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THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON. D. C. THURSDAY__February 30, 1936 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company. Business Office 11th St and Pennsylvania Ave New York Office 110 East 42nd St Chicago Office: Lake Michigan Building European Office 14 Regent St. London England. Rate by Carrier Within 'he City. Secular Edition The Evening Star __45e oer month The Evening and Sunday Star ■ when 4 Sundays)_ _60c oer month The Evening and Sunday Star (when 6 Sundays)_6Bc per month The Sunday Star __ _ _6c oer copy Night Final Edition. Night Pinal ana Sunday Star. 70c per month Night Final Star.. . _ . 66c per month Collection made at the end of each month. Orders may be sent by mall or telephone Na tional 6000 Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dally *nd Sunday_1 yr. $10.00: 1 mo.. 85c Dally only_1 yr,. $6.00: 1 mo. 60c Sunday only_J yr.. $4 00; 1 mo- 40c AU Other States and Canada. Dally and Sunday..1 yr.. $12 00: 1 mo„ $1.00 Dally only__1 yr. $8 00: 1 mo.. 76c Sunday only_1 vr., $5 00: 1 mo. 60c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press Is exclusively entitled to the use for remiblicatton of all news dispatches credited to It or not otherwise credited in this paper and also the iocal news published herein All rights of Duillcation of special dispatches herein are also reserved. This Troubled World. While midwinter finds the United States struggling with nothing more serious than unusually severe weather, many parts of the world are seething with political turmoil of revolutionary character threatening grave conse quences. The Western Hemisphere is not immune from the epidemic, for Paraguay, still bleeding from the wounds of its protracted. conflict with Bolivia, has been plunged into strife akin to civil war. Overthrow of President Alaya's gov ernment at Asuncion coincides with plans to bring the twenty-one Americas Into “extraordinary conference” for peace preservation. While the meeting projected by President Roosevelt is con cerned with relations among the Ameri can states and not with their domestic affairs, it does aim at establishment of conditions that will render improbable, if not impossible, a sanguinary contro versy like the Paraguayan-Bolivian war, which is the direct cause of re bellious developments at Asuncion. Revo lution, in'' the light of history, seems Indigenous to the Latin American soil. It is not likely to be obliterated by even the closest scheme of Pan-American solidarity. Cnoin ie vnnUmn m-UU f recurrent upheavals chronic since establishment of the republic on the wreckage of Alfonso's throne. Earlier In the week it appeared as if President Zamora was doomed to fall, in conse quence of an army plot to prevent for mation of a Leftist cabinet in pursuance of that party’s recent election victory. There has been destructive rioting in numerous population centers. Arrests of military officers suspected of foment ing an anti-government coup, have taken place and other precautions in voked which for the moment leave the government in Arm control, but pas sions are running high, with Rightist leaders reported ready to mobilize their cohorts for extreme action. They oppose In particular the Leftist program of amnesty for participants in the 1934 Socialist rebellion. To what extent tran quillity will be restored by resignation of the Portela government is proble matical. Spain is likely to remain a hotbed of political unrest and potential revolution for some time to come. In France the government has insti tuted drastic repressive measures against the Royalists, following their recent sav age demonstration against the Socialist leader, M. Blum. Between Royalist and Fascist maneuvers, the French have their full portion of woe, coupled with per aistent controversy in Parliament, where just now the question of ratifying the mutual assistance pact with the Soviet Is a bone of bitter contention. Egypt is writhing amid a recrudescence of Anglo-Nationalist turmoil. German Swiss relations are strained by a decree ordaining the suppression of Nazi organizations within the Alpine republic. New Soviet-Japanese clashes darken Asian skies. Thus, East, West and South of these placid American latitudes Mother Earth presents a picture of stress and strife which, by comparison, makes Uncle Sam’s trials and tribulations look trifling. Perhaps the one bright circumstance in the world-wide vista of turmoil is that the Italo-Ethiopian war seems less likely than for some time past to pro voke a European conflagration. That Is something to be thankful for. A reliable program approved by Presi dents throughout the Western Hemi sphere will insure peace for half the earth which any candid observer will admit is at least a very good start. Serious naturalists are frankly discon tent with the manner in which cocktail hours are asserting themselves as studies In “wild life.” Uniform Fares. The Capital Transit official* say that one of the benefits to follow merger of the bus line with the street car com pany will be free, interchangeable trans fers. That is good. The Public Utilities Commission is understood to feel that the general ques tion of fares cannot be made a part of the hearing now in progress on the purchase of the bus line by the street car company. That may be reasonable. But if the purchase is approved and Is completed, the first and the most pressing question confronting the com mission will be the fares to be charged on the bus line. These fares, as Peo ple’s Counsel Roberts argues, should be the same as those charged on the street car line. Washington has a variety of different fares for street car and bus service diffi cult to reconcile with any gi. \t differ ence in the services to the pubic. The Pub’ - U. ,,H“s Co-__ as it has in* mated it wuu.u do, should strive to bring uniformity in fares as well as transfers. With the exception of some bus lines which actually offer extra service, there is no good reason for charging the passenger more when he rides on a bus than when he rides on a street car. The bus fare on the lines to be acquired by the street car com pany—a transaction involving the sale of one subsidiary of the North Ameri can Co. to another—should be the mini mum fare, which is street car fare. Cannot the traction officials take a leaf from the book of experience of the power company and seek to popularize service by making it efficient and cheap? Reduction of fare on the Sixteenth 6treet line and interchangeable, free transfers with the street cars should increase pa tronage and eventually increase profits. Townsend Plan Inquiry. A sweeping inquiry into all proposed old-age pension plans has been ordered by the House of Representatives. The vote on the resolution providing for such an inquiry, by a bi-partisan committee of eight, evenly divided, was over whelming, 240 to 4. The debate in volved bitter denunciations of the meth ods of the promoters of the so-called Townsend plan, which, originating in a ' veritable vision of an elderly local office-holder in California about to lose his municipal employment, has swept the country until it has included a vast number of advocates, allured by the promise of comparative affluence with out labor of any kind. It was de nounced as a veritable racket, with huge sums pouring into the treasury of the organizers. The economic fallacy of this plan has been repeatedly demonstrated in the course of the agitation for its adoption. It has been shown that the “transac tions tax” proposed as the source of the funds to be doled out to beneficiaries, at the rate of $200 a month for each individual pensioner over 60 years of age, all of which must be spent, would amount to a staggering sum. It has been shown further that the adminis tration of such a scheme, requiring a minute examination of the monthly ex penditures of all beneficiaries, would en tail the organization of a great army of supervisors. And it has been clearly indicated that under the loose terms of the distribution the working forces of the country, in all branches of industry, would be depleted to the point of the virtual paralysis of numerous lines of productive and necessary labor. The utter fallacy of the scheme does not require further demonstration, and yet so great has been the response on the part of the people in all sections of the country in support and even de mand for the adoption of this measure of relief that a thorough exposure of the delusion is required. The House of Representatives has acted to that end, commendably placing the investigation upon the basis of non-partisanship. The cost of the proposed investigation may be viewed as a sound investment in economic security. Incidentally it may develop that there has been profiteering in the promotion. Charges to that effect were yesterday voiced in the House. If the scheme has become a racket, as has been declared, the exposure of the man ner in which the honest supporters of this fantastic proposal have been duped will effectively put an end to the game. The Great Well Mystery. How the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army, which built the Panama Canal, and is now engaged in harnessing the tides of the Bay of Fundy, the construction of a canal across the State of Florida, and other notable and stupendous undertakings, can stump its toe over such an appar ently simple job as digging a well to supply water to the hospital at Glenn Dale is hard to understand. The engineers are represented by Col. Sultan, Engineer Commissioner, one of their best. The actual well digging at Glenn Dale is being done by a con tractor. But that well seems to be the source of more trouble than water, al though Col. Sultan and the Geological Survey both agree that plenty of water lies underground. The question of a possible blunder in selection of the site for a hospital arose some time ago, when there was trouble with getting an ade quate supply of well water. Now the digging of a new well seems to have been delayed since December because the well digger dropped the drill bit in the well and has been unable to rescue it. And the expensive proposition of running a new main from the hospital to tap the mains of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission—at an additional cost of $100,000 to local tax payers—is again under consideration. There seems to be something of a mystery about the well digging at Glenn Dale. If the water is there, why can the well not be dug? If the water is not there, somebody is apparently guilty of a rather grave blunder. What is the trouble? The distresses of those who need hos pital care are such that they cannot be expected to follow with minute intel lectual discrimination the reasons for delay during an argument. Modern Pottery. One need not know a great deal about the art of pottery in order to appreciate it. The appeal of beautiful ceramic work is essentially democratic, arising as it does from a folk instinct ages old and fortunately still unspoiled. But perhaps there may be some ef ficiency in pointing out that pottery at present is enjoying a renaissance. The hand-craft movement initiated by Wil liam Morris and John Ruskin in England has created a revival of interest in those products of the potter’s genius which re flect the esthetic impulse of the race. Of course, an ugly plate or bowl or cup might serve a utilitarian purpose quite as well as a lovely one would meet the need. Dinner eaten from the crudest dishes nevertheless is dinner to a hungry man. There is no occasion for argument about the pragmatic values involved. Even connoisseurs are willing to concede I that much to critics who prefer to meas- 1 ure life by the yardstick of economic de terminism. Meanwhile primitive savages obey the compulsion of a universal urge. Some thing in the soul of barbarian and civ ilized peoples alike prompts the decora tion of even the most commonplace utensils and instruments. The museums of the world are filled with objects to prove a spiritual bond between humanity and its artifacts. Nor does the so-called machine age signify any termination of that con nection. On the contrary, the porcelain and china of today witness to its perma nency as a cultural form. Thomas Toft of Tinkersclough, John Dwight of Ful ham and the Wedgwoods and the Min tons are dead and gone, but their works live after them to inspire modern pottery of whose texture, glaze, line and color they would not be ashamed. Thus a visit to a pottery, porcelain factory or china shop may encourage any doubter who apprehends a decline in civilization. So long as people can make and appreciate such fragile but gracious things the race is not doomed. Prettyman’s Resignation. The many expressions of regret which have followed announcement of Cor poration Counsel Prettyman'a forthcom ing resignation indicate the high value placed upon his services by the Commis sioners and the members of the commu nity. Mr. Prettyman has been a good corporation counsel. He brought to an office which assumes increasing impor tance in municipal affairs a fresh view point and a willingness to work. The fact that he is a good lawyer whose pleasant personality enables him to get along with people has strengthened his effectiveness. The corporation counsel is far more than legal adviser to the Commissioners and the municipality’s chief legal offi cer. In recent years, especially, a large part of his work has been the examina tion of legislation affecting the District, the preparation of reports thereon and serving as a sort of chief liaison officer between the District Building and the District legislative committees at the Capitol. These duties require a knowl edge of municipal affairs and of local public sentiment only to be gained through study and experience. It is a matter for general regret that Mr. Prettyman is leaving the District service to enter the more remunerative private practice of law at a time when his serv ices have become more valuable than ever through his sympathetic under standing of many local problems. Every crime sensation reveals the speed with which fame may develop by introducing some prominent lawyer who had not been heard of before. Shooting Stars. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Hoodoo. •'There's something wrong,” said Hiram Boggs In his peculiar, gloomy way. "There's something going to the dogs; Just what it is I cannot say. I own, the sky is bright and clear, And placid is the atmosphere, But trouble’s sure to come along. There's something wrong! There's something wrong! “The country’s cares are not as great As many it has braved before, And Winter bids us celebrate Her gifts as generous as of yore. Yet some catastrophe will come To render us exceeding glum; And so I sing my warning song. There’s something wrong! There’s something wrong!” Said Old Joe Struthers, “Hi, you’re right. With folks like you a-hanging ’round, We’re sure to face some dreadful plight. Your voice’s melancholy sound Is, as a hoodoo, ranked *way up, Unluckier than a cross-eyed pup. You’re It as you keep singing strong, ‘There’s something wrong! There's something wrong!”* Not Insisting on His Own Way. “You can’t hope to have your own way about everything.” “I don't,” answered Senator Sorghum, “especially when I say I do not expect my friends to nominate me at the next convention.” Evidence of Superiority. “Josh looks queer in his new clothes,” said Farmer Comtossel. “He wears ’em,” replied Josh’s devoted mother, “to show that he is so highly intellectual he can afford to be indif ferent to public opinion.” The Dull Teacher. Experience, that teacher famed, Still brings her questions out. Our best endeavors she has claimed, We linger on in doubt. Great mechanisms we devise; New marvels we discern— And yet we view with sad surprise The things we cannot learn. We try to find the way to live Which brings contentment true; What credence to withhold or give As rumors fly anew. We say, in sorrow and unrest, As to old tasks we turn, “Experience, we have done our best. Some things are hard to learn." Temporary Arrangement. “Which political party do you be long to?” “I doesn’ actually belong to no party,” replied Uncle Rasberry, “but ’casionally I hires out to ary one of ’em.” The Rule of Existence. The world keeps going swiftly still, And rushing through the sky. You’ve got to move! You can’t keep still, Not even If you try! “Of co’se you kin learn by experience,” said Uncle Eben. “But remember, son, you kin learn foolishness dat way de i asm* m out o’ books.” f 1* THE POLITICAL I MILL By G. Gould Lincoln. Senator William E. Borah takes to the air the night of George Washington’s birthday, Saturday, at 10:30 o’clock. This will be the Idaho Senator’s first speech since he appeared in Brooklyn at a Borah rally some three weeks ago. He will be speaking over a national hook-up, and Borah-for-President boomers In many parts of the country are expected to listen in. It is expected that Senator Borah will take the policies of George Washington as his text and show their value and pertinence today. This may be “horse and buggy” stuff, but it is likely to go well on Washington’s birth day still. * * * * Although election day for the country at large falls on November 3 this year, there are two States in the Union which will do quite a bit of voting on earlier dates. One is in the Far South and the other in the Far North, Louisiana and Maine. It has been the habit of poli ticians and others to say “as Maine goes, so goes the Nation.” Louisiana, in the Democratic solid South, has not been considered a barometer—it always went Democratic. This year the Louisi ana election falls on April 21, when the State will elect State and county officers and a Senator to fill out the unexpired term of the late Senator Huey P. Long. Mrs. Long, who already is serving by appointment in her husband’s place, is slated to be elected to the Senate on that date. The Maine election is set for September 14, when it will elect a Sen ator, three members of the House, and State and county officers. Louisiana differs from Maine in that it elects its Senators and Representatives on Novem ber 3. * * * * Thirty-six States elect Governors this year. In fact, this is to be a big year all around in the matter of politics. In addition to the 435 members of the House of Representatives who must be elected, there are 33 United States Sen ate seats in the political pot, or one more than one-third of the Senate membership. This extra seat is that once held by the late Senator Bronson Cutting of New Mexico, killed in an airplane accident last Summer, a seat now held by Dennis Chavez under ap pointment by the Governor. And, finally, there is the election of a President. All of the candidates for these various unices have still to be nominated—ex cept in Louisiana, where primaries were held January 21 which resulted in a sweeping victory for the Long forces. The list of State primaries and conven tions for such nominations, their dates so far designated and the Senators whose seats must be fought for are as follows: State. Date. Senators. Louisiana.Jan. 21 Long <D.) Illinois .Apr. 14 Lewis <D). Nebraska. “ 14 Norris (R.) Pennsylvania ... “ 28 Maryland.May 4 Indiana. “ 5 Alabama. “ 5 Bankhead ^D.) South Dakota... “ 5 Bulow <D.) Ohio. “ 12 West Virginia... “ 12 Neely (D.) Oregon . “ 15 McNary (R.l New Jersey. “ 19 Barbour <R.> Iowa .. .June 1 Dickinson (R.) Florida . “ 2 North Carolina. “ 6 Bailey <D.) Maine . “ 15 White, jr. <R.) Minnesota . “ 15 Benson (F.-L.) North Dakota... “ 24 Oklahoma .July 7 Gore <D.) Montana. “ 21 Murray (D.l Texas . “ 25 Sheppard (D.) Kentucky.Aug. 1 Logan (D.) Kansas ........ “ 4 Capper (R.) Missouri . “ 4 Virginia . “ 4 Glass ^D.) Tennessee . “ 6 Bachman (D.) Arkansas . “ 11 Robinson (D.) Idaho. “ 11 Borah <R.) Wyoming ...... “ 18 Carey (R.) Mississippi . “ 25 Harrison (D.) California . “ 25 South Carolina. “ 25 Byrnes (D.) Nevada.Sept. 1 Arizona . “ 8 Colorado . “ 8 Costigan (D.) Vermont . “ 8 Washington .... “ 8 Georgia. “ 9 Russell, jr. <D.) Michigan . “ 15 Couzens (R.) New' Hampshire. “ 15 Keyes (R.) Wisconsin. “ 15 Massachusetts .. “ 15 Coolidge (D.) New York. “ 15 State Nominating Conventions—1936. Connecticut .... Delaware . Hastings fR.) Rhode Island... Metcalf (R.) Utah .. NewMxico. Hatch <D.), Dennis Chavez (D.) * ik * * There are many ways of killing a cat besides choking it to death with cream. Representative Bell of Missouri evolved the bright idea of throwing a monkey wrench into the Townsend $200-a-month old-age pension plan by having an inves tigation by a House committee into the operations of the Townsendites. The sentiment built up for the Townsend plan has been enormous in many States and congressional districts. The Town sendites proposed to put the members of the House and Senate up for re election on the spot. Now Mr. Bell comes forward with a proposal to put the Townsendites on that spot. A lot of charges have been made to the effect that the Townsend plan is just a new ‘ racket” in its operation. No wonder that the members of the House, many of them convinced that the Townsend plan is unworkable and would prove the ruin of the people who ask for it as well as the whole country, are falling over them selves in support of the Bell resolution for the investigation. They hope to have a good alibi, when the investigation shall have been made, for not supporting the Townsend plan. The Townsendites themselves were put in an awkward posi tion. If they opposed the resolution for the inquiry, it looked as though they had something to conceal. The demand for the Townsend plan has been one of those unreasoning waves that sometimes sweep over the United States. It has been an emotional cam paign. All the statistics in the world can scarcely stem an emotional tide. But if there has been any "graft,” if funds for promoting the Townsend plan have been used to enrich any of the promoters, the blot on the Townsend plan will be effective. * * * * An appeal for funds from Americans to help pay the expenses of this country’s rowing representatives at the Olympic Games in Germany calls attention to the fact that “Jack" Kelly won the single sculls in the Olympic Games of 1920, held in Amsterdam. Kelly was the candidate for mayor of Philadelphia last year on the Democratic ticket. He lost in that fight, but by the narrowest margin that a Democratic candidate for the mayoralty of the City of Brotherly Love has lost in such a race for many years. Kelly has proved almost as resourceful in the field of politics as in the rowing game. It was Kelly who turned back the great Hatfield of Australia in the semi final, and In the final defeated Jack Beresford of England, four-time winner of tha famous Diamond Boulla. * THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. "Laurel, Md. "Dear Sir: Por several years we have been readers of The Star. And all that time I have enjoyed ‘This and That.’ But this Ion? cold spell I have not been able to do much out of doors, so have been especially interested in your bird talks. Early in the Winter I put up a feed ing box on top of a 9-foot pole. It has a roof on it and sides about 2 inches high and is about 8 by 12 inches. I put scratch feed in it and watched for English sparrows to come crowding around. “Por the first day not a bird came near, so far as I could see. The next day a starling and a jay came. Soon the starlings and the jays were regular feed ers. I spilled some feed on the ground as I was putting it in the feeder, and the very first day the English sparrows came and picked that up. “We soon saw that if we would feed the birds and not our vanity we would have to put the feed where the birds would come and get it. I put some suet in the feeder with the chick feed, and the starlings took possession. “We put chick, feed, coarse and fine, on the ground, and the birds came regu larly. It has interested me greatly to see the first to come and the last to go. “The tree sparrow and the cardinal came together this morning. They seem to try to see who shall get there first. Soon the snow bunting, then the English sparrow and, always last, the starling. * * * * "Jays and titmice are along almost any time. “The birds that come first stay longest. “We have eight cardinals. Three of the cardinals have lost their long tail feathers. We have wondered if they ' got caught in the ice and lost them in that way. “Where do they go? I saw English sparrows going one cold night under the eaves of a bank building under a drain pipe. The starlings are staying around a cow shed on the outskirts of Laurel—some of them are. “We have some evergreen trees just across the street and I suspect some of the birds go there. When we lived in the country we found the birds always roosted in the com fodder around the stables and in any sheltered place. “The evergreens around where we have lived have always been roosting places for birds. I wonder if your readers would not he interested in the roosting habits of the different kinds of birds. “I am interested in wild life of any kind and I write this to thank you and The Star for giving us so much along the line of Nature study. Sincerely, “I P R ” * * * * “Chevy Chase, Md. “Dear Sir: Each eve I’ve read with interest the kind thoughts passed from you to others in the care of our lovely birds. “In each talk I’ve found no one has mentioned this fact: That the greatest love and appreciation is shown by all birds to the person who studies their comfort, not only by throwing feed, but for a place made homelike for them— trees and bushes, to rest in after eating. “I've these, and a revolving, large feeder, protected in every way from storms, always backing the winds, rains and snows, a glass back window showing food to them. Back and front I have every bird one can mention, and many which wouldn’t dare stay here in such weather if I hadn’t provided such an inviting place. “Cardinals and bluejays are so happy, and if the jay isn’t content with special care he never stays long. My trees have dozens—very handsome, large fellows. “His special dish, which I supply by the many pounds per week, must be roasted peanuts in the shell. This he loves. Sits in the tree, holds them tightly and with his strong bill opens one end as well as we could, pulls out the nut and eats to his heart’s content. "All day this goes on until 3 o’clock just this time and no later. The cardinal also loves peanuts, roasted, but some one must shell them for him, which I do. “These birds are so well fed they are perfectly beautiful, so large and such fine plumage. I’ve several tanagers, another beauty, very red body with black wings. They, too, love peanuts and sun flower seed. “I’ve counted as many as 20 sunflower seeds taken and hidden somewhere In the jay’s throat at one time, carried away for safekeeping or feeding some other bird. This to me is a remarkable stunt, and how it’s done I cannot under stand. * * * * “I’ve seen monkeys store banana in their lower jaw and eat it later. Could this be what the jay does? “We had a battle cry the other morn— all birds, particularly the cardinals and jays, in a tree near their feeding grounds. “I located the place by a jay’s call, continuously, at its fighting strength; went to their help and found in a large hole in the tree a beautiful, reddish screech owl. He had discovered their home and knew where his food would be in the night search for small birds. “This was all taken care of nicely. I took the owl to the zoo; a nice home provided for him by keepers, and my birds happy after three mornings of careful searching that same tree to be sure no danger lay in store for any of their family. "I love taking care of such things and hope you continue your fine work by telling people how to make God’s crea tures happy. It’s splendid, indeed, and I never fail to read such. Yours truly, “W. E. G.” T T The fine thing about the many letters on birds printed here during the past two months, from readers living in all sections of the District of Columbia and nearby Maryland and Virginia, is that each one of them has contained one or more points of genuine help to all inter ested in the indoor-outdoor sport of feeding the wild birds which Winter with us. Today’s contributions, as usual, are interesting as well as instructive. We see that in luring the birds to our gar dens we must not be impatient, but must study their habits and try to give them what they want in the way they want it. There can be little question that the earth is, after all, with most birds, the favorite feeding place, but this does not mean that feeding devices are not nec essary. They are helpful in many ways and the birds like them, which, perhaps, is most important. The roosting habits of birds is a great subject, about which we hope to have more. * * * * The owl as a bird enemy has been mentioned several times in these letters. It is necessary, when birds suddenly depart from a feeding ground and do not come back, to look around carefully and see if the reason cannot be dis covered. Small hawks will send every bird fly ing and keep them all away for long periods. The need for evergreens, shrubs and trees is stressed by one correspondent. This is correct, although we wonder about those scarlet tanagers. We did not know they Wintered here. But per haps that explains one particularly vivid fellow we have. Trees, especially evergreens, and shrubs make wild birds feel at home as nothing else can. One of the most pic turesque sights in this sport is a huge flock of sparrows rising from the good earth '' take temporary refuge in the bushes, where they chirp and shatter as if discussing the intruder and what to do about him. STARS, MEN AND ATOMS Notebook of Science Process in Field, Laboratory and Study. BY THOMAS R. HEMRY. There are strong indications that the present abnormally cold Winter over most of the United States marks a climatological turning point. Since 1914 the mean annual tempera ture of the country has been rising and the mean annual rainfall declining. Henceforth, it is likely, this trend will be reversed. There will be colder, snowier Winters and cooler, wetter Summers. Such is the belief of Joseph B. Kincer, chief of the climatological division of the United States Weather Bureau. Mr. Kincer does not. he emphasizes, make ihis as a prediction. The data are two tenuous and elusive to form the basis of any sort of forecast. The fact is, however, that twice before in the past 125 years when the cumulative 10-year temperature and precipitation average reached about the point they had reached in 1935 there was a quick turn in the reverse direction. Betting is in favor of a recurrence of the same phe nomenon. During the past 20 years of increasing warmth there have been ups and downs, with some of the coldest Winter weather on record. The fact remains that by treating the mean temperatures sta tistically the accumulation of tempera ture above normal and the deficit of rainfall below normal have been greater year after year. It is like the accumu lation of a bank balance. At the end of a month when there are bills to be paid it may sink almost to the vanishing point, but at the end of the year, if times have been prosperous, it will stand a little higher than at the beginning of the year. In the same way heat sur pluses are built up. It is practically certain, Mr. Kincer’s figures show, that climate moves in cycles. He has been unable, however, to find any time factor in these cycles. It cannot be said that warmth accumula tion period will change to a period of increasing deficits after running a defi nite number of years. The climate hops, skips and jumps. It doesn’t swing like a pendulum. So the statement that the world has come to a climatological turning point doesn’t necessarily mean that next Winter will be colder than this one, or as cold.' It may be very warm, just as the Winter of 1918 in the period just passed was very cold. But the aver age for the next 20 years, it is likely, will be colder than that for the last 20 yeans, with warm Winters, normal Win ters and abnormally cold Winters all bunched together. One of Mr. Kincer’s most valued long time records is that for St. Paul. This station is about as representative of climatological trends in the United States as could be asked for, due to its position in the track of descending cold waves. Just before the middle of the last century there was a long, hot, dry spell. There are no authentic records to show how far It extended into the past, but it probably went back for at toast 20 years. In tj^e early Ns the rainfall average had fallen to 24 inches a year. There has been a proportional temperature accumulation. Then came the turning point and the precipitation average, accompanied by declining tem peratures, went up to 32 inches. Then the hot, dry trend set in again and con tinued until the early 90s. Once more the 10-year average reached 24. Then came the turn. The cold, wet period lasted until approximately 1910 and a 10-year average precipitation of 24 inches again. Then started the hot, dry period from which we are just emerging. The rainfall average fell to the 24-inch mark again last year. There is every reason to expect that history will repeat itself. The United States Weather Bureau is a co-operating member of an inter national organization which collects and publishes the records for 500 stations scattered over the world. These records, extending from 1910 to 1927, have just been published by the British meteoro logical office. They show clearly, Mr. Kincer says, that these alternating trends are world-wide. They might not be apparent at any one place. Strictly local conditions have a profound effect on climate. But taken over a period of 20 years or more almost any station tends to fit itself into the world picture. By and large, the trend in Washington will be about the same as the trend in St. Paul, although in any particular year Washington may be having an abnor mally warm Winter and St. Paul an abnormally cold one. Given time, this all will even itself out. There is doubtless, Mr. Kincer says, some world-wide factor involved. Me teorologists can come to no agreement as to the nature of this factor. It is something sufficiently powerful to domi nate widely different local conditions and may have a definite time swing. Records are too short to determine whether this is true. Superficially, meteorologists can give a reason why this Winter is abnormally cold. An excess of cold air has been piling up somewhere in the Arctic basin. Very likely it has been accumulating thqre for 20 years. Now it is spilling over. Great masses of it are rushing down the valley of the Mackenzie River just east of the Canadian Rockies, over the central plains area of the United States, and then eastward through the Central States to the Atlantic. It is as if somebody had pulled out a plug to let out the cold air. But what the plug is, where it is or who pulls it are com pletely unknown. Physically the Mac kenzie Valley has been just as clear for the past 20 years as it is today, but for some reason or other, it hasn't been letting the cold “highs” through in such quantities. It might be compared, Mr. Kincer agrees, to a cold tide coming in. Prob ably some time in the next 20 years the high cold mark will be reached, but there is no way of predicting when. Ever sicca 1933. the climatological expert ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS By Frederic J. Haskin. A reader can get the answer to any question of fact hy writing The Wash ington Star Information Bureau, Fred eric J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Please inclose stamp for reply. Q. Please give a list of the training camps of the National and American Leagues.—H. M. A. National—Giants, Pensacola, Fla.; Reds, San Juan and Tampa, Fla.; Pirates, San Antonio, Tex.; Cubs, Cata lina Island, Calif.; Phillies, Winter Haven, Fla.; Dodgers, Clearwater, Fla.; Cardinals, Bradenton, Fla., and Bees, St. Petersburg, Fla. American—Red Sox, Sarasota, Fla.; White Sox, Pasadena, Calif.; Indians, New Orleans, La.; Yankees, St. Petersburg, Fla.; Tigers, Lakeland, Fla.; Browns, West Palm* Beach, Fla.; Athletics, Fort Myers, Fla., and Senators, Orlando, Fla. Q. Has the artificial lake formed by construction of Boulder Dam been named?—E. G. A. It has been named Lake Mead, honoring the late Dr. Elwood Mead. Dr. Mead was born January 16, 1858, and died January 26, 1936. He was commis missioner of the Bureau of Reclamation 1924-1936, and it was under his super vision that the dam that impounds the lake was built. Q. Are silver dollars now being coined? —J. H. S. A. No silver dollars are being coined at the present time, but the Office of the Director of the Mint says that such pieces will be coined later in the year. Q. What service has the commander of the Queen Mary had?—H. K. L. A. Commodore Sir Edgar Britten’s sea service began 40 years ago. In 1901 he went with the Cunard Line as junior officer of the Ivernia. In 1914 he was skipper of the Phrygia, his next ship being the Campania. He has been staff captain of the Acquitania and skipper of nine other Cunarders. Knighted two years ago, he is married and has one daughter. Q. In what subjects is visual instruc tion given in the public schools?— j C.M.K. A. Most visual instruction in schools | today is in geography, history, health, j travel and safety education, although superintendents and principals report using visual aids for teaching of eco nomics, English, guidance, industry, lit erature, biology, music, agriculture, read ing, crafts and drama. News reels, fea ture pictures, foreign language films and religious education visual aids we also becoming more widely adopted. Q. Did Emily Dickinson, the poet, have a tragic love affair?—L. K A. On a visit to Philadelphia, in 1854, she experienced an unhappy love affair. In a spirit of self-abnegation she re nounced her love and immured herself | in the family home for the rest of I her life. Q. Was Elihu Root an attorney for the notorious Boss Tweed, and was he charged with contempt of court in con nection with the Tweed case?—L. K. I A. Mr. Root was one of several attor ! neys for the defense when Tweed was prosecuted. He and five of his associ ates were cited for contempt after Tweed's second trial for having pre sented a petition offending the trial judge, Judge Noah Davis. Pines were imposed on three of the attorneys, but Root and two of his colleagues were not held in contempt. Q. Who first made a study of the process of digestion?—R. P. H. A. Digestion was first regarded as a purely mechanical process. The German professor, Sylvius (1614-72), looked upon it as a chemical fermentation and recog ognized the importance of the saliva | and pancreatic juice. The Italian scien I tist, Spaiianzam t1729-03), discovered the digestive power of saliva and re affirmed the solvent property of the gastric juice, showing that it will act outside the body and that it cannot only prevent putrefaction, but will inhibit it when once begun. Spallanzani failed, however, to recognize the acid character of the gastric juice, a point which was brought out by the American physiolo gist, Young, in 1803. Q. Do Negroes in the South still be lieve in the efficacy of charms and other forms of voodooism?—E. H. A. Belief in various forms of super stition still flourishes in parts of the South. In Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama it is said that no less than $1,000,000 a year is spent for charms, hoodoo bags, love potions and philters. Q. Please give some information about the beauty expert, Helena Rubinstein. —M. R. A. She was born in Krakow, Poland. After a career as a medical student, she went to Australia for a visit, and there saw the ruinous effect of sun and dry ing weather on the complexions of the I Australian women. A cream which she • perfected was found to be highly bene ficial, and this led to the foundation of the first laboratory and salon in Mel bourne. She has studied chemistry and dermatology in the great universities of the world, and spends six months of every year in her own laboratories and in European clinics. Q. What part did the Romans take in geographical discovery?—R. L. G. A. The Romans did little in the field of scientific geography. For the purpose of conquest and organization, however, surveys were made of practically all the territory surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, as well as France, part of Britain and Asia Minor. Nero dispatched an expedition in search of the source of the Nile River about 60 A.D. In the sixth century A.D. Justinian sent two monks to China, who returned with eggs of the silkworm concealed in a hollow cane. The culture of the silkworm was thus introduced into Europe. points out, he has been predicting that the climatological turning point was just around the corner and combating dire forecasts that the United States was on the way to becoming another Sahara Desert. Now he is just as cer tain that we are on the edge of another ice age. The cold trend will reach its peak and turn just as suddenly into a warm trend. There might be some possibility of prediction, Mr. Kincer says, if an ade quate observing service could be main tained in the Arctic region, especially in Northern Siberia. There a good deal of the Northern Hemisphere’s “weather” probably is made. Considerable prog ress has been made in this direction in the past few years, but there have not been sufficient observations to tel) whether there has been a measurable, cumulative upbuilding of high pressure. Maybe such a service will be functioning by the time another change in climato logical trend is due. A A