Evening Star Newspaper, November 5, 1936, Page 12

A—12 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY___ -November 5, 1936 — e e THEODORE W. NOYES...........Editor —————————————————— The Evening Star Newspaper Company. S3ivania Ave Pro East 42ba St n Building, ndon. England. 45¢ per month 606 per month ght P 70¢ per month ght Pi 55¢ per month Collection made at the end of each month. ders may be sent by mail or telephone Na- jonal 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. and Virgioia, 0: s and Canada. {ly and Sunday..l IT. $12.0 mo.. $1,00 ly only. 1 yr. $R.0 mo., 78¢c Sunday only-—e.o_.l yr. Member of the Assoclated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches eredited to it or not otherwise credited in this Paper and also the local news published herein. y rmm of publication of special ches erein are also reserved. Measuring D. C. “Service.” As one approach to the determination of what would be an equitable payment to the District by the National Govern- ment, the President’s special committee studying fiscal relations called for esti- mates of the cost, or value, of services rendered the Federal Government by the municipal government. At the same time, Federal establishments were re- quested to make the same estimates re- garding such services as were rendered the District. Major Donovan has made public the total of estimated cost of services ren- dered the National Government. The figure, $12,152,505, represents something over 31 per cent of the 1936 budget. And for the vears between 1924 and 1937 the same thing is shown as to the value of gervices rendered by the District to the United States as is shown in the totals of appropriation bill; that is, as the appropriations and the costs of services to the United States have increased, the lump sum has decreased. For the years. 1925 and 1926 the Federal payment ex- ceeded the estimated costs of services to the United States. Since then the Fed- eral lump-sum payment has diminished while the costs of these servicesand the total of appropriations have increased. It is to be hoped that the President’s Committee on Fiscal Relations will per- mit public examination of the offsetting figures which are represented in the esti- mates of costs of Federal services ren- dered the District. For it would be most Interesting and informative to determine what services are rendered the District by the National Government that are not, likewise, extended to every citizen of the United States. And if there are any services rendered exclu- sively to the District by the United States, their cost, of course, would be more than overbalanced by considera- tion of services rendered by the United States to the States, which are not at the same time enjoyed by the District. And the people of the District, of course, In its supplementary brief filed with the President’s committee, the Citizens’ Joint Committee on Fiscal Relations, without taking exception to the pro- posed measurement of cost of services rendered by and to the District gov- ernment, pointed out some of the diffi- culties of making such measurements. Any such measurement is, at best, an estimate, And any such measurement suggests a conception of the municipal government as an independent, self- gletermining agency of the people of the IDistrics, when, as & matter of fact, it is ly the agency established by Con- gress for the administration of its ex- clusive powers of government over the District. The benefits to the United Btates and to the people of the District are so interwoven and overlapping as to be practically incapable of sharp delineation, and it is difficult to deter- mine, in many cases, whether the Dis- trict or the Federal Government is the primary or the incidental beneficiary. The President’s committee is wise in treating this attempted measurement of services between the District and the Federal Government as merely one ex- periment in its pursuit of a definite for- mula for measuring anew the Federal obligation. Ireland’s Future. Eamon de Valera, President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, has just promulgated his plan for polit- fcal reconstruction of the country on a eonstitutional basis. It apparently con- templates a self-contained “all-Ireland” commonwealth, taking no cognizance of the partition of the Emerald Isle into Ulster-ruled North and Dublinydomi- nated South. Likewise, the program eompletely and conspicuously ignores Great Britain, It proposes, in the Presi- dent's own words, to give the Irish phople a national charter which they them- selves would choose “if Great Britain Although Mr. de Valera’s pronounce- ment, made before a mass meeting of his supporters from every county in Ireland, did not mention a “republic,” it 15 inescapable that the regime he has in mind envisions that form of govern- ment, Indeed, it appears that the United States of America, in which the brilliant Irishman was born, may be his model, for the projected constitution provides for election of a chief magis- trate similar to the American President. {' There ‘will also be, on the Washington pattern, s two-house national legisla- ture, with the eéxecutive responsible to it. For’ the present Mr. de Valers signals no change in existing relations with the British Empire, except that the Irish will utilize the same autonomous ma- chinery employed by Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, as self- governing nations. These national units are for all practical purposes utterly in- dependent within the imperial frame- work. Mr. de Valera would sever all semblance of control by the British crown, including abolition of the gov- ernor general, long since reduced to the status of & figurehead. It is not yet entirely clear whether the Free State will move toward oblitera- tion of Northern Ireland as a separate political entity and conversion of Erin into a national whole. But events would seem to be trending inevitably in that direction. Mr. de Valera continues to acclaim the mutual economic interests that should make for closer co-operation and good will with the British. But he declares that the Irish “will not sur- render” on the acrimonious issue of the land annuities, which they repudiate, despite retaliatory British “penal tar- iffs” on Irish imports. In every respect, Mr. de Valera points out, his country intends to lead “its own life in its own way.” There seems slight prospect that Britain, faced today by far graver Euro- pean problems, will do anything de- signed to thwart the Free State’s pur- poses, A Puzzled Visitor. If a messenger from Mars were to have locked in upon America Tuesday night he would have been greatly puzaled. He would see dense crowds ef people standing in the streets, looking at large white surfaces on which strange char- acters appeared, seemingly announce- ments, with figures and names of places and of people. He would hear the crowds cheer from time to time. On the white' surfaces would come also portraits of men whose features would arouse the onlookers to a frenzy of approval or disapproval. Other phe- nomena would further intrigue the stranger. Loud noises would come from funnels, words and figures, and often strains of harmonious sounds. And pic- tures would flash as well upon' the white surfaces, animated representations of human life. It would all be very odd, especially the reactions of the closely crowded people in the streets. If he could gain access to houses, the man from Mars would see family groups sitting before little boxes from which poured forth announcements, names, figures, geographical terms. The hearers would be aroused now and again to enthusiasm, or depressed in despair, as these sounds came forth from the little boxes. What would all this mean to the visitor from afar? Probably nothing whatever, except as a manifestation of the singular temperaments of the Earth dwellers. Possibly, if gifted with in- telligible speech, he might ask the mean- ing. And if he understood the speech he would learn that the multitudes, in the streets and in the homes, were listening to the returns from an election. He would doubtless ask the meaning of an election, and he would get a pos- sibly confusing reply. He would be told that an election was the decision of the people between two aspirants for the post of ruler, Far from the Martian concept of social life such s phrase would be. If especially curious he would ask how an election was conducted. He would be told that on a certain day set apart by the law for such a performance the people gathered at appointed places and dropped pieces of paper into boxes to indicate their choice, or manipulated machines that recorded and counted their preferences. Again he would be confused. Why go to all that trouble? Perhaps the mechanism of an election and of the announcement of results seems strange even to some Earth dwell- ers. Certainly it is complex enough. And yet it is simplicity itself compared to earlier methods. The Martian would ask how many people were going through this process, and he would be told that something like forty-five million were voting. Maybe that would be a very small number compared with the Mar- tians qualified to express themselves on the subject of their rulers. But the man from Mars would leave the scene with doubt as to the effective- ness of this method. The din of the announcements would seem to him to be néedless, the clamor of the crowds would seem to him to be inexcusable. The fervor of the reactions to the ap- pearance of a few figures on the screens and to the sounds from the mouths of machines would seem disproportionate. He would not know the quality known as pertisanship. He would not understand the intensity of the fears of the losers or the rejoicings of the winners, Nor in fact do some Earthlings. Yet the elec- tion habit is fixed and strong, and it is part of the life of these peculiar millions that inhabit this planet. But the Martian would better under- be cited. Robert Southey tells the story “When his house was all efferts to save it these words: MMW‘ o EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 65, 1936. THIS AND THAT _ BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. useless, and, being a good draughtsman, he went up to the next hill to make s drawing of the fire.” A certain hardy courage, obviously, is manifest in the character of any man who deliberately chooses to create a work of art out of the materials of & disaster. ‘Today there must be many who will want fortitude for the future. Condi- tions are bewildering for a minority of people who, perhaps, ought not to be completely suppressed. Yet the confu- sion is not universal. There still are peaceful flelds of interest in which they may discover occupation for their minds and hearts—retreats from the struggle in which they have been wounded; solitudes in which their injuries may heal. Books are one of these sanctuaries; music is another. The list of opportunities is long and varied enough for any rational need. A celebrated surgeon summarized the problem and its solution when he said: “There are times when I simply must get free of my clinic and my oper- ating room. I go to the theater or play golf or sleep. It does not matter which relief I seek. But the effect invariably is the same. I come back to work re- freshed and fit to do my duty.” Melancholic isolation, of course, is to be avoided. In the circumstances, it is better to be active as Fox was when he engaged his energies in sketching rather than in hysterical or depressive mourn- ing for his lost possessions. A hobby, possibly, is most constructively helpful. Those who can botanize or geologize probably are the most notably fortunate —they may tramp the hills, explore the woods, retrieve the primitive joy of nature, alone or in congenial company, and thus maintain balance and prepare for the imperative adjustment to social environment which, certainly, must be effected sooner or later. The value of ‘Walden to Thoreau was that it equipped him psychologically and spiritually to return to the community in which he belonged. Regardless of disappointments one way or another, the fact is that an election by the people for a responsible decision is evidence of the solidity of foundation on which rests the greatest republic the world has ever known. —————————~ ‘The origin of Halloween is worthy of study. The most remarkable thing about it, however, is the fact that it should con- tinue to assert itself as a nuisance in the present advanced stage of civilization, —— e There has been some impassioned utterance, yet there are evidences of intellectual restraint. Mr. Charles Gates Dawes did not even once say “Helen Maria.” —————— ‘The fact that this city has no voting facilities does not prevent some of the most accomplished politicians and states- men from liking it pretty well as s place of residence. Bo far as art is concerned, it may as well be conceded that neither “Susanna” nor “Blind Mice” was a tune worth quarreling over, Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Investment. ‘We squandered time, we squandered talk To see the old mule kick or balk Or to observe, with joy profound, The elephant go ‘round and ‘round! ‘To mathematics we have gone. Enormous figures thence we've drawn. Figures of speech and figures, too, That make the taxes jump anew. That Time is Money well we know. If every second squandered so ‘Were nothing more than one thin dime, What billions we have lost in Time, Our treasure we will now prepars To estimate with proper care. And every minute we'l invest In meeting Truth's Eternal Test. Unteachable. “Are you in favor of teaching com- munism?” “There is no use of trying to teach communism,” said Senator Sorghum. “It’s just & natural state of mind similar to that which causes profanity or reckless driving.” Initials. To the typing machine With intention serene, Let’s hasten to harness a motor. A page it could fll With mechanical skill ‘With letters to send to a voter. By night and by day It can clatter away With delirious marks alphabetic, With none to define If the sense of & line Is to rate as profound or pathetic. A Hermitage, “When are we going to have the next Jail break?” asked Bill the Burg. “There won't be any jail break,” said Mike the Mauler. “We might muss up the building and we may need it any day as & retreat from the wickedness of the outside world.” “When you conceal the truth” said’ Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “you make yourself the custodian of a flerce creature ‘which you can never subdue and which may break forth and destroy you.” Running te Form. My radio! My radio! Again you gayly chatter- ‘With melodies that please us so mmuum. And what you say or what you sing, As far 43 a light wave reaches, . Don't teach us much of anything— But neither did the speeches. “A camp meetin’,* said Uncle Ebenm, “is » chance foh a sinner to repent, but you must watch him & few weeks before you trust him te pass de ‘collection piste.” THE POLITICAL MILL BY G. GOULD LINCOLN. ‘The Republican party has taken a sec- ond devastating defeat hand running. What is to be the future of the G. O. P.? It carried only two States in the presi- dential election—Vermont and Maine, It had its already slender minorities in the House and Senate still further re- duced until it will have only 17 or 18 members of the Upper House and prob- ably around 90 in the Lower. Repub- lican Governors of States have been suc- ceeded by Democrats in Michigan, Del- aware and Kansas, 1eaving only a few Republican Governors extant. And yet the party polled probably 16 or 17 mil- lion votes the country over, when all the returns are in. A great amount of in- terest in the G. O. P. was stirred during the campaign among the younger voters, ‘The Republican national organization still remains, with Chairman John Ham- ilton of Kansas at its head. When the immediate storm is over, doubtless ef- forts will be made to bind up the wounds and re-form the lines for future elections. * x % % Much will depend upon the success of the Democratic administration and its program for the future, New issues are made overnight frequently in this coun- try. Such issues might breathe life and renewed strength into the G. O. P. At present, it appears from the election, the American people are overwhelmingly on the liberal side. The conservatives are struggling for a footing. The mass of conservative arguments and issues de- veloped by the Republican candidates during the recent campaign proved en- tirely ineffective. If the liberals are suc- cessful in their conduct of the Govern- ment; if conditions continue to improve and there is no grave dislocation of busi- ness and jobs increase, the chances for the conservative element, or for the Re- publican party, which has come to be catalogued conservative, are not bright. * % % % It does not seem probable that the United States is to become a one-party country. And yet the Democratic party by force of numbers and victory at the polls has come nearer to bringing about such a condition than at any time in the past. The Democratic party as it is now constituted has under its wing many differing elements and there is a ques- tion how long they will continue to ride along together. Already there is a threat in the air that many of the voters who enlisted in the Democratic party for the campaign just closed are likely to bolt four years hence, unless, indeed, they are able to assume control of the Democratic party. They are the follow- ers of John L. Lewis, president of the United Mine Warkers; Sidney Hillman, David Dubinsky and others. The ground was laid during the last few months for the organization of a Labor party. It actually was formed in the great State of New York and candi- dates were put into the fleld. In order to aid in the election of President Roose- velt, the American Labor party in New York picked the same presidential elec- tors as those named by the Democratic party. But what i to happen in 1940? Will the members of the new Labor party be willing to go along again with the Democratic presidential nominee? There is no assurance that they will do so. * X % ¥ The La Follette Progressives in Wis- consin and the Farmer-Labor party in Minnesota both played along with Presi- dent Roosevelt in this campaign, believ- ing that it was necessary to prevent the election of Gov. Alf M. Landon of Kan= sas, whom they dubbed a reactionary. These minority parties have more in common with the new Labor party than they have with many of the members of the Democratic party. They, too, have indicated that within the next four years they will seek the creation of a new liberal party. What is to become of the more conservative Democrats—the great Democratic vote of the South, for example—if such tactics are followed by many of these who fought under the New Deal banner this year? How far are these conservative Democrats willing to go along the path the new Labor party, the Wisconsin Progressives and the Farmer-Labor party have in mind? Not all the efforts of Al Smith, John W. Davis, James A. Reed and other conservative Democrats were able to per- suade them to leave Roosevelt this year. P For years there has been a demand in many quarters for the division in this country along liberal and conservati lines, with strictly liberal and conserv: tive parties. One of the main stum- bling blocks has been the adherence of the States of the South to the Democratic party. Conservatives and liberals alike insist, in that section, upon remaining Democrats. There has been, too, the fact that the great mass of farm owners are inclined to be conservative, no mat- ter in what part of the country they are found. The Roosevelt farm program, with its Goverment checks for comply- ing with that program, has done much to keep the farmers in line for the New Deal. You have only to look at Tues- day’s election results in Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska to understand that. Not all of the radicals in the country moved under the Roosevelt banner. There were the tes, for exam- ple, who held aloof. But their vote for Lemke did not prove to be of large pro- portions. That vote doubtless would have been larger had Lemke been able to get on the ballot in New York, Cali- fornia and several other States where he was denied that right. But take it by and large, the great mass of liberals joined with Roosevelt in this election. The Democratic party has become their party, at least for the time being. There was a split, even among the Socialists, and many of them turned in for Roose- velt instead of for Norman Thomas, the Socialist party nominee. * X X X ‘Who is to head the Republican party? Landon, as the party’s most recent choice for President, is the titular leader. He is out of public office. Whether he will wish to continue actively in politics now is still a matter to be determined. Had Bricker, the Republican candidate conceded by many Democrats, was swept away in the Roosevelt tide and Gov. Tiny green leaves are coming up in the grass and flower beds. They are the grape hyacinth, one of thab'mllen of the Spring-flowering bulbs. * ‘They will stay green all Winter, giving an added touch of interest to the land- scape. Provided, of course, one knows how to look for them. There are many things in the Fall garden which must be sought if they are to contribute to the merriment of the season. Few things throw themselves at the observer, from now on, until the spare kling snow does so, if it does, And it prob- ably will, if one may judge from the past three Winters. The Autumn garden contains much of interest for the person who deliberately goes in search of it. * *x % % ‘These fine leaves of the tiny grape hyacinth are good examples. Usually they are planted in borders, or in the grass at the edge of borders. Often they spread in the ground, if planted in a flower bed, and tend to come up in the grass. It is not until mowing the lawn fis stopped that they are able to send up their delicate green shoots. The marvelous thing is that they will stay green all Winter, even in the most severe days. ‘Then, along toward April, they will produce the delicately blue flowers which are the delight of some. Not all flower lovers prefer such small creations of mighty nature. It takes a certain dis- position to like them. * ok k¥ Life in the garden will be more inter- esting to the person who knows the grape hyacinth and likes it. There are many other things, however, which need to be kept in mind at this season. Among these are the iris and the peony. It is well to cut back the iris leaves, almost any time now. and clear away any litter which coliects on the ground around the rhizomes. Piling a mulch of any sort over them is not wise, since it merely tends to give protection to the iris borer. That pest can do enough damage without any aid from the gardener. Iris rot, too, is helped by leaves or other material spread around. * % % ¥ As for peony leaves, there is no need to remove them until they die down com- Ppletely. Occasionally one sees or hears the ad- vice that the foliage should be cut down early in Fall, whether damaged by frost or not. Positively this is misleading advice. The peony needs its tops as long as it can have them, to grow and to keep the roots in good shape for next Spring. Then, too, there is no need to deprive the garden of the beauty of the peony bush until one has to. Often they stay in perfectly good shape until very late in the season. Few plants are more interesting in their habits of growth. Sending up a red shoot in early Spring, they grow rap- idly, and by Memorial day are in bloom, surrounded by tall canes and beautiful and luxuriant foliage. From blooming time on they make leafy bushes, of fine compact shape and good color. Often they are used as hedges, with much success. It is a fact that many city-reared per- sons do not know peony bushes when they see them without the flowers, so luxuriant and thick they seem to the eye, putting them in a class with the woody shrubs. STARS, MEN ‘They are not woody shrubs, however, in any sense, but are in the class of true herbs, with soft stems which die back to the ground each season. In the old days of grandmother’s gar- den it was the custom .to leave .the “pinies” alone, so that in time they be- came huge bushes, perhaps six feet tall and 10 feet through. Perhaps we all could have peony bushes as large again if we let them alone. This would include refraining from cutting the tops until nature finished them. Even then the tops may be left. Some growers insist that the peony root is bet- ter for the protection which the dead branches and leaves give, and permit these to remain all Winter. Day lilies do better for cutting the tops after frost kills them. * % X % A scheme of planting annuals, advo- cated by some, may be tried. It consists of sowing poppy seed in the iris bed. this Fall. It will lie dormant all Winter, and come up early in the Spring and bloom about the time of the iris flowers. This is said to make a fine combina- tion and it would be well worth trying, much better than putting poppy seed on rolls, where they have all of the appear- ance of so many insects to the imagina- tive. The use of seeds for such purpose al- ways strikes a gardener as worse than waste. The taste they contribute is pure- ly secondary, whereas the flowers they might send into the world, even if simply broadcast along country roads, would bring beauty into the lives of thousands, provided, of course, that there are any people left who so look for beauty. Oc- casionally one is pessimistic and willing to believe that no one cares any more, but that idea, too, is as old as the hills, and no doubt a better one is that no beauty is wasted, that some of it strikes a responsive chord somewhere and some- how. * ok * % It might be practical to sow a great many seeds of annual flowers at this time. The scheme would fall down with the proverbial bang, of course. if the weather should stay so warm that the seeds would sprout. Once they got above the ground nip~ ping winds and zero temperatures would kill them, and with them the seed. There is not much chance of this hap- pening, however, if the seeding is de- layed. Fall-planted seeds of annuals would get a fine start in the Spring and be pro- ducing pretty little plants long before Spring-planted seeds could get started. It is worth keeping in mind. Perhaps most gardeners have seed packets which they did not use up entirely. Their con- tents, sprinkled over borders. and then raked in good. might as well be tried that ‘way, as thrown in the trash, as they final- ly are in most cases. It would be just as well, in such experi- mental plantings, to put the seeds deeper than the directions on the packets call for. This would make sure that they would not come into the air long before time. All such plantings should be delayed until cold weather seems to have set in for good. There should be more such experi- ments in the home garden. Most ama- teurs become obsessed with the desire. for success, and permit failure to take all the fun out of their gardening. An in- terest in experimenting. and also in tiny plants, such as the grape hyacinth, will do much to put more happiness into an occupation which should be, success or failure, all happiness, AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Behavior repeats in its progress be- fore birth the progress of animal life from the beginning. At the point where the earliest activity appears in the unborn mammal, it seems to be passing through the sponge stage of evolution, before the appearance of the sensory nervous system. Evidence to this effect was presented before the So- clety for Research in Child Development meeting at the National Research Coun- cil by Dr. A. W. Angulo of the Wistar Institute of Philadelphia. One of the most unanswerable argu- ments for evolution for many years has been the philogenetic recapitulation of the embryo. It is an undisputed fact that every animal, including man, be- fore birth passes through in order the embryonic stages of the principal crea- tures lower in the evolutionary stage, so far as physical development is concerned. That is, a human being before birth passes through a stage which is clearly akin to an embryonic fish and very shortly before birth has a body covered with hair like the embryo of one of the lower mammals. This recapitulation, the research re- sults presented today show, now can be shown for embryonic behavior from the earliest movements to the relatively highly advanced reactions of the baby at the time of birth. Dr. Angelo’s find- ings were made with unborn rats, but it is certain that they apply also to human beings which differ far less from rodents, their fellow mammals, than the rodents themselves differ from reptiles or am- phibians. Actually, it was stressed in the papers, the unborn mammal actually never looks like a fish or a toad nor behaves embryonic behavior and the nervous sys- tem structure of his rats. ‘There are, he pointed out in explain- practical purposes they are indistinguish- able and both enter into every observable bit of action. That is, there is move- has been a valuable Senator. His first service in the Upper House came during ment or thought only as a response to a sensory stimulus which has been passed on to the motor nerves. But in the de- velopment of animal life and in the em- bryonic history of the individual, Dr. Angulo pointed out in explaining his paper, the two develop along separate paths for a time and the motor nerve system precedes the individual. In the dissection of rats embryos at various early stages of development he found the basic system of motor nerves and their fibers fairly well developed be- fore the sensory system began to come into the picture. Then followed a con- siderable period before the two were integrated. When the integration starts for a long time in the life of the unborn rat the body upon any stimulus moves as a whole. If the trunk moves the head and limbs also must move because the sen- sory system is not ready for its job of selecting stimuli and transmitting them only to the motor nerves of the appro- priate organs. This is about the stage philogenetically of the sponge, he pointed out, and the rat embryo might be considered as passing through a spone stage of exist- ence. The sponge really is an animal, although in the past often supposed to be a plant. It might be considered as a very loosely integrated mob of separate cells, joined together. It has no head and, of course, nothing even remotely approaching a brain. It has, however, the beginnings of a motor nervous sys- tem, developed solely to preserve the integrity of the cell mob. It is a world in itself, and for it there éxists no other world. It can only act as a whole. Without sight, hearing, feeling or any other sensory attribute, it cannot pos- sibly adjust itself to anything outside of itself. The same is largely true of the coelenterates, such as the coral polyp, which répresents the next step in animal evolution—although some of the more advanced species, such as the dreaded Portuguese man-of-war of the Indian Ocean, seem to have the begin- nings of a sensory system and a “head end.” Once the sponge or coelenterate stage of the rat embryo is passed, Dr. Angulo explained, there slowly develops the ability to make specific movements of different organs as the sensory nervous y is _able to send the outside world in which it soon must take its place. By the time it-is born it is able to move specifically in response to a specific stimulus—and this ability develops still further during its brief infancy. Other 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. How much has the ratio of college students to population increased in the United States since 1890?—T. B. A. In 1890 there were about 85000 college students, and in 1032 there wers about 990,000. In 1830 this amounted to 1 in every 741 of the population, while in 1932 it was 1 out of every 125 of the population. Q. What is prexiglas?—W. N. A. It is & new synthetic resin used in finishing certain musical instruments. Q. How many legal aid organizations are there in the United States?—H. T. A. There are 34 different organizations for the legal protection of wage earners and the poor. Over 300,000 clients are given advice at very small expense. Q. How many extra players are there on the list of the Central Casting Bureau in Hollywood?—G. B. A. There are about 25000. Extras make a very uncertain livelihood, only about 1,500 averaging more than $40 a month. Q. What are the duties of the Under- secretary of State in Washington?— H W. A. The Undersecretary of State is the principal assistant of the Secretary of State in the discharge of his various functions, aiding in the formulation and execution of the foreign policies of the Government, in the reception of repree sentatives of foreign governments, etc. In matters which do not require the personal attention of the Secretary of State he acts for him and in his absence becomes Acting Secretary of State. He is also charged with the general direction of the work of the Department of State and of the Foreign Service. Q. How much domestic wine was used in this country last year?—H. F. 8. A. The 1935 consumption of domestie wine amounted to 45,000,000 gallons. Q. What firm originated the idea of selling on the installment plan?—E. K. G. A. Imported from Paris more than a century ago, the time-payment idea was first used in the United States by the old New York housefurnishing firm of Cowperthwait & Sons. Q. Who was Jamshyd?—D. H. A. In Persian mythology he was the king of the peris. In punishment for his boast of immortality, he was com- pelled to assume human form and dwell on earth, where he became a mighty King of Persia. He was supposed to have reigned for 700 years, of which 300 wers happy and beneficent. Q. Where is P. G. Wodehouse now living?—S. W. C. A. Mr. Wodehouse is at present in Hollywood. Q. What State has the most hunters in proportion to its area?—W. P. A. Bird-Lore published tables which show that New Jersey leads with 14.2 sportsmen to the square mile. Reckoning hunters to population shows a different picture, with one sportsman to about six people in Montana and Idaho. Q: Do dogs howl because t! music?—H. B. A. Howling at music is not uncom- mon in certain dogs of all breeds. It does not appear to be caused by distaste for music, because the animal usually sits close to the performer instead of running away. It is probably a reflex condition produced by the effect of certain notes, chords, or keys on the emotions of the animals. hey dislike Q. Do many workers cdntract silicosis? -M. F. J. A. Out of every 100 men who apply for work as sand-blasters in the United States Navy, 75 are affiicted with silicosis in various stages. Q. How were the Farm Journal and Grass Roots polls conducted and what were the results?>—R. M. A. The Farm Journal made a house- to-house canvas of farmers in 30 States in late September and early October. Of the major party vote of 111,869, Landon received 57 per cent. The Grass Roots poll was conducted in September and early October by 3,000 country newspapers, ballots being clipped from the papers. Prom 39 States 919.441 votes were returned. Landon got 60.5 per cent of those given the major parties, Q. What has become of Al Capone's home at Miami Beach?—F. R. L. A. The Florida home is the property of his wife, Mrs. Mae Capone. It is to be auctioned by the Government to satisfy a $51,498 tax lien, Q. What did the winner of the Puturs ity receive in money?—T. G. V. A. Pompoon, winner of the 1936 Futur- ity, earned $56,790 for his owner, Jerry Louchheim of Philadelphia. This brought Pompoon’s earnings for the season up to $78,420, A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton The River’s Monotone, From its source to its harbor in the ses The river intones a low threnody; A chant of desperate ones who seek Peace in its waters, the faint, the weak; Chant of the troubled, who by its side Forever and ever would abide; Chant of the thinker, who for mankind In blue depths would ease of the muddle find. 8o the river flows, by cross-currents swirled, Chanting the sorrows of all the world. the fundamental element is the reflex— ‘or automatic movement in response to a specific stimulus. Out of these reflexes, this school maintains, a total pattern of bodily behavior is built up which before birth again is split up into more precise movements. The other school, to which Dr. Angulo’s work seems to give supe port, holds that the total bodily movi ment comes first and out of it a differentiated the specific movements necessarily for the individual in coping with the outside world. ‘The distinction between the motor and sensory nervous system maintains itself even in adult life, Dr. Angulo said, as is evidenced by the reflexes obtained from a dog whose spinal cord has been severed from the brain. In this case there is no intervention of the sensory nerve fibers to direct the movement. &