Evening Star Newspaper, November 14, 1935, Page 10

HE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTO C, THURSDAY NOVEMBER 14, 1935. . DR - 0 | @it o W i TR L TRk R R A THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY .....000..November 14, 1935 — e THEODORE W. NOYES...........Editor ———————— The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave, Ch’l'“ o Office: Lak : ‘fi':c%.n:t‘n‘ 2:"-51‘5:':‘1: cago Office: Lake A Suropean Office: 14 Regent St.. London. Engiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition, The Evening Star The Evening and Sunday Star indays) 45¢ per month 60c per month 65¢ per montn -5¢ per copy Night Final Fight Einal and ighy Final Collection m d Orders may be sent by mail or tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 70¢c per month c per month each month. telephone Na- All Other States fly and Sunday_.1 yr ly ‘only_ 1 1y. Member of the Assoclated Press. The Associated Press 1s exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches eredited to it or not otherwise credited in this Daper and also_the local news published herein. I ‘Fights of pubiication of special dispatches erein are also reserved. Prompt Giving. Workers in the annual Community Chest campaign are urging prompt giving, and their appeal has decided point and obvious logic. Even the ancient Greeks—Euripedes, for example—under- stood that, in effect, “he gives twice who gives quickly.” Spontaneity is a virtue in such matters, firstly because it be- speaks the authentic generosity of the heart and secondly because it con- tributes to a psychology of success which is needed for the attainment of the goal of the drive. Perhaps it is not too much to say that ‘Washington is being tested, weighed in the balance, judged for the degree of spiritual maturity and social conscience 4t possesses. The campaign is a kind of challenge to the corporate soul of the city. If response is speedy as well as bountiful, it will be apparent to the whole world that the people of the District of Columbia are civilized human beings in the full and complete meaning of that phrase. Of course, money is not the only thing wanted. A manifestation of brotherhood and fellow-feeling is the larger objective. Mere funds for the poor and necessitous, it has been agreed, might be collected by other procedure. The Chest method has been preferred because it preserves the quality of democratic sympathy, which certainly should be protected in the Nation's Capital, if not elsewhere. ‘Washingtonians, then, have an oppor- tunity to demonstrate their character as & social organization. In the day-to-day reports of the campaign solicitors other towns may find a measuring stick for determining what sort of folk they are, what ideals and hopes they entertain. Suppose it should happen that the word could go out to all the land that the Chest had been oversubscribed and the campaign terminated earlier than sched- uled, would not the news be an inspira- tion to millions? Surely, such tidings would stimulate rejoicing everywhere. A Washingtonian Honored. In the election of Robert V. Fleming of Washington to the presidency of the American Bankers’ Association, which occurred yesterday at the annual meet- ing at New Orleans, that organization has honored the banks of the Capital by recognition of the ability of one of their leaders, who has been identified with the District banking profession for nearly thirty years. Mr. Fleming's pro- motion from the first vice presidency to the first office of the association was more than a mere routine of advance- ment. It was an acknowledgment by the organization of highly valuable serv- ices rendered in the past, and especially in recent months during the enactment of legislation affecting the entire Ameri- ¢an banking institution. Washington is proud of the advance- ment of its native son to so high and distinguished a position. Mr. Fleming is a Washingtonian in every respect, & native of the Capital, educated exclu- sively in local institutions and inducted into his chosen career as a banker in one of the banks of this city. His train- ing has been altogether in that one establishment. In the course of his ad- vancement through the successive re- sponsibilities of the Riggs National Bank he has not been negligent of his civic duties, but, on the contrary, has been helpfully active in various civic works, having only recently completed a term of service as president of the Board of Trade, of which he has long been a mem- ber. In practically every agency for community betterment the services of Mr. Fleming have been freely rendered, with valuable results, and each of the institutions and organizations with which he is identified shares now in the pride that the Capital feels in his advance- ment to the highest office in the bank- ing world of America, the first time this office has been bestowed upon & resident of the District. —ra— N. R. A. is losing its grip in economic mathematics, but is still figuring in literature. The Irresistible Demand. Benator Norris’ technique in handling the retirement rumor is much to be admired. Quoted the other day as de- claring that he would not be a candidate for re-election to the Senate, after having spent four terms in that branch of Con- gress, after putting in ten years in the other branch, there was an evident indis- position on the part of the public gen- erally to take him at his word. Memory of a similar announcement on another occasion when the matter of an addi- tional term was in discussion revived and suggested that the veteran states- man’s decision might possibly be over- ruled by a showing of popular demand for his continued sacrifice of self in the public service. The evidence of reconsideration comes [4 somewhat sooner than was to have been expected in the circumstances. The in- terview in which the Senator was quoted as saying, “I am not a candidate” for re-election was printed November 8. Yesterday at Los Angeles the Senator was interviewed again and declared: “I did not say at Salt Lake City that I would not be a candidate for re-election. I am on a vacation and I want a rest. I am not discussing it.” That suffices, assuredly. But the Sen- ator, evidently wishing to take the matter quite out of the realm of doubt, proceeds to say: “But a campaign‘would be a small disturbance compared to the trouble my not being a candidate has cost me. I have received hundreds of letters from all parts of the United States urging me to run next year.” > Quite well” worth all the trouble, it would seem, to have such a testimonial and such evidence of a popular demand for further sacrifice. Of small moment is the question of whether the Senator said at Salt Lake City what he was re- ported to have said. Reportorial veracity or recollection has been so often chal- lenged in such cases that the agents of communication have grown quite inured to the charge of infelicity of memory or expression. The important point is that this alleged slip of the pen at Salt Lake City has evoked evidence of that irresistible demand for continued service which is such a soothing balm to the weary frame and the spent nerves of the statesman who hovers on the verge of retirement. e Revolt in Egypt. British domination in Egypt is again suddenly threatened by the Nationalist elements represented by the militant Wafd party. Resenting a speech by Foreign Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare in London, indicating opposition to any immediate restoration of a constitutional system in the land of the Pharaohs, riotous mobs on Wednesday stormed the British consulate at Cairo, clashed with police and troops and caused & considerable casualty list before demon- strations were suppressed. The temper of the occasion was reflected by Nahas Pasha, leader of the Wafdists, who lashed fifty thousand partisans into an anti- British frenzy by shouting: “Better every Egyptian dead than continuance under the heel of the oppressors! Long live the revolution!” ‘The military authorities have the situ- ation under control, but the rioting was marked by a fury that depicts the deep- seated rancor from which it sprang. Britain’s hold on the ancient realm has long been precarious. Relations. with the Egyptians, following the agitation for independence after the World War, promised to become normalized when the British in 1921 recognized the country as a sovereign state. The declaration was hedged with reservations designed to leave Britain in vital respects the arbiter of Egyptian destinies, including respon- sibility for defense against foreign aggression and protection of alien resi- dents. Return of the great Sudan terri- tory to the Egyptian domain was de- ferred. These reservations, incorporated in a constitution adopted at Cairo in 1923, kept Anglo-Egyptian relations acri- moniously strained. The demand for complete liberation from the British yoke was persistent and of rising intensity. In 1930 Premier Sidky Ismail Pasha promulgated a new constitution. This in turn was abrogated last November when the present Wafdist cabinet, under Pre- mier Tewfik Nessim Pasha, took office. Since then the Nationalists have agitated for a return to the 1923 constitution and general elections. To these plans the British sternly object. Sir Samuel Hoare's recent statement, which inflamed passions at Cairo to the present state of explosiveness, denied that Egypt is being used as a tool to further British interests in Africa—apparently a refer- ence to London's efforts to stop Musso- lini’s military menace in Libya—but the foreign secretary’s language thoroughly discouraged Egyptian hopes of any change in the status quo. In light of these events, Britain’s parade of vast naval force in the Mediter- ranean assumes significance far beyond any connection with the Italo-Ethiopian conflict. With John Bull's hold on Egypt threatened both from within and without, he is less likely than ever to weaken the precautionary measures taken to safe- guard his African empire and his life line to the East. It will be interesting te note whether II Duce now discerns an opportunity to fish in the troubled waters of the Nile. Fascist eyes have long been cast in Egypt's direction. ———r—————————— Scientific agriculture may undertake to breed smaller turkeys. If they sell for as much as larger turkeys used to the question of value inflation will im- mediately arise. Coincidence. One of the universal laws of human existence is that which customarily is called coincidence—a curious and ac- cidental correlation of circumstance whereby individuals, moving in different orbits, are brought together in an asso- ciation unexpected and unforecast. For instance, on April 23, 1616, William Shakespeare, greatest of Englishmen, died at Stratford, and Miguel Saavedra de Cervantes, greatest of Spaniards, died at Madrid. An identic date, therefore, marks the termination of two of the most richly notable careers the world ever has seen. Let it be considered from any angle, the fact is marvelous and wonder- ful. Again, there is the parallel of John Adams dying at Quincy and Thomas Jef- ferson dying at Monticello on July 4, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Dec- laration of Independence, which they had helped to draft for their country. Surely, something more than chance is manifest in their passing within the same twenty-four-hour span. Similarly, too, February 12, 1809, is significant as the day on which both Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin entered the human scene. Obscure and unheralded as their birth might be, they were privileged to contribute to the b, emancipation of mankind as few other persons have been. Destiny appears to have had a purpose in sending them forth under a single star. Then, in the fleld of letters, Ralph Waldo Emerson, philosopher and poet, and Edward Bulwer-Lytton, novelist and publicist, shared as their natal day May 25, 1803, and in the field of the plastic arts Claude Monet, painter, and Auguste Rodin, sculptor, had for a common debut November 14, 1840. To those thus linked, if not to the public at large, the problem must have been attractive. But probably the most fascinating of all unforeseen and as yet unexplained coincidental events is that of the armis- tice which brought to a conclusion the World War of 1914-1918. It went into effect at the eleventh hour of the elev- enth day of the eleventh month—a magic sequence, surely, from any point of view. Speculative formulas, naturally enough, have been offered from time to time to account for weird concurrences. Mostly, though, they have failed to meet the need. As good a suggestion as that of mathematics is the alternative submitted by Thomas Gainsborough. He was work- ing on a landscape when suddenly a strange but exceedingly beautiful young woman stepped into the picture. The artist sketched her, fell in love with her and married her, and ever afterward in- sisted that she had been sent to him by heaven. —aee Budget balancing is a study which reaches all the way from the national debt to the grocery bill. All that eco- nomic development may need is a little more intimate co-ordination. —_————— “A League to enforce peace” has been mentioned in historic discourse. The inevitable paradox intruded. The word “enforce” necessarily implied physical coercion. —_——e———— The reasonable request is registered that before educators undertake to teach “communism” they will be able to show succinctly that they know what they are talking about. e There is always a certain tendency to bureaucracy in politics. Feminine asser- tion may tend to introduce not only the bureau but the chiffonier. ————— command especial interest by using & single letter of the alphabet to indicate their highly important re- sponsibilities. “G-men” R LT Laboratory plans to prolong life are subordinate for the present to economic theories seeking to make life worth living. ————r————————— Diplomatic protests are made against motion pictures. Freedom of the camera may demand a share of the considera- tion demanded for freedom of the press. _ Ethiopian experts are ascertaining whether King Solomon's mines are to be estimated in value beyond oil and other mineral products. e Occasionally the title “professor” is won so early in years that it seems to present a phase of the infant prodigy problem. e Royval marriages in Europe are still scrutinized by historians for signs of perpetuating some kind of a family quarrel. oo Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Sense of Humor. A serious question may be made A thing for fiendish laughter, For humor may become a trade Defying the Hereafter. And so we ask of every one, A sister or a brother, Where is there any real fun In killing one another? This world should be a pleasant place With friendly motors spinning And honest sport to set the pace For losing or for winning. Our best endeavors clowns employ Life's sorrowing to smother, And so we ask, “Where is the joy In killing one another?” Gambling Man. “Do you desire to run for a presidential nomination?” “I have a sporting streak in me,” said Senator Sorghum, “that leaves me ready to take a chance in 'most anything, same as in the Irish sweepstakes.” Jud Tunkins says some folks used to think it was comic to say they were Com- munists. The hardest part about many a joke is trying to explain it. Trade. ‘Why look with condescending eye On folk employed in trade And figuring means how, by and by, A fortune may be made? For kings and queens, where e’er they dwell, ‘This query will apply: “Just what, pray tell, have you to sell That I may need to buy?” 1 Camoufiage of Prose. “Why don't you write poetry?” “I do,” answered Miss Cayenne. *“I have some lovely inspirations of soul rhythm.” “What becomes of them?” “I have to tear them up into plain kitchen prose before I can even persuade a publisher to read ‘em.” Membership. Human modernity Trying to be fair! Join the fraternity Working everywhere. Sénd applications. Join for peace anew— Old League of Nations ‘May have some black balls, too. “Satan will never shut up dem infernal regions,” said Uncle Eben, “while dar is 50 many sinners in line waitin’ to buy admissien tickets.” ; ] L) THE POLITICAL MILL By G. Gould Lincoln. The new reciprocal trade agreement with Canada is to be signed probably to- morrow. It may be full of political dyna- mite. Reciprocity with Canada was de- manded by the late President William Howard Taft. The row that ensued was not helpful to Mr, Taft. No one yet knows what is contained in the mnew agreement. However, there are reports gaining ground that the United States will reduce its duties on certain agricultural products coming in from Canada, and in turn Canada will remove its barriers against certain American manufactured products and perhaps on season fruits. If America gives a freer flow to imports of Canadian lumber, butter, wheat, leather goods, etc., what will be the effect in the United States? Until the details of the recip- rocal agreement are made public, how- ever, it is impossible to say definitely that duties are to be lowered on these prod- uets. * Kk ox % The theory of lower tariff duties, un- der reciprocal agreement, as a measure for increasing international trade seems sound enough if international trade is to be encouraged. The trouble arises when a government—the Unmted States Gov- ernment—starts picking.out the various articles on which the duty is to be low- ered. The American producers of these articles—and there seems jittle produced in Canada that is not procuced in some measure in the United States—are likely to have plenty to say about adl this. They may not be a majority, but they are likely to be extremely active. Anyway, the re- ciprocal agreement is being awaited with the keenest interest, particularly along the border States. New England, New York, the great farm States of the Mid- dle and Northwest may be vitally af- fected. What does it contain for the fishing folk of the North Atlantic and the Pacific? * ok ok ok Administration officials are saving that the new treaty will be a great step, & pattern for the agreements on a large scale for the lowering of trade barriers and the increase of international trade. Perhaps it will. Certainly there are plenty of barriers today, especially against American commerce. The re- ciprocal tariff act has been the only law put through by the Roosevelt admin- istration which seeks to lower tariff duties, although the Roosevelt campaign was a denunciation of the last Repub- lican tariff act, passed in the Hoover ad- ministration, the Smoot-Hawley act. The President has kept away from a general tariff revision. Such revisions have been followed usually in the past by much discontent on the part of one group of citizens or another. The World War saved the late President Wilson.from such a reaction after the passage of the Simmons-Underwood tariff act. * ok ok ox The New Deal administration at last is getting around to the so-called “gen- eral welfare” clause of the Constitution. The only wonder is that it has not done so before, instead of relying on the com- merce clause of that instrument to sup- port the New Deal legislation in the courts. The “general welfare” clause has never been definitely clarified by the Supreme Court. "But it may now. The Government is contending that the con- stitutionality of the home owners’ loan act should be sustained by the court under that provision of the Constitution. ‘Why not other acts of the New Deal? This general welfare clause is found in Section 8 of Article 1 of the Consti- tution. The language is: “The Congress shall have power to pay and collect taxes, dutigs, imposts and excises to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and ex- cises shall be uniform througheut the United States.” The general welfare is mentioned also in the preamble of the Constitution, which reads: “We, the peo- ple of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the gen- eral welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” * ke How far can the Federal Government go, how far can Congress go under this “welfare” language written into the Con- stitution? If broadly interpreted it might go very far in the matter of legis- lative enactments, and further still in the matter of administration. But there is always the chance that the Supreme Court may shut down on & liberal inter- pretation of this language. It is tied in with the power given Congress to levy taxes and spend money. Whether it could be applied to the regulation of commerce, intrastate commerce, is an- other matter. There are those who be- lieve, however, that it might have a real bearing on the levying of processing taxes under the A. A. A, and the Gov- ernment, it is suggested, may bring this forward in its argument before the Supreme Court when that law comes up for hearing before the court. * X X X ‘Washington gossip ranges around pos- sible cabinet changes. Starting with the premise that Postmaster General James A. Farley will go out of his present office the first part of the year in order to give his whole time to the conduct of the campaign for the re-election of President Roosevelt, the ramifications are many. For example, it is suggested that Secretary Roper of the Department of Commerce may be transferred to Post- master General. There is talk, too, of Senator Barkley of Kentucky, who re- cently aided greatly in rolling up Demo- cratic victory in the gubernatorial race in that State, going into the cabinet, perhaps in the office of Attorney General if Mr. Cummings is ready to step out. Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau, it is whispered, may be slated for a diplo- matic post abroad. Claude Bowers, American Ambassador to Spain, some say, may find himself in a cabinet job, He was originally from Indiana, and delivered the Democratic keynote speech at the convention of 1928, Cabinet gossip never stills in Washington. Whether there is to be a shake-up re- mains to be seen. One thing, at least, seems to be true: Mr. Farley is to leave the cabinet and work full time at being chairman of the Democratic National Committee. And yet, while this seems to be true, there are a few Democrats who say they would prefer to see him remain as Postmaster General and have the chairmanship of the National Com- mittee turned over to another. Farley, however, has built up the Democratic organization throughout the country. He knows its every turn as another would not. He has had personal contacts with thousands of party workers and is known to them. x X X X The Chicago Tribune, a bitter oppo- nent of the New Deal, editorially com- pliments Senator Dickinson of Iowa for his opposition to the A. A, A., benefit checks and all. It says, in effect, that he is the only politician in the great farming States who has had the courage to denounce this law and to uphold the idea that American agriculture is not bankrupt. The same editorial playfully safars o the Bectary of Agriculture » ‘The wise househo'der who enjoys watching the birds will have made his preparations for their Winter reception long ago. He will have planted shrubs whose berries the songsters like, and he will have laid in a stock of sunflower and other seed enjoyed by them. It is a pretty question, which one of these is the best method to attract them. But one thing is certain, the combina- tion is all but irresistable. It provides for all sorts of birds, and makes certain that none that comes will be turned away empty. The pleasure of feeding all sorts of living things is peculiarly great with some persons. They get sheer pleasure out of watch- ing the food they offer being received in the manner intended; somehow they get as big a “kick” out of this simple and natural procedure as others do watching some elaborate stage spectacle. * K x X There is material for endless experi- ment in feeding the various types of animals. Every one has heard how white rats are used in laboratory feeding experi- ments, especially in researches tending to show the power and uses of the vari- ous vitamins. Few persons are equipped to do this sort of work, but almost every one can feed some living creatures other than humans dependant upon them. The birds offer the best opportunity, perhaps. There are birds everywhere, even in the heart of the city, even on the coldest days of Winter. Birds, as pets, have one cheerful fea- ture; one seldom knows them ill, or sees them die. We speak, of course, of the outdoor birds. Many people even tend to think that birds never do die, but they do, of course, being in the universal dispensation. The birds we feed in back yards and at feeding stations, the birds which par- take of the berries of shrubs, always seem alive and happy. As far as the feeder knows, they always are so; he has no worries, in so far as the songsters are concerned. The great world brings them to his yard each year, and he is glad to see them, and happy to feed them. At times he even recognizes old ones, but in the main a robin is a robin, and a blue jay a blue jay. Nature offers him perpetual robins and jays, and thrushes and mockingbirds. The eternal round brings them all back again, and in their seasons. * x % % A great deal can be done by putting out food for the birds, as hundreds of persons have found out—but as hundreds have not yet discovered. It is amazing how many there are, who, though honestly admiring birds, never seem to think of putting out any- thing for them to eat. In Winter, we mean, because Nature does very well by them in Spring and Summer. During the warm seasons they have no difficulty whatever in finding all they want and need, both for themselves and their families. : STARS, MEN It is cold weather that puts a bird to it for sustenance. Then the open-air feeding stations, which may be on a pole, or tree, or even on a window sill, must be a great help. * k% X One must not expect to put out food and have the birds come instantly to it. Amateur bird study is built solidly on patience. Birds, as other creatures, must become used to their feedings, before they re- spond with rapidity. Just as a goldfish in an aquarium soon learns the time of day it is to be fed, so the birds of the great outdoors come to find their way to the feeding place. The fish is confined, however, and its food not far away, in any case. The birds outdoors have all the sky there is to fly in, so they may not come as rapidly or as regularly to the seed or bread crumbs or other food placed for them. * k¥ % It must be kept in mind that birds are wild, in the real sense, not the sophisti- cated one. They are cautious, and must be so, in order to keep living. So it may be some time, even days, be- fore they finally realize that food is being put out for them. In the meantime, the feeder must keep a watch out for other visitors. These will include dogs, cats and squirrels, in ordi- nary, and rabbits occasionally. Even pigeons must be called undesired, if the small birds are the guests wanted. ‘This guard applies, of course, only to food placed upon the ground, one of the best places, after all, because it is so natural. Most birds feed on the ground, and many prefer to take their meals there. It is well to keep guard for a time, after such a station is established, in order to run away any unwanted crea- tures. We hope that this will not be done meanly, in any instance, but simply firmly. * x ok ‘Various forms of feeding stations now on the market offer opportunity for plac- ing food in trees, on the tops of poles o;‘l lhlgh stumps, and even on the window sill. Many persons have found the latter a very good place, and certainly one of the best for observation of bird life. It is needless to say that the window should be down, and not raised except when food is being put out. For this reason, such placing should be done either very early in the morning, before }izr:n, or at dusk, after all the birds have eft. s There should be no unnecessary move- ments behind the window, although the birds in time will become accustomed to normal motions there. course, than ones up trees and atop poles. Grains, seeds, suet, apples, are some of the standard allures. Many Autumn and Winter birds are fond of old biscuit and bread of varied kinds. A little drinking water, too, is not amiss, al- | though very few observers will be able to furnish their feathered friends with warm water, as one fancier did by run- :lni & pipe line out to his bird bath and ack. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Like creatures of a nightmare were the warm-blooded animals that lived in the region now covered by the Crazy Moun- tains of Central Montana about 70,000,- 000 years ago. Dr. George Gaylord Simpson of the American Museum of Natural History has identified or named more than 60 species of this extinct mammal fauna from the large Smithsonian Institution collection. He carried out the unfinished work of the late Dr. James W. Gidley of the Smithsonian staff, who himself had collected many of the specimens. These creatures, in some cases repre- sented only by single bones, were char- acteristic of the animal life of a large part of North America during the so- called Paleocene Age. This was just before the time when most of the orders of animals which have living representa- tives made their first appearance on the earth. Most of the orders then existing have been extinct for millions of years. They might be characterized as ex- perimental forms. They ssed some of the characteristics of modern animals which possessed a survival value and hence were perpetuated in later crea- tures. But they were put together clumsily. A bearlike creature of that day would bear about the same likeness to a modern bear as one of the steam road coaches of the early nineteenth century would bear to a present-day automobile. It was & time when a few of the great dinosaurs may still have been in exis- tence. The vegetation of the time was modern in character, but grass, which was to make possible the great spread of mammal life during the next few epochs, still was ' struggilng to obtdin a foot- hold and did not cover the great plains. Of particular interest in this collection are the primitive primates of which Dr. Simpson, carrying out the unfinished work of Dr. Gidley, finds six new types. They are among the earliest known of this great family from which man even- tually was to rise. These primates all are tiny creatures, probably closer to the strange nocturnal tarsier of the Malay Peninsula than to any other living creatures. They are not to be consid- ered, however, as actual ancestors of this animal, which, some paleontologists used to hold, might be man’s nearest relative. They represent a very ancient major group of the order whose history, previous to the paleocene, is unknown. ok ok % Abundant in the collection were the remains—for the most part single jaws and teeth—of an order of animals which has been extinct for more than fifty million years. These were the multi- tuberculates, so-called because of the curious and primitive structure of their teeth which were bony tubercles ar- ranged in two or three long rows. They were marsupials, like the pouched ani- mals of Australia, but were not even remotely related to these creatures of as “Corn Wallace.” It says, in part, of Senator Dickinson: “The quality of Mr. Dickinson’s address is perhaps best indicated by his refusal to exaggerate the extent of the farm problem. He reminds his listeners that, despite all the misfortunes of recent years, half the farms of the United States are held free of all debt. Against 51 billion dollars’ worth of farm properties in this country in 1930 there are out- standing only 9 billion dollars—less than 20 per cent—of mortgage indebtedness. ‘Notwithstanding nearly two decades of hard times for the farmer, no other class in America can show such an average of individual espital assets or of net worth,'” the present. They disappeared, leaving no descendants. For the most part, they were tiny creatures, not exceeding the size of squirrels. Apparently they were enjoying & prosperous period when the Crazy Moun- tain formations were laid down. They are characterized by paleontologists as one of the greatest of all mammal or- ders. They had a continuous history longer than that of any other race of mammals. There distribution was world-wide. The multituberculate remains recov- ered from the Crazy Mountain deposits belonged, for the most part, of a race | known as ptilodintids. Dr. Simpson finds at least eight sharply distinct species among them. Weird and strange were the carni- vores, or flesh-eaters, of this ancient world. Dr. Simpson identifies 14 species of the so-called arctocyonidae, or bear dogs. This class may have included some of the most savage and fearsome crea- tures the earth has known. One of them—a member of the family much more recent than those whose bones were found in the Crazy Mountain de- posits—is described as a doglike creature about the size of the Kodiak bear, which is the largest of all present-day flesh- eaters. The bear-dogs of the paleocene—it must be stressed that they were neither bears nor dogs and were not even re- motely related to either—were smaller animals but they may have been no less ferocious. Like the rest of the family, however, they were distinguished by very large teeth. They probably fed largely on carrion, crushing the stoutest bones with these massive teeth. Besides the bear-dogs, Dr. Simpson found bones of a smaller race of ancient flesh-eating, the miacidae. These, some paleontologists believe, were close to the ancestral line of some of the carnivores of today. In this collection also are found some of the earliest of the hoofed animals— or creatures approaching the hoofed mammal type. There are three species of the amblypoda representing a genus the best known species of which was an animal about the size of a small sheep and with shorter legs. Unlike the hoofed creatures of today they had no elastic pad on the foot to bear the weight of the body. There is some evidence pointing to a relationship with the primitive flesh-eaters. There is no generic relationship be- tween the amblypoda and any of the hoofed mammals of today. Some efforts have been made to associate them with the elephants but they hardly have proved convincing. Their evolutionary progress, however, was somewhat simi- lar to that of the elephant line. Still another order identified by Dr. Simpson in the Crazy Mountain complex is that of the condylartha, a group of exceedingly primitive ungulates which seem to serve as a bridge between the hoofed and clawed mammals. That is, they show the way in which the transi- tion from claws to hoofs might have been made. They were not actually re- lated to any creatures of the present. The condylartha had five toes, but the third was enlarged and the first and fifth shortened, as though preparatory to their disappearance. The next step would have been three toes, and then the transition to the hoof. The ma- jority of the species found by Dr. Simp- son belonged to the Phenacodontidae, creatures ranging in size from the di- mensions of & fox to those of a small sheep. They had very small brains, which may have contributed materially to their dissppearance. Servicing such feeders is easier, of | 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 Burequ Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Waahmv-’ ton, D.C. Please inclose stamp for reply, tQ. What was the educational status of men received in Sing Sing Priso Pl e A. Thirty-six attended college, 10 trade school, 202 high school, 1,013 com- mon school and 63 received no schooling at all. Q. How many Germans have been the recipients of Nobel prizes?>—M. L. K. A. Thirty-two Germans have been awarded Nobel prizes. Q. Of what does safety glass consist? —J.G. L. A. The safety glass that is extensive- ly used in automobiles consists of two sheets of glass sealed together by & plastic, such as cellulose nitrate or cellu- lose acetate. Q. How many cars were on the Sky- line Drive on Sunday, October 20, 1935? —E.H.C. A. On that date 7,992 automobiles traveled over the Skyline Drive in Shen- andoah National Park. Q. Please give some information about Biltmore House at Asheville, N. C—M. G. A. The house was built at a cost of several million dollars by the late George W. Vanderbilt. Construction was begun | in 1890. Richard Hunt, New York archi- tect, designed the house along lines that reflect the influence of chateaus of the French Renaissance. The exterior is of hand-tooled Indiana limestone. The foundations of the house cover four acres of ground. Frederick Law Olmsted planned the gardens and grounds of the estate. Biltmore House contains 40 master bed rooms, besides servants’ quar- ters, baths, drawing rooms, & huge ban- quet hall and library, kitchens, courts, billiard rooms and galleries. It was com- pleted in 1895. The estate comprises 12,000 acres. Q. How much does it cost for one unit of a city fire department to go to a fire?>—R. T. S. A. It is estimated that the cost is about $25. Q. Why was Julian Hawthorne, son of Nathaniel Hawthorne, imprisoned?—G. M. T. A. Julian Hawthorne was convicted of violating the postal laws in connec= tion with mining promotion. Q. What is meant by gingerbread work?—E. M. y A. It refers to anvthing which is showy but worthless. The allusion is to the gingerbread cakes fashioned like men, animals, etc, and profusely dec- | orated with gold leaf or Dutch leaf, which looked like gold, commonly sold at fairs up to the middle of the nineteenth cen- tury. Q. Why does the eagle's head on the President’s flag turn left instead of right as it does on the great seal of the United States?—J. E. F. A. The origin of the flag of the Pres- ident of the United States can not be traced to an official document and there- fore the exact reason for turning the eagle’s head to sinister instead of to dexter as in the United States seal can not be definitely stated. It was prob= ably for the simple reason of differentiat~ ing it from the older symbol. Q. What is punk made of>—F. S. A. A. Punk, also called German tinder, is & spongy combustible substance pre- pared from a mushroomlike fungus found on certain trees. It is manufactured chiefly in Germany. The fungus is gath= ered, peeled and the brown, spongy ma- terial remaining is sliced and beaten until quite soft. It is converted into punk by boiling in a strong solution of niter and then drying. The punk used in America is compressed into sticks. Q. Did Benjamin Franklin obtain & patent on his stove?—E. M. A. We find no record of his having obtained a patent. In 1742, after his stove came into use, the Governor of Pennsylvania was so pleased that he of- fered Franklin a patent. Franklin, how- ever, declined because he said “as we enjoy great advantages from the inven- tions of others. we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any in- vention of ours. Q. Please give some information about Michael Pupin—G. M. 3 A. Michael Idvorsky Pupin (1858- 1935), physicist and inventor, was born in Serbia. He came to this country in 1874 and was educated at Columbia Uni- versity, where he became professor of electro-mechanics in 1901. He is noted for his discoveries in X-ray and his in- vention of numerous electrical devices, especially those connected with teleph- ony. He is the author of the auto- biographical “From Immigrant to In- ventor” and of “Thermodynamics of Re- versible Cycles in Gases.” “The New Reformation” and “Yugoslavia.” Q. What country was referred to as the nation of gentlemen?—W. J. H. A. George IV on a visit to Scotland in 1882 referred to that country in those words. Q. Why was the Battle of New Or- leans important in our history?—F. C. S. A. The last battle of the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain was fought at Chalmette, near New Orleans, La., January 8, 1815, and was known as the Battle of New Orleans. Although the battle was fought after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, it had important results. Schouler, the historian, says that it was the only battle of the war to make any impression on Europe. It strengthened the position of the administration, and it was an im= portant factor in the future election of President Jackson, who, because of his military talents displayed there, became the idol of the American people. e A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton One Dusk We may live and laugh and labor, Rating love a lowly thing; In the values that we treasure ‘When our lives brim to full measure Less than fame or jeweled ring. Yet one dusk that found us loveless Was as if the cosmic world, With each starry constellation Losing light for desolation, Into chaos had been hurled! Love is all we know of heaven.