Evening star. [volume], June 11, 1930, Page A-8, Image 8

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

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
A-8
THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Moraine Edition.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
WEDNESDAY Juno 11, 1930
THEODOEE W. NOYES. .. .Editor
The Evening Star Newspaper Company
Business Office:
11th St. end Pennsylvania Ave.
New York Office: 110 East 42nd St.
Chicago Office: Lake Michigan Building.
European Office: 14 Regent St.. London.
England.
Rate by Carrier Within the City.
The Evenlnr Star 45c per month
The Evening and Sunday Star
(when 4 Sundays) 60c ser month
The Evening and Sunday Star
(when 5 Sundays) 65c per month
The Sunday Star .... ..5c rer copy
Collection made at the end of each month.
Orders may be aent in by mail or telephone
National 5000.
Rate by Mail—Payable In Advance.
Maryland and Virginia.
Dally and Sunday 1 yr.. *10.00; 1 mo., 85c
pally only 1 yr.. S 6 00: 1 mo.. 50c
Sunday only 1 yr.. *4.00: 1 mo.. 40c
All Other State* and Canada.
Dally and Bunday. 1 yr.. *12.00; 1 mo.. 11.00
Dally only 1 yr., *8.00: 1 mo.. 75c
Sunday only 1 yr.. *5.00; 1 mo.. 60c
Member of the Associated Press.
The Associated Press Is exclusively entitled
to the use lor republication of all news dls-
f latches credited to It or not otherwise ered
ted In this paper and also the local news
published herein. All rights of publication of
special dispatches herein are also reserved.
A Red Herring.
The Senate foreign relations commit
tee, having been told by President
Hoover, through his Secretary of State,
that he would not accede to the request
of Senator Hiram Johnson, a foe of the
London treaty, for all the confidential
memoranda dealing with the negotiation
of the naval treaty, is about to state,
as a matter of principle, its view of the
right of the Senate committee to all
Information necessary to dealing with
treaties sent to it for ratification. In
some quarters the proposal of the com
mittee to adopt such a resolution has
been interpreted as a censure and chal
lenge of President Hoover’s right to
withhold confidential data relating to the
London treaty. Chairman Borah, how
ever, takes the view that the rqgolution,
which is still to be finally drafted, la
not a demand upon the President for
the papers he has declined to send to
the Senate. The chairman of the for
eign relations committee also asserts
that the disposition of the committee is to
regard the iricident over the London
treaty memoranda as "closed." He
probably was speaking for a majority
of the committee when he made such
a statement and perhaps not for some
of the individuals.
President Hoover has sent to the
Senate committee all the Information
it needs regarding the London treaty
to act intelligently and squarely upon
that pact. Two members of the com
mittee were themselves delegates to the
London conference. Senators Robinson
of Arkansas and Reed of Pennsylvania,
and are entirely familiar with all the
negotiations and in a position to answer
the questions of any of their colleagues.
The only information which has been
withheld, it Is said, relates to confi
dential conversations between'the dele
gates of this country and the delegates
of the other powers. To divulge such
secrets, with any chance of their be
coming public property, would not only
be a gross violation of confidence, but
also would place this country in a sorry
light.
The opposition to the naval treaty has
centered upon these confidential data in
an effort to becloud the issue of the
treaty itself. It is seeking to make the
public believe that something sinister
lurks around the comer. As a matter
of fact, there is no secret agreement
which goes beyond the terms of the
treaty, and the treaty stands on its own
bottom. The Senate committee and the
Senate are In a position to act upon
the treaty. But that Is Just what the
opposition is seeking to prevent.
The so-called “challenge" to the
President, if Senator Borah is correct,
is a statement of the committee to the
effect that as a co-ordinate part of the
treaty-making power the Senate and Its
committee are entitled to full Informa
tion regarding the negotiations of
treaties. No one will deny that. The
President himself agrees to such a
proposition. Certain members of the :
committee take the view that the com- '
mittee, not the President, is to deta»-
tnine what constitutes full Information.
No power la given the Senate to com
pel the President to furnish it with
documents which the President deter
mines shall not be given on the ground
that such action would not be “com
patible" with the best Interests of the
country. It can demand such docu
ments, but it can go no further. Im
peachment of a President might be un
dertaken, but that must originate in
the House of Representatives, not In the
Senate. The Senate has it in its power,
of course, to reject the London naval
treaty by failing to ratify it, if it feels
that it has not the full information it
needs to act upon it. That is its only
recourse. The country will not believe,
however, that the committee has been left
in ignorance of what the treaty means.
Pull hearings have been held by the
foreign relations committee. Two mem
bers of the committee, one a Democrat
and the other a Republican, were im
portant members of the American group
which negotiated the treaty. This does
not seem like “darkness" nor secrecy.
Washington is becoming so beautiful
a city that Senators may not care to
leave it even in the Summertime.
Britain Looks at India.
The long-awaited report on condi
tions in India from the commission
headed by Sir John Simon has now
been published at London. It Is mere
ly a preliminary document devoted to
presentation of basic facts, and is con
spicuously devoid of recommendations.
The obvious purpose is to prepare Brit
ish public opinion for the subsequent
report which, it is expected, will state
some conclusions and propose certain
remedies for coping with the political
crisis. The final section is due on
June 24.
The Simon report just issued reaf
firms self-government as the goal of
British policy in India, but does not
disguise the vast difficulties which stand
In the way. If "dominion status”—
local self-government on Canadian,
Australian, South African and Irish
lines —is to come about the Indian peo
ple themselves are warned that they
must put their house in order and give
visible pledge that the mastery they
crave in their own house can and will
be exercised in tranquillity, with effi
ciency and without peril to empire
unity.
Aft fee poHtioea ts
representatives of her three great par
ties—an comprised In the Indian com
mission. Sir John Simon, Its chairman,
is a Liberal, but Labor has two respect
, ed spokesmen in Vernon Hartshorn,
M. P., and MaJ. AUee, M. P. Both of
them have become members of the
Macdonald government since the com
mission was set up. That is a circum
stance of Importance, because the Labor
cabinet In all probability is the one
which will have to cope with the In
dian situation, at least in Its imme
diate phases. The conservative members
of the commission are Viscount Bum
ham. Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal,
E. C. G. Cadogan and Col. G. R.
Lane Fox. The tripartite make-up
of the Simon commission is, In any
event, a prima facie guarantee that it
speaks the voice of united British pub
lic sentiment, broadly considered.
Dispatches from India reflect that
the initial Simon report evokes mixed
emotions. Evidently the independent
extremists expected a full gulp of grati
fication of their demands. Hindu lead
ers criticize the report severely. The
native press, summarizing sentiment in
the Indian National Congress—the po
litical organization behind the Gandhi
movement—denounces the preliminary
Simon findings as an “insult to India.”
The Bombay Chronicle declares that
the commission’s report "Is infinitely
worse than its critics feared.” The
British Times of India retorts that
the report "provides a comprehensive
slavey and review of conditions through
out the land.” The commission names
among the most fundamental, and de
plorable, of those conditions the an
cient social and economic customs to
which India’s hundreds of millions
cling with such tenacity* Sir John
Simon and his colleagues do not-shrink
from describing these practices and
shibboleths as evils gnawing fatally at
the roots of progress.
There is to be a round-table talk at
London in October, at which both Brit
ish and Indian leaders hope to evolve
acceptable plans for stemming the tide
of revolt. The guess is safe that John
Bull’s genius for compromise will find
the way.
Center Market.
By the signature yesterday of a Joint
resolution of Congress, the President
condemned the Center Market to de
struction, to make room for a public
building. The aentence may not be ex
ecuted for six months, but unless there
is a change of the law, through another
enactment with Executive approval, the
market will be razed not later than the
first of the coming year. If the ground
is required earlier it -may be destroyed
upon two months’ notice, but that no
tice may not be given until September
1, so that In any event the landmark
cannot be removed and the food-vend
ing establishments dispersed before
November 1.
Although the improvement for which
this famous center of marketing Is
so soon to be eliminated is high
ly important and welcome, the passing
of Center Market is to be regretted. It
has stood in Its present form for many
years, and for long before this site was
the scene of enterprise in the buying
and selling of food wares that was a
picturesque and vivid feature of the
city’s life. In the old days Center Mar
ket was a place of social gathering and
communion. It was almost a forum.
In the course of time the market be
came less and less of a social institution
and more of a business place, a neces
sary and a useful mart for the public
convenience. With the development of
telephone service personal attendance
at the market lessened. The “corner
grocery” took a large percentage of the
trade. And in later yeara the traffic
congestion still further diminished In
dividual "marketing” as It became more
difficult for housewives to go In person
for their supplies.
But these changes did not destroy
the charm of the market or lessen Its
lure for many Washingtonians. It has
remained a center of public interest,
and had It not been for the need of
site clearance to permit the location
; of a Government building this estab
; lishment would doubtless have remained
intact, perpetuated, and perhaps ex
panded, as a feature of the community’s
life.
The signing of the Joint resolution
serves notice of six and a half month*,
In all likelihood, that the occupants
of the market must abandon their
stalls and find accommodations else
where. No provision is made and none
la likely to be made hereafter for a
municipal market, similar to that which
is soon to be removed. Private enter
prise may create a new center of food
vending, and other market establish
ments, not fully occupied, will probably
be used by the ousted merchants.
The loss of the market structure,
once regarded as attractive, will be
easily borne by the community. It is
"out of the picture” today. Its succes
sor, the new Hall of Archives, will be
a monumental, attractive creation, har
monious with the great scheme of Gov
ernment housings that are now in the
course of erection. Washington will
miss the market, but will welcome Its
i
successor.
i , |n ,
Denials of presidential aspirations are
now In order. Whatever hopes may be
entertained, the season is entirely too
early for public invitation to band wagon
concerts.
It is the privilege of King Carol to
- enjoy more than the usual success that
i a man may expect when woman takes
r an authoritative hand In politics.
) Weather in the MincL
* This has been, to date, an excep
• tionally warm year.
-j The accumulated temperatures since
t New Year show an excess of 442 de
s I grees above normal, according to the
i official records of the Weather Bureau.
1 Yet, strange to say, there probably is
1 a majority opinion that it has been
an exceptionally - cold year. Overcoat
- weather seems to have continued longer
t into the Spring months. April’s shower
t i of white petals was late in falling.
1 : May’s roses were late In blossoming.
-1 The solution of this apparent enigma
l, ! lies in the fact that the Weather
1 Bureau's Instruments record actual
- ( temperatures and other meteorological
y phenomena rather than the complex
e! of ssnsory stimuli which make up
y | weather sensations. The statistical
111 tables are compounded of facts rather
- than ideas. It would be difficult tc
e' find a better example of the great gull
that often exists between the two.
a 38m Jnf&HMAt fcM ft* MUCi B ftM
THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C„ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1830.
no pleasurable or painful sensations.
It has no memories. The thermometer
responds to only one factor In the situ
ation—the actual temperature. A
human being responds to a great many
factors in the total situation and the
result is the Individual’s sensation of
temperature. So far as a man or
woman is concerned the heat of the
day or of an Indefinite number of
days depends not only on the actual
heat but on mental states of depres
sion or exaltation, on the degree of
physical well-being, on whether the
sky Is clear or overcast, on the con
dition of the foliage. Tlie human
organism is neither a good thermometer
nor a good statistical machine.
The instrument has nothing to do but
record temperatures and it stays on the
Job 24 hours a day. The human mind
has a great many other things to do.
The actual state of the temperature, it
is probable, only enters consciousness
when It is closely associated with some
thing else. The temperature sensation
of a day may become fixed in the mem
ory in a moment.
Most deceptive of all is the element of
memory. We think this Winter was hot
ter or colder than last Winter. Actually
we do not remember how hot or cold it
was a year ago. All that we remember —
and very vaguely—is the state of the
temperature on certain brief occasions
in the past when It happened to be so
closely associated with other elements
in the situation that it was stamped in
the mind. Our ideas of last Winter’s
temperature are derived from a few ob
servations, at the best, with a very in
accurate thermometer —the mind.
The Weather Bureau is concerned only
with facts. Meteorological phenomena
depend entirely on facts. Sensations
have no predicting value. Men and
women, on the other hand, have no im
mediate interest in facts as such since
they live in a world made up of the
sensations that arise from facts.
As a political come-back, Carol’s ex
perience in Rumania was a success. As
a family party it was a failure.
Well advertised books that once sold
for $5 are now selling for (1. Literary
problems are too abstruse to permit
even tariff experts to undertake to solve
them.
A world voyager, Dr. Eckener asserts
the serene superiority of mechanistic
skill over political economy and moral
philosophy. His Journeys would be
much delayed If he felt obliged to study
all the interests and contentions of the
regions above which he travels.
Gangmen create a longing for the
good old days when it was possible to
produce a Nation-wide agitation con
cerning a little thing like the Scopes
case.
Discreet Chinese stay away from New
York City, preferring their own coun
try, where wars are managed on recog
nized commercial principles, without
the emotional intervention of tong
leaders.
As a high-minded representative of
his honored profession, Charles E.
Hughes from time to time reminds
lawyers of their duty to maintain the
strict standard that will qualify them
tor Judicial responsibilities. Every
small boy hopes to become President of
the United States and every young
lawyer hopes to become a member of
the Supreme Court.
It is well for Illinois to have a woman
prominent in politics. In the turbulent
gang spirit which expands from Chi
cago It Is desirable to have the refine
ment of feminine Influence In political
organization.
SHOOTING STABS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Sylvia.
"Oh, where is Sylvia?” I inquired—
A lady that's so much admired
That it becomes the songster's biz
To ask the public who she is.
Is she in some poetic bow’r
More radiant than the Maytime flow’r?
Ah, no, from her mamma, I learn
When I draw near and then return,
Sylvia Is at the base ball game,
A horse race her attentions claim,
A prize fight ihe observes with Joy,
A jazz dance doth her grace employ.
Oh, who with Sylvia can compare?
She's here and there and everywhere!*
Not So Particular.
"Do you object to spending the Sum
mer In Washington, D. C.?”
"No,” answered Senator Sorghum.
"As elections gradually draw nearer, I
feel that a chance to spend any time in
Washington in an official capacity is
too precious to allow anybody to be par
| tlcular about the time of year.”
Jud Tunkins says the farmer used to
be pictured as wearing hia pants in his
boots. What some of the home brew
boys now have in their boots is regarded
as nobody’s business.
I Kid Glove Society.
i The gunman said, ”1 now display
A flair for following fashion’s hints.
I wear kid gloves ’most every day
To keep from making finger prints.”
i An Assertion of Taste.
i "Did your mother compel you to take
music lessons?”
"For a while,” answered Miss Cay
► enne, "but father Is the real musician
t of the family. He compelled me to
5 stop."
"To think much,” said HI Ho, the
sage of Chinatown, "does no more for
a light mind than to cause It to waver
in Indecision."
s Vaudeville, Old and New.
- The radio may avoid distress
e And wear a generous look
i. By simply saying “SOS”
s Instead of “Get the Hook!”
t “A candidate,” said Uncle Eben,
r “shakes hands expectin’ votes foh
r nothin’. Figgerin’ on de usual price of
i. votes out dis way he expects de equiva
lent of anywhere from S to 6 dollars
i per shake.”
r ~r ■* #
il Equally Unfailing.
il Prom the Buffalo Evening News,
x Doubtless that machine made to
_ record a man's lies is something like the
, score card used by golfers.
II
Stable Crops,
° Prom the Worcester Dally Telegram.
This much can be said' about corn
and wheat and other farm products:
• Stwte iMrtl f&MM* MS
I THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEtTELL.
The most unfortunate reader Is he
who develops a spleen against certain
authors.
We say unfortunate, because he de
prives himself of the fortune of happi
ness and interest which might otherwise
The open mind Is valuable in read
ing, no less than in the other depart
ments of life.
Reading is an ancient habit, yet it
manages to hold its own very well in
the face of the competition of the au
tomobile, the radio, even the “wild
party.”
So many authors have written, since
the world began, and so many works
been printed, since the Invention of
art, that it is impossible for every reader
to care for every author.
One man will not like Browning, an
other will not care for Longfellow, a
third will read Conrad but dislike Kip
ling, a fourth be enthralled with Zola
but immune to Dickens.
These dislikes are natural; they are
not what we mean when we speak of
spleens against certain authors.
No, the spleen is a species of positive
hatred, and is a very different state of
mind from that of the reader who sim
ply has his likes and dislikes.
** * *
Perhaps the “open mind” best ex
plains the necessary attitude toward
various authors and their books, if one
is to get the most from the vast sum
of literature which awaits the modern
reader.
To have an open mind means, first
of all, that one will be willing to admit
good when he finds good. It is amaz
ing how many persons there are who
early divide their minds into water-tight
compartments and thereafter stead
fastly refuse to permit any infiltration
of ideas from one to another.
If they “do not like Dickens,” what
ever that may mean, they shy from
Dickens as if he were absurd, his tales
inane, and his work totally without
merit. Now, such an attitude is asi
nine, on the face of it. Charles Dickens
has entertained too many millions of
readers for any one to adopt such a
way of looking at his novels.
What if he does lack the precise abili
ties and charms of some other authors?
His merit is that he was himself, and
that his characters, whether one pre
fers to regard them as caricatures or
not. have entered into the very language
and of the world.
Just as we were writing the above
paragraph a fellow worker in the great
newspaper world turned from his desk
suddenly, and asked, “It was Mr.
Micawber, wasn’t It, who was always
waiting for something to turn up?”
Dickens still enters into the affairs of
men, and always will, no matter what
any one chooses to think or not to
think of his various novels, their situa
tions, characters and so on.
To close one’s mind resolutely to his
masterpieces is to cut one's self off
deliberately from some of the greatest
books ever written. Yes, they lack the
naive honesty of some of the great
French novels. They are not as "true
to life” as a hundred various works one
might name offhand. But what of It?
Verisimilitude is but one of the quali
ties which go to make a great work of
fiction. There are many other qualities
and Dickens has some of them.
** * *
How much better an attitude It is,
we submit, to try to find out why mil
lions of people read Dickens, by the sim
ple process of picking up one pf his best,
say “The Pickwick Papers,” and read
ing it.
That is an action which may be rec
ommended to all those who have de
veloped a spleen against Dickens. You
say you don’t like Dickens, but how do
you know you do not? Perhaps you were
a child when you came to that unfor
tunate conclusion. Surely It Is a mis
take for any one to hold so steadfastly
I WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE.
Law Enforcement Chairman Wicker
sham’s remonstrance at Boston against
drastic enforcement adds fresh fuel to
the 'ever-flaming prohibition Are at
Washington. Liberals and modifica
tlonlsts, or by whatever other name
wets are known, acclaim It as fresh
evidence of the rising tide of resent
ment against Volsteadism. It does not
wholly satisfy the repealers, but even
they welcome Wickersham’s plea for
saner liquor laws. They find in it com
plete confirmation of their theory that
the eighteenth amendment is unen
forceable because of the harsh penal
ties for violation now provided for.
Members of Congress paused in the
midst of the end-of-tne-season Jam
to comment vigorously on the Wicker
sham blast. So Nation-wide has be
come the ferment over prohibition,
most of them declare, that if the Jones
5-and-10 law were to be before Con
gress today it is doubtful if it could
command a majority in either house.
The definite conviction on Capitol Hill
is that modification is on the march.
Prohibition is safe enough, political
leaders say, but, before its second dec
ade has advanced very far, will have
to get a new suit of clothes.
** * *
In politics, as in most other things,
it's an ill wind which blows no man
good. Senator Simmons’ defeat in the
North Carolina Democratic primary is
destined, according to ‘‘Joe’’ Robinson’s
friends, to do the Democratic minority
leader no end of benefit. The Arkansas
Senator has a stiff, though not a dan
gerous, fight for renomination in his
own primary on August 12 —the same
day Heflin faces fate in Alabama. In
the Senate cloak rooms the story is now
revived that Senator Simmons’ party
faithlessness in 1928 was directed less
against A1 Smith than against “Joe”
Robinson. The reason the veteran
North Carolinian bolted the Democratic
national ticket, according to this tale,
is that he resented the elevation of
Robinson, instead of himself, to the
Democratic Senate leadership in 1923.
Simmons entered the Senate 12 years
before Robinson's arrival, and is said to
have claimed the leadership on seniority
grounds. * * * *
Representative John Q. Tilson, Re
publican, of Connecticut, majority lead
er in the House, will deliver a Fourth of
July oration at Jonesboro, Tenn., near
which he was born. It will be the 150th
anniversary of the town’s existence.
Jonesboro is the county seat of Wash
ington County, which, at the time of
the State’s creation, comprised the en
tire commonwealth. Tilson is spending
the tail-end of the session in his office
Just off the House floor, listening to
tales of woe from restive Republicans,
who contemplate the ides of November
with anxiety and -alarm. Hardly an
hour passes that the House leader isn’t
assured that this, that or the other
measure pending or projected is going
to cost the Q. O. P. at least 25 seats
in this year’s elections.
** * *
What Pennsylvania’s senatorial twain
—Reed and Grundy—will do when the
Hawley-Smoot tariff bill comes to a
vote this week is understood to have
been decided at a swagger and ex
clusive dinner party in Philadelphia
last week. The Joint hosts were E. T.
Stotesbury, banker, and Cyrus H. K.
Curtis, magazine and newspaper mag
nate. The Senators were guests of
honor, along with Andrew W. Mellon,
Secretary of the Treasury. Talk around
the festive board was informal, but
thorough. Messrs. Reed and Grundy
came back to Washington officially un
committed and non-committal, but
those who were privileged to sit in at
the Stotesbury-Curtis feast got a pretty
good idea of what Penn’s brace of
1 solons will say when the roll is called.
>.* * * *
George Akerson, presidential secre
tary, has lust given the Nation's radio
audience a close-up of Mr. Hoover in
his working clothes. He did not men
tion an observation recently made by
l the President when somebody asked
; the Chief Engineer about his Summer
tnwoUnc Bigot “A TacaUqn.” Bootes
to childish conclusions. You were in no
position, with all due respect to your
childhood, to pronounce such a severe
Judgment on one whose books sold into
the millions, and which still sell into
the hundreds of thousands of copies
every year.
You might be mistaken, you know.
Out of a hundred adult readers who
insist that they “do not like Dickens,”
at least 50 per cent would come to like
him If they read him. Time and expe
rience, two of mankind’s best teachers,
have taught them much since they
blithely came to the conclusion (erro
neous) that they “hated” Dickens. Life
itself has taught them that the books of
Dickens have a great deal of life in
them, after all, no matter how many
persons may sneer at them. There never
has been anything worth while that%as
not had its fair share of “knockers.”
We have selected Dickens because his
peculiarly hearty style fails to “regis
ter” with many readers. They concen
trate on what they do not like, instead
of being interested in what they might
like. Every one has seen some person
who, instead of praising those around
him for the good points they possess,
has merely concentrated on their bad
points, or what seem to him bad traits.
Such a man is making a big mistake,
not only in being unjust to others, but
above all in hurting his own heart and
mind.
What Is true of Dickens is, of course,
true of all other authors, ancient and
modem. Some readers “cannot stand”
Hawthorne or Scott or Dumas or Long
fellow. Every one of those writers has
many lines which any one who is half
way fair in his judgments could "stand”
very well if he would do himself and
the authors the simple justice of read
ing them.
+* * *
Consider the case of Longfellow, he
who wrote “The Psalm of Life,” “Evan
geline,’’ “The Skeleton in Armor,” etc.
No writer of either prose or verse
has received such a lambasting at the
hands of the so-called “intelligentsia”
(whatever that means). The campaign
of sneering at his verse reached such a
pitch about 10 years ago that no young
man who desired to be considered at all
intelligent dared admit, among certain
groups,* that he could find so much as a
single meritorious line in the works of
the beloved American poet. Even Ten
nyson, who is today regarded everywhere
as a truly great poet, and who is gaining
in esteem as the years pass, suffered
from the onslaughts of those who pro
fessed to find all things Victorian bad.
Is not the truth of things nearer to
the golden mean, which says that where
there has been so much smoke there
must be some fire, that when a writer’s
works manage to keep being printed
long after he has passed on there must
be some good in them? The distinction
must be kept clear between a reasoned
lack of enthusiasm for an author—any
author —and an unreasonable spleen
conceived against certain names, works,
writers.
Not every writer can please every
reader any more than every reader can
like every writer. Many sincere lovers
of literature declare that they find
Dante among the most enthralling
poets, while other equally sincere read
ers (and quite as well informed) say
that “The Divine Comedy” is not for
them. Both are right. No man can
read for another, any more than he can
breathe for him.
An unreasoning spleen, however. Is an
entirely different thing. It is a state of
mind which the earnest reader of books
must flee as he would the devil, if he
is to keep the open mind and prevent
himself from missing some of the finest
things ever written. Often delightful
things are hidden in rough wrappers.
The going may be difficult, in many a
book, but before the end one finds great
things, worthy of all the effort expended
to find them. Beware the spleen; keep
the open mind.
said, "is the hardest work a man does
in the whole year.”
** * *
The Washington police force, whose
pay everybody except Representative
Simmons of Nebraska wants to see
raised, evidently has some good pals
among the traffic officers of a certain
State adjacent to the District of Co
lumbia. At any rate, Representative
Vestal, Republican, of Indiana, thinks
so. The Hoosier statesman was motor
ing back to Washington from outside
the District at a pretty good clip the
other day. Presently he found himself
being hedged in by a bluecoat on a
speeding motor cycle. The cop asked
the Representative to move curbward.
Instead Vestal went into conference
with the officer. While somewhat wordy
exchanges proceeded, the Indianan
drew nearer and nearer to the District
line. As the Capitol dome hove into
view, the officer threatened to invoke
his authority. "Don’t know whether you
can, buddy.” Vestal rejoined, cheerily.
“You see, I’m on my way to the House
to vote for the police pay-increase bill.”
Smiles wreathed the cop’s ruddy face, as
he waved his hand, and ejaculated,
“Step on it, old-timer!”
** * *
Ferdinand L. Belln’s retirement from
the foreign service is the latest —but
probably not the last—resignation to be
attributed to our diplomatic “career
men’s” downheartedness over their fu
ture. Minister Phillips’ resignation from
the legation In Canada, Minister Mac-
Murray’s abandonment of the Chinese
mission and Minister Young’s relin
quishment of the Bolivian post are all
interpreted as signs of disgust with the
present trend in the foreign service.
Career men who’ve been giving their
best for years in minor and unpleasant
posts, courting on advancement, see the
ministerial and diplomatic plums sys
tematically given to deserving business
men with political recommendations.
Mr. Belln has spent 13 years in the
service, Including assignments at Peking,
Constantinople, Paris and London. He
was Intrusted with the task of making
all the preliminary arrangements in
London for the American naval con
ference delegation and did a good Job.
Belln, now first secretary at London, is
a Pennsylvanian, a Yale man, and rich.
** * *
“Young Bob” La Follette reminded the
Senate yesterday that “Friday the 13th
is an excellent date for a vote on the
tariff bill.”
(Copyright, 1*30.)
A Tribute to Late
Police Capt. Reilly
To the Editor of The Star:
A policeman’s Job la generally con
sidered an enemy-making position, but
such was nob the case with that of the
late police captain, Martin Reilly, who
recently commanded the sixth precinct,
431 New Jersey avenue, and the regrets
of his fellow officers are also shared by
the law-abiding citizens of his pre
cinct. Capt. Reilly died on Friday.
June 6, at Georgetown Hospital, and
resided at 2528 Wisconsin avenue. No.
6 police precinct has been lucky
in the selection of its command
ing officers, beginning with the late
Lieut. John F. Kelly and Capt. Robert
E. Doyle, now In command of the
eighth precinct. When desirable men
are put in such responsible posi
tions its reflection extends through the
whole department and meets with the
approval of all good citizens, including
those in the legislative branch of the
Government, whose positions make
them temporary residents here.
H. T. McCONVEY.
Such Publicity!
from the New Bedford Evening Standard.
Mayor Curley threatens to sue the
Harvard Lampoon, and editors of other
college publications must be gnashing
: their teeth in eotx.
I
Muzzling of Dogs
Is Opposed by Heap
To the Editor of The Ster:
In the Issue of The Star of May 31
appears an editorial ‘‘Problems of the
Pound Master” In which it la stated,
In effect, that all dogs In the District
should be muzzled from January 1 to
December 31, each year. Which means
all the time. This statement Is bolstered
up by citations of numerous Items in
the press noting cases of children being
bitten by dogs. As far back as history
goes, people have been bitten by dogs,
but only in comparatively recent years
has any more attention been paid to
it than to any other Injury.
Now, it seems, owing to the continued
propaganda of physicians seeking trade
and serum manufacturers seeking a
market for their output, if a person,
especially a child is so much as
scratched by the teeth of a dog, a great i
hullabaloo is raised over it, the child is
rushed to a hospital and undergoes
treatment far more painful and dan
gerous than would have resulted from
the original dog bite, and the offending
animal is sent to the pound or some
other place for observation, or his head
is cut off and its brain subjected to
inspection and analysis.
If a small black spot is discovered on
any part of the brain, the dog is said
to have the rabies and the child is
given the so-called Pasteur treatment
and its family goes into hysterics.
Eminent physicians state that these
black spots on the brain of dogs are
common to numerous other diseases in
no way related to rabies.
The writer has been secretary of the
Humane Society of Washington for the
past 25 years and in that capacity has
had occasion to observe and come into
contact with dogs under all conditions
and has yet to hear of a single authentic
case of genuine rabies in dogs or human
beings in the District. I regard the bite
of a dog as no more dangerous than
a similar wound from any other cause.
This society is opposed to the muzzling
of dogs at any time, believing it to be
entirely unnecessary, cruel and useless.
When any one is bitten by a dog it
invariably will be found on investigation
that the animal was being tormented
or abused in some way by the person
bitten, or was guarding the person or
property of its owner. If children were
taught to let dogs alone, especially
strange ones, not tease or mistreat them,
and stay off the premises where there
was a watchdog on guard, fewer cases
of dog bites would occur. The remedy
lies, not in muzzling dogs, but in
exercising common sense in their treat
ment. JOHN P. HEAP, Secretary,
Washington Humane Society.
Salesmen Are Skilled
Professional Workers
To the Editor of The Star:
Selling is a profession generally un
appreciated by the public. Tne aver
age person looks upon a salesman as
a nuisance and a bore and classifies
him as ‘‘a peddler.” But you have the
same thing to contend with in the sell
ing business that you have in other
professions—the good are often Judged
by the bad.
A first-class salesman is instantly
recognizable. He is courteous, tactful
and well informed, has a practical abil
ity to understand conditions and is
considerate of his prospect. He is a
good listener as well as a good talker.
His approach is frank and his selling
methods are honest. He likes you, is
Interested in you and seeking to learn
your needs.
Necessity is the great motive for his
desire to sell you. but not the onlv one.
A true salesman loves the game, likes to
meet people and really has their inter
est at heart. He is a hard worker, and
in order to succeed must live a clean,
wholesome life. He has his successful
days and his days of failure. He has
his triumphs and his heartaches. He
does not expect to sell you as soon as
he talks to you—he may never sell you
But he considers his time well spent if
he has interested you. His products are
of unquestionable merit and always
useful.
The good salesman is a specialist in
his line, and his life is dedicated to
serving you. By serving you honestly
he is earning his living, and also help
ing yovl to fulfill dreams. Yes, helping
you to realize the fulfillment of dreams
your foreparents newr even dreamed cf.
The good salesman is to the commer
cial world what gas is to an automobile.
He is the moving power behind every
marketable product. Without him com
merce would become stagnant and pros
perity a myth.
WILLIAM T. W. GRAVES.
Wants Public Protected
From the 111-Bred Dogs
To the Editor of The Ster:
On the morning of May 30, 1930,
about 8 o’clock, I was walking north
ward on Eighteenth street between U
street northwest and Columbia road.
As I neared Wyoming street I was at
tacked by a police dog, who held me at
bay for five minutes or more before
the Janitor of an apartment house
came out into the street and called the
dog in. I did not see the dog until I
saw him rushing toward me, barking
and snapping his teeth. When I
passed the house I told the janitor
that he ought to keep his dog on the
inside.
Why that dog attacked me I do not
know. I am sure I never provoked
him or did him harm. I have seen
other dogs challenge the right of a
stranger to pass in front of his mas
ter’s dwelling, and we all know that
the public highways are for men and
women and children, and these deserve
protection from ill-bred dogs.
It is possible for one to care more
for the life and safety of a dog than
for the life and safety of a human be
ing. Let the people who must have
dogs give them the freedom of their
own premises, and let men and women
and children enjoy the freedom of the
public streets in safety.
WALTER H. BROOKS.
-■ > 9
Reckless Bicycle Riders
Are Classed as Menace
To the Editor of The Star:
As some fatal accidents have been
caused by the reckless operation of
bicycles propelled by pedals and as they
are continually Increasing in number,
some definite means of identifying their
riders should be required by our Dis
trict Commissioners or the Traffic
Bureau. The white and colored boys
who use these machines often operate
them on the sidewalks and the wrong
way on one-way streets, endangering
pedestrians and themselves. Every one
of these machines should have a legible
number conspicuously attached to it,
the name and address of the rider reg
istered at the Traffic Bureau, and these
riders should be subject to similar rules
and regulations as those applying to
auto and motor cycle operators. An
age requirement should be needed to
operate these machines on the roadway,
and operation strictly prohibited on the
sidewalks and crosswalks.
Before these machines became so
numerous as they are today it was all
right to let them operate without safe
guards such as here suggested, but any
casual observer will agree-that the time
has come for the authorities to require
some such precautions to protect pedes
trians and the riders themselves. They
are becoming a menace to this com
munity and badly need regulating.
H. T. McCONVEY.
Spelling Contests Abroad.
From ths Port Worth Btar-Telegram.
Europe, It is reported, is taking up
the idea of radio spelling bees which
originated in America. No doubt some
of the stuff we thought was superstatic
was actually the broadcast of a Russian
contest.
8 8 -
Gandhi's Chief Diet Goat's Milk.
From the Florence (Ala.) Herald.
Gandhi’s diet consists principally of
goat’s milk. Which may account for
his apparent designs on John Bull’s
SMBXt
\
I ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. BASKIN.
Thousands of Government experts are
working constantly for the benefit of
all citizens of the United States. They
will work directly for you if you will call
for the fruits of their labors through
our Washington bureau. State your
inquiry briefly, write clearly and. in- ,
closing 2-cent stamp for a personal let- ■
ter in reply, address The Evening Star
Information Bureau, Frederic J. Has- ,
kin, director, Washington, D. C.
Q. Are automobile fatalities increas
ing?—C. R. . :
A. Figures indicate that they are. In
1929 there were 31,000 motor fatalities,
a 10 per cent increase over the previous
i year.
Q. Os what nationality is Paul White
man? —G. N. T.
A. Paul Whiteman is an American.
His mother’s father, Sam Dallison, was
a yoeman in Queen Victoria’s guard.
His father’s name was originally Wight
man and on that side of the house he
is a mixture of Irish, Scotch, English
and Holland Dutch.
Q. Were soldiers in the Revolution
required to pay to send letters home?
—M. M. F.
A. In the United States the privilege
of not paying was accorded by statute
to Revolutionary soldiers in actual
service.
Q. Where is the monument to the
Rhode Island Red fowl? —S. A. E.
A. It is in Little Compton, R. I. The
first ancestor of the breed was a Chit
tagong cockerel which was brought over
from Bengal, India, by a sailor. Ben
jamin E. Tripp bought it from him and
crossed it with some Cochin Chinas.
The breed known as Rhode Island Red
resulted.
Q. What part did" Wally Reid take
in the “Birth of a Nation”?—J. P. E.
A. He took the part of a blacksmith.
He was 6 feet 1 inch tall and at that
time weighed 170 pounds.
Q. How long does It take alcohol to
digest in the stomach? —A. E. F.
A. Alcohol is rapidly absorbed from
the stomach. It does not require di
gestion, no part of it is excreted by the
intestines, but part escapes by the kid
neys, lungs and skin.
Q. Does Turkey belong to the League
of Red Cross Societies? —T. H.
A. Turkey has recently accepted an
invitation to join. The Turkish so
ciety is known as the Red Crescent.
Q. What was the first denominational
college in the United States to admit
women? —K. D.
A. De Pauw University, at Green
castle, Ind., claims the honor.
Q. Why do gold rings and necklaces
make black marks on the skin of some
people?—J. T.
A. It is not the gold which makes
the mark. It is necessary to use some
alloy with gold in order to make it hard
enough to make jewelry. These alloys
develop certain sulphides as a result of
chemical reaction between the metal
and slight amounts of sulphur which
may be in the atmosphere or in the
perspiration of the skin.
Q. What is the IALA?—W. N.
A. The International Auxiliary League
Association is commonly spoken of as
the IALA. It advocates the develop
ment and establishment of one neutral
language, secondary to all national lan
guages and in conflict with none.
Basically a research organization, its
activities are divided into three groups
—sociological research, directed by
Herbert Shenton of Syracuse Univer
sity; linguistic research, under the di
rection of Mrs. Dave H. Morris, hon
Problem of Traffic Perils
Is Impressed Upon Country
Deaths and Injuries in the traffic
record of the country have Impressed
upon the public the need 61 definite
arrangements to meet the problem. As
a result of the sessions of the National
Safety Conference in Washington much
discussion of remedies for present con
ditions has taken place. Among the
requirements suggested are uniformity
in regulations, proper inspection of cars
and nation-wide co-operation. It also
is argued that all States should require
that drivers be licensed.
“The problem, serious as it is, will
yield to earnest and sustained effort,”
contends the Atlanta Journal, after
noting that “fresh admonition to care
ful, competent and courteous driving is
found in figures presented at the con
vention." These figures are quoted by
the' Journal, showing fluctuations and
reaching the point of 117 mortal acci
dents to every 100.000 automobiles in
1929, other figures having been 136 in
1920, with a decline to 110 in 1925 and
107 in 1926. That paper also states:
"In the last decade motor vehicle fatali- j
ties in the United States have increased
from 12.500 in 1920 to 22,000 in 1925
and to 31,000 in 1929. • • • Offset
ting this sad account are comparatively
small increases in casualties at railway
grade crossings and ‘a relative improve
ment’ in safety for children."
** * *
"The material co6t of traffic conges
tion” impresses the Long Beach Press-
Telegram as “startling,” a report to the
conference being quoted to show that
annually this was “in excess of $2,000,-
000,000, and that the cost is increasing
each year.” That paper points out that
“speedy action by Individual communi
ties to correct this situation is recom
mended," and it advises that “the fact
that days and days frequently pass in
a given city of average size without loss
of life from highway mishaps proves
that continuous immunity is possible.”
“Nearly every one,” according to the
Minneapolis Star, “is in favor of laws
that will promote safety in the traffic
of automobiles. The question seems te
be only one of getting together on laws
which are practical and workable. In
commenting on possible remedies,
friends of safety laws show a wide
divergence as to how far law should go
in the matter of regulation of automo
biles. * * * To be effective, laws for
safety must not be so radical or drastic
that they become unworkable and dead
letters on the statute books.”
♦* * *
"This problem may well engage the
best minds of the country,” declares the
New York Evening Post, directing atten
tion to the point that “the steady in- |
crease in the rate of fatalities does not
suggest the hopelessness of preventive!
efforts, but the need to make them more
intensive.” The New Orleans Times-
Picayune, maintaining that "in every
city the problem of effective enforce
ment cries out for solution," suggests
that “until it is solved model regula
tions can do little to help the traffic sit
uation. The fact-finding search by Gov
ernment agencies, as proposed in the
conference recommendations,” continues
the New Orleans paper, “should throw
some light upon the enforcement short
comings and their causes. But we sug
gest that the remedy for these condi
tions depends upon the communities
themselves. The national conference
might help, however."
“Just how many of the thousands of
accidents annually are due to the ab
sence of uniform laws is not known,"
says the Lynchburg News, “but we are
confident that the number must be
large. * * • Uniform laws would be
a boon to motoring. Not only would
they contribute much to safety on the
highways and streets, but they would
make traveling more convenient.” The
Richmond News-Leader, along this same
line, complains that “too often and too
long drivers have been victims of small
town policemen and magistrates over
zealous in enforcing some designedly
obscure quirk of local traffic laws.”
** * *
Charging that “reckless driving—not
necessarily speed—is responsible for i
most of the" accidents," the Port Worth!
Star-Telegram suggests: ’“The most el- l
fective single preventive of accidents is
* driver’s Ucttjyrtog TlJWeia* moet
orary secretary of the movement, and
educational research, headed by Dr.
Stephen Duggan of the Institute of
International Education. The associa
tion is working for governmental recog
nition of the language problem. In
; America it is working in conjunction
| with the Institute of Educational Re
search at Teachers’ College, Columbia
University.
Q. Is the correct quotation "Far from
the maddening crowd” or "Far from *
: the madding crowd”? —B. N. O.
A. “Far from the madding crowd” is
correct, if you are inquiring as to the
quotation from Gray'a “Elegy.”
Q. Do all Catholic nuns vote in Amer
ican elections?—G. A. T.
A. Only non-cloistered nuns vote.
These have been registering and voting
ever since women were given the right
to vote.
Q. How does the number of musicians
in the United States compare with the
number of lawyers and doctors?—
T. W. N.
A. The 1930 census figures are not yet
available. In 1920, lawyers, judges and
justices numbered 122,519; physicians
and surgeons, 144,977, and musicians
and teachers of music, 130,265.
Q. Why has crime decreased so re
markably in England?—W. J. D. '
A. In Britain the apparent decrease
of crime that followed the World War
was due to causes independent of the
moral well-being of the community.
The Borstal system for the treatment
of young offenders and the probation
act had come into force a few years
before the outbreak of war and both
have undoubtedly had some influence
in reducing the volume of professional
crime.
Q. When was ostracism introduced
into Greece?—B. P.
A. It was instituted by Clisthenes
.about 510 B.C. Aelian says that Clis
thenes was the first to be ostracized.
In 488-487 8.C., Hipparchus was ex
iled and a few years later Xanthippus
and Aristides were banished in this
fashion.
Q. Is it true that the elements of our
body are constantly changing?—H. A. B.
A. Dr. Edward F. Adolph of the Uni
versity of Rochester has stated that
the elements in our bodies undergo the
following changes: Water changes every
three weeks; salt every 22 days: potas
sium, 72 days; magnesium, 103 day*;
nitrogen, the fundamental element of
muscles, 290 days; iron, essential ele
ment of the blood, changes about every
300 days; phosphorus, 800 days, and
lime, 2,300 days. Certain cells, such as
the brain cells, apparently last a life
time.
Q. Was the Community Chest sug
gested by the War Chest?—B. E.
A. The Community Chest is the out
growth of the Federation of Charity
and Philanthropy, a pre-war develop
: ment, and the War Chest.
Q. Why are society people spoken of
. as the Four Hundred? —E. F.
A. The Four Hundred is a phrase
coined in the gay nineties which refer
red to the relatively small number of
New York society people who were
! deemed eligible to be guests of prorai
-1 nent hostesses. The phrase has become
| a figure of speech.
Q. If one of a child’s first teeth has
to be taken out, should the other teeth
i be permitted to crowd into its place?—
l S. E. N.
r A. If one of the temporary teeth is
■ lost, the space should be retained by a
■ simple appliance to keep adjacent teeth ■
• apart.
effective means of enforcing safe con
duct at all times by drivers is the threat
of losing the privilege of driving which
; a licensing system holds before their
. eyes. States like Texas that fail to
. license motorists and chauffeurs cannot
escape moral responsibility." The Bir
mingham News adds its testimony that
"obviously the States in which no lieense
is required—and Alabama is one of
them —are in greatest need of uniform
ity and standardization.” That paper
also advocates "employment of traffic
lanes on country highways.”
Progress in safety efforts is seen by
the Oakland Tribune in “a co-ordinated
program, with leadership and supporters
in every State,” and as an example of
effective effort it holds that “educa
tional work conducted in the schools,
with young drivers and with boys and
girls as safety officers at the crossing
when school is being dismissed, has
saved many lives.”
! Figures from the Department of Com-
I merce are quoted by the San Antonio
) Evening News to show that "in 78 large
| cities during the four weeks ending May
17 traffic accidents caused 605 deaths.
As the identical number was killed in
the preceding four-week period, there is
ground for thankfulness that the condi
tion did not grow worse, as it usually k
does with the coming of warm weather,’’
thinks the News. Referring to local
statistics, it finds “abundant room for
improvement.”
“It is incontrovertible.” believes the
Helena (Mont.) Record-Herald, "that *
the modern motor car can be driven
with greater safety at higher speeds in
city traffic than models of four or five
years ago, but it behooves every driver
to bear in mind the destructive force of
speed.” As a contributing factor, It
quotes reports that 15 per cent of the
fatalities in 1929 “were caused by de
fects in motor vehicles,” and holds that
this “vindicates the spreading practice
of compulsory periodic inspection.* The
Zanesville Signal also emphasizes the
fact that “many accidents are caused
by faulty brakes, batteries and other
mechanical parts of cars which have
not had frequent inspection.”
Pennsylvania's Inauguration some
months ago of the practice of “inspect
ing cars, testing brakes and looking over
equipment” is mentioned by the Youngs
town Vindicator, with the statement of
results: “About a million and a half
cars in that State were Inspected, two
thirds of which had faulty lights, 80,000
needed new brake linings, more than
30,000 had unsafe steering apparatus,
i and more than three times this number
needed steering apparatus adjustment:
i about a third were without rear-view
mirrors.” Indorsing conclusions to be
drawn, the Vindicator also notes efforts
toward Improvement in Massachusetts
and Ohio.
Senate Should Have
All the Treaty Data v
To the Editor of The Star:
I cannot agree, in whole or part, with
the philosophy of your editorial of
Sunday captioned “Respecting Confi
dences." You go far afield to try to
convince your readers of the correctness
of your reasoning. You quote, but only
in part, from a communication of
President Washington to the House in
re the Jay treaty. You either willfully,
or otherwise, suppress that portion of
President Washington’s communication
to the House, wherein he tells the
House he had sent all the communica
tions in re the Jay treaty to the United
States Senate. Why did you suppress
the latter portion of President Wash
ington’s communication? Is The Star
trying to bolster up Secretary Stimson
and cry down Senator Hiram Johnson? ,
Two treaty-making partners should
each have every iota of information
first hand, not through second hands or
paraphrases. The United States can
only make a treaty with the consent
and advice of the United States Senate.
How can the Senate advise and con
sent unless it has every fact, either
I prior to or during the drawing up o%
i the treaty? In the present case
especially between the United States
*ad BBgiaad. W. E. RYAN.
***•'