Evening Star Newspaper, January 26, 1937, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. January 26, 1937 THEODORE W. NOYES. The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 11tn Bt. and Pennsylvania Ave. % Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chiengo Omice: 436 North Michizan Ave. Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition, The Eventng and, Sunisy Shth or 166 per week The Evening Star month or 10¢ per week ‘The Su 'day ms‘rb.a..v.?.-_:..,_._..n per copy Night Finsl Edition. ight Final and Sunday Sta: ight Final Star ___ .. Collection made at the each week, Orders may hone National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virsinia. Daily and Sunda: .0 i AS A The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in t! paper and also the local news published herein. 1l rights of publication of special dispatches erein are also reserved. Up to Hitler. Premier Blum, speaking jointly for France and Great Britain, has put the issue of European peace squarely up to Chancellor Hitler. In a public address on Sunday the head of the French gov- ernment formally offered to help Ger- many out of her economic difficulties if she will manifest unmistakable will to co-operate in purging the international situation of the threat of war. The olive branch is timed to give Der Fuehrer prompt opportunity for reply. He is to speak before the Reichstag on Saturday. Hitler customarily utilizes the innocuous sessions of his puppet Parliament for discussion of foreign affairs. He can hardly evade the challenge that now con- fronts him. Offer of Anglo-French concessions is timely for another reason. Germany is in the throes of severe economic distress. It is a land of empty stomachs, food shortage, famine prices and inadequate raw materials. It is because of these conditions that Hitler, Goering and Goebbels incessantly clamor about the ‘bitter necessity of recovering colonies or other methods of satisfying the country’s vital needs. “Butter or cannon” is the slogan devised to epitomize the Reich’s plight. It is interpreted abroad as a threat that a rearmed Germany may venture to seize by force that which she cannot obtain peaceably. Premier Blum offers Germany butter 1f she will stop piling up cannon. But France and Britain will not “bargain” for peace. They decline to be brow- beaten by a Germany growing more powerful on land and sea and in the air. The Germans, moreover, must guar- antee that whatever is done for them in the flelds of credit, raw materials or facilities for colonization will not some day be aggressively exploited against those who rendered such help. M. Blum points out that there is a “necessary liaison, an inescapable connection, be- tween economic co-operation on the one hand and peaceful agreement and halt- ing of the armaments race on the other.” If Hitler will conclude an international disarmament convention, it would have s its logical “corollary” an international economic agreement which would open replacement outlets for vast armament industries and their workers—a practical program for turning swords and sword- making enterprises into ploughshares. Hitler's predilection for private deals between individual powers is not ac- ceptable to France and Britain. To lay firmly the foundations of peace, the ‘Western democracies demand an accord among all interested nations and directed against none of them. Thus is rejected the bi-lateral pact system to which Hitler and Mussolini have just resubscribed, and which is aimed primarily at Soviet Russia. % These realistic overtures to Germany are necessarily general in nature. Hitier will rightly desire to be acquainted with them in detail. But he is faced with the brass tacks choice of affirming his will- ingness to abandon provocative arma- ments or signaling his purpose continu- ously to menace Europe with the peril of war as the inevitable consequence of competitive military establishments and the aggressive purposes which they promote. ————— Names do not make news in the flood- stricken areas where the sufferers are too numerous for mention even in the most comprehensive social registers. Social Etiquette. Hamilton Fish of New York, not satis- fled with the task of trying to reform the Republican party, has set out to reform social etiquette in the National Capital. He proposes to put some limita- tion upon the endless—and, as he insists, senseless—round of leaving eAlling cards. His purpose is to bring some relief to the overworked wives of members of Congress and of Government officials, civil and military, who, under the present system, with treadmill doggedness, de- liver their calling cards day after day during the “season” in Washington. The New York member of Congress paints a truly pitiable state of affairs. The wives of official Washington are har- rassed by the task placed upon them by the “system.” And when the wives are harrassed, so much the worse for the husbands. They, Mr. Fish contends, *“must suffer in silence while exhausted and {irritable wives try to maintain & social etquette that is antiquated and an abomination of desolation.” It looks as though Mr. Fish were speaking a word for the men, at the same time he is striving to lessen the burden of the wives. And so Mr. Fish goes about it in a man’s way. He proposes to set up a congressional committee whose duties shall be to “prescribe rules and regula- tions in order to curtall, limit or other- wise govern the gentle art of calling in the Capital City” This, however, he THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1937. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. quickly adds, must be done with the bounds of the Constitution. Presumably, he means, the constitutional rights of the callers and those upon whom calls are made must be protected. If a law of Congress involving those rights were presented to the Supreme Court, the country would indeed hold its breath. In order that the task of revising the calling etiquette may be placed in sympa- thetic and able hands, Mr. Fish's resolu- tion recommends that the committee em- powered to make the new rules shall be composed of the women members of the House, half a dozen in number. Since they themselves are among the sufferers, it is Mr. PFish's contention that they should know what to do about it. With the ever-increasing size of offi- cial Washington, the social demands have become more and more extensive. Of all ‘the customs the most ridieulous for grown up men and women is the calling habit. The calls are made, not to see and converse with these upon whom the calls are made, but to leave bits of engraved pasteboard at the door. Since it is etiquette to leave cards, it must be done. If the exchange of cards be necessary, there are the mails as a substitute, with revenue for Uncle Sam. Probably the House will do nothing about Mr. Fish’s resolution and the so- cial Frankenstein which has been built up here. It has the problems of flood and relief and labor and the farmers to tackle during the present session. How- ever, Mr. Fish, by his action in offering the resolution, has focused the attention of social Washington for a moment upon what every woman knows to be a burden. Perhaps something can be done about it. Nature’s Vicious Circle. Strange anomalies accompany the great disaster of the Ohio River flood. Water causes fires that sweep away vast values in property and endanger lives. The torrents submerge the water sup- plies and deprive multitudes of their natural and necessary drink. Rarely has such a combination of cause and effect been presented in the long course of American history of disasters. The disruption of gasoline conduits and tanks spread the volatile fluid over the surface of the swollen tide. An electric conductor breaks under the pressure of the flood and “grounds” in the stream and a spark sets the gaso- line alight, the flames spreading widely and raging furiously. This is a eom- paratively new danger, which will have to be taken into account in provisions against repetition of such horrors as that of the Cincinnati fire. Whether safeguards against this menace can be provided is a question for engineers to answer. In every inundation the factor of dis- ease due to the drinking of impure water has to be gravely considered. The water sources are themselves flooded. Scour- ings from the hills whence come the sup- plies contaminate the streams. Reservoirs are thus rendered sources of pollution. The conduits are broken by the torrents. The pollution is spread and in their agony of thirst the refugees and those marooned in their homes drink of the waters close at hand, in many cases later paying the penalty of disease. No known system of engineering can provide against this danger. In the event of a sudden rush of waters, result- ing from protracted heavy rains, the strongest embankments, the stoutest ‘walls of reservoirs, the best laid conduits are broken. Nature exerts its severest stress upon them and man's work, so carefully planned, so faithfully and capably executed, is destroyed. Organization for the relief of the suf- ferers from flood aims first at the rescue of those in danger from the menace of drowning. It involves, likewise, the pro- vision of food and drink. With the natural sources cut off or contaminated, the problem becomes desperately hard to solve. With all the experience that has been had in this country with over- whelming waters in closely populated areas, no way has been found to safe- guard immediately against the ma- levolent mischief of the flood. The best that can be done is to alleviate suffering and, through generous and immediate provision of funds and supplies, to main- tain the survivors in life and health until the violence of the elements has subsided. —_——————————— Medical authorities still favor old- fashioned remedies; among them a foot bath in hot mustard water after an in- auguration, which is within the reach of all regardless of disparities of fortune. The visit of President Runciman of the British Board of Trade is social in its nature. Under some circumstances a conventional and cordial “howdy-do” is worth a long journey. The Florida Bus Disaster. An inter-city bus, traveling in Florida at a “moderate rate of speed,” according to the driver, crashed off the road into a canal and seventeen persons were drowned. Investigation is in progress as to the cause of the accider. Determina- tion of the circumstances will not re- store the losses, but it may, and it surely should, lead to corrections in bus trans- portation in the interest of public safety. Conjecture has been advanced that one of the front wheels of the bus broke, or came off its axle. If that was the case there was presumably a fault in the con- struction or the condition that should have been detected in advance. If, how- ever, the wheel was sound when the bus was started on its course, the collapse may have been and probably was due to the speed at which the bus was being driven. The driver’s estimate of a “moderate rate” can not be accepted without further evidence. For it is known that these vehicles, engaged in competi- tive services with the railroads, are driven at higher rates than ordinary motors and, with their greater bulk and weight, are consequently always under a severe strain. In this case the highway was closely paralleled by a canal, which in itself was a menace. The margin between the road and the waterway is in such cases none N too broad. The least deflection from course, due to some suddenly developing obstacle, brings the wheels dangerously close to the soft shoulder of the road and from that point to the canal the way is open to disaster. Those who have driven on motor-bus routes in smaller cars know that there is peril whenever one of these larger ve- hicles approaches. Coming head on, the bus is not swung out in the least to give way for the smaller car. Coming from behind the passing is often so close that the small-car driver has to crowd near to the edge to make room. In short, the highways belong to the larger machines, in point of practice. And this in itself constitutes a danger, even when nothing happens to either machine to cause dis- ablement or deflection. The momentum of a heavily loaded bus traveling at high rate of speed, forty-five, fifty or sixty miles an hour—and few of them travel at lower speeds on the open road—is a tremendous force. It is the product of the mass multiplied by the speed. It may be possible in this case to determine the approximate speed of this bus, in surer terms than that of the driver’s self-exculpatory statement, and it will probably be found that it was higher than safety demanded. ——————— Plot papers relating to plans for an assassination of Stalin were discovered in the sole of a shoe. Rhythmic foot falls of Russian dancers will be listened to with closer attention for steps with sus- piciously muffied sound. Soviet songs have been accredited with insidious sig- nificance. Soviet song and dance may claim a double prestige. —_————— The high hat in strict vertical poise conveys an austere suggestion of official dignity. It might add a genial touch to a parade on the Avenue, if at least one member of the secretariat were permitted to wear his topper with a jaunty tilt after the manner of Lew Dockstader in the days of minstrelsy. Everybody wants to participate in the birthday party. There are loyal and enthusiastic citizens who do not care for dancing, and for these it should be pos- sible to arrange a few side-line demon- strations of wrestling or boxing. —_——e——— History will take its time to show whether John Lewis is endowed with qualities for permanent leadership or only another strong willed figure demanding the spotlight at any cost. Many proverbs face contradiction. When seating stands for a grand but drizzled parade are torn down, “nothing is made in vain” must be listed among them. ———— Suburban theaters have specialized on rudimentary melodrama. In “taking to the woods,” they frankly start for the Al Woods. ———— Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Melodious Philosopher. We're looking forward to the day That brings the mocking bird so gay Who seems to find a thought of cheer In everything that he may hear., We're waiting once again to find That small philosopher so kind Who sees enjoyment ever new In what the other songsters do. No envy mars his happiness. He loves the greater and the less And seeks, attentive to each call, 'To be the pupil of them all. Honest Kindness. “Little children will one day mention your name with deepest respect.” “I hope,” answered Senator Sorghum, “they will let the children alone with their Aladdins and Jack the Giant Killer and not bother them with efforts to understand my speeches.” Paths of Glory. “Have you never been tempted to run for office?” “No,” answered Miss Cayenne. tics is a rough game.” “But it leads to glory.” “I'd like glory, of course. But as long as I can’t hope to play foot ball with any degree of proficiency I relinquish my aspirations to arouse the unbounded enthusiasm which really seems to count at present.” Philanthropic Desire. I'd like to be an optimist And try to give a mental twist To Congress, hinting mid unrest, That maybe life is for the best. Jud Tunkins says & debate is most interesting when it takes a question we thought had been decided and un- settles it. “To be indifferent to public opinion,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “will make you either a very great per- sonage or a very insignificant one.” Fiction in the Pharmacy. The drug store complicates my lot And leaves my mind distraught indeed. The medicine I quite forgot .And took best sellers home to read. “A loafin’ disposition,” said Uncle Eben, “wouldn’ be so bad if it lef’ a man contented jes' to loaf. But nine times out o’ ten it makes him want to borrow money to git into a crap game.” Fighting ““Spaniards.” From the Boston Transcript. The fighting Spaniards now are com- posed largely of Italians, Germans, French and Russians. It is reminiscent of foot ball’s fighting “Irish.” Has Inside Information. Prom the Worcester Gazette. A good many people in this country are wondering what the new Congress is going to do, but Mr. Roosevelt is not one af them. Replies to Mr. Woodson’s Letter on Government Pay To the Editor of The Star: In The Evening Star of Friday, Jan- uary 22, 1937, E. J. Woodson criticizes the proposed action of Senator McC: in to sponsor legislation for the relitf of Federal employes who receive pay in the lower grades, and asks: “But will a pay Increase improve the lot of the average Government clerk?” Mr. Woodson speaks of the high cost of living in the District of Columbia and seems to suggest as a means of bettering conditions that the exorbitant salaries which are now paid Government clerks should be reduced. Following his argu- ment to its logical conclusion, if a re- duction of salaries would improve condi- tions, then the total curtailment of these salaries would bring about an ideal con- dition. If Mr. Woodson'’s services, of whatever nature they may be, are worth but $10 a week, he should not criticize those who are able to command more. On the other hand, if he feels that he is worth more than $10 a week, certainly he has the privilege of seeking, and it is hoped he may secure, more lucrative employ= ment. Perhaps there is somewhere a $5- a-week man who would like to have Mr, Woodson’s job. INEZ JUSTUS. ‘To the Editor of The Star: Mr. Woodson's letter to The Star In Friday’'s paper contains several points which cannot be disputed: (a) Living costs in Washington are high; (b) the business people set out to get their share of the Federal employes’ wages; (c) the Government clerk thinks he should live like the lord of creation; (d) if the Federal employes’ pay is raised, living costs will rise still further. But I take exception to the statement that the high cost of living in Washing- ton is due in large part to the fact that Government workers are paid too much. The high cost results from the fact that the workers pay the high cost. V. O. KANABLE, To the Editor of The Star: In reply to Mr. E. J. Woodson's letter in The Star, I'd ask him one question: Did he ever try to raise a family on $1,080 per year? For every employe in National Park Service getting $2,400 per year, I'll show him 75 working 44 hours per week for $1,080. For every one getting $1,400, I'll show him 10 getting $1,220. These are the people who guard, clean and main- tain these grand buildings he so proudly shows his out-of-town friends. For his information, National Park Service grants very few raises, and at least once a year we are asked to wait 30 days for a pay day. But the big- hearted Washington landlord does not wait for his rent. Last year the wait came from June 1 to June 30. I, for one, will trade jobs with Mr. Woodson. E. F. DOUGLAS. Revived Memories of . Past Inaugurations To the Editor of The Star: ‘Way up here among the hills of the Empire State live three former Wash- ingtonians. On January 20 we listened to the radio broadcast of the inaugural ceremonies. Memory plays strange tricks at times, so mine went traveling back through the years to another inaugural day—long before the formation of the National Guard. g There were the Washington Light In- fantry, National Rifles, National Fenc- ibles, Emmett Guard, Corcoran Cadets, Washington Continentals and the Wash- Ington Rifies, in which I had the honor to serve as “a buck private.” Of the membership of this last com- mand I recall Lieut. John Javins, Sergts. George Collins (whom some one nick- named “Sweet Oil George”; of course, when off duty) and Benjamin Taylor. Others were Harry Cornwall, Frank Ash- ford, Charles Javins, Sam Jacobsen and C. R. Tompkins. And when over the air came the strains of John Philip Sousa, I confess to & strange little lump in the throat and a mist in the eye. So, as all soldiers should who in that day had marched with him, I stood at attention until the band had passed. Those were the days of national com- petitive drills. Hence, keen attention was paid to the last detail of military attire and soldierly deportment. Up Pennsylvania avenue, shoulder touching shoulder; double rank, close order, lines stretching from curb to curb and straight as a string. That was m{rcmng! Onward they swing, those splendid men of memory’s golden days. JAMES A. LARCOMBE, West Winfleld, N. Y. Disappointed Because of Omissions From Parade To the Editor of The Star: I came to Washington to see the won- derful New Deal celebration and, frankly, entirely aside from the weather, I was somewhat disappointed. Here are some omissions from what I had anticipated would be a magnificent and spectacular interpretation of the New Deal. Postmaster General Jim Farley march- ing proudly at the head of several brigades of new bureaucrats. Harry Hopkins heading a legion of boondogglers, safety pin archeologists, ete. Secretary Wallace followed by a divi- sion of pig-killers, butcher knives sheathed. Plow-under crop division of the De- partment of Agriculture, with farm im- plements, That gallant soldier, Gen. Hugh John- son, leading handcuffed tailor who was jailed for pressing a suit for 35 cents. Secretary Morgenthau with a troupe of jugglers attempting to balance the budget. And, bringing up the rear, that emi- nent statesman, Secretary Ickes, broad- casting epithets at any economic royal- ist who may have had the temerity to show up. B. A. EDWARDS. Suggests Duplex Congress For Constant Legislation To the Editor of The Star: Sit-down strikers violate the laws of six months out of the year furnish us plenty of brand-n break. But in these modern days new order (or lack of order) and break them faster than one Congress cannot stay in sessk minute laws for fracturing purposes. A. B. COLCRES. ~ l Marigolds rapidly are becoming the American gardener’s favorite annual flower, if one may judge from a perusal of the new seed catalogues. This movement took definite shape s few years ago with the development, as a masterpiece of the hybridizer’s art, of a form of these flowers with less pungent heads and foliage. Now there are several new forms, all of them highly praised and no doubt worthy of planting in any garden. There really are two basic forms of marigolds, Calendula officinalis and sev- eral species of the genus Tagetes. Between the two many new forms have been evolved, with the result that there really is something new under the sun after all. % The word “marigold” is & pure forma- Calenduls marigold. There are two sorts of Tagetes, the African marigold, so-called, and the French, There is also a plant often called marigold, the marsh marigold, which really belongs to the cowslip family. In herbal medicine the pot marigold is used to make a calendula tincture, which is reputed to be effective in the treat- ment of wounds of all kinds. PEEE What distinguishes the newer forms, more properly called species, of mari- golds is the marvelous range of yellows, golds and oranges secured. Along with this range must come the bright glow of the colors. Some of these plants, in flower in the Summer, catch every eye in the garden, not because they are dazzling, but simply because of a real glow of color. There is something almost translucent about these flaming things, which is best expressed by the word “glowing.” Yet there is nothing about them which would entitle any one to say they “knocked their eyes out,” as the expres- sion has it. No, the better forms of the newer marigolds are by some- thing better than such an effect. It is life, in the very petal textures; call it “glow” or whatever one pleases. *x % The object of ecomiums on marigolds at this time of year is to suggest the possibility of the “all-marigold garden” to persons whose yards have plenty of sunshine. There are enough varieties, as the popular language has it, to insure diversity. Their use this way would help bring back a good old custom, the popular use of annuals. During recent years perhaps too much accent has been placed on perennial plants, those which live on from year to year, although many of them die back to the ground. t.h'i'ere “f. perennial plants, lxz the planting o Pl 3 doubt one of the most persuasive is laziness. Just put them in the ground and they will gro'b lnk:ely year after year without any trouble. That is what “they” say, and there is some truth in it—except when the plants die or something. Still, the modern perennial border is mighty nice to have in a yard, and very much worth while, no matter how many STARS, MEN trees, shrubs, biennial and annual plants the gardener has. CERER ] There is no reason, however, why any yard might not be devoted, in any given Spring and Summer, to an almost ex- clusive plantings of various forms of any one good annual. ‘We suggest marigolds. ‘There are enough of them now to avold monotony of planting. One might try petunias, or zinnias. These three favorites offer almost countless varieties. Some of the larger seed houses of America offer as many as 50 varieties of petunias—even more of zinnias. Hybridizers have worked long with these three annuals. The results they unbelievable, especially who has not happened to think about it in South Americs and introduced it to the world. Wherever it is planted to- day it is a monument to Herr Dr. Zinn. ‘The modern home gardener has plants called zinnias which the worthy doctor scarce would recognize, they are so much more> beautiful than anything he ever knew. Their possibilities, however, were in the plants and blossoms he knew, and credit must be given to him and to all the later hybridizers who unfolded these beauties. From the stiff plants of yes- teryear, too often of a crude brick-red color, the zinnias have grown to be of many forms and of various pastel color- ings, as well as the clearest shades of colors almost rivaling tulips. LR It must be ever kept in mind that neither the marigold, the zinnia or the petunia, as wonderful as they are today, is in the same beauty class with the glorious peony, the lovely gladiolus, the rose, the iris, the orchid, the tulip. Marigolds, zinnia and petunias belong, rather, to that great group of humbler beauties whose members adorn our yards at our discretion. If we would compare them with wom- en, we might say that they are good- lack something of that super-beauty which a few chosen women, out of the world and time, b would be hard to handle, and not very satisfactory to live with :!wr all * % % It is something the same with our garden flowers. Every one loves the roses, but only those who have attempted to grow them know how capricious they may be. In their stead many & gardener has chosen to plant and grow the humble annuals, such things as zinnias, petunias and marigolds, to name but three, in order that he may have a good flower garden without too much stress and strain, ‘There is but one restriction in the use of these more humble but still very beautiful plants. Do not attempt to grow them unless they can be given plenty of sunshine. Petunias alone of this group are a sort of exception. Good blossoms often may be secured on the north side of the house, provided the soil is to the liking of the individual plants. In the main, however, plenty of sunshine is essential for all three. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. One of the major problems of & con- tinuing civilization in the future will be the assurance of an adequate water supply. Some of the difficulties in the way were stressed by Dr. Oscar E. Meinzer of the Geological Survey in his presidential address to the Washington Academy of Sciences last week. The recent droughts, he said, have brought the matter before the public in an alarming fashion. The actual amount of water on earth, Dr. Meinzer stressed, probably has changed very little since life began on earth. The great residual reservoir of water is the ocean which contains all but s small percentage of the external water of the globe, the rest being on the surface of the land, in the interstices of the soil and rocks, or in the atmosphere. Probably this water supply is being in- creased very slowly by the release of water from the magma which forms the interior of the earth—but this has not been sufficient to account for any major changes during geological time. But there have been very notable changes in the distribution of this almost changeless water supply. At time vast quantities have been locked up in ice— enough the lower the sea level the earth over about.200 feet. Many of the larger cities now are located on sites that were under the ocean since the human race began to live on earth. Especially variable is the “land water” —drawn from the ocean by evaporation, deposited over the continents in the form of snow or rain, and tending to flow back to the sea. But only about a third of it permanently in the interstices of the un- derlying rocks which constitute the “water table”—a permanent reservoir un- derneath the whole country. Much is lost through evaporation from lakes, streams and vegetation. But, Dr. Meinzer stressed, precipita- tion and evaporation differ markedly posed upon one another. ogic record, covering some hundreds of mil- lions of years, seems to show that long ages of relatively warm and equable cli- mate, perhaps with a general tendency toward aridity, were at several times in- terrupted by shorter periods of more varisble - climate, including some cold, humid stages. The latest of these variable began a million years more humid and periods that were more arid than at present. “All about us we have impressive evi- dence of climatic change, such as the great sheets of glacial drift and trains of outwash gravel, the scores of desic- cated or partly desiccated lakes, and the great mantel of wind-blown silt that covers much of the interior of the coun- try and is largely responsible for its great Looking more closely at the We must frankly admit that in spite of all our investigation we do not know in which direction we are trending—to- ward greater humidity or more severe droughts. “It is virtually certain that drought equal and even greater severity may be expected. “It_is believed that climatic fluctua- John L. Lewis and President Roosevelt To the Editor of The Star: It is with interest that I have read Jour comments on the demands of Mr. John L. Lewis on the President. It is evident that Mr. Lewis is just a plain outspoken man, not trained in the tech- nique of handling political promises. From Mr. Lewis' background and pur- pose, for “f:: $500,000 contributed by his 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 great a fall in temperature s lngjc;)ud by the expression, cold wave? A. In the United States the term i3 generally used to denote a fall of at least 20 degrees, bringing the temperature below the freezing point. Q. What percentage of lumber is pro- duced on farm woodlands? What is the total farm woodland area in the United States?—E. G. A. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the total cut of timber is produced from farm woodlands. The total farm woodland area in the United States is 185,000,474 acres. Q. When was Vatican City created? —E. J. A. This papal territory of about 109 acres within the city of Rome was cre- ated in 1929 by an agreement between Pope Pius XI and Mussolini. Q. What women are eligible to mem- bership in the Colonial Dames of Amer- ica?—T. C. A. To be eligible to membership, a woman must be descended from some worthy ancestor who rendered valuable service to the Colonies and who became a resident of America previous to 1750. Memberships are obtained only upon in- vitation from those already enrolled. Q. Why do some candies taste sweeter than others?—R. W. C. A. Some candies are sweeter than others because of a difference in the size of the sugar crystals. Such candies as fondants have very fine crystals which dissolve as soon as they are touched by saliva. These taste much sweeter than the candies made of large crystals which dissolve slowly and so reach the taste buds more gradually. Q. When was the practice of having cab stands inaugurated?—C. H. A. 4. In 1634 a Capt. Baily hit upon the ™ e#®eeping several hackney coaches, with drivers in livery, at a particular place—the Maypole in the Strand, Lon- don—where they could be hired as needed. Q. What is the title of the play on Broadway about Keats?—W. R. A. “Aged 26, by Anne Crawford Flex~ ner, is a story of the poet. Q. How many islands has Maine? —E. W. A. The State has 1,300 wooded islands. Q. Under whose governorship was the capital of Maryland moved from BSt. Marys to Annapolis? Virginia's from Jamestown to Williamsburg?—N. E. C. A. In both cases the Governor repree senting England was Sir Francis Nichol« son. In 1690 he was appointed lieutenant Governor of Virginia, where he enjoyed & successful administration and was one of the founders of William and Mary. He was then appointed Governor of Mary- land, but he aroused a great.deal of opposition to his administration by changing the capital from St. Marys to Annapolis. In 1698 he was appointed Governor of Virginia, but he was too tyrannical to be successful, and when he moved the capital from Jamestown ta Williamsburg he was so unpopular that he was recalled. Q. Where did the Titans live?—S. T. W, A. These mythological people were supposed to live in Thessaly near the Mountain of Ossa. Q. What is meant by an infernc ski race?—H. K. G. A. The Swiss Inferno ski race is the longest downhill in the world. It is run annually from the summit of the Schil- thorn over one of the steepest courses to the village of Lauterbrunnen, Switzer- land, a drop of 7,500 feet. To race over this course is a trying feat of endurance and skill. The first American Inferno was raced three years ago on Mount Washington, the highest peak of the presidential range in New Hampshire. Q. When was blood transfusion first attempted?—T. C. A. The earliest case on record seems to be that of Pope Innocent VIII who is said to have been operated upon unsuc= cessfully in 1492. There are vague allu- sions to what might have been blood transfusion much-earlier. Q. Is there any precedent for a Presi- dent's son serving as his secretary or as an office assistant?—E. H. A. John Quincy Adams’ son acted as his secretary. Andrew Jackson's adopted son and nephew, Andrew Jackson Donel- son, had charge of White House appoint- ments and entertainments. Abraham Van Buren was secretary to his father, President Martin Van Buren. Robert Tyler assisted President John Tyler and Millard Powers Fillmore took over the secretarial duties for President Fillmore. President Buchanan's secretary was a nephew to whom he had acted as a father. Ulysses S. Grant’s son assisted his father for many years. Q. For whom was Fort Wood on Bed- loe’s Island named?—M. S. A. It was named for Eleazer D. Wood, a distinguished hero in the battle of Fort Erje. Q. How long can cotton be kept with- out losing value?—W. H. W. A. The Bureau of Plant Industry says that if cotton is in good condition and stored properly, it will keep indefinitely without deteriorating. The Rising Tide of Words. From the Macon Telesraph. Famous lexicographer tells that 200,- 000 new words have been added to the English within the last few years, which is rather disconcerting to those of us who have trouble keeping up with half that many of the old ones. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton - Visioning. I see shining in my fire Your tender, girlish face, ‘Where the soul in it flames higher For its pure, childlike grace. Eyes full of adoration, courage in the brow, And as the flames enfold 1§ ‘Your face so real gleams My hands reach out to hold 1t . . Alas! But fire dreams! A K