Evening star., 1924-12-14

culture announced. with the prospect
that the agricultural products total
value might reach about $12,O00,O0O,-
900.
Uncle Sam scores again as an hon
est old gentleman. Last week he re-
turned to thousands Of taxpayers
more. than. $100.000,000 in ,overpay-
ments Of taxes.
A regular old London fog settled
over the British capital last week and
caused a loss to industry estimated
at s5,000,000. Every business suffered
decentralization on account Of the ina
bility of men to go about their nor
NAL pursuits. Ships were tied up,
railroads paralyzed and virtually all
means of transportation except the
subways brought to halt. The fog
lasted two days.
Man has more leisure on his hands
than he used to have and a great body
OF men and women from all parts OF
the country have banded together to
formulate national policy of recrea-
ton. Addressing the advisory council
of the National Conference on Out
door Recreation, Secretary Of Com
merce Hoover last week said the need
for such policy has arisen to pre-
vent IAN idleness which will generate
a disastrous train of degeneration.
The council adopted brosd program
which has for its object tHe populari-
zation, as we'll as the facilities, for
outdoor recreation and sport in
America.
Woman's entry into the professions
is far from bounded by school teach
ing and stenography. According to
the Bureau Of Vocational Information
there are more than 1000. 600 women
in the United States engaged in farm
ing. Some 100000 OF these own or
manage their own farms and special
ize in dairying. poultry raising, f1owe er
growing and bee culture.
John D. Rockefeller, jr., is to spend
several million dollars In the next few
years to build decent, livable, modern
homes, by way of an experiment to
see whether homes of that type can
not be rented to working men and
women at prices within their income.
Science.
Did Ben Franklin really send n kite
into the clouds and hold a key in his
hand, thereby discovering some Of the
elemental principles Of electricity? A
Boston professor says the tale is bunk.
that the electricity would have killed
him. The officers Of the International
Benjamin Franklin Society hasten to
the defense, however, and assert that
available correspondence between Ben
jamin Franklin and Peter Collinson Of
London describes the famous "kite-and-
key" experiment.
The Carnegie Institution Of Washing
ton will spend $1.3s0.000 the coming
year in scientific research. This amount
was appropriated at the annual meeting
of the board Of trustees In Washington
last week.
If science can learn more about the
evolution Of the Jimson weed it may
be able to learn more about the evolu-
ton Of man Anyway 1t would be on the
track Of making corn and wheat bear
more abundantly. That is why DR.. AL
bert F. Blakeslee OF the Carnegie Insti-
tuition Of Washington has sailed for
Peru to pry into the secret of the jim
son weed which, he asserts, holds the
secrets Of plant evolution.
America. Is mistress Of the air, il the
holding Of aviation records be the meas
ure Of her prowess. The Federation
AeronautiQue Internationale Of Paris,
which Is to aviation what the A A. L.
Is to amateur sport, announces that
this country has AZ Of SO world records
Thirty-two American records are for
land planes and Is for seacraft.
Radio is to play an important part
In knitting a worldwide longitude
meta project which Is to be UNDER
taken in the near future to fix more
accurately the extct latitude and
lonRitudes of places and to find out
whether land masses are staying
put" The continents. for example.
are believed by some photographers
to be shifting slightly-if they are the
average citizen should worry, but the
railway engineer and the steamship
captain want to know about it-for
accurate timing requires exact longi-
tudinal observations.
The United States Navy Depart
ment is considering plans to have
this country's two rigid airships. the
Shenandoah and the Los Angeles,
used for observation and photograph
vehicles during the total eclipse Of
the sun, January "a. Naval Observa-
tory scientists state that the obscur-
alton will be visible here as a partial
eclipse beginning at S:5s am. and
continuing until 10:0S am.
Three pieces OF apparatus used by
Pasteur, who proved the germ theory
of disease, have been received by Co.
lumbia University and are to be
placed on exhibition there. In a
statement about them the museum
curator said: Until Pasteur studied
and pondered and saw the light, we
were helpless In the presence of any
septic, rotting sore-and didn't know
w do
such as any tyro in che emistry might
use-and break. But consider to what
mighty effect the man Of vision used
them"
The present-day American. on the
average, lives to be 56 years lod. In
1870 the Americans life span was but
IL years. At the close of the eight
eenth century, 1t is estimated, this
average was less than 25 years.
Art, Music, Literature.
A portrait of Lady Astor has
turned into white elephant in the
hands OF the British Parliament. The
portrait was accepted from Lord
Astor by former government to
aoorn one OF the staircases leading
to the House Of Commons. Now the
present Parliament, has found that n
Is undesirable as q matter of prin
cfple" that pictures or statues of liv-
Ing persons should be displayed there.
The portrait has been covered with
cloth ever since the Parliament
reached it's last decision, but what
will become Of the portrait remains
a puzzle.
Art leaders of national prominence
are planning display of Washing
tons art treasures. publicly and pri
yately owned, at an exhibition next
April. They are particularly anxious