Evening Star Newspaper, May 6, 1937, Page 10

A—10 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C. May 6, 1937 The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 11th St and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chicago Cmce: 435 North Michizan Ave. Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Editlon. Evening and Suncay Star Tne © ANy e Der month or 15¢ per week The Evening Star 45c per month or 100 per week The Sunday Star ¢ per copy Night Final Edition, Night Final and Sunday Sta Night Final Star. Collection made at the e each month or esch week, Orders may be sent by mail or teles phone Natloral 5000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virgin| Daily and Su Daily “only mo., 50c Sunday only. mo., 4¢0c All Other Siates and Canada, Daily and Sunday. 1 yr. $12.00; 1 mo.. $1 Dauly “onlyoi0day- § 35 S1200: 1 ou 2E0 Sunday only_. - 1 yr. $5.00; 1 mo. B80c Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Assoclated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the 1ocal news published herein. All Tigh s of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. The Fascist Alliance. Italo-German relations, embedded in common ideology and ambitions, have been strengthened by this week’s con- ferences between Premier Mussolini and Foreign Minister von Neurath. They agreed upon intensified collaboration between the Fascist dictatorships in the political, military, economic and cultural flelds. The understanding is to be ex- tended to Austria and Hungary, already semi-allied with Italy by the Rome protocols of 1934. There is thus in process of formation a solid bloc of states, all under dictatorial rule in one form or another, stretching from the North Sea straight across Cen- tral Europe to the Mediterranean. Though such a purpose will be stoutly denied, the formidable grouping has all the earmarks of an answer alike to British rearmament and to the combina- tion of force and interests represented by Britain, France and Russia. France has special cause for anxiety respecting the new set-up. It severs the line of communication with her eastern allies, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, while two members of the pro-French Little Entente, Yugoslavia and Rumania, under agreements completed or in pros- pect, show signs of gravitating toward Italy. Current discussion between the Fascist powers can hardly have ignored the Spanish war. They are said not to see eye to eye about it. Germany inclines to believe that compromise is desirable, with a view to letting Franco’s allies get out of the mess as soon as possible and with minimum loss of dignity. Mussolini is credited with holding that the rebels must win at least one smashing victory before they can afford to quit. Appar- ently the decisior is to await the in- surgents’ next great effort. If it fails, they will be advised to seek the best terms obtainable. Franco is expected tc launch his supreme drive before the end of May. Italo-German investment in his cause has failed to produce antici- pated dividends. There is no likelihood that either Mussolini or Hitler hankers to prolong the speculation. By coincidence or design, the puppet Italian Parliament signalized the entente with Germany by approving a record national defense budget of 5,500,000,000 lire. The navy spokesman declared that the Fascist fleet henceforth would be &an “ocean-going navy,” rather than one confined to the Mediterranean. The military representative added that Italy is building an army designed to paralyze an enemy’s advance and “win the war in the shortest possible time.” It is now clear that the Fascist auto- crats have determined to gird their joint loins for action and prepare themselves by expansion of their military, naval and political power to present an iron front against the elements that stand for democracy and liberalism, as opposed to the totalitarian cult. Europe assumes, in consequence, more than ever the aspect of an armed camp and a house implacably divided against itself. —————— Tt has been suggested that Aviatrix Earhart is some sort of a “psychic,” but not to an extent to divert her attention to a crystal globe when she ought to be Nbserving the instrument board. —e——s The Juvenile Court Bill. Few local bills in recent years have undergone more careful scrutiny at the ‘ hands of committees of Congress than the bill to modernize the Juvenile Court, on which the Senate District Committee has just ordered a favorable report. As the bill has passed the House and is now on the Senate calendar, the prospects for its enactment at this session are bright, While this represents some- thing of a victory for the men and women who have advanced the merits of the legislation at every opportunity and defended it against so much un- informed criticism, it is believed that the real victory has been won by many boys and girls of the future who, through its provisions, may escape the stigma of *“juvenile delinquent.” It is time that such a victory were won. There have been too many “juve- nile delinquents” marked for life, per- haps led into crime instead of out of it, by bungling treatment of the super- ficial symptoms of juvenile delinquency rather than discovery of the cause and careful attempt to remove it. 8ix years 3g0 Mayor Hague of Jersey City was shocked and then righteously angered by his discoverey that about 600 childron in his city were being sent every year to correctional institutions by the antiquated machinery then existing. Each one of these children, it is certain, was protected to the fullest as far as “constitutional rights” were concerned. But, just the same, they were being branded as young criminals and many of them were forced by circumstance to live up their reputations. Last year less than thirty-six children fi \ were sent to correctional institutions from Jersey City and this year there may be fewer. Jersey City’s “Bureau of Special Service” is trying to correct the cause of juvenile delinquency in- stead of punishing the juvenile offender. The same principle, though the method differs, underlies the Juvenile Court leg- islation now awaiting passage in the Senate. The court will cease to func- tion essentially as a police court for minors, with its disposition of offenders so narrowly limited by old concepts of crime and punishment. Enactment of this bill should carry the hopes of a new deal for children who get into trouble and’lack the luck or the family standing to get out of it. It was mainly luck which prevented many respected citizens of today from being branded “juveaiic delinquents” in the past. This bill give: children something more de- pendable than luck to lean on. oot Doctoring the G. O. P. The doctors are beginning to rally round the G. O. P. Recently some so- called insurgent Republicans, like Borah of Idaho and Nye of North Dakota, have indicated in conversations that their cure for the Republican Party is a serious surgical operation, lopping off many of the leading figures in the old organiza- tion. Only in that way, these progres- sive Republicans insist, will it be pos- sible to get the mass of the voters to g0 to the polls and support Republican candidates for office. At the same time, Chairman John Hamilton of the Repub- lican National Committee is going on the air in a series of radio speeches to stir up interest in the Republican Party as it is. Ogden Mills, Secretary of the Treasury under former President Hoover and a former member of Congress from New York, before the New School for Social Research, has delivered two ad- dresses in which he pictured the Repub- lican Party as the agency to fight for the individual, against New Deal col- lectivism. Discussion of new political alignments is in the air. As a matter of fact, the past four years have seen a vast change in the old political alignment. Millions of people who formerly voted the Re- publican ticket changed their allegiance and swung in behind Franklin D. Roose- velt. But now many Democrats who were faithful to the principles of the old party of Thomas Jefferson are restless. The swing, some of the prophets insist, is toward a still newer political align- ment. Quite naturally, the Republicans are hopeful that the swing will be to the G. 0. P. It is to take advantage of this swing—if there is such a swing—that the progressive wing and the conserva- tive wing are making their plans. Un- doubtedly their plans differ in important respects. For example, the suggestion emanating from the Progressives that the Republican National Committee be cast aside—or at least shuffied off to one side—and a new party organization be set up is not in line with the concervative thought. Any such movement, if it comes, must be planned on a large scale and will require very definite leadership. Although Borah has talked of such a movement, he has not com- mitted himself to taking the leadership, nor have any of the others. But the thing is pushing itself forward. The conservative Republicans, who look with interest upon the disinclination of the conservative Democrats to follow President Roosevelt further on the course he has charted, are hopeful that some- thing may be done to win these dis- gruntled Democrats over finally. Many of these Democrats, however, hail from the South, where Republican labels have been anathema for more than half a century. For that reason there is talk of a change of the party name. Such a change is under consideration by the Progressives also. Nothing has given the Republicans more hope than the division among thé people over President Roosevelt's pro- gram to increase the membership of the Supreme Court, taken in conjunction with the reluctance of the Administra- tion to deal firmly with the sit-down strike. They believe that at last a real rift has come in the heterogeneous group, known as the New Deal Democratic Party. Some of the Republicans, and these. are in both the conservative and pro- gressive groups, are convinced that the G. O. P. must “get better or die.” They recall the fate of the Whig Party which flourished for thirty years or more prior to 1852, and then curled up. It was the slavery issue which brought disruption in the Whig Party and along with it was the feeling that the Whig Party stood for “privilege.” Ogden Mills, in his lecture, made the following significant statement: “My purpose in glving these lectures is to consider objectively whether our tradi- tional system of free government, of free enterprise, and of individual liberty is capable of satistying the legitimate de- mands and aspirations of the people. If it is, no right thinking American will ever submit to collectivism and its co- ercion.” This may well become the rallying cry of the G. O. P. provided it can be translated into concrete issues. ———. A congressional conference may at times have to be approached with less genial assurance than a press confer- ence as to what is said off the record. Mr. Huff’s Appointment. The selection of Ray L. Huff to be superintendent of District penal insti- tutions represents the result of a long and painstaking search by the Board of Public Welfare and the Commissioners for the man best qualified by training and experience for an exacting job. The appointment thus represents an appli- cation of the merit principle for which the Commissioners are to be commended. Many able candidates have been con- sidered and some of them have possessed influential backing. The appointment of Mr. Huff was not the easiest way out of a tight race, but it was governed en- tirely, one may believe, by the Commis- THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1937. sioners’ determination to act in the best interests of the community. Mr. Huff has been educated in the most advanced penological training school in the country—the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He belongs to that small but growing group of career men in whose hands rests the modernization and improvement of the American penal system. In a sense he has become a Washingtonian, for his six years of serv- ice at the Department of Justice have brought him in close contact with com- munity life and problems. He has served as a president of the Washington Chap- ter, American Association of Social Workers, and is now the chairman of the Corrections Committee of the Coun- cil of Social Agencies. He will take office before the comple- tion of a survey of District penal insti- tutions by the Prison Industries Reor- ganization Administration, now in prog- ress, which is expected to make important recoramendations regarding the improve- ment of the District system. He should occupy an advantageous position in help- ing to make such recommendations effective. —————— In a short time some of the world's most eminent college professors will be too busy marking examination papers to give full-time attention to supervi- sion of the United States Government. Some of those commencement essays are worth examining. They may contain the ideas on which future campaign platforms will be based. —————— Fushing has been a sort of rite since the days of Egypt’s mythical man fish, Dagon. As soon as the waters subside, the small boy may expect to resume his Springtime quest of catfish in the Tidal Basin, undisturbed by contractors with sand barges seeking to coin patriotism into speculative dollars. It is feared that “Czar” Hays will have the problem of his life on hand if a Hollywood strike goes so far as to call off lipstick rehearsals and require screen beauties to introduce a note of novelty by being themselves once in a while, —— e While Homer Cummings is having his court troubles in this country, he may envy the dignity, secure and serene, with which court presentations are conducted abroad. —————— More discipline is hinted at for im- petuous youth, even to the extent of reviving sessions in the wood shed for benefits of the old-fashioned strap tease. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Successful Bill. My brother Bill, he has big feet And freckled hands. His eyebrows meet. His hair is red as hickory fire, His mustache looks like rusty wire, Of grammar he makes scant display And modest is his weekly pay. My brother Jim is rather slim. The ladies often glance at him With eyes to sentiment inclined. They say “Oh, is he not refined!"” But Jim’s a bachelor who goes To night clubs and to music shows. He spends the daytime by himself Devising schemes to gather pelf, ‘While Bill has bought & cozy home From which he never wants to roam. His wife will smile. The kids will sing. They think Bill is the real thing. When people look at brother Jim They frankly say they envy him, While Bill has never cared a lot Whether folks noticed him or not. Bill’s life is modesi, but I guess ‘We'll have to call it & Success. Endearment. “Have you endeared yourself to the people?” “In one sense of the word,” answered Senator Sorghum, “I'm afraid I have. Some folks out home are saying that legislation I have helped to put through is going to cost more than it's worth.” Self-Estimation. “He thinks girls fall in love with him because he’s rich!” “He is quite correct,” said Miss Cay- enne. “If they fall in love with him there must be a reason, and I can imagine no other that would be in any degree sensible.” Greetings! I love the good old greeter Who meets me at the door And makes the world seem sweeter Than ever heretofore, His genial way disdaining, Sometimes I seek to start With my usual complaining— I couldn’t have the heart. Jud Tunkins says there is as much difference between talkin' sensible and actin’ sensible as there is between givin’ a note and payin’ it punctual. “To have an honestly good opinion of yourself,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is desirable if you can de- serve it. To flatter yourself is a very foolish effort to deceive.” No Human Hibernation. The busy bees now persevere, Much work the ants from day to day do. Had I been loafing half the year Perhaps I'd toll as much as they do. “It’s good to incourage singin’,” said Uncle Eben, “foh de benefit of folks dat has more voice dan dey knows what to do with and is liable to talk deirselves into trouble.” A Momentous Origin, Prom the Albuquerque Journal. There is a lot of controversy in Texas over how fast an antelope can run, It was similar controversy in to horses that made gambling h] Condemnation of Medical Profession Unwarranted To the Editor of The Star: Periodically it appears that the Don Quixotes of the dog pound get their red flannels of inspiration out of moth balls and tallyho off on a fox hunt. Such is their inallenable birthright and privi- lege. I merely venture to protest that the medical profession is tired of being their fox. With the dog exemption bill pending before Congress, the public is bombarded with urgent invitations to join the hue and cry. Under the guise of a professed love of animals, many sadists sublimate their masochistic urges in castigating the medical profession for inhumane practices of which no fair-minded jury could find them guilty. Admittedly there is in our past histor- lcal evidence to prove that there was once a need to arouse public sentiment agalnst the thoughtless and needless cruelties of animal vivisection; but so far as modern, scientific medicine is concerned, this issue is as dead and as unworthy of the scandal-monger’s resur- rection as “grave robbing,” “bleeding” and “purging.” Our history, like that of any other human ministry which strives toward perfection through the sacri- ficial ritual of trial and error, is not free of disfiguring scars. Our past gives many unfortunate and regretted evidences of grievous error, for which we are sincerely sorry and which we are striving with equal honesty and sincerity to remedy and propitiate. These are demonstrable facts we would be most foolish to deny. Yet if society, after generations of crit- ical observation, still trusts the medical profession with the sacred and fragile lives of its children, is in presumption on our part to ask society to trust us with the discipline and the probity of our own professional households? Will it not in. fair-minded justice credit our profession with a moral integrity and spiritual wholesomeness equal to your own? Is it unreasonable to beg of you to cease generalizing and cite time and place of these alleged atrocities? You cry for Justice and vengeance, yet the very word and tenor of your petition is a reproach to even the most primitive concept of equity and fair play. After all, doctors love animals too, and we are just as sensitive to the inhumanity of cruelty, and just as quick to enjoin it as you ever thought of being. THOMAS E. MATTINGLY, M. D. N —— Two Hundred a Month for Those Fifty Years Old To the Editor of The Star: I am in Washington in the capacity of an American in the interest of the American people and not as a partisan in any sense. I feel in times like these we should all be real Americans with the interests of all at heart. My home is in Covina, Calif., but I have traveled around the United States six times within the past year, studying the wants and needs of the American people. At this particular time I am interview- ing the various Senators and Represent- atives in Congress, or, rather, expressing to them my ideas of the things I feel should be done at this time to relieve in many instances the intolerable condi- tions we find. In my opinion this is a very simple mx:uer if Congress will only see fit to act. The merchants want to sell their goods and the people want to buy them and the only reason they don't buy them is because they do not have the money. Since the merchant cannot sell his goods he will not buy more from the manufacturer, and since the manufac- turer cannot sell to the merchant he slows up or stops his machinery. This causes stagnation all along the line. Now what can we do about it? We can do the one simple thing to start the wheels humming indefinitely, namely, supply the oniy thing needed, which is the wherewithal to buy. In other words, the money. I am wanting the Government to issue to every citizen 50 years of age and over $200 a month as long as such citizen shall live. This money should be dated, and after 60 days begin to depreciate, until it be- comes worthless. Every one would ab- sorb the depreciation each day and it would never be noticed. This would cause the money to circu- late, prevent its hoarding and stabilize the American dollar as to volume and value. Just imagine what it would mean tomorrow if we found that every person 50 years of age and over possessed $200 worth of money that they had to spend. I feel that we could then maintain the highest standard of living ever known to man. ROLAND C. CASAD. Covina, Calif, Judiciary Reform Plan Not Unconstitutional To the Editor of The Star: It is general knowledge that a vast majority of the American people are of the opinion that a corrective measure of some kind is in order, now, for judiciary reform, whether by increasing the mem- bers of the court or by amendments to the Constitution. The President is charged by the Con- stitution with important legislative duties, including the duty to advise the Congress “from time to time” of such “measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” It is clearly within the scope of his office to make such recom- mendations which, in his judgment, will advance the general welfare. The Nation looks to him for leadership— as leader of a party, leader of the Con- gress and leader of a people. What does the President propose? An enlargement of the number of Supreme Court members up to 15, but not more than one for each justice remaining on the bench after he has reached 70 years of age. The intent being in principle to pro- vide men of more vigorous health and vigor, who are more abreast of the times and conditions and therefore able to see, read and understand the Constitution and interpret the laws in keeping with and in the light of present events. John H. Clarke, only living retired United States Supreme Court justice, has stated that the judiciary reform proposal of the President is plainly with- in the powers granted to the Congress and therefore constitutional. So no constitutional question is raised or in- volved in this case and many precedents have been established heretofore for in- creasing the membership of the court. WILLIAM E. WALTER. Coatless Musicians During Summer Band Concerts To the Editor of The St Now that the Summer concerts are about to start, why not a move to let these splendid musicians discard their coats during the hot weather. It is a sin and a shame that these fine musicians have to sit and swelter in their coats tight around their necks while the listeners are uncomfortably hot without their coats. Bome years back they wore & white duck uniform, but now they wear those heavy coats that they wear during the cool weather all Ssummer. I am sure the audience would enjoy the concerts more, too. G J. WILKINSON. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Some good people’s idea of nature study seems to be to note all the pathetic and cruel happenings to the exclusion of anything else. If their notes concern animals, they are filled with accounts of cruelty thereto; it birds, of baby birds lost and devoured; if fishes, of the msany ailments these creatures may have, and accounts of their last moments. S All these things form one side of Na- ture, it is true, but to devote more time to them than to the happy sides is to run the risk of many a newspaper, which 50 fills its columns with war, blood and crime that a casual reader might get the impression that nothing else exists in this world. In regard to bird life, in particular, the happy moments seem so far to outnum- ber the unhappy that the observer may feel that he is being strictly honest in accenting them. This is well; for there is no happier appearing thing than a bird, none whose bright covering so suggests happiness. * kX ¥ Let the trained ornithologist observe the facts of life. It is his business. Let him put them all down truthfully, because he must. Let amateur observers be pleased that nothing demands they should put all down. Their pleasant duty is to cherish the beauty, the grace, the happy elements of bird life, and be glad that so few of the other elements will be found. It is really an amazing thing how few instances of illness, death, cruelty one will meet in a year's observations of our feathered friends. They are so few and far between, in fact, that one almost gets the idea that these creatures are immune to the com- mon {frailties of life. * * Xk ¥ This is the inspiring way to look at birds, and it is the way the sensible ama- teur intends to keep on looking at them. He will find, if he does so, that real fortitude for the inevitable in human life is built up, that he becomes a philos- opher, in little, & stoic, one who is able to get faith and refreshment from crea- tures which do both toil and spin, yet somehow manage to convey that theirs is a different life and fate than ours. We seldom see them ill, unless we cage them, which we never should do, if we can help it. Even then the cage should be as large as possible. And there is much to commend in the plan of the pro- fessor who allows his canary friends the complete freedom of his home. Not feas- ible, perhaps, in the average home, but how wonderful for the birds, if it were! Not only do birds at large seem immune to illness, but they strike the average observer as immortal. This feeling, of course, is based mostly on incomplete observation, due to the plain fact that few wild birds of the same species are distinguishable one from the other. This is a soothing thing to the ob- server who likes to cherish the belief that somehow they represent the world of life as it ought to be, rather than as it is. A dozen male cardinals are in the garden today, and if there are a dozen there tomorrow, the observer cannot be sure that they are, or that they are not, the same birds. o ok ok He must accept the life of his bird friends as he finds it. This life brings them, as specimens, to his grass, his trees, his bird houses, his feeding stations, but they do not appear as specimens, but as a group. This, no doubt, is the secret. That is why feeding the birds, not only through stations provided for them, but also through the use of berried shrubs, is the one best procedure, since it brings to the garden birds, not bird. The observer sees the community of birds, not just one bird here, another bird there; he learns, at least in this little, to look beyond the individual to the tribe; he finds the best part of communal living, not the worst part; he saves himself from the tragedy of the little by watching the triumph of the large. Is that not what a dictator does, saving himself at the expense of his people? * ¥ * % Only the scientist will go to the trouble, for a very definite purpose, of banding his birds. Unless one does so one never will Tecognize the same bird twicq with this exception—that the specimen have some particular individuality, either in song or marking. A good instance of the latter is the English sparrow, called here, from time to time, by the name of Whitey. If we shall see Whitey no longer, we shall lament, but she turns up every now and then to sample seed on the driveway beneath the maple and to make us sure that a bird’s life, at least, is never ending. How long do birds live in the wild? We have seen statements ranging all the way from 12 years to 2 years, but our honest belief is that nobody really knows how long they live. It is the same with fishes. How long will a fish live in an aquarium? One authority says the specimens in one great public aquarium live, on the average, about 18 months. That is a cross section, merely, of all the specimens. Many a home aquarium enthusiast has had an individual specimen, say of the three-spot Gourami, which has lived peacefully and happily for at least five years, * % x % Bird life undoubtedly strikes an ob- server as peculiarly happy because he is saved from the knowledge of individual specimens. In addition, he actually will see few in- stances of illness, death and cruelty among the birds. Unless, of course, he is unfortunate, or possesses the type of mind which cher- ishes such things. It is the same with the aquarium. People who have little interest in fishes, who know nothing about their handling in the tank, invariably spot the one dead fish, and point it out, both visibly and audibly, although there may be a thou- sand beautiful live ones swimming around. This nettles the owner of a fine bat- tery of tanks, specimen aquariums which merit all the applause and attention in the world, but which are passed over by the amateur observer for one dead fish left behind a plant. Bird life, in the open, under the heavens, has so much of happiness in it, and so much more of seeming happiness, that he is a somewhat blinded person who will cherish the few unhappy things he may observe, and not keep in mind gratefully all the fine songs, the beauty, the light and love of the everyday life of his feathered friends. STARS, MEN AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. A rich bed of fossil bones of ancient animals, one of the most significant yet found in the Western Hemisphere, has been uncovered in Southern Brazil by two Harvard University paleontologists, lewellyn I. Price and Theodore E. White. The deposit, probably due to the trap- ping of the primitive creatures in quick- sand, dates from the Triassic geological period, early in the age of dinosaurs. The gigantic, flesh-eating reptiles of nightmares still were far in the future. The reptile race was in the process of evolving from the more primitive am- phibians, represented today by the frogs and toads. Out of the reptiles, after millions of years, came the warm-blooded mammals and, eventually, man. But from the beginning of the reptile race, there is reason to believe, certain forms had a mammalian trend. Their feet were set in the paths of higher evolution, just as the way of other forms was pre- destined toward becoming birds, snakes and turtles. Their remains should have been present from the beginning. The South American discoveries tie into an exhaustive program carried on for several years by the Harvard Museum in searching for and studying the earliest traces of land animals in the Americas. As part of this plan Price and White already had made extensive excavations in red clay beds in North Texas where they found, among many other remains, the world’s oldest fossil egg. The Triassic immediately followed the Permian geological epoch, which was the hey-day of the great amphibians, the earliest creatures to conquer the dry land. Developed from the hardier amphibians, the Triassic reptiles were the first forms of life able to live and rear their young entirely removed from the water. For millions of years the descendants of these pioneer land forms ruled the earth, taking their final form in the gigantic dinousaurs. Then the reptile regime abruptly ended, there was a long gap in the story of life, and history opens again with the mammals in the ascendancy. The paleontologists were on an espe- cial lookout for any mammal-like rep- tile fossils. The cold-blooded ancestors of man and the other mammals, which were somehow equipped to survive the conditions that eliminated most of their fellow reptiles, left relatively little evi- dence of their progress on earth. The Harvard scientists obtained some of the finest specimens yet secured of the cynodonts—one of the early off- shoots of the line which led to the mammals. These were small, doglike flesh-eating reptiles. They also ob- tained many specimens of another mammal-like family—the two tuskers, or dicynodonts. These were peaceful liz- ards, about six feet long. They were among the commonest reptiles of the Triassic period, but were rapidly killed off, probably by their flesh-eating cyno- dont relatives. Many of the fossils brought back from Brazil are of & general type never be- fore seen by man. One of these, a deli- cately boned lizard about 15 inches long, belongs to the order of thecodonts, whose evolution developed some of the greatest dinousaurs. Another specimen, an oddly crushed reptile skull, is believed to have belonged m‘:- a chnmlb tb?;‘wl: n:-h- e alligator aboul - umm feature of the Harvard col- lection is the world’s finest skeleton of the extremely rare family of coelurids, carnivorous lizard bipeds about 3 feet long, from whom developed some of the gigantic meat-eating reptiles of the ancient world. They also gathered many bones of the ancient beaked lizard, the rhynchosaur. Scattered remains of early members of this group have been found in India, England and Russia, but never in such numbers as were gathered by the Harvard paleontologists in South America. Apparently a large number of them were trapped in a quicksand formation. The rhynchosaurs were slow, heavy lizards about 6 feet long inhabiting boggy lands and mashing their food between beak-shaped jaws. This genus is one of the few ancient reptile groups still extant—the strange, “living” fossil, 8penodon, found in New Zealand being the last survivor. Uncovering the rich new fossil bed was the result of hundreds of miles of exploring by the Americans. They prob- ably arrived in the nick of time. Rocks in the area are being pulverized and burned for plaster and probably during the last generation untold quantities of Triassic fossils have been destroyed. Some of the finest obtained were rescued from rock piles destined for the plaster kilns within the next few days. Most of the specimens were dug from red clay by hand. Flood Danger Is Greater Than the Hazard of Fire To the Editor of The Star: Shortly the Forestry Service and the Soil Conservation Bureau will engage in an argument. The former will want to eliminate all loose leaves, brush, rotting and decayed trees, etc. The latter will want to conserve these leavings of nature as a means of absorbing and im- pounding water to prevent erosion. Both sides have logical arguments, but it would seem that the flood damage and danger would outweigh that of fire. Mount Holly, Va. MARK 8. WILLING. Willing to Try. Prom the Illinois State Journal. Civilizations which develop leisure can't survive, declares Prof. J. B. Nash of New York University. At that, there are times when we would like to see the experiment given a tryout. Doctors’ Dilemma in Germany From the Paterson (N. J) News. [ In Germany candy is being made of coal tar. A problem soon to face phy- sicians over there will be what to do for a 5-year-old with a macadami. stomach. | == Urban Refuse. " From the Battle Oreek Enquirer-News, A skeleton was found on & New [ork street. Well, it's Spring houseclegning time and quite a number of close¢s are undoubtedly being cleaned out. . —_— v al Unemployment Guessing. From the Indianapolis News. { Those widely different t.ocalq number of unemployed raise a suspicion that the number of unemployed 1s largely a matter 1 political opinion, { / of the ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC il..;lASKIN. A reader can yel:lthe answer to any question of fact by writing The Evening Star Informatiod Bureau, Frederic J, | Haskin, Directo”, Washington, D. C. ! Please inclose aiamp for reply. Q. What is the oldest living thorough= bred?—W. M. A. Merrick, '8 34-year-old gelding, {5 the oldest known. He is owned by J. C, Milam. { Q. How tall is Mussolini>—T. N. A. His height is 5 feet 6 inches. Q. How many colleges have courses in marriage?—W.\J. H. A. There are colleges giving courses on various phases\of married life. Among these are the University of North Caro- lina, the University .f Southern Cali- fornia, Loyola University, Vassar, Syra- cuse University and the University of Towa. 3 Q. Who said that newspapers are the best educators?—W. H. ' A. The remark was made by Henry Ford. Q. Does Japan have & motion picture center similar to Hollywood?—E. G. A. The motion picture center of Japan is at Ofuna, south of Tokio. R Q. What has become of the Lion of Judah which was ¢aken from Addis Ababa?—G. L. A. The lion, which stood in the main square of Addis Ababa, has been set up in front of a monument in Rome to the soldiers who died in phe 1887 campaign in Ethiopia. Q. How many mmfio of underground corridors are open visitors at the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico?—H. L. A. At present severs miles of undere ground corridors and chambers are open to visitors. The cave now has two high- speed elevators with a combined capacity of 500 persons an hour. Q. How much income does the Govern= ment derive from dead letters?>—H. F. S, A. In 1936 its revenue from all sources, including sale of unclaimed packages, recovery of unusued stamps, fees col- lected for returnirg misdirected letters, and money contairted in letters, totaled $229,353. Q. Are private cebtors more reliable than public ones?—-W. C A. Experience indicates that private debtors are more reliable. Of the vast sums lent to European countries by Americans, the loans to governments, such as the allies. remain largely unpaid, while loans to private companies have been repaid or durtailed. The same is true of other parts of the world. Gov- ernments can r¢pudiate debts, but ine dividuals cannot{ Q. Where is the Hall of Lost Foote steps?—C. M. | A. The Salle des Pas Perdus, or Hall of Lost Footsteps, 'is in the Gare St. Lazare, the famous railroad statior. in Paris. Y e Q. How mamny voting precincts are there in New York City?—W. H. T. A. In the 1936 general election there. were 3,799 election districts in New York City. Q. Did “Uncle Tom's Cabin” appear as a serial>—T. R. W. A. Its first publication was as a serial in Gamaliel Bailey’s National Era. Hare riet Beecher Stowe received $100 for it from the publication. ever Q. What was the appearance of an English wig atand?—W. H. A. Wig stands were short turned wooden stanelards usually on a circular base and finished in a bulbous knob or mushroom-shaped top to support a wig or artificial head of hair. Others had triple-turn@d supports and tripod bases with a cir¢ular opening in the top to hold a bowi for powdering the wig. Q. Who was the Egyptian goddess of Justice and truth?—T. W. A. Ma't. Bhe was usually represented as wearing an ostrich feather on her head, with eyes bandaged as a sign of impartiality. Q. Is New Orleans below sea level?— M. A. There is a part of the city which is 414 feet below sea level. Q. How many people visit Marshall Field's store in Chicago?—H. B. R. A. On normal occasions there have been as many as 65,000 customers and visitors in the store daily. On special occasions and during the Christmas holi- days the number has exceeded 200,000. Q. Please give a list of some unusual clubs such as the Liars Club of Burling- ton, Wis—W. B. A. Such a list would include: The Roosevelt-for-King Club, €nake Collec- tors’ Club, Bald-Headed Club, Guild of Former Pipe Organ Pumpers, the Be- nevolent and Protective end Completely Universal Order of Fred Smiths, the va- rious dog-house clubs, Society for the Prevenition of Calling Sleaping-Car Porters George, Veterans of Future Wars, the Hook, Line and Sinker Club, and the Ancient and Honorable Order of X-ies. Q. Where are some of the best known pet cemeteries in this country?—E. H. A. The list would include the one at Hartsdale, N. Y.; the Pet Burial Park at San Antonio, Tex.; Francisvale Cemetery at Radnor, Pa., and one at Linwood, N.J. Q. How large are the clock faces on the old Post Office Building in Washington, D/ C.?—R. L. The four clock faces are each 15 feet in diameter. The Roman hour figures are 2 feet long. The minute hands re 7 feet in length and the hour hands 8 feet. 3 Discrimination. From the Saginaw News. ! Perhaps Il Duce sent his topnotch sol= diers to Ethiopia and only the back- ward ones to Spain. A Rhyme at Twilight By Gertrude Brooke Hamilton. Flowering Alone I passed a vacant homestead Where weeds had grown rank, The orchard trees neglected, The fences rotting plank. The land unplowed, unharrowed, Time-fretted and wind-torn, ‘Whole flelds of briary stubble Instead of waving corn. Yet near the broken porch rails, As if kept sprayed and groomed, A bush of fragrant lilacs Luxuriantly bloomed. A place by man abandoned, Its paths a trackless clod; Only the faithtul Hlae Brmm; alone for God.