Indianapolis Times, Volume 42, Number 153, Indianapolis, Marion County, 5 November 1930 — Page 4

PAGE 4

ICHtrPJ-MOWAMD

Coffinism Crushed Coffinism is dead. The people have won the final victory in a four-year fight to rid themselves of the sinister influence of a political system that was plunderous and not partisan. The triumph belongs to decency and civic righteousness, not to any political party. The people knew the viciousness of the system which indifference, prejudice and blind loyalty to party labels had permitted to come into almost unlimited power. For Coffinism not only ruled this city and county, but its influence in state and even national affairs held that balance of power which permitted its influence to be a dominant factor. Before it, politicians quailed. Some gave allegiance. Others were too timid to fight the evil they knew existed and became partners to the assaults it made upon public welfare. Coffinism was born when this state was ,swept from its safe moorings in a harbor of sanity by the wave of passion which bred hate in the hearts of men and caused neighbor to distrust and hate neighbor because of racial and religious differences. It was the legitimate son of Stephensonism and never could have existed had it not' been for the gospel of hate which came to this state with the hooded order. The men and the women who were misled repented. They showed it in the campaign to rid the schools and the city of its influence. They emphasized it Tuesday in the most impressive of all victories. They decided to take back the government to themselves and to rid themselves of the Frankenstein they had created. There will be a better day in government, not only in this city, but in this state. Candidates for office no longer will court vicious influence. The Republicans will regain their own party. . It is significant that 1 the one man at whom Coffinism leveled its most bitter attacks in the campaign as a smoke screen for its real purpose to capture the county govcrnment'was elected by the largest majority. Louis Ludlow goes back to Congress, after the orators and the apologists for Coffinism had traduced and falsified and tried to besmirch the fine record he had made. It is significant that in its dying hour, Coffinism reverted to the days of its birth and made a futile effort to appeal to the old hates and passions which first had given it pow r er. When it tried to appeal to hate, thbse who might have been willing to argue themselves out of their convictions as to the viciousness of Coffinism because of the character of some of the nominees on the ticket, turned in disgust when they saw the self-revelation and hideousness of the system. V Appeals to hate and religion never again wist win an election in this city or county. In the defeat of the entire ticket, some men of high character were carried to disaster. They met the fate of Old Dog Tray. Their defeat was merited. They lacked that courage of citizenship which would have led them to denounce Coffinism. They turned away from the way of political salvation which was theirs had they but had the real hatred of Coffinism in their hearts. They were timid when they should s have been brave. They were silent when they should have braved defeat at the hands of the machine rather than to become apologetic, even by their silence, for its evils. The Democrats who come into power should approach office in a spirit of humility. If there be those who believe that personal popularity or political organization was responsible for their election, they should be disillusioned. ’ v They are elected because the people rebelled against a political system which was costly in money and more costly in civic self respect. The people look to them for unselfish sen-ice. Any effort to use their offices for political ends will give them but a short life. They have a magnificent opportunity to show by contrast that their denunciations of Coffinism came from the heart and not from the lip. In this hour of exultation over the redemption of government from the hands of a bad political system, the victorious candidates should dedicate themselves all sincerity to the doctrine of service. The Depressions of 1930 and 1893 (By Editorial Research Reports) The last previous business depression In the United States which fittingly can be compared with the present one is that of 1893. The depression of 1920-21 was accepted as the inevitable aftermath of war-time expansion, and to some extent had been discounted. And the depressions of 1913-14 and 1907-08 were more short-lived and less severe than that of 1930. The panic of 1893, like the depression of 1930, hi the United States was preceded by economic distress in most of Europe. Thorpe’s .Business Annals shows England, France, and Germany in the throes of business stagnation through most of 1891 ancQall of 1892, while business was on the upgrade in the United States during the latter part of 1891 and all of 1892. ,>Rcvival began in England, France, and Germany in

The Indianapolis Times (A tsCKII’Pg.HOWARD NEWSPAPER! Owned And published daily (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos.. 214-220 West Maryland Street. InJianapolls. Ind. Price In Margin County. 2 cents a copy; elsewhere. 3 cents— delivered by carrier. 12 cents a week. BOYD GIRLEY R(jV W. FRANK G. MORRISON. , Editor President Business Manager PHONE—Riley BSSI WEDNESDAY. MOV. 5. 1930. Member of Pnlted Presa. Bcrtpps-Howard Newspaper Alliance, Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Information Service and Audit Korean of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way.”

1895, whereas the revival which ushered in prosperity did not get under way in the United States until 1897. The most striking difference between the depressions of 1893 and 1930 in the United States is the existence today of the Federal Reserve System, with the resulting elasticity in the currency. Although the panic of 1893 was ushered in by business failures, its fundamental cause lay in depletion of the government’s gold reserve and in widespread distrust of the currency, with money scarce. * Today money is plentiful, with rates for call money low. On Sept. 30, 1930, the government’s postal savings deposits were almost 20 per cent greater than one year previously, and 25 per cent greater than on June 30, 1928. Deposits in the savings banks of New York state in August of this year were 7 per cent greater than in August, 1928. In 1893, national bank failures were common, and it has been estimated that more than one of every one hundred commercial enterprises in that year went into bankruptcy. Settlement on lands took up some of the employment slack in 1893, and the Cherokee Strip was opened to settlers in that year. Now there is practically no public land suitable for farming. On the other hqnd, American consuls in other lands now are restricting immigration visas below the 150,000 from Europe contemplated under the present national origins plan, whereas almost 440,000 immigrants came to the United States in the year ended June 30, 1893. (This total was not reached again until 1900.) In 1893, there was widespread cutting of wages, with many long and bitter strikes. Today many business leaders are proclaiming that maintenance of wages will aid in mitigating the depression, and capital and labor are trying to co-operate. Agrarian and labor recalcitrance prpduced the Populist movement of the 1890s, whereas few signs of any radical political movement are to be discerned in the United States today. The attempt to meet unemployment by extension of public works is more pronounced now than in 1893. However, it is interesting to note that General Jacob Coxey, who led his army of the unemployed from Ohio to Washington in 1894, proposed road construction to provide jobs. The panic of 1893 came during a movement for bimetallism, due to the alleged shortage of gold. It is being urged today also that the decline in commodity prices, with the accompanying slackening of buying, is due largely to the fact that the gold supply of the world is decreasing relatively to the demand upon it. But the bimetallist movement of the 18904, was a popular one, opposed by most bankers and economists, and it visualized action by the United States independently, if necessary, whereas today’s proposals for broadening the currency base come chiefly from a few bankers and economists, and stipulate only international action. ' What of It? "What of it?” said President Glenn Frank, when | informed that there are Communists at the University of Wisconsin; and immediately the women of the D. A. R. girded for action and called on all “true patriots” to do something ... it is not clear just what . . . about this deplorable situation. President Frank, remaining unperturbed, remarked that a Communist had as much right to attend his university as a Presbyterian or a Baptist. The state regent of the Wisconsin D. A. R. then made a speech about “this enlightening spectacle.” All of which is probably the prelude to another witch hunt of the sort which occurs here and there in the country with such distressing frequency. There is decided irony in this controversy. When President Frank expresses tolerance of all religions and of all shades of political opinion, and pledges them the right of free expression, he is serving an ideal which is fundamentally America)!. The D. A. R. ladies, with their aggressive patriotism, have not quite grasped this fundamental ideal of our country. A Frenchman, says a news item, has willed his entire fortune to the French government. It takes Gaul to accept a gift like this. Rickenbacker and Hegenberger, we read, are among 'America’s leading aces. They’re certainly big names in aviation. A Pittsburgh husband and wife are rivals in the beauty parlor business. And thfe gossip is that they are doing it merely to keep up appearances.

REASON

THE other night as we were grinding out a column, destined to become immortal, the typewriter went on a strike. First of all the letters piled up, Q and X and Z falling over A. B and C like football players, and then the machine commenced to hesitate and finally it quit for good. tt tt a We looked it over, not hoping to get any good out of this, for machinery is beyond us. In fact a monkey wrench is a mystery to yours humbly. But we chanced to run our thumb along the running gears on which the carriage commutes from side to side and we found said running gears as dry as Bishop Cannon, whereupon we had an inspiration and reached for the oil can. a a a WE massaged the running gears and then the old clover hulier sang at its work, as the darkies are said to sing while picking cotton. It never missed a date and we have resolved never again to let it become parched and revolutionary; after this we are going to oil it regularly every six months, whether it needs it or not. a tt tt Tins is the way most of us treat our bodies. We act as if they were our enemies and we must get even with them. We keep piling up abused until they strike as that typewriter struck, and then we go into the roundhouse for repairs. a a a OUR greatest indiscretion is our overeating: we pile in fuel in a manner that would cause any railroad fireman to lose his job, should he treat an engine that way. Yes, nature's greatest oversight in arranging human architecture was her failure to put automatic stokers on all of us. a it tt The other day, while riding on the cars, we were somewhat lonely and to cheer up we fell into conversation with a casket manufacturer and he told us an interesting thing and an important thing, if true. He said that there v had been 3,600 fewer deaths in Chicago the last six months. / K tt tt No, you're wrong. It wasn’t due to any decrease in the shooting; it was due to the reduced diets of the people caused by hard times. Instead of putting three pounds under their belts at a sitting, they were forced to cut it to a pound and a half. k So you see every cloud has its sii/r lining.

FREDERICK LANDIS

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES .

M. E. Tracy SAYS:

j Chicago Gould Do Worse Than Accept the Peace Terms Offered by Al Capone. NOW that the voting is over, we can resume interest in sports, foreign affairs, racketeering, freak records, or anything else that suits our fancy, and there is plenty of it, no matter how peculiar or exacting one’s taste may be. Not that the voting constituted a very serious interruption, but that the program has become so complex as to make even the slightest distraction annoying. Whether or not a five-day week is needed to provide work, it certainly is needed to give average people a chance to keep up with what is going on. tt tt tt We Missed a Lot WITH a couple of hundred football games last Saturday, with political forecasts on Sunday, with last-minute messages Monday, and with election returns Tuesday night, we are four days behind schedule. Another row has broken out among the brass hats of Russia, but it had to be passed up. No doubt Mussolini has been functioning as usual, but we couldn’t spare a minute to find out what it was about. Women of Formosa have been killing themselves to make it easier for their head-hunting male relatives to fight Japan. But that, too, had to go by the board. Old dog Rags had his picture taken while autographing his biography with an ink-soaked paw; an Antarctic tour along the lines which Adnjiral Byrd traveled has been announced; another gangster has been slain in a hospital bed, and Scarface Al Capone has been good enough to tell Chicago on what terms it can have peace, only to mention a few of the more interesting incidents to which we couldn’t give proper consideration on account of politics. , a Better Agree With V\l ADMITTING thy advice from outsiders may be superfluous, this writer believes that Chicago could do worse than accept Mr. Capone’s terms. Humiliating as it might be for the second largest city in this country and the fourth largest in the world to grant a common gangster immunity from certain laws as the price of his noninterference with legitimate business, it probably would represent no great sacrifice than to continue paying him the tribute he and his henchmen now collect. Neither would it represent a greater degree of debasement than has the complete failure of constituted authority to cope with the situation. Capone offers to let Chicago handle the beer trade through remote control and give up all other rackets if Chicago will agree to recognize him as king bootlegger of the midwest. The thing sounds pretty raw un-j til you remember that he already' has become king bootlegger of the midwest; that he probably will remain so, Whether Chicago recognizes it or not, and that he wity- go right on with his other rackets if the proposition he has made is not accepted. tt tt tt It's a Great Business BY and by, Chicago and some other places may get the idea that racketeering has reached a point where something more effective than traffic cops, or even strong-arm squads, is required. It is sheer nonsense to expect that®independent municipalities can handle such a nation-wide hookup of vice, crime and corrupt politics as -has developed in this country. The chances are that within Chicago itself, Al Capone has more money and more gunmen at his disposal than the police department, while the force he could mobilize by calling on the country at large is incalculable. The average American has not waked up yet to what is happening. To him, the racket still means little more than a holdup, a truck load of hooch, or a shooting scrape now and then. But it's* all part of a system which extends from Maine to California, which is organized thoroughly and disciplined carefully, and which commands an ever-in-creasing revenue.

= nqoAN , rißTH L e a -

GUY FAWKES DAY November 5 ON Nov. 5, 1605, the attempt of Guy Fawkes, an English conspirator, to blow up the king, his ministers and the members of the both houses of parliament, failed. This conspiracy, known as the “gunpowder plot,” was discovered when barrels of powder already had been placed in the building prepared for ignition. Parliament set aside, Nov. 5 as a day of Thanksgiving, known as Guy Fawkes day, which continues to be celebrated in parts of England to the present day. > The celebrations often are marked by the public burning of effigies representing Fawkes. * Fawkes merely was the tool of a band of men who, disappointed and angered by the persecution of Catholics by King James I, sought .to overthrow the government and establish one of their own. The real originator of the plot was Robert Catesby. Fawkes was tried, tortured, and publicly executed in 1060. Nearly all his fellow conspirators were killed on being arrested, or hanged. Who is the head of the federal farm board and what is its purpose? Alexander Legge is chairman and the general purpose of the board is to study agricultural conditions and devise means for farm relief, and to loan money to farmer cooperatives. How many games did the Philadelphia Athletics win in the world series of 1929? Four. They won the first two games, the Cubs won the third game and the Athletics won the fourth and fifth.

BELIEVE ME—- * , 4F I EVEPqtTOUT >%/ \ OF THIS AUVE PM <3fOtN<q ro take oar . v, SOME ACCIDENT *** insurance t . c£2l rr — aa~ I DON'T NEED l BELIEVE &A * THAT NOW- IT YOU SAID YOU’D > \ V/OULDN’T hAPPEH BE INTERESTED JS A< S A,N in A thousand acciolnt ‘ jlljp _ OH WHY DIDN’T I TAKE OUT THAT ACCIDENT e. POUCY- I'VE CERTAINLY HHIiL 4A f LEARNED JAY LESSON YOU SEE- I'VELEARNED howto 4TCAN HAPPEN % W \ \DODCJE THOSE THINGS aainJ\ - ' ' <. OH WHY D1 DN‘T (m i take out that POLICY—

Rubber Cloth Over Diaper Defended

This is the first of two articles ty Dr. Fishbcih on the proper clothing for infants. Editor .lonrnal of the Amrrican Medical Association and of Hygeia, the Health Magazine. AT tire last meeting of specialists in diseases of children of the United States, one period was devoted to study of the proper clothing for infants. Dr. Charles Hendee Smith, who led the discussion, pointed out that proper clothing for infants should provide uniform warmth without overheating, ease of dressing and undressing, certainty of covering, freedom for exercise, and proper care of the diaper. Since the diaper is the most im-

IT SEEMS TO ME

HERE'S- a letter from Miss V. M., all the way from Fargo, N. D., and she says:#“Can you tell someone who’s never been in New York, and maybe never will be, how to be a New Yorker? “I work out here in an office from 9 t 8 5, and I don’t get much chance to read, but I do get the American Mercury and the New Yorker. And the radio at night makes me feel more in touch with the east. I listen and I’m trying to develop a classical taste in music. “Recently, reordered a dress from a New York store that I saw in an advertisement and a set of bridge cards from a shop on Fifth avenue. That made me feel pretty good because they came from New York. Maybe you’d be kind enough to tell me if I’m on the right track to becoming a New Yorker. “This place where I live—this Fargo—is just a small town. Tell me what New York’s like, and forgive me if I don’t sign my name, because I don’t want everybody in Fargo to know my secret ambition.” tt tt a A New Yorker WELL, Miss V M., there are a hundred thousand others who feel just the way you do. There always have been. Probably you know the story of the prodigal son, and I guess there was also a prodigal daughter. Eveverybody thinks that over the rim of the horizon, beyond the hills, there must be some place which is different—a town where life isn’t made up of washing the dishes after supper and getting up at 8 o’clock in the morning to gp to work. I suppose people in France feel that way about Paris, and years ago there, were boys and girls who said, “if I could only get away from this one-horse town and go to Babylon or Carthage or Rome!” The truth is that things aren’t so very different. You ordered a set of bridge cards for yourself, and it pleased you because it came all the way from New York. But, Miss V. M., 100 aces are just 100 aces whether you hold them on Main street in Keokuk or in Times Square, Manhattan. Unless, of course, you’re playing contract, and then they are 150. Don't expect me to run down New York and say that it’s all a sham and a delusion. I can’t do that in honesty. This is my home. I was born here —or near’ enough. Asa matter of fact, I was Born in Brooklyn, but at the age of 1 year and 6 months I persuaded my parents to take me to New York proper, and I’ve been here ever since. I think it’s a good thing-to be a New Yorker—v/hen you are in New York. But in Fargo I’d be a Fargoian or a Fargoite, or whatever you call it. You say, Miss V. M„ that maybe you never will be a New Yorker, but that you’d like to be. Well, this is a free city. Come if you must. But don’t expect too much. I know it’s easy to think of Manhattan as the magical city where all the buildings are a thousand feet tall and the men six or seven. And the women beautiful in proportion. And the streets, I hear tell, are paved with gold. But don’txforget, Miss V. M.. that life can be just as humdrum in this magical city as in Dubuque or Fargo. New £Tafk isn't made up

And So It Goes!

DAILY HEALTH SERVICE

portant article of infant clothing, it demands special consideration nowadays diapers are offered in triangular form, in square form, and with tapes. The triangular diaper is more easily applied than the square one and requires fewer pins The square diaper covers a good deal of the abdomen apd is more likely to be wet over a large area than is the triangular one. In general, physicians have urged the avoidance of rubber or oiled cloth over the diaper, but mothers insist on using them. The chief objection is that there is a tendency to irritation of the skin when rubber coverings are used. Dr. Smith believes that irritation

DV HEYWOOD BROUN

entirely of opera singers and motion picture actresses and novelists. Plenty of us get up at night and go to work and watch the clock till 5 and then come home. We wash dishes here, too, just the same as in Kansas City. tt’ tt tt Peas in a Pod truth of it all is that people are much alike wherever you find them. And so are cities. The same talking pictures are shown from coast to coast at the same time, and the same comic strips and the same performers on the radio. There’s hardly a nickel’s worth of difference. We speak the same language and share the same emotions and have the same joys. I started to say we breathe the same air—but, of course, we don’t. You have better air out ip Fargo. You don’t have to take a peck of coal dust in along with each breath. It’s a curious thing how Americans beyond the border of New York regard this particular city.

Views of Times Readers

Editor Times—There comes, at this time every year, the old cry, “Help the poor by contributing to the Community Fund.” In the face cf this, and before the campaign is well under way, we read in the papers of banquets being held at the better hotels for group leaders and others prominent in the campaign. These banquets are of no value -to the poor, for whom the contributions are intended. Does not the public have the same right to know how its money is expended as the stockholders of a corporation? Whoever saw a public statement of the Community Fund expenditures? I’m sure that the most of the more fortunate who have jobs would contribute more freely if they could be sure that the money would be used to help the less fortunate, and not to defray the expense of a banquet for the campaign leaders. Would it not be well to remember the old teaching, “The gift without the giver is bare?” The defense of the Community Fund leaders surely will be; “If the writer is so wise, w T hy not suggest something better.” So here it is—cut out the banquets and other unnecessary expense (since committee meetings, etc. can be held without food), cut down the number of Community Fund workers, and let us have a complete report, (at least preceding each campaign), of all expenditures from the last Community Fund. A TIMES READER.

Questions and Answers

What is a “Charley horse?” That is a slang expression and is used in reference to a severe pain. Athletes seem to be especially susceptible to this condition. Grantland Rice defines it as a “sudden bunching of the muscles into a hard knot.” What is the air-line distance from Cleveland to Chieago? 307 miles, §

is just as frequent without the waterproof covering a .4 with it and that it is due to some irritating substance in the excretions rather than the waterproof covering. A recent test was made in a hospital ward in which six babies wore diapers covered with oiled muslin and six w r ore diapers not so covered. At the end of the week the babies without the covering had used more than 400 additional pieces of laundry than those with the coverings. Moreover, there was extra time required on the part of the purses for changing the entire bed and the children with the waterproof coverings were no more irritated than those without.

Ideals and opinions expressed iti this column are those of o-i of America’s most interesting writers and are presented without regard to their agreement or disagreement r.itli the editorial attitude of th. soaper.—The Editor.

They think of it either as a Utopia or—an inferno. And it isn’t either. We are not different in any essential way neither more kind nor more cruel. I’ve read a lot of syndicate stuff about the magic island of Manhattan, and it’s all based on the same fallacy. Journalists here send out “New York letters” to people throughout the country. They have to write about something and so they make up this picture of a city in which everybody talks like George Jean Nathan or H. L. Mencken. Maybe you have heard about the little! Algonquin Circle, and maybe you’ve heard that these New Yorkers get together at lunch and never utter anything but wisecracks. That isn’t true. I’ve been to the Algonquin, and I think that maybe once I was a member of “the little inside circle.” And eyen there I heard plenty of people say, “Please pass the bread,” or, “Would you mind bringing me the check?” (Conyright, 1930. by The Times)

Editor Times—ln your paper of Oct. 23, “Independent,” in Reader's Views, asks a question that is probably uppermost in the mind of every poor, hard-working contributor to the Community Fund. In times such as these, there are many places where money is needed bady for of life, but, decidedly not at the Y. M. C. A., Girl Scouts, etc. Let The Times tell us more and satisfy those who want their little sums to go to needy persons. I. GAVE.

There Is Assurance In Banking the Man-to-Man Way The close human relationship between a man and his banker has always seemed to the Farmer’s Trust Company one of the foundation stones of good banking practice. That is the reason why the executives of this bank are easily accessible. The officers take pains to know and understand the business and the people they serve. Members of this group find personal banking as practiced here not only pleasant but resultful. It accomplishes things quietly, carefully, without delay. The Fanners Trust Company solicits the business of people who value this type of man-to-man banking. FARMERT TRUfT CO I 150 EAST MARKET'ST. Open Daily Until 4 P. M.—Saturday Until 1 I*. M.

.NOV. 5, 1930-

SCIENCE BY DAVID DIETZ—

1 The Earth's Atmosphere, AU ,ways Moving, Makes ths Stars Seem to Twinkle. THE sparkling nights of autumil are excellent for study of thO stars. When the air is clear and crisp, the stars seem to glow and twinkle with aoded vigor. It recalls., to mind the old nursery rhyme than goes; Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. And that, perhaps will serve toarouse many serious questions about ~ the stars. There is, of course, th(*_ question embodied in the rhyme to what tiie stars are. _ Perhaps the rhyme will suggest anearlier question j?y its very first linec. Every one knows that the star. <7 twinkle. But why do they twinkle>The stars actually do not shin(£2 with an unsteady light. Each staif! is a great fiery self-luminous globe,— Each star is a great sun, the small*;; est one about one-third the size our sun, the largest one 500 timesJT the diameter of our sun. It is the earth’s atmosphere which" is responsible for the twinkling the stars. ~ tt tt u Air Is Unsteady IF you look out of a window whict£" has a heated radiator beneath itj~ you will notice that the houses antfc tress outdoors seem to be and trembling. Actually, of course, _ they are doing nothing of the sort. There is an irregular column o£; heated air rising from the The light waves coming to youT* through the window pass through, this layer of moving air above the", radiator. ’ The heated air is less dense thanthe cold air. As the light raya enter! this layer of different density, they" are bent, or, to use the exact scien—; tific term, “diffracted.” You may see a somewhat similar" phenomenon by placing a straight" stick in a glass of water. It will 1ook:__ as though the stick were bent wheraTit enters the water. Now the atmosphere of the earthy is in continuous motion. Heated—currents of cold air are The density of the air varies froni,_ point to point in irregular and con-'-* stantly changing fashion. The light of the stars must makaT its w'ay to our eyes through abouC* ten miles of this unsteady atmos-jy phere. Diffraction alone, however, is notfT sufficient to account for the ling of the stars. More important, isy the phenomenon known as “inter* ~ ference.” ZZ If two light waves strike eac!\_ other in such fashion that the crest) * or top of one wave falls upon the—trough or bottom of the other, tha„ result will be darkness, the twoways neutralizing and canceling outeach other. 1. This is what happens to starlight^ tt a tt Cancel Each Other AS the beam of light comes to eyes from a star, different partita of the narrow beam may strike dif-„_ ferent thicknesses of air. —* If one part of the beam is delayed-* enough to throw it a half wave-*!! length behind the other, then the" two parts, instead of reinforcing - each other and giving us the image ! of the star, cancel each other out. "~ Momentarily, therefore, we fail to;; see the star and so the star seems" to be twinkling. A puzzling question always put ;; to young students of astronomy is why the stars twinkle, but the£planets do not. ZZ The reason is that the planet, be-<__ ing so much closer to the earthigives us a much larger image than... does the star. The star may be*** considered as a point of light, buts - the image of the planet is a disc. Consequently, in the case of the" planet we receive a great waves of light arising from points__ on the disc. Interference as in the” case of the star’s light may occur” between waves. __ But there are so many of themthat the interference is not suffi-;2 cient to blot out the entire image., and so the planet continues to shine- ~ with a fairly steady light. While the unsteadiness of the ra earth's atmosphere undoubtedly—adds to the beauty of the night skylit is a great annoyance to the as-_ tronomer. ~ It interferes (vith his observations - of the planets as well as the stars - and makes it particularly difficult"! for him to measure .the position ofa star with high precision. % -

Daily Thought

Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.—Psalm 106:3, Blessedness consists in the accomplishment of our desires, and in our having only regular desires.—St, Augustine.