Evening Star Newspaper, January 23, 1937, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SATURDAY._ _January 23, 1937 THEODORE V7. NOYES e e D R e 3 The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 11tn St. and Pennsylvania Ave. k Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chiekso Omice. 435 North Michigan Ave. Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition, ™ d Sunday Star ¢ EVening Ang, o er month or 15¢ per week The EAening SUL or month or 10¢ per week ‘The Su 'day Star. 5¢ per copy Night Final Edition. - 1 and Sunday St 70c per mon! ench week.~ Orders may be sent by mail oF tele- phone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, = 1] da. » $10.00; 1 mo., c iy anty Sun oo ®36:00; 1 mo. boc Siinday only=" : : All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday.. % 1 mo., $1.00 Daily only._. q 78¢c Sunday oniy 80¢ 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 AL rights of publication of special dispatches erein are also reserved. Washington’s Growth. When Topsy, in the story of “Uncle Tom's Cabin,” was admonished by little Eva's aunt that she was a creation of the Divinity, she said: “I 'spect I growed; don't think nobody never made me.” The belated but happily earnest and seemingly determined proposition for the construction in Washington of a great national auditorium, inspired by the cir- cumstances of the inauguration cere- monies on Wednesday, illustrates the manner in which the National Capital has “just growed” in the course of its more than a century and a third of existence. In its history as a seat of government, Washington has followed a distressing, costly and altogether undignified course of development, not the fault of its citizenry, which has been impotent and helpless, but as a result of tardy and often confused planning by the Govern- ment. As far as the ground plan was concerned, the Capital was well started. A diagram was prepared and adopted, known as the L'Enfant plan. In the main that has been followed. A start was made in construction, with the Capi- tol at one focal point, the White House ut‘\nothen From that beginning, how- ever, the Capital “just growed,” some- times in accord with the plan, again without regard to it. The strictly urban section was laid out in conformity, but the suburbs sprawled at variant angles, with the result that when in time the urban area became crowded and the suburbs were annexed costly and in some cases distorting readjustments of street lines were necessary. There was tardy attention to the urgent needs of government. Buildings were set here and there, out of line with the established axes. The Civil War checked the regular growth of the Capi- tal and spurred its irregular develop- ment. The Great War later brought ill results in the invasion of the public parks with so-called temporary buildings, some of which are still standing, twenty years after. The pestilential nuisance of the Po- tomac flats was endured for several generations before it was abated, with the incidental development of a great park, which is now one of the Capital's most valuable features. Rock Creek Park came along through the public- spirited enterprise of citizens. Little by little the park system was developed. The Washington Monument was started early, then remained an ugly stump of masonry for many years and finally was completed when Congress adopted a plan for its erection and provided the funds. The Memorial Bridge was merely a proposi- tion for fully thirty years before it was at last undertaken by the Government and constructed. The Union Station, replacing two separated railroad ter- minals that were eyesores and public nui- sances, came into being as an incident to the adoption of the general park plan. So it has gone, the Capital “just grow- ing,” for close upon & century and & third. And for a considerable portion of that time the necessity of a place of as- semblage, commonly styled an audi- torium, has been repeatedly urged, its needs made evident on numerous occa- sions, when the Capital has been the meeting place of important gatherings, often of international character. And now—although there had been many inclement inauguration days in the past —because the rain fell on Wednesday, drenching thousands, menacing the health of the leaders of the Nation, it is proposed to proceed with the execution of this long delayed, often urged and as often neglected task. ‘Washington will probably continue in the future to “grow,” as new needs arise and as old ones come to the point of being further unbearable. But there is present comfort in the reasonable as- surance that in these further advances toward ‘he ideal Capital of the Republic s sound plan, that has become the veritable skeletal structure of the city, will be faithfully followed. Lewis Demands Payment. The demand made by John L. Lewis, ehairman of the Committee on Industrial Organization, which is backing the auto- mobile strike, that the Roosevelt admin- istration be not neutral in this contro- versy but support the strikers is frank, at least. What Mr. Lewis says in effect is that his organization spent a lot of money and effort during the 1936 cam- paign to re-elect President Roosevelt and it now expects to be paid off. “This Is no time for neutrality,” Mr. Lewis is quoted as saying, “no time for pussy- footing.” The President of the United States is the Chief Executive of the Govarnment and the Government is supposed to be for all the people—not for any particular group or class, union or committee. The demand made by Lewis is that the Presi- dent take sides with hjs group. Naturally, Mr. Lewis insists thab all the facts and justice are on his side in this strike. But what he asks is that the case be de- cided in favor of the strikers no matter what the facts are. The employers, he says, are the “economic royalists” whom Roosevelt attacked during the campaign and who fought Roosevelt’s re-election. The strikers were the supporters of Roosevelt during that campaign. Mr. Lewis’ demand upon the adminis- tration almost seems & confession of weakness, when it comes to consideration of the facts in the controversy between the General Motors Corporation and the strikers. It also seems a threat to the administration that it must come to heel —or else! Mr. Lewis said that he expected “this administration to side with the workers when the workers are right.” He said that he expected the administration to do all it can in a legal way to help “repel this same rapacious enemy,” the eco- nomic royalists. But when he said this is no time for neutrality, in this con- troversy, he was saying something else. —_———— Crisis in Japan. Japan's Parliament on Friday was ad- Journed for two days by imperial rescript to permit passions to cool after a violent clash between the cabinet and the polit- ical parties over military domination of the government. Thus is at hand the long-threatened showdown between the army and the civilian authorities, on the outcome of which Japan's future, both at home and abroad, will largely depend. As the week end approached there were three possible developments—resignation of the cabinet, dissolution of Parliament to be followed by a general election, or willingness of all concerned to regard the upheaval as a closed incident. That any finale so tame as the last-named recourse would be accepted seemed problematical. There was on the contrary strong in- dication that the conflict, which goes to the roots of national life and has been gathering momentum ever since the Manchurian adventure of 1931, is at a point which permits no postponement of a final reckoning. Seldom, if ever, has a Japanese gov- ernment come under such fire as was directed at Premier Hirota, War Min- ister Terauchi and Finance Minister Baba. The spearhead of the attack was Mr. Hamada, leader of the Seiyukai, second largest party in the House. In devastating terms he assailed militarist efforts to control national policy, in con- sequence of which Japan has been brought to the brink of economic dis- aster and international isolation. The army was categorically charged with plotting a Fascist dictatorship. Amid recriminations between the cabinet and party leaders, in the course of which ministers were called “fakes” and mere tools of the military establishment, Gen- eral Terauchi declared that Mr. Hamada had “insulted” the army. Denying that his allegations carried this implication, the Seiyukai spokesman offered to com- mit harakiri if the stenographic report proved otherwise. If the report revealed no “insult,” Hamada demanded that the war minister should take his own life according to the Samurai tradition. Party leaders, standing their ground as the combat raged, contended that they spoke for 90,000,000 Japanese who insist that military pretensions shall be curbed be- fore they produce financial ruin., These bellicose events at Tokio dis- close the deep undercurrents of dis- content surging beneath Nippon's sur- face. The hour for a decisive trial of strength seems to have arrived. The cost of living is mounting to unbearable levels. Taxes are oppressively high. It is amid such conditions that the country faces a military and naval budget swol- len far beyond any figures ever before known, even though the nation is con- scious that aggressive army policies in Manchukuo and China have notoriously failed to achieve promised results. A disillusioned Japan is apparently ripe for a grapple to the finish with the elements responsible for this desperate state of affairs. Should the people rise in their might against those now publicly pil- loried as architects®of the empire’s dis- tress, developments may be imminent which would inevitably and profoundly affect not only Japan, but the whole Far East. A “sit down” strike requires some vigilance to insure confidence that some careless fellow worker has not left a tack on the bench. No Song. When the American Society of Com- posers, Authors ahd Publishers offered a two-thousand-dollar prize for a song about New York no less than two thousand aspirants confidently ap- proached the task of writing such a ballad. It was supposed that perhaps as many as a dozen geniuses would bring forth the kind of musical advertisement wanted for the metropolis. Bagdad-on- the-Subway looked forward to rhythmic publicity in both quantity and quality unparalleled in municipal experience in America. ‘But the judges have reported that none of the manuscripts submitted is worthy of the award. Gene Buck, president of the society, explains that nothing offered was considered meritorious enough to receive the imprimatur of community ap- proval. “We want a song that will match somehow the spirit of the city,” he says. ‘The business of producing such a master- piece of melody, however, is not so easy as the sponsors of the competition had imagined. Of course, it would be invidi- ous to suggest that the soul of New York ‘Isless poetical, less romantically attrac- tive, than might.be desired for an ideal theme. The same complaint might be registered against Chicago and Los An- geles, Boston and Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit. America, as it happens, has numerous place songs, yet few of them really mean anything. “Stars Fell on Alabama,” for example, might just as well be “Stars Fell on Oklahoma,” and “California, Here We Come” would make as much or as little sense if it were edited to read “South Car’lina, Here We Come.” - The | onty aistinggively notable exceptions | WASHINGTO to the general rule are: “Meet Me in Saint Loule, Louie” and “Back, Back, Back to Baltimore”"—two authentic gems of their genus—and “My Old Kentucky Home"—a work of folk art unsurpassed in the history of harmony. Mr. Buck’s organization still is in the market. But it seems that Willlam Archer was correct when he declared: “You can't write a play simply by want- ing to write a play” To pay musical tribute to New York one must know the city and iove it, also one must under- stand the laws of composition and obey them. Tin Pan Alley, apparently, lacks the necessary equipment, and Victor Herbert and John Philip Sousa have departed. Higher mathematics brings results that are but vaguely understood by the popu- lace. It may require Einstein himself to figure the dividends made available by & brain trust, and at that when Einstein speaks only a few persons profess to be able to understand him. President Roosevelt has insisted on sharing the experiences of his neighbors. If inauguration day was, to use collegiate sporting phrase, “all wet,” the President rode in an open carriage and was as rain-soaked as anybody. —_——————————— How far dope smuggling aids more violent forms of crime is one of the prob- lems of modern civilization. Mr. J. Ed- gar Hoover and Mr. Anslinger might easily feel called upon to hold a con- ference and exchange memoranda. —_——————— Aviation is in its infancy, as some of its amateurs declare, but it should by this time be sufficiently matured to en- able a flyer of reputation to avoid stumbling into a mountain side. ————————— It is remarkable to note the importance that prize fighters have chosen to as- sume simply because they have been able to provide quaint copy by some of the cleverest writers. —————————— Honor is due to Mr. Mellon, a famed and respected citizen who, though once a Secretary of the Treasury, will be more vividly remembered as an art collector than as a tax collector. ————re———————— Altitudinous ideas have been expressed by Communists, but they have not pre- vented communism from getting into the most serious kind of trouble wherever it may be found. e Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. ‘The Uncovered Head. Bir Isaac Newton sat Beneath the tree. “If I had worn my hat ‘Well lined,” quoth he, “The apple, in its fall, My thoughtful head Might not have felt at all! ‘We might have led A life of greater ease And gathered now Our apples, as we please, ‘With placid brow, Nor let the hours pass by And contemplate On Mathematics High A long debate.” Early Training. “When I first came into this thriving community,” said Senator Sorghum, “it was simple and unsophisticated.” “It has always shown its good judg- ment by voting for you.” “I was fortunate in making its ac- quaintance early. Voting is largely a matter of habit and to succeed in poli- tics you should catch your community as young as possible.” Jud Tunkins says you gotta be careful what you say and if you take enough time to find out what you are talkin’ ’bout, maybe you won't say it at all. When Forces Join. Men who contend With greatest strength Their force may lend Combined at length. As men draw near Their toil to heed, The world says, “Here Is strength indeed!” “To be great in history,” said Hi Ho, the sage ot/chimtown. “a man must be wise enough to recognize an opportu- nity and shrewd enough sometimes to let it alone.” Pleasure of Quietude. “Willie has broken all his Christmas drums and trumpets,” said the boy's mother. : “Yes,” replied the father. “I paid him to take them apart for investigation. In this way he could cultivate his talents for research and, incidentally, we could all have a good time.” No Mercenary Service. The politician toils indeed As hard as any gob. The salary he does not need, But how he loves his job! “If you's gineter be a weather prophet,” said Uncle Eben, “you'll git mo’ credit in de community if you reads out de favorable predictions an’ lets de bad news alone.” Faithful Cuba. From the Nashville Banner. Cuba, which bears the poetic designa- tion of the “Ever Faithful Isle,” seems rather indisposed to be faithful to her chosen executives. ’ Unheroic. From the Toledo Blade. Gen. Franco should know that no hero ;Vel' got a life-size statue by calling for elp. A Domestic Prerogalive. Prom the Grand Island Independent. A Congressman is right in resenting unjust criticism of the United States by 1 ers. mcummly.pgl. lege & the American citizen, 4 Let the Children See the Hermitage To the Editor of The Star: The school children of the Nation's Capital should not be deprived of a history lesson that could not be more objectively taught. They should be taken from the class room by their re- spective teachers to the white pillared replica of Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee home, the Hermitage. Once there, they should be made to experience a history lesson vibrating with life, a living re- ality; and this lesson will be cne dili- gently learned. They will at once be cognizant that the occupant of the Hermitage was An- drew Jackson, who at 14 years of age found himself alone in the world, bereft of parents and brothers, a lonely orphan. But they will thrill at the thought that he was strong in spirit, fearless and en- ergetic, and as seventh President of the United States he became identified with the democratic movement which bears his name. They will also learn that the common man believed implicity in him and remained his faithful follower. And a wise teacher will emphasize that democracy in its broadest sense is a cherished heritage that has gone from strength to strength in the 91 years since President Jackson's death; and the proof of its everlasting growth has Just been evidenced by inauguration into office by a nation of 130,00,000 souls the greatest exponent of democracy in the world today. Let it be emphasized further to the children that President Franklin D. Roosevelt, like his illustrous predecessor, is also & man in which the spirit is. And that the common man also believed in him implicity and re- mained as his faithful follower. Let it be known to these future citi- zens that the Hermitage is there at the suggestion of President Roosevelt, and let them glow with pride in the thought that they are breathing the same God-given free air that their be- loved President does at this very mo- ment; and that they in turn derive strength and inspiration to carry high the torch of liberty and brotherhood, and follow the noble example of the beloved leader of the Nation in seek- ing “Divine guidance into the ways of peace.” MAYER B. STONE. Hold the Inauguration Festival in May or June To the Editor of The Star: For days a vast Inaugural Committee struggled with its many problems and then watched a parade which could have been organized overnight by any Boy Scout. The rain saved us and will be blamed for the inadequacy of the show. Wash- ington has so many parades, and if it is just another parade there is bound to be disappointment. Many Washing- tonians paid for seats. Did they get their three, four, five or six dollars’ worth? Change the inaugural date to May or June. The inauguration of a President is not a local nor a party matter, but a national episode. All of our people have an interest and many additional thou- sands would manifest that interest if we changed from January to May or June. Let the President tdke his oath of office before the Senate and the House in January, then give the people plenty of time to arrange a genuine gala inaugural &arnde for May or June. Britain has the ea. We still prepare for an old time in- auguration. Witness the size of our committees and subcommittees; the great traffic zone so foolishly enlarged this time as to keep thousands at home, and the multitude of different passes issued by the Police Department. If May, for instance, were selected, every State should have the privilege of sending a certain number for the parade, and the parade should start at 10 o'clock am. and continue until dark; thereafter the Avenue should be flooded with lights and the inaugural ball begin on its sur- face from the Capitol to the White House. Hotels and other private establish- ments along the Avenue renting space for view should share profits with the committee, or else Constitution avenue should thereafter be selected as a parade route. Sickness and death ride with a Janu- ary or March parade. Shouting, laughter and joy would follow the route of a May procession. WALTER L. FOWLER. Let Us Make Washington Truly a “Spotless Town!” To the Editor of The Star: The timely editorial in The Star last Sunday about cleaning up Washington will find an echo in the hearts and minds of many an old resident. To us it is a disgrace to see our city so dirty, so slovenly, so neglected. Is there no spirit of pride, no sense of orderliness, no self-conscious desire in the souls of its citizens to keep our home town clean? Glib tongues always speak of Washing- ton as the most beautiful city in the world, but is it? Can a big metropolis whose trees are dying, whose parks are neglected, whose front lawns and tree plots are strewn with newspapers, cig- arette cartons, orange peelings, not to speak of the empty milk bottles and such like, be called really beautiful? And who is responsible? Almost every=- body. There are fine vacant houses, be- longing to absentee owners, whose grounds and hedges are a perfect eye- sore; and the premises of the countless rooming houses are seldom better. As for the pay parking places, they are generally shockingly untidy. Rubbish accumulates for weeks before it is re- moved, if ever, and meantime the wind gets in its deadly work. It is easy to blame Congress; we resi- dents all know how little consideration and financial aid we get from that source. But this evil of the unkempt city lies within our own hands and it is we who should attend to the matter. Each individual can do his or her share, if only he or she will think about it—and care! Let the clubs and civic organi- zations help, the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts and the public schools. Let us start a real crusade to clean up and fur- ther beautify our great city. It is too late to put our house in order for the inaugu- ration, but it is never too late to accept the challenge of The Star to make Wash- ington a “spotless town.” VIRGINIA HUNT. Meditative Motoring. From the Illinois State Journal. Meditation, we are told, is the road to self-discovery. Practiced on the high- way, it may prove to be the road to the cemetery. All in the Air. From the Scranton Times. The next European war may not be so horrible after all. War-mad nations are building so many planes and training so many pilots there won't be any one left on the ground to bomb. A Question of Endurance. Prom the Newburgh (N. ¥.) News. “Roosevelt expects to balance budget and cut United States debt by 1939"— headline. If only we can hold gut against the sheriff that longd 4 ARY 23, 1937. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. The first turtle dove seen in the garden last season was on February 25, but this year there has been .one feeding con- stantly since last August. 8o far there has been just one, prob- ably the male. It may be that the femal of the species, his mate, is down South, walting for Spring hereabouts, leaving it to the old man to find his dinner as best he can. 8o far, owing to the feeding stations in the yard, he has had no trouble at all. It is almost possible to believe that there is just a little swagger in his walk as he propels his low-swung body around the garden. Once the observer gets interested in this creature, more commonly known as Carolina dove, he finds it to be a very fine bird indeed. It is a member of the great family which includes the pigeons. ‘The extinct passenger pigeon, which once fairly darkened the heavens in its migrations, was not only a first cousin of this dove, but looked very much like it, if we can believe the paintings, and there is very good reason for doing so, since it was not until 1914 that the passenger pigeon finally passed from the earth. The year 1914 will always be associat- ed, in the minds of humanity, with the begining of the World War, but to those who become interested in the things of nature it will mean, too, the extinc- tion of a beautiful bird, whose gray body and pink breast and throat we may still see in some excellent paintings. There is a certain sadness in the con- templation. The world, of course, wags right along, with or without passenger pigeons. But since there were so many of them, somehow it seems even more shameful that just a few could nct have been left, if only in reservations, so that a really beautiful and harmless species might have been preserved. * * % % ‘There were so many millions of these birds, acording to the accounts, that bands of men, engaged in the business of supplying the wealthy Eastern market, especially that of New York City, simply clubbed them off trees and tumbled them into bags. ‘We are likely today to think of waste as something which has grown up re- cently in America, and which has been shown up at last by such things as dust storms and floods, which unhappily prove that man has misused and wasted his natural heritage. But such waste in old. The extinction of the passenger pigeon, a totally un- necessary result, and one which was not even good business, since there was a ready market for the bird, proves beyond doubt that man, given the chance, was a waster years ago as today, only we specialize in other forms now. It seems unbelievable that, with a few birds left, future supply of them could not have been propagated, at least for exhibition in zoological gardens and the like. ‘What we forget is that conservation, as we know it today, is really very new. There are at this very moment other creatures threatened with extinction, whose loss would be entirely unneces- sary and altogether a catastrophe for all those persons who love the crea- tures of nature. Yet no doubt at this very moment there are millions of humans who never give such matters a thought. The hopeful thing is, however, that there are thousands today who do think of conservation, compared with hundreds who thought upon the subject a com- paratively few years ago. And the field is broadening out, as it should, with related matters being drawn in from many sides, so that the attack on waste, STARS, MEN in relation to natural resources of all sorts, goes on over a hundred different fronts unknown in the past. A bowl of guppies cn a living room table, containing a few gallons of water and half a dozen little fishes about an inch long, might at first hand fail to strike eveu a modern observer as having any- thing whatever to do with great en- gineering projects and tne health and lives of thousands of human beings, yet it can be shown easily enough that these little specimens, transplanted to marshy places where mosquitoes and consequent yellow fever abound, will consume mil- lions of mosquito larvae, and thus help mightily toward ending a vast scourge. * * ¥ ¥ ‘The turtle dove in the garden at this time is a very fine fellow, and we hope his mate arrives on schedule time from the South. In the meantime, the present dove is a most interesting member of the family of birds which has been attracted to the yard by the simple expedient of pro- viding food for them. By family, of course, one means the various steady customers. These include scores of English sparrows, two pairs of cardinals, half a dozen blue jays (from time to time), several titmice, Jjuncos, chickadees, a mockingbird, and half a dozen squirrels. The latter must be considered as “birds” when it comes to eating seeds and grains, especially sunflower seeds. Also there is a pair of nuthatches. These comprise the steady feeders, but so far this season we have had no starlings at all. Other persons have noted the same phenomenon. Last Winter scores of these big birds visited most feeding places. No doubt the mild open Winter—at least to the middle of January—affords plenty of natural feed for such strong birds, among the most capable and beautiful flyers of them all. Few birds have more mastery of them- selves on the wing than the starlings, and their evolutions, as if one bird, are extremely interesting and beautiful to watch. * ¥ % % ‘The turtle dove may seem clumsy, but really he is a very capable and smooth aviator. What gives him an air of awkardness, at times, is his rather large body, set so close to the ground, and the powerful beat of his wings on a “take off.” Most birds, even large ones, are able to get off the ground more easily. The dove fairly creaks as he arises. This creaking sound is easily heard from the house. It is augmented by the suddeness of it. The turtle dove is not a “scary” bird, and seemingly refuses to leave the ground, where it feeds, until absolutely necessary. Bands of sparrows, feeding with it— they are great pals 11 fly away as one bird at the first sound of danger, but the dove stands his ground, and will not leave until he thinks entirely necessary. When he starts, however, he leaves at once, and with such a creaking of his wings, as they beat the air. that the casual observer might think him an extremely clumsy fellow. Watch him in the air, and see that his powerful aids to flight carry high over the housetops. It is always an interesting thing, in bird watching, to realize suddenly just how far aloft the little fellows can go. The watcher in time tends to feel that the ground, not the air, is where they belong, so in- terested does he become in watching them. But any sudden alarm, such as a hawk, shows him which really is the natural element of bird life. How they | soar, so confident, so capable, and how truly clumsy they make man-made planes seem in comparison! AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field. Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Curious misconceptions of the psy- chology of the aboriginal Americans— the insistence of Europeans that the red man think like a white man—were re- sponsible for some of the bitterest con- flicts between the two races, according to Dr. Mathew W. Stirling, chief of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Some of these misunderstandings still persist, Dr. Stirling points out in a statement just issued through the Office of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior. Probably, he says, the misconception that brought about the most ill-feeling and bloodshed resulted from the differ- ences in ideas as to the ownership of land. The white man had been reared in a society where nearly all land was owned by individuals, or by a State, the powers of which were vested in one indi- vidual. With the Indians the land within the tribal boundaries belonged to the tribe as such. Neither individual nor family possessed vested rights in land, although each family might appropriate for purposes of cultivation as much as was required of any unoccupied land within the tribal boundaries. Thus it was impossible for any chief, family or section of a tribe to sell or give away any part of the tribal holdings. Naturally any documents dealings with purchases of this sort had no meaning to the early Indians. The settlers seem never to have learned this fact. Regard- less of any negotiations carried on by individuals, the Indians considered themselves ousted when the whites took possession of their lands. A somewhat similar situation, Mr. Stir- ling points out, was encountered by the earlier missionaries, who ascribed to the red men the ideas to which he himself had been conditioned since childhood. “The religious beliefs and philosophies of the Indian have been but little under- stood by the layman,” Mr. Stirling says. “Descriptions by Europeans were almost invariably made in the familiar termi- nology of the Christian religion and interpretations were strongly influenced by the particular religious training of the European observer. Attempts to explain Indian religion by any sort of comparison with the so-called mono- theistic religions of the Old World are bound to fail. Such familiar terms as “great spirit” and “happy hunting grounds” were coined by Europeans in attempting to explain Christian concepts to the Indians. “The conception of a ruling all-power- ful deity is a political analogy applied to supernatural powers which could be conceived only by a people aware of permanent centralized power, such as existed typically only in the Old World. Such groups as the Incas and the Natchez looked upon an individual theo- cratic head as the human representative of the sun, and his authority was of a religious rather than of a political nature. “Generally far removed from any such centralization of religious ideas was the Indian belief in a multitude of spirits whose abode was to be found in nature and in both animate and inanimate objects. His rituals and offerings were given with the idea of propitiating these spirits. Behind all this was the somewhat mystic oconception wf an impersonal supernatural force which permeates all nature and animates all which control the destiny of man. Iroquois describe this by the Orenda, the Algonquins as Manito. “The Indian in no way mixed ethics with his religion. Moral of good or evil were not a characteristic of his deities, as his religion was a prac- tical one. Consequently ideas of reward or punishment after death or any such spirit abodes as a happy hunting ground or an Indian hell were equally foreign to his conceptions until the idea became implanted in some instances by mis- sionaries. Dreams or artificially induced visions, wherein he frequently saw and Spt with individuals known to be dead, was ample proof to the Indian of the existence of a soul and of an after-life. Offerings placed with the dead were a manifestation of this belief. The souls of the dead, however, typically were feared and usually magical procedures were undertaken to prevent their return. “One of the greatest of absurdities | was the application of terms of royalty to | the Indians by Europeans. It was per- haps natural that the first explorers, ac- customed to European ideas of regal descent and individual political power, should apply such terms as ‘king,’ ‘queen’ and princess to members of the simply organized, democratic village tribes of America. The idea of a legal executive head, entirely foreign to the Indians, | was fostered by the colonists because of the aid it gave in the transaction of business, particularly in regard to the sale of land, which actually could not be done by tribal dealings. “The idea of inherited rank was, for the most part, foreign to the native concept. Even the so-called ‘chief’ among many tribes was recognized as leader only because of his personal ex- ploits or a generally recognized ability. Such a leader had no actual authority, his role being purely advisory. “In some tribes, such as the Iroquois and some Pueblo tribes, certain chieftain= cies were always selected from a particu- lar clan. While there were hereditary chieftaincies among certain other groups, as a matter of practice such offices were usually elective. It is possible that the political system of the Iroquois influ- enced the democratic style of govern- ment of the United States. Probably the only example in North America of a power analogous to that of a despot was to be found among the Natchez and neighboring tribes of the lower Missis- sippi. Even jn this instance submission to the will of the chief was for the most part voluntary and based on religion. “Ideas of caste were as a rule entirely lacking. On the northwest coast of America something like a caste distinc- tion arose based on property holdings, and among the Natchez a caste system developed based on heredity. The idea of individual wealth is not at all char- acterisiic of the Indian.” How to Learn. From the Chester (Pa.) Times. If you don’t know what regimentation 1s, just try riding back and forth from work eveF day in a crowded street car -or bus, 2 | In Dinosaur National Park. phenomena | principles | 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 does Sonja Henie, the ice skater, pronounce her name? When did she win her first world championship? —E. W. A. Sonja Henle’s name is pronounced Sunya Henny. She won her first world's figure skating championship in 1927, when she was 14 years old. Q. How many motion picture stars be- gan their careers as extras?—G. H. A. Only 13 stars have risen from the extra ranks, Q. Which cost more, the LZ-130 or the Hindenburg?—E. W. A. The LZ-130 will cost $2,700,000 which is about $150,000 more than the Hindenburg. The LZ-130 will be com- pleted by September. Q. How many tunnels are in use by railroads in the United States?—S8. C. A. Class T railroads use 1.539 tunnels. Their total length is 320 miles. Q. How old is Dr. Dafoe, the physician in charge of the Dionne quins?—S8. J. A. Dr. Allan Roy Dafoe will be 54 years old on May 29, 1937. Q. Where in this country is there a room paneled with cedar of Lebanon? —C. F. A. The Scottish Rite Temple, Louis- ville, Ky.. contains a room the walls and door of which are paneled with cedar of Lebanon. Q. Has Gov. Landon moved to the country?—W. H. A. Mr. Landon has purchased two sub- urban tracts totaling 160 acres west of Topeka and will build a Colonial-type home there. He will continue living in Topeka until the new home is ready. Q. How many kinds of strange birds are there in Australia?—R. W. A. There are 431 varieties in that coun- try which cannot be found elsewhere in the world. Q. When did Theodore Roosevelt first use the expression, “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?>—C. H. A. How early in his career he used the expression cannot be stated, but he used it in a letter as early as January, 1900, and in a speech delivered in September, 1901. Q. Is Annie Russell, the famous actress, | living?—E. G A. She died on January 16, 1936. Q. What is the history of the song entitled “The Sweetest Story Ever Told"? —E. W. R. A. In 1884 Robert Morrison Stults re- signed as musical instructor in the Long Branch, N. J., High School and moved tc Baltimore, Md., where he opened a pianc and sheet music business. For some time he had been obsessed with the idea of writing a popular sentimental ballad Mira Mirella, a comic opera star, was in search of such a song and Mr. Stults promised to write one for her. Going | home one evening ‘his wife, who had been reading “The Birds' Christmas Carol,” remarked, “Well, that's the sweet- est story ever!” He immediately sup- plied the word told and in two hour: the song was finished. Its success wai instantaneous. Q. Where is Dinosaur National Monu- | ment?>—H. W, A. It is seven miles from Jensen, Utah Transcon- tinental route No. 40 leads to the park ‘The museum and park will be adminis- tered by the National Park Service. Q. Were more books copyrighted last year than the year befcre?—C. R. A. The number of entries for copyright for the fiscal vear ending June 30, 1936 was 156,962. The previous year showec 142,031. This was a gain of almost 15,000 pieces of copyrightable material. Q. When did Boulder Dam begin te function?—T. C. A. President Roosevelt pressed the key ;rhich started the dynamos on September 1, 1936. Q. What is the name of the materia! for binding books that is insect-proof, moisture-proof and washable?—E. M. A. Keratol is a binding that answer: this description. Q. Did Jefferson, Madison and Monroe keep up a friendship after they had all retired from the presidency?—H. C. A. Tt is recorded that they did. Jeffer- son lived but a year after Monroe's re- | tirement from the presidency, but the | friendship among the members of the Virginia Dynasty, as it was called, lastec to the end. Q. How tall were the two large trees used in Rockefeller Center during the Christmas holidays? How were they brought there?—E. J. A. The trees were 70 feet tall, 80 years old, with a branch spread of 40 feet Both trees came from the Jenks estate, near Morristown, N. J. They were moved under careful supervision. Q. How much coal is handled by boot- leg miners?—F. H. A. Ten per cent of the United States anthracite output is accounted for by 20,000 bootleg miners. Approximately $32,000,000 worth of coal is sold annually n this way. Q. Of the 43 members of Nebraskas first unicameral Legislature, how many had been in the old Legislature?—D. K. A. Thirty-two had been legislators: ———— I e Al Smith’s Good Fortune. Prom the Iilinois State Journal, Alfred E. Smith says that if he had plenty of money and didn't have to work he would be satisfied to spend the rest of his life as a minority leader of the State Senate. Fortunately, fot Smith, he has to work. e A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton A Girl. Lithe and free her gait, Keen her merry eyes, Challenging the fate That before her lies; Playing basket ball, Riding with the best, Dancing to life’s call ‘With untiring zest; Living for the d;y. Catching each sunbeam— As {f behind her lay P Nothing worth a dresm. [