Evening Star Newspaper, September 30, 1937, Page 14

A—14 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY. September 30, 1937 THEODORE W. NOYES The Evening Star Newspaper Company. 11th SL. and Pennsylvania Ave. New York Office: 110 East 42nd 8t. Chicago Office: 435 North Michigan Ave. Rate by Carrier—City and Suburban. Regular Edition. Evening and Sunday Star o i % gtal ¢ PCF month or 15c per week The Evening Star 45c per month or 10c per week The Sunday Star ___ __ - —-Bc per copy The Sunday Star ___ Z-ZZ5c per copy Night Final Edition, Night Final and Sunday Star.. 70 per month Night Final Star_. __ ___ "__35c per month Collection made at the end of each month or ®ach week. Orders may be sent by mai or tele~ phone Natlonal 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Marsiand and Virginla, Daily and Sunday_. 1 yr. $10.00: 1 mo. S5¢c Daily onis - 1 r 86008 1 mo. 30c only Sunday 1y $4.00; 1 mo.. 40¢ All Other States and Canada, Dally and Sunday. 1 yr. $12.00; 1 mo. $1.00 Daily only_. 1 yr. "$X00; 1 mo. 75c Bunday only 1w $5.00; 1 mo., 80c g Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitied to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to 1t or not otherwise credited in this Daper end aiso the local news published Lerein: All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved, . A Duty to the People. - Justice Black is back in the National Capital, where he is expected to take a seat on the Supreme Court bench next Monday. He has indicated that he may make a statement regarding his connec- tion with the Ku Klux Klan. The American people expect him to make such a statement. They are entitled to it. They are entitled to it before he <ascends the bench. If he has been a member of the Klan, it is no private matter. At the time he was elected to the Senate the Klan was recognized as & political force in many States of the country. It was to his advantage that he had the support of the hooded organ- ization when he campaigned for the Senate. For more than three weeks Justice Black has been aware of the published charges, not only that he was a member of the Klan but that he accepted a card ‘of life membership in it. For more than three weeks he has allowed the charges to go undisputed and unanswered. While his nomination to the Supreme | Court was under consideration the charge that he had been a member of the Klan was debated on the floor of the Benate. He allowed the charge at that time to go unanswered by himself. By his own consent, apparently, his friends in the Senate were allowed to make denial. - The time has come for Justice Black to speak. The President of the United Btates, who selected him for appoint- ment to the highest court, has declined to comment upon the appointment and the charges which have been made against Justice Black until #poken. The President has in effect gleclined to judge the case until Mr. Black himself has been heard. % Much circumstantial and documentary #vidence has been produced to prove %hat Justice Black has been a member of the Klan, along with statements of persons who declared that they were ‘present at Klan meetings with him. It 9s evidence which the President who #ppointed him or the Senate which con- Mirmed the appointment could have Dbtained. The Attorney General of the LUnited States, who might have advised 'xhe President with regard to the ap- #ald he would have considered it an Simpertinence” to inquire into the Private life of the then Senator Black from Alabama. No more futile sugges- on was ever made. % Justice Black has had ample oppor- Zunity to frame any statement he may ‘wish to make regarding the Klan con- fection. It is immaterial by whom the ‘tharges against him have been made. ‘What the country wants to know are Ahe facts in the matter. Senators who woted for his confirmation have clearly #aid that they would not have done so ‘had they known he had been a member ®f the Ku Klux Klan, ° - : >—oe— The peculiar circumstances under ‘which Mr. Black assumes office should ‘#nable him to have an interview with ‘the President as to methods and pur- poses. He is entitled to all kinds of @dvice in order to meet a new situation with the greatest possible dignity. - N — : New animals for the Zoo show that ;e is not necessary to talk intelligently JAn order to be interesting. With some it ils noted with regret that as they grow ‘older they do not grow wiser. D -+ Siesta. A President of the United States—it ~does not matter which one—told an in- timate friend on a certain occasion: “I swish I could have half an hour's sleep “4n the middle of the day.” The burdens “of his office forebade him such a luxury, ?ut he envied those who were privileged o enjoy it and said so, frankly enough. % Doubtless, the Latins are wise in their ilevotion to the siesta. Even if they do not choose to slumber, they give them- Ielves opportunity to rest between the ‘routine duty of the morning and that ‘of the afternoon. Such a recess has the Andorsement of the historian James JTruslow Adams who, without apology, Aas advocated giving people “a chance to “ponder for a few minutes on what it is ‘all about, why they are living and what ihey really want.” He understands the Mnlncunce of the “time out” which “Henry Wadsworth Longfellow must have ad in mind when, in “The Children’s fiiour.” he wrote of “a pause in the day’'s ipccupation”—not necessarily at sunset. # Most men and not a few women have Horgotten the meaning of relaxation. IThe whole world is tense with ceaseless jeffort, constant strain. Psychologists Mestify that a plethora of nervous di- Jeeases trace back to the habit of being Qncessantly on the qui vive. Conditions lemand that everybody should be alert, the price for unfaltering vigilance is N \ v he has | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ¢, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1937. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. high. The sentry who never is relieved eventually collapses at his post. Of course, it is an error to suppose that great numbers of people die of over- work. A far larger mortality accrues from too little employment. Yet there is merit in the ancient axiom about what makes Jack a dull boy. Burning the candle at both ends is traditionally {foolish, Perhaps it would help if there could be a gradual slowing up of the accel- verated tempo of life. A considerable degree of fever is manifest throughout the*earth. The passion for speed is evi- dence of it. But an excellent illustra- tion of its fundamental irrationality may be discovered in this anecdote of recent local origin: A Washington resident got home from the office three minutes early and remarked upon the circumstance to his wife. She replied: “What are you going to do with those hundred and eighty seconds?”—an impertinent ques- tion to which the husband had no con- vincing answer. N —————— The Price of Savagery. Chickens are coming home to roost in a manner bound to be disconcerting and surprising to Japan and definitely disastrous in an economic sense. In Great Britain, which ranks close to the United States and China in the top category of Japan's markets, a move- ment is rapidly taking form for a nation-wide boycott of the island empire’s goods, as a sign of indignation over ruthless attacks on civilian areas in China by Japanese aircraft. While it is the cruelties visited upon helpless women and children at Nanking, Canton, Shanghai and other populous centers that mainly arouses British ire, | one is hardly far wrong in surmising that the bombing attack on Ambassador Knatchbull-Hugessen plays a role in the economic reprisals about to be taken against Japanese wares. Not since the “Mistress of the Seas” swallowed the affronts offered by Mussolini during the Ethiopian crisis has British pride suf- fered—and tolerated—a stiffer blow than Tokio's half-hearted apology for the outrage on London's envoy. Evidently the worm is about to turn. Even if the Chamberlain government formally withholds approval of the “sanctions” to be imposed against Japa- nese produce, their popular support seems assured. Interests as divergent as the Labor party and the Church of England are joining in the demand for a practical demonstration of British resentment. A leading London newspaper is sponsoring a great protest meeting in Albert Hall, at which the Archbishop of Canterbury will preside. Badges emblazoned “I will not buy Japanese goods” are to be put on sale and the proceeds used to buy provisions and medical supplies for suf- fering Chinese. Merchants from John O'Groat to Lands End will display win- dow signs reading: “We do not handle Japanese stuff.” Japan knows from bitter experience how deadly a weapon the boycott is. One of the underlying causes of her determination to chastise China is the organized revolt of the Chinese people against purchase of Japanese goods. The famous boycott proclaimed by the guilds a few years back threatened to bring the island’s vast China trade to a stand- still. Loss, or even serious curtailment, of that market is almost a matter of life or death for Japan’s industry. A British | boycott, especially should it spread to Yointment to the Supreme Court, has | the dominions and India, would be almost as fatal. And there is always the danger that a buy-nothing-Japanese movement, once it gained momentum in the British Empire, might not stop there. Suggestions that Americans declare such, an embargo began to be heard soon after murderous events set in at Nanking. There is no evidence as yet that mere diplomatic remonstrances will dissuade Japan from forms of warfare which the League of Nations, with the concur- rence of the United States, on Tuesday branded as unwarranted in law and con- trary to the principles of humanity. But the high price of savagery cannot fail to penetrate even the Samurai mind, which takes account of bravery and patriotism but not of chivalry, when world condemnation is expressed in terms of the yen. e Conversations are desired which will allow the Mediterranean Sea to become orderly and not seem to prevent Eastern Asia. from establishing new standards of human slaughter. ——ee— A Sequence of Errors. Mr. Justice Black, upon his arrival in this country yesterday, not only failed to make the best of an opportunity but con- tributed to the public concern as to his lack of the judicial temperament which is regarded as essential in a member of tne highest tribunal in this land. Yet when he landed and was confronted by the representatives of the press in search of such a statement he declined to speak other than to say: “When I have any statement to make that is definite and final on any subject it will be in such a way that I cannot be misquoted and that the Nation can hear me.” This was a distinet implication that the American press was not to be trusted to print his statement in full and with- out garbling. Of course, such a sug- gestion was entirely without justification. Not only would every word of the Jjustice’s statement have been published, but without the slightest change or ad- dition. And it would have reached the whole people as surely and as effectively as though it were given the fullest spread by radio, to which Mr. Black indicates he will later resort. Thus he marked his arrival with an affront to the press, "which was not precisely in keeping with the new role which he now occupies, that of a dispassionate and unprejudiced member of the highest court in the land. Nor was this evasion discreet. For it spread the matter of the propriety of his appointment over a further period of time, whereas the part of wisdom would have been to make the shortest course toward ‘the bench without continued disputation. Recently it was reported that the President remarked that he saw that the “Black case” had gone off the “front pages” of the newspapers, mean- ing that it was no longer a settled ques- tion of interest sufficient to keep it in the public eye. Yesterday's happening at Norfolk, on the contrary, brought it back to the “front pages,” from which, indeed, it had xnot entirely vanished. And it will again gake that position when the justice goes on the air, as he indi- cates he proposes to do, to state his case directly to the people, without the chance of “garbling” and omission. This whole matter of the selection of & successor to Justice Van Devantef has been handled in a manner to make for disputation, raneor and opposition. It suggests the possibilities for public con- cern involved in the enlargement of the court to fifteen members, as proposed in the presidential message of February 5 last. If one appointment has caused such a turmoil, continued even after nomination and confirmation, vacation abroad and return home, what would have been the public agitation over six— perhaps seven—selections for the highest bench? The possibilities in such a situa- tion are veritably appalling, r—————— As time goes on the words of Mr. Farley become more precious. There can be little doubt that he loves his fellow man, but question arises as to ‘whether he can devise a line of comment calculated to make everybody feel that he is getting an even break. = - Japan's military prowess is severely chalienged when it is intimated, for all the world to see, that she does not know the difference between, a bombardment and the use of weapons in indiscriminate slaying. oo It is a mystery to students of Oriental politics that China should have gotten into so much difficulty with scarcely a passing acquaintance with the League of Nations. ————————_ It is believed that Russia may be able to do something about the fight in China if in some moment of further exaspera- tion she does not decide to sacrifice still greater groups of fighting material. et The unruly behavior of Japan may find its conclusion when it is fully com- prehended as a cause of disorder in Europe. et In order to make the present impres- sion complete some student of antiquity might turn back a few chapters and recite adventures at the Tower of Babel. r———— A son of Mussolini may discover a way to persuade Hollywood picture stars to remember that as artists they may find it necessary to assume to be warriors. N Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Great Guessing Contest. Talkin’ 'bout the troubles some of which are not our own. You either hold a meetin’' or you grab the telephone! This good old world seems always just a little out o' fix And most of all the fun we get is talkin’ politics! It's just a guessin’ everybody quotes The line of talk that he believes will serve to win the votes. We learn of losses and of gains in many a strange report And talkin’ politics remains the public’s favorite sport. contest, in which Good Government. “What is your idea of good govern- ment?” “I'm no different from the old-time statesman,” answered Senator Sorghum. “My idea of a good government is one that does pretty much as I dictate.” Jud Tunkins says a dollar bill begins to look so little that he wouldn't be sur- prised if in a few years it was rated merely as car fare. Fish, I went a-fishin’ long ago, And saw the waters ebb and flow. The catch was small, not like the tale Of dear Old Jonah and the whale. Locating Responsibility. “What did the traffic cop say to you?” “Just a few words,” answered Mr. Chuggins. “And as he said them he looked straight into the eyes of Mrs. Chuggins, who was driving from the back seat.” “Avarice, said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “leaves a man sadly over- burdened with things he cannot hope to enjoy.” Seasons Change. An Autumn chill pervades the breeze Along the ocean shore. The beauty contest meant to please The eye will please no more! The lassie who was once so cute A fashion new will note: Instead of a small bathing suit She’ll want an overcoat. “Dar ain’ no chance foh a lazy man,” said Uncle Eben. “Every dollar you kin save in hope of takin’ life easy calls on you’to hustle harder to protect it.” Another “March” in Sight. Prom the Charleston (W. Va.) Mail. Reports state that the agricultural income is at the highest point in 10 years. Soon the farmers will be pros- perous enough to go to Washington to demand relief. Naval Aliases. From the Saginaw News, With all this mystery about the iden- tity of those Mediterranean submarines, naval records of the future may have to contain the aliases of warships as well a8 their names. - I3 e Favors Extension of District Boundaries To the Editor of The Star: As a home owner and business investor in Greater Washington the writer has lived in Montgomery County for over eighteen years, and as a civil service employe resided in the area for ten years previous to that time. During the later period the operation of the county gov- ernment has naturally been a matter of considerable interest and, partly through a membership in the National Municipal League, has been the object of some study. As a result it seems to me that there is more to be said for the report of the National Resources Committee advocating enlargement of the unit of municipal government than js being said. There are reasons for being glad that some of the idiosyncrasies of the Dis- trict government do not extend to us in Maryland. But there would seem to be some opportunity for getting rid of those things and also of certain difficulties in local county politics by an extension of the District of Columbia area which car- ried with it the extension of a local, non- partisan franchise and congressional representation. In the Virginia area President Hoover extended to civil service employes the privilege of local political activity, but in Maryland this privilege is restricted to a few small incogporated “villages” and does not extend to the really impor- tant county government.. This so re- stricts the highly intelligent civil service element that it might almost as well not have any local franchise at all. Those few who do vote necessarily take a de- sultory interest in local politics which is easily influenced by misleading propa- ganda. Moreover, despite the otherwise unde- sirable “declaration of intentions” law, it is difficult to keep machine politics from voting residents of the District who have no real interest in the county. The political atmosphere is thus sur- charged with an unhealthy civil service disdain for local politics that extends largely throughout the better class of potential voters and the “declaration of intentions” requirement promotes this attitude of indifference. Indeed, munic- ipal utilities are already largely con- trolled, as in the District, by appointive State commissions and not by the elected county commissioners. This is not true of any other community in Maryland. The result of this state of affairs is that the membership of such a civic organization as the Civic Federation has a large element of non-voters who can not deliver at the polls in favoring such worthy projects or restrictions as they may desire; and it is a tribute to the character of the back-country rural resi- dents that the county government is not worse than it is. Certainly the practica- bility of a continuation of this situation is open to serious question, and there doesn’t seem to be much to be said from & common-sense point of view for the existence of the District of Columbia- State line in the very midst of what is essentially one community. It is an expensive political luxury, to say the least, and constitutes a large factor in making Maryland State politics the too rigid, partisan-machine affair that it is, because of the development of a munic- ipality which has one political leg in the District’s political grave. ALDEN A. POTTER, Recalls Famous Champions of Half a Century Ago To the Editor of The Star: Mike Jacobs' fight show “deciding” (?), more or less, four championships reminds us of 45 years ago. The great New Orieans Boxing Carnival (Septem- ber 5-7, 1892) established or re-estab- lished three famous champions. George Dixon remained featherweight king by defeating one Turk Skelly of Brooklyn, N. Y. (eight rounds); the noted Jack McAuliffe knocked out Billy Myers of Streator, IIL, in 15 rounds, and James J. Corbett of California dethroned the mighty John L. Sullivan (21 rounds). McAuliffe, in 1893, retired as the undefeated lightweight champion (9 years). He is still living (weighing about 200 pounds). Not well-to-do by any means, he is getting by. John L. Sullivar. retired then and there. A mag- nificent tub of lard, I had seen him in the Spring before he went into training. He played the hero in a melodrama, “Honest Hearts and Willing Hands.” For 13 more years he traveled with John Barleycorn, under the skull and cross- bones. Deserting him, John enlisted under the lily-white colors of the late Wayne B. Wheeler. Lecturing for the Anti-Saloon League he became quite a figure on the dry platform. His vast paunch, the frock coat and the wing collar helped a lot. In 1918 he died in the odor of sanctity (age 60). Culturally, the late James J. Corbett stood out among the bruisers as “Gen- tleman Jim.” Like Gene Tunney, he had a pen-and-ink background. And that put him above the former coal heav- ers and cement workers who aspired to fistic honors. At least, he thought so. From 1886 (age 20) up to 1903 he fought most of the great heavyweights of his time: John L. Sullivan, Peter Jackson, Robert Fitzsimmons, Tom Sharkey, Charley Mitchell, Jake Kilrain, Kid Mc- Coy, James J. Jeffries. Later he became quite an esteemed actor, and his book, “The Roar of the Crowd,” is considered & classic. He died in 1933, “Who were better, these old timers or the champions of here and now?” This Qquestion. of course, 'l never be answered. You can’t match.live human beings with spirits. But I wonder how all of these worthies would relish ths old “Homeric Code.” The ancient Greeks didn't be- lieve in “a fair stand-up fight.” They put their money on “a fair sit-down. scrap.” “Seated on two flat stones, the contenders would move close enough for their noses to touch. Their hands were encased in fingerless gloves, and the knuckle part of these would be decorated with iron spikes. At the word ‘g0’ they would go to it.” Those were the happy days for the managers. Deducting the funeral ex- penses of the fighters, these Joe Jacobses and Julian Blacks collected the whole of the “net” gate. None of this fifty-fifty business. God is good to the managers, FRED VETTER. Cross-Word Puzzles and New Arrivals at Zoo ‘To the Editor of The Star: I wish to express to you my pleasure in the cross-word puzzles, both daily and Sunday. I have learned very much from them and extended my vocabulary to a considerable degree. I feel so grateful to Dr. Mann for bringing those rare zoo specimens to us. There are fourteen on the list that I have learned about from the cross-word puzzles. I have cut out the list and checked those from the cross-words and pasted the list in my notebook, which I shall take to the zoo and enjoy their reality. Thank you vef'y much for my daily enjoyment of the cross-words. MISS LILLIAN The comic spirit has many aspects. A very dignified man, one who sel- dom smiled, burst into a roar of laughter, His companions looked at him in amazement, but said nothing, knowing that he would explain. He did. “Do you see that woman going along there?” He indicated her, who, fortunately, had neither heard him nor seen him laugh- ing. “Well,” he continued, slightly ashamed of himself by this time, “that woman must be the girl they modeled these dum- mies in the store windows after.” It was true. He had, in a flash, caught the spirit of a face, and had connected in squarely with the right thing. “I always wondered where they got that face,” he continued, serious by this time. * ok w % It was the old comic spirit at work. Another essentially dignified gentle- man, but possessing fnore of the impish spirit than the other, burst into laughter recently at the sight of the headlines about the Black affair. He laughed “ha-ha,” and he laughed “ho-ho,” in a way which his companions of the moment had not seen or heard from him in a long time. Something in the situation touched his funny bone. He. too, after a little, seemed slightly ashamed of his droll outlook, and short- ly got back to normal. The spirit of the comic had got him. * % ¥ x Seeing the funny side of things is all the better, we may believe, if not in- dulged in too often. ‘Who is more boresome than the gay person who always sees the humor in every event—whether it is there or not? It is significant that in the two in- stances given above, the main characters actually did put their finger squarely on something comic. The face of the lady did resemble the faces of the models. It took a good eye to catch it, though, for there is a vast difference between the live and the inert. The now famous “situation” really has a vastly comic side to it, provided one is willing to see it. * ok kX ‘There is not a funny side to every- thing. * Those determined persons who manage to see something “funny,” as they say, in evel ingle event are perhaps as off-key as those who never relax at all. Consider the wag who cannot greet one with a simple greeting, such as “Good morning,” or “Hello.” but has to make some “wise-crack” each and every time he meets one. People in time get to have a sinking feeling, every time they see him. But he must be met. There is no getting away from him. His intentions probably are of the best, but his means are unfair. He is personal to a degree. STARS, MEN He does not care at all whether he hurts the feelings of his victims. g He must have his joke, at all costs; and often the costs are too heavy. * x % *x The spectator and sometimes victim of this attempt at the comic will wonder whether the fellow actually thinks what he says is “funny.” If so, he is easily pleased. If not, why does he do it? Perhaps it is some sort of ‘“‘complex” or other, a determined attempt to overcome timidity, or something. He could select more efficient methods, one may feel sure. No doubt there are scores of crude actions in public based on lacks in the individual psychic make-up. The sad part of it is that the rest of humanity can have no way of knowing about these, and therefore see no excuse for such actions. * ok Kk The man with the invariable greeting, the same words day after day, mostly becomes a great bore. This is especially true if what he says really reflects in some way or other on the appearance, judgment or understand- ing of those greeted. Often enough this is the case. A great segment of the American public has trained itself to believe that mock-quar- reling is a sign of good fellowship. It indicates, according to the code, that one is not going to let anybody else “put anything over” on him. It shows that he can “take it” in the best approved fashion. Just why this code arose is not easy to see, unless it is based on the belief that bluff—Orientals call it “face”— is the one essential thing. If peace is the one desired thing, never admit it, but immediately start a mock- wrangle, even when there is no possible need for it. * %k X % A rather silly performance, such actions, in deed and word, all the more silly because, like so much that goes on nowadays, it is so unnecessary. The comic spirit, on the other hand, demands a truer appreciation. It calls for the proper idea at the proper time, a good understanding of what is just and fair, and a determina- tion, above all, to be discriminating, to have a sense of values, and a realization of what is appropriate and what is not appropriate. All this necessarily requires what is known as education. Yes, but not in the ordinary school sense. Education of the sort demanded rather comes under the head of experience, both in and out of school. Many persons have gone through school without getting much real experience out of it. Experience is education; the right sort of formal education is experience. From both may come the comic spirit, the true elixir of long life and a happy one, which, if a man possesses, he may lack many other things, and still have very much the best of life's bargain. AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Progress in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HENRY. Man may read his own future in the cryptic pages of the rocks. He is moving subconsciously toward probable extinction in response to forces that have operated since the beginnings of life on earth, associated with the con- stant battle between the eater and the eaten. Such is one of the suggestions in the first report of the National Research Council’'s Committee on Paleoecology— the relationship between extinct life forms to their environments and to each other—which has just been issued. Says | Dr. E. C. Case of the University of Mich- | igan in his report on the paleoecology { of vertebrates: “Defense may be by active or passive resistance. Flight, or offensive defense, or passive donning of armor may all be employed but any method implies a reason for its adoption, and every ad- vance in either method implies increased power of attack from the eater. The process of such adjustment is continu- ous and leads to specialization which is the shortest road to extinction. In the case of armored forms versus armed forms it has led invariably to but one result and in every group in every ag~ the story has been repeated. As the armor grew heavier the projectile and propulsive force grew stronger. Tooth and claw and muscular power have been balanced against ever heavier and more complete armor. The invariable result has been the extinction of both. The same history has been written and is being written by warring men. One dares prophecy the same result.” Another astonishing deduction from the relatively new science of paleoeco- logy, Dr. Case points out, is that plants from the beginning have been more pro- gressive than animals in their evolution toward modern forms. Thus modern leaf-shedding trees sheltered some of the great dinosawrs during their last days on earth. This has led to much confusion in time associations but, says Dr. Case, “the paleoecologist who would see rightly must not flinch from the vi- sion of a tyrannosaurus stalking through a forest of modern aspect. Certain if such a vision were granted he would give thanks for the towering heighth of the elm or the sturdiness of some giant oak.” The new science also may shed light on the coming of disease into the world. Single-celled bacteéria in some form must have been among the earliest of all forms of life and present practically from the beginning. There is plenty of evidence that throughout the ages they have been causing the decay of organic material, both plant and animal. But there has been scant evidence of actual disease caused by them. Now, Dr. Case points out, the rather sudden disappearance of the great reptiles just before the beginning of the evolution of modern life forms after they had dominated the earth for a hundred million years has always been a mystery. They may have been wiped out by the first of all great epidemics. ‘The blood of modern reptiles swarms with the single-celled animals known as protozoans, some of which are respons- ible for virulént and fatal diseases of cold-blooded animals. Shortly before the dinosaurs begin to disappear the first blood-sucking flies leave their first traces in the rocks. These insects usually carry the protozoans from one animal to another. The interval between their ap- pearance and the disappearance of the dinosaurs is just about sufficient to have allowed the development of this sort of an epidemic. Nearly every animal group as it nears extinction, Dr. Case points out, develops giant forms. He says: “The term giantism is, of course, used relatively. Normally minute animals may have giant species or individuals, as well as normally n‘liuch lgrger anlm:lsfl. It by noticed and commente i vertebrates DUSENBURY. | upon that in sgiant forms of 4 \ the seat of the pituitary gland is rela- tively enlarged. even to monstrous size. A very probable relation between the size of this gland and the size of the animal has been shown. Evidence has been brought forward to show that giant forms have uniformly a pituitary gland of large size and that the struc- ture of the animal shows abnormalities of proportionate growth such as occur in cases of enlarged pituitary in humans, the condition called acromegally. “That such a condition may be ende- | mic in a population of vertebrates is shown by the discovery that a consider- able number of the skeletons excavated on the site of one of the long lost and forgotten early colonies of Northmen in Greenland showed obvious evidence of acromegally. The cause is obscure, but if it shall turn out to be some lack or excess of material in the food supply, as the thyroid is affected by lack of iodine, the relationship of giantism to the en- vironment is obvious. It is very con- ceivable that such a small thing as ionic concentration in the water which the animal inhabits or imbibes may be the determinant factor in its development and fate.” r—— Story on Ar]inglonl House Popularity Is Misleading To the Editor of The Star: Dear Sir: On September 12, 1937, an article headed “Lee Home More Popular Than Lincoln Shrine” appeared in The ‘Washington Star. “The old home of Gen. Robert E. Lee, known as Arlington House, in Arlington National Cemetery, is more popular than the shrines here associated with Abra- ham Lincoln, the National Park Service, Interior Department, revealed yesterday, in announcing that all-time registrations were shattered this Summer at the Lincoln Museum and the house where Lincolr died.” I have had many letters about this article, which is very misleading. Many visitors go to Arlington to visit the National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and incidentally visit Arlington House, which is, of course, a show piace and which The Star calls the Lee Home, although it has been explained many times that it was built by Mr. Custis, and occupied by Lee after he married the daughter of Mr. Custis. The Lincoln Museum and the house where President Lincoln died are in a congested business section where parking space is not available. Whereas ample parking space has been provided near Arlington House. I understand the above-mentioned article was not printed as released by the National Park Service, Interior Depart- ment. HELEN F. DOWNING. — Baukhage Incorrect on Governors of Nebraska To the Editor of The Star: In your issue of September 25, Mr. Baukhage writes: “No Governor has ever held a third term in Nebraska.” He should consult any one of several good Nebraska histories and learn that Gov. Bryan completed & third term less than three years ago; that the first State Governor, vid Butler, was elected three times; and that the last territorial Governor, Alvin Saunders, served six years, which is the equivalent of three terms. A proposal is now pending, how- ever, to lengthen the term to four years. CHARLES S. LOBINGIER. e One Sure Soarer. From the Savannah News. There used to be a saying that all that goes up must come down, but it doesn't seem to be applicable to the national ) “Fdebt. 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. Is it true that Jimmy Scribner on the Mutual network impersonates all the characters on his program, the John- son Family?—E. H. A. Mr. Scribner takes all of the parts himself. He is capable of doing as many as 67 different, voices. He writes his own script and works out the sound effects. Q. When will Yellowstone Park closs for the season?—M. H. C. A. It closed on September 25. Lack of funds made it impractical to admit late= Fall visitors, Q. Is God mentioned in the Constitue tion of the United States —L. T. A. He is not. The framers purposely omitted such a reference, having just become emancipated from a church and state regime. They wished to draft a document under which people of all re« ligions could live in amity. Q. Has Puerto Rico a good yeare around climate?—W. R. A. The climate is mild and uniform, In the capital, San Juan, the daily average Is in the 70s, while the extremes are 94 and 62 degrees Fahrenheit. Q. What college has a course based on the world's 126 greatest hooks?—H, W. A. St. John's College at Annapolis, Md,, has such a course. It will consti= tute a curriculum leading to a B. A. degree. Q. Please tell what wines are suitable at dinner—E. S. C. A. Sherry wine may be served with soups; chablis or champagne with oyse ters; dry white wines or sparkling Bur- gundy or Moselle with fish; light claret or sparkling wine with entrees of red or brown meat; champagne, sparkling Bur= gundy or light claret with game, fowl, or veal; mildly sweet wines with desserts; sauterne or light claret with cheese; port with fruits, nuts and rich cakes; brandy or some exotic liqueur with coffee. Q. Which of the Great Lakes has the deepest place in it>—E. A. S. A. Lake Superior. The deepest sound« Ings of the five Great Lakes follow: Superior, 1,290 feet; Michigan, 923 feet; Huron, 750 feet; Erie, 210 feet; Ontario, 774 feet. Q. Where do toothbrush bristles come from?—H. W. A. Toothbrushes are made from pig bristles and most of the world’s supply of bristles comes from China. Q. How many children has Bernarr Macfadden, the publisher and physieal culture exponent?—E. J. A. Mr. Macfadden has six daughters and three sons. Q. What is the name of the store in London that offers $50 for every mistake found in its advertisements?—L. W. R A. Selfridge & Co. has a standing offer of $50 for every mistake the public finds in its advertisements. Q. How large is the Statue of Freedom on the United States Capitol?—C. D. A. It is 19 feet 6 inches high. Made of bronze, it weighs 14,895 pounds. Q. How many boys and girls belong to 4-H Clubs?—A. D. A A. There are now 68341 members. Q. What disease is most contagious?— H.E. A. Probably measles. There are very few people who reach adult life without having had measles and this disease is epidemic and endemic in different parts of the country at all times. Q. How are icebergs formed?—C. B. E. A. An iceberg is generally part of a glacier discharged into the sea, the ice being forced into the water until, by rea- son of its weight, the force of the waves, or the buoyancy of the water, the sea- ward end breaks off. Q. How many policemen are there In Washington, D. C.?—D. C. K. A. As of June 30, 1937, there were 1317 policemen and 82 civilians in the Police Department. Q. How many workmen were used in the building of the Empire State Building ing in New York City?—J. E. E. A. An average of 2,500 men was em- ploved daily in Empire State construc= tion work, the maximum number for any one day being about 4.000. Q. What actress received a bequest from the late James M. Barrie?—E. J. A. Elizabeth Bergner was bequeathed $10,000 by the author “for the best per= formance ever given in any play of mine.” The reference was to her work in “The Boy David.” Q. Is it true that alfalfa and red clover seed imported “4nto this country has to be colored?—W. H. A. The Federal seed act requires the coloring of all seed of alfalfa and red clover imported into the United States. Recipes That Tempt the Appetite. A tempting array of canapes, sand- wiches, salads, soups and hors d'oeuvres to add variety to the menu. For Sunday night suppers there are many unusual club plate combinations. An exception- ally fine collection of 300 recipes that will delight the hostess who is interested in serving something unusual and at the same time appetizing. Send today for a copy of this handy booklet. It will help you solve your problem of selecting and making “hit” dishes for your next party. Inclose fifteen cents to cover cost and handling, Use This Order Blank The Washington Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, ‘Washington, D. C. I inclose herewith FIFTEEN CENTS in coin (carefully wrapped) for a copy of the book, APPETIZERS, Street or Rural Route.