Evening Star Newspaper, September 17, 1936, Page 8

“A—8 » THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. September 17, 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES. p S st i ol S ST The Evening Star Nmp-per Company. Bustness Office: and Pennmunu Ave 1 lth .i ll‘\ Lok igan a"’m“"" mflifi‘&n‘%‘.’“u’é‘mm o Rate by Carrler Within the City. Regular Editi 45¢ per month 60c per month Obeb per month ( s when 5 Sun S The Sunday St: Night Final Edition. Final Star Co lection made at ot orders may be sent by mail or telebtione Na- tional 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. yr., Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for xenublicntmn of all news dispatches eredited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the local news publisned herein, il rights of publieation of special dispatchi erein are also reserved. Mistaken Theory. President Roosevelt believes that pros- perity for the agrarian population of the United States inevitably will mean pros- perity for the urban population. In a recent address he said: The very existence of the men and women working in the clothing factories of New York, making clothes worn by’ farmers and their families; of the work- ers in the steel mills in Pittsburgh, in the automobile factories of Detroit, and in the harvester factories of Illinois de- pends upon the farmers’ ability to pur- chase the commodities they produce. In the same way it is the purchasing power of the workers in these factories in the cities that enables them and their wives and children to eat more beef, more pork, more wheat, more corn, more fruit and more dairy products, and to buy more clothing made from cotton, wool and leather. In a physical and property sense, as well as in a spiritual sense, we are members one of another. But the theory so expounded is not as meritorious as it may seem. It leaves out of account certain factors which cannot be ignored, and it supposes an equitable relation which never has and never will exist. For example, there are thirty million persons living on farms in the United States and something like one hundred million persons living in cities and towns. Logically, then, Mr. Roosevelt's argument is an inverted pyra- mid. He appears to imagine that “good times” for three citizens in the corn belt would signify “good times" for ten citizens elsewhere. Yet, of course, it is only by inference that he says that. The hearest he ever tomes to an exact state- ment of his philosophy is to be found in the opinion: “The maintenance of a fair equilibrium between farm prices and the prices of industrial products is an aim which we must keep ever before us.” The President does not define his terms. Hence, the public, urban and suburban alike, is left in doubt about what he has in mind when he uses the phrase, “a fair equilibrium.” Perhaps, as in the past, he puts his faith in subsidies granted by the Government at the ex- pense of all taxpayers; perhaps he en- tertains some new notion. The vital fact which he does not mention is that during the seventy years since the Civil War the United States has ceased to be pre- dominantly agricultural and has become predominantly industrial. It follows that the heavy-goods industries must recover before agriculture can boom. The con- trary idea is what Gov. Landon con- siders “cock-eyed.” And Mr. Roosevelt momentarily agreed with that 'judgment when he referred to the N. R. A. as the *keystone of the arch of recovery.” The A. A. A. originally was not intended to support the entire economic structure of the Nation. It was only after the ‘Bupreme Court threw Gen. Johnson's portion of the New Deal out of the win- dow that the President stooped to pitting the “hicks” against the ‘“city slickers” The device possibly may be politically expedient, but historically it will be fe- garded as. a violation of the truth. It simply is ridiculous to suppose that thirty million people ever will be able to earn or te spend enough to guarantee prosperity for one hundred million people. —————— The sea serpent is no longer mentioned in shore publicity. An investigator for the Federal Alcohol Commission, how- ever, has encountered a monster sting ray in the Gulf of Mexico, and there are no insinuations that his occupation has even the remotest relation to his extraor- dinary experience. —_————— Hoarding has been disapproved, but life insurance and savings are worthy of the most vigilant concern. The most elaborate plans for water power cannot take the place of the honest human de- sire to lay by something for a rainy day. Australian Armaments. If any additional proof were required to show how the whole world has been forced into the international competition In armaments, due to universal fear of war, it would be supplied by news from Australia. That great British common- wealth “down under,” in the remote Pacific, has just decided upon heavily Increased appropriations for national defense, mainly for naval and air forces. The amount, compared to similar ex- penditure by the great powers, is insig- nificant, but, considering that the whole population of Australia is hardly larger than that of Greater New York, the con- templated new defense budget is formid- able, Danger of Japanese expansion in the Bouth Seas has long been an Australian bogey., The Tokio militarists, who have been in the saddle for the better part of the past decade, have caused a con- centration of Japanese imperialist ener- gies on the territorial booty to be garnered on the Asiatic continent, mainly at the expense of China. But the navy has never taken longing eyes off the regions of the" southernmost Pacific. Australians and New Zealanders '."l‘HE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 195J. cherish an ineradicable suspicion that when Japan has sufficiently established herself on the neck of Chins she will turn her attention in their direction. For 25 years Australia has been preparing against that day by maintaining, under British aid and tutelage, 8 small but ef- ficlent fleet of her own. The common- wealth has -also actively co-operated in construction of the Singapore naval base, conceived by the British Navy with a view to critical developments in the Far East and the Pacific, including & pos- sible Japanese threat to Australia. Mighty a shield as the British Navy would be in an emergency menacing to their security and independence, the Australian pedple are manifestly de- termined to look after their own inter- ests, Their augmented defense plans meet with hearty commendation in Canada. It is evident that Britannia's daughter nations are constrained to view the troubled world situation from their own particular standpoints and to take betimes such protective measures as their vital needs demand. Disgraceful Delay. The attention of the Washington Criminal Justice Commission is re- spectfully invited to the history of a trafic case which appeared in yester- day's Star. More than a year ago an automobile driver was held for trial in Police Court in the death of a pedes- trian. The driver was charged with the new offense—negligent homicide—and his case was called in Police Court about a month later. He pleaded not guilty, demanded a jury trial and was released on bond. Then followed a series of continuances and delays for one reason or another and the case came up again on Tuesday afternoon, when another continuance was granted. In the long interval since the death of the pedestrian one important witness has moved from Washington. It is a tax on the memory of any witness ac- curately to recall the events of a second which took place more than a year ago. The driver in the case is said to have a record of nineteen arrests under his own name, fourteen arrests under an alias and to have been driving under a revoked permit at the time of the ac- cident. He had been fined twice on the serious charge of leaving the scene of an scci’'nt, had bcen sentenced to thii: iail on a charge of reck- his driver’s permit had {udgmept on this particular may not be especially impor- tan:, although it will be interesting to learn whether a driver with such a record will ever be given the privilege of driving an automobile in Washing- ton agaip. But the condition of affairs which permits such continued delay in the trial of a person charged with a serious offense is highly important to the people of this community. The Balti- more Criminal Justice Commission made a name for itself in ending just such conditions there and the Washingten commission, apparently, has a job cut out for it here. There is no reason on earth why there should be such dis- graceful delay. There is every reason to make such delays impossible. “Home Work.” New York's public schools are open- ing the new year with a plan for elim- ination of “home work” as known in the past and the substitution of assign- ments designed more to stimulate the pupil to original work. Here in Wash= ington the Board of Education has de- cided tc continue the “supervised study” experiment involving the elimination of home work which was begun last Spring in Anacostia Junior High School. In cities all over the land there is recurrent evidence of re- volt by parents against the type of home work which has accompanied de- velopment of mass education in the pub- lic schools. The protest may be, in part, illogical. Preparation for class work is an essen- tial part of scholastic education and it is impossible to substitute a course of lectures in place of recitals in the elementary schools or otherwise to ex- pect the teachers to assume all the re- sponsibility for the pupil’s progress. But if preparation of the next day’s work and the cultivation of proper study habits are the objectives of home work there is merit in the contention that a part of the school day could well be de- voted to both. The pupils would cer- tainly be more apt to receive wise guid- ance in study habits, under trained teachers, than they do now under the varying environment of ‘their homes. Under any conditions, the failure by some teachers to co-ordinate between them the amount of home work to be assigned is harmful, and it is this fail- ure that often leads parents to protest. When the algebra teacher, the history teacher, the science teacher and the English teacher are at the same time in- spired to assign heavy tasks for home work, the result is to bewilder and overburden the children. Certainly there should be a logical co-ordination of assigned home work. Votes for the District are not without influence, even though some of its resi- dents have to go into other communities in order to cast them. Explorers Lost. Dr. Jean Charcot, celebrated Prench oceanographer, and at least thirty of his comrades in the exploration of the polar North, have given their lives for science. ‘They perished in the wreck of their little ship, the Pourquoi Pas, caught in a storm and pounded to -pieces on the rocks of Faxa Fjord, on thé western coast of Iceland. Only one $urvivor of the catastrophe remains alive fi tell the story of the last hours of n‘hnn a character as ever has dedicated himself to the expansion of human knowledge in modern times. Sailing from St. Malo on his sixty- eighth birthday, Dr. Charcot. was in the Arctic to bring back & party of colleagues who had been studying conditions in Greenland to collect records which it he had taught Eskimos on that still mysterious island to keep. The eraft in which he made the voyage and in which he now has been lost was built to his order for polar service twenty- eight years ago. Her name symbolized in epigrammatic brevity the philosophy of a veteran thinker, old in experience, young in enthusiasm and courage—"“Why Not?”, It was an optimistic doctrine, far more hopeful than the German “Warum?” with its sorrowful connota- tion of problems impossible to solve. There was challenge in it, and its spon- sor meant™it so. He equipped his boat with every conceivable instrument that might be employed to wrest factual in- formation from the frozen zones; it was his aim to know all there was to know about the waters of the polar seas and the shores those waters touched. Thus it happens that Dr. Charcot leaves two invaluable books, innumerable maps and charts and a vast accumula- tion of meteorological, geological and biological data to be his monument. His methods were so exact, his technique so careful, that he will be sure of a perma- nent place in the history of learning. But the romance of his career also will survive, A power beyond analysis drove him to his work and furnished him with inspiration equal to the need of a soul pledged to such labor. And the same observation may be made with regard to his companions. In their hearts, too, the unseen light burned bright. They were devotees of ascertained and proven truth, and, like their intrepid leader, they will be re- membered for the sacrifice they have consummated in its interest and behalf. —_——— The genial Vice President, John Garner, is expected to make some cam- paign speeches. Popular as Mr. Garner is, he can hardly be expected to make Texas rank with Maine as a “keynote State.” Election figures are impressive even though none of them run into billions like those introduced into current eco- nomic calculations. The oyster season has opened. The general rejoicing is not abated even by the statistics which show how much an oyster cost a few decades ago. ———————————— European politics displays no evidence of a dictators’ agreement. There is an evident movement on foot to “stop” Stalin, ——raee—t Al Smith walked out. Some of the voters depended on by General Farley evidently ran. R Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Fairy Gold. September brings the fairy gold That shines beside the field. The forest leaves again unfold A bright and splendid yield. Yet gold is but a fickle friend Whgse greeting first is gay; You will discover in the end It travels on its way. The yellow gleam with magic rare Soon fades as seasons go. The friendship that has smiled so fair A frown too soon may show. The maxims that we learned in school In vain have oft been told— Sometimes that good old Golden Rule Seems only Fairy Gold! Adaptability. “What do you think of the election returns?” asked the constituent. “I'm not arguing about them,” said Senator Sorghum. “If election returns don’'t happen to go my way, I try to g0 theirs.” ‘The Procession. The elephant is on parade. He wakens from repose. The steam piano makes the grade And interrupts his doze. Our famous ancestors appear In influence secure. If P. T. Barnum could be here He'd have a pull, for sure, Catch. “How did you spend your vacation?” asked the friend. “Fishing,” answered Mr. Dustin Stax. “Catch anything?” “Yes. I got away from my worries and caught a few hours’ sleep.” “You say that clothes do not make the man,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “yet I confess that my respect for a fellow mortal increases greatly when he wears a policeman’s uniform.” Fierce Campaigning. Mother votes and Father votes And Sister has her say. Each Uncle and each Cousin notes That it's election day. Opinions differ now and then. Expressions may seem rude. A campaign is most serious when It’s just a'family feud. “We is all lookin’ foh happiness,” said Uncle Eben, “but some folks csn't be happy unless dey’s complainin’.” Towa Justice. . Prom the Philadelphis Evening Bulletin. Iowa judge who sentenced two culprits to dig holes and fill them up again is clearly a friend of boondoggling. Boxing by Rhythm. Prom the Kalamazoo Gasette~ » A noted fighter says he gets timing in his punches by boxing to music records on a phonograph. Of course, it must be swing music. Progress and Understanding. Prom the Winston-Salem Journsl fs slow because leaders can’t do what is necessary till they think up a reason that the people will understand. Re-dy for the Worst. THE POLITICAL MILL ' BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. ‘Two political h;p'peninu during this week have helped to set the Republicans to crowing and the Roosevelt New Deal- ‘ers to smiling on the wrong side of their mouths. The first was the Republican clean sweep in Maine. The Democrats there and elsewhere had expressed the utmost confidence they would carry the senatorial fight in Maine, with Gov. Louis J. Brann as their candidate against Senator Wallace White, Republican. The second event which has caused joy to the Republicans was the defeat of Sena- tor James Couzens of Michigan for re- nomination. Couzens had plenty of Republican enemies already, but when he came out with a statement a few weeks ago that he intended to support President Roosevelt for re-election, that wound the matter up. After such a declaration he apparently did not have a chance despite his big personal follow- ing in Detroit and despite the efforts of the New Dealers to get the Democrats to go into the Republican primary to support Couzens. €ouzens was beaten by former Gov. Wilber M. Brucker by up- ward of 100,000 votes. * x % x The New Dealers have trouble, it seems, taking defeats. Already there is talk of a demand for a recount in the Maine senatorial election, which Brann lost by 5,000 votes. Barring that, Brann, it is suggested, may file a contest, but on what grounds it has not been disclosed. The Maine Governor has been in confer- ence with Chairman Farley of the Demo- cratic National Committee, and also with Senator Guffey of Pennsylvania, chair- man of the Democratic Senatorial Com- mittee. If a contest is filed it may bring charges of excessive expenditures., The Senatorial Campaign Investigating Com- mittee sent investigators into Maine a week ago and learned that contributions had been made to the Republican cam- paign fund by some of the Du Ponts. The committee did not look into Demo- cratic campaign expenditures, so far as is known, * * * =% 1t looks, too, as though the New Deal- ers might seek to bring a contest in the Michigan senatorial election, on the ground that large sums of money were used to defeat Couzens in the primary. The Senatorial Campaign Investigating Committee some time ago sent investi- gators to Detroit to run down a report that some $3.000,000 had been raised as a slush fund to be used in the elections, presumably to defeat Couzens. ‘The administration’s hand-picked can- didate for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, Frank Murphy, former mayor of Detroit, was successful in his contest for that nomination. His Demo-~ cratic opponent, G. W. Welsh, however, received a very considerable vote. Murphy was given a “furlough” from his job as United States high commissioner to the Philippines to come home ana make the race. With Murphy and Couzens running, the New Dealers thought the Roosevelt ticket would be greatly strengthened in Michigan. The Republicans, however, have eleminated Couzens from the ticket. * % x % Gov. James M. Curley of Massachu- set's won, as was expected, the Demo- cratic nomination for Senator. He was bitterly opposed, however, by many Democrats, who rallied to the support of Robert E. Greenwood. Greenwood received more than 100,000 votes. Thomas C. O'Brien, the Union party candidate for Vice President, entered the Demo- cratic senatorial primary and had up- ward of 37,000 votes. Take it by and large, things do not look rosy for Curley. He will have to face Henry Cabot Lodge, the Republican nominee, in the Novem- ber election, with practically a solid Re- publican backing. There are thousands of Democrats disinclined to vote for Curley. Furthermore, the New Deal to which Gov. Curley has clung, is not as popular in Massachusetts as it used to be, * % ¥ ¥ The New Dealers- are taking consid- erable satisfaction from the results in the Wisconsin primary. There the La Follette Progressives polled a larger vote, it appears, than did either the Repub- licans or the Democrats. The way the New Dealers figure it in Wisconsin is to add the Progressive vote to the Demo- cratic vote when they make estimates of the strength of President Roosevelt in the Badger State. Both Gov. Philip La Follette and Senator Robert M. La Fol- lette are out for the re-election of President Roosevelt, and the La Follettes are very largely the Progressive party in Wisconsin. Wisconsin is the State which Chairman John Hamilton had in mind when he predicted recently that Gov. Landon, the Republican presidential candidate, would carry every State east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio, with one exception. * X % % The Republicans have turned out two sitting Democratic members of the House of Representatives, by the Maine elec- tions. They carried all three congres- sional districts in Monday'’s election, and by substantial majorities. They are counting heavily on winning a great many seats in the House now held by Republicans, and are taking a good deal of satisfaction from this start. Maine has gone back to its Republican moorings. It has turned its back on the Roosevelt New Deal., In November the State is expected to go even more heavily for Landon and against Roosevelt. Many other States have in years before 1932 been considered as strongly Republican as Maine, and those States voted' Demo- cratic four years ago, and again in 1934, in the congressional and gubernatorial elections. Take Iowa, for example, or Illinois. If the swing back to Republi- canism is on, as shown in Maine, there may be reason to believe that these other strongly Republican States may be found again supporting the G. O. P. national ticket. * K K X Lewis O. Barrows, Republican Gov- ernor-elect of Maine, defeated Dubord, his Democratic opponent, by 42,000 votes. This is more than a normal Republican majority in a Maine State election. Dubord, running against Senator Fred Hale two years ago for the Upper House, lost only by 1,200 votes, while Brann was being elected Governor over his Re- publican opponent by 23,000. And Brann was defeated Monday by White by 5,000 votes. There seems no way out of the fact that the Republicans have recov- ered a great deal of lost ground in Maine. Gov. Brann has told Chairman Farley that he is at the disposal of thé Demo- cratic Campaign Committee, ready to speak for'the re-election of President Roosevelt. During the Maine campaign Brann kept as far away from the New Deal as he could, believing that it was not good politics for him to tie up to President Roosevelt in his home State. Dubord, the Democratic candidate for Governor, on the other hand, strongly advocated the New Deal during his whole Brann lost THIS AND THAT, BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. A correspondent asks about the pro- tective coloration of animals, at the same time voicing some doubt about the theory. Since their enemies mostly depend on the sense of smell, anyway, he says, what is the use of the stripes and other patterns, which are supposed w protect them? It may be that the camouflue on the carnivorous species, such as ‘igers and leopards, is rather to keep their prey from seeing them. Protective coloration, in such cases, seems to be for the sole purpose of con- cealing the creature from possible food, which “food,” it is obvious, is of the walking and running kind. ‘This is seen very well in the case of the small aquarium inmate vpopularly known as angel fish. This fish is as thin as a wafer, bright silver hae, marked with intense black stripes run- ning up and down. No doubt these blend nicely when the fish is in its natural habit, among the long blades of eel grass, or similar grasses. If ah unwary smaller fish comes along, and the angel fish femains quite still until it is within snapping distance, the prey will go down the angel’s gullet head first before it knows what has happened. How about the other way around? If a really large fish swims by, would his stripes protect the angel? c ok ox ok X There can be little doubt that, as long as he remained in the grasses, they would tend to help him escape the wary eyes of his larger foe. Once he came out into the open waters, he would be all the more con- spicuous because of his bold markings. ‘We may believe, then, that protective markings only hold good, and function, in certain locations, and are useless, or even worse than useless, elsewhere. Certainly a zebra running across the plain would attract the attention of any- thing with eyes. Hence it may be felt that all such protective devices are for moments and places only; that they are by no means inclusive, and that they may be, in total service, rather a mistake than otherwise. The animal colors and patterns have been the same since man has known anything about them. But what were the conditions under which they lived before history knew them? That they were different there can be no doubt. The habitat probably was such as made their colors and stripes a great deal more to the point, whatever that point was, and no one can be sure exactly what it was this far away. * & Xx % 1t may be believed. too, that only such coloration is protective as really pro- tects. For instance, there is nothing protec- tive about the red of the cardinal, or redbird. In the early days of the Republic its bright feathers made it an easy mark for the long rifles of the pioneers. If one had no interest in birds, as such, it was natural that a rifleman should shoot at such a shining mark. The result was that thousands of these beautiful birds met a totally un- necessary death, largely due to their brilliant plumage. No doubt exotic birds of the tropics, flying in jungles wreathed with gorgeous orchids, find their amazing plumage a real protection. In American forests, however, any- thing with real color to it is picked out instantly by that very fact. Yet birds in general, as this country knows its songsters, often have cleverly camouflaged wings and breasts. These take the form of brown and gray feathers, sometimes marked with spots, STARS, ME! .often are hard to see, white and otherwise, serving to break up the monotony of the coat as a whole. When we think of the spotted breast of the wood thrush, then of the patterns of sunlight and shade beneath the trees of the woods, its original habitat, we see at once that such spots and features do serve in the general plan of breaking up the total color of the creature, thus keeping it from attracting attention simply by uniformity. Thus a hunk of black, such as a lump of anthracite coal, might attract attention among leaves, whereas the same lump, daubed with a few streaks of white, might not be seen. * kK ok It will be found that small birds, such as commonly catch insects on the wing, are light brown or light gray in color, but often with black and white marks to take them out of the solid-color class. ‘Thus when they pick a dead limb on which to perch, waiting for incautious insects to fly close to their bills, they even by the human eye equipped with a serviceable pair of field glasses. One might think, offhand, that any- thing in the line of spots or bars of white, on brown or gray, would serve merely to call attention to the bird, but often enough it does not work out that way, for there is, with some exceptions, no monotony in Nature. - Her landscapes are fillled with lights and shadows, in which small applications of high colors fit very well. Where Nature is monotonous, as on the Sahara desert, the prevailing king of beasts is tawny, a veritable monotone himself. The lion is more or less sand colored, and here again we may believe that this protective coloration, so-called, is not so much to protect him, since there is little he fears, as to protect him from being seen by smaller animals until he can catch them! * kX % As for the vegetable eaters, which still have startling patterns on their coats, how can we fit them into this theory, since they eat no smaller animals, and hence have no need to protect them- selves against the fears of the little ones? We can't, of course, and there is no need to try, for all theories, it must be kept in mind, are only theories. Science is the first to admit it, to take pride in it. After all, a theory is just a con- ception, and if common sense and ex- perimentation finally prove it, it will still be a conception, waiting for new and larger conceptions to come along. In a world in which man, as an animal, has risen out of the dark by daring mental concepts, aided by his hands and the work thereof, or by his hands, aided by mental concepts fol- lowing, however one chooses to put it, in such a world the theory has first place, because of the very nature of thinking. Thinking is invisible, in itself. A thought may or may not be true, but between the inception and the final proof, if there is any, or if there can be any, there is a whole world of room for diverging mind attitudes. So we may see and believe that no theory is always true, or even partially always true, but that any theory which stands the test of even a little time may have some aspects of truth in it. There are two well known theories as to birds’ songs, and the possibility is that neither is wholly right, but only partially so. Anyway. the birds go right ahead sing- ing. Perhaps the complete and final “why” of anything is beyond mankind. The scientific theory of coloration in Nature is better than no theory at all, that is all. Wasn't there some one who once said that it is much easier to be- lieve in God than not to believe in Him? AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. ‘Where did the Mound Builders come from and what became of them? Up to the present this mysterious cul- ture complex has been like a ship sunk without trace in the dark ocean of pre- history. Now, like bits of wreckage washed on far-off shores, meager clues are being found. One of the latest of these has just been received by the Department of Anthropology of the Smithsonian Insii- tution. It is a hollow clay effigy of a zoomorphic figure wearing a feathered robe, obtained in five or six pieces in East Central Louisiana. The fragments can be fitted together. It was sent to Dr. Frank H. Setzler, jr, curator of anthropology, by Mrs. H. B. Evans of Alexandria, La., who long has been In- terested in local archeology. It may constitute a missing link be- tween the prehistoric Caddo Indians of the Gulf Coast region and the Southern Mound Builder complex uncovered by Dr. Setzler himself two years ago at Marksville, La. This, in turn, overlaps a somewhat more advanced Mound Builder complex—the so-called South- ern Hopewell which overlaps the North- ern Hopewell of the Northern Ohio Valley region where the Mound Builder culture attained its greatest heights. Now the prehistoric Caddo peoples can be related definitely to the historic Caddo of Northwestern Texas. The Marksville mound building culture has been shown during the past two years to be the basic culture. From it de- veloped a more: primitive Indian cul- ture, remains of which have been found at Coles Creek, La., and Deasonville, in Mississippi, and this, in turn, de- veloped into & more specialized mound- building culture complex found by Dr. Mathew W. Stirling, chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology of the Smith- sonian Institution, on Weedon Island on the Florida coast. This does not mean, Dr. Setzler stresses, that there was necessarily any blood relationship between the peoples responsible for these various phases of the culture complex, but it does indicate strongly that there was a time sequence of contacts between them. The greatest of the Mound Builder cultures was the so-called Northern Hopewell. Its great sepulchre mounds contain beautifully fashioned artifacts and ornaments of cbsidian, mica, copper, bone and clay which entitle it to be con- sidered the highest advance toward civ- ilization in North America north of the Pueblo area before the coming of the white men. Although similar in design to the artifacts of the Southern Hope- well, the artistry, ingenuity and engi- neering skill of the Northern people was vastly superior. Besides the culture was _unique in the possession of obsidian and copper. ) No race in history so completely dis-- appeared from the face of the earth without a clue to what heppened. One Maine, but not necessarily so i other Sta m Roosevelt popularity pulled of Democrats through through in the elections of 1834, possible assumption might be, Dr. Setzler points out, that the mound- building culture complex arose and reached its greatest heights among these people and that it degenerated on its way South. One outstanding fact, he says, militates against such an ex- planation. The most notable of the Hopewell artifacts are those fashioned of obsidian and copper. Neither of these materials are found in the Ohio Valley. The first must have been brought eastward from the Rocky Mountain region, the second from around Lake Superior. The deduction from this is that Southern Mound Builders, moving northward, came into conflict with a migration stream moving eastward, perhaps from the Rocky Mountains, with a superior artistic genius and knowledge of the use of these two materials which the migrants brought with them. The contact of the two cultures resulted in the remarkable flowering of primitive civilization evidenced in the Ohio mounds. In some of the mounds have been found not alone carved obsidian pieces, but blocks of obsidian, andl chip piles showing that the artifacts were made on the spot. This, Dr. Setzler says, almost disproves the point that the articles may have come in as trade pleces. Instead the Northern Hopewell peopie were importing raw material, in- dicating a previous acquaintance with its uses and its sources. They even went to the extent of counterfeiting obsidian artifacts from chunks of coal. The Southern Mound Builders appar- ently brought northward their practise of burying the dead in mortuary mounds and their relatively crude artifarts. But they showed little artistic skill or engi- neering genius. These, of course, might have arisen in the race without any influx from the outside, but the presence of the obsidian blocks is strong evidence against this. As to the identity of the invaders there is not a scrap of evidence. Equally mysterious is the fate of the high cul- ture presumably resulting from the in- vader-Mound Builder amalgamation. No large village site of the Hopewell people has ever been identified with any certainty, although possible traces of habitation sites have been uncovered in Southern Wisconsin. Thus the Mound Builder culture as a whole might be pictured as a ship set- ting sail from the Florida coast in some remote antiquity, sailing along the Gulf as far west as the Mississippi, and turn- ing northward toward the Great Lakes, finally to disappear completely at the edge of the northern wilderness. All along the way it stopped at richer and richer ports. As for the time or even the time se- quence of the journey, Dr. Setzler says, nothing is known at present. This is the pressing question at present. It was almost certainly several hundred years before the coming of Columbus. No mdlculop of any European contact | ‘has been found. mdun(hnntnh-unummm ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact by writing The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Is Melvyn Douglas, who played the part of John Randolph in “The Gore- geous Hussy,” a Southerner?—E. F. A. The actor was born in Macon; Ga. Q. Hu Sweden much unemployment? —S. A. Very little. Sweden seems to have recovered from the deprssion. and her industrial production is higher than in 1929, Q. How much grass seed does it take to plant 1,000 square feet of lawn?— H. R. A. Four pounds of a good grass seed mixture is sufficient for plantmx & lawn of that size, Q When is American education week? A'lt will be obsened this year from November 9 to 1 Q. When was the Crystal Palace in New York City destroyed?—F. W. A. The building was destroyed by fire on October 5, 1858. Q. Is the S. 8. Tel Aviv manned by a Jewish crew?—B. H. A. At present some of the officers and sailors are not Jewish, but it is hoped that in time it will be manned entirely by Jews. This boat is the first of the ships which the Palestine Shipping Co. hopes to equip. It runs regularly be- tween Triest and the new harbor of Haifa, in Palestine. Q. Please quote the statement of Daniel Webster’s in which he says there should be no State interference with the Constitution—E. M. A. In a speech delivered in the United States Senate on January 26, 1830, Web- ster said: If anything be found in the national Constitution, either by original provision or subsequent interpretation, which ought not to be in it, the people know how to get rid of it. If any con- struction be established unacceptable to them, so as to become practically a part of the Constitution, they will amend it at their own sovereign pleasure. But while the people choose to maintain it as it is, while they are satisfied with ite and refuse to change it, who has given or who can give to the State Legislature ; a right to alter it, either by interferencr, construction or otherwise? Q. How many kinds of cheese 21 there?—J. L. A. More than 150 kinds of cheese = made in Europe and America. Q. Why is Big Ben in London ¢ called?>—H. J. A. Big Ben, the hour-bell of the gre:® Westminster clock on top of the Houst of Parliament, is named after Sir Ben- jamin Hall, afterwards Lord Llanover, who was first commissioner of works in 1856, when the Board of Works signed a contract with a London firm of bell- founders for the casting of a 14-ton hour bell and four quarter bells. Q. In dyeing materials what does it mean when the directions say to mior- dant the material>—W. H. A. Many natural dyes will fade or bleed unless the yarn or fabric is first treated with a chemical called a mor- dant. Different mordants produce dif- ferent shades when the fabric is dyed and some are better for certain textile: than others. The material is boiled in the mordant. then allowed to stand in it for a certain period before it is to be dyed. Q. Who discovered the Negro poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar?—F. R. W. A. His poetical genius was first intro- duced to American readers by William Dean Howells, who contributed an in- troduction to his “Lyrics of Lowly Life” in 1896. Q. What is Berkeleianism?—R. M. C. A. The word denotes the philosophical views of Bishop Berkeley and is com- monly used as s)nonymous with sub- jective idealism. Q. How large are the biggest rattle- snakes in Florida?—J. W. A. Dr. C. 8. Allen has recorded one specimen 8 feet 5 inches, with a cir- cumference of 15 inches, which was shot near Oak Lodge, Fla, by Charles F. Latham, in November, 1890, while Mr. Frank M. Chapman mentions one 8§ feet 9 inches long, killed by J. H. Mor- ton of Jacksonville. Q. Have stilts always been considered toys?—S. W. A. They served a useful purpose in early times when they were used for crossing marshy land. Shephérds in the French lands utilized them. Q. Who established the Colgate Co.? —G. L. A. William Colgate came to this coun- try in 1795 and in 1804 became ap- prenticed to a soap-boiler in New York. In 1806 he established himself as soap- maker at 6 Dutch street, New York City. A Rhyme at Twilight » By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton In the Mountains. How old they are! Unchanging, lonely blear. “The clouds around them change, Storms thunder der each range, Wild winds against them blow, ‘While centuries come and go; And ever and forever they stand here T climbed a ledge and on it vigil kep In silence so profound A whisper echoed sound. No more the strident world Around me spun and whirled. Unur:lhlyt peace enclosed me—and | ep I dreamed {on came to me unchange¢ in soft starlight . . . And wakened on the lonely mountain height. B — likewise cannot be determined by any known evidence. The probability is, Dr. ‘Setzler says, that it rose and dluppnred within a few hundred years—perhaps thousand at the most. cated by tree ring st west, seems to ha lowed b other vebsenme'-y!ol: cllne o( hllb ‘primitivé cultures »