Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-30

Agriculture to test the comparative wear
ing qualities of various road surfacins
materials. There are ten sections of these
roads, contiguous to each other each sur
faced with a different sort Of material,
and the patented surfacng preparations
were all applied by representatives OF the
companies manufacturing the prepare
TONS to insure the work being done in
accordance with the manufacturers
wishes. The members of the section de-
clared that the roads were excellent sam
pies OF highway engineering. and that the
a valuable object lesson in road building.
Urges Mining Commission.
DIR. John r. Haynes Of Los Angeles.
Cal, in an address before the joint meet
ing of the American Economic Associa-
ton and the American Association for
Labor Legislation, in the morning ses-
sion today at the Raleigh, urged the es-
tablishmept of an Interstate mining COM
mission with power to enact and enforce
regulations for the protection OF the
10000 coal miners now working In the
privately owned coal mines Of the United
States. and to have direct charge of the
coal lands owned by the nation. whether
operated by the government or under
regulation in European coal mines had
enormously reduced the percentage of ia
talities in the last eighteen years.
The national government has saved the
lives of thousands of railroad employees
by enforcing the use of automatic coup
lers and other safety appliances, he said
SO why should it not protect the lives OF
coal miners by enforcing in the case Of
mines producing coal for interstate mar
ketS such regulations as have been
proven efficient in the saving of life?
One of the most important sections of
the associat ton. so far as results show.
has proven to be the American Economic
Association. which has held it's meetings
at the Raleigh Hotel A number of in
teresting addresses were delivered yester-
day, including speeches by Senator Theo-
dore Burton of Ohio, Senator Reed Smoot
of Utah and others. dealing with the
problem of the cost of living and the
necessity for a revised currency system
! to enable this country to respond prompt
| ly 20 increasing and decreasing demands
on the money supply.
Says Trusts Need Control.
What was regarded as very important
| suggestion was advanced by John Hays
| Hammond at the meeting of the associa-
| ton last night Mr.. Hammond said that
the control Of trusts by the government
was necessary for the protection of the
] trusts as well as the protection of the
public He said that this could best be
! accomplished by commission similar to
/ the interstate commerce commission, and
| dealing with business corporations as
that commission now deals with the rail
| roads
The meeting of the American Breeders
Association was continued at the New
Masonic Temple last night. Willett NJ
| Hays, assistant secretary of agriculture
and secretary of the association, made
some novel statements on the subject Of
constructive eugenics
| He suggested that the census bureaus
of the world give to each person a
number in a single world series AS
the plant breeding nursery. This series
would be useful in all vital statistics, as
no two persons would have the same
number. These number names would
Into one numerical system, SO that all
relationships could be traced. Mr.. Hays
suggested that such system of num-
ibers would assist in giving to each per-
son a rating. probably expressed in a
single numerical. or percentage, state
ment
Attention was called to the fact that
modern science and charity work against
the law of the survival OF the httest
by keeping alive many persons who gen
ietically inherit weaknesses such as feeble
mindedness. or tendency to insanity.
IOn the other hand, wars, by destroying
the flower Of the manhood of the coun-
try. tend to reduce the genetic efficiency
n Of the race.
II The suggestion was made that 1t
II should be a part of our racial religion
for the genetically efficient to produce
families larger than the average and
those genetically the least efficient to
| produce families smaller than the
average, thus gradually to improve the
heredity of the race.
Gift to Smithsonian.
An important announcement was made
at the banquet of the American Chemi
cal Society at Rauscher's last night BY
F.. g. Cottrer of San Francisco, an EN-
ploye of the bureau Of mines. Mr.. Cot
treI has been working for some time OF
the problem of smelter fumes as affect
ing the surrounding herbage and grazing
lands He has developed and patented
q system for suppressing the fumes ant
II utilizing the by-products He announced
last night that he and his several Call
| fornia associates had turned their pat
ent rights over to the Smithsonian In
/ stitution so that whatever money Il
made from the use Of the system woul'
go To swell the funds of the Smithsonian
This gift, he said. has been accepte'
by Charles d. Walcott, secretary OF IN
smithsonian Institution. MIR. Cottrell
talk was illustrated with a number o
lantern slides, some OF them showing on
of his plants i'm operation in connection
with q big cement manufacturing plan
located in the midst OF some OF the oes
III