Evening star. [volume], May 15, 1937, Page A-8, Image 8

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

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THE EVENING STAR
With Sunday Momlnf Edition.
* WASHINGTON, D. C.
SATURDAY _May 15, 193"
THEODORE W. NOYES.Editor
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Germany in the Baltic.
It is a suggestive coincidence that to
day's silver jubilee of King Christian of
Denmark should coincide with disclosure
of Germany's plans for a great system
of fortifications along her Baltic coast
and on adjacent islands. The scheme is
part and parcel of the vast network of
defenses on all its borders which the
Reich has undertaken in pursuance of
the defiant Nazi rearmament program.
The Baltic project has special signifi
cance for the Danes, because Schleswig
Holstein constitutes one of those "bleed
ing borders” of which Hitler has spoken
as frontiers which he aspires some day
fco wipe out and incorporate within a
greater Germany.
After the Treaty of Versailles and sub
sequent plebiscites the southern-central
portion of the former German province
of Schleswig-Holstein remained German,
while the northern zone was restored to
old-time Danish sovereignty. Hitler has
never ceased to long for the recovery of
Danish Schleswig, and there has been
more or less constant Nazi agitation
there, as elsewhere in Northern and
Eastern Europe, to popularize union with
Germany. It would not be strange if the
Jubilee rejoicings of King Christian's
people were shadowed by the revelation
of Germany's bid for increased power in
the Baltic.
The new line of fortifications will be
concentrated around Lubeck Bay, north
of Hamburg, and aimed generally north
ward in the direction of the Scandi
navian countries. The projected works
provide for seaplane harbors and air
dromes in the neighborhood of Trave
inuende. On the highly strategic island
of Fehmarn. flanked by Kiel and Lubeck
Bays, fortifications will be built capable
of dominating the Belt of Langeland,
which is Danish water. The plan will
supplement the reconstruction as a
fortified base of the tiny North Sea island
of Helgoland, once known as Germany’s
Gibraltar. It was dismantled by order
of the allies after the World War.
It is improbable that these various
errangements to gear up the German
War machine have either Denmark or
other Scandinavian territory primarily
In mind. More likely is the intention of
the Germans to gird themselves in the
Baltic for eventual conflict with the
Boviet Union. In such a war that sea
would be a major theater of naval and
air operations, with possible involvement
of Lithuania and the other former “Bal
tic provinces” of Russia. Moscow's
threat to create a strong Baltic fleet may
play a major part in the German enter
prise.
Many Scandinavians feared, when
Great Britain negotiated her naval deal
With Germany two years ago, that the
Baltic and its environs were virtually
being surrendered to Nazi control. Ber
lin's fortification scheme is destined to
Whet the purpose of Denmark, Norway,
Sweden and Finland to cement a “north
ern entente,” and likewise to cause those
most pacific-minded of European na
tions to consider the necessity of organ
izing their national defense systems on
6cales hitherto considered neither neces
sary nor desirable.
With President Roosevelt back home
he will resume the task of showing that
bo many distinguished gentlemen have
been wrong in getting an O. K. for one
of the arguments that have occurred to
him apparently with the more force be
cause they w'ere recent.
A Model Witness.
A House of Representatives subcom
mittee, considering a bill, had the benefit
of an ideal witness at a hearing the other
day. The measure before the com
mittee was one to allow the railroads to
carry canine companions of blind per
sons to ride with them free of charge.
Technically the owner of the dog was the
Witness. Actually the dog furnished the
best evidence of the merit of the proposi
tion. His behavior was such as to win
the favor of the subcommitteemen, who
recognized that he and all his kind were
worthy of the fullest consideration. The
subcommittee agreed to report the bill
With a recommendation that it be passed.
A well-trained dog has a better chance
of making a favorable impression upon a
court of justice or a congressional com
mittee than has a human witness. He is
always straightforward and honest. He
Is not evasive or querulous. He is not
upset by inquisition. He does not dodge
the issue. By nature kindly and taught
to obey, he tells the whole truth and
nothing but the truth as far as his lim
ited powers of expression permit.
In this matter of providing accommo
dations on the trains for the dogs that
are used by the blind for their guidance
there is no reasonable ground for objec
tion. They always behave as well as do
the human passengers, often better.
They are orderly, quieyjmd considerate.
They give no cause for offense or fear.
When they were first Introduced into
American society for this service they
were often excluded from places of pub
lic entertainment, hotels and restaurants
and even from the common carriers.
The owner of the dog in this present case
once had to ride on a baggage car be
cause the rules of the railroad would not
permit the animal to be taken into a
coach. These prejudices have given way
before the demonstrated service the dogs
render and their uniformly gentle bear
ing and good-manners.' Now it is pro
posed to enact a law which will in effect
rate the guide dogs as identical with their
masters, which they are in effect in re
spect to all means of travel. The meas
ure should meet with no opposition and
its enactment should gi\’e further public
recognition of one of the most worthy
benevolent undertakings in this country,
the training of these dogs for this service.
Organized Rackets and Law.
If the administration of the law in this
country, especially in large centers of
population, were as efficient as the or
ganization of crime, headway might be
made toward greater safety of life and
property. But unfortunately this is not
the case. Law administration, particu
larly in the big cities, is slow, uncertain
and often fruitless. An illustration has
just been afforded in New' York, where
at a luncheon held by the Citizens' Com
mittee on the Control of Crime, Thomas
E. Dewey, special prosecutor of rackets,
made an address in which he presented
an appalling picture of the ineptitude
of the police and the courts in fighting
organized extortion. He has been en
gaged for a year and a half in the
conduct of a campaign of prosecution
and has had considerable success, though
much remains to be done, particularly
in the reorganization of the law agencies.
He said:
I should like to outline the picture
of the law enforcement agencies which
serve you. There are five regular dis
trict attorneys in this city and its five
counties, having a total of 132 assistant
district attorneys. There are also the
racket bureau of the attorney general
of the State, the racket bureau of the
Attorney General of the United States
operating in New York County, the
United States attorney for the southern
district of New York and the United
States attorney for the eastern district
of New York. Thus there are five county
prosecuting officers, the State prosecuting
officer and three Federal prosecuting
officers, all in the City of New York. All
these operate separately, some are elected
and some appointed. There is absolutely
no co-ordination between them, and
some, preposterous as it may seem, do
not even know each other, although
they operate in the same city.
The effect of this dispersal of authority
is the actual encouragement of crime.
In contrast to it is the thorough organi
zation of the criminal forces, which
have their own laws, the enforcement
of which depends in no degree upon
questions of jurisdiction and is always
swift and certain. Many times the cost
of the maintenance of these municipal,
State and Federal enforcement agencies
is imposed upon the sufferers from these
organized rackets, which affect prac
tically every line of business, particularly
in the field of supplying the public
necessities.
The remedy for this condition is the
co-ordination and simplification of the
agencies of law. The racketeers take
full advantage of the delays now entailed
by slow legal procedure, by the technicali
ties of the courts and by the inter
ferences which result from divided juris
dictions.
“The time has come,” said Mr. Dewey,
“when crime must be studied by ex
perts on the long-range basis. We still
change police commissioners every two
or three years. City administrations,
national administrations, prosecutors and
their whole staffs are turned over with
every shifting tide of politics. Organized
crime continues steadily on.”
One of the difficulties in arousing
public sentiment to the point of vigorous
and persistent prosecution of this form
of crime lies in the disposition of victims
to surrender to extortion, even with its
murderous toll, rather than resist and
co-operate with the law enforcement
agencies in the prosecution of the
racketeers. It is the repetition on a
large scale of the blackmailing practiced
by the “Black Hand” of some years ago
which prevailed in several of the larger
cities of this country, particularly in
New York, when for a time it was
virtually impossible to get witnesses to
testify for fear of immediate murderous
reprisal. Surrender was the safer course.
It is not assured that a co-ordination
of the enforcement agencies would eradi
cate the rackets. But it would certainly
effect more headway toward the estab
lishment of the law as against the rule
of the gang.
“How many bets is it proper for a
statesman to place on a race” if he
has to send his money instead of carry
ing it? This is another of the questions
which may arise at any moment in the
racing game.
Footnote.
Through the Associated Press a cer
tain distinctively significant footnote has
l added to the history of contem
porary times. It consists of a dispatch
from Gardnertown, N. Y„ and reads as
follows: "Ten-year-old Dick Spoor, Jr.,
not only ‘brings ’em back alive,’ but he
sends them away again, well-fed. Dick
created • consternation in the Spoor
kitchen when he walked in from the
woods, his arm around the neck of a
young buck. He fed the animal milk and
bread, after which it trotted leisurely
back into the woods.”
Of course, such things have happened
before. Long before men first began to
preserve written chronicles of their ex
perience the relation between the human
species and its inarticulate animal com
panions probably was friendly and close.
Changes in climate and other conditions
of life are supposed to have made them
enemies. But it was not until the inven
tion of firearms that a veritable state of
war developed between the lords of crea
tion and the deny^ns of forest and field
over which they were Intended to have
dominion. Previously, even the mightiest
of mighty hunters killed only for food.
Nowadays, the rankest amateur goes out
with a shotgun and slaughters for the
alleged "fun” of it—the law endeavors to
limit his bag in vain; it cannot control
the number of his victims left where they
fall.
Dick Spoor, Or., however, does not ap
pear to be interested in the sport of
slaughter. He prefers the conquests of
love. The patience with which he culti
vated the confidence of the timid deer
testifies for the charity in his heart. He
has the instinct of Kipling's Mowgli or,
perhaps better, Kim, "the Little Friend
of All the World.” And in the twentieth
! century—the era of the machine and of
bitter strife between nations and classes
—that Impulse is important. Nor is it
as rare as might be thought. The dy
namic of mercy and fellowship has not
been banished from the universe. On
the contrary, it is one of the central
verities of civilization; it is the out
standing characteristic of millions of
souls. Hence the faith which many
possess in the eventual victory of peace
on earth.
On looking the subject of racing over,
it is again decided that while it may
represent a wholesome stimulation to a
Maryland politician, it cannot be of
benefit when brought into the District
of Columbia, excepting by devious means.
The dangers of gambling are at least
restrained to some degree for the benefit
of the innocent.
Cornell University permits Pittsburgh
to report a pig with a psychiatric neurosis
which leaves him in doubt whether to
eat a proffered apple or to juggle it in
hope of better profit. The pig is be
coming more and more a favorite point
of discussion where points of personal
appetite are concerned.
■ a a —. .
Strikes are regarded as inevitable be
cause of failures to sign agreements with
unions. Complaisant employers would no
doubt welcome more explicit information
as to what union claims authority to
express the complaisance an obliging
public has always been desirous of
showing.
I For the first time a red herring is dig
nified in a reference to it by Ambassador
Dodd as a ‘'billionaire.” It is usually
referred to as a poor fish. This is at least
in the nature of a comfort to the aver
age man.
Nothing has been written to indicate
that Stanley Baldwin is sure of keeping
the forces he Is expected to handle well
rehearsed. He has at least the encour
agement of a sincerely and respectfully
attentive audience.
Shooting Stars.
BY PHILANDER JOHNSON.
Reflection.
Within a sylvan pool there springs
A stagnate world of swarming things.
Grotesque and strange they throng and
press
Complete in their unloveliness.
Above it nests a creature gay
With light poised wings in quivering
sway.
It gazes down, but only sees
The bright sky mirroring through the
trees.
The bird sings on in joy complete
’Mid blossoms delicately sweet—
Our world, like this small scene, we
know
Has many shapes of grievous woe—
And yet it need not seem unkind,
Since to the contemplative mind
It must reflect in guise sincere
A higher, nobler atmosphere.
The Grim Future.
“How are you going to enjoy yourself
this Summer?”
“I’m not going to enjoy myself," an
swered Senator Sorghum. “I'm going
to put in my time, as usual, worrying
about next Winter.”
Jud Tunkins says the only advantage
he can see in being rich is that you can
have secretaries and don't have to learn
the typewriter or the dial telephone.
No Alibi.
My Radio! My Radio!
When you directly quote
No young reporter you can show
Who “garbled" what you wrote.
There’s no compositor to take
The customary blame;
There's no proofreader you can make
A martyr with no fame.
My Radio! My Radio!
Though your assertion flat
May bring embarrassment, we know
You said it; and That’s That.
“Wealth may become so great,” said
Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “that
at least it may seem only a row of figures
on a slip of paper.”
The Grand Idea.
“He seems to have no ideas except
of money,” said the critical girl.
“There is at least one advantage in
that,” replied Miss Cayenne. “He has
no difficulty in persuading people to
accept his ideas.”
Certainty.
When we take risks to win some prize,
This much is known at once:
If you should win, you’re very wise.
If not, you are a dunce.
“Dat old story ’bout de hare an’ dc
tortoise,” said Uncle Eben, “has fooled
a lot o’ people. Every loafer imagines
he’s de tortoise.’’
Long Memory.
From the Worceeter Gazette.
An old-timer is one who remembers
away back when motorists could go down
hill fast enough to satisfy themselves
without/^topping on the gas. J
t
Says Doctors Underrate
Intelligence of Laymen
To the Editor of The Star:
In reply to Dr. Thomas E. Mattingly's
“Condemnation of Medical Profession
Unwarranted,’’ in The Star of April 6, I
wish to state that evidently Dr. Mat
tingly is a little out of date or uninformed
on current practices in our hospitals.
Animal vivisection is practiced in most
all hospitals right in this vicinity and at
the present time. As only a layman, I
know of one hospital within less than
one hundred miles of here whose med
ical students take out parts of the ani
mal’s liver and other organs in their
medical classes every year, and this is
one of the very prominent medical
schools, too.
It seems to me that in this connection
the bill recently introduced by Senator
Frazier is both timely and in accord with
the principles of the leading medical as
sociations. Since vivisection does exist
rather generally and the medical profes
sion claims that this method is entirely
out of date, the present bill provides for
an effective remedy to a practice now
existing on a rather large scale in the
larger medical schools.
I think there is far too much effort to
keep "the ignorant layman" from know
ing what goes on. Because of a kind of
professional ethics many doctors take the
attitude that their knowledge is so su
perior to the layman’s, many people be
come disgusted with their ego, and in
stead of helping the medical profession
to attain still greater achievements their
talk harms its progress. In support of
this thought I might say that I have
had relations with some thirty doctors in
my lifetime and can say only four talked
to me as if I had any brains at all. This
is what gets doctors in bad with patients
and the public. When doctors become
open and frank wilh patients and recog
nize that the patient has some brains
too, even if otherwise, then they will
regain a lot of their lost good will. I
am not against doctors, rather for more
of them and better ones as both doctors
and as public servants with no monopoly
on all common sense and knowledge. The
medical profession, like banking, is quasi
public in character and not a strictly
private profession. The lay public has a
right to criticize animal vivisection when
it is unnecessary to scientific progress.
ELMER C. CROWELL.
Beauty of Other Cities
Contrasts Shabby Capital
To the Editor of The Star:
Having just returned from Los Angeles,
Calif., where everything, from exotic
gardens to kitchen utensils, reflects the
gorgeous colors of the rainbow, by com
parison my home town looks drab—de
pressingly, distressingly colorless. Hand
some, dignified, yes, but like an aristo
cratic old lady in somber raiment. Why
not have some bright flowers on private
lots, borders of them to improve, not
detract, from the few good lawns we
see? Why not tone and pep up our
public buildings with patches of flowers
and blossoming trees, as a few hotels
here attempt to do? We have not the
rich soil to produce much luxuriance,
but we might at least try to cultivate a
little brightness to relieve the cold, in
hospitable appearance of our public and
private buildings.
The city officials seem not to have
thought or cared about what might be
done to improve the interminable,
hideous earth patches around every
tree in the city. They are a disgrace, the
few struggling blades of grass here and
there only accentuating the miles of
glaring patches on our city streets.
Surely we can grow grass here, if nothing
else. If millions can be spent on another
statue hi a city already possessing over
500 statues, surely enough could be ob
tained to plant some grass and flower
seed to lend a little life and color to
our streets. The fact that so many
visitors come annually to see our cherry
blossoms proves how little there is here
in natural beauty.
Take another lesson from Los Angeles.
The Tower of Legends in Forest Lawn
Park is a startlingly beautiful picture
at night. Located on a high elevation,
lights are thrown on it in such a way
that the hill and the sky do not show
up. but the white tower appears to be
suspended in space. The effect is inde
scribably impressive. Could not this also
be worked out in locating the proposed
Jefferson Memorial on some elevation,
such as Meridian Hill? This may be done
in the future, but let's get busy at once
to remedy those hideous earth patches
on all our streets.
N. THOMPSON.
Protests Against Loral
Daylight Saving Hours
To the Editor of The Star:
I write to protest against daylight
saving time.
Those of us who have lived here since
1917 remember when the daylight sav
ing time w'as tried and what suffering it
caused because of short, hot nights and
longer, hotter days.
Only comparatively few have air-con
ditioned residences and those who do not
have find their sleeping time curtailed
by one hour every night, or one hundred
twenty-two hours in the four months
from June 1 to September 30, inclusive,
and that is a lot of sleep to lose.
And the sleeping time is curtailed be
cause the sun does not change its time
of setting and rising and so sleeping
rooms do not cool enough for one to
sleep until at least one hour nearer the
rising time.
Let’s let well enough alone. Those
who desire longer days can easily arise
Just as early as they desire.
Personally, I hope daylight saving time
is voted out entirely.
MRS. EDMUND S. DELANCY.
Parked Cars Contribute
To Unsightly Streets
To th« Editor of The Star:
Permit me to express my opposition
to t.he use of our streets by so many
automobile owners for parking purposes,
botn day and night. Recently, I wrote
the honorable Board of Commissioners,
requesting that they urge upon Con
gress that legislation be enacted pro
hibiting the use of our streets for the
purposes mentioned above. I also com
plained and laid quite a bit of stress re
lative to the filthy conditions of some
of our streets, due to the vast amount of
grease, oils and other refuse emitted by
so many automobiles of the older type.
I also requested the Board of Commis
sioners that they investigate the matter
mentioned, insist on a general clean-up
by the departments having charge of
such matters. That they insist such
nuisances and the like be corrected and
abated. I think and believe a little
agitation by the Board of Commissioners
and the property owners and taxpayers
of the District of Columbia would bring
better and desired results.
HENRY F. ASH.
The Court Advances.
From the Dsvenport (low*) Times.
Some believe the court’s philosophy as
revealed in the Wagner act decisions is
really more advanced than the New Deal.
Who knows—the Nine Old Men may yet
become a part ol the Youth Movement.
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.
"There Is no tyranny,” a wise man
said, "like the tyranny of useless things.”
It is true. And, while we are about it,
we might include a number of useful
things!
Attics, basements and garages filled
with articles which long ago served their
need, and now are kept mostly out of
sentiment—or what?
Heaven knows!
Sometimes it seems to the breathless
American that one-half life is made up
of accumulation, and the other half won
dering what it was all for.
The automobile manufacturers and
dealers have handled this matter well. A
car must be pretty far gone, indeed, be
fore it cannot be sold to any one. Those
who buy old cars are patted on the back,
and told they are "smart.”
Every homeowner knows you can’t do
that with many articles around the
house.
There are old tables, chairs and many
other things which are still good, but
which, for one reason or another, are no
longer desired.
Many a household is confronted with
this situation. The furniture still is
good, but it is old. Refinishing, reuphol
stering, these are good, but they do not
change fundamental design.
As times change, there are many
changes in design, not only of cars and
houses, but also of chairs, tables and
what-not.
The changes may be slight, or great, or
even in such elusive ways that, though
the basic design seems to be the same,
the articles will nevertheless strike the
beholder as being completely out of date.
This out-of-dateness of household
things may strike women more quickly
than men, but in time it manages to
make itself felt even with them.
Women say there is nothing more
hopeless than trying to make over the
furnishings of a home bit by bit, trying to
tie old in with new.
So long as a thing has use, one may
think, it ought to be right.
Well, such is the theory, but actually
an old piano lamp, for instance, looks
rather out of place, unless the household
keeps it long enough for it to "come in
style” again.
Such things happen. They happen
with games of all sorts, and also with
furnishings. Even the ladies' hats run
through successive changes and return
engagements of old styles.
* * * Ik
From one standpoint, of course, there
is really no useless thing—it simply may
be useless to the person who has it.
Hence to sell it, or give it away, espe
cially to one of the organizations which
specializes in fixing over such things, and
■selling them for a cause, is to return its
usefulness to itself and others.
What is more useless, for instance,
than a camera without a film, and in
which the owner has lost all genuine
interest?
Many such are lodged on shelves, and
in desk drawers, since their owners
quietly placed them there years ago.
Take them out. however, slip in a film,
and they are as ready as ever to deliver
a good job.
Useless, if not used—is not that it?
* * * *
Such lack of use is genuine, however;
i 1 _
the poignancy of useless things Is that
they actually are useless, although still
good. That is what hurts, undoubtedly.
The sensitive mind feels that goodness
ought to be its own reward, but it isn’t—
too often something else is demanded.
This seems to hold particularly of these
many things purchased, from time to
time, under the pressure of real or fan
cied need. Some of them never are any
good, but one holds onto them, because
one bought them. That is the only ap
parent reason.
The gadget, as it is known, comes
squarely in this class. Some one has
called America a nation of gadgetews.
We like novelties of all sorts, and must
have them. If they are believed to be
useful, we take to them all the more
readily, in order to cover up, at least in
our own minds, the charge of extrava
gance.
Pressures upon people, from all sides—
It is curious how many of these there are,
and how effective so many of them,
though essentially silly.
Every one seems to be the custodian of
every one else’s money, so that many
sensitive persons put up a "poor mouth,”
as it is called, to free themselves from
this foreign hand in their affairs.
Some persons have this so bad that
they never purchase anything for them
selves, just because they want it, but
always for some other members of the
family, or at least so they say!
Such tactics fool no one, of course, and
probably do some good, since so many
persons come from poor people, among
whom a useless expenditure was thought
to be criminal, and often was.
* * * *
The times have changed.
Useless purchases are seen in a better
light.
We realize today that as much labor
and love may be put on the useless as
on the useful, in the old strict way of ap
praising things.
What is useful, and what is not?
That is the question, and the answer
is not easy. What is useful to one per
son may seem the merest dross to an
other. Let time go by, and the article
becomes useless to the first, very desir
able to the second.
That is why so many persons, in house
hold management, are loath to part with
anything serviceable.
“Oh. you should give it to So-and-So,”
naming a worthwhile industry.
It is not selfishness which 'makes such
a plea often fall on deaf ears, but rather
the conception of the larger usefulness
of the article.
There is use, and a larger usefulness.
Time alone, in many instances, brings
out the latter.
There is a great satisfaction in going
to the attic, or garage, and there finding,
among a noble pile of assorted junk, ex
actly the thing one was looking for, and
needed.
One such successful experiment will
convince even the doubter of the value of
“keeping things."
The tyranny of useless things still
holds good, nevertheless.
Hence the annual cleaning up. which
is now in full swing. “Paint up and
clean up" is a good slogan with many
applications.
If we put some of its injunctions into
practice, one, at least, of many tyrannies
is likely to be lessened.
STARS, MEN AND AT031S
Notebook of Science Propress in Field,
Laboratory and Study.
BY THOMAS R. HENRY.
Fifty million years into the past
reaches the ancestry of the dog.
The long trail through time leads to
a nightmarish marsh land, now cov
ered by the White Earth River Basin
of Nebraska and South Dakota, where
skulking creatures with long teeth and
small brains waylaid their prey by
wooded stream sides.
This was during the millions of years
of the Oligocene geological period. It
was a prosperous time for primitive
mammal life. The Great Plains area
was a low-lying country, traversed by
a complicated network of streams and
low divides. In the flood season, when
all the streams overflowed their banks,
the whole region was converted into
a shallow temporary lake which de
posited fine mud and silt. This covered
up and preserved for the future the
bones of contemporary animals.
As a result the White Earth River
region long has been for fossil hunters
a veritable menagerie of the grotesque
creatures who lived five hundred
thousand centuries ago. Some of these
ancient animals have just been de
scribed by Prof William B. Scott and
Glenn L. Jepsen of Princeton Uni
versity in a monograph on the Ohgocene
fauna issued through the American
Philosophical Society.
Already the mammal race had been
on earth a long time. Large groups of
fantastic warm-blooded creatures had
flourished and disappeared, leaving no
descendants. The White Earth River
creatures were placentals, the group
which includes most of the mammalian
species of today, but they had not clear
ly differentiated into the dominant
genera of the present.
Notable among these creatures of
50,000,000 years ago, as pictured by Prof.
Scott, are two groups—one of large,
flesh-eating animals, the daphoeni, and
one of very much smaller individuals,
the pseudocynoidea. Both were dog
like. The typical daphoenus. especially,
had a skull which was unmistakably
canine in general appearance, although
it retained many primitive features from
its more remote ancestry which the
canine race has discarded in its evo
lutionary progress.
A notable difference is in the brain
case. It had a much smaller capacity,
in proportion to the stature of the ani
mal, than the cranium of the modern
dog. The evolutionary path of the dog
family, like that of the apes and man,
has been toward bigger brains, better
developed association centers, and more
intelligence. In some respects the an
cient creatures were more catlike than
doglike. Their bodies were constructed
for stalking and not chasing their prey.
The tails, for example, were remark
ably long and thick, like those of the
tiger and the leopard. An evolutionary
achievement of the dog has been the
gradual reduction of tails, which inter
fere with running. The daphoenus had
a slender, long body and short legs,
like many of the present-day big cats.
Prof. Scott concludes, however, that
they were out of the direct ancestral
line of the cats, although themselves
descended from the same heritage as
the primitive feline lines.
The reconstruction of the brain shows
that these ancient creatures were to
a much greater extent “smell animals”
than even the dogs of today. The ol
factory lobes of the brain, where smell
sensitivity is centered, were large and
uncovered. The later dogs developed
cerebral hemispheres, seats of higher
mental processes, over the primitive
"smell brain.” m I
-— p
It is from one of the smaller of these
thrpp* wPr0f- Scott Sieves, that
three of the dog families can trace their
ancestry through diverse lines of de
scent. He holds that this Oligocene
animal gave rise to the family which
includes most of the living- representa
Jives of the dog family—the wolves, the
foxes, the jackals, the racoon dogs and
the domestic dogs. Another offshoot
was responsible for two closely related
creatures—the bush dog of Brazil and
the wild dog of India. These closely
related species, he thinks, arose inde
pendently in Asia and South America
from migrants from North America.
From still another of the large Oligo
cene canines, it is believed, arose a
race of dogs which long since has dis
appeared from earth—the grotesque
bear dogs of the succeeding geological
period. They were as large as grizzlies
and must have constituted the most
terrible beasts of prey the earth has
known. Because of fossils of these
creatures found in Europe it long was
believed that the bears and the dogs
had an immediate common ancestry.
This since has been disproved.
As for the changes that have come
about in 50.000.000 years, the monograph
states:1 “The dogs are pre-eminently
runners and their skeletons are adapted
to high and sustained speed. Other
carnivora stalk their prey by stealthy
approach, or lie in wait for it on the
branch of a tree and then, when the
victim has come within reach, seize it
by leaping upon it. The dogs, and es
pecially the foxes, also take prey in this
manner, but their habitual method is
by running it down through superior
endurance and speed. To this end the
thorax is enlarged, so as to increase
the lung capacity, and the tail has lost
much of its length. Skull and jaws
underwent no such transforming adap
tations as did the extremities, the prin
cipal change being in the great develop
ment of the brain, especially in the en
largement of the cerebral hemispheres.”
The ressemblance to the cats, he ex
plains, is not so much indicative of
an ancestral relationship as of the fact
that cats have retained, while dogs have
lost, many primitive characters which
were common to the ancestry of both.
Indefinite.
From the Worceeter Oeiette.
A Detroit judge ordered a father to
spank his 22-year-old son the other day,
which doesn’t explain whether he meant
the father or son to be punished.
Coin Collectors.
rrom the Worcester Gazette.
A prominent numismatist says collec
tors of old coins are more numerous now
than ever before. Holding on to the new
ones is, however, still a rare accomplish
ment.
No Charity for Rod-Riders.
From the Hint (Mich.) Journal.
Control of a railroad system has been
given to a charitable foundation. This
does not provide free rides for the
freight car gentry, however.
All Even in the End.
From the Ann Arbor News.
France is planning cheaper francs as
a means of luring tourists, but the net
result probably will be that the hotel
employes wiljpdemand more of them.
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. What are the names of the various
stakes and handicaps in the Detroit
races?—M. F.
A. The thirteen stakes and handicaps
that will feature the Detroit Racing As
sociation's Spring meeting are as follows:
Handicaps—The Inaugural, the Colonel
Alger, the Belle Isle, the Wolverine, the
Frontier, the Michigan, the Liberty, the
Ontario and the Windsor. Stakes—The
St. Clair, the Pontchartrain, the Moslem
Temple and the Woodward.
Q. Is the home of Annie Laurie still
in existence?—M. G.
A. It is still inhabited, and has lately
been offered for lease for the first time
in its history. It has been occupied by
Lauries since 1611.
Q. Where was the first public zoo
established?—L. P. O
A. The first zoo of which there is a
record was established in China about
2000 B.C., but it was primarily for scien
tific study and was known as the In
telligence Park.
Q. Why is a Jefferson, Tex., paper
called the Jimplecute?—H. W.
A. The paper received its unusual name
when it was founded by the late Colonel
Ward Taylor in 1865 with the motto:
‘‘Join Industry, Manufacturing, Planting,
Labor, Energy and Capital in Unity To
gether Everlastingly.”
Q. How long Is Wall Street?—B. B.
A. It is six blocks long.
Q Please give the names of some Red
Cross National Aquatic Schools in the
East where camp counselors and ath
letic trainers can take 10-day courses.
—E. W.
A. The following National Aquatia
Schools have such courses in June: Camp
Brooklyn, Narrowsburg, N. Y.; Camp
Carolina, Brevard, N. C.; Chautauqua
Institution, Chautauqua, N. Y.; Camp
Kiwanis. South Hanson, Mass.; Camp
Letts, Edgewater, Md.
Q Where was Gus Gennerich buried?
—F. H.
A. This bodyguard of President Roose
velt's died in South America. His body
was brought back to this country, a
funeral service was held at the White
House and the casket was taken to
Middle Village, Long Island, and interred
in the Lutheran Cemetery.
Q In what form are eggs imported
into the United States?—C. F.
A. Eggs are imported into the United
States in the form of shell eggs; whole
eggs, dried; whole eggs, frozen: dried
and frozen yolks, and dried albumen.
The largest amount comes in the form
of dried and frozen yolks and dried
albumen.
Q. What is the origin of the expression,
ugly as a mud fence?—S. A.
A. Some of the settlers of the Middle
West tried to make fences of sod. Sod
houses had been found practical. Fences
were not, since they had no roofs to
protect them. They soon became un
sightly lines of mud and tangled roots.
A person or thing w’hich is homely, is
therefore likened to a mud fence.
Q What is the Eutaw flag?—H. W.
A. This was a crimson banner pre
sented in 1780 to Col. William A. Wash
ington by Miss Jane Elliott of South
Carolina, whom he later married. It
was carried in the battles of Cowpens
and Eutaw Springs. Mrs. Washington
later presented the flag to the Washing
ton Light Infantry of Charleston, S. C.
Q. What is the name of the company
that makes and displays dioramas?—
H. W.
A. It is the Diorama Corporation of
America, New York City.
Q. What was the maiden name of
Tyrone Power's mother?—C W.
A. Her name was Emma Resume. At
the time of her marriage in 1912. she
had her given name changed legally to
Patia. and as Patia Power she is known
in theatrical and radio circles.
Q. What can be done commercially
with broken glass?—T. T. A.
A. Broken glass, or cullet as it is
known, is used for making new batches
of certain kinds of glass.
Q How large is the Great Pyramid of
Gizeh?—C. J. B.
A. The length of each side of the Great
Pyramid at Gizeh is now 746 feet. Before
the outer covering of limestone was re
moved. the length was 755' * feet. The
present perpendicular height is 450 feet;
originally it was about 481 feet. The
sides rise at an angle of 51" 50'. Th»
area covered is about 13 acres.
Q. Who is back of the movement to
have all holidays celebrated on Mondays
even though they do not fall on that
day?—T. G.
A. A recent magazine article by Henry
Morton Robinson, suggesting a system
of holiday planning whereby all holidays
be celebrated on Mondays, thus giving
a long week end every time a holiday
occurs, was indorsed by the following.'
James Truslow Adams, Margaret Culkin
Banning, Bruce Barton. Walter Dam
rosch, Lloyd C. Douglas, Dorothy Canfield
Fisher, Harry Emerson Fosdick, Mrs.
Ogden Reid, Booth Tarkington. Deem*
Taylor, Lowell Thomas, Dorothy Thomp
son and William Allen White.
Q. Were citrus fruit grown first in
Florida or in California?—M. T.
A. They reached Florida about 1565
and California about 1769.
Q. Has the Bureau of the Mint always
been in the Department of the Treasury?
—C. P.
A. The United States Mint was estab
lished as an independent department in
1791 and remained so until 1873 when it
was placed in the Department of the
Treasury as the Bureau of the Mint.
Q. How old is Peter Salm. heir of his
grandfather, the late Colonel Henry H.
Rogers?—W. M.
A. The child is now twelve years old.
A Rhyme at Twilight
By
Gertrude Brooke Hamilton.
Fishing Trip.
I caught no flsh; but this I caught,
And all the lessons that it taught:
Where Nature reigns and silence broods
The presence of a man intrudes.
The dark, still mirror of the pool,
Reflecting skies serene and cool;
The wind at whisper in the trees;
Gay shadows dancing ir? the breeze:
Sunshine and atarshine, night'a deep
pall—
Man is at variance with all. .