Evening star. [volume], February 23, 1937, Page A-10, Image 10

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

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THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Morning Edition.
WASHINGTON. D. C.
TUESDAY-... February 23, 1937
THEODORE W. NOYES.Editor
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herein are also reserved
A Good Idea.
Commissioner Hazen's suggestion for
an investigation of the municipal gov
ernment by a strong committee of local
taxpayers contains the psychological
advantage of coming from within, in
stead of from outside, the District
Building.
Somebody is forever wanting to in
vestigate the municipal government and
turn it wrong side but in order to sub
stitute one set of bright new ideas for
another set of older ideas. The result
is to place the Commissioners and their
subordinates immediately on the de
fensive. That feeling naturally per
meates the rank and file of municipal
employes. No one willingly places him
self on the griddle for somebody else to
fry.
On the other hand, if the Commis
sioners and a select committee of the
taxpayers who pay their salaries sat
down together with the common aim of
finding ways to increase the efficiency
of their municipal government the
results might be very helpful, to the
Commissioners, to the taxpayers and to
Congress. Whether the results would
be beneficial would depend, of course,
on Congress.
Those who have lived with the munici
pal government for many years are not
as quick to find fault with its function
liig cib buiiic ui uur ninny wnu
examine it for the first time through a
microscope that permits of no perspec
tive. Considering some of the circum
stances of its operation under the largely
absentee direction of Congress and with
authority and responsibility distributed
among Federal agencies that have only
incidental connection with the local
government, it is remarkable that the
municipal government gets along as well
as it dbes. Some other cities have sought
the advantages of an autocracy—with
proper checks on the autocrat—by
adopting the city manager form of gov
ernment, Here we have some 435 city
managers In the House alone, not to
mention the ninety-six in the Senate
and the dozens of associates scattered
through the Federal departments and
bureaus.
The incentive for economy, for effi
cient government, for quick adoption of
new and better methods is responsi
bility—responsibility for the achieve
ment of results and responsibility to the
taxpayers if such results are not
achieved. That incentive is not always
present here because the administrative
authority Is itself divided between the
Commissioners and others and because
Congress, which delegates this authority,
has no direct responsibility to the local
taxpayers.
Chairman Collins of the House Sub
committee on District Appropriations
and the members who are serving with
him for the first time want to give the
District a new deal. Instead of rebuff-,
ing local taxpayers, they have asked for
their suggestions and co-operation.
They would doubtless approve Mr.
Hazen’s proposed investigation of the
local government by local taxpayers.
And their attitude would be to welcome
as helpful suggestions the resulting
recommendations.
Such an Investigation would, of
course, extend beyond the usual search
for ways and means to transfer and
reassign functions and duties. The
mechanics of District government are in
honest and for the most part capable
hands. The investigation would naturally
include ways and means for strengthen
ing the Commissioners’ authority and
coupling it with the necessary powers, in
the exercise of which there would be
responsibility to the local taxpayers as
well as to Congress.
Rollo Ogden.
A little child, making his first ac
quaintance with the Alps, epitomized a
universal genius of appreciation when he
cried: "How clean they are!" The same
tribute, surely, might be applied to the
life and work of Rollo Ogden, editor of
the New York Evening Post from 1903
to 1920-end of the New York Times from
1922 until yesterday. No Journalistic ca
reer ever was more conspicuously honest,
no pilgrimage In this world more notably
honorable. A very great and a very
useful American Is gone.
Mr. Ogden was one of those rare char
acters whose thought and feeling are
completely disciplined. He was rich In
learning and In experience, and from the
depths of his knowledge he drew the
power to discriminate with marvelous
efficiency. It was his duty as a commen
tator on the human scene to choose
wisely between parties and policies, In
dividuals and their efforts, the plus and
minus of current history related, as it is
and always must be, to both the past
and the future. The responsibility was
heavy, but it was accepted courageously
and discharged with judicial acumen
which won and kept the respect of hun
*
dreds of thousands of readers through
nearly half a century of dally editorial
labor.
The explanation of Mr. Ogden’s suc
cess may be discovered In the good
manners—the essential tolerance and
kindliness—which were his outstanding
trait. His spirit was gentle; the democ
racy in which he believed and to the
unfaltering practice of which he devoted
his "brilliant talents was a conscious
philosophy of charity and fellowship—
he loved the race, was proud of Its
achievements and constructively opti
mistic about its aspirations and Ideals.
The doors of his mind and his heart
stayed open to the end. Dying at 81, he
contradicted by example the cruel theory
that men long past the prophet’s span
of threescore and ten invariably are
Incapable of comprehending progressive
truth. His final endeavors were among
his best; they reflected a noble soul in
the glory of an unfeared sunset.
But Mr. Ogden Is not lost to his
country. It is impossible to speak of
such a force as he represented being
destroyed by the accident of dissolution.
His Influence will continue to serve the
people. The anonymous hand which is
privileged to write these words for The
Star is but one of many which, please
God. will be strengthened by memory
of him and reverence for him. He taught
teachers, and his immortality therefore
is forever assured.
Another Fascist State?
Sudden developments in Poland herald
the birth of another Fascist state. Hard
ly any other deduction Is possible from
the official announcement that leaders
now in control at Warsaw plan the crea
tion of a “strong Poland led by a single
■will toward a single aim.” That is the
doctrine just proclaimed In the name
of Marshal Edward Rydz-Smlgly, who
inherited the dictatorial power wielded
by the late Marshal Pilsudski. Neither
the Fascist nor the Nazi label is for
mally attached to the nationalist move
ment sponsored by him, but to every
intent and purpose it is modeled upon
the authoritarian cult of which Musso
lini and Hitler are the symbols.
To sugar-coat the pill which the people
are asked to swallow, the project is
described as being conceived in the name
of unity, for the sake of national de
fense. But Poles are left in no doubt
of the intention to convert their govern
ment into a one-man regime of the
Rome and Berlin pattern, with such
archaic trappings of democracy as po
litical parties relegated to the scrap
heap. “All vain and demoralizing dis
cussions. all divergencies of doctrine, all
exaggerated individualism and all po
litical strife must be forgotten,” the
country-is tola in a mannesto promul
gated in Marshal Rydz-Smlgly's name.
The most unabashed hint of what is In
store is the assertion that “in many
other countries all political individual
ism has disappeared and they are now
led by a single will toward common
aims.” That seems plain enough warn
ing that the day of expression of the
popular purpose through the ballot and
a parliament Is on the way out In
Poland, If not already gone.
Further to mate the advent of fascism
palatable, reassuring pledges to religious
and racial groups are forthcoming. The
Roman Catholic Church is guaranteed
the perpetuation of its traditional priv
ileged position. Relations with other
creeds will be based on tolerance. Al
though acts of “brutal anti-Semitism”
will not be countenanced, there is an
ominous reminder that “we must recog
nize the instinct of legitimate self
defense of our culture and the effort of
the Polish people to attain economic
Independence." That is bound to sound
In the ears of Jews as a warning that
they face ostracism, and worse, in edu
cation, the professions, the arts and
business. Suppression of communism is
stressed as one of the fundamental ob
jectives.
In the Industrial and agricultural
fields It Is the Intention of the Rydz
Smigly group to "regulate production” In
the cardinal interest of national security
and to Institute such “reforms” as will
ameliorate unemployment and rural dis
content. Land distribution is one of the
baits held out to peasants as a bid for
acceptance of the totalitarian state. The
idea of dictatorial militarism stalks
through the new deal for Poland. Fas
clst-Nazi influence in its conception is
manifest. With Franco’s victory in
Spain accounted a certainty, this tri
umph of their “Ideology” In Northeast
ern Europe must All to overflowing the
cup of gratification from which II Duce
and Der Fuehrer nowadays quaff. De
mocracy has lost another battle.
Honors are showered on James Farley,
who is saluted as the postmaster of his
fate and the captain of his soul.
Spring Approaches.
The robin, traditionally, is the har
binger of Spring. But this year, as it
happens, the vernal season has been
heralded by two other varieties of
phenomena. Yesterday, George Wash
ington's natal anniversary, was blessed
with weather that summoned thousands
of residents of the District of Columbia
and nearby Virginia and Maryland out
of doors. Also, February 22 was the
date selected by Assistant Superinten
dent Albert Clyde-Burton of the Na
tional Capital Parks to announce that
applications for picnic permits already
are being received. The sunshine and
the petitions for license to dine in the
open testified to a single fact—Winter
is retreating and people know it.
Americans, it seems, love the un
trammeled freedom that somehow never
is feasible within even the most con
genial of walls and under the kindliest
of roofs. Of course, they are familiar
with the perils of quitting civilization.
They have heard of poison ivy, hornets,
black spiders, thunder showers, traffic
congestion, ptomaine and all the other
hazards of the smiling countryside. But
they are not afraid of any of theae
risks. Father may have a blowout and
lose his temper, mother may discover
the lemon mcrange pie incontinently
mixed with the mustard pickles, little
Johnny may add a skinned shin to his
previously acquired scars of battle and
small Gwendoline may sit on a protest
ing bee. Yet the entire family will re
turn from a picnic excursion agreed
that “we had a swell time.” It Is nat
ural that It should be so.
The human race has not become ef
fete enough to want to be coddled In
definitely. Rather.it still retains some
thing of the power which permitted It
to survive those unrecorded ages when
It Inhabited treacherous jungles or dark,
damp and noisome caves. And at the
first half-hearted suggestion of Spring
it Joins In a longing to escape from
houses and streets and a plethora of
clothing. It demands the kind of
liberty which the indoors simply can
not provide. Hence, the popularity of
woods and fields and streams and the
ordered playgrounds with which Mr.
Clyde-Burton Is professionally con
cerned. The result Is health and hap
piness—two aspects of Joy not dependent
upon governments, legislatures, courts,
brain trusts or their critics.
Abyssinia is evidently compelled to
take into account an element of populace
that has heard reporta of defeat and
subjugation, but refuses to believe all It
hears. It may be demanded that Mus
solini himself put in an appearance as
a guarantor of the authenticity of bad
news.
Poland is aroused to a point where
patriotism may again inspire some of
the world’s greatest music. Poland has
a history in art that recalls her as a
nation that “learned in suffering what
she told in song.”
Lindbergh is represented as so weary
of adulation that he selects an Itinerary
where there are no telephone books to
be torn up for confetti.
There is an element of gambling In
politics. A gambler always believes he
will win if he can double the stakes for
the next play.
The $100 per plate banquet promises to
assume as much prominence in affairs
as William Jennings Bryan's dollar-a
plate dinner.
“Hoss sense” is often mentioned with
admiration. It may be regretted that
the late Calvin Coolldge's equestrian
exercise machine is, after all, only a robot.
Mathematics has been discussed in con
nection with debts, but fears are freely
expressed that a budget cannot be bal
anced with logarithms.
Much idealism may be lost if the main
object in life is represented as an effort
to beat some kind of an Insurance game.
Many communities are bold to assert
that they suffer more from adolescent
attorneys than from well-matured courts.
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Diplomacy.
Might as well be kind and gentle
In the things you do or say,
Even slightly sentimental,
Till you have to change your way.
When you catch a shifty party,
Speak to him In tones polite,
Even give him greetings hearty,
But—hand It to him right!
If you find it is your duty
To condemn a man for crime,
Speak in phrase of simple beauty.
Save your temper and your time.
Do not add a single wrinkle
To your brow as time takes flight.
Give your eyes a genial twinkle;
But—hand It to him right!
Caution.
"Your speeches are not very inter
esting.”
“It may be • a mistake to make a
speech too interesting,” replied Senator
Sorghum. "It’s better to say things
in a dull way so that they won’t be
remembered in case you want to change
your mind.”
Cynically Defined.
“Father,” said the small boy, “what
is a philosopher?”
"A philosopher, my son, Is usually a
man who is trying to Jolly himself into
the belief that he is happy though poor.”
Discontent.
Every wish unsatisfied
Leaves human nature sore.
Every wish that's gratified
Gives rise to several more.
“When a woman smiles,” said Hi Ho,
the sage of Chinatown, "she is having
her own way and when she weeps she
is preparing to have it.”
The Remorseful Gossip.
"Sometimes I wonder whether there
is any truth in the old saying, 'Be good
and you will be happy.’ "
"What’s the trouble?”
‘1 made up my mind the other day
that I would be truthful and obliging.
I answered every question anybody asked
me."
“And told the exact truth?"
"Yes. And none of the people I told
the truth about now speak to me."
Alternative.
Dar never was no sunshine made
So generous an’ warm
It didn’t one day have to fade
Into a storm.
Dar never was a storm dat blew.
An’ shook de cabin door,
De old sun couldn’t travel through
An’ shine once more.
"Whut makes some of de trouble,”
said Uncle Eben, "is dat a man’s liable
to git mo’ neighborly applause foh win
nin’ six bits In a craps game dan foh
earnin’ two dollars by working de same
amount o’ time.”
\
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
The ramifications of the President's
fight to obtain authority to revamp the
Supreme Court of the United States are
growing. The latest organization to
take up the cudgels for the plan Is the
newly bom National Lawyers’ Guild.
The guild seems to be intent on playing
the role In the legal profession that
John L. Lewis’ C. I. O. Is playing In
the ranks of union labor. And the fact
that Lee Pressman, general counsel for
the C. I. O., Is taking an active part In
the organization of the guild seems also
to give the two groups some kind of
connection. Mr. Pressman presented to
the guild the first draft of Its consti
tution.
“Join the guild and get to be a Judge”
was a slogan suggested by a critic of
President Roosevelt’s plan to deal with
the Federal Judiciary. Membership In
the new organization, he said, might be
come a prerequisite for appointment to
the bench.
* * * *
A majority of the members of the new
guild are said to be in Government em
ploy. The guild is out to put the Amer
ican Bar Association out of business.
Speakers at the guild meetings have de
clared that they are concerned with "hu
man rights" ar.d that the American Bar
Association has been against human
righto. Certainly the bar association has
been rough in its comments upon the
President’s plan to increase the mem
bership of the Supreme Court, as out
lined in his judiciary reorganization bill.
So the fight between the youthful guild
and its older antagonist takes on at the
start a political tinge.
* * * m
Edith Nourse Rogers, representative
from Massachusetts, has Introduced in
the House a resolution providing that all
appointees to the Supreme Court must
be natural-born citizens of the United
States. This is a requisite for Presi
dents of the United States. Such a plan,
if adopted, would apply only to future
members of the court. At present there
is only one justice of the Supreme Court
who was not born in the United States,
Associate Justice George Sutherland,
who was born in Buckinghamshire,
England. Justice Sutherland came to
this country at an early age and had his
education here and graduated in law
at the University of Michigan. Before
he was appointed to the Supreme Court,
Justice Sutherland had a distinguished
career In the United States Senate and
In 1916-17 he was president of the Amer
ican Bar Association. He was appointed
to the Supreme Court by President
Harding in 1922 and was Immediately
confirmed by the Senate. He is rated
as one of the best legal minds on the
supreme bench and his opinions have
been masterpieces for clearness. He is
one of the older members of the Supreme
Court Who have voted in the court
against many of the New Deal measures.
Mrs. Rogers, who is a strong opponent of
the President’s plan to revamp the Su
preme Court, was not aiming at Justice
Sutherland in her resolution, but at the
appointment of new justices who, she
believes, may not have a proper regard
for American institutions and the Con
stitution.
It begins to look as though the Senate
of the United States Is Inclined to re
assert Itself after a lapse of some years.
Despite the drive which President Roose
velt la making for his judiciary bill, a
considerable number of the Senators are
showing themselves stiff of backbone
over the Supreme Court proposal In that
bill. Among the opponents of the Su
preme Court plan are many of the lib
erals In the Upper House, who In the
past have stood stanchly by the Presi
dent. They consider the plan as tamper
ing with an Independent Judiciary and
they do not like It. Of all the most
widely known liberals In the Senate, only
Senator La Follette of Wisconsin stands
out as definite supporter of the Presi
dent's plan. Senator Norris of Nebraska
has declared his dislike for the proposal
to increase the Supreme Court and
thereby obtain decisions favorable to
New Deal laws—not because he Is op
posed to the New Deal laws, but because
he does not like the method adopted by
the President. He has said that he will
support the President’s plan, but only If
nothing better can be obtained. On
the other side, against the President,
are ranged Senator Wheeler of Montana,
Senator Johnson of California, Senator
Borah of Idaho and Senators Nye and
Frazier of North Dakota.
* * * *
Administration leaders privately ad
mit that it is likely to be three months
before a vote can be had on the court
bill in the Senate. This would put the
vote probably in May. Opponents of the
bill, on the other hand, assert that the
measure, if It continues to contain the
President's plan for the appointment of
additional Justices for every member of
the court who is 70 years and 6 months4
old, the bill, will not come to a vote at
all—unless there is a majority against
It. The decision of the Senate Judiciary
Committee to begin hearings on the bill
March 9 Is not an Indication of any
desire to hasten the measure. It was
sent to the Senate by the President on
February 5.
There Is a growing belief that the
House will wait on the Senate in this
matter of the court bill. In the first
place, aa Speaker Bankhead has said,
the Senate is more intimately connected
with the operation of laws dealing with
the Federal courts. Appointees to the
courts must be confirmed in their ap
pointments by the Senate. Then, too,
it might be an idle gesture on the part
of the House to pass this bill if it is
Anally to die in the Senate. Certainly
the House Judiciary Committee has so
far backed away from consideration of
the bill. That committee is to meet
again Thursday, but it seems very doubt
ful that it will do anything at that
Hmc about the President’s bill. A very
considerable number of the House mem
bers are hostile to the Supreme Court
plan.
The President is having more trouble
with the farmers over his court bill than
with labor, as represented In the C. I. O.
and the American Federation of Labor.
Sentiment expressed throughout the
great agricultural States of the Middle
West and the West has been distinctly
unfavorable to the plan to increase the
Supreme Court. Efforts are being made
by the President to line up the American
Farm Bureau Federation for the plan,
but so far without entire success,
a * * *
It is too early to predict what will be
the eventual political effect of this
fight over the Supreme Court. Indeed,
the fight is being waged entirely beyond
and outside of partisan politics, with
many Democrats aligned with Repub
licans against the President. This, it
is easy to understand, Is not to the
liking of the administration Democrats.
If the issue were merely one between
the two major political parties, there
would be nothing to the battle. The
huge Democratic majorities in the House
and Senate would flatten out the op
position in short order. The Issue is
one, however, which has smashed party
lines to smithereens, at least lor the
time.
\
THIS AND THAT |
BY CHARLBS B. TRACBWBLL.
Two of the oldest weather rhymes |
■till tell a great deal.
If there Is an unusually red sunset,
we are told, the morrow will be bright
and clear.
If there Is an unusually red sunup,
there probably will be rain before the
day is over.
These old saws are eueoeptlble of dally
proof, and In most cases they work out
according to the ancient wisdom.
They enable any one to be his own
weather prophet, within reason, but ho
must be a good observer, and especially
be interested In such matters.
It Is amazing how many persons there
are, In cities, who pay not the slightest
attention to the manifold weather signs
as set forth In the heavens, In the way
of sunsets and sunrises, In clouds, with
their various formations, and In the very
"look" of the day, whether It Is bright,
or gray, or gloomy, or snowy In appear
ance.
Many persons Interested In all such
matters could tell at a glance the other
morning that snow was on the way.
Some even said they could smell It!
Several mornings after the snowstorm,
at 7 o'clock In the mom, there was one
of the reddest suns peering over the
hills to the East.
This glow did not last more than two
minutes, so one had to be Interested in
such matters to notice it at all.
It forecast, of course, rain before the
day was over.
Many of the old rhymes about the
weather work out perfectly, at least,
often enough to be serviceable.
Fog, for Instance, usually means clear
ing, if it occurs on the way down to work.
Occasionally, however, It does not clear
up at all, but goes right ahead and
rains, as it always looks as if it would
when it is foggy.
Persons who have lived long by the
sea come in time to have what many
of their city friends regard as uncanny
weather wisdom.
While a great deal of this is based
on old sayings, and some of it on per
sonal observations of cloud formations,
and the like, it may be believed that
mostly such a person uses weather com
mon sense.
a * * *
Weather common sense, of course, is
mostly "feel.’’
One really feels the weather, in such
a case, because of subtle and little un
derstood changes which barometric pres
sure makes on the human system.
Capillaries are relaxed, or vice versa.
Perhaps the very feel of the air on
the skin is entirely different on a bright
day, when the barometer is "going up,”
as the expression is, and on a gloomy
day, when it is "going down.”
There is a very close connection be
tween air pressure, as commonly under
stood. and the influence as exerted on
the skin by the amount of water in the
air.
* * * *
Can it be questioned that certain peo
ple are more sensitive to all such pres
sures?
There is a man in this town who
can tell invariably when the outdoor
temperature stands at 80 degrees, pro
vided the hygrometer reading is be
tween 50 and 55 at the same time.
The very next person who came by
might not be able to tell that there was
anything different about the day, except
that he would note, If hla attention were
called to It, that It was, Indeed, a "very
fine day.”
Such a combination of barometer and
hygrometer readings practically always
results In beautiful clear weather.
No doubt Lowell’s "Perfect Day" would
have shown a temperature of 80 degrees,
with a hygrometrlc reading of perhaps 89
points, If some scientist had been along
at the hour of composition.
* * * *
There are many special reasons why
people need to keep an eye on the
weather, but among the best Is the
garden.
Life of plants, shrubs and trees Is so
dependent upon the weather that It
does not take the amateur gardener long
to realize It. He, In time, becomes
weather wise to a certain extent; he
looks with a fine eye of appreciation
upon bright and gloomy days alike, for
both have their places in the divine
scheme of plant things.
Plants In the earth must endure all
that comes, the scorching sun, the pelt
ing rain, the drying wind, the close
lying and deep snow and sheathing Ice.
It Is marvelous, Is it not, that a small
piece of fiber, which two fingers easily
snaps, could live and thrive through It
all?
It Is uncanny enough that a roof on
a human habitation can weather all It
does, but it Is, after all, lifeless and
inert, although even it changes one way
or another as the result of weather
conditions.
But the living plant endures all. and
comes out of It alive and smiling in the
later days of 8prlng, when the brave
green leaves put forth, and the flowers
bloom at last.
* * * *
There Is something dumbly brave
about plants, daring to come up in
Winter, Just because of a few compara
tively mild days.
They take a chance, in other words.
Their instincts, no less than those of
animals, call them forth to do battle
with the elements.
Surely it is not stretching a word to
call them brave and to think they dis
play bravery.
The elements, of course, also are their
means of growth.
The plant takes advantage of the good
in sun and rain, warmth and cold and
Inertly tries to be as dormant as possible
when conditions are against it.
It makes the best of circumstances in
a very convincing way.
Human activities also are dependent
upon the weather. The recent floods
showed this in a striking way. Normal
activities, however, depend no less upon
warmth and cold, sunshine and rain—
weather, in other words, which is always
interesting and always worth talking
about.
Every one can be his own little weather
prophet, to a certain extent, at least—
and the greatest agencies can say no
more—by conning old rhymes, and get
ting the “feel” of weather changes. It
is not difficult to do, and offers a great
deal of fascinating experimentation to
the person whose mind may not be
scientific, but whose mentality is able
to realiw the beauty and interest in
these changes which are so vast and yet
a part of our everyday lives.
STARS, MEN AND ATOMS
Notebook of Science Progress in Field,
Laboratory £nd Study.
BY THOMAS R. HENRY.
A new age scale, applicable from
birth through adolescense, which is
based on the progressive development
of the bones of the hand, is proposed in
a monograph Just issued by the Society
for Research in Child Development of
the National Research Council.
The scale was constructed by Dr.
Charles D. Flory of the University of
Chicago on the basis of hundreds of
X-ray pictures of the hand. The com
mon age-scale of birthdays, it la pointed
out in the report, really means very
little during the formative years of life.
The fact that two children are each 10
years old chronologically cannot be in
terpreted as meaning that they have
reached the same stage of physical de
velopment. Some mature, mentally and
physically, earlier than others.
But the bones of the hand, Dr. Flory’i
study shows, are indicators of the pace
at which the body is developing. There
Is an average development, for example,
for 10-year-old boys. Any individual
may be a year or eo ahead or behind
this average. He la 10 years old chrono
logically, but 9 or 11 yean old skeletally.
It is unfair to compare his progress
with that of 10-year-old boys as a class.
There is an entirely different skeletal
scale for girls.
The report contains a series of pic
tures representing the norma for both
sexes from birth to 18 years. The de
velopment of any individual can be de
termined in relation to these norms.
The 12-year-old boy who falls behind
in competition with other 12-year-olds,
it is pointed out, may actually be only
11 yean old In development and hence
subjected to an unfair comparison.
Qlrls, Dr. Flory’s study shows, are
"older” than boys of the same chrono
logical age—a fact which may have an
Important bearing on future studies of
sex differences.
"There is,” he Bays, "a gradually in
creasing sex difference as children ad
vance in age. The typical 6-year-old
girl la skeletally about as mature as the
typical 7-year-old boy. Boys and girls
are practically a year apart when they
enter the elementary school and ap
proximately two yean apart when they
enter high school. That is, high school
pupils of the same chronological age
show about two years of sex difference
in skeletal development. These facts
must have some Influence on scholastic
success, mental development, and the
social adjustment of pupils as they pass
through high school.
“The fact that a child is bom a boy
Instead of a girl predetermines that his
chances are very good to reach ma
turity at an age somewhat beyond the
average for girls. Individual growth
must be considered in relation to the
average for the sex group to which the
child belongs."
Within these sex groups, Dr. Flory
stresses, due allowance must be made
for individual variations. Nearly every
one falls somewhere around the average,
but at the same time everybody has an
individual growth rate and there la
some evidence that this Is hereditary.
Brothers and sisters tend to deviate in
the same direction from the average.
The range of variability among indi
viduals, he found, is relatively small in
infancy, but increases with age until
the early teens. It tends to decrease
with age in late adolescense.
Says Dr. Flory: "Chronological age
has long been used to determine when
children should enter school, when youth
might leave school to begin work, when
young people are allowed to many, and
T
when individuals become legally re
sponsible for the mature activities of
adult life. But a very superficial
analysis of growth and development re
veals that all do not fit into the same
mould. Parents know that children in
the same family and under nearly the
same environmental influences do not
mature at exactly the same age.
“Measurements of height and weight
have given a clue to the developmental
progress of children, but disciples of
these measurements fall Into error
through emphasis on uniformity.
Schools have spent time and energy
trying to bring a small child up to the
standard or trying to keep a large child
from exceeding the pace set by the
average.
“Mental measurements have served
in the minds of some practitioners as a
device for sorting Individuals Into def
inite categories. Once the child was
placed by these so-called experts his
fate was sealed, due to the chance ar
rangement of genes. Wiser psychologists
recognized the limitations of such tests
and never contended that an absolute
evaluation could be made of individual
pupils. Measurements of bony develop
ment have never been recognized to the
same extent that mental tests and
chronological age have been used for
purpose of classification.”
The Giant on the Potomac.
From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin.
A glance down the column of the nearly
40 agencies of the Federal Government,
for which administrative expenses must
be appropriated, will give some idea of
the amount of money needed merely to
make the wheels turn. The President's
reorganisation scheme Is aimed at mak
ing the cogs fit more easily Into one an
other, but admittedly It will not mate
rially reduce the overhead.
The Social Security Board will dispense
millions to its various beneficiaries dur
ing the coming year, but the salaries and
administrative expenses of the board,
alone, will require $18,500,000. And so
all along the whole vast Federal front.
A million for the Federal Communica
tions Commission, another for the Power
Commission, higher figures for the new
alphabetical children—all money which is
paid to the spenders who will in turn
deal out the millions Uncle 8am haa voted
his children in all sections of the Nation.
The House Appropriations Committee,
well schooled In voting money, doesn’t
pare the figures very much, but does raise
its eyebrows over some publicity expendi
tures. Meekly remarking about some
“overpretentious publications” it says
their "apparent primary objective is to
sell their activities to the public.” Cer
tain publicity expenses inhere In the
nature of the work. Many of the agen
cies—for example, the Social Security
Board—are new to the public and an ex
planation of their operations is neces
sary for an even partial understanding.
But It is not strange that office holders
should require a little printing on their
own, in order that the public should
realize the importance of their office.
The cost and growth of administration
has mounted rapidly as one problem after
another lands on the Federal doorstep.
Many times Washington has not awaited
their arrival, but has gone to the high
ways to compel them to come. But once
there, they are not readily or easily
dismissed, and they make budget bal
ancing more Q1*" a Job fear the week end. ,
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.
A reader can get the answer to any
question of fact by writing The Evening
Star Information Bureau, Frederic J.
Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C.
Please inclose stamp for reply.
Q. How Is the American Bed Cross
maintained?—P. B.
A. In normal times all expenses art
met through the Red Cross member
ship fees. During emergencies and
crises the special contributions which
are made are devoted 100 per cent to
the object for which they are given.
Q. What is the seating capacity of
Soldier Field in Chicago and how many
persons can it accommodate?—L. M.
A. Its normal seating capacity is 108,
000, but at the Eucharistic Congress in
1926 over 500,000 persons participated
and the American Legion convention in
it had an attendance of 250,000.
Q. Are Winter visitors to St. Peters
burg, Fla., eligible to the Three-quarter
Century Club?—B. T. H.
A. They are welcome. Even young- <
sters of 70 may join as honorary mem
bers. Mrs, Evelyn Barton Rittenhouse
was the organizer of the club and fe its
present secretary. Besides business
meetings, the club has a program of
sports, music and dramatics.
•
Q. What are the per capita taxes in
the United States?-C. M. L.
A. According to a Twentieth Century
Fund report, taxes now average H00 a
year for every man, woman and child
in the country.
Q. How many busses are sold for school
transportation?—W. H.
A. In 1933 manufacturers sold 9,403
busses valued at approximately $23,000,
000 to American schools.
Q. What is the population of Puerto
Rico?—T W.
A. It is increasing at the rate of
40.000 a year, and has now rea'hed 1,
765,000. This is a density of 520 per
square mile.
Q. Is there a shrine to Joar of Arc In
Prance?—E. M. W. ,
A. St. Joan's Basilica at-Domremy',
France, is dedicated to her nrfnory. An
eternal candle, symbolizing tie martyr's *
virtues, was placed In the shriie at cere
monies celebrating the 525th mniversary
of her birth.
Q. Is there a daily radio newspaper
published?—C. P.
A. Radio Daily is published daily ex
cept on Saturday and Sundar. Offices
are in the Paramount Builiing, New
York City.
Q. How many religious denoninations •
are there in the United States?-F. L. M.
A. This country has 213 diffe-ent rec
ognized religious sects or denoninations.
Q. What is the smallest boa in the
world?—E. M.
A. It is a translation of tie chief
parts of the “Rubaiyat of Oma Khay
yam,” which is in the Bodleian Library
at Oxford, England. The volum.* meas
ures one-fourth of an inch In hekht and
three-sixteenths of an inch in wdth.
Q. When did Frederick the Oret rule ,
Germany?—N. D.
A. Frederick IX. who was calld “the
Great," ruled from 1740 to 178(5.
Q Is the grave of the late ftnator
Huey Long Illuminated?—W. H.
A. At night floodlights from the 'Louis
iana State Capitol tower are tirown
on his grave.
Q. When is the National Ediiation
Association to hold its conventun?—
E. H.
A. The N. E. A. convention wll be *
held at Detroit from June 27 to Jily 1.
Q. Was Edwin Markham's poem, "The
Man With the Hoe,” first published In a
newspaper?—E. W.
A. It first appeared in the San Iran
cisco Examiner.
Q. How old is Dr. Lorenz, the sur
geon?—S. L. ,
A. Dr. Adolf Lorenz is past 82.
Q. Is the original copy of Benjanln i
Franklin's epitaph for himself in ex
istence?—E. H.
A. The original manuscript is low
in the collections of Yale University.
Q. What are some of the more m
portant products derived from the jea
nut?—L. K. J.
A. Some 300 useful products have teen
made from or with peanuts, it Is
claimed, including butter, chewe,
candles, coffee, pickles, oils, dyes, brd.
shaving lotions, flour, soap, break&st
food, linoleum, ink and even die
grease. Paper Is made from peanit
shells. The peanut crop in the Unted
States is worth about $60,000,000 m
nualljr.
Q. Please give some information abrnt
Elizabeth Hawes, the dress deslgnei—
E. J. M.
A. Elizabeth Hawes was bom at
Ridgewood, N. J., December 16, 1D3.
the daughter of John and Henrieta
Houston Hawes. She attended Rld.e
wood High School and received an A.B. *
at Vassar in 1925. In 1930 she was mar
ried to Ralph Jester.
Q. Who oomposed the first oratoro?
—W H
A. Cavallerl’s "Representation of Sprit
and Body," about 1600, Is considered to
be the first oratorio.
Source of Inspiration.
From th. CburlMton (W. Vs.) Moll.
Now we know how Sotneraet Mtughim
happened to think of his play naoed
•‘Bain.”
Driving Errors.
From tbs Ol.ndsls Xiti-Fmi.
The two greatest errors In driving ire
taking a blind curve too fast and takng
a curve that isn't there.
Rhyme at Twilighl
By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton
Aftermath of Storm.
A strange peace often follows crushhg
grief,
A subtle easement, hard to understand
Excitement has burned out, and In relef
God stretches out from Heaven a hell
ing hand.
The sun and sky, and all of nature see ns
Nearer to draw, Inspiring, like etrtng
wine;
Dark hours of stress become a leveed
dream,
And the soul knows serenity divine
y