Evening star. [volume], November 27, 1924, Page 6, Image 6

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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6
•THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON, D. C,
THUESDAY.. .November 27, 1924
THEODORE W. NOYES Editor
The Evening Star Newspaper Company
Bu»lnn» Office, 11th Bt. and Penmylnni* Av«.
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Thanksgiving.
In the contemplation of the rea
sons for thankfulness on the part of
the people of this country today, set
apart by proclamation for the ex
pression of gratitude for bounties re
ceived from Providence, many fac
tors appear. Chief of these is the
peace in the world in which the
Vnited States shares. Disturbances
occur in remote places, local in their
nature, minor in their scope, and with
out danger to the placidity of the
greater nations. Here at home there
is no menace of conflict of any char-,
actor or from any cause.
In domestic matters there is abun
dant reason for gratitude. Recently
the country has once again mani
fested Its power of self-determina
tion in a National election, which,
participated In by the greatest num
ber and perhajw the greatest per
centage of the people ever voting,
lias resulted in a decision to continue
in i»ower the administration which
has maintained the high principles
cf American government. In that
election, which has demonstrated
clearly the repudiation of radical doc
trines, is seen the surest sign of
National stability.
In their physical condition the
American people are prosperous.
They have advanced in wealth and
enlightenment, In appreciation of the
higher forces affecting mankind. The
standards of living have been main
tained, have even been advanced. In
every part of the country enterprises
making for the alleviation of ills, the
correction of evils, the advancement
of education and the maintenance of
moral laws have progressed.
No great disasters have occurred.
No fires of sweeping destructiveness,
no convulsions of najare, no epidemics
of disease have taken their toll from
the physical and material resources
of the land. The people have Indeed
been blessed with bounty, with
health and with enlightenment.
To give thanks on this day, to
pause from normal activities, to rec
ognize the providential blessings be
stowed upon the American people Is
a duty. The custom has no law of
compulsion. It has become a tradi
tional practice. It Is instituted by
presidential proclamation, which is
observed as though it were of statu
tory force. While the day has be
come a holiday, a festivity in some
degree, it remains primarily an oc
casion of reverential recognition of
the great dispensation which brings
to America the richness of spiritual
ns well as material advance.
Street Lighting.
Better lighted streets would make
for safety. The matter has long been
discussed. The municipal authorities
know Washington’s deficiency in
street lighting and are applying the
remedy as they have funds for that
purpose. The subject has been gone
into by lighting engineers, many tests
have been made, a program has been
agreed to, and it is believed that with
funds for carrying out the program
Washington will become a well lighted |
city at night. In the matter of street
lighting, engineers place Washington
low in the scale of American cities.
Citizens and citizens’ associations are
discontented and disturbed with con
ditions in the streets and frequently
call for more light- The civic body
which most lately has taken up this
question is the North Capitol and
Eckington Citizens’ Association, and
at a recent meeting it discussed the
need for better lighting at the inter
section of First street and Florida
avenue,- which is a crossway over
•which much traffic passes. Most
streets in residence sections of Wash
ington are dim and full ‘of shadows
• at night, and some of these streets
are main traffic ways east and west
and north and south. There is no
doubt that many accidents are due
to inadequate illumination of streets.
~ T
It is predicted that Mr. Da Fol
lette’s autobiography will be a good
seller, and that none of big former
managers will seek to persuade him
to utilize the proceeds as the nucleus
of a campaign fund.
Police and Cross-Wording.
On the eve of sailing for South
America Commissioner Enright, head
of the New York police department,
issued an order designed to increase
the efficiency of the police force.
Taking cognizance of certain distrac
tions at the station houses that have
been prevalent of late, he proclaimed
a ban upon them. These diversions
are radio and cross-word puzzles. The
commissioner said in his instructions
to the commanding officers: “The
men arc spending too much time in
looking up two-toed sloths and three
lettered Australian birds, or attempt
ing to tune In on Honolulu.” They
should, be urged, shelve these fads
in favor of pistol marksmanship prac
tice.
Unquestionably the cross-word puz
zle has taken its. toll in time heavily
from business. In- practically every
office the black and white squares
are In evidence on desks. From time
to time search is conducted for
strange words. The dictionary has
come to be as common as the tele
phone directory. "
Cross-wording is undoubtedly one
of the most practically useful fads
that have ever been developed In this
country. It is highly educational. It
is enlarging the vocabulary of the
people at a rate never accomplished
by the schools. It la yielding a rich
store of genera! and, to A large de
gree. useful information. But it Is
certainly expensive to employers. It
slows up work In every line of busi
ness. Even superior officials, being
themselves addicted, are unable to
maintain discipline. Here and there
stern prohibition against cross-word
ing in office hours has occurred, but
there is so much sympathy with the
search for "two-toed sloths and three
lettered Australian birds” and other
rarities that underlings are doing
almost as much cross-wording as
typing or bookkeeping or other forms
of clerical work.
Whether the prohibition in New
York will actually increase the ef
fectiveness of the police force re
mains to be seen. There is certainly
enough work for the police to do
there to justify the commissioner's
ban against this educational urge to
which the members of the “finest’’
have been responding.
Courts and Enforcement.
An unusual move has, been made
by the Judiciary of the country in
the recommendations adopted at a
conference of the senior circuit
judges of the United Stales. In a
letter sent by Chief Justice ,Taft as
chairman of the conference to the
Attorney General a proivisal is made
to transfer the prohibition enforce
ment unit bodily from the Treasury
to the Department of Justice. The
judges, who are familiar with court
conditions, point out that tills change
of Jurisdiction would make much for
effectiveness in enforcing the law.
At present the attempted prosecution
of trivial, futile and unimportant
cases crowds the dockets "through
the ill-advised zeal and practical ig
norance of prohibition agents.” The
Judges believe that only those cases
should be taken up and pressed which
will really deter the principal of
fenders.
Undeniably there has been much
futility in the enforcement of the
prohibition law. Court calendars have
been crowded and, although probably
very few charges have.been brought
without full justification, at the same
time few have been successfully pros
ecuted. A high percentage of acquit
tals and indefinite postponements and
cancellations of Indictment has pre
vailed.
The most effective enforcement cf
the prohibition statute is that which
is aimed at the producers. Importers
and wholesaler* of liquor rather than
the distributors, who are mainly
petty agents. This would seem to be
the proposal of the Federal Judges,
whose recommendation to the Attor
ney General they hope will be em
bodied in his report with his indorse
ment.
Enforcement was Intrusted to the
Internal Revenue Bureau because
formerly that bureau had Jurisdiction
over the collection of taxes from the
makers and distributors of alcoholic
drinks. It had a certain enforcement
power then, in that It prosecuted
illicit distillers and venders. The
situation, however, changed when
prohibition was made the law of the
land. Yet Congress, following the
line of precedent rather than of logic,
gave to a purely administrative
branch of the Government the duty
of enforcing the statute instead of
transferring It to that branch which
has specifically to do with the car
rying out of Federal laws.
The suggestion of the judges is
not necessarily a reflection upon the
good faith of the enforcement unit
of the Treasury Department, but upon
the judgment of those now charged
with the execution of this law. The
Department of Justice has an organi
zation well adapted to the enforce
ment of this law. It must conduct
the prosecutions. It should have in
charge the work of preparing for
such prosecution.
Enforcement of the prohibition law
is a National necessity. A continued
defiance and breach, of, the constitu
tional amendment and the statute
make, fur a general disregard of law,
reacting most unfavorably upon the
morals of the people. When the Fed
eral Court Itself, which has the last
word In law enforcement, suggests
a change of method, heed should be
given to the proposal by Congress
to the end of a more thorough up
holding of the Constitution of the
United States.
It is the fate of some excellent
ideas to be too long delayed in their
practical application. Much anxiety
might have been avoided if the -Zep
pelin had when first manufactured
been limited strictly to commercial
purposes.
The wonders of modern communi
cation strengthen national * friend
ships. With "voices across the sea"
so clearly in evidence, "hands across
the sea” should easily be arranged
for.
The Washington has at least been
disposed of In a manner to relieve
wear and tear on the minds of statis
ticians who specialize on the large
annual cost of maintaining a battle
ship.
i—: ~ ...
Not an Epidemic Center.
Just why Washington is suspected
Os starting evils from which the rest
of the country suffers is difficult to
understand. For years it has been
the practice to attribute to this city
the origin of unpleasant factors in
the National life. Perhaps it is be
cause Congress sits and transacts its
business here, and because from
Congress at times emanate influences
not altogether popular. The latest
accusation, however, cannot possibly
have its origin in this fact. It is
alleged that a peculiar form of
grippe has developed here at the Cap
ital and has become epidemic, with a
resultant-danger to the health of the
people of other cities. Sufferers In
this alleged outbreak are said to be
afflicted with pains in the abdomen
THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. CU THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 27, 1924.
and the head, and the head is said to
become so sensitive that It is even
painful to touch the hair.
This is certainly news to the peo
ple of Washington. There are, it is
true, a good many so-called colds,
the usual result of the first frost and
of starting furnace fires. But If there
Is any epidemic of this affliction it
has certainly not come to official at
tention. The health office knows
nothing about it. If the doctors are
unusually busy prescribing for this
form of debility they are not report
ing their cases.
So far from Washington spreading
diseases of a communicable kind, it
Is itself the sufferer, as a rule, from
this cause. Here come daily thou
sands cf visitors from all parts of
the country, bent on sight-seeing and
on business. They bring in a wide
assortment of germs, which find
lodgment in the systems of local
residents. It is hardly fair, there
fore. to attribute everything epi
demic to the Washingtonians when
they are actually themselves the vic
tims of the generosity of other
Americans.
Hunters and Wild Turkeys.
With the hunting season under way
in many States the newspapers are
receiving dispatches which relate the
customary assortment of accidents.
There has been printed the usual
story of the hunter who thought he
saw a deer and shot a man. In the
mountains of Maryland one boy shot
another, believing him to he a wild cat.
From Pensacola comes news that two
hunters mistook each other for a wild
turkey. The message says: "Each be
lieving the other to be a wild turkey,
so realistic were their respective imi
tative calls, two Walton County
hunters crept toward each other just
at daybreak yesterday and one shot
and seriously wounded the other.”
There are some extenuating circum
stances for these hunters. It was just
break o’ day and visibility was low-
Each was using the song or speech of
a turkey. How tar these hunters have
progressed in learning the language
of, the wild turkey one cannot say,
but it seems that each thought the
other spoke it "fluently.”
Because each of these hunters con
sidered the other a master of the
wild turkey language it does not fol
low that he was. The proper test
would have to be made on the wild
turkey. If the hunter's vocabulary,
pronunciation and accent were good
enough to deceive the wild turkey, it
would surely be a feather in the cap
of the hunter, but it does not appear
from the dispatch that either of the
hunters fooled a turkey.
The $2.0b0,000 taken by Fahy, re
cently convicted in Chicago of mall
robbery, was evidently not enough
to secure an efficient brand of psycho
logical and legal talent. His offense
lacked the peculiar touch of atrocity
that appeals to the psychiatric imag
ination.
When Samuel Gompers is up for
election to the presidency of the
A. F. of L. there Is never any use
of posting betting odds on the result
of the campaign.
The cost per pound of turkey is
leas than was predicted by the less
hopeful market experts: not low
enough to provide a complete old
fashioned Thanksgiving, but a step
in the right direction.
If tenants insist on meeting to dis
cuss the rent, the next big apartment
might include an auditorium as an
added attraction.
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Estranged.
They do not speak. A frown on
either brow
Tells of a mood tempestuous, yet
; repressed.
Each with averted, bended head is
now
The silent symbol of a soul’s unrest.
There Is a shadow in the home. The
light
Glows brilliantly: yet darkness
seems to be
Intense with each lost to the other’s
sight—
She’s doing cross-word stuff; and ,so
is he. '
Helpful Readings .
“What line of reading have you
found most valuable In your political
career?”
• “For myself, 0 said Senator Sor
ghum, in a confidential tone, *T
never gave th? subject very close
consideration. My advice to a young
man In politics is to get your name
in the papers as often as possible
and let the dear people do the read
ing.” ; -
An Additional Item.
We built a- battleship immense.
She cost a heap of cash.
Not mentioning the large expense
Os sending her to smash.
Jud Tonkins says the' difference
between the old dr*ima and the new
is that Shakesjteare said things ordi
nary people couldn’t think of,- while
the modern author says what every
body suspects, but Is too polite to
mention. •- »
Influence of Origin.
“I hear your neighbor used a fliv
ver radiator to -make a moonshine
still.”
,"I guess that explains It,” mused
Uncle Bill Bottletop.
•“Explains what?” •'
“Some of the recent lickes - has
made everybody that touched it try
to occupy both sides of the road at
once and run into, everything they
saw.”
Art Note. «
Two stars of filmdopi. by .and by
A marriage fine w(U make.
No doubt they will have custard pie
Instead of wedding cake.
“You ain’ gincter get much good
sum readin’ de Bible," said'. Uncle
Ebon, “If *ll you’s lookin’ foh la
sumpin’ to staht an argument about.”
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
Does the Bible seem a Jumble to
you?
It does to at least one Washing
tonian. who has written me in regard
to the list of 10 great books recently
printed in this column.
The list, it will be remembered,
started off with the Bible. The cor
respondent says; "I hope others will
profit by reading the books you have
named. It’s too bad the Bible wasn't
written In h style that would keep a
person interested from start to finish
Instead of being such a jumble, as it
seems to he.”
Undoubtedly there are many others
to whom the Bible seems something
of a jumble, chiefly composed of pas
sages like this: “And Serug lived 30
years, and begat Nahor, and Serug
lived after he begat Nahor 200 years,
and begat sons and daughter*. And
Nahor lived 9 and 20 years, and begat
Terah; and Nahor lived after he begat
Terah 119 years.”
Even the most ardent Bible student
would be forced to confess that there
la nothing very Interesting or In
spiring in such a passage as that.
Our Bible Is full of them, too, what
with genealogies, specifications for
building temples, laws of ritual and
oblations, purification and atonement
and what not.
All these passages, which lend to
make a "jumble” out of the Bible
to the average reader. In reality have |
little to do with the real Bible the
world loves and reveres. They are
Interesting, as any other very old
record Is interesting. If you happen
to he Interested In that sort of thing.
The true Bible lies In those Im
mortal passages which stir the heart
and soul of men. and in the golden
thread running through the Old and
New Testaments which is tfie basis of
the religion of Jesus Christ.
To know even a few of these great
passages is to take a step forward
In appreciation of the Bible, so that
the pages of the Scriptures will not
longer be. a jumble, but a treasure
trove out of which one may select at
will the true pearls.
How many unopened Bibles rest in
honored slate In American homes
no one will ever know. The Bible so
cieties declare, and undoubtedly they
are right, that every home has Its
Bible. The Gideons have seed to It
that every hotel room has a Bible
resting on the dresser.
But how many children have you
seen silting around In a modern home
reading the Bible? How many weary
travelers have you noticed in their |
two-by-four hotel bedroom drinking \
in the precious waters of life?
In the average home you will find;
the Bible coated with dust, and the
red-edged volumes In the hotel rooms 1
as immaculate as the day they were
placed there.
In the first place, the print used ip
8 out of 10 Bibles is atrocious, it al
ways seemed to me a waste of ef
fort to send a Bible to the heathen—
either here or abroad—in little-bitti
type tiist only a man with X-ray eyes
could read.
In the second place, our modern life
tends to make us shrink from talk
ing or reading sacred things before
the putdlc eye. That Is the main rea
son why every child ought to have a
small bookcase In his own room, so
that he may retire into the privacy
of it, anq Into the privacy of his own
soul, to read the books that ought
to be read that way.
You will not catch the average
small boy running the risk of being
"kidded” by being seen by companions
reading the Bible. Thai is the fact,
whether you admit it or not.
There have been many worthy at
tempts to select the treasures of the
Bible for the general reader. Rev.
j Dr. IX, C. B. Pierce of this city has
1 made a most interesting and helpful
volume of gleanings.
The drawback to all books of this
WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC VILLI AM WILE
Tongues busily wagging in Wash
ington over President Coolidge*
plan to excuse Charles G- L>awes
from vice presidential attendance at
cabinet meetings are speculating
over the real reason. To this ob
server comes an intimation that a
Dawes-Butler feud is at the bottom
of the first "scandal” of the Cool
-1 Idge administration-to-be. Gen.
i Dawes, as all the political world
knows, was never the preference of
the Coolidge management a® the
President’s running mate. At the
Cleveland convention the banker
brigadier was nominated In the
teeth of Chairman Butler’s opposi
tion. after the new ’boss’’ had. In
turn, tried to put over Borah. Bow
den, Burton and Hoover. After Cool
idge and Dawes became the nominees,
all went merrily until the campaign
swung into the active stage. Then
the Dawes-Butler ruction flared up
afresh. The ’vice presidential Candi
date objected to being ordered hither
and thither to make speeches. He
told Butler (so the story goes) that
he would talk where and when he
pleased. Relations meantime have
been strained.
* * -Jr * „
Eyes of the country will be peeled
In the direction of Connecticut on
December 16 when the Nutmeg State
elects a successor to Senator Brande
gee. It will be the first out-and-out
league of Nations contest since 1920.
Hamilton Holt, Democrat, who op
poses Gov.-elect Hiram A. Bingham,
Republican, is as dyed-in-the-wool a
covenanter a« there is in the United
States-. At -the Democratic national
dissension in June, Holt appealed
passionately for a straight pro-league
plank ip the platform. Connecticut
since time immemorial has ranked as
a doubtful State, both In local and
nation*! elections. Cleveland carried
it In ISB4 and - 1892, and Wilson in
1912. Except in O. O. P. landslide
years, Democratic candidates for gov*
emor and United States JSenator have
always given Republican opponents
close ruijs. In recent municipal elec
tions Democratic mayors Were elected
all over the State. Coolidge swept
Connecticut by nearly 120,000 ma
jority on November 4. But the G. O.
P. will take no risks, and Senator
George H. Moses, chairman of the
Republican senatorial campaign com
mittee, will assume personal com
mand Os the fight to hold the Brande
gee seat.
.. * * * *
John Hays Hammond, recently re
turned, to Washington from Europe,
had lotig talks with Stanley Baldwin,
then on- the eve of resuming the
British premiership. The famous
American mining engineer is con
vinced that Baldwin and Coolidge see
eye to eye on a variety of outstand
ing . questions. Baldwin is a- cousin
of Rudyard Kipling, at whose home
Hanimond met the Conservative
leader. The American has enjoyed
the intimate friendship of Kipling
since Hammond was a collaborator of
Cecil Rhodes in South Africa. The
original manuscript of Kipling’s "The
White Man’s Burden” hangs in Ham
mond’s picturesque study in Wash
ington.
** * *
Paterfamilias, otherwise known as
the family meal-ticket, is in for m
scorching time of it when the great
and solemn referendum of the 1111-
nois'League of Woman Voters gets
under way. The league, a state
branch of the national organization
headquartered in Washington, wants
to X-ray “the attitude of the family
toward expenditures.” It has sent
out a questionnaire which Includes
such questions as this:
“What is the husband’s attitude
toward the expenditures he makes —
kind is that they represent the selec
tions of some other man—not Tour
selections. Who knows—for me—
what will help me?
It is possible, however, In short
space, to point - out some of the pass
ages in the Bible that are the very
antithesis of the "begat" pages'.
“In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth. And the earth
was waste and void; and darkness
was upon the face of the deep: and
the spirit of God moved upon the face
of the waters.”
There Is not much jumble to that;
anyway you look at if, it has the
certitude of scientific statement. Even
the most modern geologist cannot do
any better.
Then lake Moses' blessing, as found
in Exodus:
"The Lord bless thee and keep thee;
The I/ord make his face to shine upon
thee, and be gracious unto thee;
The Lord lift up his countenance
upon thee and give thee peace.”
Or those shining last words of
Moses in Deuteronomy:
"There Is none like unto God, O
Jeshurun,
Who rldeth upon the heaven for thy
help.
And in his excellency on the skies.
The eternal God is thy dwelling place
And underneath are the everlasting
arms.”
So the great leader went to his
solitary place on the mount, saw the
promise land, where he alone was
never to go, and passed away. And
“no man knowelh his sepulcher unto
this day.”
"Cry !” says a voice In Isaiah.
"What shall I cry?” replies another.
"All flesh is grass,
And all the eoodUness thereof is as
the flower of the field ;
The grass wltheretb,
The flower fadeth.
Because the breath of the Lord blowelh
upon it;
Surely the people is grass!"
Comes, then, another voice*
’’The grass wlthereth.
The flower fadeth.
But the word of our God shall stand for
ever.”
In Job, which Is a play (it was acted
here two seasons ago) arises the cry
again: "If a man die, shall he live
again 7" and the hopeful answer is ever
the same.
In Isaiah, repository of undying
verse, we find these strange, moving
j words :
"He hath no form nor comeliness, that
we should look upon Him ;
| Nor beauty that we should desire Him.
; He was despised and rejected of niei>;
A man of sorrows and acquainted with
grief;
And as one from whom men hide their
faces He was despised.
And we esteemed Him not.
Surely He hath borne our griefs.
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken.
Smitten of God and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our trans
gressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement of our peace was upon
Him.
And with His stripes we are healed.”
1 hope I have given enough to show
: that in the vast deeps of the ocean of
I our Bible literature, gleaming like phos-
I phoreecent drops in a dark night, shine
forth veritable gems of wisdom and
j light, that must appeal to any one who
wil! give them a heating.
The Bible is a jumble only as the
ocean is a Jumble. A mariner adrift
without compass or 'chart, no doubt,
would l»e inclined to feel himself in the
midst of a terrible welter, and be un
! able to see any beauty in the scene, but
j show him the way out, later he will dis
i cover the glory and majesty of the sea
j tor himself.
i. e., does he think he Is spending
his own money, or does he realize
that the wife lias a joint Interest In
• it with him?”
As if the Illinois Woman Leaguers
didn’t think there is enough dyna
mite In that poser.’ they want to
know "how does the husband feel
toward what the wife spends?” The
objective of the referendum is to ar
rive at a “basis of division" of house
hold income.
* * * *■
tVhen Mrs. Coolidge was teaching
in a deaf and dumb school at North
ampton. Mass., she became a rapid
operator on the typewriter. The ac
complishment is still with her. Npw
and then she dashes off a personal
note on the White House machine
which her secretary uses. One of
these recently had the following
postscript:
"Please don’t think this is a fair
sample of White House stenography.
1 wrote this myself!”
♦ .* ' * *
Santiago de Cuba will be the scene
on Sunday, December 14, of , the un
veiling of a bust of Theodore Roose
velt, colonel of the Ist United-Slates
Volunteer Cavalry (Rough Riders).
President Zayas of Cuba will attend
the ceremony with members of his
cabinet;,Gen. Crowder, American Am
bassador at Havana, will represent
the United States; Mrs. Douglas Rob
inson, “T. R.’s” sister, will be present
on behalf of the Roosevelt, family
and the Navy Department will send
the cruiser G&ivestoa to Santiago.
The bust, chiseled by James Earle
Fraser, is. get against a granite back
ground designed by Henry Bacon,
creator of the. Lincoln Memorial. On
the granite,, carved la.Spanish* are
Col. Roosevelt's words: "
"Only those are fit to 1 lye who do
not fear to die.”
*♦ * . ; .
Jesse H. Jones of Texas, chairman
of the flnanoe'-odmmlttee of the late
Democratic campaign organization,
has sent out an S. O. S. for <300,000,
the sum of the DavisTßfyan deficit.
"I appeal to you again,” says Mr.
Jones to the Democratic faithful, “of
fering nothing.' but the opportunity
and privilege of helplngto pay your
party out of debt. Wc have spent
money and incurred debts to the
amount approximately of $1,100,000,
and have collected about $800,000.”
Political observers believe that con
trol of the Democratic party during
the next four years may pass to the
Moses who leads the national com
mittee out of financial darkness.
■ *» ■
| Novel Method Urged
As Check on Speeding
j To the Editor of The Star:
A number of years ago Mark Sul
l livan suggested a remedy for speed
ing which Is so simple that it is a
great wonder ft has never been
tried. Mr. Sullivan stated that he
noticed that whenever a plank or a
small obstruction was on the street,
that an automobile approached it
most carefully and that If the driver
did- not, he received a severe jerk
which tended to remind him to be
more careful In the future.
The suggestion he made was that a
ridge about two inches In height be
formed'.-on the pavement entirely
crossing the stfeet. If this should be
done at important corners it would
automatically compel every auto
mobile to cut down its speed.
This suggestion of Mr. Sullivan's is
so simple and obviously practical
that it ought to be given a trial.
MELVIN D. HILDRETH.
.. The North Window
BV I.EILA MECHMV
The DaniOsoape Club of Washington
in holding'in its clubroonia, 1221 Fif
teenth .street northwest, an exhibi
tion of members’ works,, which Is
open ib fb«. public at hours when
most exhibitions arc closed- —from 5
to 9 p.m. This fact alone ahould
aroune a* stfsplcltin that ! .the exhibit
ing organisation is of unique
acter. The fact is that It ist com
posed chiefly of ‘men who follow art
as an avocation, who-tarn to it as a
pastime, earning their living through
some other fonp of activity. It is
not the only organisation of this kind
In the country, however. Chicago and
other cities have similar business
men’s art associations. In some In
stances the. members of these clubs
have gone far toward attaining pro
fessional standing as artists through
the merit of their works. Such Is
the cUso with a number of the mem
bers of our Jocal Dandscape Club.
Granville Barker once said in a
lecture given In this city before the
Washington Society of the Fine Arts
that we as a people, would have no
right to consider ourselves musical
or artistic until the majority played
on some Instrument and produced
through some of the graphic art
mediums—going to concerts and vis
iting exhibitions was not suffielent,
even though we did these in crowds;
to patronize art was not enough, we
must produce art. And it is very true t
that through production one acquires
a knowledge and a keenness of ap
preciation which can be had in no
other way. Some have complained
that out of the hundreds, indeed,
thousands, who study art, only a
very few attain distinction. This
true in other professions, and in art
what might be called the .by-product j
—those who only go a little way—
is greater perhaps than In law or
medicine or in the sciences. For this
reason *v«n a slight knowledge of
the artist’s way of working open*
one’s eyes to latent beauty in nature
and leads to a. more correct appre
ciation of artistic values.
More than many would suppose
have men of distinction in other fields
found recreation In art. Seymour
Hayden, for instance, was a great
British surgeon and many of his best
Plates were etched while in attend
ance upon a patient at a distance
awaiting the outcome of a crisis.
Dr. Robert Abbe of New York, one
of our great American surgeons,
sketches in wafer colors and models
low reliefs with extraordinary sure,
ness as well as delicacy of touch
and artistic feeling. These are but
two of many instances.
Appreciation of art may come, how
ever, not only through production,
but through the study of the works
of others From fhicago lias come a
delightful letter from a business man
written to an artist friend, telling
how his interest in art was awakened
through a conversation he overheard
between another business man. and
the artist, and the revelation it has
■ •een to him. He..wrote in part as
•♦w ‘‘ From y°ur conversation
with Mr. S. I had a hazy notion that
I had overlooked something in life,
so the next time I went to the Art
Institute I took a good look, and I did
the same thing at the club, and re
peated it. and the more I looked the
more I saw or thought I saw in the
pictures. Then I began reading about
It. The thing that has astonished me
during the short time I have been
studying the subject is the revelation
of the beautiful things I had been
missing in life, not in pictures, but
in nature. When I look out now I
see the deep blue of the sky and the
lighter blue near the horizon and the
beautiful blending of the two. When
I look at a tree I see lights and
anades and shadows. I see shimmer
ing effects on the water and on the
landscape and things in the skv that
I never knew were there. And this
applies to the night as well as to the
day. Even a row of old willow
stumps that I wouldn't so much as
glance at before are beautiful, be
cause they are rugged and strong,
perfection of their kind, and because
it would take a ton of dynamite to
blow out their everlasting roots,
when I look at a man X see the lights
[and shades of his face, or hand, that
I never saw before. Actually never
saw them before, and I have been
looking at people for 46 years. I as
sume, therefore, that the greatest
thing in art is not pictures, thev are
secondary, but it is the sleeping
thing that they awaken in people
that causes them to get out and en
joy nature. And how free and easy
and ineipehsive a pleasure it is just
.look ng. if people will only learn from
*he artists anil from their pictures
how to do it.” If they only would!
*» ♦ *
Chicago Is setting us an example at
the present time in more ways than
one. The Board of Education of that
city has lately by formal action de
termined that all school buildings to
be erected hereafter shall provide
in each classroom a space on the wall
facing the students for placing a
picture or other w-ork of art, and, in
addition, one room is to be set aside
and properly equipped for the showing’
of pictures and other museum exhib
its. The understanding is that these
exhibits will be lent by the City Mu
seum and art associations. This will
mean that the children of Chicago
in the future will be brought into close
contact with art. that it will become a
part of their everyday lives, and the
result will be a finer appreciation of
beauty and a higher standard of citi
cenship.
** * *
As the-Chicago business man, whose
letter has been quoted, suggests, the
real end and aim of art is not in the
thing produced, but its power to
awaken Imagination in the Individ
ual, and Imagination, as Hamilton
Mable pointed out'in his delightful
little essay entitled “An Undiscovered
Island,” Is the key to the kingdoms
of the mind, to all those “worlds of
supernal loveliness” to which man as
pires. These worlds, Mr. Mabie has
said, “have their roots in the same
earth whence the commonest weed
grows, but the light and life of the
heavens are theirs also. In them the
visible and the invisible are harmon
ized; In them the real finds its com
pletion in the Ideal. The common
earth Is common only to those who
are deaf to the voices .and blind to
the visions which waft on it and
make lla flight a music and its path
a light. Out of these common things
the great artists build the homes of our
souls." ..
** * *
Mrs. ’Wharton, in the first of her
series of four little books on “Old
New ”ork,” tells of the “false dawn”
of art appreciation in the great
metropolis, and thereby points a
moral which all may take to heart.
In the 1840 s in this fictitious tale
the son of one of the old New York
families was sent to Europe to make
the “grand tour,*’ commissioned by
his affluent, well instructed father to
assemble and bring back a collection
of masterpieces of painting-. On the
best possible advice, that of dealers
and wealthy friends of his own circle,
the father had learned the Impor
tance of Sassoferrato, Guido Rent,
Carlo Dolce, Do Spagnoletto and
Raphael. It was the works of these
then most famous painters which
young Raycic was'to bring back with
him, but through a chance meeting
with Buskin and an inherent Intuition
the young man discovered the Italian
primitives. He bought a Piero della
Francesca, a Fra Angelico, a Carpac
cio, a Mantegna suid a Ohiotto—ln
short he got together a-collection
which today would have been price
less, hut. which in that day lost him
the esteem of his father, made him
the butt of ridicule among his friends
and finally caused him to die in pov
erty. The people of that day, as the
people of today, did not think for
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN
Q. Is Mrs. Coolidge a I). A. R. 7
L. N. G.
A. The Daughters of the American
Revolution say that Mrs. Coolidge is
not a member,of that society.
Q. Is Washington considered a
beautiful city?—R. G. G.
A. It compares favorably with
Buenos Aires, Paris and other cities
famous for their beauty.
Q. Where is the longest block in
Washington?—lt. 11. O.
A. The longest single block is on H
street between North Capitol and
First streets northwest. •
Q. How much special training must
a person have in order to teach music
in the public schools here?—D. M.
A. It is necessary to take two
years’ special training, one year of
which Is devoted to the methods of
teaching.
Q. What was the population of the
District at the last census?—T. P. S,
A. In 1920 the population was 437,-
571.
Q, Who originated the expression,
"Say it with flowers," and what does
It mean?—A. C. U.
A. The late IC. P. Dlndberg of Rug
by, N. Dak., was credited with the coin- j
Ing of the phrase. It Is merely a !
slogan calling attention to the, fact |
that flowers are an appropriate gift j
on all occasions,
Q. Is it possible to become an ad- i
miral without going to Annapolis? j
—M. R. W.
A. The Navy Department states I
that it is possible to rise from an en- |
listed man to an admiral without be. 1
ing a graduate of the I'nlted Slates I
Naval Academy. Admiral Peary was
a civil engineer. He entered the Navv
pefober 6, XSBI.
Q. Who is the oldest living mon
arch?—C. C. R.
A. Ring Sisowath of Cambodia is j
the oldest. He Is 92 years of age.
Q. The Chicago. Milwaukee & St. ‘
Paul Railroad has electrified Its j
lines which run through the Rocky j
Mountains. We have heard It said
that the motors which drive the en
gines up the grade, on one side of
the divide act as generators while
the load is being taken down the
other side. As a resuit of the ar
rangement lh« train while descend
ing either will generate more than
enough electricity to make up for
what it required to pull the same !
load up the opposite side. We |
would like to know the facts in the (
case. F. m. A.
A. The electric locomotives used !
ar» equipped with what is known a= 1
the regeneration feature; that is, \
they are so arranged that on coast- (
ing grade the motors may be run as j
generators and due to the force of
gravity electric power is returned to i
the trolley line. The amount of i
energy which returned to the • line !
during regeneration as compared
with the amount of energy required
for motoring the same train defends
both on the train tonnage and on
the steepness of the grade. Assum
ing a 2 per cent grade and a train
corresponding to the continuous ca
pacity of the locomotive the amount
of energy returned to the line, run
ning over’ a given length of the 2 j
per cent grade, is about 60 per cent
of that required to haul the same
train over the same length of 2 per
cent grade. In hauling a train up
on a 2 per cent grade the locomotive
must exert a tractive effort of 40
pounds for each ton weight of the
train to overcome the grade and
must exert an additional 6 pounds per
ton to overcome the train friction,
making 48 pounds per ton total. In
going down the grade the gravity j
pulls at the rate of 40 pounds per;
ton, but is opposed by the friction of
6 pounds per ton so that 34 pounds
per ton is regenerated over a given
distance as compared with 46 pounds
! per ton being required to haul the
j train.
i Q. Is Joaquin Miller the poet’s
| real name? S- D.
A. It is not the real name of the poet.
I His name was Cincinnatus Heine
; Miller.
| Q. Is there a public memorial to
: Lord Kitchener? —S. L. T.
j A. As yet there is none. The peo
| pie of the Orkney Islands, however,
! will soon erect one on the point on
their coast nearest to the spot where
the Hampshire sank, on June 5. 19X6.
Q, How large are the gramaphone
j records used by the Instrument in the
! Queen's doll house?-—H. O. J.
I A. This gramaphone plays one-inch
I records.
| Q. How high is the highest of the
Egyptian pyramids?—J. F.
I VITAL THEMES
Science and Human Life
BY DR. VERNON KELLOGG,
Director, National Research
Coon oil.
I When the first news of the swift and
sweeping death that struck the Mexi
can quarter in Dos Angeles flashed
over the wires the other day the word
‘‘mysterious.’’ added to the story, made
these deaths more terrifying. But men
of science, hurrying to the scene, said;
This happening is not mysterious. We
know what causes these deaths and how
it causes them, and we know how to
stop them. They result from an un
necessary combination of germs, infect
ed animals and ignorant human beings.
Pneumonic plague is no mystery to
science.
The recent horrible deaths of a num- j
her of workers in an oil plant in New |
Jersey had, to most of us, all the seem- !
ing of mystery. But the scientific stu- \
dent of poison gases says: There is
nothing mysterious about Insanity gas ;
or Us effects. It contains lead ; Us ef
fects are those of cumulative lead
poisoning. There Is danger to those pre
paring It. but this danger can be guard
ed against. There might be danger to
the public if too high a concentratfdn
of it were released In the exhaust gases
from motor cars In our streets. But this
can be prevented.
In the good old days these happen
ings would have been mysteries of
Providence to he suffered for our sins.
Today science has taken the mystery
out of them. I
‘ We vary In our estimates of the rela
tive values of science, philosophy and
religion as guides for life. But all of
us, as a matter of actual fact, bet our
lives every day on science. We watch
our step according to the word of physi
cian, chemist, physicist and engineer.
And their word is a reliable word, be
cause it is the word of science. The pgr-'
sonal experience of any one of us Is
necessarily limited. The collective ex
perience of science is wide. When a
thing new- to our experience Is flung
into our faces as a vivid reality most
of us cry out. mystery. And some of
us shudder and stop right there. But
the scientific man finds in apparent
mystery the very stimulus to its unravel
ing. If more of us are living longer
than our grandparents did—and we are
—lt is not because of good luck; it Is
because science saves life.
(Copyright, 1024.)
themselves ndr use their own eyes.
They followed fashion, who e dupe
they w-ere. This little book sounds a
fearful warning, which It would be
well If more picture buyers would
take to heart.
A. The Pyramid of Cheops Is now
451 feet high, though originally the
apex must have been 30 feet higher.
Q. Where is the largest pencil fac
tory in the world? —W. K.
A. Xubremberg. Germany, claims
to have the largest.
Q. Just where is Flume? —E. E. C.
A. Plume is situated at the head of
the Bay of Quarnero, an Inlet of the
Adriatic Sea, about 40 miles southeast
of Triest,
Q. When was the parcel post first
used In the United States?—R. M.
A. This department of thp Post Of
fice began operation on January 1,
1913.
Q. What is a "red letter day”?—
F. W. R.
A. This is an expression used to
convey the idea of a lucky or aus
picious day. It is so called because in
the old liturgical books the greater
holy days were always marked with
red letters.
Q. Who writes under the name
of “Elizabeth”?—D. C. W.
A. The Countess Russell, whose
maiden name was Beauchamp, is the
writer who uses the pseudonym,
j "Elizabeth."
j Q. To what church does Dr. Frank
j Crane belong?—V’. M.
A. Dr. Crane was educated -in the
Wesleyan University and was a Meth
! odist pastor for many years. He gft
j erward joined the Congregational
| Church.
j Q. Vho is the author of the quota
| tion. "To the victors belong the
i spoils ”.’—-A. M.
A. William L. Many (17SS-1857) is
credited with its origin. While in the
Senate he gained distinction for his
defense of President Vh ti Euren
against the attacks of Henry Clay,
in the course of a speech r«n the ques
j tion of appointment (to offices ho up*
held the right of the President to
j bestow offices upon his political sup
porters. saying. “To the victors belong
the spoils."
j Q. What countries compete with
the United States in the production
of eggs?—D. M.
A. United States. China, Denmark,
Siberia, Egypt and Holland lead in
egg production.
Q. What is a curule chair?—B. M.
A. This was a chair of state, equi
| valent to a throne, in use among the
early Romans. The chair was usually
J ornamented with ivory or gold, had
| curved legs, but no back, and could
j he folded as a camp stool is folded.
1 It was used by curule magistrates.
dictators, consuls, praetors, and cu
' rule aediles on formal occasions. The
■ right to sit in the presence of others
was-one of the precious privileges of
j certain officers.
I Q How should I- make an oyster
rabbit?—O. R. S.
A. -A small size can of oysters or
a similar quantity of fresh ones, one
ounce butter, one-half pound cheese,
one saltspoon salt, cayefme. two eggs.
Melt the butter, then add the cheese
cut into small pieces. While the
cheese is melting, beat the eggs light
ly. add to them the oyster liquor, then
the oysters, and add to cheese. When
hot serve on squares pf toast,
Q. Is there a totally disconnected
order which has some passwords and
signs like those of the Free Ma
sons?—A. B. W.
A. The Begtashi, a secret religious
rrder in Turkey, is said to resemble
the order of Free Masons, and to em
ploy passwords and signs of recog
nition similar to, and in foiti» case-,
j identical with those of Free Masonry.
Q. What is the "Book of Good
Counsel?"—G. E.
A. This is the subtitle of the "Hilo
padesa," a celebrated Sanskrit collec
tion of fabies, most of which have
passed into the literature of ail civii
izer countries.
Q. How can paste for papering a
room be made?—P. J. J.
A. I’cste should be made by mixing
flour with cold water to the con
sistency of cream; add a tablespoon
ful each of alum, salt and glue to the
I pound of flour. Pour boiling water
into the mixture, stirring the while,
j until a paste is formed a bit too stiff
j to pour.
(The Star maintains for the pleasure
! and profit of its readers an information
' service under the directorship of Fred
eric J. flask in. The scope of the bureau
is national and international, amd no
subject is too elementary or too broad
to enlist the personal attention of a spe
cialist. Address The Star Information
Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director,
Twenty-first and C streets northwest
Hint to Advertisers,
Correspondents Suggests Definite
Information Be Imparted.
To the Editor of The Star;
I have a suggestion to make which
I think will prove of great mutual
benefit to those who insert classified
advertising and to those who peruse
-it, My suggestion applies partic
ularly to that part of the classified
columns which pertains to house® for
sale and for rent, furnished and un
furnished rooms and apartments.
I suggest that those who insert
classified advertising of this nature
be required, or at least encouraged,
to come down to earth and state
prices. Such terms as "rent reason
able," "good value,” et£, are abso
lutely meaningless and may often he
positively untrue.
I have had the experience o?
| searching both for suitable furnish
j ed and unfurnished rooms, and also
j for apartments, and have wasted
j both my own time and that of ad- *
j vertisers by inspecting propertythe
j rent of which was not in proportion
; with my meSns and with what I de
! sired to pay.
Why not give us a real service In
stead of inviting a wild goose chase
of equal annoyance to advertiser and
reader. No advertiser with good
sense thinks for a moment that con
cealing the price in the advertisement
Is of any advantage to him. As a
matter of fact, I will wager that
those thoughful people who do state
prices receive much better service
from your columns than those.who do
not. The price after all is the first
consideration and governs ninety
nine out of a hundred people in mak-
I ing selection.
No department or other store would
waste time advertising goods wilh
prices marked "reasonable.” Why
should not classified advertising he
elevated to the same plane as com
mercial advertising? Incidentally, the
same improvement might be applied
to the "For sale" columns.
EDWARD DEE BENNETT.
Delivers His Own Vole.
From the Topeka Capital.
Samuel Gompers didn’t deliver the
labor vote to Da Follette, but neither
did the New York Trades Assembly de
liver it to Davis. The German vote
wasn't delivered, from all appearances.
In fact It ought to become apparent
after a few more such examples that the
American voter delivers himself In elec
tions and no others need apply for
the job.
- The Need of the Hour.
From the Host on Transcript.
One of the urgent needs of the hour
Is means of stopping the drunken driver
before he starts. \