capita burden, is only necessary be- cause Congress refuses to grant the District the equity of a proportionate lump sum of Federal contribution to the maintenance of the National Capital. Last year the Commissioners sought $8,500,000 in the form of this lump sum appropriation, which was far from the former proportion of Federal contribu- tion. Congress slashed the fund to $5,700,000. Already highly taxed, the District resi- dent must bear the burden of the Capi- tal's steady growth without proportionate assistance such as was undertaken by the United States when the District was reorganized into its present form of administration. There has never been a repeal of that principle of proportionate sharing of the burden by the United States. The fixed ratio has been changed, and even that amended ratio has been ignored of late years. On the basis of the present appropriations the Federal contribution is less than twelve per cent. There is a positive point of tax satu- ration in such a community as Washing- ton, with its lack of industries, its chiefly residential character, and its rigid re- striction within definite boundaries that cannot be expanded. Real estate, privi- leges, incomes and inheritances are about all that can be taxed, and those definitely limited unless the point of confiscation is reached. In the search for additional bases for taxation the Commissioners’ committee will be con- fronted by a sterile field, rendered so, indeed, by the trespasses already com- mitted in the course of the recent years of congressional repudiation of an equitable obligation in the matter of a proportionate Federal contribution, Any revision of the District's present tax structure, to be recommended by the Commissioners’ committee, should by all means include provision for an equitable payment by the District’s largest and wealthiest industry, the Government of the United States. In any other com- munity such obligation of its chief in- dustry would be recognized and ade- quately met. There can be no fair distribution of the tax burden, based on equity, ability to pay and public policy which overlooks this important factor. The operation, maintenance, upbuilding and beautifica- tion of the Nation's Capital is primarily & national obligation. Commissioner Hazen has already an- nounced his intention of repeating his attempt of last year to induce the Fed- eral Government to make a substantial increase in its financial participation toward the support of the District of Columbia. In this effort the Commis- sioner had the solid backing of the com- munity and also of the District'’s best friends in Congress, and he is sure to have equal support for the 1937 budget. Labor Stage. Indorsed by half a million organized workers, the formation of Labor Stage, Inc, to present plays dealing with the social and cultural ideals of the toilers of the world, has been announced. ‘William Green, president of the Ameri- can Federation of Labor, gives the proj- ect his blessing in a statement which reads: “I welcome heartily this under~ taking to serve the cultural needs of a vast labor audience in terms of the drama. There has long been a need for & movement in the theater which would be the expression of labor’s social aspira- tions and a channel of self-expression for the organized labor masses.” But perhaps the venture is not so novel as it may seem. The use of the theater for propaganda purposes traces back to ancient Greece. Aristophanes, if not Euripides and Aescylus, was a critic of social injustice, and his works have been revived in recent times for their “mes- sage” of protest. In Rome, also, the stage was a vehicle for the complaints of the masses against the masters. The Middle Ages, likewise, witnessed the same phenomenon—even at the doors of the great cathedrals of France and Eng- land the guild players presented their THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, criticism of vested interest and fortified greed. It follows that Moliere had ample precedent for the barbed gibes which he delighted to launch at the “idle rich,” and that Ibsen and Bernard Shaw, Strindberg and Gerhardt Hauptmann, Maxim Gorky and Upton Sinclair oper- ated within an ancient tradition when they attempted to hold the mirror up to selfishness and corruption, intol- erance and iniquity. Indeed, the social note is to be found in practically every dramatic composition which has achieved popularity in a thousand years of theater history. Few, if any, of the celebrated playwrights have been reac- tionaries; almost without exception all have been radicals. For that reason, then, Labor Stage has an advan- tage which commercial producers may lack—it may draw upon an accumulated fund of genius unparalleled in the annals of art. ‘Though it may be granted that its immediate appeal will be principally to an audience already converted, the enterprise which Mr. Green has com- mended almost surely will enlist the interest, and possibly the active support, of the whole public. It is an “experi- ment noble in motive,” and unorganized workers as well as members of the fed- eration will wish for it unbounded success. —————— John Bull Says “No!” Great Britain's uncompromising re- fusal to withdraw a single warship from the Mediterranean not only abruptly ends M. Laval's Italo-Ethiopian peace efforts, but distinctly increases the peril of European war. Italy is filled with alarm over the situation as it envisions a Britain resolved at any cost to thwart Mussolini’s ambitions. With London’s determination adamant and tension at Rome running high, there seems little exaggeration in the impression that peace “remains at the mercy of the inci- dent in the Mediterranean.” Despite earlier denials, France made a formal suggestion that peace prospects would be enhanced if the fleet of 150 British vessels standing guard over Gibraltar, Malta and both entrances to the Suez Canal were substantially re- duced, while Italy as a counter gesture withdrew troops recently thrown in large numbers into Libya, adjoining Egypt. Britain sees no reason to relax the “pre- cautionary measures” which led to the naval mobilization along her “life line” to India. Her position is that if there is to be peace, sole responsibility rests with Italy, which broke it, and that until Mussolini halts his aggression in Ethi- opia and negotiates with the League, the British cannot abandon steps for which the situation calls. The result is deadlock and danger. Italians are persuaded that Britain will try to induce Geneva to entrust to her any measures necessary to stop war in Ethiopia. If such a mandate is with- held, Rome sees the British ready to go ahead on their own account, with clos- ing of the Suez Canal and blockade of the Italian coasts as their first recourse. 8o Mussolini and his people look upon their African adventure as having sim- mered down to a struggle between Italy and Great Britain. Conditions are no less critical because of the prestige angle involved. Il Duce realizes that his dicta- torial status might be shattered by any appearance of weakening before British force. Britannia, having particularly in mind its millions of native subjects in Africa and Asia, must avoid action savor- ing of yielding to Fascism's threat. If economic, financial and, eventually, military sanctions are required to check Mussolini, the burden will rest over- whelmingly on Britain. Her firm stand is based nominally on that contingency and on her intention to fulfill her League obligations. But John Bull's considera- ticns far outrun his responsibilities un- der the covenant. He is thinking of what Italian conquest of Ethiopia would mean, in the long run. He sees a victorious dic- tator, his realm in Africa widely ex- panded, thirsting for new flelds to con- quer. He envisages an Italian raid on Egypt, on the Sudan, on Malta, on Cyprus, on the Suez Canal and perhaps on Eritain’s vast colonial domain in South Africa. He conjures up the prospect of a Mediterranean and a Red Sea mastered no longer by ships flying the white en- sign, but by ironclads bearing the ban- ner of Rome. John Bull contemplates, in short, developments that might spell the doom of his world-wide empire. That is why Britain says an imperious “no” to proposals that she remove her fleet from the Mediterranean. It is an attitude plainly that Mussolini will challenge at grave risk not only to Italy, but to the peace of Europe, for an Anglo-Italian conflict could not conceivably be “lo- calized.” —_——— Ethiopia has always stood better in poetry than in politics, The Queen of Sheba was & woman of historic splendor, and in Elizabethan poetry “a rich jewel in an Ethiope’s ear” was truly some- thing to talk about. A housing plan is incomplete unless it figures on taxes, schools, sanitation and the rent collector. Public vs. Private Charity. Former Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York, speaking at a recent meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Charities, expressed preference for pri- vate as distinct from public charity. ‘The latter, he insisted, “is cold and is administered in a perfunctory, business- like way. It is very costly.” But an opponent might argue that there is no imperative necessity for the lack of warmth and expense against which he complains, Yet the charge is frequently made, and it is logical to suppose that it must have some merit. People on relief do object to the cross-examination to which they are subjected. Of that there can- be little question. Poverty, it seems, robs the citizen of even the shabbiest rags of privacy. To obtain assistance he must submit to the investigator the innermost secrets of his heart. It is & fatal error to attempt to conceal any- thing. The punishment is apt to be a flat refusal of help. Bernard Shaw and Hilaire Belloc years ago decided that applicants for alms, in England if not in America, customarily are treated as criminals. They are suspect because of their condition. It is taken for granted that sin of one kind or another is to blame for their plight, and their pro- test against such a judgment is regard- ed as proof of their wickedness. Social workers as a class are skeptica). And the pity of it is that they have ample excuse for their doubts. For example, in the days before Community Chests were organized to bring order into philanthropic chaos it was not at all uncommon for professional beggars to be on the lists of as many as half a dozen agencies at one time. Mean- while, deserving families perforce were discriminated against. The science of social service was designed to correct the faults of a system which was both inefficient and unjust. But, as Mr. Smith has said, it is pos- sible that in some quarters at least there is rather more of the science than there is of the charity. If so, reform can and should be initiated. The test in the long run will be that of effec- tiveness. The Federal Government and the several States at present are carry- ing the burden. Should they do the work well, there will be a sentiment for their continuance with it. On the other hand, the trend of objection to which the former Governor has given voice is plainly discernible and may increase in power. Many thoughtful but un- prejudiced citizens are hostile to offi- cial altruism. They say it is waste= ful, handicapped by politics and alto- gether too impersonal in character. Also, they are conscious of the fact that it is conducted at the expense of taxpayers who may have ideas of their own about to whom, when and in what’ manner they should give. — e There is still an occasional sigh for old-time comic opera which enabled the public to take its ethnology good naturedly, entirely apart from thought of military conquest. s Complications may be introduced into the so-called New Deal which may com- pel citizens attempting to discuss it to admit that they do not know exactly what it is. —— e Mexico has not yet attained an agrarian security which enables a farmer to decide off-hand on whether he had better invest in a tractor or a machine gun. ——————————— Communism is so persistently mis- chievous that it can even spoil the pleas- ure of a sojourn at Atlantic City. —— e Carrying war into Africa has always been a simpler historic process than keeping war out of Europe. S Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Boyhood Reminiscence. Oh, once there was a little boy who thought it joy intense To drag & pliant piece of wood along a picket fence. He loved the rhythmic racket that the mechanism made. It was his favorite tune from matin song to serenade. But as he grew to man’s estate, his brain expanded wide, Of course, he had to lay that simple joy . of youth aside. And yet it always echoed through his memory, more or less, A subtle inspiration to a higher useful- ness. He is putting up a building that is climb- ing toward the sky And the rivets make a racket like the tune in days gone by. He hears the clatter with a sense of ec- stacy and pride, E That melody of stick and fence so vastly magnified. Frigidity. _ “You are sometimes referred to as a cold, calculating man.” “Well,” replied Senator Sorghum, “that impression probably results from the fact that a successful statesman must be able to keep his opinions in cold storage until there is a demand for them.” “It is sometimes necessary,” said Jud Tunkins, “to wallop a mule. But the man who breaks a rib or a leg doin’ it is no good disciplinarian.” The Endless Dispute. Man’s quest is still for fame or dross. His zeal he ne'er relaxes In arguing as to who is boss And who shall pay the taxes. Welcomed. “I'll have to arrest you,” said the po- liceman. The man who was having trouble with his wife threw both arms around the officer and exclaimed: . “This isn't any arrest. This is & Tescue.” One of the world’s l'udin; optimists is the man who makes post card pictures of & Summer resort. Secure. How fair the gold of Autumn shines ‘Where wooded heights are gleaming; No more the weary world repines Or Summer’s sordid seeming. The year has hoarded day by day, Till in an impulse tender It turns and, generously gay, Endows the world with splendor. Here is one blessing fair and true As ever fancy painted. ‘We welcome Autumn’s gold anew. ‘We know it isn’t tainted. , “De man dat don't keep pushin’ for- ward,” said Uncle Eben, “is mighty liable to !l.i drawback.” THE POLITICAL MILL By G. Gould Lincoln. Outlook for a third-party movement of large proportions in the 1936 cam- paign is increasingly dimmer. For ex- ample, Gov. Philip La Follette of Wis- consin, who heads with his brother, Sen- ator Robert M. La Follette, jr., the Pro- gressive party in Wisconsin, indicated clearly before he left for a vacation in Bermuda that the Progressives intended to support President Roosevelt next year. The only suggestion that this might be the case was a statement that if the Re- publicans put up a really progressive candidate, Gov. La Follette would con- sider the matter before giving his al- legiance to the Rogosevelt New Deal. ‘The likelihood that the Republicans will name a man for President who would be acceptable to the La Follette Progressives is small. * Xk kX ‘Then there is Gov. Floyd B. Olson of Minnesota, who is one of the prides of the Farmer-Labor party in that State. Gov. Olson also, it is believed, will hook up with the Roosevelt New Dealers, par- ticularly if he determines to become a candidate for the Senate against the Re- publican Senator Schall, one of the bit- terest antagonists of the President in the Upper House. Here, then, are two potential leaders of a radical third-party movement who seem willing to follow President Roosevelt’s advice and appeal to all liberals to join forces—back of the New Deal. The death of the late Sen- ator Huey P. Long of Louisiana took from the field another potential threat of a third-party movement against Roosevelt. Gov. Eugene Talmadge of Georgia remains the sole outstanding critic of the New Deal who might be in a position to organize a revolt, particu- larly in the South, against the New Deal, except for the conservative Democrats of the Bainbridge Colby and Lewis W. Douglas type. L ] While the New Deal Democrats seem to be making hay with the independent progressive political organizations in the West, the Republicans on the other hand have recently given further evidence of the wide breach between the Progressives of the West and the more conservative Republicans of the East. The recent publication of the correspondence be- tween Senator William E. Borah of Idaho and Col. Theodore Roosevelt, jr., of New York has done as much as any- thing to bring this division to light. Senator Borah's bid for support of Col. Roosevelt in his fight to oust the present Republican leadership in many of the States and to make the issue of the coming campaign “trust busting” has, it seems, been something of a dud. Col. Roosevelt's reply was courteous. But reading between the lines it was a rebufl, * K K X Despite this warring of the Republic- ans, which is found in other exchanges in a number of States, and despite the seeming appeal which the New Deal is continuing to make to independent pro- gressives, the revulsion of feeling toward the Roosevelt New Deal goes on in many parts of the country. The New Dealers are feeling the criticisms of the consum- ers, particularly because of the increase in food prices. First the price of pork chops and pork generally went sky high. Now the price of bread is being boosted by the bakers to a level higher than it has been in ten years or more. This is the kind of thing that gets under the skins of the millions. of: people who buy. It is inclined to make the A. A. A, how- ever popular with the farmers, decidedly unpopular with the industrial workers. Other food stuffs have been on the up and up in price and the market bills of Mrs. America have increased consider- ably. * % & x Becretary Wallace, whose heart is in the A. A. A. program, is inclined ‘to blame the bakers and the packers. New Deal shouts against the “profiteers” may be expected. They do not like the sug- gestion that the processing taxes and the curtailment of production has been entirely responsible for the manner in which food prices have gone up. The fact remains, however, that food prices have soared. The party in power under such circumstances is usually the target of the consumers. The A. A. A. is trying to work out a plan to boost the prices of the big potato crop, without actually put- ting into operation the new potato law, which would levy a fine or a tax on all who produce and sell potatoes beyond the allotments made to them. This, again, is apt to please the consumers, although the potato farmers take a dif- ferent view of the situation. It is a sit- uation which has been brought about by the operation of the A. A. A. in other flelds, particularly cotton, wheat and to- bacco. Where the farmers have curtailed those crops they have taken to growing potatoes. This has thrown the potato production out of balance so far as pro- duction and demand are concerned. * X % % The administration, it is charged, has too frequently been inconsistent in its ac- tivities regarding agriculture. Recently the Government, for example, made a loan to a fertilizer company in Georgia of some $200,000. Apparently it was made to enable the company to expand and to increase its production. More fertilizer will be produced to sell to the farmers to produce more crops—perhaps cotton. At the same time the Government is paying, and the public, through proc- essing taxes, is paying, to keep the farm- ers from producing as much cotton as they used to produce. It does not seem to make sense. L Herbert Hoover is away to a good start in his active campaign against the New Deal. Probably Mr, Hoover feels that the aspirants for the Republican | presidential nomination should take a similar course; get out on the stump and give the New Deal a rough ride. Some of these gentlemen are already doing that. Col. Frank Knox, publisher of the Chicago Daily News, has been speaking here and there. Senator Dickinson of Jowa is attacking frequently, and so is Representative Hamilton Fish of New York. But there are others who have been prominently mentioned for the place who are withholding their punches, In the opinion of Mr. Hoover this is no time to delay. The issues of the day should be widely discussed so as to have the people clearly understand what they are facing in the event of the re-election of President Roosevelt. * x X % Senator Borah is heard from now and then, in an attack on the New Deal, For the most part he has confined himself, however, to the issue of monopoly, which he charges the New Deal is building up. Senator Vandenberg of Michigan, who many Republicans believe would make both a good candidate and a good Presi- dent, has been quiet enough since Con- gress closed. This seems to be in line with the political strategy of the Michi- gan Senator. He is doing nothing to advance himself as an aspirant for the presidential nomination. If the conven- tion next year turns to him as a com- promise candidate no one expects Mr. Vandenberg to say no. It may be that he will become acfive as time goes on, but it is doubtful. Gov. Landon of Kansas of whom more and more talk is heard, is so far making no campaign against the New Deal, D. C, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1935 THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES Ho, hum, what to eat for breakfast? ‘While one is not unmindful of the fact that many persons have no choice, and have very little then, there are millions of persons who look upon the morning meal with something akin to despair. The sad truth is that they have no appetite for it. Hence they consume & roll and coffee, or some other niggardly menu, and find it satisfies them very well. There are two extremes—the utter ignoring of breakfast and the consump- tion of a regular “farm hand” meal by a sedentary worker. Neither of these is rare. ‘The no- breakfast plan, as it is called, has a wide following. No doubt it satisfies a need, for the taking of food is by no means entirely physical, although basically that. If one honestly does not care for it, al any certain time of day, there is little need to cram edibles down, provided enough food is taken at other times. * K kX Most persons, even though they have little morning appetite, solve this prob- lem by eating a small breakfast. ‘They feel better immediately and no doubt are in a much better mood the rest of the morning. Some of the early morning “grouch” so often encountered in a large city is due to insufficient food. ‘The expansive thawing of a “grouch” after a good meal, or even during the progress of the same, is an illuminating proof of the intertwined character of human alimentation. Eating is never entirely physical, even when the con- sumer eats as if his manners were derived from the trough. There is about even the poorest meal a significance shown best by the old-fashioned grace said before meals. What a shame it is that this fine old custom has tended to wear out. Yet happily there are homes where grace is said and where every one is the better for it. No doubt a perfectly hardy person can go without breakfast without ill effects, but we have noticed that most of these usually sneak off later in the morning to enjoy a combination breakfast-lunch- eon, call it what one will. * % ok % The great average person, about whom we properly hear so much, is better off for some sort of breakfast. ‘The question is: What kind? The answer must depend largely on three factors: 1. One’s state of health. 2. One's heritage as to habits. 3. One’s mind. A breakfast, just an ordinary one, such as most people eat, nevertheless combines these factors, whether the person at table realizes as much or not, and it is just as well to look into them. They may help explain some of the things we see every day. ‘The tendency is, in speaking of eating, to mentally hold one’s self as the real example and any deviations therefrom &as somewhat strange abberations, when the evident truth is that every person must be a law unto himself. The state of health must determine, in the last analysis, what one eats. That many persons do not permit it to do so is no argument against this first rule of good eating. There is no subject about which there is more confusion than that of diet. There is a new book on the market, for instance, in which the popu- STARS, MEN « TRACEWELL. lar diet “fads,” as the author calls them, are inveighed against, but on one page he admits that few persons take them up except when doctors fail to help them, and on another he declares, “See your doctor,” in italics. Some eight rules for judging a good diet, given in the last chapter, perfectly fit and describe one of the “diets” he lambastes, if judgment is used in its application. Few persons ever worry about their diet until they feel unwell, and then they find that one’s mind (our No. 3) must come into play. The state of health ought to determine what one eats, and it commonly does, if one is feeling unwell. There are times when nothing seems quite so good as milk toast, commonly called “graveyard stew” in the jargon of the restaurants. It is too bad that the latter bit of cant has been applied to this perfectly nutritious and tasty dish, for no doubt it has prevented many persons from taking it when noth- ing else quite filled the bill. Especially must breakfast be a meal of the mind as well as of the stomach. Here is where, no doubt, our No. 2, or inheritance, comes in. If one has been brought up in a family where heavy meat breakfasts were the rule, only severe ill health thereafter will make one feel that such breakfasts are not exactly the thing. If one, on the other hand, has lived since childhood in a family where very light breakfasts were eaten, a great, heavy meal in the forenoon will seem almost criminal and at least totally un- necessary. *x % These are matters every one must settle for himself, and most of us do if we have the price, but the thing to keep in mind is the personality. One has but to think of the thousands upon thousands of per- sons who attempt to make their per- sonalities like other personalities, instead of doing their best to be themselves, to realize the necessity for bringing the mind, and one's bringing up, and one’s state of health, into even so small an affair as the daily breakfast. It is possible to eat slow or fast, or not to eat at all, or else to eat very heavily or very lightly, or at different hours from most, or make breakfast into two meals, really, as they do in Europe. It is feasible and often practical to eat down- town if one refuses to get up early enough to have an unhampered break- fast at home. It is strange the way many people hamper themselves in this regard. ‘The common way is to lie abed until the morning ablutions must be hurried so that there is not time left for even the tiniest breakfast. We recall once taking an after-breakfast cup of coffee in & | cojveq o show that the central pressur restaurant, seeing a woman rush in, seize a cup of boiling hot coffee, stand up at the counter and pour the entire contents of the cup “adown her warm esophagus,” as the old rhyme had it, in exactly 30 seconds. We timed her. No matter what sort of breakfast one eats, if it is eaten at all it ought to be a leisurely affair, more 5o than any meal of the day, perhaps. There should be time before it and during it and after it. If all this cannot be managed it is better to eat no breakfast at all, or at least a very little one, rather than swal- low down food almost whole and in such a hurry that one doesn't taste it. Taste is physiologically part of eating, and a necessary part. Mere swallowing is something else again. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. A national campaign of scientific re- search against the most serious human malady known in the United States has just been launched. This malady is not tuberculosis, can- cer or some affection of the heart. It constitutes a more serious problem than these prevalent and dreaded diseases. It is the obscure malady known as “soul splitting”—to give a literal translation of the Greek word “schizophrenia.” There are twice as many hospital cases of “soul splitting” as of tubercu- losis. Each year between 30000 and 40,000 persons, as a matter of record, are victims of it. It is harder to cure than these other diseases. It is more expensive, both to the family of the vic- tim and to the community. It is prob- ably just as disabling as any physical disease and, in the end, just as fatal. ‘The reason its devastating effects are not better known is that the victims are hidden away, for the protection of so- ciety, and it is not & matter that their friends and relatives like to talk about. There has been no co-ordinated cam- paign against it. Research has been confined to individual, spasmodic effort. One student has not known what the other was doing. A year ago the Scottish Rite Masons made an appropriation for a national survey of the extent of the malady, the efforts being made to combat it, and the possibilities. This was carried on under the direction of Dr. Nolan D. C. Lewis, formerly clinical director of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. Dr. Lewis has just made his report and, on the basis of it, the same organization has made available $40,000- to the National Com- mittee for Mental Hygiene for the open- ing drive of an extended battle. The first objective will be the intensifica- tion of résearch activities with projects to be inaugurated in 10 American cities under the direction of a committee of distinguished psychiatrists. The disease, recognized since the dawn of history, has remained the mys- tery of psychiatry. Both its cause and its pathology are unknown. It is essen- tially a disorganization of the person- ality during the period of adolescence or early maturity. 1t is characterized, in a general way, by an inco-ordination of the mental mechanism and it is associated sooner or later with an in- tellectual deterioration without any defi- nite organic basis which can be demon- strated. Psychologically it is characterized as “the reaction of an inadequate person- ality to the difficulties of environment. This inadequacy is not demonstrable in the intellectual field, but expresses itself in an inability to react, as does the nor- mal and well-balanced personality to the difficulties encountered during the course of educational, economic, emo- tional, domestic or social life.” Another characterization issued by the National Committee is’“a defensive re- action in a sensitive human being to a feeling of personal failure. It results from inability to meet one’s own per- sonal standards. It is characteristically accompanied by a sense of isolation. It may take the form of panic, of despair- ing acceptance, of evasiveness with pro- jection and grandiose delusions, or of simple acceptance of inferiority. Fun- damental to the psychosis is an intoler- able loss of self-respect.” The course and symptoms of the dis- ease differ profoundly, but the end state i cne of which in- volves particularly the emotional re- sponses. The tendency to be seclusive and to withdraw from reality, usually manifested in childhood, is the distinc- tive characteristic of the personality on which dementia praecox is readily en- grafted. “schizophrenia.” or “soul splitting,” be- cause it reveals a fundamental splitting between the emotional, the thought and the motor processes. Many of the most brutal and elusive of criminals are be- lieved to be victims of this disease in some stage. The disease is, at the pres- ent stage, practically incurable. Unless an adjustment is accomplished during the brief incipient stage, when the symptoms are likely to go unrecognized, the victim is condemned to a veritable living death, devoid of emotional life and unable to participate in the normal activities and emotional life of the living. “Not only is dementia praecox the most frequently diagnosed mental disease in the hospitals,” says the report upon which the new campaign is based, “but the disorder is found frequently in indi- viduals with a very highly organized mind who, early in life, give promise of brilliant careers. The earliest manifes- tations of trouble are often difficult to determine, subtle in their expressions and slow in development. In a typical case the creative potentialities of the mind gradually become involved in a day-dreaming, emotionally distorted proc- ess which cripples the personality and economic adjustments of the individual —gradually leading to a type of deteri- oration of character which shows itself either by a tendency to withdraw from social activities or by an aggressive atti- tude overstepping the bounds of social tolerance. In many cases the deteriora- tion processes become arrested at some stage or degree of development, thus producing borderline conditions allow- ing for partial, and even some creative, adjustments to society. Occasionally there is almost complete restitution, which has occurred either spontaneously or after special treatment. “But the outcome in general is exceed- ingly serious and the destructive de- terioration processes in force ruin what are thought to be the most valuable of mincs. The premature deterioration of character is not explained on the basis of any of the known physical diseases and it is just this fact which emphasizes the unusual difficulties presented in re- searchr on the disorder. Nowhere else in medicine do the symptoms of disorder disturb the moral and social conduct and relationships of the individual in such an extensive manner. Because of this the attitude of society has been characterized chiefly by the desire to bring these patients under welfare treatment and in defending itself from unpleasant and sometimes dangerous associations with them.” Among the most urgent studies, it is pointed out, is one to determine the in- fluence of heredity in the disease. So little is known of human heredity that it is difficult to come to any sound con- clusion at Pms time. Another matter to be de ned is the relative influence of the disease in different levels of so- clety and its geographical incidence throughout the United States. Still an- other matter to be determined is whether the disease is a malady of civilization ‘or whether anything comparable to it can found in uncivilized society— which would indicate s fundamental basis n the race as & whole. A common name for the disease is | ANSWERS 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 Bureau, Frederic J. Naskin, Director, Washing- ton, D.C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. To what American officer does the Engu;{h bailiff correspond?—T. R. A. He corresponds to a deput; undersheriff. o e Q. Who is commander of the - ican Legion?—G. G. 2 Alue A. J. Ray Murphy of Ida Grove, Iowa, was elected recently as national com- mander, succeeding Frank N. Bel- grano, jr. Q. What is the average expectancy that a woman will have a child within two years after marriage?—G. C. A. One compilation which reviews 4500 marriages shows the following figures: Of women married at the age of 16, the percentage bearing a child within two years is 129; age 17, percent- age 30; age 18, percentage 46.4; 19, per- centage 57.8; ages 20-24, percentage 90.51; ages, 25.29, percentage 75.8; ages, 30-34, percentage 62.9; ages, 35-39, per- centage 409; ages, 40-44, percentage 154; ages 45-49, percentage 4.3. » Q. How many times was the famous lecture, “Acres of Diamonds,” given?— ' L. M. . A. Russell Herman Conwell is said * to have given this lecture more ‘than 6,000 times. In this way he raised funds for the education of 10,000 young men. Q. How s dressed and L. M. C. A. The typical warrior wears tight- fitting trousers and a voluminous white robe. He is armed with a long sword and sharp spear and carriers a shield of elephant or hippopotamus hide. Be- sides the swords and spears, the army i equipped with from 500,000 to 600,000 ! muskets and rifles. Q. Who established Foundation?—J. G. A. It was established by Willian Elmer Harmon (1862-1928), a real estatc operator. . the Ethiopian fighter equipped for battle?— * the Harmon ; Q. What did the barometer read in the recent Florida hurricane?—E. A. F A. The Weather Bureau says that the central pressure in a hurricane is usuall very low, but the weather map show only the lowest readings actually re- ported at the time the map is preparec - Since that time reports have been re- at points on the Florida Keys was bc low 27.0 inches. Q. Please give some information abou the explorer for whom Mount Everes is named —G. 8. h A. Sir George Everest (1790-1866) wz a British surveyor, born at Brecknock shire, Wales. He was engaged in th trigonometrical survey of India in 180¢- 1843 and became superintendent of th survey in 1823 and surveyor general o India in 1830. . Q. How far from San Francisco i Reno?—H. E. A. Reno, Nev, is about 225 milc northeast of San PFrancisco. : Q. What is Dutch comfort?—S. G. 3 A. The comfort of realizing that thing:; might be worse. Q. How many ordinary pins would it take to weigh a ton?—H. D. A. About seven million. Q. What is the name of the organiza- tion that is to build a memorial to Will Rogers?—M. F. A. A commission of 230, headed by Vice President Garner, has charge of the plans for the memorial. Q. Please give some information about Loie Fuller, dancer—E. G. A. Loie Fuller was born in 1862 and in early life was a temperance lecturer and elocutionist. Later she toured with stock companies and in 1891 appeared in New York as a dancer. She gained fame for her invention of the serpentine dance. In her later years she conducted a school of dancing. She wrote “Fifteen Years of a Dancer's Life.” Q. How long has indoor base ball been played?—P. A. A. It originated in Chicago in 1887. Q. What tree is known as the god tree?—E. M. A. The deodar is sometimes so called Q. What produces the colors often seen in a film of crude oil?>—M. E. A. The iridescence is due to the mu- tual action of the rays of light on one another, Q. What are officinal plants?—O. C. A. They are those medicinal plants which have a place in the pharma- copoeias of different countries, and which are therefore sold by apothecaries and druggists. Q. What is the name of the novel by Carl Van Vechten which is a satire on the moving picture industry?—A. M. A. It is called “Spider Boy.” Q. When Jefferson Davis became * President of the Confederacy, what other candidates received votes?— G.R. 8. A. Davis was unanimously elected. Q. In 1835 what were financial con- ditions in Chicago?—W. A. H. A. Money was s0 scarce that “Nearly every man . . . doing business was issuing his individual scrip and the city abounded with little tickets such as ‘Good in our store for 10 cents,’ ‘Good for a loaf of m.'“‘Good for a shave,’ ‘Good for a Q. When was the first ballet presented? —G. T. A. The ballet first appeared on a large : scale at the Tortona, Italy, in 1480, A A Rhyme at Twilight By . Gertrude Broch Hamilton : We Sing Again : This is October! Wonderful weather. . Earth full of beauty where scarlet * leaves blow, ' Air full of ozone, step free of tether, Every town window and portal aglow. This is October! Let's not remember, . m&hfl:xmx back to the brain and the e . Desolate dusks of lonely September— Loved ones divided' and comrades apart, This is October! Lamps lit at twilight. After the partings renewed rhapsody. Laughter and song once again in the =7 Love has eomnl back from the hills ® and the ses! 5 «