A-6
THE EVENING STAR
With Swnday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
tATUADAY. ..December 13, 1930
THEODORE W. NOTES... .Suitor
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World Court.
President Hoover has submitted to
the Senate, in compliance with a prom
ise made by him, tha protocols of
adherence on th« part of this country
to the World Court, under the terms
Os the revised statutes of the court,
Including the “Root formula.” The
wisdom of the submission of the mat
ter to the Senate at this time has been
questioned. The specter of a special
session of the Congress next Spring has
been raised. But after all. It is a
•pecter raised for the most part by
Senators who are opposed to the court
—and some of whom are not opposed
fce a special session. The President has
urged consideration of the World Court
protocols after the disposition of
emergency measures to meet unem
ployment and drought distress and the
annual supply bills for the Govern
ment. These are the sine qua non,
the very meat of the present short ses
sion of the Congress. If there be time
after they have been disposed of, then
the court may, as the President indi
cates. properly come before that body
for consideration.
In his message transmitting to Con
gress the protocols, Mr. Hoover calls at
tention to the fact, sometimes forgot
ten, that the movement for the estab
lishment of a World Court originated in
the United States; that it has had the
backing of Presidents Wjfcon, Harding
and Coolidge, and of soofc- of the most
eminent of Secretaries of State. He
calls attention also to the fact that
the provisions of the protocols “free us
from any entanglement In the diplo
macy of other nations.” The Senate,
when the court proposal came befdte It
more than three years ago, gave its
consent to adherence after adopting
five reservations. Pour of these were
accepted by the member nations. The
fifth, dealing with advisory opinions of
the court, was objected to. The revi
sion of the statutes of the court, Mr.
Hoover holds, has obviated the neces
sity of the fifth reservation, and in this
view Mr. Hoover is supported by Sen
ator Swanson of Virginia, author of
the reservation, and many other Sena
tors who supported that reservation.
The World Court proposal is properly
before the Senate; at present before
Its Committee on Foreign Relations.
It has been suggested that it might
ha used later to force a special session
of Congress next March, if a majority
of the Senate can be prevailed upon
to bring the protocols before the Sen
ate and hold them there to an extent
that will prevent final action on ap
propriation hills by March 4. It ap
pears doubtful, now, however, that the
protocols will be reported to the Senate
from the Foreign Relations Committee.
Senator Borah, chairman of the com
mittee and also an opponent of the
court, originally declared that the pro
tocols must be reported to the Senate as
soon as possible. But now opponents of
the court In the committee are divided
over whether it would be better to re
port the protocols or to hold them In
committee. |f the protocols are not re
ported at the present session of Con
gress. it is argued, then there is no
danger of their being taken up ar.d
forced to a vote. The desire of many
of the Senators, some of them oppo
nents of the court, to avoid a special
session after March'4, is well under
stood. Many of the proponents of the
court also are not inclined to view with
satisfaction a special session in the
Spring. The opponents of the court
believe that if the matter is allowed to
ga over until the neat regular session
of Congress, In December, lESI, the
approaching national election and fear
en the part es many to bring the court
Issue into the campaign, would cause
still further delay of the matter.
If it cannot be acted upon before March
4. and there seems to be little idea in
tNjr senatorial head that it can, then
It equld well be brought before a spe
cial session of the Senate, called to
deal with that problem alone, after
March 4. That course would probably
be file most orderly that could be pur
sued, making it possible to obtain con
sideration of the treaty by the Senate
wtoi there could be no conflict with
legislative matters.
The presentation of a Nobel prise for
literary work is an occasion full of col-
K incident which might be woven
a story even more interesting than
the Pne which secured it.
Babbitt in Stockholm.
~Bfcglalr Lewis’ appearance before the
Emsdish Academy to receive the honors
d«s awarded to one of America's fore
amet novelists is a distinct disappoint
ment.' Had Babbitt himself by some
Pflatgiar twist of fate become a Nobel
Petda winner, he could not have ex
ceeded Mr. Lewis in Me delineation of
tSe retie of the wise-cracking Yankee
Who is tremendously impressed with
h» own importance. Mr. Lewis obviously
attributes his success in America to an
ability to steal the jam and get away
* with it. He is the one critic who has
been able ta see America's faults, rise
out of the muck of provincialism and
paint them out. He expresses some sur
prise at haring escaped a healthy tar
aad feathering and his allusions to the
reception in his native land of his many
fine books must have led the academy
ta a fear that he will be ridden on a
rail when he returns.
The sketchy cable dispatches do not
aarry the full text of Mr. Lewis’ speech,
: . awemmmMs
ttL 1
was uns bis to resist tha temptation to
follow the obvious course. The obvious
■ course was to pan America. Panning
America is an excellent thing if done
) well, and Mr. Lewis was able to do it
well in his literary strictures on some
, of the better known foibles of the times.
But he would have shown better taste
in Stockholm to have allowed his books
to speak for themselves and to have
praised his land for having produced a
Sinclair Lewis, a Mencken, a Sherwood
Anderson, an Upton Sinclair, a Joseph
Hergesheimer and a Theodore Dreiser.
Instead, his resort was to the hackneyed
theme, expressed in his opinion that (
“the novel which is assured of popu-!
larity usually must assert that all:
American msn are tall, handsome, rich.!
honest and powerful golfers * * • and.
also that all American girls may be!
wild, but that they always change into |
perfect wives and mothers.” Mr. Lewis,!
however, failed to name any such novel;
that Is as well known or as widely read;
as his own “Main Street.”
One fears that in a m’orld where the
word "racket” has come to have a mean
ing all its own Mr. Lewis nas accepted I
as his own particular “racket” a profes
sional and therefore skilled belaboring'
!of everything American—everything. 1
that is, except a group of geniuses of
whom he is one. He seems to believe
that these prophets are without honor
in their own land, and that Americans
really worship nothing besides automo
biles, tall buildings and banking barons.
That has been said so often before, and
so much better than the cables indicate i
that Mr. Lewis said it, that one learns
with real regret that the author of “Ar
rowsmith” did not rise to the occasion
and say something new.
Rebellion in Spain.
Armed rebellion has broken out in
Spain as the climax of a whole year
of strikes. Communist disorders, political
discontent and economic depression.
Whether the revolt of the garrison at
Jaca, which seised a fort and Imprisoned
the military governor, is suppressed
before it spreads into other parts of the
kingdom, or whether government troops
now marching into the disaffected area
nip the uprising in the bud, Spain is
obviously ripe for revolution,
The affair at Jaca is the culmination
of unrest which set in soon after the
resignation of G;n. Primo de Rivera
last January. His six years of dictator
ship had given Spain a period of tran
quillity it had not experienced for
decades, even though the Royalist
party r:sent«d the effectual clipping of
King Alfonso's wings, which was an
incident of Rivera’s regime. As soon as
the strong hand of the dictator was
removed, subversive forces, long held
ip check, began to reassert themselves.
The new premier, Gen. Berenguer,
found himself faced by a sea of diffi
culties. Hard times had struck Spain,
like the rest of the world. The peseta
was in decline. Strikes became epidemic.
Riots had to be quelled in all directions.
The underground workings of Com
munism manifested themselves. Once
again cries of “Viva la Republica!”
rang throughout the land. Disturbances
Increased in extent and in Intensity.
The military rebellion in the north,
which the Madrid authorities are now
feverishly engaged in suppressing, is the
Inevitable consequence of the months
of seething turmoil which preceded it.
Bing Alfonso's government has not
been unconscious that at the root of
Spain’s ferment lies political discontent.
Democratic and personally popular as
he is, the polo-playing monarch is
aware that royalty as an institution is
probably on its last legs in Spain. To
stave off trouble, the cabinet several
weeks ago announced the date for the
long-awaited general elections. Regis
tration of voters is now in progress and
on January 4 the Spanish electorate
will go to the polls for the first time
in eight years. A new Cortes—con
fr®*® —will be elected and the constitu
tion. virtually abolished by Primo de
Rivera, will be restored.
If the elections should result in a
Republican Cortes, that body could, if
it desired, proceed to demobilise the
throne and set up a republican form
of government at Madrid. Gen. Beren
guer has stated that “this step would
require only the change of a single
word in the constitution of 1876.” Evi
dently Maj. Ramon Franco and the
other military revolters In the Jaca
region are bent upon taking time by
the forelock and placing their reliance
upon the bullet rather than the ballet.
""" ' ' » 9
As a great and resourceful financier,
Henry Ford may be able, on the occa
sion of his visit to the White House
next Monday, to offer a few helpful sug
gestions concerning the Nation’s money
matters.
An Unlovely Affair.
Few will disagree with the action of
Maj. Pratt in censuring the policeman
who used his official authority to settle
a personal grievance in regard to a
dispute over a parking space, but it
seems unfortunate that there is appar
ently no way to place the same sort of
mark against the record of the motorist
involved. It was an unlovely affair
from first to last. The policeman, ac
cording to his testimony in court, had
pulled up to back and park when the
motorist suddenly darted in behind and
seized the spaee. Whereupon the officer
in his wrath proceeded to charge the
motorist with violation of the pease
and-order act and haled him to court.
The ease was promptly dismissed.
No one ean blame the officer for his
irritation at the action of the driver of
the other ear, but it la evident that he
was entirely to Marne for using his official
position in retaliation, other motorists
have undergone the same experience
as the policeman, yet they have had no
such redress as aeurt action, whether
successful or not There is no regula
tion in the traffic eode which prohibits
the discourteous grabbing of parking
spaces and consequently the motorist
was well within his legal rights in what
he did. It was a clear case, therefore,
of bad judgment on the part of the
policeman and Maj. Pratt’s action in
censuring this sort of conduct should be
a lessen net eaOy to him, but to others
on the force who are Inclined to In
dulge la the ami sort of tactics.
Oa tha other hand, it was the
motorist who wag the aggressor with
just about aa discourteous a piece of
work aa W to possible to imagine and
he likewise needs attention to teach
him that consideration toy others in
tha operation of an automobile is one
of the fundamentals of good driving.
The bullish, read-hoggish, amart-aleahy
type of driver has no plaoe in tha
crowded traffic of today, aad the ox
THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D. C„ SATURDAY. DECEMBER 13, 1930.
.. sufficient to muse the traffic office to
j scrutinize closely the records of motor
ists who so label themselves. It seems
logical that if a motorist is incon
siderate of fellow users of the streets
there are grounds for suspicion as to
his general fitness to operate a oar.
The traffic situation today is too com
j Pl«* to permit the presence of either
| discourteous policemen or discourteous
| motorists. Every individual must do
j his part if the accident toll is to be
kept down, and all those who refuse to
co-operate should find quick punish
ment awaiting them.
The Gaithersburg Overpass,
i One more nearby death trap for mo-
Itorists has been removed and one more
feather is added to Maryland's cap
for its steady and persistent efforts,
over a period of years, to do away with
| grade crossings. Not only does Mary
| land strive to maintain one of the best
J road systems of any Btate, but it is for
ward-looking enough to realize that no
system of highways, however good, can
I be of the maximum benefit to the public
unless it is safe. It is axiomatic
that there can be no safety where mo
-1 tor car and train are on the same level.
First, it was the Silver Spring cross
ing that was successfully eliminated. A
fine underpass, though a trifle narrow
when taken in connection with the
width of the road approaching it on
each side, now handles traffic safely
at a hitherto hazardous point. Next It
i was the dangerous Hyattsville crossing
that drew the attention of engineers.
That, likewise, was modernized and a
roadway now crossrs high above the
tracks. And Wednesday morning traffic
for the first time began to move over
the just-completed Gaithersburg over
pass which crosses the tracks of the B.
& O. Railroad on the Rockvllle-Ridge
ville road.
Silver Spring had gates and a watch
man and so did the Hyattsville Inter
section. Gaithersburg never had gates,
and if the watchman w'as on duty
twenty-four hours a day, few motorists
were aware of it. With the upbuild
ing of Gaithersburg the speed of au
tomobiles has been materially reduced,
but ten years ago, or perhaps less,
it was a common practice for motor
ists to approach the grade crossing
at a fast pace, especially at night,
thereby Increasing the chance of ac
cident.
It is all over now r , though, and
thanks to Maryland's progressive policy
Washingtonians are safe at three ‘
points which previously were crossings
of extreme hazard. Congratulations
are in order for the completion of
Maryland's newest life-saving project.
There is said to be a bitter feud on
between “Bugs” Moran and ‘ Scarface’'
Capone. The titles suggest the pic
turesqueness of the prize ring, but there
Is no way of regulating this fray so
that the public can bid for ringside
seats.
Reporters and photographers left
Prof. Einstein weary and perhaps a lit
tle irritated. The average American
does not assume to understand his the
orizing, but the public Is anxious to get
acquainted and do its best. «
Soviet Russia wants to trade with’
the U. S. A. Stalin i« represented as
having an enormous amount of cheap
labor available which will make it hard
to compete in economy of production.
Thf bargaining in contemplation is
something to be studied by the big busi
ness experts.
French temperament is proverbially
changeable. Not long ago In the depths
of grief and apprehension, the French
nation now smiles in confident enjoy
ment of an extraordinary prosperity.
SHOOTING STARS.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Awaiting a Superman.
Maybe some one will come along
With intellect so big and strong
That he can show the world away
To shun the sorrow and dismay
That life has been compelled to know
Since days of very long ago.
Maybe some one will yet draw near
To conquer every human fear
And bid us heed what we were told
By Wisdom In the days of old.
Maybe we’ll find some man so great
That he can end all mortal hate.
Willing to Do His Best.
“Do you think statesmen will return
to the custom of wearing large
whiskers?”
“We may,” answered Senator Sor
ghum. “We can’t give our friends every
thing we'd like to. But we might at
least try to look like Santa Claus in
order to show our good Intentions.”
Jud Tunkins says his best game is
checkers and he is just waiting for
manufacturers to advertise it big, so
that he can get a chance for some kind
of a championship.
Old Stories.
The novels that X used to road.
Oh, they are very tame indeed 1
They never tell a story queer
Os night club or of racketeer;
Os bootleg gin and gangsters grim
Who leave our hopes of peace m dim
And make us wish that they would not
Put one another on the spot.
They have no punch; they show no speed;
Those novels that I used to read.
Growing Suspicious of Science.
“What makes you so indignant with
science in general?”
"£’s altogether too powerful and
mysterious,” answered Parmer Com
tossel. “After our experience with
drought so far, I’m wondering what
would happen if Science were to take
a notion to put rain permanently out
of fashion.”
“He who is so powerful that he can
always have his own way,” said Hi Ho,
the sage of Chinatown, “should take
care to have servitors who can be held
responsible for his mistakes.”
Prehistoric Associations.
The monsters I have seen restored
In museums that I’ve explored.
And this I’ll say with faith unmoved;
Society is much Improved.
“Oan’t UU nullin' but da truth,” wud
Uncle Eben, “an’ don’ go out'll yoh way
to find out too much truth* dat aln’
i
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
We have been rather surprised and
pleased with the approval which has
come to us from readers of our views
upon fresh air.
It may be recalled that while we
said that freah air “filters and fibers"
the blood, to use Walt Whitman’s ex
pressive phrase, there are undoubtedly
many persons who make life miserable
for themselves by going In too heavily
for air that is cold.
The trouble with fresh air in Winter
is exactly that. It is cold. Fresh air
is fresh air. whether cold, cool, warm
or hot. Different temperaments in
human beings demand different varie
ties of fresh air.
One cold, crude temperature for all is
not right, and every one knows it who
has given the matter any serious
thought. But 20 years ago the fashion
was to cry up “fresh air,” and especially
fresh cold air. as if there was some
divine magic in it for one and all.
Now there may be some magic in it,
indeed, for certain types. Science has
proved, as we understand, that at low
temperatures certain germ growths are
inhibited, but certainly not all. of
them.
It has demonstrated, too. we believe,
that the purity of fresh air has a great
deal to do with its freshness, as it were,
and that the real thing desired is not
so much a hit-and-miss “fresh air”
as a known, fixed quality of pure air.
Thus science has given us, as worked
out in the Senate and other places, a
filtered, washed, humidified fresh air
which is a fresh air in truth and fact.
And this true fresh air, being prop
erly and scientifically controlled, is
“right” at 70 or 72 degrees, whereas
the haphazard “fresh air” which the
average person secures by opening the
windows and freezing everybody will
fail to benefit even the fresh air
enthusiast.
** * *
“Why persons should fix arbitrary
temperatures as ’right’ has always been
beyond my comprehension,” says a
letter from Bt. Louis.
"Human beings differ in their physi
cal reactions, yet there are those who
insist on herding all and sundry into
rooms afflicted with a set temperature.”
Let us begin with the babies.
Infants are hied into the “great out
doors” without being permitted to have
a single say In the matter.
We have seen the blue-nosed little
dears being wheeled around town In
sero weather, solemnly trundled for
their hour or two hours of daily suffer
ing in the open.
Our intense belief is that every one
of them, if they could talk, would
shriek “No!” If asked if they desired
their daily 6 miles on the Avenue.
It may be true that they are bundled
up well in blankets and shawls, and
have a hot-water bottle at their feet,
but what we would like to know is
bow any outsider, even dear mamma,
/cap tell when Baby Is warm?
And especi&llv If Baby wouldn’t
rather be at home?
“I can think of nothing nicer,” said
one solemn gentleman, whom we con
sulted upon this matter, “than being
trundled around town In a nice car
riage, all wrapped up snug and warm.”
Well, maybe that is the way the
I Highlights on the Wide World
Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands
COLOGNE GAZETTE—At his
latest visit to Malland, Signor
Mussolini received a delegation
of foreign Journalists in the
sorting raom of the general
post office. Signor Mussolini spoke
briefly, but X is understood that his
views in regard to foreign newspapers
and editors were expressed more
elaborately in an address delivered by
Slgixr Perrettl, his chief of the press
bureau.
Signor Ferretti said in part that the
attacks to which Fascism in Italy has
been subjected by the newspapers of
most other lands are but an Indication
of the strength and worthiness of the
regime. Were Fascism a feebl?, defec
tive and failing project, there would be
no longer any occasion for continued
hostility to it. Private and selfish
interests are afraid to acknowledge thi
merit of the system, lest it soon be
adopted in their own lands, to the detri
ment of their personal monopolies.
However, Signor Mussolini asks no
favors and expects none, and believes
that even a malicious reporting of con
ditions in Italy is better than silence;
for in time no credence will be placed
in any of the criticisms published
abroad, and other nations will begin to
question the accuracy of a hat they
hear, and thus patience will result in
the dissemination of the truth. It is
regrettable, nevertheless, that the ben
efits of Fascism must be retarded by
such a partial and envious attitude.
** * *
Drivers Ciajm Change of
Tires Causes Taximeter Discrepancy.
Imparclal, Montevideo.—That many
of the taximeters of cabs operating in
this city have been tampered with has
long been a suspicion entertained by
people using these vehicles. When they
consider they have traveled about one
kilometer, the register records a dis
tance of one and a half or two. Com
plaints made to the Department of
Weights and Measures have led to the
inspection of the taximeters on two
public cabs. In both instances the in
dicator on the vehicles showed a wide
divergence from the extent of the actual
distance traveled when compared with
the master cyclometer on the depart
ment’s car.
The drivers claim that a recent
Change to undersize tires accounts for
the discrepancy, but this explanation
is not supported by the facts. In any
event, any change in the tires or wheels
should require a readjustment of the
apparatus, and it is presumed that al
terations have been made of the dis
tance actually covered.
The indicators are now to be checked
on all these vehicles to prevent any
further exploiting of cab patrons.
** * *
Woman Students at
Oxford Held "Unfledged.”
Isis, Oxford. —If our woman students
come to Oxford purely to educate them
selves, they would do much better in
this respect elsewhere, particularly in
schools intended primarily for them. In
general it must be admitted by any im
partial observer that woman students,
at Oxford are unseemly and undignified
in behavior, and whr.t might be called
"unfledged.” In the streets they ride
bicycles with a truly shocking display
of black worsted. Matthew Arnold
never envisaged Oxford as a home of
lost hairpins and impossible hats. The
day for action has passed, at least, in so
far as this university is concerned. Pro
tagonists in co-education can no longer
hope for the success of their cause
when the results up to this time have
been so indifferent. Not the greatest
leader in history could now make such
an educational system operate satis
factorily.
♦* * *
Financial Check
Os Hespital Patients Urged.
El Mercurio, Santiago.—The Depart
ment of Public Assistance has two dis
tinct classes of service—one absolutely
gratuitous and the ether payable, at
feast in part. Os late years it has been
noticed that the free services are be
coming more end more in demand in
Santiago, while efforts to pay for the
invaluable treatment rendered in the
various clinics end hospitals ere be
coming much less noticeable than
formerly.
When people are poor and sick it la
only right that the general public shoul
be*.; the expense of making it pos-ible
for them to earn their living. Other
wise it may be neoassary to support
these persons indefinitely on public
charity. But where others who have
funds avail themselves of medical at
tention end other benefits, even to the
fIC itbgiM MM «i l&A ftps ggflpu*
babies feel about it We don’t know,
but that is our point; we wonder if any
body else does, either.
** * *
We positively shiver when we look
at various windows wide open in Win
tertime.
Behind yonder open space lies a man
who is ill.
He needs all his vital force to fight
his malady, but now he consumes a por
tion of it keeping his body warm.
Or trying to keep it warm.
He and his family have confused
“fresh air” and “cold air.”
It Ir true that the cold air may be
fresh, but we believe it is fresh at too
great a cost, and at an unnecessary
cost.
The feel of cold air on the face is a
habit rather than a necessity. Every
one has heard the old anecdote about
the man who went to bed in the hotel,
and suddenly realized that he had for
got to raise the window.
But he was tired end sleepy and could
not work up enough energy to get out
of b'd. So he threw a book, which he
had on a table handy, in the direction
of the window.
A great tinkling of glass rewarded
him.
“Ah!” he sighed with relief. “Now I
can breathe.”
And, inhaling great draughts of fresh
air, as he supposed, he went to sleep
with great content.
In the morning he discovered that
the window was intact, that instead of
hitting it he had smashed the wash
basin to smithereens.
** * *
Hie dream of engineers, that homes
may be built without windows at all. is
being realized in a certain great factory
now under construction In this country.
It will be windowless and air will be
supplied artificially, air washed and
conditioned in all ways, freed from dust,
wanned in Winter and cooled in
Bummer.
Light will be supplied artificially, with
ultra-violet Introduced scientifically.
There will be no drafts In this factory.
This type of building, therefore, is no
longer an engineer’s dream, but almost
an accomplished fact. We forget how
many millions of dollars is being spent
upon it by hard-headed business men,
even in this time of depression.
Perhaps it will point the way to the
modernistic home. And in such a home
we can be sure of one thing: No one
person, warm blooded, will be able to
“hist” the windows to the detriment of
others, cold blooded, as we say.
There will be no theoretical “70” res
urrected out of the old-fashioned school
physiologies to cause confusion among
the ranks of those who are comfortable
indoors only when thermometers show
76 degrees. *
we were talking to a plumber friend
the other day. He is a large, husky
man, you would think he could bathe
m snow gladly. But no. “I notice.” he
said, “when our heme gets down to 70
degrees, everybody In the family is shiv
ering. I think all this stuff about 70
being right is bunk.’’
And we agree with him.
- - i i
lances cell for them, which costs the
taxpayers from 40 to 50 pesos (from
$4.85 to $6) per trip, according to
whether the patient is brought from a
point within the city proper or from the
remoter suburb#, their parsimony is to
be condemned.
Hie financial resources of all apply
ing for aid to these institutions should
be carefully checked, and In cases where
the beneficiaries could pay a part of the
expense incurred they should be required
to do so. Some distinction should be
made in the use of these institutions
between the really indigent and the
millionaires.
** * *
School Books Seen as
Means to Aid Home Industry.
Chinese Weekly Affairs, Nanking.—
What is regarded as the most satisfac
tory way of popularizing the use and
consumption of native goods in prefer
ence to those imported from foreign
countries has been taken by the Min
istry of Education. In a circular order
issued recently by the various provin
cial departments and municipal bureaus
; of education, the Ministry instructs that
henceforth in the compilation of text
books for middle and primary schools
descriptions of the various leading home
industries as well as stories calculated
to implant in the youthful minds of all
school children an interest in native
industries and a preference for native
goods must be inserted.
It is pointed out that to popularize
the use of native goods something more
than the mere Issuance of orders is
necessary. The most fundamental and
efficacious way, according to the memo
randum. Is to faster in the minds of all
school children in the country an inter
est in our native Industries.
Farmers Now Value
Scientific Research
From the St. Paul Dispatch.
When schools of agriculture were
added to universities about 60 years ago
they were attacked by almost every one,
including the farmers, as delusive and
impractical. Their growth was dis
couragingly slow the first decades. As
late as ISM at the University of Minne
sota there wrre only five students en
rolled In the Agricultural College. The
slow growth was, however. Inevitable,
for the harsh fact was that before 1870,
at the earliest, scientific agriculture had
not made sufficient progress to consti
tute a subject for college teaching.
Today the attitude toward the ' farm
schools” has greatly changed. People
recognize the inestimable value to the
State of the scientific research and ex
perimentation contributed by these
colleges. Importance of thq schools is
attested Just now by their gdod showing
at the International Live Stock Exposi
tion held in Chicago. Entries from the
various university experiment farms
picked off blue ribbons with regularity,
the University of Minnesota taking
many of the championships. The once
derided agricultural school can now
compete successfully in exhibition with
the best private stock raistrs in the
country.
The nineteenth eentury skepticism
toward agricultural colleges has van
ished. One critic of those early days
once demanded that the agricultural
professors offer “some practical demon
stration upon the land of the faith
they hold and teach.” This demand
the agricultural research workers of to
day have completely fulfilled.
A Kind of Efficiency.
Prom the Louisville Times.
An efficiency expert strikes us as the
kind of fellow who, before trying to put
a large lump of coal in the furnace,
would carefully measure it to see wheth
er it would go through the door.
Halfback Also Obscured.
Prom the Little Rock Arktnsts Democrat.
The Vice President may be ignored
by the people, but think of the half
back who does nothing but interfer
ence for the here with the ball.
Comet to Earth.
Prom the Albany Svenlas News.
We presume that even Dr. Einstein
occasionally discusses with others how
many miles his car gets to the gallon
of gas,
Perfection in Lasipess.
Prom the Grand Rapids Press.
A parasite Is one Aho goes through
• moMBM Hmk «• Iki yntftab
11 ■ 1 T
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By thi Booklover
When Thomas Hardy published “Tees
of the D'Urbervllles,” he was the sub
| Ject of so much abuse that a mediocre
man might have been overwhelmed.
Hardy took it all very calmly and even
■ drew considerable amusement from the
’ hypocrisy and provincialism of some of
t his critics. Some anecdotes in this con
nection are told by Florence Emily
, Hardy, Hardy’s second wife, in “The
’ Later Years of Thomas Hardy, 1892-
1928," a sequel to "The Early Years of
[ Thomas Hardy,” published a year or so
ago. She says: * Among other curious
i results from the publication of the
i book was that it started a rumor of
r Hardy's theological beliefs, which lived,
and spread and grew, so that it was
, never completely extinguished. Near
- the end of the story he had used the
; sentence, ‘The President of the Immortals
had finished his sport with Teas,’ ’’
[ Hardy’s idea of ironic fate was thus
interpreted by one critic, "Hardy pos-
I tulates an all-powerful being endowed
with the bas-r human passions, who
turns everything to evil and rejoices in
the mischief h? has wrought.” Another
critic said. “To him evil is not so much
I a mystery, a problem, as the willful
malice of his god.” Hardy’s comment
on these criticisms was. “Under this
species of criticism If an author were
to say ‘Aeolus maliciously tugged at her
; garments, and tore her hair in his
wrath,’ the sapient critic would no
doubt announce that author’s evil creed
; to be that the wind is ‘a powerful being
endowed with the baser human
passions,’ etc., etc.”
** * *
After the appearance of “Tess” Hardy
received many letters from strangers,
“some from husbands whose experiences
had borne a resemblance to that of
Angel Claire, though more, many more, i
from wives with a past like that of
Tess, but who had not told their hus
bands, and asking for his counsel under
the burden of their concealment. Some
of these were educated women of good
position and Hardy used to say the
singular thing was that they should
have put themselves in the power of a
stranger by these revelations (their
names having often been given, though
sometimes Initials at a post office only).”
Once at a dinner party where Hardy
was a guest, “Tess” was under discus
sion and opinions differed as to the
Justice of her hanging. A well known
society woman, wife of a statesman,
snapped out: “Hanged? They ought all
to have been hanged!” Jeanette L.
Gilder, writing in the New York
World, said: “When I finished the story
I opened the windows and let in the
fresh air and I turned to my book
shelves and I said, ‘Thank God for Kip
ling and Stevenson. Barrie and Mrs.
Humphry Ward! Here are four great
writ?rs who have never trailed their
talents in the dirt.’ ” A prominent ac
tor. asked to play in a dramatization of
“Tess,” said frankly that “he could
not play such a dubious character as
Angel Claire (whieh would have suited
him precisely), ‘because I have my name
to make and it would risk my reputa
tion with the public if I played any
thing but a heroic character without
spot.’” In spite of “Tess,” or perhaps
partly because of it, Hardy’s ashes were
accorded burial in Westminster Abbey,
on January 14, 1928.
*v * *
Irony, Pit ter at times, a sense of fu
tility, but also humor, pervade “Vaga
bonds," Knut Hamsun’s most recent
novel. Most of the characters are
vagabonds or wanderers, searching for
a means of livelihood, but, in addition
to that, for something else which will
give to a sordid, monotonous life a fla
vor of adventure, perhaps of romance.
Continuity of effort is not possible to
the vagabond nature any more than is
hard work. Always, to change the
scene seems to promise success, but
success is as elusive as the “little men”
who. for the imaginative, people the
mountain heights and recedes of Nor
way. The black, loamy soil of the
Midwest United States tempts these
vagabonds of rocky Norway, just as it
has in reality tempted many hard
working Norwegians who came over
here and energetically labored to suc
cess. But the vagabonds cannot stay
long even where the soil yields richly
for their labors. They drift back and
forth and in the end are ahout where
they were in the beginning.
** * *
John Galsworthy, in the foreword to
his new collection of short stories, “On
Forsyte Change,” explains this addition
to the Forsyte chronicles after the
“Swan Song” had been sung: “It is
hard to part suddenly and finally from
those with whom one has lived so long;
and • * * these footnotes do really,
I think, help to fill in and round out
the chronicles of the Forsyte family.”
The slight stories in the volume do
perhaps fill in certain gaps in the
family history, but the gaps were so
small that they were not noticeable,
and the stories are not of absorbing
interest. The marriage of Miss Julia
Forsyte at the age of 40 to Mr. Sep
timus Small, the rebellion of Mrs.
Nicholas Forsyte against her husband
until she secured from him an allow
ance (settled on her from her own
dowry), the love-sick lingering of
Soames against a lamp post outside
Irene’s window a few weeks before his
marriage to her, the disappointments
of Marian Forsyte because of her un
worldly genius-husband, and the “nar
row squeak” of Timothy Forsyte who
almost proposed marriage to the “not
quite nice” Hatty Beecher, are among
the best episodes related. The very
best of the stories is “Soames and the
Flag,” which tells of the reactions of
Soames Forsyte to the World War.
** * *
Os the stories in Edith Wharton’s new
volume, “Certain People,” only two are
in what we have come to consider her
usual manner—’"Atrophy,” a slight
sketch of the defeat of a beautiful
woman at the hands of the timid but
hard spinster sister of her lover, and
“After Holbein,” a piece of real art,
created about the character of an old
I man and an old woman who will not
release their hold on the worldly life
they have loved. In two of tile stories
Mrs. Wharton goes to the borders of
the Eastern Mediterranean for her
background—“A Bottle of Perrier” is a
first-rate mystery story, and "Pieu
d’Amour” is a medieval tale of Cyprus,
based on tradition. The last story in
the volume, “Mr. Jones,” is a ghost
story. The ghostly Mr. Jones haunts
the blue parlor of the long-neglected
country house of Bells in Sussex and
keeps his private papers in a citron wood
desk which it is dangerous for any liv
ing person to tamper with.
** * *
Dorothie Bobbe in her historical
characterization “Mr. and Mrs. John
Quincy Adams; An Adventure in Pa
triotism” says of John Quincy Adams
that he was “an icicle in public, yet
remained an object of love behind the
scenes.” She describes him in his
home as a man of deep affections and
pleasant social qualities. He was a
man "who loved small children and
was loved by them; who liked to hear
his wife singing to her own accompani
ment on the harp, and was delighted
to read aloud to her and the other
ladies of an evening. One thus priv
ileged has classed Mr. Adams as an
excellent reader of plays and poems
and discourses that set the wheels of
discussion to turning.”
aa a a
George Washington was not only the
“Father of His Country,” but also its
most enthusiastic fireman, according to
Herbert Asbury. In "Ye Olde Fire
Laddies,” an anecdotal history of the
old-time volunteer fire-fighters of New
York, Asbury claims that even while
Washington was living in New York as i
President of the United States, he “ran i
with the fire engines as often as pos
sible. At serious conflagrations the
firemen were frequently inspired by the
spectacle of the new world’s most
heroic figure laboring manfully at the i
brakes of a fire engine, or lugging great i
buckets of water with which to feed <
fitHl ■OBlteg
| ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS | ’
IT nUDIWC J. HA&KIN.
This great service Is maintained by
The Evening Star for the benefit of Its
leaders who may use It every day with*
out cost to themselves. All they nave to
do Is ask for any Information desired
and they will receive prompt answers by
mall. Questions must be clearly written
and stated as briefly as possible. In*
close 3-cent stamp for return postage
and address The Evening Star Infor
mation Bureau. Frederic J. Haskin,
director, Washington, D. C.
Q. What is a quint major?—T. T.
A. It Is a card term and means a
royal flush.
Q. Where did Tobias Lear live when
he moved to Washington?—J. H.
A. Tobias Lear, who was secretary to
George Washington, lived on G street
between Seventeenth and Eighteenth,
where the Y. M. C. A. now stands.
Q. Are there any countries in which
smallpox is still one of the main causes
of death?—V. N.
A. It is still one of the principal
causes of death In China and India.
Q. Who wrote “Beautiful Joe"?—H.
F. B.
A. Marshall Saunders wrote this story
of a dog in the form of an autobiog
raphy.
Q. Is the Coast Guard a part of the
military establishment? —R. A.
A. The Coast Guard constitutes, un
der the law, a part of the military
forces of the United States, which shall
operate under the Treasury Department
In time of peace and operate as a part
of the Navy, subject to the orders of the
Secretary of the Navy. In time of war or
when the President shall so direct. It
Is composed of the former Revenue
Cutter Service and Life Saving Service.
The Coast Guard has played a dis
tinguished part in every war In which
the United States has been engaged. Ip
time of peace it has made a distin
guished record in saving life and prop
erty at sea and In the performance of
its many other Important functions.
Q. Please tell something about Lot
tie Collins, who sang "Ta-ra-ra-boom
de-ay.’—S. H. D.
A She was extremely popular In the
London music halls In the aarly 80s and
came to America at the time of the
World’s Columbian Exposition In Chi
cago. The song “Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay,”
which she popularized, was written by
Henry J. Sayres, a theatrical press agent
lor the musical farce “Tuxedo.” It Is
said that Sayres first heard the chorus
in a St. Louis cabaret run by a negress.
The words were somewhat changed and
the song eventually reached Lottie Col
lins. who made it famous In England in
1891.
Q. What is the Spenglerian theory
of nations?—F. S. S.
A. It refers to the philosophy de
veloped by the German writer Oswald
Spengler In his book, “The Decline of
the West,” written before the World
War and appearing just after it. This
book views civilization as the com
ing war would find It. It is a
German philosophy which attempts
the venture of predetermining history,
of following the still unraveled stages in
the destiny of a culture and specifically
of the only culture of our time and on
our planet which is actually in the
phase of fulfillment—the West Euro
pean-American. it also attempts to
describe the comparative morphology
of world history.
Q. What waterfall In Africa com
pares with Niagara?—C. G.
A- The waterfall which is by many
said to rival Niagara Is Victoria Falla,
on the Zambezi River, in Central
Hoover’s Word to Congress
Studied From Many Angles
Comment on President Hoover’s mes
sage as Congress assembles gives evi
dence of general belief that he has de
voted much study to the economic con
dition of the country. As to what the
Chief Executive should do in the di
rection of improvement there are wide
differences of opinion. There is some
Kise of his advice, some criticism of
conclusions. The diffliulties In
volved in covering a wide field in such
a message are recognized.
"His matter-of-fact recital, conserva
tive throughout and wholly non-com
mittal with respect to some questions
now under discussion.” says the New
Orleans Times-Picayune, "probably will
disappoint thoee who have looked to
Mr. Hoover for aggressive leadership in
this economic emergency. But just as
probably it will please those others who
believe with him that ‘economic depres
sion cannot be cured by legislative ac
tion or executive pronouncement.' ”
“He does not experience hysteria,”
avers the Wilmington Delmarvla Star,
"because many cases of severe need are
now distributed throughout a country
healthy, wealthy and competent enough
to cmne through a period of hard times
which is not to be compared with the
castigations of fate recently survived by
other lands.” The Seattle Dally Times
lauds his “cool judgment,” while the
Chicago Daily Tribune believes his sur
vey of the economic situation “probably
will have the assent of disinterested
opinion,” and the Manchester Union
finds that ho “deals with practical
problems in a practical way.”
"One of the soundest and most pro
gressive pronouncements from the
white House in late years” is praised
by the Wheeling Intelligencer. The Al
bany Evening News declares, "It is a
constructive and informative message
with straightforward facts and recog
nition of the Nation’s immediate
needs.” The Grand Rapids Press holds
that "any citisen who reads it should
feel saner and more confident,” while
the Milwaukee Sentinel advises that it
is "a carefully considered, businesslike
document, to which Congress should
pay close and respectful attention,”
and the Sioux Palls Argus-Leader is
convinced that it “will be wisely ap
proved in constructive quarters.”
** * *
“Sound »nd homely philosophy akin
to that of Benjapiln Franklin” is
pointed out by the Pasadena Star-
News, with an expression of hope that
"this general program of relief for eco
nomic depression and unemployment
may be approved in Congress and put
into effect without delay.” The Mor
gantown Dominion-News calls the mes
sage "a bill of legislative particulars
prepared for the most part in the typi
cal Hoover style of terseness and
clarity.”
Praise for the encouragement the
message offers the country is given bf
the Harrisburg Telegraph, the Worces
ter Evening Gazette, the South Bend
Tribune, the Salt Lake Deseret News, the
Rock Island Argus, the Cincinnati En
quirer, the Ann Arbor Dally News, the
Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the
Newark Evening News.
“President Hoover makes no effort,"
according to the New York Sun, “to
minimize the depression or to suggest
that it may be ended by legislation. He
attributes the temporary decline of
American business to familiar causes:
Speculation, world-wide overproduc
tion, political agitations and upsets in
Asia and South America, Soviet export
methods and our own drought. He be
lieves that the 'major forces of the de
pression’ are now outside the United
States and that recovery here has been
retarded by unwarranted fears and ap
prehensions. He sees encouragement in
the fact that our major financial and
industrial institutions have weathered
the storm and that the price levels of
major commodities haw been stable foi
some time ” , ‘ l, v
Among tjte critics of the massage is
the St. Lewis Times, which stat» as to
its content: "Giving undue emphasis
to a business situation that prematg
every indication of ability to take flbtie
of itself, the President’s message ism
disappointment in content and mannm
St ti * wtiaAti MMMiA el
Africa The chasm la about one-half
the total width of Niagara, but more
than twice its depth, varying from 2M
feet at the right bank to MS feet hi
the center.
Q. Why are Important people epokm
of as bigwigs*—R. w.
A. The term arises from the custom
of judges, bishops and other Important
persons wearing large wigs.
Q. What did the Indians use for war
paint?—A. M.
A. The pigments used tor war paint
by the Indians were mainly of mineral
and vegetal origin. The mineral dyga
especially were oxides of Iron and car
bonate of copper. The stains were ex
tracts of bark, grapes, berries, lichens
and roots.
Q. What King stood on a atoel
when he was crowned King of Eng
land?—C. E. D.
A. William 111 was much shorten
than Mary, his oonsort. At the corof
nation ceremony he stood on a stool*
which for many years has been prt*
served In Westminster Abbey.
Q. What Is the meaning of the name
“Juanita”?—J. B. W. <
A. It is of Spanish origin and meant
the Lord’s grace.
Q. What people first had an alpha
bet which represented vowel sounds as
well as consonants?—M. F.
A. The Greeks appear to have been
the first to invent an alphabet In
which the single sounds of their lan
guage, vowels as well as consonants,
were oppressed by a aeries of letters.
There was a connection between the
Greek alphabet and the one uacd by
the Semites of Syria, suggesting that It
was brought to the Greeks by the Phoe
nicians. It Is true that some writers
attribute the Invention of the alphabet
to such mythical characters as Prome
theus and Cadmus. It la probable that
the Greek alphabet Uan adaptation of >
the consonantal alphabet Invented ih
Syria.
Q. Who gave the clock In the bal
cony to Faneull Hall?—E. 11.
A. It was presented to the hall by
the children of Boston In 1150,
Q. How long a drive has Bobby Jems
made with a golf ball?—S. R. .
A. Mr. Jones says that he has no
means of knowing accurately the length
of the longest drive he ever made. The
longest he remembers with any degree
ol accuracy, occurred on the eighth nol*
at the Merlon Cricket Club in the
amateur championship in 1818, In his
first-round match against E. M. Byers.
The hole Is 350 yards In length and his
drive went over the green.
Q. What is meant by the baby Vol
stead act?—B. R. B.
A. It la the term applied to certain
State prohibition laws m existence in '
various States, which cloaely resemble
the provisions In the Federal prohibition
law.
Q. Please give some information
about the Angkor-V at. —L. P. R. t
A. It lies a little leas than a mile to
the south of the ruins of Angkor, with
in a park surrounded by a moat, whoa#
outer perimeter measures 8,080 yards.
It la now believed that the temple wn
consecrated to the worship of Buddha.
It consists of three stages, connected by
exterior staircases, culminating in the
sanctuary, a great central tower pyram
idal in form. The decoration consists
chiefly in the representation of gods,
men. and animals whieh are dispiaved
on every flat surface. The materials
employed In construction were sandstone
of various colors, without the use of
cement, and limanlte.
in exploiting the obvious. Its one posi
tive note relates to railroad mergers—
a Pf*k op * Plain. The message Is de
void of that element of force and con
structive suggestion we have good right
1 to expect in an executive Mdrses to
the Congress on the state of thrf
Union.
: The Louisville Courier-Journal ifa
it ‘more or less perfunctory,” while the
Dw Moines Tribune Capital voices the
judgment,‘‘Packed as it was with sound
recommendations for unemployment
and drought relief and other needed
legislation, nevertheless it was silent
or. other important measures bound to
crop up in this session of Congress ”
*a * a
The President’s stand and tho degree
of optimism which is read into his
statement by the Little Rock Arkansas
pessimism among the millions employed
“ unemployed,” and it con
tinues. Mr. Hoover minimizes unem
ployment in one breath and In another
declares 1150,000,000 should be ennro
prlated to aid the jobless. He taluef
prosperity being just around the corns?
thl "HJ*. mu4t wal ‘ until the rest of
the world recovers, though only a few
weeks ago he declared we could return
to good times without the world’s help
He says business is only slightly below
normal, yet warns that income
cannot be reduced."
“In its attempt to mention 'tltlt a
vast variety of subjects,”
Roanoke World-News oI the customer?
present-dsy message, “it tends to
sketchiness. However painstalfihgly it
may have been prepared, any attempt to
cover so much ground in seshort a
P^&mSS^gJPS;
.Kasaiiß
his duty, but that neitSerthe
Constitution nor tradition requires the
« m * n to wad * through it.
This attitude la encouraged by the feel
ing that as to certain of the more acute
problems there will later be special mes
sage* more to the paint than aa annual
generalization.”
“Opinions on the message.” according
to the Schenectady Gasette,
according to the viewpoint of the indi
vidual In aaoh case. There will be a
great many Who will commend It for
its avoidance of all controversial mat
ters at this time, for its pointing to the
unquestioned fact that economic de
pressions cannot be cured by legislative
flat, and for lta failure to seek to exert
any leadership over Congress. Con
trariwise, there will he many who, •’while
indorsing the avoidance of otmtrsversial
discussion, believe the Chief Executive
should endeavor to wield a greater in
i" the framing and adoption of
legislation. They will feel that a lead
erlem Congress in the past hap aim
lessly wandered through the wilderness,
frequently acting counter to die' best
interests of the Nation.”
The Anniston Star charges ene im
portant omission, and voices the con
clusion: "While legislative action or
Executive pronouncement may not be
altogether sufficient to relieve tft»t&&»-
nomic distress of tbs country. President
Hoover and the members of Congress
have it within their power to increase
business activity and stimulate trade by
removing one o i the greatest otwtacles
to the return of prosperity. They can
do this by taking down the tariff wall
that the Republican administration hag
placed around us and opening the way
for the return to normalcy.”
No Cause for Fear.
From the Newark Evening New*.
All war scares centering upon Ger
many are hereby put at rest. No na
tion can be feared which creates fur
trimmed spats for men. {
1 use i i
Dejected Crooning.
From the Toledo Blade.
Crooning is becoming noticeably de
jected. Or. perhaps, it is inertly a com
mon cold that has settled in ths saxo-