Evening Star Newspaper, December 7, 1935, Page 8

| THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. BATURDAY ...........December 7, 1935 THEODORE W. NOYES...........Editor i stvitabndteddhatoitm it o mam The Evening Star Newspaper Company. ivania Ave. 11th 8¢ and Pen Shce: 110 Bast 43pa Bt Chlago. O, Lake Michigan Bulldine Suropean Ofmoe: 14 Regent St.. London. Engiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Resular Edition, ght Pinal and Sunday Righ et made A€ the sRdof eac month. made & Orders m:g bl‘unl by mail or telephone Na- tional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. garyland and Virginia. inday” only All Other States m_‘ Canada. Member of the Assoclated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitl the use for republication of all news dispatcl credited to it or not otherwise credited in this the local news published herein, mo. paper and also 1 Tights of publication of special dispat erein are also reserved. = The Dark Hollow Eviction. ‘While there is ample ground for sym- pathy with and for the Allegheny Moun- tain people who stand in danger of evic- tion from their homes for the estab- lishment of a national park, with no place to go, the situation does not justify condemnation of the Government or State authorities for ruthlessness. In every case of ouster, required for the clearance of the area, opportunity was offered these settlers—many of whom have no strictly legal title to their lands —to go elsewhere, to homes established by public enterprise, with funds for the purchase of these new homes assured in the payments for their quitted housings. In other words, all of them, squatters as well as the holders of legitimate titles to their property, were assured of other homes on terms that could be met. The great hardship which they were required to bear was removal from places which they had occupied for a long time, in some cases several generations. Some who are sympathetic with them feel that there was actually no need for the ouster. *That is a question of judgment respecting the requirements for the establishment of & national park. Some have urged: “Why not let them stay? They do no harm and they add to the picturesqueness of the park.” Therefn lies the primary issue, which has been met by the decision, reluctantly reached, that the use of the park lands for habitation was undesir- able and that if any of the occupants went all should go, without discrimi- nation. The attachment of these people to their long-used places of residence and occupation is pathetic in the face of the necessity for their ouster. But their con- dition in that environment is not good. There are no advantages whatever for advancement from the primitive state in which they have lived for so long. Opportunities for employment are few and in some cases educational facilities are wholly lacking, or so remote as to be useless. Yet they cling to the lands on which they have subsisted for decades with a tenacity that bespeaks a sturdy &pirit if it does denote a lack of enter- prise. The psychology of these mountain peo- ple is different from that of the dwellers in the lower areas, and especially so in the case of those who have made the *hollows” of the Appalachian Range their homes. Until the building of good roads in that region the few miles of their separation from communities larger than their own tiny sociel microcosms were as many leagues of distance. In the course of successive generations of this manner of subsistence they developed a love of isolation. Initiative and enterprise were dulled. They were content to “get along.” In this present situation there need be no fear of actual acute suffering in case, through the ignorant stubbornness of those who still refuse to adjust to the new conditions, actual ouster without provision of an immediate shelter be- comes necessary. Succor is certain to reach these unfortunates. Meanwhile, as The Star’s special correspondent who went into this region and reported the conditions says, “After all, Virginia does not set children in the middle of a county road in cold weather.” And there is comfort in that reflection for those who fear the shocking spectacle of an eviction without mercy, ——— e O s FEthiopia seems to be approaching a situation where she will try to please everybody if she can ascertain definitely and responsibly what everybody wishes her to do. —————————— Every time the Literary Digest takes e straw vote it brings out a multitude of confident prophets with figures of their own. Multiple Births. The seeming miracle of multiple births always has a fascination for people who represent in themselves what may be called “normal production.” A public estimated at millions has watched the Dionne quintuplets with undiminished interest for a year and a half, and almost as numerous a following has been en- listed for several mothers participating in a “big-family contest” for a fortune Jeft by an eccentric proponent of a vast increase in the population of Canada. Meanwhile from England comes news of a furor of excitement over three boys and a girl born to the wife of a Hunt- ingdonshire truck driver on November 28. But multiple births are hardly so re- markable as may be thought. Indeed, it probably once was the rule rather than the exception for babies to arrive in batches. Some students of human his- tory have gone so far as to declare that 1t is a sign of rising civilization when parents prefer temperance in progeny to extravagance. Yet it must be con- ceded that there are cases where no choice is permitted. Papa and Mamma. Dionne certainly did not deliberately b THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C., aspire at five daughters en masse. And Sir Francis Galton discovered that there is nothing to be done about twins—they “run” in families, are an hereditary phe- nomendn not amenable to arbitrary con- trol. Perhaps the marvel of the Dionne story is that of the survival of the infants. Dr. Dafoe has been more fortunate with them than Dr. S. J. Matthews was with the quintet of boys he delivered for Mrs. Elizabeth Lyon at Mayfield, Ky., in 1896, The science of 1935, obviously enough, is ‘superior to that of four decades ago. It is, of course, tre- mendously more competent than it was in 1600, when Anna Roemer of Hamelin gave birth to seven children in the course of a few hours. Not even Ambroise Pare, “father of modern surgery,” could save Madame de Maldemeure, who had one child the first year of her married life, twins the second, triplets the third, quad- ruplets the fourth, quintuplets the fifth and sextuplets the sixth, and died as the result of her last confinement. For consistent eminence in maternity the prize probably should go to Mrs. Bernard Scheinberg, an Austrian woman. She had quadruplets four times, triplets seven times and twins sixteen times—a total of sixty-nine babies. And, after her death at fifty-six years of age, her husband married again and had eighteen children by his second wife., Quality, however, seems more to be desired than quantity in a planet which gradually is filling up with average peo- ple, but is not yet conspicuously over- stocked with genius. What is wanted is babies who will live and grow up to deserve fame for something other than having many brothers and sisters. Mr. Laval Hangs On. M. Pierre Laval is not accounted one of the “great” premiers of France, but history is bound to accord him a full share of laurels as one of the shrewdest politicians who ever presided over the mercurial Quai d’Orsay. At the end of one of the most hectic periods in mod- ern parliamentary history at Paris the swarthy little son of Auvergne comes out on top, his government sustained by successive votes of confidence on vital issues, and his foes, within and with- out the Chamber of Deputies, apparent- ly worsted. That is the situation as of today. It is always rash to predict how long any given state of affairs in French politics will last. Conditions tradition- ally change with kaleidoscopic unex- pectedness in the region of the Palais Bourbon. Having earlier in the week been sup- ported by the Chamber in his financial and economic program to “save the franc,” Premier Laval on Friday scored a decisive victory in connection with the armed political leagues, Fascist, Soclal- ist, Communist and others, which have been threatening in one way or another to undermine the foundations of repub- lican government. Matters reached a point where these unofficial organiza- tions truculently defied the premier to suppress them. They openly displayed arms at their meetings and indicated a readiness to use them in opposition to restrictive measures. M. Laval was finally forced by his own political supporters to bring the question of the armed leagues to debate in the chamber, with a view to enactment of laws to end their lawless existence. Thereupon, with dramatic suddenness, the militant organizations announced that they are disbanding their semi-mili- tary “troops” as a gesture of national solidarity. Of chief interest is the de- velopment that the “Cross of Fire,” Fascist veterans' group, with a claimed membership of 712,000, is dispersing. Their leader, Col. de la Rocque, has long been suspected of a desire to set up a dictatorship in France on the Mussolini model. He was the main menace to the Laval regime. . Col. de la Rocque’s spokesman in the Chamber went the length of proposing more severe penalties for carrying weap- ons, including immediate deportation of foreigners found in possession of them. Laws providing for such regulations are now assured of passage under the Laval government’s direction. The atmosphere has been drastically cleared by the cabi- net’s surmounting of the sea of difficul- ties which threatened to wreck it. Gov- ernment bonds advanced with a bound on the Bourse and the franc recovered against the dollar and sterling. France generally breathes easily again. The haunting dread in which the republic has had its being for weeks has been dispelled. Fortified in office, M. Laval can now proceed to devote himself intensively to the international situation. During the present week end he will confer in Paris with British Foreign Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare over the burning question of the oil embargo, which seems certain to be declared if Mussolini rejects the Ethiopian peace terms which the League powers have submitted in Rome. —_—raee So much American money goes to lot- teries abroad that economists may begin to wonder whether the collection of in- come tax from prize winners is a sufficient protection to monetary morals. “Buying the Election.” Critics of the Roosevelt administration repeatedly have charged that the Presi- dent intends “buying the election” mext year. The theory is that he seeks per- sonal political advantage from his distri- bution of four or five billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to needy voters. As Al Smith has put it, “Nobedy shoots Santa Claus.” But a little cogitation prompts the sug- gestion that the campaign effect of New Deal charities may be less consequential than at first was supposed. For example, Mr. Roosevelt’s opponents certainly will not wish to challenge the fact that a goodly portion of the relief expenditure has gone togpeople who already were Democrats, faithful supporters of the President from Chicago onward. The doles accorded them will not make them more loyal than they were in 1932. Again, much has been distributed to foreigners—nonvoters who are classified 33 with felons, lunatics and the disfran- chised residents of the District of Colum- bia. These folk, however willing, cannot help Mr. Roosevelt at the polls. In a third classification there are the Socialists and Communists who have re- ceived help, but who, characteristically, resemble Oliver Twist in wanting’ more. A recent survey indicates that the num- ber of families complaining about “skimp- ing” is large. Especially in the big citles of the Nation it is commonly charged that the New Deal “has not gene far enough.” The voters representing that point of view are apt to follow Norman ‘Thomas, Father Coughlin or Governor ‘Talmadge rather than the President. A fourth group also exists in the Re- publicans who have taken the money, but who regard it as being something to which they were entitled without par- ticular obligation to the hand through which it was given. They will probably vote against Mr. Roosevelt with no com= punction because in their judgment he is responsible for the industrial slump which ensued upon his victory over Her- bert Hoover—the confusion immediately prior to and after inauguration day, 1933. And, finally, there are those inde- pendent citizens who have accepted Fed- eral aid with reluctance and who believe they ought never to have been reduced to such beggary. In their hearts, if in none others, resentment against & system prevails over gratitude to the Govern- ment. They cry: “A plague on both your houses!” and will vote their con- victions regardless of party distinctions. But the whole problem may be resolved to its elements easily enough. Let the President’s critics name a few individuals among the thousands who are supposed to have sold themselves for a pittance. Mr. Roosevelt himself might be happy to know who they are. Any revision of Government con- templates, incidentally, the question of how much the taxpayer can stand and whether it is better to use threats or promises, z ————— Potatoes might come to be used as currency, with a stamp on each single specimen with the words “e pluribus unum” and “in God we trust.” ——————— Before rewriting the United States Constitution it may be necessary for campaigners to rewrite some of the old platforms. ——————— The millions who are described as walking the streets seeking jobs did not create the hoped for overflow of willing workers looking for places as farm hands. Radio entertainers are said to quarrel about salaries. No communism will ever convince them or the public that one entertainer is just as good as another. Two things should be kept out of the hands of drunks—automobiles and fire- arms. The drunk will get his quarry sitting as well as running. Farmers are recipients of much ora- torical sympathy, but continue to feel the need of practical instructions for keeping the old home budget balanced. Autonomy in North China presents a fear that it will introduce a new set of politicians who will be more easily man- aged than their predecessors. ——— Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Brotherhood. A lodge in some vast wilderness Could bring but little pleasure ‘When through the air a great distress Resounds in solemn measure. We strive and we will strive again Ambition’s greed to smother And still we find our fellow men “Are slaying one another!” In marble halls I gayly dwelt ‘Where music sweet was playing. A priest outside devoutly knelt, He wept while he was praying. He spoke of noble souls who know Each fellow man’s a brother And cried, “Oh, why should this be so! ‘We're slaying one another!” Freedom of the Grouch. “Do you think men should be free to do as they choose?” “Of course, I believe in freedom,” said Senator Sorghum, “but not to the extent of permitting everybody to make life dis- agrecable for everybody else.” Land of Promise. Oh, promise me in some not distant day The wherewithal my various bills to pay. And not require me when my debts are due To scribble promissory notes anew. Oh, why, to meet finance’s fair beyond, Must I hypothecate another bond And let the national anthem seem to be “Oh, Promise Me! Oh, Promise Me!” Dependence on the Next Generation. “You have kept the twins awake all night!” exclaimed Mr. Meekton’s wife. “Yes, Henrietta. We need money.” “What has that to do with depriving our little ones of rest?” s “I tried to keep them in conversation, hoping that one of them would say something that we could sell for five dollars to a sayings of bright children department.” “I read Confucius” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “and only regret that .my country could not finance his works as a best seller.” Tailoring. A tailor who dwelt in a town nearby Was deft with his needle bright, But he changed so much when his trade hed ply We endeavored to set him right. The court was called to inspect his plan To sew up the Eagle Blue. It takes nine judges to show a man The things that he cannot do. Www»m"-&u Uncle Eben, “but not so cheerful as to look foolish.” e Careless Misuse of Money On Calvert Street Bridge To the Editor of The Star. There is much that the people should know about the Calvert Street Bridge that was not told by your special writer. In 1863 Congress authorized levying and collecting of taxes in the County of ‘Washington for roads and bridges and for keeping them in repair. This was & precedent that wording of statutes must include purposes intended. In 1924 Congress authorized a tax on motor-vehicle fuels, the proceeds to be used exclusively for street and road im- provement and repair. act was clear as to purpose and definite as to limita- tions. Yet for several years after this the gasoline tax money was used for street and road improvement. Very little was used for repair. Thousands of dollars for repairs were taken from the general revenues of the District that should have come out of the gas tax fund. In 1932 a member of the House Sub- committee on District Appropriations, ‘without reading the law, sprung a notion that with the passage of one of the Mapes bills increasing the gas tax the additional revenue could be used to build bridges. He was told quite plainly that the law must be amended to do that. The Mapes bills did not pass. Yet in 1933 gas tax money somehow was diverted to replace the old Calvert Street Bridge without amending the gas tax law, so far as known. The old bridge was built by a street railway in 1891 for $70,000, and trans- ferred to the District the same year for reasons not divulged. Up to 1933 nearly $115,000 of District money was spent for maintenance, primarily for benefit of a street railway. Total cost of the new Calvert Street Bridge is placed at $1,175,- 000, with no charge to the street railway, the excuse being that it built the old bridge for $70,000. This expenditure of $1,175,000 for a bridge 750 feet long illustrates the profligate injustice of using gas tax money for bridges. That fund is made up not only of a tax on gasoline, but of money returned to the fund by property -| owners as assessments for street improve- ments. The obligation is to use that money for no other purposes than street improvement and repair. At $7,000 as average cost for improving a suburban street 750 feet long and 30 feet wide, $1,000,000 diverted to bridge construction deprived the motorists of 140 more im- proved streets aggregating 105,000 feet in length and of nearly half more that could be improved with assessment money paid in for the 140. Caution as to misuse of gas tax money for bridges was advised by this writer in ‘The Star July 26, 1933. The Budget Bureau also was reminded in August of that year. If the caution had been heeded, this large sum would not have been used for the bridge, and probably the money would have been saved, as there was no possibility of getting a million dollars then from the District’s general revenue. Two million-dollar bridges now stand almost side by side. Street car service is abandoned west of the bridges. Busses run over the Connecticut Avenue Bridge and the Calvert Street Bridge looms as a monumental extravagance that cau- tion and foresight could have squelched at the beginning. JOSEPH W. CHEYNEY, Perspective Saner Than Heat in Facing Facts ‘To the Editor of The Star: Anent the heat which developed in the last two days when nearly all the great educational institutions of the Nation came to the defense of Carl L. Becker and his “Modern History,” now in use in the District public schools, one can not help but wish that with the heat some of our citizens would use a bit of perspective. For instance, when the writer went to school, which was some years ago, Becker's history was not known, probably it had not yet been published, but the popular history then was Myers’ “Modern and Mediaeval History,” written by P. V. N. Myers, president of Belmont College. On page 717 of that history will be found these words: “Now the student of the last two epochs of history will not fail to note that this labor problem bears exactly the same relation to industrial society that the old religious and po- litical questions bore to church and state. The great problem of the first era was the proper distribution of authority in religious matters; that of the second era was the distribution of power in the state; that of this new epoch is the equi- table distribution of the products of in- dustry.” Myers’ history was published about 1880. Now why did that not cause a storm and heat at that time? Simply because the fight had not reached the point which it has today, and which it will to- morrow. What can the reactionaries of this new epoch do which was not done by those of the old religious and political eras? They might close all the schools in the Nation, and they might burn all the books, but_even then there is the power of thought, and, as one philosopher says, thoughts are things and have a way of imposing themselves even when un- uttered, and, as another says, thought is such a fluid thing that it is not con- fined to any one period of time nor to any one place. They may find a way of destroying thought, but if they do they will prove to be the most terrible mon- sters of all time. S. L. HOOVER. When the Oil Runs Low. From the Portland Oregonian. At a time when Italy is threatening to go to war with her European neigh- bors if they impose an oil embargo against her, and when most Americans view the situation smugly, assuming that America never will be in such desperate need of natural resources—particularly oil—the Chemical Foundation of America issues a booklet on the petroleum situa- tion containing the following statement: “There is abundant evidence that we may expect a shortage of petroleum suf- ficient to necessitate a marked increase in our Amports and an increase in the petroleum price \structure within five to eight years. * * * Though we may ex- perience a shortage or inadequate supply in five to eight years, we shall certainly not. see exhaustion of our oil fields in Afty g Thoeneu;ms of which the Chemical Foundation speaks loom shockingly close in the future. By the time they arrive America must have found new fields, have gained control of flelds abroad or have developed substitutes. Otherwise the highways built at such expense may be SATURDAY, DECEMBER: 7, 1935. "THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. l temporary indisposition, such as eye- strain, may not be altogether a loss, if normally one talks too latter member is in- that the patient to his spirit. talk much, and so does not go out of his way to do he discovers that life is pleasanter with- out the palaver. He comes to see that much of his con- versations were waste, as far as he was concerned, and probably as far as those with whom he talked were concerned. It takes something out of the usual to show him this, to prove it altogether to his satisfaction. * xox % One must stop to realize, now and then, just how many needless oppor- tunities for needless talk are offered daily. Not that unnecessary chatter is not a part of life. It is. There is something good in it, too, but, like most things, it can be carried to excess. The opportunity to talk is offered daily on all sides. The danger comes in accepting it too freely. The only person who escapes is the non-talkative man or woman. Not all persons are really talkative, even many who seem to be. Nor are all women, either. * ok X X The danger of talking too much lies not in “giving one'’s self away,” as some think, but more in regard to the personal esteem of one's self for one's self. This is something difficult to explain, but very easily felt and understood. Not all who feel it and understand it, however, will realize that it is the per- sonal self which is concerned. The ten- dency of mankind is to put the blame somewhere else, never on the self, if there is any possible way to get out of it. And in this particular matter it is easy enough to feel that life, itself, is changing, or that the spirit of the age is ‘Wrong. Everything is wrong, of course, except the precious self. But many a person who does not real- ize it is really hurt at himself because he talks too much to all sorts of people. * x ¥ ¥ He knows, perhaps, but never stops to realize the harm it does him. He is involved in countless and totally unnecessary disputes, when he, of all per- sons, ought not to fritter away his energies in such a way. It may be that he dislikes “small talk.” Perhaps he is no easy conversationalist. Perhaps he resents the flow of chatter which does duty to ease the waste spaces of silegce, as_they seem to most. He would \iscover, if he should get some indisposition which made it some- what against the grain to talk so much, that in reality he had been wasting a great deal of time over nothing much. Any sort of common pain, in almost * STARS, MEN The Milky Way system with its 50,- 000,000,000 stars is a unit of a local su- pergalaxy—one of thousands of such supergalaxies in the vastness of known | space. This supergalaxy is about a million | light years in diameter—that is, it would | take light moving at 186,000 miles a | second a million years to go from one | end to the other. Five members of this | great aggregation of galaxies are known, | all within less than a million light years | of the earth. There may be dozens of others hidden from the eye of the tele- scope behind obscuring cosmic dust clouds in the region of the Milky Way. At least one other member of this family—the great nebulae in the con- stellation of Andromeda—is approxi- mately equal in size and similar in con- stitution to the enormous aggregation of stars of which the sun is close to the average. This neighbor is only 900,000 light years away. It is the only one of the external galaxies visible to the naked eye. Its total mass is at least 10 billion times that of the sun. It is moving at a very rapid rate in the direction of the Milky Way system. Much smaller aggregations of stars which constitute dynamic systems dis- tinct from the Milky Way galaxy, but which are members of the same super- galaxy, are the greater and lesser Ma- gellanic clouds, visible in the Southern Hemisphere, Theye are two other smaller galaxies, of which little is known. The concept of the local supergalaxy is advanced by Dr. Forrest Ray Moulton, former professor of astronomy at the University of Chicago and associate of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, in his recently published volume, “Con- sider the Heavens.” In this supergalaxy, he points out, the nearest and most easily studied ob- | jects are the Magellanic clouds. Both clusters constitute galactic systems of the second rank, small in comparison either with the Milky Way galaxy or the great neb: in Andromeda. The largest of these clouds is only about one- sixth the size of our own galaxy—10,000 light years in diameter compared to 60,000. Yet it contains at least 500,000 super-giant and giant stars which can easily be discerned with telescopes and probably 100 times as many more which are too small to be seen as distinct objects. It is about 86,000 light years from the outermost limits of the Milky ‘Way system. A The lesser Magellanic cloud is about 90,000 light years away and is only about 6,000 light years in diameter. Its internal composition, however, is approximately, the same as the other and both contain all the classes of stars which have been catalogued in the Milky Way system. Both might be considered as poor rela- tions of the Milky Way and Andromeda systems. The Andromeda nebulae, as described by Dr. Moulton, is quite a different ob- It was first observed and cata- any part of the anatomy, will serve the purpose. One does not feel up to the usual self, the self which enjoys “gassing” with the ITolks one meets. % Bo one does not talk so much. It is as easy as that. * K K Can it be possible that one talks too much? ‘This is the question often asked, in such cases, & question that comes as a redl surprise. ‘What! One has been talking too much? Nonsense! ‘Why, one just is pleasant, that is all. But may it not be just possible that one has been calling the thing by a wrong name? Maybe it wasn't so much being pleas- ant as giving in to a weakness. Talking sometimes becomes a vice. It 1s very easy to see it in others, not so easily detected in one’s self. It is only when an illness of some sort clamps down on the very disposition to talk that one gets in a position where it is easier to see that much of what ong has prided one’s self on being a “pleasant disposition” may be nothing more than & desire to please. This desire is shown in its plainest form by the conversation often heard between two persons in a chance meet- ing. “It is going to rain,” says one. “Yes, I think it is,” replies the other. In a few minutes the first person says, *“I do not think it is going to rain today, do you?” The other answers, “No, I hardly think He does not mean to be wishy-washy, perhaps, in his opinions, but he does not care to displease the other by openly dis- agreeing with him over nothing. * X X x “Attend to your own knitting,” is a wholesome old aphorism. As ordinarily used, it means to mind your own business and not go poking your nose into other people’s affairs. It also may mean, and sometimes does, to stop talking so much in the daily life. ‘There are few persons who might not benefit from this, a curb on the daily chatter, If life is fairly pleasant, and one is in- terested in people, it is very easy to get into the habit of talking all the time. Some people seem just to go around buildings chattering. They seem to have plenty of time to do it. Even the busiest person may discover that he is talking too much to people he might as well let alone. This is the danger of a desire to talk, a real liking for much talk. sible to waste too much time without getting any sort of good out of it, we will not say profit, for all good is not profit. Be pleasant, by all means, but it might be a good thing for most to check up on the self, every now and then, and see whether one is talking too much to too many persons. It is the “too many,” not the “to,” that counts. Talk to whom you please, when you please, but be certain that there are not too many of these. Reuc;u the “great silent men,” and be st AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. scopes picked up thousands of other island galaxies across far vaster reaches of empty space. Most recent is the determination that the galaxies themselves are congregation | in systems the members of which are clustered together and may have, in spite of the relatively enormous distances sepa- rating them, some dynamic effects upon each other. This was not so difficult to discern for the very distant groups of galaxies. Over many hundreds of mil- | lions of light years the local separation | distances tended to disappear. It was much more difficult, however, to detect the grouping for the galaxies closer at hand—and especially to realize that the Milky Way galaxy, which long had been supposed to include all of creation, actually was only one member of an in- tegrated system. So far as can be deter- mined at present it is the most important unit of this system—but even this can- not be stated for certain. The Andromeda galaxy is just about as extensive. ‘This grouping of galaxies into super- galaxies, Dr. Moulton points out, has its place in the mechanics of the universe. It results in restraining the individual galaxies from wandering away into space. “There is consequently,” he says, “a bal- ance between the relative velocities of the galaxies in a supergalaxy and the diameter and total volume of such a sys- tem. We find under this hypothesis that if the diameter of a supergalaxy is 2,000,000 light years and if its constitu- ent galaxies have relative velocities of 100 miles per second, then its total mass is of the order of 2,000,000,000,000 that of our sun, or enough to make 100 galaxies having 20,000,000,000 stars in each. Under the assumptions we have adopted the average period of time required for the circuit of a galaxy in its supergalaxy is of the order of 10,000,000,000. years.” It is even possible, Dr. Moulton points out, that these supergalaxies may them- selves be only clusters in a super-super- galaxy which concludes all the separate aggregations of stars within the reach of the most powerful telescopes. Self-Elimination. Prom the S8an Antonlo Evening News. The wiping out of “Dutch Schultz” and lieutenants is a reminder that gangsters are still 50 numerous and peace officers so few that the latter must be grateful for intergang war casualties. One-Sided. From the New York Sun. allow many more hogs year, though it is not yet certain that the pledge had the complete agreement of the hogs. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton ‘A Sudden Thaw The world has made my head go high And kept my laughter cool and clear— 1t is pos- | ANSWERS TO 'QUESTIONS By Frederic J. Haskin. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Weoshing= ton Evening Star Injormation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washing- ton, D.C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. How much did Andrew Carne give to American colleges?>—J, M. e A. His gifts to colleges reached a total of $20,000,000. Q. How much damage does the rat population of New York City do?—G. G. A. The estimate is made on the basis of the fact that the rat population of this country is about the same as the human population. Each rat does about $2 worth of damage a year. With New York City's population being taken as about 7,000000, the damage would amount to about $14,000,000 a year. Q. What is meant by cooking meat kabob style?—W. L. A. The meat is cut into 2-inch squares. These are strung on a stick or twig of the thickness of one’s thumb, with slices of onion between the meat layers. The combination is brofled over the embers of an outdoor fire. Another name is pirate steaks. Q. On what day does Winter begin this year?—A. 8. A. The sun will reach its farthest point south on December 21 at 1:37 p.m., when Winter will begin. Q. Can you tell me something about the origin of the carriage known as a phaeton? I have heard that the first one was built for one of the Kings of England—B. C. A. The first phaeton was designed and built for King George IV who was 80 fat and so tall that he required a car- riage with a wide, low seat and plenty of leg room. Q. Is it true that Milton never earned any money as a youth?—J. O'B. A. The poet's greatest biographer, David Masson, says: “Until Milton was 32 years of age, if even then, he did not earn a penny for himself.” Q. Please give some information about the origin and work of the Needlework Guild of America—R. K. A. The Needlework Guild of America was started in 1885 by a small group of Philagelphia women who made garments by hand for needy families. The organi- zation took its pattern from one intro- duced in England in 1882 by Lady Wol- verton of Dorsetshire. All the clothing distributed by the members must be new. Last year 1847672 articles of clothing were donated by members for distribu- tion among hospitals and charitable or- ganizations. Any one is eligible for membership who contributes two gar- ments annually or the equivalent in money. Q. What is the inscription on Johnny Appleseed’s grave?—K. W. S. A. The inscription reads: *“Johnny Appleseed—John Chapman—He Lived for Others.” Above this is carved an apple. Beneath is a Holy Bible and the dates, 1774-1845. Q. How many Jews were there in Palestine at the close of the World War, and how many are there now?—D. E. A. According to Jewish statisticians, there were in Palestine at the close of the World War, 66,574 Jews. The 1933 estimate is 240,000. Q. How much is spent for the Dionne quintuplets monthly? Do they give their parents anything?—K. M. C. A. The expenses of the quintuplets, which include maintenance of the hos- pital, payment of nurses, police and Dr, Dafoe have been estimated at $1,000 per month. Their parents are given an al- lowance of $100 per month. Q. What is the name of the infant son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent?>—R. N. A. The child has been named Edward George Nicholas Patrick. Q. Was Henry VIII of England the eldest son of Henry VII?—L. J. A. He was the third child and second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. He was born at Greenwich on June 28, 1491, His brother died in 1501, and after the death of his father in 1509 he suc- ceeded to the throne. Q. Do the women of Iran still have to veil their faces?—H. M. A. The Emperor, Reza Shah Pahlevi, has now consented to the unveiling of women of Iran. Q. What officers named Lee besides Gen. Robert E. Lee distinguished them- selves in the Civil War?—L. C. R. A. A number of officers of the name had gallant records. Especially distin- guished were Stephen D. Lee, a West Point graduate, who resigned from the United States Army as a lieutenant to join the Confederate Army, in which he rose to the rank of lieutenant general. Fitzhugh Lee aiso was a West Point grad« uate and a famous Indian fighter, who resigned to join the Confederacy, be- coming one of the principal Cavalry gen- erals. Later he was a major general in the Spanish-American War. Samuel P, Lee was rear admiral of the United States Navy and commanded the blockade of the Southern ports. Q. Who won the Academy medal for good radio diction last year?>—R. W. A. There was no award last year. This year’s winner is Alois Havrilla and pre- vious winners arz: Milton J. Cross, 1829; Alwyn Bach, 1930; John Holbrook, 1931; David Ross, 1932, and James Wallington in 1933. Q. What became of the large historic collection of Kentucky books and news- pnper; owned by Col. Reuben T. Durrett? —A., F. %W 'rhis] collection, numbering nearly 50, volumes, is now the property of the University of Chicago. Q. When did the American Navy first function?—M. N. A. The American Navy came into ex- istence in 1775 after the close investment of Boston by Washington had cut off all supplies to the British troops, save such as might arrive by water. To intercept these, some small vessels were armed and manned by New England seamen, first