Evening Star Newspaper, December 29, 1936, Page 8

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-— THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON. D. C. TUESDAY ..___.___.._ December 29, 1936 prbis—————————— THEODORE W. NOYES .... Editor Pt —————— The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 11th 8t. and Pennsylvania Ave New York Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chicago Office: 4335 North Michigan Ave. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Regular Edition, e Evening Star oo o - --d0C per month e Evening_and Suiday Star (when 4 Suncays)-.- -60c per month e Evenin'_and Su T Ren s Bihdays) 3¢ per month The Sunday Star- 5¢ per copy Night Final Edition. Night Final and Sunday Star. Oc per month Night Final Star __ S 5c per month Collection made at the en each month Orders may he sent by mail or telcphone Na- tional 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, ily only fin&u only’ All Other States and Canada. ily and Sunduy.. 00: 1 mo.. $1 aily only. .. 005 1 m junday oniy mo., dbe 1 mo., 50c 1 mo.. 40¢ 1yr. $ 00 1 yr » ibe £5.00; 1 mo., bU¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated 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 All rights of publication of special dispalches herein are also reserved War Quarantine. A new conception of neutrality—more particularly new if it is written into law —is advanced by Senator Vandenberg of Michigan, a member of the Foreign Rela- tions Committee. It is that trade, the rights of individual Americans, be sub- ordinated to the interest of the Nation in keeping out of foreign wars. As the Michigan Senator admits, “the new con- ception may be tough on our cash reg- fsters.” He hastens to add, however, that “it will be far easier on our sons.” It is the purpose of the neutrality act which is expected at the hands of the new Congress to keep the United States from being involved in wars which de- velop between other countries. Senator ‘Vandenberg's conception of such an act is, to put it mildly, vastly different from the attitude of this country in the past. It has been the demand of the United States that its citizens be permitted to trade as they desired with belligerent nations, although admitting the desig- nation of and enforcement against “con- traband of war.” It has been the de- mand of the United States that its citi- zens be permitted to travel in safely as they see fit on the seven seas during a foreign war. It was such demand, at least in part, which brought the country into the World War. ‘The price which the country may have to pay for the kind of neutrality de- sired by Senator Vandenberg will be re- garded by some as & very great price. There will be no more fat war contracts, such as brought hundreds of millions of dollars to American manufacturers—and to American farmers—during the early years of the World War. It may mean a serious curtailment of American foreign trade, with consequent unemployment in this country. It is a question, however, whether such losses in trade and em- ployment might not be far less than the losses to Americans if the country became involved in a new war because ft insisted upon this right of trade with belligerent nations. Senator Vandenberg would ban by strict law all loans and credits and the fhipment of munitions to warring na- tions. He would leave nothing to the discretion of the President, nothing to be determined after war has started. He would have the rules of the game firmly established before the game began. Then all the world would be on notice what to expect from the United States in the event of foreign conflict. 1t is not that he distrusts the present or eny future President. It is his theory that the use of “discretion,” after hostili- ties begin, would constitute in all prob- ®bility an unneutral act. In his effort to raise a “quarantine azainst war,” the Michigan Senator also would make it illegal for American citi- zens to travel on the ships of belligerent nations. The right of Americans so to travel has been maintained in the past. But here again, Vandenberg insists, such rights must give place to the interests of the whole country and the American people in the avoidance of entanglement in foreign wars. If the Vandenberg conception of neu- trality could be adopted by the other nations, the danger of world wars would be greatly lessened. But as he says, conditions abroad today make its pres- ent adoption too difficult. The United States, he insists, could well take the first step. ———— Extension of credit has been one of the features of holiday bargaining. One of the problems of the world at present 1s how to be happy though in debt. Communists hope to interfere in Ma- drid’s affairs on the theory that nothing could be worse than the present situa- tion. Through the Loophole. Since the outbreak of civil war in Bpain the State Department has been gratified over the fact that manufac- turers in the United States have refused to take advantage of an obvious loophole in the neutrality law to ship arms and ammunition or other war material to the combatants. The loophole is represented in the law’s failure to include civil war in its provisions for a presidential proela- mation of embargoes. The licensing section of the law re- quires that an exporter of war muni- tions apply to the arms and munitions control division of the State Department for a license before such shipments are made, but there is no authority under the law to withhold a license—unless the President has proclaimed an embargo. Now, on the eve of a session of Con- gress that will witness prolonged discus- sion of neutrality legislation, an exporter has apparently determined to go through with a deal for the sale of second-hand airplanes and airplane motors to the loyalist forces in Spain—regardless of the manifest embarrassment to the cause of American neutrality wifith such s deal may provoke. The State Department's appeals, on the ground of patriotism, to other prospective shippers of arms and munitions have in this case appar- ently fallen on deaf ears. The incident may inspire an imme- diate attempt by Congress to tighten the existing neutrality law. And in the meantime, the name of Robert Cuse, the exporter who is standing on his rights as an individual without regard to the neutral position of his country, may at- tain historical significance. T No Chaco Peace. Only one cloud shadowed the *“good neighbor” atmosphere which pervaded the recent Inter-American Conference— the continuation of a formal, though not actual, state of war between Bolivia and Paraguay. Hostilities ceased in June, 1935, but all efforts, including prolonged mediation negotiations by Argentina, Brazil, Cbile, Peru, Uruguay and the United States, to creale definite peace conditions were doomed to failure. The neutral states had hoped that amid the fraternal spirit of Buenos Aires the Bolivians and Paraguayans could be per- suaded to terminate the state of diplo- matic warfare which has persisted ever since their respective forces stacked arms and thus finally wipe the Chaco conflict from the record. So the conclave of the sister Americas has unfortunately passed into history, leaving the bloodiest conflict in Latin American annals as untinished business, Foreign Minister Finot of Bolivia and Foreign Minister Stefunici of Paraguay parted company after exchanging friend- 1y compliments and acknowledgements of their inability to reconcile divergent viewpoints. An observer who had access to their discussions narrates that each of them politely, but firmly and invariably, wound up conversations with the re- mark: “But Chaco belongs to us!"” Happily there seems no probability that the two nations will return to the | battlefield to settle outstanding differ- ences, but as long as these remain un- reconciled, there is always the danger that some development, perhaps of ir- responsible origin, will again plunge Bolivia and Paraguay into renewal of strife that bled each of them nearly white. The Paraguayan foreign minister is understood to have held out firmly for renewed diplomatic relations as a con- dition precedent to further discussion. He is also reported to have demanded certain Bolivian guarantees against re- onening of hostilities. A mediation com- mittee of three neutral states drew up a peace formula which it was hoped would appeal to both parties, It pro- vided for cession of a port on the Upper Paraguay River to Bolivia by Paraguay; for a cash payment to Paraguay by Bolivia, and for fixation of a Chaco boundary line through Bolivia. Apparently the final breakdown came not so much over a settlement along these lines, but on the question whether Bolivia and Paraguay should first shake hands diplomatically and then talk peace terms. This point of punctilio seems an inconsequential rock on which to let so vital an issue go to smash, but the situa- tion is comprehensible when it is re- called how deeply Bolivian-Paraguayan passions were stirred by their protracted war. Despite the discouraging final out- come of peace efforts, it must be ex- pected that their sister American re- publics will not abandon the attempt to induce Bolivia and Paraguay to bury the hatchet. The inter-American horizon will not be quite clear until Chaco is an entirely closed incident. —————— Recapture of colonies is a lingering aspiration among nations. Colonies re- main inclined to regard themselves as paramount considerations in any inter- national mix-up, ——————— Religion is beginning to question whether St. Peter will accept as creden- tials complimentary epitaphs on ornate tombstones. ———— Latest News From Troy. It is hard to say when ancient Troy first became newsworthy. All that can be said with certainty is that no other city ever has been more durably famous. Some of the most generously gifted of reporters have lent their genius to the advertisement of the settlement, founded by Priam and destroyed by the Achaeans under Agamemnon. Blind Homer was its greatest interpreter, but his “Iliad” and “Odyssey” inspired such celebrated followers as the best poets of the Middle Ages, Shakespeare, George Chapman, Alexander Pope, Edgar Allan Poe, William Cullen Bryant, Samuel Butier, Maurice Hewlett, William Cow- per, William Morris, George Herbert Palmer and Andrew Lang. The first’ book printed in English was Caxton's translation of Raoul Lefevre’s “Recuyell.” Even in the literature of Iceland there is a “Trojumanna Saga.” But it was only within the memory of living men that any one bothered to “check up” the legend of the classic struggle of antiquity. Heinrich Schlie- mann, a penniless German boy who made a fortune in the grocery business in America, believed the tale as he had heard it told. Beginning in 1856 he applied his mind to the problem as that of a riddle amenable to practical answer. In 1870 he proved the accuracy of his theory by unearthing the uppermost stratum of ‘a series of ruins at Hissarlik, long traditionally regarded as the site of the lost metropolis. By the date of his death in 1890 he had uncovered at least seven “tiers” of relics of civilized life in the neighborhood, the artifacts ot seven different communities superim- posed upon each other. The work was carried on by Professor Wilhelm Doerp- feld, who supposed that the sixth layer was the Troy of Homer’s narrative. Now Dr, Carl W. Blegen of the University of Cincinnati is in charge of operations, and his most recent report indicates that the fleld is far from exhausted. Of course, it is doubtful that conclusive evidence ever will be discovered fo in- validate the romance in un- challenged detail. Fair Helen and en- raptured Paris flourished four or five milleniums ago, and their personal be- longings probably were consumed in the bonfire lit by the occupants of the wooden horse. But what difference? Their tragi-comedy is immortal in the inheritance of generations without end. Indeed, something so very like it has happened recently as to endow it with a revived interest for the lovers of both today and tomorrow. Meanwhile, any enterprise that serves to relate contem- porary civilization with its sources stands in need of little excuse or apology. The latest news from Troy is of a piece with the most remote. It represents conti- nuity—the richest and by all odds the grandest fact of which the human spirit can conceive. ————————— The mechanical horse used by Calvin Coolidge was brought out of the attic for festive purposes. The suggestion went only a litlle way back in conserva- tive tradition., There was no buggy at- tached to it. r————— “Names make news” is another of those misfit proverbs. As a matter of simple fact names are made by the news. How- ever, there is always charm in an aphor- ism even if it is wrong. s Pennsylvania as a Democratic State is expected to participate in ascertaining facts pertaining to political iniquity, but not to the extent of becoming known as “the Keyhole State.” ———r——————— Thrones are being discussed as if they were antique furniture which may even- tually be picked up in the bargain mart by any opulent and discriminating collector. D Especial honor has always been shown to the Secretary of State. Many an opinion awaits decision until it can be learned what Secretary Cordell Hull thinks about it. = R Conduct of airplanes in war is a matter of conjecture. The area of brain space in any flying machine is very small in comparison with its total volume, —————r—————— A disporition is asserted among nations tc let the Spanish forces imitate the Kilkenny cats who fought it out until there wasn't any left of either. ———r—e——— Two great questions are daily pro- pounded: What is your favorite automo- bile and which is your choice of hos- pitals? = v Pope Pius has been fighting for his life and at the same time for principles that he values more highly than lfe itself. — e Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Responsibilities Disclaimed. I shall not turn A New Year page. No more I'll yearn With moral rage My ways to heed That do not suit. I have no need To resolute. The laws, you see, Are now up to date, Our habits free To regulate. Gambling bold Gets many a call And so does Old King Alcohol. The taxes break My greed for wealth And fool laws make Secure my health. Since laws discern And cure each grief, ‘What need to turn A New Year Leaf? Drawing the Distinction. “You are an orator,” said Senator Sorghum, “but you're no politician.” “What's the difference?” “An orator uses figures of speech, but when a politician uses figures he puts a dollar mark in front of 'em.” “To love the sound of your own voice,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is permissible if you are sure of the wisdom of what you have trained it to speak.” Bereft. ©Oh, father’s face is gloomy now As he beholds the toys Which chased the wrinkles from his brow Amid the Christmas joys. The Noah’s ark has gone to smash; The locomotive's broke; The jumping-jack, so blithely rash, Has had a fatal stroke. The mills and trolley cars that ran At such a jolly pace No more pursue their merry plan As laughter fills the place. The children do not seem to care, But father’s far from gay To see the toys all shattered there With whichi he liked to play. Perils. “Does that play tend to remind you of the dangers of a great city?” “In my opinion,” replied the uncom- promising critic, “it goes further. It's one of ‘em.” A man makes fun of the cigars his wife buys. Yet many a woman suffers in silence while a man smokes the cigars he bought himself. Recreant. Old Santa Claus effaced each frewn From all the faces that he knew, But cautiously forsook the town Before the various bills come due. “Don’ get indignant wif de man dat refuses to give you credit at de store,” said Uncle Eben. “Maybe hell be de means of savin’ you some worry in de future.” * Army Court-Martial System Needs to Be Renovated To the Editor of The Star: Many readers of The Star were no doubt interested in the account of the suit of Capt, Oberlin M. Carter to compel his restoration to the Army, from which he was dismissed by court martial many years ago. Irrespective of the merits of Capt, Carter’s case, one can but admire his singie-handed battle to clear his good name, and it is & matter of deep regret that legal technicality should operate to prevent a full exposition of the issue, To one unacquainted with the Army and with Army methods, it looks bad to :ay that such an officer has been tried by court martial and dismissed from the Army, but far oftener an Army couxt martial conviction means a framed conviction rather than guilt. I say this on 10 years’ Army service and many years of observation of the ‘practical workings” of the Army court martial system. If T am detailed as member of a court martial, or called as a witness, I had better function and testify in the case as “higher authority” wills, or else. All officers know this, and they act in accordance from self-preservation mo- tives, It takes a man of real courage and a glutton for punishment to buck the Army system, even if he be 100 per cent right, A military court, acting upon matters within its lawful jurisdiction, cannot have its sentence and proceedings re- viewed by a civil court, and it was upon this technicality that Justice Cox of tne Districi Couit dismissed Capt. Carter’s suit. A civilian can appeal right on up to the Supreme Court for justice, but au citizen in the clutches of the military oligarchy has no appeal unless he has plenty of money to pay high-priced law- yers and, further, unless the Army has been flagrant in its high-hanaed viola- tion of Army rules and regulations for “trial” of the accursed. In short, I agree with Capt. Carter that the Army court martial system 1is un-American, and in flagrant defiance of the inherent Anglo-Saxon demand fot justice, It should be radically renovated J. B. H. WARING, U. S. A, Retired. r——- Systematic Co-Ordination in Traffic Control Needed To the Editor of The Star: In complimenting Josephine M. Wood's letter in The Star of December 18. rela- tive to traffic conditions, may a Mont- gomery Countyite make a further ob- servation? It seems to me the whole troubie comes from an almost entire lack of | systematic co-ordination between two totally different types of traflic; nameiy, vehicular and pedestrian. Under existing regulations the rights of each type more or less overlap. The wonder is there are not many more losses of life and limb. Now. here is a suggestion which, it put 1nto effect conscientiously by every- body. I believe would almost entirely eliminate the danger from the clashing of the two traffic types: Let the pedestrians cross only on the amber light. Borrow 10 seconds from the green time, 10 from the red and add 5 seconas to the whole cycle. This would give the amber light approxi- mately 30 seconds, which would provide ample time for pedestrians to negotiate | an average crossing safely. The last 10 | seconds of the amber time should be intermittent, as a warning signal. (This same warning would be decidedly ad- vantageous for the other lights as well. Then, if some thoughtless pedestrian ambles out on the street after the amber i t will be his own fault elf in an ambulance. And, of course. the motorist must do mis | part strictly when the amber light con- fronts him. SAMUEL P. THOMAS. e Criminal Practice That Increases Fire Hazard ‘To the Editor of The Star: I wish to call your attention to a con- dition in Washington which I believe in- creases our fire hazard. It has been brought to my attention through hearing the story of a younyg woman whose two brothers have been forced to come to Washington througi loss of income at home. The two boys had been making a good living stealing fire extinguishers and selling them to junk dealers. A recently enacted local ordinance in their own town. forbade the purchase of second- hand extinguishers unless the seller pro- duced a note trom the police precinct captain. Much against their will, the young men have been forced to come to the Capital or be driven into the ranks of the unemployed. I believe that the new arrivals have done very well here, Three extinguishers were stolen from one building last week. I have heard of similar depredations ail over town. The apartment houses are the field of operations. I have been told that nearly all the second-hand fire extinguishers offered to junk dealers have been stolen by those who bring them in. Something can be said for the mainte- nance of existing conditions, but not very much. ALVIN G. DETWEILER. High Praise Accorded Star’s Christmas Editorials To the Editor of The Star: Your two Christmas editorials, those for 1935 and 1936, deserve the warmest appreciation. How Dickens would have loved them! Every lover of Christmas —the true Christmas—is richer for them, and who can doubt that the Christ of Christmas would have approved, and does approve, them! Few surviving sermons have ever con- tained so much loving and livable truth, and few poems have been so rich with unfading beauty. The press and plat- form, pulpit and pew, shut-in and pass- erby, radio and bystander might read and reread them between Christmas sea- sons with ever-increasing profit. They are worthy an honorable place in any one's scrap book and might, with all the proprieties of true reverence, be placed at the end of the second chapter of Luke'’s gospel as 1935 and 1936 post- scripts. Blessed is and blessed be the Christ- mas pen that wrote so winsomely of the soul’s Christmas. J. B. CLAYTON. French Husbands. Prom the South Bend Tribune, Each husband in France is the boss in his home by virtue of a forma. vote of the French Senate. If Frenchmen are capable of bossing their own homes, why did the French Senate have to vote on it? Preparedness. From the Goshen News-Democrat. How are you going to get the better of the British Empire, which always has another King up its sleeve? Belligerent Santas. Prom the Toledo Blade. . Two Santa Clauses in Detroit came little V! A b near nps‘:u:u lrunhsa,tli& y THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ‘The mother cardinal is one of the most interesting as well ‘as most beautiful birds to visit the Winter feeding station. While acclaim has long heralded her husband, on account of his bright color- ing, and bold and defiant outlook upon & hostile world, the female of the species ga.:’ gone right along being a mighty fine ird. Many a bird lover, if he or she had to make a choice between the two, would take the female as altogether the pret- tiest and most interesting, especially on the tray of a feeding device. There her manner of eating sets her apart from almost all the other birds. The male cardinal seldom takes a perch on the ledge of the feeder; he pre- fers the ground beneath, even during those early morning and late afternoon periods when he and his mate have the station all to themselves. * ¥ % % This is one pecullarily of these popular birds. They never frequent feeders all day long as do the English sparrows. Their eating, during the day, is mostly confined to the berries and other natural foods they can secure in the woods, or even in suburban communities where there are many shrubs and hedges. They like, however, a breakfast and supper, and show up with amazing regu- larity for these meals. Many a household could set its clock by the morning visit of the cardinal | family. The female, in particular, is-a real natural chronometer. She appears on the feeder ledge at precisely 7am. these mornings. A while ago it was 7:10 o'clock. From now on she will come earlier and earlier. She is, with the possible exception of one sparrow, the very first bird to appear. In the evening she shows up very promptly, about 4 o'clock. Often she re- mains, with brief intermissions, until 3 o’'clock. This period belongs to the cardinals. It is their hour, and how they love it! * % Xk X Especially the female. A true woman, in every sense of the word, the mother cardinal loves her food. She sits so daintily on the edge of the feeder tray. selecting sunflower seeds from tlre others. She turns her head, from time to time, as if to show that she is a real lady, not juse bent on stuffing herself with food, as those greedy sparrows do. There is no hurry about her, She takes her time. If any other bird | were present, she might be thought to be | talking things over. | But even her friend and pal, Old Man Cardinal, is seldom around at the time she eats, except he may be on the ground, busily lookinz over the seeds and grains the sparrows scattered with lavish claws all day long. It must be remembered that these members of the bird chorus have all de- parted by 4 pm. This seems to be something new this season. Last year most of them remained at the feeders until near 5 p.m., but this season they practically all depart by 4 o'clock. Per- | haps they have other feeders located on their way to their roosting places and prefer to sample them en route. * * X x Newcomers to bird feeding must be careful not to confuse a young last sea- STARS, MEN son’s male with a mature mothur cardi- nal. The two really do not look much alike, yet the lack of vivid cardinal red ip the young males i likely to cause confusion. By their crest you shall know them. The female does not have an all- red crest, and il is not as tall. Nor does she possess the gorgeous ruff of black which glves the mature male such a really villainous expression. ‘There is nothing bright or vivid about the female. Ske is a study in pastel colorings, the brightest note being the smaller crest with flecks of red in it. Her wings are greenish, something like those of a very subdued parrot, streaked with faint tinges of crimson. ‘There is one very handsome specimen which comes to our nearest feeder. She has touches of cobalt blue in her wings! Since we have never seen a female cardi- nal granted this coloration in any of the many colored illustrations of her, or n uny of the descriptions, we hesitate to believe our eyes, but there she is, every evening, just before dusk. * X ¥ % The female of the species is a mighty fine bird, sedate, but. not too sedate. Her actions and appearance are those of a perfect lady, or should we say gentle- woman? It is this air about her which dis- tinguishes her as much as her pastel colors, so soft and becoming. Few birds have it. Yet Mrs. Cardinal has plenty of spirit. She is not a meek creature, despite her air of being wrapped in a Paisley shawl. This particular favorite will not permit a late sparrow to occupy the feeder with her. Yet how gracefully she chases it away! No mad fluttering of wings, as English spatrows inflict on each other all day long. When one of these smaller birds— usually there will be two or three left after the main band has flown away— attempts to enter her feeding station, the female cardinal looks it over care- fully as it perches across the platform. Then she daintily raises her wings and gives them one or two half flops, It is enough. More would be superfluous. The sparrow flies away, just as the cardinal expected it to do. If it dares to return it is given another dose of the same, which usually setties its presumption for the day. x *X x X A close-up view of the mother cardinal cracking seed in her wide-open bill is a sight for any bird lover. She opens her bill, holds her head elevated and saws back and forth for a time. Then she drops the husk over- board. In this praise of the female we would not be thought unappreciative of the more brilliantly colored male. He is, in truth, the brightest single note in the Winter garden, and a favorite everywhere. Practically every garden where feeding is carried on consistently will have at least two steady pairs, but more will come on snowy days. A dozen vivid males is nothing unusual on a bad Winter day. In the main, these birds are not as dependent on the human factor as most of the birds which Winter in this vicinity. Keep a sharp ear in the morning for the arrival of the female cardinal. She | makes a peculiar metallic sound, which is her perfect identification. AND ATOMS tebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS ATLANTIC CITY, December 28—An | electrical brain that corrects examina- tion papers and computes the students’ marks with uncanny speed and accuracy | was reported to the American Associa- tion for the Advancement of Science here | today by Dr. Ben D. Wood of Columbia University. ‘The mechanis| Dr. Wood said, actually “sens an error. It is based essentially on the fact that a lead pencil mark on paper will conduct a weak cur- rent of electyicity. It can correct and compute the score of a test containing as many as 375 questions instantly, every operation being simultaneous. It is essential that every question in the test be answered by making a pencil mark, according to a pre-arranged code, at a definite place on the test sheet. If the mark is made in one place the answer is correct, and if it is made in another | place the answer is wrong. Then a metallic plate with 750 sets of electrodes is laid upon the test sheet— one set of electrodes corresponding to every possible right or wrong answer. Whenever a pair of these electrodes rest upon a pencil mark an electrical circuit is closed and a weak current flows. Where there is no pencil mark the gap remains open. The machine knows the answer. Each electrode has been connected Wwith a master answer sheet punched so that it automatically divides the contact units into two groups—the rights and the wrongs. It splits the incoming electrical impulses into two circuits, one carrying the aggregate of currents from the cor- rect answers and the other carrying the aggregate from the wrong answers. Thus the strength of the currents set up by the right answers is an esact multiple of the single unit of current carried through a pencil mark, It is the same with the wrong answers. The balance of the two aggregate currents is the score. With another adjustment it is pos- sible to score papers with as many as four possibilities of wrong answers to one of the right answer. The great difficulty which had to be overcome in perfecting the device was to work out a method by which exactly the same current would be carried through a pencil mark, regard- less of how light or heavy it was made by the pupil. X The machine, it was pointed out by Dr. Wood, should prove ot great advan- tage in correcting the examination papers of large classes. It does away with a large amount of irksome labor and at the same time is far more accur- ate than the professor himself or his students could be. It also makes possible tests of large blocks of the population, such as all the high school children of & State. It is also of great promise for making up year grades for students which, under present rating systems, often is extzemely complicated. He cited this example: The term mark of a student must "be calculated from his marks on 10 weekly quizzes each with a weight of three, three monthly quizzes each weighted six, four themes each weighted 14, two sepcial theses each weighted 20, and two written examina- tions each rated 12. There are 100 stu- dents in the class. To make up the grades 21 two-digit numbers must be multiplied by weights varying from three to 20, the products added, and the sum divided by 168—and this must be re- peated 100 times. The machine per- forms. all these computations for each student almost instanta: s In its special, limiteck field it works very much like an brain. The R. HENRY. currents set up over the pencil marks can be compared to those set up when light falls on the retina. The punched master card to which they are trans- mitted takes the place of the brain's center of vision. The precisely weighted aggregate currents compare in turn to | the impulses sent out from this center to whatever cells of the brain are con- cerned with computations. The machine was invented for the | American Council on Edycation by R. B. Johnson of the International Business Machines Corp. The council has been trying to put in operation a standardized | test for high school graduates through- out the United States, but the labor of scoring the tests has been one of the | great obstacles. * K K % ATLANTIC CITY, December 28— | Effects of a psyche-splitting drug were reported to the psychological section of the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science here today by Dr. Edward Girden of Brooklyn College. ‘This drug is curare, wierd arrow poison of Indian tribes on the upper Amazon. It has a very limited use in medicine. The peculiar effect of a minute amount of this substance, it has been supposed, is to paralyze the motor nerves so that a victim is entirely conscious, but with- out the ability to make any voluntary motion. By means of it prisoners could be sub- jected to the most hoirible tortures without being able to give any indication of their sufferings. They were in a posi- tion comparable to that of a dead man aware of everything that was going on. Dr. Girden, however, was able to build up conditicned responses—that is, twitchings—in ligated leg muscles of dogs who had been treated with curare. A muscle so conditioned responded auto- matically to the sound of a bell. Once an animal had recovered from the effects of the curare this “conditioning” completely disappeared. Similarly conditioned re- sponses built. up in a normal animal entirely disappeared after it had been curarized. It is generally agreed by neurologists, Dr. Girden stressed, that conditioned responses are built up through the cere- bral cortex of the brain, which acts as a sort of central exchange between the motor and sensory elements of the ner- vous system. Thus, it appears from the experiments, the drug acts as a decor- ticating agent—much as if the top of a dog’s brain was cut off. Once the curare was injected the consciousness of the animal was transferred to a lower level of the brain. ——— e . Unlikely. From the Roanoke Times. No matter what changes in the scholastic requirements for foot ball players are made, we don't expect to live to see the day when Phi Beta Kappa keys are awarded for prowess on the gridiron —————————— Disproved. Prom the Philadeiphia Evening Bulletin, Capture of Brunette by the Hoover ‘men discounts the assumption that gentlemen prefer blonds. Gas-Proof Rooms. Prom the Bay City Times. British homes will have gasproof rooms as a safety measure. Isn't there danger of being hura‘h: the rush for them when father lights' pipe? | up between the coils. | by the pad and evaporated by the heat | of the radiator is replaced by water in ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC I.-HASA'IN. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact Wy writing The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. How many miles of ski trails are there at Lake Placia?—E. J. g A. Two hundred and fifty miles of ski trails radiate from tre lake. Q. If an employe continues to work after he is 65, does ke receive his pen- sion?—A. F. H. A. An employe who has reached the age of 65 will not receive any benefit pay- ments until he ceases to work. He will then receive his menthly retirement check regardless of property or other income which he may have. Q. How many archbshops are there in the Church of England?—N. H. A. There are two, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York. Each has jurisdiction in his own province and the Archbishop of Canterbury is, in addition, primate of &ll England. Q. How long have knives been used on the dining table?—H. W. A. This custom was estblished early in the sixteenth century. Q. How can proper humidity be main- tained in a room heated by a radiator? —J. A. K. A. The Public Health Service says that the relative humidity in buildings in Wintertime should be at least 50 per cent. The nearer it is to the tempera- ture of the room the more comfortable the room will be, but if the weather outside is very cold and the amount of moisture in the room is great, drops of water will collect on the windowpanes, | making it difficult to see through the windows. Moisture may be imparted to the air by means of a humidifier. This apparatus consists of a container which holds about a gallon of water and which has a trough at its lower portion. The trough extends lengthwise between the coils of the radiator. In the trough is placed a large felt pad which extends Water absorbed trough, which is kept filled by means of a float valve. Where there is suffi- cient moisture in the air, an indoor tem- perature of 62 degrees to 68 degrees F, will be found to be comfortable. How long were New York and Philadelphia the capital of the United States?—B. McL. A. New York City was the temporary Capital of the United States for one vear. Philadelphia was then the Capital for 10 years, from 1790 to 1800. Since then Washington has been the Capital. Q. What does U. S. P. mean on drugs? —B. D. S. A. Tt means United States Pharma- copoeia, a work containing a list of ac- cepted drugs and established standards for their purity, with directions for mak- ing preparations from them. The first edition of the U. S. P. was compiled in 1810 and has been revised every 10 years by a committee of physicians and phar- macists. It was made the legal standard by the National food and drug act. Janu- ary, 1907. The initials U. S. P. after the name of a drug mean that the drug conforms to the official standard. Q. Who was Anneke Jans' second hus- band?—M. V. R. A. Anneke Jans, a widow who owned 60 acres of land in the heart of New York City, married Everardus Bogardus in 1638. He was a minister in the Dutch Reformed Church in New Amsterdam, the second minister in the colony, Q. What Eastern college has scholar- ships for students named Murphy?—E. J. A. In 1916 William Stanislaus Murphy, A. B, 85, donated to Harvard Univere sity annual scholarships for the cole legiate education of men named Murphy. The awards go only to students of high scholastic standing. Q. What proportion of the vehicles in accidents are commercial cars?—E. F. A. According to one survey, Approxi- mately 13 per cent of the vehicles in accidents are commercial cars; 18.1 per cent in fatal accidents are commercial cars. Q. Of what does the Roman Curia consist?>—H. T. A. The Roman Curia is composed of tribunals and various offices. The trie bunals are (1) the sacred penitentiary which deals only with cases of con- science; (2) the sacred Roman Rota which deals with contentions and cases, civil as well as criminal, requiring judicial procedure with trial and proof: (3) the Supreme Tribunal of Apostolic Signatura which acts as a court of appeal. Q. Please give a biography bf Margo who is playing in “Winterset."—H. F. A. Margarita Bolado was born in Mexico City on May 10, 1917, the daugh- ter of a Spanish surgeon. The young actress lived in New York and in Cali- fornia, and at 11 made her stage debut in a stock company playing in Los An- geles. At 12 she staged the dances for the movie production of “In Gay Mas= drid.” She was instructed in dancing by Michito Ito, Fokine and Eduardo and Elisa Cansino. While she was dancing at Agua Caliente the manager of the ‘Waldorf-Astoria Starlight Roof saw her and engaged her for a New York per- formance. Subsequently Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur gave her the role which made her famous in “Crime With= out Passion.” Q. What is the purpose of the Judge Baker Guidance Center?—E. G. A. The organization conducts scientific investigation and treatment of persone ality, conduct and educational problems of childhood and youth. Co-operative therapeutic work is carried on with agencies and it also directs therapeutic work with individuals and families. R ] A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton Starry Eyes, The day is done, Curious, in the night, Come, one by one. The star-eyes, keen and bright. A bold wind tries Their earthward gaze to shroud, Across the skies Blowing a filmy cloud. But, twinkling, gay, The star-eyes only blink; Clouds drift away Before their merry wink. And, thousand-eyed, They gaze down on the earth, N each tide.

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