davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04

wave on his otherwise unfettered legs!"
exclaims the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. even
though he may look as odd at Buck
ingham as a preacher in pajamas."
The Richmond News-Leader thinks he
probably attracted as much attention
as he would have If he had attended one
OF Mrs. Hoovers receptions clad in a
Mother Hubbard" which is the way
the Richmond News-Leader draws the
picture.
Gen. Dawes, as an Army officer,
should be Injured to dressing himself
decoratively," suggests the Philadelphia
Record. When he joined the Army
1t is to be supposed that he put on a
uniform. When he received his degree
at Oxford he presumably did not object
to being draped in a gown and having
a trick hat stuck on his head. Why.
then. did he rebel at knee breeches and
silk stockings. the formal dress for
presentation at court?" And this pa
per gives as its answer, He had never
done it before
To the Boston Evening Transcript 1t
appears. Whatever the impelling cause
of the Dawes choice of costume, 1t adds
further to the gayety Of nations" The
New York Evening ost hnds in the
decision "a sign Of the time" silk knee
breeches representing IAN era that Is
dying" The Birmingham News thinks
lettering influence might have been
childhood recollections of the Mother
Goose rhyme about Bobby Shafto and
his silver buckles"
That the ordinary evening costume
will probably be the order hereafter In
Buckingham Palace affairs, SO far Is
American representatives are con-
cerned," is the prediction of the Water
loo Tribune. and the Salt Lake Deseret
News concludes that Britons will like
Gen. Dawes "all the better for his
breezy independence and his plain
spokenneSs."
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

This Is Q special department., devoted
to the handling Of inquiries. You have
at your disposal an extensive organiza-
tioi. in Washington to serve you in any
capacity that relates to information.
Write your question, your name and
your address clearly and inclose 2 cents
in coin or stamps for reply. Send to
The Evening Star Information Bureau,
Frederic ]. Haskin, director, Washing
ton, D. G.
q, What does the word robot"
mean?-C. D.
A. It is q Czecnish word, which
means, literally, O very Woodworking
man doing heavy manual labor. The
word came into use In "R. u. r." q
play by a Czechish writer, Capek, and
was applied to a mechanical man.
Q. Do most Of the motion picture
actresses in Hollywood have bobbed
hair?-I. D.
A. Less than per cent of them have
long hair.
q. What English sovereigns reigned
more than SO years?-P. T. c.
A. Henry III, George III and Queen
Victoria each reigned more than SO
years.
@. Is It true that base ball players
play q better game In some cities than
in others?-G. r.
A. Altitude plays part. In cities
such as Salt Lake City, where the alti-
tude Is high, there Is diminished at
mospheric pressure. so the ball goes
farther. Players also feel exnilarated,
which manifests itself in batting, fleid-
ing and base running, although sus-
tanned efforts show less efficiency, Is
players tire more quickly.
@. When WAS the telephone first
used for dispatchins trainsa-H. B.
was nrst used tor dispstchinE trains o''e
@. What flower is called the poor
mans orchid?-P. o. D.
A. The iris Is sometimes so desig-
mated.
@. How deep was the ocean where
the Titanic was sunk?-J. K.
A. The Titanic was sunk in 2,76o
fathoms, which is equivalent to 1850
feet.
@. How is Dean Inzes name pro-
nounced?-P. q. w.
A. It Is pronounced as II It were the
last syllable OF going"
@. What State produces the most
beet SUGAR.. M. H.
A.. In 1928 Colorado was FIRST, Ne
braSka ranking second.
Q. Is balsa q rare kind Of wood
R. M S.
A. Balsa (Ochroma lagopus), called
goano In Porto Rico and lanera in
Cuba, is common tree, particularly
along the seashoreS in the West Indies
and Central America. It Is said to be
called moho In British Honduras, lanilla
in Guatemala and guano in Spanish
Honduras. The tree is rarely more
than 40 or SO feet in height, and the
trunk is sometimes from 4 to feet in
diameter. The wood Of balsa Is nearly
white or sometimes tinted with red,
showing practically no distinction be-
tween heartwood and sapwood. 1t has
silky texture, is rather coarse but
straight grained. and is the lightest Of
all woods, even lighter than true cork.
A sample OF balsa from Trinidad ex-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04

commodities which are purely luxu-
ries-there could be no reasonable OBJ
lection to It's position. Nobody needs
buy such articles. ANY group fortunate
enought TO obtain monopoly in them
Is justified in charging the highest
prices 1t can get.
Radium, however, is different. It Is
not q luxury. Folks don't buy it to
satiate their vanity or display their
wealth. They buy it-that is, they buy
the temporary use of tin order to
live. It has . definite therapeutic
value, probably somewhat exaggerated
in the pIblic mind. but nevertheless
enormous. In the treatment of some
forms of cancer it must be had. There
Is no substitute. -
OF course, private individuals don't
buy radiuIn. It Is purchased by. insti-
tutionS and specialists. But eventually
the cost inevitably fails on the con-
sumner In this case the unfortu-
nate victim Is q dreaded malady-how-
ever roundabout the economic process
may be. +.
Obviously. this puts a radium monop-
oily in . different light.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04
A Chinese NAVY.

Decidedly one Of the signs of the
times in the Far East Is the official an
nouncement that China has decided to
build navy. The Nationalist govern
ment has concluded an agreement with
Great Britain whereby q British COM
mission will assist in the development
OF the Chinese navy" While this is
progressing in Chinese waters, Chinese
cadets will be sent to Great Britain for
training and eventually Chinese ships Of
war viii be laid down In British yards.
The connnnunique issued at Marking
declares that "the Chinese government
has 0 comprehensive program for the
building Of q substantial navy" The
world has no reason to fear that China
is about to upset the balance of naval
power. but her decision Is nevertheless
Of wide significance. 1t signalizes the
young republics determination to de
Chinafy" itself by enforcing q certain
respect for its nag on the high seas.
Throughout the dim past, the Chinese
have ranked as mankind's arch-pac-
lists, preferring defenseleSSness to the
violation Of the Confucian tradition,
which imposes peace ct almost any
price. The China Of 1929 is made Of
sterner stuff. Tt quite evidently prefers
to place It's faith in armor- plate and
hieh-caliber guns.
The Marking naval pronunciamento
has another implication that is not to
be ignored. Great Britain's ready &C.
quiescence in China's ambition to be-
come Q sea power Is unmistakable indi-
cation that the British do not under
estimate the growing importance Of
the Nationalist regime. Navies can
not be fshed out Of the sea depths all
Of q sudden, but the Imagination does
not need to be stretched unduly to en-
visage the time when o squadron Of
modern Chinese cruisers, British-built
and manned by British-trained crews,
might come In very handy for John
Bulls always fiuctuating and ever-vital
interests on the other side Of the globe.
Twenty-seven years ago the Anglo
japanese alliance was negotiated for
certain mutual purposes of the two high
contracting parties. Who shall say that
an Anglo Chinese alliance may not
some day be found quite as useful and
exercise as decisive an influence on the
history Of Eastern Asia as was done when
Britain kept the ring for her ally in
the Russo-Japanese war Of 1so4-o5. and
enabled the Mikado's feet to tight 1t out
without danger of molestation?
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04

The bad habit of signing ones name
to q documentary document-wtth-
out reading what 1t is all about Is very
widespread.
Read before you sign" has been
dinned into the peoples ears for years
without any particular success. Only
recently we had called to our attention
several new instances.
A man who had been spoken to by
traffic policeman for some minor vio-
latton of the regule ms was asked by
the officer where he lived.
Giving his new address, to which he
had moved several weeks before, he was
promptly informed by the officer that
1t did not coincide with the address on
the permit.
He was booked, therefore, for an
additional charge-that Of failing to
report his change of address to the
Traffic Bureau.
He found out on investigation that he
had signed himself up to make such a
report promptly, but, not having read
the papers" carefully, he did not know
he had so signed.
Another Washingtonian has been
renting houses for several years. In the
old leases the owner Of the property
paid the water rent and also made
such plumbing repairs as were neces-
Sary.
After signing up new lease recently
the man discovered, rather to his
amazement, that he also had signed
himself up to pay for the water as well
as for all necessary plumbing repairs.
Looking over his lease, he found that
the small type which he had failed to
read contained a very succinct state
two things-pay the water rent annu-
ally and make such plumbing repairs
as might become necessary.
The men involved in these two in
stances were by no means careless or
Indifferent. Each was above the aver
age In intelligence. Each was Shrewd
fellow. who simply failed to read be-
fore he signed"
How easy this Is to do every one
knows. There is perhaps no human
being-at least no American human be-
ing-above the age Of Is who has not
been asked time and time again to
sign something or other.
"Oh. it doesn't mean anything"
Such is the usual comeback" of the
who protests feebly against signing.
Some educator several years ago cir.
culated several documents on a campus
and got about 80 per cent Of the stu
dent body to sign Their.
The young men discovered several
days later that they had placed their
signatures to documents stating that
they would give up their lives on re-
quest, would do many and silly things,
and would mortgage themselves for
many years.
It was found that the average man
would sign almost anything placed be-
fore him If he had the present example
Of others signing up.
1t was learned that most men dislike
to read clauses in small type. that an
aStonishingly small percentage of any
group would take the trouble to read
such portions carefully.
n
These same factors operate in ordi-
nary life. It is probable that almost
as large q percentage of business men
would Sign up" to almost anything If
the conditions were right.
There can be little question that an
average Office force would sign up al
most to man II a document were pre-
sented under the right auspices.
There are several factors which make
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04
Pillory Suggested
For the ''Fish Hog

To the Editor Of The Star.
Let us hope there Will be due punish
ment of the Luray fish dynamiters, if
they are convicted.
The Shenandoah Rivers-both forks"
could be made among the finest
small-mouth bass streams in America.
But they must be kept stocked and
conserved.
Five or six years ago I fished on the
Fourth of July on the North Fork. get
ting q feW--half q dozen-undersize
fish. was told that in one town on
July /, when the season opened, more
than 100 understood fish were counted
taken from the stream that day. So
there is disregard Of that very essential
part of the law
AS for dynamiting. Several years
ago-before Mr.. Hoover was in any
ones thought as a presidential candi-
date-I learned of the Upper Rapidan
as possible trout stream, but there
was a plan to have it for a club. Then
found the Robinson had contained
some good trout, but they had been
dynamited out.
This situation is not peculiar to Vir-
ginia. I know of farmers who pitch
forked muskies" in Minnesota In spawn
ing time and other farmers who shot
"steelheads" In small Michigan streams
AS matter OF fact 1t is part OF
American lawlessness-the spirit of do
ing as you please regardless Of others.
Another type of this lawlesSness is
seen in quite another fashion-the build
ing of dams without any regard to fish
life, as in Goose Creek-a creek that
should be stocked every year with small
mouth"
North Carolina, in its development of
its national park system, is giving great
attention to the conservation of fish.
The Shenandoah National Park is not
so well supplied with trout streams. But
every effort should be made to develop
these. imagine 1t would not be very
serious engineering feat even to deepen
and broaden some streams that could
develop trout.
But the fish hog" must be pilloried.
PAUL MOORE.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04
The Great Find Life
Full of MOnOtOny
From the Albany Knickerbocker Press.

From the Albany Knickerbocker Press.
There is always something comfort
ing in reading the intimate stories of
famous people. Former President Cool
idge's description in one of his recent
magazine articles of the daily routine
at the White House takes away much
Of the brilliance that imagination IS in
clined to paint about the presidential
Office. Instead of leisurely gentleman
sitting In a comfortable office. chatting
amiabiy with friends, surrounded by
servants and telling legislators what to
do. one sees a somewhat worried, busy
Executive caught In a monotonous daily
routine. keeping fixed hours, limited in
his recreation striving doggedly to keep
up with the mass of business piled high
on his desk
The presidential business day aften
runs to Is hours, he says. One day is
much like neutrality-suspicious., guests,
official visitors. dictation. luncheon,
visitors. a brief stroll, dinner. guests.
more letters, bedtime. He is virtually
a prisoner in the White House. with
a daily schedule as unvarying, monot-
onous and infiexible as that of any
workingman. Even so simple a pleas
ure as going to the movies becomes a
ponderouS affair, of many lackeyS,
official dignity and staring multitudes.
We repeat it Is comforting to see this
side of the presidential job. Presidents
are but men, and no magic of official
eminence can make them more than
that. They get up in the morning, like
the rest of us, to day of details, and
go to bed at night with the prospect
Of the same details on the following day.
No one, of high or low degree, can
escape the humdrum routine of daily
drudgery If every one of obscure lot
could suddenly be whiSked onto the
seats of the mighty 1t is almost certain
that they would be as bored as ever in
q week or two. It Is not pleasure alone,
nor trouble alone, that makes for happi-
ness or discomfort. A daily routine of
pleasure alone would soon be as monot-
onous as welding q pickax, Longfellov'
put 1t well when he said the whole spice
Of life is ITO live that each tomorrow
finds us. further than today" Presi-
dents nor working men can do no more
than that.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04
Rate By MaiI--PayabIe in Advance.
AM other States and CanadA.
This Fourth Of July.


Few Fourths Of July Of all the one
hundred and f1fty-three we have COM
memorated were more designed to
attune American thoughts In Britt
aims direction than the day We cele-
brate this year. II synchronlzeS, except
for q matter Of hours, with events In
the British Parliament that are destined
to be of historic Importance. The ae-
ceSSion of the Macdonald Labor govern
nnent to Office was made the occasion
Of q pronouncement on Anglo-Ameri-
can relations, In which friendship with
the United States was stressed Is the
keystone In the empires international
arch.
The London correspondent Of the
New York Times, epitomiZing the scene
beneath Big Ben" says that this day
Of Parliament might be described as
she Of great goodwill toward America,
with regrets for past mistakes in rela-
lions between the two countries and
promises for better things in the future"
The reference Is to King Georges
speech from the throne to Premier
MacDonald's maiden address to the
House Of Commons in his new role. and
to the customary reply Of Mr.. Baldwin.
as leader of His Majesty's loyal
opposition" ..- -,
Throughout all three utterAnces ran
one 1eitmotif-the paramount desirable
ity, from John Bulls standpoint, of q
cordial understanding with Uncle Sam.
Naval limitation was the keynote, harp
ed upon with particular regard to the
promising negotiations now proceeding
between London and Washington. There
were no less fervid illusions to the Kel-
logg pact; made in terms Of unqualified
America charter for . warless world.
Members Of the House mentioned in
tones Of warm appreciation the whole
aouled sympathy which Americans Of all
classes showed King George during his
recent grave illness. Not since the days
Of our World War neutrality-suspicious.
with the empire from which the Ameri-
can colonists wrung their independence
q century and half ago have the halls
Of Westminster echoed with warmer
evidences Of English-speaking frater-
nifty. t,-. r-.
It can never be recalled too often by
as rnoderns that the Britain Of this
day is not the. Britain Of George III,
Lord North and the Boston Tea Party.
It. is British democracy ruled by q
president who calls himself, King,
much as the American democracy is
governed by q statesman with the
powers of q King, who is called q Presi-
dent. In their outlook on life, the Brit
iah and American democracies see eye
TO eye. They have -girdling
interests. They crave peace as their
respective peoples dearest concern.
They have no ambitions that need ever
clash. Their guns should never 30 on
except against q common foe.
That Is the spirit in which most
Americans nowadays celebrate indie
pendenee day. The time when twist
ing Of the lions tail was fashionable is
as unlikely ever to come again rs the
sanguinary Fourth" Of less sane era.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04
Child Welfare.

President Hoover's conference on
child welfare, to be held in Washing
ton early next year, should prove q
landmark In one Of the most funda-
mental fields Of human progress.
Real advances have been made dur
ing the present century. The so-called
"children's diseases" which 20 years ago
took an enormous toll Of life. are al
most conquered. Child mortality has
been reduced at q sensational rate-so
greatly, indeed, relative to the reduc-
ton at other age levels that some have
pointed out possible disadvantages In
allowing the race to become too top
heavy with youth. Almost equal adj
vances have been made in the theory
II not In the practice-of education.
Even more significant, it is likely, is
the slowly changing attitude toward
the position Of the child In society
the emancipation of the boy and girl
from the status Of household pets to
the status of human individuals.
Nevertheless, the whole subject is in
4 condition Of chaos. The new ideas have
come so rapidly and from so many
directions that there has been little
opportunity to sift the false from the
TRUE. Even IN pediatry there are Bit
terly conflicting schools Of thought, and
when we come to the psychology, So
/. cioloRy and education Of childhood the
confusion Is so bewildering that nobody
knows which way 10 turn.
The purpose of the Presidents con-
ference will be to explore and chart this
tangled scientific forest, to cut away the
underbrush Of charlatanisn1 and at the
same time preserve those sproutins
sroWths which promise to become val
: salsle, timber, to dstesmine the goal and
ret down the survey stakes Of wide
roads In that direction. Unless this Il
done the whole area Of child study 4
5>in danger Of being oyergrown with q
hopeless tangie Of superfciAlity, senti.
mentality and mysticism which eyentu'
ally will turn 1t into . waste.
( After all. the most fundamental ob.
-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04
I'll. Price of Radinn,.

Is 10000 gram too high q price for
radium?
In other words, can the world allow
the market value Of this rare and won
derful element to be fixed by ordinary
economic laws?
Radium- bearing minerals are scat
tered rather generally over the world
lin varying quantities and richness. BY
f.. the richest and most extensive re
in the Belgian Kongo, and are controlled
by private Belgian company:
obviously, this company is in posi-
ton to shut OF all competition, because
it can produce far cheaper thar. any
competitor. It does not even pretend
to base its prices on cost Of produce
ton and q reasonable return. 1t charges
as much as It can get--and Is In posi-
ton at any time to reduce prices long
+ enough to ruin any competitor.
For all practical purposes this private
company has q world monopoly on
radium, according to the Journal OF
Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
1t is in a. position to make the world
come to 1.-THE upper limit of.its de-
mands being ONLY what 1t can get.
One might say that this Is the conf
pany's good luck. It is in an enviable
business position. and Is making the
most Of it. BY shrewdly regulating the
amount OF radium on the market il
probably can continue In this position
indefinitely - until richer pitchblenc
deposits are discovered somewhere else
II this company thus controlled thu
world supply Scf diamonds or anbergri
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04
work will spread throughout the world

work will spread throughout the world
as its dement's become known.
We are accustomed to estimate the
financial value of live stock; how much
is live baby worth? What is 1t worth
to the United States to save alive and
healthy $4,000 to $4,000 babies now
dying annually because America has not
learned how to protect them? Repre-
sentatives from all nations will attend
this conference, as they did the Roose-
welt conference, 40 years ago.
President Hoover's conference on
child welfare win far outrank his flood
relief, farm relief and even famine re-
lief, for it will affect generations vet
unborn. He is not an amateur In cnEo
welfare. since he headed, in war time,
the greatest work of child rescue that
civilization has ever known. Child
welfare is q "hobby" very close TO the
hearts Of both the. President and Mrs.
Hoover, and its possibilities OF benent
to man are infinite.
Copyright. 1929, BY Paul v. Collins,