Evening Star Newspaper, October 19, 1935, Page 8

"A-8 w% THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY ............October 19, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES...........Editor e e demai ot O SEENT R The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: 11th 8t 'E“ Pennsylvania Ave. 110 East 42nd St Rate by Carrier Wlthln the Clty. Regular Edition. ---45¢ per month d B -60c per month AT 'h gvemgl 535 s‘yl;’)...y 65¢ per month The Sunday Star.. Tizht o flection made af the end of each Ol’ggrsumlgg boll!m by mail or telephone Na- tional 5000. Rate by Mlil—l’lylhle in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 7r. S10.00: 1 $6.007 $4.00; 1 flv and Sunasy. aily ouly Sunday only-Z222771 yr. Member of the Associated Press. ssociated Press 1s exclusively entitled to the ee for Tepiblication of all news dispatehes eredited 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. B 1 mnl 30 Another Dictator. While Europe writhes in turmoil over the Italo-Ethiopian conflict and its attendant international complications, another dictatorship has been estab- lished. Vienna is its scene. There, after & bloodless coup, accomplished so swiftly that the populace was completely un- aware it had happened, Prince Ernest Ruediger von Starhemberg, vice chan- cellor in the Schuschnigg government, geized power as the result of a cabinet “purge.” He is now the undisputed ruler of Austria. Chancellor Schuschnigg is nominally still at the helm, but real au- thority is vested in Von Starhemberg. He takes his place alongside Mussolini, Hit- ler, Stalin, Kemal and the other Old World autocrats, major and minor, whd wield supreme control within their re- spective realms. The Viennese upheaval wipes out the last vestige of the regime bequeathed by the martyred Dollfuss. The “purge” claimed as its chief victim Maj. Emil Fey, minister of the interior, who had been carrying on in the Dollfuss tradi- tion ever since the late chancellor was assassinated by Nazis in July, 1934. Fey's status was bolstered chiefly by the Vienna Heimwehr military organization, which acknowledged him as leader. was always looked upon as an upstart rival by the far more powerful national Heimwehr controlled by Von Starhem- berg and numbering roundly 100,000 men. As vice chancellor in the reorganized government, the militant young soldier- prince brings under his personal direc- tion the entire Heimwehr force of the nation, some 60,000 Catholic Storm Troops and 15,000 soldiers of the Frei- heitsbund. Von Starhemberg probably has at his command a force not far be- low 200.000 men. That it is destined to become another dictator’s private army is manifest from the prince’s maiden order, proclaiming in imperious tone that he alone is to be regarded as the arbiter of Austria's military destinies. The autocrat on the Danube is a Fascist and an intimate personal and political friend of Mussolini. Von Star- hemberg's accession means that Italo- Austrian relations will be cemented, especially against the peril of German Nazi aggression. It bodes no good for Hitler's anschluss (annexation) dreams. ‘The Viennese government has just be- tokened its sympathy with Il Duce’s cause by refusing to join unreservedly in League sanctions against Italy. Scion of one of Austria’s oldest noble houses, Prince von Starhemberg's natural inclinations would be in the direction. of restoration of the monarchy. It may be that Hapsburg “reunion in Vienna" will, sooner or later, prove to be the underlying purpose of this week’s events and that the youthful archduke waiting to reclaim the ancestral throne will shortly mount it to reign, as Victor Emmanuel reigns at Rome, but to submit to the overlordship of a dictator, as Ttaly’s curbed and shackled monarch has done since 1922. The Old World grows unsafer for democracy day by day. R In seeking to promote a political pos- sibiiity, even so discerning a statesman as Senator Borah may succeed only in eliminating one. ——— Still Worlds to Conquer. No more worlds to conquer? No more strange places to explore? Not at all. Great as have been the successes of the travelers and the adventurers in the remote lands in solving the mysteries of nature, there is still work for them to do here and there. Areas in Asia remain to be penetrated and mapped, their inhab- itants classified as to anthropological origins, their flora and fauna collected and their economic relations to the outer world determined. In the so-called “dark continent” of Africa, despite per- sistent penetration by courageous ex- plorers and exploitation by political ad- venturers, many millions of square miles remain as almost virgin territory, as re- spects the scrutiny of the white race. ‘Tales of motor tours across the once wild and forbidding lands of this vast frregular triangle of desert, forest, jungle and plain have become rather familiar and there are routes that still defy pas- sage. And in South America, that other, slightly smaller triangle, remain places where the white man has yet to find his way. In the South Seas, too, are such regions, too densely thicketed with Nature’s defenses to be entered for the sake of greater knowledge of the native conditions, animal and vegetable, par- ticularly in some of the islands north of Australia. ‘The airplane is now being used to ex- tend the zones of knowledge and corre- spondingly to narrow the zones of mys- tery. Flights have been made over Jjungles which have defied entrance. Maps have been corrected by this means, rivers traced, contours defined. At the It | - THE EVENING STAR, “heavier-than-air” exploration the dark pots will shortly be illumined by the light of science. Just at present such & research is in progress of preparation. The American Museum of Natural His- tory has secured the construction of a plane particularly adapted to the study of what are described as the inaccessible and almost unknown wilds of New Guinea, where Stone Age culture prevails. What a striing contrast—the aiplane and the Stone Age! Something like go- ing “back to Methuselah,” as George Bernard Shaw remarked in a play title. And yet, why not? Any tool for knowl- edge, so long as it is efficient. This plane may perhaps be the means of establish- ing knowledge of now-missing links in the chain of evolution. At any rate, those who travel in it to the dense thickets of New Guinea will have a thrill such as comes to few in these sophisticated days. e The Presidential Office. Until Theodore Roosevelt went to Panama during his second term as Presi- dent no Chief Executive of the United States had ever left American soil. On that occasion, however, it was main- tained, the President was actually on American territory during his absence from Washington inasmuch as he was traveling on a ship of the American Navy while in transit and on shore in the Canal Zone was treading the soil of the United States. Throughout the period of the President's absence Vice President Fairbanks remained in Wash- ington, to be available for service as Chief Executive in the event of any untoward happening. President Taft made two trips to Panama in similar cir- cumstances and Vice President Sherman remained close to base until his return. Mr. Taft actually left American soil while President on two occasions, dining with President Diaz on the Mexican side of the border and spending a few min- utes in Cuba on another occasion. President Wilson established the precedent of an American Executive leaving the soil of the United States when he went to France for the peace conference. There was some doubt as to the propriety of this course, but no question was raised regarding the con- tinuation of the executive authority in Mr. Wilson, though Vice President Marshall remained close at home. Presi- dent Harding in the Summer of 1923 went to Alaska, traveling on a Navy transport both going and returning. His death occurred in San Francisco on his way back to Washington. President Coolidge attended a Pan-American Con- ference in Havana during his term of office, with Vice President Dawes re- maining in Washington, but not acting as Chief Executive. President Roosevelt has made several trips beyond the territorial limits of the United States before the present one, visiting South America.and Campobello Island. in Canada, and also going to Hawaii, which technically kept him within those limits. In all these cases the Vice President has remained at home, ready to serve immediately in the event of a fatality. Now, however, the Vice President has been compelled to leave the soil of the United States dur- ing the absence of the President. He has departed for Manila, there to attend the inauguration ceremonies incident to the installation of the new Philippine government, as well as making a cere- monial call upon the Emperor of Japan. He will, therefore, not be “on deck” at home throughout the period of the President’s absence from these. shores. The Secretary of State is the potential uncerstudy of these two officials. The presidential office does not lapse with any contingency short of the death simuitaneously of the Chief Executive, the Vice President and the head of each of the executive departments, which is veritably impossible. The “succession” is now sufficiently provided for to cover all conceivable emergencies. s Great intellectual agitation inevitably produces an occasional paradox, such, for instance, as a protest that it would be unconstitutional to resist efforts to get rid of the United States Constitution itself. ——————————_ As events develop, it would seem timely for General Dawes to repeat his vigorous suggestion that it is desirable for folks to get together and get some- where. ———— Roger Williams. It certainly is appropriate that organ- ized effort should be made to keep before the modern public the name of Roger Williams. Any such character, distant by eight or ten generations from the present hour, is in danger of beirg for- gotten or, worse, misunderstood. The current tercentenary celebration of his trial before the General Court of Massa- chusetts, therefore, should be doubdly helpful—firstly because it will stimulate renewed interest in his story, and sec- ondly because it will bring out the sig- nificance of his life in the early annals of the Western world. Obviously, mere citation of Williams as the founder of Rhode Island is not enough. The city which he established in gratitude for “God's merciful provi- dence to me in my distress” will suffice as & monument for that incident in his career. But his universal fame must depend upon a larger circumstance. It was his privilege to be the apostle of a doctrine which in time was to be a fundamental tenet of American philos- ophy—the proposition that the civil power has no jurisdiction over the con- science. By his assertion of the freedcm of the human soul he won for himself a permanent place among the great emancipators to whom, far more than to themselves, the masses owe whatever right to untrammeled thought and con- duct they possess in an earth not notably friendly to any sort of independence. Williams personified a value which in itself is rare—a spiritual integrity which will not compromise with expediency. Of course, he was convicted. In an- other place and period, he would have been bound to a stake and burned as Joan of Arc, John Huss and Michael present rate of what may be called | Servetus were. But even had he perished & for his dream of a “free church in a free State” the ideal for which he stood would have survived. That, indeed, is the proof of its importance. It is im- mortal because it represents a basic law of human evolution. Called by whatever title, framed in whatever language, it connotes the “coming of age” of the mind and of the heart which prompts an in- dividual to believe and to feel personal responsibility. As a prophet, a crusader and an exponent of the maturity of the spirit, then, the first man “to organize and build up a political community with absolute religious liberty as its chief corner stone” merits the grateful homage of civilization. ——————————— Special education is needed to enable a citizen to become an educator. The chief educational problem is the de- velopment of a supereducation which will provide the delicate adjustment to the particular needs of those to be edu- cated. The position of Supreme Edu« cator is one to which even the boldest politicians will hesitate to claim. ————— From the demand of Europe for more housing facilities for excess population to the suburban promotion of subdi- vision life on this planet seems to be- come one real estate problem after an- other. —— e An Italian liner burned and British boats rescued passengers. The good in human nature survives. Even war threats do not prevent neighborly courtesies. ————.———— Bread goes up in price and the farmer continues to wonder why there is so much difference in cost between the barn and the bill of fare. ——— Communists demand that their ideas be discussed in schools. The story of the French revolution might make a good text book to begin with. . Munitions makers will not be allowed to feel that their consciences are left clear by a rigid rule against shipping bows and arrows to the Ethiopians. ——— There is stili a disposition to persuade Uncle Sam that it will be safe to get intc the League of Nations if he will choose a back seat next to a fire exit. —_————— As analytical history goes on it be- comes doubtful whether a tourist can believe half of what he reads in the epitaphs. S Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Uncle's Finish. My Uncle Jim has done 'most everything there is to do. He says life’s not worth livin’ when there isn't something new To hold a man’s attention. tamed a buckin’ hoss And drove in trottin’ races without grum- blin’ at the loss. He has taken railroad journeys an’ he's viewed the buildin's high; He's lost a stack of poker chips an’ never blinked an eye. But his latest fad's the queerest that has ever come to him. He's writin’ poetry! Jes’ think of that fur Uncle Jim! He has He writes about the stable an’ the hay- stack an’ the cows An’ comes as near profanity as the police allows. He jiggles an’ he joggles till he gets ‘round to a rhyme An’ don't keer what he says, so long as he is keepin’ time! ‘We used to think he’d mebbe be a man of useful mold, A blacksmith or a Congressman or else a farm-hand bold. But now we think his chances for great . things are mighty slim. He's writin’ pomes; an’ thatll be 'bout all from Uncle Jim! Describing an Artist. “That man is not a very good logician, but he is a most impressive talker.” “Yes,” replied Senator Sorghum; “he is what the musicians refer to as a per- former with more temperament than technique.” “When you go to town,” advised Jud Tunkins, “don’t stop to argue with any hotel clerk about the price of a room. You'll always find him lookin’ right over your shoulder at the next man that's all ready to grab a pen an’ register.” Culinary Comparison. The things that mother used to cook— The best, in generous amount— ‘Would turn a modern grocery book Into a faded bank account. Strong Party Sentiment. “What are the duties of the office to which you desire appointment?” asked the official. “I haven't inquired into the duties,” replied the applicant. rather reproachfully, “it was held by & Republican for years. And you oughtn’t to have any doubt that what one of those Republicans can get by “with, & first-class Democrat will be able to do with ease.” Autumn Nonsense. ‘The Autumn leaves are falling! In melancholy strain. Attention we are calling To this event again, Because it's customary ‘When Autumn comes along ‘With notes of grief to vary The burden of a song. We say, “Why do they leave us And drift toward the ground?” Their nature 'tis to grieve us By lying thus around. Balloons or airships lightly Might float aloft each day. But Autumn leaves built rightly Do not perform that way. “De man dat ‘tends strickly to his own business,” said Uncle Eben, “some= times don’t git no credit 'cep’ foh bein’ unsociable.” WASHINGTON, “But,” he added” D. C, Protests the Din of the Pile Drivers and Riveters To the Editor of The Star: It is a satisfaction to see all the agi- tation for noiselessness now in vogue in this city. Much stress is being laid upon the nuisance of the obnoxious tooting of auto horns, upon the ear-shattering reverberations of the street cars and upon the savage blare and tra-rah of the ubiquitous radio. Yet, what is all their din compared to the nerve-destroying noise of the pile driver and the steam riveter, or the ferocious thumping and hissing of the excavator! Why, it's like the piping of a mouse being drowned out by the roar of a lion. It allows of no argument that new buildings must be built and that to that end excavation is necessary, piles must be driven and steel girders riveted to- gether. I am patriotic enough to rejoice. in the Government’s providing work for the many who so sorely need it, and to that extent I am willing to suffer; but I must proclaim myself a martyr when it comes to enduring the carrying on of these robust activities for 14 hours out of every 24, Each morning at about 5:30 there is a penetrating snoring and swishing noise as a preliminary to a tremendous thun- derclap that hammers me fully awake at 6 o'clock. They're off—the pile drivers, 1 mean. Every evening, upon my weary return home, I am greeted by their anvil chorus that trips along merrily until 7 oclock and often later. It is now about 10 o'clock pm., and I can still hear the angry wheezing, churning and throbbing of some savage beast of & machine, I wrote the chief of police, begging him to do something to subdue this racket, or regulate it, after I had heard some talks on the radio about all that was being done to make Washington a quiet paradise. One is so helpless against this sort of calamity. What is one to do? Either get along without sufficient sleep or pack up and move elsewhere. But with housing conditions being what they are in the Capital City, the latter is very difficult. The chief of police wrote me a most courteous and prompt reply, in- forming me that the matter was being referred to the proper authorities. He also sent a stalwart lieutenant to call upon me with soothing explanations. They, of course, explained nothing except that the police was powerless to do anything. Now, may I ask, what is this Noise Abatement Campaign for, if the very worst, the most abominable of all the disturbing encroachments upon the tired worker's peace and quiet cannot be curbed, or at least cut down to a rea- sonable minimum each day? How is it that no one has come forward so far to denounce this most vicious of all the noises in noisy Washington? So uust it may be dealt with properly? It cannot be fear of the authorities in this freest of all lands! ADELE NEVILLE. ——oeo Another Plea for Lights at Mount Pleasant and Irving To the Editor of The Star: “Death of a girl, 5, under truck, Bladensburg road intersection,” is re- ported in The Star of October 17. “Traffic lights are sought for Bladensburg road intersection b_\' coroner’s jury.” I trust the jury will be more successful than Mount Pleasant and Irving streets north- west intersection pedestrians have been in their request for “stop-go” traffic lights for the past 3': years. The traffic at Mount Pleasant and Irving streets is much greater day and night than at the Bladensburg intersection. One citizen has been killed there, another has' had a leg broken recentlv. Auto smash-ups, side-swipes at the intersection are fre- quent. No autoist ever lessens speed or stops at the pedestrians’ two cross- walks. Maj. Ernest W. Brown of the District police told the director of traffic, Van Duzer, personally, as late as just before September 9, 1935, that “stop-go” traffic lights are absolutely necessary at this intersection. Why are they not in- stalled? Two sets of “stop-go” lights have been installed since September 9, 1935, at intersections on M street north- west, but none or no sign of any being installed at Mount Pleasant and Irving streets northwest, notwithstanding Maj. Brown'’s report, up to date. Why? Ac- cording to his own statement Mr. Van Duzer has personally driven his auto- mobile 35,000 miles in one year in Penn- sylvania. Therefore he must know the absolute necessity of “stop-go” traffic lights to safeguard pedestrians at Mount Pleasant and Irving streets northwest, W. E. RYAN, Absurdity of Taking Straw Votes on War To the Editor of The Star: The latest philanthropic or political fad seems to be the taking of straw votes to find out which way the wind of popu- lar sentiment on war blows. The returns show that most people don't want war. We do not know who first made this stu=- pendous discovery. Unfortunately a few of us already sus- pected that such was the case. If any one had asked our opinion we would have said that the number of wishes for peace outnumbered those against. We would have added that we did not believe that the average intelligent person wants war. Knowing that fact we were and still are unimpressed. It would have been equally brilliant for the straw vote faddists to have taken count how many people want to avoid sickness, earthquakes and law suits. What we want to know is not whether we like war, but why we have it. Ex- perience has shown that wishing to stay out is not enough. But while we're on the subject we wish some of the so-galled leaders we have today would tell us what causes war. Then maybe we could do something about it. . H. BOYER. o Circumstantial Evidence Not Truly “Infallible” To the Editor of The Star: In your recent editorial, “Guilty as Found,” you say “the case was a dra- matic demonstration of the infallibility of circumstantial evidence,” etc. This is placing a high value on this kind of evidence. Prof. Edwin M. Bouchard of Yale University Law School, author of “Convicting the Innocent,” writes of the grave danger of ever de- priving & man of his life or of his life- time liberty on purely circumstantial evidence. The professor describes 65 cases, in de- tail, of gross errors of criminal justice. He states in each case “how the errors occurred and how it was later discovered and unraveled.” In the case of Hauptmann, however, all of the circumstances brought out at the trial point so clearly to his undoubted guilt that a mistake in the conviction was impossible. But that circumstantial evidence is, in general, infallible, is open to question. CHARLES H. COE. Jacksonville, Fla. oo Gluttony. From the Grand Island (Nebr.) Independent, Niagara Falls, we are told, “are re- lentlessly eating their way back through the limestone toward Lake Erie.” Ane other instance of the national sin of overeating. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1935. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. For the third time in 10 years we have failed to complete the reading of Jane Austen's “Sense and Sensibility.” This time we got to page 224, with about 100smore pages to go. At about this point, we recalled, the fortunes of the sensible Eleanor and the nonsensical Marianne always get too much for us. It would be easy enough, of course, to start each time where the story was left off several years before. That scheme at least would have the merit of finish- ing the story. Such a procedure would not be playing fair with the author. We solemnly begin all over again, once ever so often, and as solemnly quit at about the same point. This is the same as saying that Jane’s second string novel is a very dull book, and it is, but all Jane Austen “fans” keep it on their shelves just the same, because she wrote it. * ok ok % The nice thing about her books is that one can have them all and know them all. It is not alwayvs so. Many of the great English novelists wrote so much that it is impossible to really know the stories. Characters and plots become mixed up in the mind. Not so with Jane Austen. A few novels, each one easily remembered. Her char- acters are distinct. Compared with the men and women of Dickens, they are Jjust a handful and neatly come to mind. It is an interesting study to compare her first and second novels. The first written, “Pride and Preju- dice,” remains her most popular. It was not published until 1813, two years after “Sense and Sensibility,” which was her second written. Thus her first is by some persons considered her best, her second her worst. Good and bad—why is each treasured? Not only because they have the pe- culiar flavor of her individual mind, at once witty and sarcastic in a pleasant way, but more because each is the un- adorned story of a few human beings. The elaborated novel may be art, but often it is difficult reading, say what one will. At times the reading soul pines for the simple story of just a few characters. * ¥ X X “Pride and Prejudice,” with its single track development of the love story of Elizabeth Bennet and D'Arcy, has been the favorite of the majority of novel readers for precisely this singleness. The more diversified “Emma” and “Mansfield Park” generally are the fa- vorites of those who believe that they are students of the English novel. These are the production of Miss Austen’s later years, when she had be- come a finished novelist. Yet her first one, “Pride and Preju- dice,” is pretty finished, too. So figure it out any way you please. The certain thing is that her second written, though first printed, is her dullest. No douft it was partly due to her pre- conceived idea of permitting two women to represent two types, one the sensible girl, and the other the *“sensibili emotional type. The use of “sensibility” in the sense of emotions has long gone out. We no longer speak of a person’s sensibility, meaning emotionalism. If Miss Austen were writing today she would phrase her title, if she intended to work it out in the same way, as “Miss STARS, MEN Sensible and Miss Emotional,” which would make a pretty poor title, of course. It is significant that her first title for “Sense and Sensibility” was “Eleanor and Marianne,” which would be a better one today if it had not been then. She was fascinated, vvidently, by ihat charmer of all beginning writers, alliteration. Her “S and S” combination was fol- lowed by the sixteenth letter, but after that she never succumbed. Thereafter her titles were straightfor- ward.,, “Emma” was good enough. “Mansfield Park” was enough. It is interesting to note that the best seller of recent years is “Anthony Adverse.” It was not necessary then and it is not now to give a novel some curiously fabricated title, maybe a piece of a famous selection of poetry or the like. ‘The story is greater than the title and transcends it in every good instance. * % x x How does the average reader account for the difference between an interest- ing book and an uninteresting one by the same author? One novel the reader goes through easily and pleasant]y, because he is in- terested; the second he finds difficult, and sometimes never manages to finish. Is he to blame, in the second case, or the novelist? Especially when he, as reader, is an admirer of the writer, it is scarcely pos- sible to put the blame entirely on him. If he is fair, he will be willing to ac- cept part of the blame, but not all, by any means. He realizes better than most that a novel, as commonly understood, is a vicarious experience, and that the reader who thus takes part in life, at second or third remove, is a victim of life, in little, as all are victims of life, in the large. Once a story is begun, it must be something exceptional in it which will keep from finishing it, because the writ- ten novel, like the life which it is, not imitates, demands an ending. It is not for nothing that novelists and pub- lishers usually write “The End” on the last page. A novel must have something really basically wrong with it when it fails to hold the attention of the reader who is prejudiced in its favor. * X x X ‘This flaw, in the case of “Sense and Sensibility,” is nothing more than too great a singleness of purpose. The intense concentration on two characters, and especially two opposing ideas of character, was such as the woman who wrote the later novels would not have countenanced. She never re- peated, in this respect. It is asking a great deal of a reader | to remain interested in the love search of two girls, when the dear ladies do nothing and say nothing particularly in- teresting in themselves. The fact that their characters are dif- ferent is only what is to be expected. Yet “Pride and Prejudice” is a single track story What is the difference? The answer must be veiled in the | eternal mystery of writing, why one novel sells a million copies, why another does not get out of the 10,000 sales class, why one becomes a classic, while another fails of that goal. The difference be- tween success and semi-failure is often greater than that between success and complete failure. AND ATOMS tebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. An Eden of time was the dawn age of the geologists, 70.000.000 years ago. Then appeared almost contempora- neously the mammals, the birds, most of the insects and the flowering plants. Practically all the orders known today emerged at that time and. with the sin- gle exception of man. no significant new type has been developed since. Also— still with the possible exception of man —there is very little possibility that any of the existing orders of life will give rise to anything new. Everything is too specialized. Such are the conclusions of Dr. Robert Broom, presented recently before the South African Academy of Sciences, based larged on his studies of the large variety of fossil reptiles contained in the so-called Karoo shales. Here are to be found the bones of some of the crea- tures who became the ancestors of the warm-blooded animals. “It almost looks.” he says, “as if l}he world in eocene times came under a new management. The percentage of carkonic acid gas in the atmosphere may nave become appreciably reduced when the land became covered with grass. The mammals began to evolve surpris- ingly in many directions, and by the middle of the eocene all the known or- ders were established.” ‘The progress of organic evolution from the beginning, Dr. Broom holds, has been by mighty jumps instead of by im- perceptible changes. There have been periods of intense activity, probably in- duced by meteorological changes, fol- lowed by millions of years during which nothing has happened. Somewhere toward the end of the carboniferous period, approximately 250,000,000 years ago, the reptiles made their appearance. They continued the dominant creatures on earth for almost 160,000,000 years. There was considerable specialization and adaptation to the various habitats the world afforded, but there were no new orders. The dinosaurs, the ichthyo- saurs, the plesiosaurs and the flying pterodactyls could not give rise to any- thing new. Sometime in the upper triassic, about 150,000,000 years ago, the first mammals made their appearance, developing from the least specialized order of the reigning reptiles. But for more than 60,000,000 years they were barely able to exist in competition with the cold-blooded, scaly monsters. Then, at the very beginning of the eocene, or possibly a little before, the great reptiles disappeared and the mam- mals underwent, probably in a compar- atively few generations, their major de- velopment and diversification. All the orders known today appeared—the pouched marsupials, the hoofed animals, the carnivores, the insectivores from which man is supposed eventually to have arisen, the bats, the primates, the whales, the seals and the edentates. The great diversification stopped almost as abruptly as it started. The story of the birds is very similar. The first birdlike creature, the archae- opteryx, lived at about the middle of the jarrasic geological period—about 150,000,000 years ago. For the next 80,000,000 years there was practically no change, until the great spurt came at the start of the eocene. Every known order of birds evolved at that time, ex- cept, possibly, the parrots and the pig- eons. For 40,000,000 years there has been no notable evolution of birds— only increasing specialization. The great diversification and spread of flowering plants came only a few mil- lion years before the critical period in the history of the birds and mammals. Dr. Broom thinks they may have been restrained for some time in Africa and spread quite suddenly with the arrival of favorable meteorological conditions. The insects, as a race, are very ancient, but their great diversification was prac- tically contemporaneous with that of the plants. The two were inseparable and necessary companions. Since this great evolutionary spurt. the African biologist points out. only species have evolved. There have been no new orders, or even families. He is extremely doubtful of any new orders arising in the future, especially among the mammals. Some of the groups have had plenty of opportunity to put out new shoots but have failed to do so. He cites the kangaroos. They have been isolated in Australia for 40.- 000.000 years. In all this time the only new creature to arise has been the tree kangaroo—a member of the same order. A better possibility would seem to be the rats and mice—among the least specialized of ail animals. But, says Dr. Broom, it can be shown that more than 30.000.000 years ago a species of mice invaded Madagascar, then a ro- dentless land. and in all the time that has elapsed since, all that has come from it have been a great many species and varieties of rats—but no new kind of animal. The best possibility, he says. would seem to lie with an obscure animal known as the gymnura, or moon rat, of Southern Asia. one of the least special- ized of mammals. Yet for 40,000,000 years the only new creature that has sprung from this line has been the closely allied hedgehog. He finds the same situation among the birds, insects and plants. All have tended to greater and greater special- ization, which is the road to extinction rather than greater development. Thus, he believes, evolution in the known orders of life is a closed chapter. ——————————— Plaids and Checke. From the Rochester (N. Y.) Times-Unlon. Plaids for the college girl will be un- usuelly large this Autumn. What in- terests father is the possibility of small checks for son as well as daughter. Definition of Danger. From the Richmond News-Leader. Dangerous road: One whose drivers are careful and accidents fewer than on safe roads. ——s Profitable Oblivion. From the Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mafl. We suspect that N. R. A. employes would like to be the forgotten men as long as possible. A Rhyme at Twilight B Gertrude Bro:ke Hamilton Trinity in Man Leader of men, his mettle Puts spirit in each move, Inspiring his followers With fortitude and love. Mixer with men, his free mirth Makes easy comradeship; Human touch and jollity In even his handgrip. Molder of men, his mercy Tempers his every rule ‘With clemency and ;my For blunderer and fool. (: 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. Haskin, Director, Washing= ton, D.C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. What classes of freight figure largely in theft during transit>—C. B. C. A. Nearly 40 per cent of the total claims paid are for theft of coal, while cigarette and tobacco losses have amounted to about 18 per cent. Q. For whom was Churcmll Downs at Louisville named?—E. G. A. Churchill Downs was named after the owners of the ground on which the race course was built—John and Henry Churchill. Q. Are there Ethiopia?—N. T. A. It is estimated that there are be- tween 15,000 and 18,000 churches in the empire. many churches fin Q. Did Edgar Allan Poe have a sister Wwho lived in Washington, D. C.?—E. H. A. His sister Rosalie lived in Washe ington the latter part of her life at the Epiphany Church Home. She is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery. Q. Is Mussolini an athlete?—E. H. F. A. He is a swimmer, aviator, speed-boat driver and motor cyclist. An expert horseman, he begins each day with a horseback ride. Q. Do single men and women live f,onger than married men and women?— A. According to data prepared by Walter F. Willcox, bachelors over age | 20 have a consistently higher mortality | rate than married men, and spinsters over age 40 have a consistently higher mortality rate than wives. It would follow from this that husbands at each age over 20, and that wives at each age over 40, would have greater expectations of life than bachelors and spinsters, re= spectively, of corresponding ages. In interpreting information of this kind, Mr. Willcox says that it must be kept in mind that marriage is necessarily a process of selection and that persons in poor physical condition would remain in a single state. It does not follow that all the single persons are subject to greater mortality than all married per sons. Q. What is a light year?>—F. D. _A. It is the distance that light travels in a year, approximately six trillion miles. Q. What plant is called Aaron's beard? —R. M. A. The name is applied to several piants, including rose of Sharon, St. John’s-wort, the smoke tree, and Chi- nese saxifrage. Q. Who wrote “Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow?—W. W. C. A. The words of the doxology are by | Thomas Ken, an English bishop. The tune. known as “Old Hundred,” is from the Genevan “Psalter,” 1551, Q. How did Block Island get name?—R. C. A. Its original name was Manisses, translated as little god or little island. Its present name was given by Adriaen Block in 1614. its Q. Please describe the steps leading up to the new Louisiana State Capitol. How much did the Capitol cost?—J. P. D. A. The monumental granite steps are 48 in number, each inscribed with the name of a State in the Union, with its date of admission, the first flight of 13 | steps indicating the original States. The cost of the building was approximately $5,000,000. Q. Why do clothes dry better on 8 warm day than on a cold day?—M. K. * A. The drying of clothes depends on evaporation. When the temperature of the air is raised, as on a warm, sunny | day. it has the capacity of taking up more moisture than when it is cold. Q. For how long has “Accident Facts" been published?—J. F. A. The National Safety Council has recently published the fifteenth annual compilation. It contains accident sta=- tistics for the past year and comparisons with earlier years. Q. What is the meaning of the word Gethsemane?—H. C. V. A. It is Hebrew for wine press. Q. Who first called our flag Glory"?—O. C. S. A. Capt. Driver of Salem, in 1831, commanded the brig Charles Doggett, which sailed on its famous voyage which resulted in the rescue of the mutineers of the British ship Bounty. A letter acknowledging this service contains Driver's autograph dated November 16, 1880, and bears the words “My ship, my country, and my flag. Old Glory.” It may be fairly assumed, therefore, that the phrase “Old Glory” originated with Capt. Driver. The flag which was so designated by him was presented to him by a friend before starting on this voyage. It is still preserved in the Essex Institute, Salem, Mass. “Old Q. How many post offices are there in Washington?—P. J. L. A. The Washington Post Office is com= prised of one main office, 33 classified stations, 33 contract stations and 6 naval stations. Q. Who was called the Shakespears Clown?—A. G. S. A. Daniel McLaren, whose stage name was Dan Rice, was so called because of his devotion to the works of Shakespeare, He was a clown and acrobat in Ba: - num’s circus and later a partner in Spalding’s circus. As manager of Fore- paugh’s and of O'Brien's circuses he received what was for those days a fabulous salary. He was unrivaled in his profession. Q. How much did the new building of the Forest Products Laboratory at Madi- son, Wis., cost?—M. W. A. The thoroughly modern building which was erected, in 1933 cost $900,000. New special equipment installed cost $500,000. It is the largest institution of its kind in the world, and enjoys an in= ternational reputation. Q. Where was the race in “Stecamboat Round the Bend” filmed?—G. D. A. It was photographed in the Sacra- mento River. Q. What is epigraphy?—R. F. A. It is the writing or study of ine scriptions. Q. Why is Saint Theresa depicted with roses in her arms?—A. R. . A. The roses recall her mystical saying that she would let fall a shower of roses from Heaven. Q. Who is called the father of the symphony?—A. F. A. Franz Josef Haydn is sometimes so called. & [