Evening star. [volume], March 17, 1934, Page A-6, Image 6

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

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THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON. D. C.
SATURDAY... .March 17, 1934
THEODORE W. NOYES. .Editor
Tho Evening Star Newspaper Company
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are also reserved
The Folly of Flight.
Samuel Insull is affording a striking
example of the folly of flight from
justice. He left this country when
accused of financial trickery which
cost the investors in the securities
which he floated in connection with
his far-flung ‘empire'’ of utilities
countless millions of dollars. With
knowledge of the fact that there
was no effective extradition treaty
between the United States and Greece
he went to that land. A treaty was
in process of negotiation and ratifica
tion and the formalities were con
cluded while he was at Athens. The
Greek court refused to order his
extradition on a technical ground and
he was permitted to remain at Athens,
but eventually his presence became an
embarrassment to the Greek govern
ment and he was notified that he
must depart. On the plea of ill health
he was given extensions and finally
he was told to go, but he lacked a
travel vise and on the eve of his
eviction he fled on a chartered ship,
bound for the Persian Gulf, where he
hoped to land and find refuge. The
Greek government, angered by this
procedure, ordered the ship to return,
and shortly Insull will be again on
Greek soil, unwanted, subject to ouster
and perhaps to surrender to the
American authority.
The plight of the fugitive is a des
perate one. in these days of instant
communication and ready travel.
However potent his wealth may be to
gain protection, he is the possible vic
tim of betrayal. He becomes the ob
ject of blackmail. He can have no
peace, no security, as long as he is
Bought by the law of his own land.
Had Insull succeeded in getting into
Persia he would hate faced the same
difficulties as those from which he
■ought to flee when he slipped out of
Greece. He would have had no sure j
haven of rest.
Had Insull remained here and faced
the law he would have had a much 1
less difficult time. He would pre- j
aumably have been admitted to bail,
with freedom to move about as he
wished, and with the prospect of a
long delay in the hearing of his case. '
He would have had a chance to beat I
the law when the trial was held. If I
convicted he would have had his ap
peal, with virtual assurance of a lapse
of two or three years before final con- 1
firmation of the verdict. In any case
he would have been free of the con
atant dread of discovery and return
to the Jurisdiction of his offense.
In the light of the success of of
fenders against the laws in the course
of many years of slow and at times
Incompetent administration of justice
In this country, Insull chose the de
cidedly wrong course in fleeing and
resisting deportation and return.
Flight was virtual confession of guilt,
certainly of fear of punishment. It
led to a desperate plight, to suffering,
to costly and perhaps corrupt machi
nations to prevent trial, to agonies of
mind that could not have been less
than those incident to appearance in
court
mere is no sure naven oi reiuge
for the wrongdoer in these times, and
Insull stands as an example of the
folly of attempted evasion.
If Langley could have had in ad
vance a small share of the money that ;
row figures in aviation he would not
have been so frequently humiliated,
though never disheartened in his ex
periments.
Prevention of Injustice.
The President has done well in de
blining to accept the recommenda
tions of some of his political advisers
to treat the office of register of wills
sis a small portion of patronage pie,
to be dished out to some possibly de
serving party worker from one of the
States at the expense of the efficient
Incumbent.
The position of register of wills
has never been considered as patron
age. "Corporal” Tanner held the job
for twenty-three years. Capt. Theo
dore Cogswell, the incumbent, enter
ed the office as a clerk under the Wil
eon administration In 1913. His serv
ice there was Interrupted by the war.
In which he distinguished himself,
end his promotions were achieved on
recommendation of the justices of the
court through merit. On the very
day that Corporal Tanner died the
Justices recommended his promotion
to the Attorney General, and that day
President Coolidge nominated him. j
Summarily ousting him to make way
for a political appointee would have
been distinct ungratitude to a gallant
soldier, and would have rendered a
disservice to the court of which the
register of wills is an office.
The recommendations which the
President declined were apparently)
based on a misconception of the
nature of the office. There la some
irony in the fact that any recom
mendation* should go as far as the
White House without a complete un
derstanding of the nature of the
duties which, for the sake of politics,
were to be reassigned. But the speed
with which the President threw out
the recommendation once the relevant
facts were brought to his personal
attention is comforting to Washing
tonians, who have feared the sacri
fice of other efficient local office
holders la the payment of patronage
debts.
■. — * e ■ ■
Central Europe.
Probably the true inwardness and
precise implications of the Italo-Aus
tro-Hungarian pacts to be signed at
Rome today will not be officially re
vealed, but it Is manifest that Premier
Mussolini has done important business
with his visitors. Chancellor Dollfuss
of Austria and Premier Goemboes of
Hungary. Rome dispatches state that
two separate accords have been
reached. One, political; the other,
commercial. It Is the former that
means most to the high contracting
parties and to Europe, for it provides
for “consultation” among them on
emergency occasions of interest to all
three countries.
Stripped of surplus verbiage, such an
agreement has one outstanding,
all-dominating purpose —to thwart
Nazi Germany’s expansion across Cen
tral Europe through absorption of
Austria, with Hungary as the next
natural goal. From “consultation" to
joint military action would not, in cer
tain grave contingencies, be a very
long step. The partners in this new
triple political and commercial alli
ance naturally deny that it has any
definite anti-German slant, yet cur
rent events in Europe denote that any
attempt on the integrity of the Da
nubian states will now run into a solid
wall of nations stretching from the
Atlantic to the Black Sea.
Fiance is sympathetic to Signor
Mussolini's Central European plans.
Czechoslovakia, conscious of a Nazi
menace. Is about to enter a phase of
closer understanding with Italy. With
the other Little Entente nations—
Rumania and Yugoslavia—following
France s lead, and with Bulgaria firm
ly attached to the Italian course, the
chain of countries linked directly or
indirectly in a purpose to brook no
modern German "draag nach Osten”
is complete. Nazi dreams of extend
ing the Reich's power and influence
across Central Europe would seem for
the time being to be effectually
checked.
On its face the history made at
Rome this week appears to be purely
peaceful in purpose. Signor Musso
lini's professed primary object is to
strengthen Austria and Hungary eco
nomically by increasing the import of
their goods into Italy, while widening
Italian business in Danubian markets.
The three partners claim that they
will welcome the adhesion of other
countries to their trade understand
ing. Nevertheless, the danger cannot
be excluded that against the new bal
ance of power thus set up in the
heart of the Continent a rival combi
nation may some day be created, with
Nazi Germany as its mainspring.
The world will hope that present
hour developments at Rome will have
the pacific results which their authors
profess to desire.
As a master of flying technique the
position of Col. Lindbergh is unchal
lenged. Even though he is entitled
to wear a military uniform popular
imagination will always prefer to pic
ture him in the togs of the intrepid
aviator, such as he wore when he
made the simple announcement on
reaching Paris "I am Charles Lind
bergh.”
---
Recent events have raised the ques
tion of whether Vidals’ $700 air
planes can De realized to the extent
of equipping private owners with a
blizzard-proof article.
— —— ■— a t 1 ■
As a sick man, Sam Insull is hard
to convince that his physical condi
tion would be improved by travel.
Trip Downtown.
Thousands of Washingtonians ordi
narily have no orbit of travel except
that of the Journey from home to
office and back. They traverse the
same route six days of the week. A
pattern of movement is the normal
habit of their lives. Over the same
pavements, through the same streets,
to the same cars or busses they go in
the morning and geturn in the late
afternoon or early evening. Super
ficially, it may seem a dull sort of
business. Like "Grand Hotel,” "noth
ing ever happens.”
But perhaps that is not quite true.
It may be that for those who have
th“ ‘‘seeing eye” the familiar passing
scene really is worth watching. The
pageant of a community on the
march, it is obvious, must present
occasional aspects of variation. In
fluences surely are operative in the
circumstances—differences of weather,
for example. A Winter picture can
not be exactly like a Spring picture.
And there are subtle distinctions
which the acutely observing may no
tice. Monday, for instance, has an
atmosphere not at all like Saturday.
Sensitive men and women compre
hend the "feeling" of mutation In
the air.
Even stolid and unresponsive souls
now and again will lift themselves out
of their preoccupation to glance from
the window at an incident occurring
along the way. To illustrate: A crowd
of several score of children, all dec
orated with blue sUk badges, this
morning momentarily attracted the
gaze of passengers in a Connecticut
avenue coach. In the mind of each
beholder was the question: "What do
those badges say?” But the coach
did not pause, and no one bothered
to pursue the inquiry. The boys and
girls standing on the sidewalk, how
ever, had served the purpose of break
ing the monotony.
For the philosopher people are a
fascinating spectacle, and to the phi
losopher the dally Journey never la a
wasted opportunity. Various causae
f
combine to Isolate individuals from
the masses to which they belong, but
the experience of getting to work and
getting home again is not one of them.
Dilemma of the Middleman.
The weekly pass system has faced
with a dilemma the type of car rider
hereafter known as the middleman.
The middleman is the gentleman (or
the lady) who from Infancy was
taught to obey respectfully the ad
monition of the conductor to "Move
forward, please.” Ha has always
moved forward, beginning at the rear
of the car. where he had purchased a
strap lranchise, and ending his jour
ney on the front platform. But new
times, new customs, have produced
the dilemma. Now, progressing as the
conductor intones "Move forward,
please,” he is startled by the sound
of a new voice from the hitherto
silent motorman. The motorman
chants: "Move toward the rear of
the car, please.” For the motorman,
in the new role of human compressor,
admits passengers who hold weekly
passes at the front end of the car.
Motormen and conductors are rugged
individualists, who believe in working
both ends against the middle.
weu, mey say a worm will turn.
But even a worm could not turn under
such conditions. What Is the proper
technique? The middleman might
try climbing toward the roof of the
car. But the company refuses to
supply ladders. One hesitates to be
come sensational or jingoistic about
such things, but the possibility of the
middleman’s revolt Is not to be
sneezed at. You can push a middle
man just so far. If one of them, re
sponding to certain laws of physics,
goes shooting through the top of the
car some day like a prune seed
squeezed between thumb and index
finger—well, there is going to be
trouble, and it will not be the mid
dleman's fault, either.
—— . ■■ a i ■ —
An offer has been made to sell at
assessed value to New York City 47
parcels of slum property, to be im
proved for purposes of better hous
ing. It is doubted whether the city
can afford to accept the offer and the
suggestion Is too high minded to per
mit a little political juggling to lower
the assessment.
— a a —
German pictures, music and liter
ature have but little to look forward
to if the government decides to permit
only a population qualified for mili
tary service. It would be a just retri
bution If the rest of the world should
go on and perfect an understanding
that there shall be no war.
There are discouraging students who
regard international peace as only a
lucid interval to be maintained as
long as possible.
In his ideas Hitler does not halt at
an effort to be logical but insists on
going on and being pathological.
SHOOTING STARS.
BT PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Luxury of Hardships.
Some day we're going totfwild a world
Which leaves mankind at ease,
With Pleasure's banners all unfurled
Upon a tranquil breeze.
All travel will be well controlled
For loitering or for haste,
And dwellings will be warm or cold
According to each taste.
Soft lights will glow through perfumed
air
And music sweet and low
Will greet the listener everywhere
That he may choose to go.
Each home will be exceeding fair
And in the dining hall
Swift mechanism will prepare
A banquet, great or small.
And then—ah, then—brain-weary men
Will on vacation go.
Seeking the jungle or the glen
Or realms of Ice and snow.
They’ll find the thrill of primal cheer
And think the time well spent
If they for food can find a deer
And live out in a tent.
Controlled Ire.
*‘I note with approval," said the
constituent, ‘‘that you are slow to
anger ”
“You are mistaken,” answered Sen
ator Sorghum. “I try not to be
demonstrative. But I have always
found that the angrier you are. the
more desirable It is to keep quiet and
think hard.”
Jud Tunkins says clothes don’t
make the man. but, just the same, a
policeman's uniform has a tremen
dous amount of influence.
No Harm In Argument.
We’re welcoming the kindly scene
When Nature smiles anew
And gayly Wearing of the Green
Salutes the Eagle Blue.
We know that everything’s well meant.
It brings us no dismay
To have a bit of argument
Upon Saint Patrick’* Day.
Defense Reaction.
"What Is your idea in trying to
dodge your income tax?"
“I guess it was a question of ner
vous reaction,” said Mr. Dustin Stax. "I
didn’t mean to dodge. Anyhow, it hit
me first."
“A bad conscience,” said HI Ho, the
sage of Chinatown, "punishes even
the most callous nature as a remorse
less reminder of bad Judgment.”
Why Not Go Peaceably?
We know that life is but a span
Twixt two eternities.
We seek to formulate a plan
Of honorable ease.
Since a departure we must take
Prom this too fleeting present.
Why should war politicians make
The process so unpleasant?
"Learn to say ‘no,’” said Uncle
Eben, “but don’t let it git to be such
a habit dat you refuses a chance to
be useful.”
, ,
A Shade,
rrom th« Toledo Blade,
As the hearing progressed It ap
peared that Mr. Brown was getting •
shade the better of Mr. Black.
A
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
Those who select fishes for the
home aquarium, as gardeners who
choose shrubs for the foundation
planting, should keep in mind the
matter of future growth.
Thinking of aquarium fish from the
fishes' standpoint rather than that
of the owner Is a growth, too.
The beginner never thinks of the
fish, but of himself.
He selects it for color, or interest
ing breeding habits; he totally over
looks the factor of growth, whereby
an Inch-long fish In time becomes 5
inches long.
Many popular fishes, which charm
all who behold them in their younger
days, grow at last to be too large
for the home tanks_ ordinarily avail
able for them.
* * * *
Such tanks, properly planted, afford
them enough oxygen at first, but
when they get 18 months old, or 2
years old, such tanks are inade
quate.
One should be very careful, then, in
purchasing fishes, to know something
about their ultimate size in cap
tivity.
Few tropicals gTow as large In
small aquaria as In natural environ
ment.
Some, however, attain almost their
full number of inches.
Now the longer a fish becomes,
granted it gets proper feeding, the
fatter It gets, In the ordinary sense.
The greater the bulk, the more
meat to need oxygenation.
* * * *
The larger fishes, too, become In
tensely nervous, whereas smaller
ones seldom give any such indica
tions.
This is a fact unknown to the
beginner.
Often the amateur wonders at the
sign which he may see on tanks at
some places of sale: "Do not touch
the tanks.”
Tapping on the front glass, of
course, is one of the delights of the
stranger to this happy "fancy.”
There is nothing the person unac
quainted with aquarium fishes loves
to do quite as much as tap on the
front glass.
When fishes are youngsters, and
perpetually hungry, this upping does
little harm.
For them It sometimes becomes a
signal for dinner. ,
* * * *
After a fish gets to what might be
called piscatorial middle age, how
ever, its demand for food begins to
fall off.
Just as a human being needs little
food for growth, comparatively speak
ing. after reaching a certain age, so
a tiny fish comes to the point in its
life when its quota of food may be
cut down.
Under the artificial restrictions of
the tank, this age arrives after full
growth has been attained.
It arrives particularly early In the
so-called community tank, where
many fishes will not breed.
Whenever this period arrives the
feeding schedule may be cut from
twice a day to once a day. preferably
in the middle of the afternoon.
* * * *
All the experts say feed In the
morning?
Many of them do, but that is just
another of the old traditions handed
down from writer to writer, from
mouth to mouth.
If the owner will consult his fishes,
and not his own convenience, he
will see that the older ones prefer
midafternoon, especially when the
sun Is shining.
The plants are sending up bubbles
of oxygen, the fishes have been
swimming around all day, working
up an appetite.
Now comes the feeding hour, at
least It comes if the owner consults
his pets.
They want food then, and plainly
show their desire.
If they are beginning to get old,
and perhaps are a bit too large for
the tank they are in, they will show
less plain nervousness at this time
of the day than at any other,
i The confirmed glass tapper can tap
to his heart’s content in middle aft
ernoon or late afternoon. The fishes
will not mind such antics then.
They are hungry.
* * * *
There Is a panic fear which devel
ops in some aquariums as the fishes
grow up.
It is never known to beginners,
or to those who have not been able
to keep the same tropical fishes for
two years, at the least.
It develops only when fishes grow
large, and begin to find their tank too
small for them.
Overcrowding, that first and last
bane of amateur fish keeping, is at
the bottom of It, then.
One solution is to keep on buying
bigger tanks, but this is a problem
complicated both by money and space.
The placing of larger tanks In the
average home is a real problem. The
larger the tank, the more it costs,
and the worse the catastrophe would
be If accidentally broken.
* * * *
Tlie best way, therefore, to prevent
“nerves’’ among your fishes is to be
gin by purchasing only such varieties
as will not exceed 2 Inches at ma
turity. (We speak now of tropical
fishes, not of goldfishes.)
By sticking to the smaller types,
your aquarium animals stand a far
better chance of having enough room,
not only for exercise, but in breathing
space. The free oxygen In the water
is the Important thing, and if your
fishes are too big they wffi demand
more oxygen than you probably can
give them.
Before acquiring a new fish which
strikes your fancy, find out how large
it ultimately grows. Find out whether
it must have live food or not. and
1 determine whether you are willing to
provide "white worms" and the like.
The larger fishes, for best results,
ought to have at least a 10-gallon
tank per pair. Determine whether
you have the space to handle them,
whether you want to go Into fish cul
ture on that scale.
* * * * i
Do not be misled in this matter by
the size of the fishes as youngsters.
These charming little fellows, gayly
chasing after each other in this small
tank—can they ever become large,
meaty fishes?
They can. and will. If tank condi
tions are right.
They will do it, too, before you know
it, If nature has decreed 5 inches as
their size, or 7 inches.
The first may attain only 4 inches,
| the latter but 5'i inches, say. but each
will be a big fish for a home aquarium.
Remember, there Is just as much
pleasure to be derived from the
smaller fishes, and these are far hap
pier, under the conditions imposed
upon them by the average aquarist.
( ‘Aquarist" is a poor word; we pro
pose “fishman," to distinguish the—er,
aquarist, from the "fisherman.”)
Miss Allen Believed Headed
For Nation’s Highest Court
The appointment of Judge Florence
E. Allen of Ohio to the United States
Circuit Court of Appeals for the
Sixth District leads to suggestions
that If she succeeds In her new posi
tion she will set still another prece
dent In her unusual career by becom
ing the first woman member of the
United States Supreme Court. This
native of Utah and product of West
ern Reserve University has served on .
the Ohio Supreme Court with dis
tinction and is the first of her sex
to be promoted to the higher Federal
judiciary.
The belief that she will go to the
Federal Supreme Court is quoted by j
the Richmond Times-Dispatch, basing
that possibility on her ‘'measuring up \
to the duties of the appellate court.” 1
The Richmond paper recalls that "in
1922, at the age of 38. Miss Allen
was elected to the Ohio Supreme
Court, where she has made a dis
tinguished record." and points out i
that "she Is noted for her liberal at
titude toward political and social |
questions." The Times-Dispatch adds:
“In Germany, under the Hitler i
regime, such a thing as the elevation j
of a woman to the federal bench
would, of course, be beyond the
bounds of possibility. Not only so. j
but the Nazis are determined to take
women out of business and profes
sional life entirely and to restore
them to the home. • • • The re
markable success of many American
women in business and professional
life Is excellent evidence of the fallacy
of the Nazi thesis.”
"In 1932,” says the Springfield
(Mass.) Republican, "Judge Allen
was a Democratic nominee for Con
gress. but was beaten by the rich
and popular Republican incumbent
from her district. For many years
there have been women in the House j
of Representatives at Washington.1
Mrs. Caraway, first appointed and
then elected in her own name, has
been a member of the Senate since
the death of her husband.. Miss Per
kins Is in the cabinet. Judge Allen’s
nomination raises the question how
long it will be before a woman law
yer wears a gown as a member of
the United States Supreme Court.”
“As the first woman jurist named
to so high a place on the United
States bench, her sc vice there will
be watched with much more than
ordinary interest the country over,”
thinks the New Orleans Times
Picayune. recognizing that in her se
lection “the President established
another interesting precedent.” That
paper states in reviewing her career:
"This choice is not in any sense
’experimental.’ Judge Allen now is
serving her second term on Ohio’s
Supreme Court, and her judicial ex
perience includes service also as
judge of the Court of Common Pleas
at Cleveland. She began the prac
tice of law in 1914 and her judicial
career has been sufficiently dis
tinguished to attract national atten
tion. Her experience and qualifica
tion for the Federal bench will not.
we dare say. be challenged. Before
adopting the law as a profession.
Judge Allen—who is a native of
Utah—studied music at home and
abroad and served several years as a
lecturer on music in New York City.
An active worker in the woman suf
frage cause, one of the first cases she
accepted after admission to the bar
was in defense of the right of women
to vote in Ohio School Board elec
tions.”
"The judicial temperament, after
all, may not be a matter of sex,’* de
dares the Lowell Evening Leader, and
the McKeesport (Pa.) Daily News
comments In similar vein: “It took a
great many years to convince civilize -
A
tion that women could efficiently fill
positions which formerly were re
garded as solely within the province
of the opposite sex. Now that they
have been given the opportunity, they
are showing us what they can do.
Some one said, in a spirit of sarcasm,
perhaps, that men face facts, but
women run away from them. Owing
to the highly controversial nature of
the claim, we refrain from voicing
an opinion. But if men do face facts
they are aware that women can stand
on an equal footing w'ith them. That
theory became factual some years
ago."
"The new deal demands liberal
judges, who can see the whole social
picture as it exists in 1934. and
Florence E. Allen Is that kind of
jurist,” in the judgment of the Fort
Wayne Journal-Gazette, while the
Jamestow’n <N. Y.) Post finds "recog
nition of the judicial poise that she
has exhibited." and suggests that “the
Supreme Court of the United States
may not be beyond her reach.” That
paper concludes: "It appears that
Judge Allen has a notable record for
breaking precedents. Admitted to the
bar in Cleveland twenty years ago. her
first political office wras as assistant
prosecuting attorney of the county,
the first woman in that city to hold
such a position. Later she was elected
a judge of the Common Pleas Court,
in which she was also the first woman
in Ohio to occupy that bench. She
continued her record of precedent
breaking In her advance to the Ohio
Supreme Court and she has not de
parted from It In the latest instance.”
“She has demonstrated the fact
that she is an able and upright
judge,” avers the Roanoke Times,
while the Charlotte (N. C.) News
points to her career in newspaper
work as contributing to her success.
The Halton Journal-News refers to
the record of President Roosevelt with
the statement: "It has been the policy
of the President to give woman a
deserved recognition in Government;
and according to the National League
of Women Voters 13 have been named
by him to important Federal posi
tions. There seems to be no reason
since woman has received the fran
chise and has exercised it so judi
ciously and independently that she
should not have a place in the or
ganization which is called Govern
ment.”
Hoosier Aspirants.
From the South Bend Tribune.
If more Democrats come out for
the Indiana senatorial nomination it
may be necessary to identify the con
tenders with numbers instead of
names.
Cause Unknown.
From the Nashville Tennessean.
A fellow went mad in a Los Angeles
radio station the other evening, but
we haven’t learned just which blurb
was being broadcast at the moment.
—————-> ^ ^ •* 1 1 ~ "
A Rush for the Clerk"* Office.
Prom the Miami Dally News.
The recent increase in marriage
licenses indicates that more women
are finding employment and the men
have found it out.
Jamming the Seas.
From the Boston Transcript.
The idea behind this 102-vessel
"peace fleet” proposition apparently
1* that if you have enough ships the
ocean will be so cluttered up there
won’t be »ny room to fight in.
4
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH G. BOWERMAN.
A LIVING FROM THE LAND. By
William B. Duryee, M. Sc. New
York: Whittlesey House. Mc
Graw-Hill Book Co.
The very title chosen for his book
by the secretary of agriculture of
New Jersey Is optimistic. It suggests
that a living may be obtained from
the land—without Government aid.
Optimism is, however, prevented from
becoming too exuberant when we find
that Mr. Duryee Is writing primal ily
for the family which desires only
partial economic security from the
land. To him a real home is a coun
try home, and he finds that “home
steading days are here again,’’ that
there is a movement of people back
to the land. He suggests that the
city worker w'ho needs additional In
come may establish a country home
stead which wUl be not a luxury, but
a source of revenue, if the proper
knowledge Is brought to the project.
The shorter working week will per
mit those whose principal work is in
the city to give much time to the
secondary occupation of farming. His
book supplies at least the theoretical
knowledge in such an Interesting way
that the reader is tempted to go off
immediately and acquire a small
farm, with just the right kind of
soil.
The first essential Is to “get
started right”; that is, to find the
right tract of land, not too large,
where taxes are not too high, from
which .here is good transportation to
the city, where there are buildings
adapted ft) the needs of the pur
chaser, where electricity is available,
where educational and community
opportunities are good, and especially
where the soU has crop-producing
capacity. Valuable specific advice is
given on all these points and on
financing and protecting the invest
ment. When the farm has been pur
chased and the family has moved in,
perhaps after building a new dwell
ing, for which an attractive plan is
given, and the servicing of the home
has been arranged (there are good
suggestions for this, too), then the
crops must be planned and planted.
The excitement now begins in ear
nest and reaches its climax when the
first food from the garden is brought
to the table or marketed. This is
a very practical book. In addition
to chapters packed with useful coun
sel, It contains several series of
“do's'’ and “tion'ts,” diagrams, illus
trations from photographs, and tables
of planting, amounts of seed, insect
pests and remedies. A good reference
list of other books completes the
volume.
m * * *
WHILE ROME BURNS. By Alexan
der Woollcott. New York: The
Viking Press.
A very good-natured Nero in the
person of Alexander Woollcott plays
on a whole orchestra of instruments
while the distraught world, not quite
burning yet, is pleasantly diverted.
This volume is composed of a mis
cellany from his magazine sketches,
anecdotes, horror stories and com
ments on famous and less famous
persons. The initial paper is a
tribute, “which Brand Whitlock
should have written ibut might not
write)" to the Marquis of Villalobar,
gallant, deformed Ambassador from
Spain to Belgium during the World
War. In another, Frank Lloyd Wright
is accorded the highest praise as
“the outstanding creative genius of
our time in architecture.” When Mr.
Woollcott writes of the wife of Henry
Adams and the "veil” which James
Truslow Adams holds over her death
in his biography of Henry Adams,
he becomes aggressively satiric and
upholds the “inalienable privilege” of
the "poor lady” to take her own life.
In one group of the essays he has
revised some of his correspondence
from Russia and tells something of
"the daily experiences of a fat man
in the Soviet Union.” Theater going
in China and lunching and dining
in Japan, where so much food fell
off his chopsticks that he “got all
the good effects of undereating with
out subjecting my will power to any
strain,” are other subjects derived
from his foreign travels. Several
notorious crimes which have figured
in the news receive ironical com
ment in the division entitled “It May
Be Human Gore.” Among them are
the killing of Mr. Bennett in Kansas
City by his wife after a quarrel at
the bridge table, which was finally
adjudged accidental; the case of
Eugenie Cedarholm of Brooklyn, who
mysteriously disappeared and has
never since been heard from, whose
rents were collected and checks
cashed by Edward L. Hall, now serv
ing in Sing Sing what is practically
a life sentence; and the hansom cab
mystery of Nan Patterson. Alexander
Woollcott, formerly a prominent dra
matic critic, has recently devoted
his time to gossipy magazine articles,
lecturing, and broadcasting. His
witty, rather flippant style and his
unerring aim in puncturing human
vanities have made him popular with
a wide public.
THE MEMOIRS OF VINCENT
NOLTE. Reminiscences in the
Period of Anthony Adverse. Or
Fifty Years in Both Hemispheres,
By Vincent Nolte. Translated
from the German. New York:
G. Roward Watt.
The Vincent Nolte of the Memoirs
was an adventurer of unlimited
energy and curiosity about life. Her
vey Allen discovered the Memoirs and
drew abundantly upon them for his
character of Vincent Nolte in “An
thony Adverse,” whom he made al
most a rival of Anthony. The re
publication of Nolte's reminiscences
may catch some of the tide of "An
thony Adverse” readers, but a degree
of doubt Is involved. There is a
saturation point for picaresque ad
venture. Vincent Nolte was born in
Leghorn in 1779, where his father, a
native of Hamburg, was a partner in
the firm of a relative, Otto Franck,
Vincent began his own mercantile
career in the same firm in 1795. a
year before the French under Na
poleon entered Leghorn. He shortly
went to Hamburg, but did not stay
there. He never stayed anywhere for
long. By way of Paris and Amster
dam and the business of Messrs.
Hope & Co. he was sent to New Or
leans just in time to run into yellow
fever and the conspiracy of Aaron
Burr. He visited New York, where
he knew Robert Fulton, and saw his
little Clermont chug up the Hudson.
He was shipwrecked off the Florida
Coast and spent some time in the
Bahamas. He was in New Orleans
for the victory of Andrew Jackson in
January, 1815, after the Treaty of
Ghent had been signed. He reached
France a trifle too late for the Bat
tle of Waterloo, but arrived in time
to witness all the aftermath of the
fall of Napoleon. He settled again
in Hamburg for his closing years.
The Memoirs give a first-hand picture
of the life of a banker and merchant
of the Napoleonic era, and include In
their story much of the history of
that period in America and on the
Continent of Europe.
* * * *
WAITING. By Bonnie Busch New
York: The Acadia Press
Hope was long deferred for Lee
Phelpjd'and in this she shared a very
common lot, but she differed from
many others in her patience and un
selfishness, carried to such an extent
that they almost shifted to the fault
tide of her character balance. Of
count every one imposed on her. Her
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.
Q. How many songs has George
Gershwin written?—K. McD.
A. He has written nearly 1,000, but
all of them have not been published,
- m _____
Q. What was the full name of the
Brook Farm experiment?—V. R. M.
A. Brook Farm was a communistic
Industrial and literary establishment
founded at West Roxbury, Mass., in i
1841 by George Ripley and other per- :
sons of socialistic tendencies. It was
known as the Brook Farm Institute of
Agriculture and Education, and was
composed of a stock company of
nearly 70 members, among the more
Important of whom were Charles A
Dana, George William Curtis, Mar- i
garet Fuller and Nathaniel Haw- I
thome. The farm failed in 1846, but ’
it was important in intellectual re
sults.
Q. Why are the elephants smaller
than they used to be in circuses?—
G F. H.
A. Karl Kae Knecht, editor of
White Tops, says that circuses and
zoos have not wanted large elephants
of late years, as they are too trouble
some and require too much room.
Q. What was the best price paid
for an art object in America last
year?—S. W. S.
A. While public sales of works of
j art have fallen off in volume and !
prices during the depression, some
handsome prices have been paid. Last
year’s best price for a single item was
$102,500 paid by Lord Milbank for
the marble portrait bust of the
Princess of Aragon by Francesco Lau
rana. It was in the Thomas Fortune
Ryan collection.
Q. When was the British open
golf championship first played?—
T~\ O
I A. In 3892 the Prestwick. St. An- '
j drews, and Musselburgh Clubs of
I Scotland arranged a tournament, put
up a cup, and called the contest the
British open. Ever since, the winner
of this contest has been regarded as
champion of the golfing world.
Q. What obligation is there on the
part of a person who uses your
service?—C. F. O.
A. There is none whatever. This
newspaper offers the service free to
its leaders. You are entitled to all
benefits to be derived from its frequent
use. There is no charge except coin
or stamp for return postage. Address
Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Wash
ington, D. C.
Q What Is a Jeremiad?—T. P.
A. It is a lamentation—a tale of
sorrow, disappointment, or complaint.
The name Is an allusion to Lamenta
tions, a book in the Old Testament !
attributed to Jeremiah.
Q. Will the trail riders of the
national forests take a trip this
Summer?—M. C.
A. The American Forestry Asso
ciation says that two expeditions are |
scheduled for July. One will attempt
to penetrate the rugged South Fork
Wilderness of the Flathead National
Forest, in Montana, while the other ;
will push on through the South Fork
country to the more remote Sun
River wilderness of the Lewis and
Clark National Forest, which has just
been designated as a primitive area
by the United States Forest Service.
Q. What was a marlin spike used
for?—R. L.
A. This piece of iron tapering to
a point was used on shipboard. It
was used as a lever for opening or
separating the strands of a rope in
| splicing.
Q. What became of the flags which
, were captured by the Northern troops
I during the Civil War?—M. F.
A. Through the efforts of Mr.
John Lamb all flags captured by the
Federal Government during the Civil
War were returned to the Southern
States.
Q Why is rosewood so called?—
W. S.
A. Some of the varieties ha,ve a rose
scent
Q. Please describe chalcedony.—
X. Y. Z.
A. Chalcedony is described as a
cryptocrystalline variety of quartz,
transparent or translucent, with a
j waxy luster. So far as color is con
cerned it may be white, gray. blue.
I brown, or black, but commonly is of
; a tint suggestive of diluted milk,
I marked with veins, circles, or spots.
—
I
Telling It to the Marines.
From ths Topeka Dafly Capital.
What the Chicago Tribune de
scribes as an "authoritative” dispatch
from its Brussels correspondent re
ports that a secret treaty has been
made between Holland and Great
Britain, giving the Dutch East Indies
the protection of the British Navy.
The time has passed when England
and Holland battled for the command
of the seas, but the time has passed
also for secret treaties. They are for
bidden by the League of Nations cov
; enant, to which both England and
i Holland are subscribers. Treaties are
negotiated, but they are spread on the
record as public documents.
The Tribune, however, accepts the
alleged secret naval treaty as authen
tic, on the assurance of its corre
spondent in Belgium. "The Dutch
: are prosperous and their Indian pos
] sessions are rich.” the Tribune com
ments, “but these possessions are in
secure because the Dutch Navy has
ceased to exist” On the other hand,
the Japanese Navy casts its shadow
over the Dutch East Indies, and while
not reiying altogether on oil, "needs
It and gets It from Borneo In large
part. Possession for the Dutch East
Indies might mean everything to Ja
pan.” suggests the Tribune. "There
fore,” it concludes, "the Dutch East
Indies are put under the protection of
Singapore.” It is nearly three cen
turies since Holland relied upon a
navy to hold its colonial empire. If
it has hired a foreign navy to defend
it. It Is. or would be, news. It Is not
so long ago as to be forgotten that a
French scheme for preserving peace
fell down because England declined
to pledge Its navy to such a program.
By an unhappy juxtaposition, the
adjoining column of the Tribune
makes this statement of the same
date: “If we don't have a big navy,
say the big navy men down at Wash
ington, this country is bound to get
into war.” But Switzerland hasn't got
a navy, and you never heard of Swit
zerland getting into a war, didja? It
is a fine chance for an argument be
tween the two adjoining editorial
columns of the Tribune.
life was a waiting—on account of her
father’s ambitions, her mother's prej
udices, her husband's Infidelities. Her
occasional bursts of indignation and
her final attempt at rebellion against
her husband, thwarted by his illness,
are needed to make her what she is.
a very human woman. At her final
release from all her frustrations, be
fore she has lost her spirit and In
terest in life, the reader rejoices.
The scene of the story shifts pleas
antly from New York to Long Island
country houses, to London, to Flori
da, to Virginia. Poverty did not add
to Lee's troubles. She had the ma
terial things of life. And In the end
she seems about to satisfy her “yearn
ing to live.” Vivacity of style and
lifelike characters carry along a plot
of social life which la adequate but
net elaborate.
It is used for ornament and la often
called "white agate.”
Q. When were glass bottles first used
for distributing milk?—T. L.
A. The Bureau of Dairy Industry
says that the earliest date of ^hich it
has record for the use of glass bottles
for milk distribution is 1878. In that
year a Mr. Alexander Campbell of
Brooklyn, N. Y., used glass jars, which
were the forerunner of the present
milk bottle. The same type appeared
in Philadelphia in 1885. The first
bottle which resembled the modern
type was Thatcher's Common Sense
Bottle, which was patented in 1889.
Q When Is Shrove Sunday?—M. M.
A. The Sunday before Ash Wednes
day.
Q. Why isn't the language spoken In
this country called American?—J. C.
A. An excellent reason is because It
is not spoken throughout the Americas.
When the United States was colonised
the language spoken here was precisely
the same as the language spoken in
England. Differences have developed,
however, since that time wrhich have
led may students of language to come
to the conclusion that the language
spoken in the United States should no
longer be called English, but distin
guished in some way.
Q. What is the name of the Crown
Prince of Japan?—S. T.
A. He was christened Akihito Tsugu
no Miya. All Japanese princes have
names ending In hlto which means
benevolent male. No Miya means
prince of. Aki means enlightened.
Therefore the infant's name is Aki the
benevolent male, Prince of Tsugu.
Tsugu identifies him as the Crown
Prince.
Q. Is there a memorial to Woodrow
Wilson at Princeton, N. J.?—P. T.
A. The only one at present is a pro
fessorship of English literature en
dowed in his name by Edward Bok.
Plans lor the erection of a suitable
monument are being made now by the
officials of the Federal Public Works
of Art Committee and of the Borough
of Princeton. The present design for
a monument, created by Rolf William
Bauhan with the assistance of Jean
Labatut, calls for a stone shaft 60
feet in height and 12 feet square at
the base, on which bas-relief panels
will depict Wilson as president of
Princeton, Governor of New Jersey,
President of the United States, and
advocate of the League of Nations. The
panels will be surmounted by flags of
the nations, in low relief, and the four
comers of the base will be decorated
with a torch of peace.
Q. How much money is a long bit
or a short bit?—A. E. J.
A. In Southern and Western United
States a long bit is 15 cents and a short
bit is 10 cents. A bit is 1214 cents, and
2 bits is a quarter of a dollar.
Q Have the privateering licenses
issued in the War of 1812 original
signatures of the President and Sec
retary of State?—M. B. 8.
A. The privateering licenses issued
in the War of 1812 which are on file
at the State Department have original
signatures.
Q. Is it true that the city of Wash
ington was slow in adopting electric
lights?—V. C.
A Experiments in electric lighting
in Washington began at the Capitol
on November 20. 1878. The forty
sixth Congress appropriated $2,400 to
light the building with electricity.
After many tests, lamps were installed
October 4, 1879. Edison electric lights
were inaugurated at Fifteenth street
and Pennsylvania avenue on October
15. 1881. F street between Ninth and
Fifteenth was lighted by electricity In
1882. ,It is true that the Capital was
slow in installing electric street lights.
Q. What became of the men who
were arrested for burning the German
Reichstag Building?—F. S. 8.
A.—The confessed burner of the
German Reichstag Building, Marnius
van der Lubbe, a native of the Neth
erlands. was executed for the crime
under a law decreed on the day after
the fire by President von Hindenburg
on the insistence of the leaders of the
Nazi party. Representations were
made by the government of the
Netherlands, but the execution took
place. The other defendants who
were accused were released, Lubbe
having assumed the entire responsi
bility.
Urges Enactment of
W heeler Silver Bill
To the Editor of The Star:
The Star captions an articla,
"Wheeler Presses for Silver Vote."
The Senator haa introduced a bill
providing the Government at onca
I begin the purchase of not less than
50.000,000 ounces of silver a month
at a price per ounce to be fixed
! by the Secretary of the Treasury,
the purchase of the silver to termi
nate as soon as the ratio of 16 to 1
with gold is attained. Silver certifi
cates would be issued against the bul
lion and would be considered full
| legal tender In discharge of all debts.
I This bill was sent to the Agriculture
Committee of the Senate.
I The Senator states: "This measure
i is the only means of raising farm
commodity prices as long as gold and
silver standard countries use different
yardsticks for measuring the ex
change.”
This Wheeler bill Is up to the
Senate and then the House. If the
Congress at this session was to pass
this bill, would the President veto
It? I am of the belief he would
not, judging from his message to
the Congress wherein he stated fa
vorable things In regard to the use
of silver as a possible primary, un
redeemable United States money
without agreement with any other
nation or consultation with It. I call
attention to the House "bonus” vote
with the wide margin of 295 to
125 in favor of the payment now
of the soldiers’ bonus. Every one
of these 295 House bonus sup
porters would vote for this latest
Wheeler bill for the reason that the
$2,200,000,000 could be paid In sliver
certificates at once, without the Issue
of fiat, Treasury press money, "green
backs.” and would not Interfere with
the President's present monetary poli
cy of non-creation of a new national
debt. Per contra, it would distribute
in every city, town and village of the
United States $2,200,000,000 of ready
money 1 Not to be banked or hoarded,
but to be spent at once, paying off
debts of these World War veterans.
It would increase the incomes of the
smaller business men, the baker, meat
seller, grocer, the rank and file, work
ers and producers, of millions of true
Americans, without one dollar’s cost
to Uncle Sam, but. In my belief, to hla
benefit. The Wheeler bill would, la
my Judgment, If enacted into law
now, be the greatest Immediate step
possible to our recovery from national
depression In large part.
W. E. RYAN.
A Crossing Reminder.
From the Nashville Tennessean.
If habit weren't so strong, that con
traptlon on the front of a locomotlv#
would now be called a carcatcher la*
■toad of a ooweatchsr,