Indianapolis Times, Volume 42, Number 198, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 December 1930 — Page 4

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No Holiday Pardons No pardons or paroles were given in Indiana at Christmas time. That appeals to the hard-boiled and unthinking, who have an idea that hard punishment is a cure for crime. Perhaps such inaction of Governor Leslie at this time may call attention to the present pardon and parole system '<n the late and result in changes by the legislature. With prisons overcrowded and asking for more money with which to build additions, it may be conceded that this state has failed to solve its problem of crime. When the carefully guarded fact that \ pry many of these prisoners at Michigan City and Pendleton are now idle because of lack of work is added, the situation demands action. The two most essential factors to reform within prison are hope and work. When work is denied and hope taken away by an arbitrary edict that no clemency will be shown, there is little reason to believe that those who are sent to our prisons will come out any better than when they went in and probably a great deal worse physically and morally. Largely in order to keep D. C. Stephenson from talking the legislature under Governor Jackson abolished the old pardon board and placed the fate of all prisoners in the hands of the trustees of the different institutions. The trustees name the wardens and keepers. That means that prisoners learn early that the stoolpigeon route is the only path to any comfort within prison walls, or any hope of release. The trustees of the prisons are presumed to be business men and women who try to keep down expenses. Their attitude of mind, if they are efficient, totally unfits them to act as a parole or pardoning board. Certainly at present this is the situation. The next legislature should restore the pardon board and make its decisions binding upon the governor. The board should be composed of men who know something about the social problems involved and modern methods of treating crime. There is little virtue in being just hardboiled. Destroying all hope in the minds of five thousand men and boys is a rather serious matter, for even a governor to contemplate with unction.

American Dictatorship There is more meat in that Norris-Lucas row than appears to the naked ere. Lucas is nobody’s fool. He knows what he is trying to do. The big boys back of him know what they want. They want a senate that will obey orders of the man picked by the President to run the Republican nation committee. When they reduce the senate to the same blind obedience that they now get from the house, the powers behind the throne will have a rubber-stamp congress. Then the President and the supreme court will rule the country. The Lucas outburst against Norris isn’t a case of spontaneous combustion. It appears to be part of a carefully planned campaign to organize the Republican party as a big business, rim on business principles. The hand-picked executive committee of the national committee, headed by an executive picked by the President, will be the board of directors. If Insurgency is killed and the senate Republicans ruled by Watson and Smoot, just as house Republicans are run by Longworth, Snell and Tilson, under cleverly devised rules of the committee on rules, then an executive of the national committee like Lucas will be able to'make congress obey presidential orders. One-half of the job is done. The house has been reduced to slavery under the committee on rules. Only the senate, which has no rules to give a small group control, stands between the Republicanism of Lincoln and absolute dictatorship by these who put up the campaign funds and expect to get what thtey want for their money. It will make temporary trouble, of course. It may lose a presidential election. But that will be worth while if the desired end is accomplished in the meantime. For let nobody think for a minute that the forces back of this scheme to enslave congress are going to neglect the Democratic party. The thin edge of the wedge to split Democrats from insurgent Republicans was started when Leader Robinson began leading senate Democrats toward cooperation with Republican regulars. The natural game would be to have the forces in the background control both party presidential nominations in 1932, subdue insurgency in both parties, and. as a holding company, make sure of winning, no matter which party loses. There already are indications that some Demoi ratic senators are playing the game with their eyes epen. Watch them help prevent coalition of any kind with progressive Republicans and help Republican regulars beat all insurgents into subjection or defeat. The uncertain element is the people themselves. They may get mad enough to go off on a rampage, insurge all over the place, and insist that this republic still is a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Otherwise, we ar on our way to a dictatorship. A Worthy Judge In selecting Joseph C. Hutcheson Jr. of Houston to become an associate justice of the fifth circuit court of-appeals, President Hoover has made an outstanding appointment. Selection of the Texas federal jurist for promotion to the higher bench was not a matter of politics, for Hutcheson is a Democrat. It was not a “master political stroke.’* As we see It, the appointment was made on the only basis compatible with a free judiciary—the basis of merit. Hutcheson, the man who upheld labor's rights in the now famous suit of the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks against the T. <fc N. 0., will add to the ap(pellate bench a broad and liberal judicial mind.

The Indianapolis Times (A SCRIPTS-HOWARD NEWSPAPEBI owned ami published daily (eirept Sunday* by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos., -lt-22*) West Maryland Street. Indianapolis. Ind. Price In Marion County, 2 cents a copy: elsewhere, 3 cents—delivered by carrier, 12 cents a week. BOYD GURLEY. ROY W. HOWARD, FRANK G. MORRISON. Editor President Business Manager PHONE—Riley 5551 SATURDAY. DEC. 27, 1930. Member of United Press. Scrlpps-Howard Newspaper Alliance. Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Information Service and Audit Bureau of Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way.”

Youth on the Bench One of the most striking things about Judge William Clark of New Jersey, who rattled judicial bones by his dry law decisicn last week, is his youth. He is but 39. He was elevated to the federal bench at the almost incredible age of 34. It is not unreasonable to ascribe some of his originality, independence and courage to his youthful vigor. The question of the age of judges and its relation to legal conservatism is one which has not received enough emphasis. Some years ago Prciessor Walton H. Hamilton published an article on "The Age of Judges" in the New Republic. He showed that the majority of our judges in important courts are old men. If Osier’s injunction of suicide at 50 were to be practiced, the higher bench would be almost desolate. Mbst men at the age of many judges suffer from glandular, cardiac, sclerotic and other changes which limit and impede mental flexibility, cultural readjustment and intellectual adventure. Another important point is the archaic nature of the mental content of the minds of most inen of this sort. Our civilization changes rapidly. Many a judge now adorning the bench was educated and read law before Grover Cleveland started on his first term as President. Yet our civilization and our problems have changed more In the last fifty years than in the previous thousand. Many a judge would be mentally more at home with Francis Bacon than with Judge Clark. There is nothing like an old man who remains mentally youthful and receptive. The combination of wide experience and a mellow wisdom with intellectual alertness and curiosity is unmatchable. But such men are rare—and most rare upon the bench. A lifetime of devotion to that collection of tradition and technicalities which is our law is the most fatal of all experiences, as far as fostering mental aggressiveness and urbane tolerance is concerned. Some do weather the battle, but they are rare birds in more than one sense. Osier was probably extreme in putting 50 as the age at which we reach the end of our maximum usefulness, but It would not be unreasonable to suggest 60 as the desirable age for the automatic retirement of judges. This would cost us the services of some mellow savants, but it also would save us from the obstructive tactics of scores and hundreds of judges whose prejudices and adamant conservatism are far harder than their arteries. It would deprive us of Holmes, Brandeis, et al„ but the student of American legal history knows all too well that even this price is not too high to pay for the deliverance which would have resulted in thousands of other cases. Moroever, any great progressive jurist who was forced to retire at 60 might be even more valuable as writer and teacher than as judge. ,

Keep Up Wages President Hoover is to be congratulated on his decision that contractors on the huge federal construction program must pay labor at prevailing wages in the communities affected. This provision should have been put in the relief legislation as it passed congress. The Couzens amendment for that purpose was defeated. But now, apparently, the President has saved the day by making it an executive policy. Obviously, relief construction which cut wages would be worse than useless, because it would drive down the compensation of competing labor, and thus reduce rather than stimulate the national pusehasing power of consumers. Such cut-throat policy would tend to lower all wages, and probably would become the excuse for a general anti-labor movement to destroy standards and safeguards slowly built during the last decade. General wage slashes would be the final blow to already depressed industry. This is as true today as when the President laid down the principle to his firstbusiness conference immediately after the Wall Street crash. The American people,” says Thomas W. Lamont, financier, never do things in halves.” Is it possible he’s never been tq a football game? Sinclair Lewis' motto, judging from his utterances abroad, seems to be: “Every day and every way I am growing bitter and bitter.” In the old days a hard driver meant a mean old boss. Nowadays he is one who does sixty an hour.

REASON bv ™/ s CK

npHE anthropologists of the Smithsonian institute come to bat with the statement that the high brow is not a sign of brains. We’ve been so busy, making a living we haven’t had much time to think about it, but tte’re inclined to the belief that the high brow is more frequently a sign of approaching baldness. tt tt tt The longer you live, the more you lose faith in the significance of cranial architecture. Success and failure seem to have a way of ignoring the domes of those they visit and you can recall many tvho are very impressive, but who never cut any ice to speak of, and many who are entirely innocent of magnificence, but who have brought home the bacon in large quantities. tt tt a 'T'HE uniformed gentlemen who stand in front ot the city store are usually stately, while the proprietor may have a head like a peanut, and if you’ve ever noticed it, the chauffeurs of many city cars resemble world conquerors, while the captain of industry. riding behind, frequently resembles a shrimp. The anthropologist is right about it. a tt tt So don't let your looking glass discourage you. Even if your phiz would not look good on a postage stamp, you may go ou tinto the world and turn things upside down, for it’s what you do with wJUat you’ve got that counts, not to mental acreage vou carry under your derby. tt n tt BUT it is a liability to resemble some great character. We recall a number of gentlemen who were told they resembled Daniel Webster, Abraham Lincoln and others, who never amounted to a continental. They waited to cash in on the resemblance and they are waiting still. • m r Speaking of Lincoln, hs would have been hopelessly out of it, had the sl y line of the countenance been the final word, for he slanted back, while two of our greatest White House failures, James Buchanan c>?d Warren G. Harding were very altitudinous —in the cranium. tt u it We recall a certain city lawyer who once came to our town to try a case and he looked like any, number of intellectual dreadnaughts and on the other side of the case was a local lawyer whose top piece suggested a hickory nut, but that local lawyer trimmed his grand opponent until the carnage was awful to behold.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. Tracy SAYS:

Sometimes You W onder Whether Civilization Has Accomplished Much, Except to Magnify Our Elemental Traits and Faculties. TTOUSTON, Tex., Dec. 27.—N0 sooner has the last firecracker popped July Fourth, the last crumb of pudding disappeared Thanksgiving day, or the last toy been put aside Christmas than we begin counting the casualties. One can not read the newspapers right after a holiday without getting the idea that, whether it was devoted to patriotism, gratitude or generosity, its observance was characterized by an unusual amount of carelessness and crime. Evidently we are rather more dangerous at play than at work. Two hundred dead this trip, according to reports which obviously are incomplete. “Slippery roads,” they say, in explaining the dreadful toll taken by autos, but what about the six who were shot—two of them over a stick of gum? a tt tt Are We Grown Up? ADDED to the tragic stuff is an, overdose of freak stuff, just as though one called for the other, or the holiday for both. Twenty prisoners sick from overeating in the jail at Austin, Tex.; a crowd of Communist kids making fun of ‘‘God and other bosses” in New York, and high officials of the government displaying almost equal childishness in their scramble for preferred auto numbers. Sometimes you wonder whether the best of us are more than grownup children, or whether civilization has accomplished much, except to magnify our elemental traits and faculties. The power problem admittedly is grave and complicated, yet the board recently named to deal with it begins by firing three veteran employes. Millions are in misery because of the depression, yet some of our outstanding leaders fritter away their time making metaphorical faces at each other across the aisle.

Maybe It’s Mumblety Peg MORE often than not, some worth-while effort is interrupted, if not brought to a halt, by such a petty squabble as would disgust two old women ih a blind alley whose chief business in life is abusing each other. Nothing has become easier in this land of so-called system, expertness, and efficiency than to divert public attention from important matters by a personal row. Let a dog fight occur on Main street, and those same merchants who have installed all kinds of devices to cut costs, insure economy, and protect themselves against dishonesty will run out, leaving their cash tills unguarded, to watch it. Let a city councilman call the mayor a crook, or vice versa, and who cares how the argument started, or what it was about? Are we building a nation, or playing a sublimated form of mumblety peg? ft tt St System Is Silly WE keep telling ourselves that the best way to help people is to give them a chance to help themselves, but when the periodic slump comes along, as it always has and probably always will, we are not ready to do anything, except fall back on the breadline, or soup kitchen, even though money is so plentiful that the banks are glad to place it on call at 2V2 per cent. In times of prosperity, we spend extravagantly for luxuries and sport. When depression strikes, we suddenly become obsessed with the idea that nothing is worth buying, or doing, unless it represents necessity. Asa matter of common sense, useless work would do more good right now than it did in .1929, because it is needed to give people employment and put money in circulation. But we could find a great deal of work that isn’t useless and the cash with which to pay for it, if I we only thought so. tt tt It Fear at the Top I AM not sold on psychology as a cure-all, but it has its place in the scheme of things. When people become frightened, they can’t put ,'orth their usual strength, much less the unusual strength which an emergency demands. That, more than anything else, is what ails this country. We are not only unable to put forth such extra efforts as the situation calls for, but have developed a subnormal attitude, have ceased to be ourselves. Strange js it may seem, the worst case of apprehension and alarm is not among those who are suffering at the bottom, but among those who are getting- along quite well at the top. It’s a case of being afraid of what may happen, not what has happened, which proves it to be rooted in the imagination.

Questions and Answers

Where is New Zealand? To whom does it belong, and what language is spoken there? It is a dominion of the British Empire in the South Pacific ocean, consisting of a chain of islands lying southeast of Aust-alia. The language is English except among the native Maoris. Which is the oldest empire in the world? Japan. When did the great Messina-Reg-gio earthquake occur? Dec. 28, 1908. Prior to that Messina was partly destroyed by earthquake in 1783. How can oil stains be removed from leather? Dab the spot carefully with spirits of sal ammoniac, and after allowing it to act for a while wash with clean water. This treatment may have to be repeated a few times, taking care not to injure the color of the leather.

Courage! The Refuel Plane Is Almost Here!

DAILY HEALTH SERVICE Oil Creates Rashes on Workers 1 Skins

This is ops of a series of articles by Dr. Fishbein on skin diseases induced by external causes, particularly industrial chemical. BY DR. MORRIS FISIIBEIN Editor. Journal of the American Medical Association and of Hyaeia, the Health Magazine. nnHE wide use of varied types of oils in industry has been responsible for many rashes on the skin which are difficult to diagnose. Crude petroleum will cause itching and frequently eruptions associated with infection of the follicles of the skin by germs which always are present. Lubricating oils and cutting emulsions used over and over again, without filtering or sterilizing, accumulate fine metal fragments which produce minute cuts in the skin. The oil becomes contaminaated

IT SEEMS TO ME BY H broun D

THE campaign methods of Robert H. Lucas, executive director of the Republican national committee, seems to me a great deal less than fair and forthright. But it is hardly extraordinary that a “regular” should be inclined to work for the defeat of Senator George W. Norris, no matter what his label on the ballot. Norris is one of the most useful members of the senate, and by no stretch of logical definition can he be classed as a Republican. Mr. Lucas takes the easy way out and calls him a Democrat because he supported A1 Smith. The truth is that the principles and policies of Norris would make him an alien to those ranks, too. Indeed, Senator Norris could serve excellently as a foundation stone upon which to build anew and distinctly liberal party. In most respects courageous, he has suffered from the same timidity as other middle western progressives. He will not accept the tempo from the bandmaster, but just the same, he insists upon clinging to some part of the bandwagon. And the same fact holds even more true of Borah, who confines his periods of rebellion to the off years, when there is no campaign or convention current. tt tt o From Within IT will be said for Senator Norris that he can and has done much for political liberalism by boring from within. But inside missionary work has brought smart net results to the policy or leadership of either major political party. I think that the discarding of old ideas could go forward much rpore rapidly if there were only a willingness to leave the labels as well. Everybody knows that few issues are drawn clearly between the Dmocratic and Republican parties. It is almost impossible to distinguish between them on a dark night or in a debate. Then why, in*, heaven’s name, don’t the progressive Democrats and the liberal Republicans break loose from home ties and get together in anew party which could have some definite idea of where it wanted to go and how it purposed to get, there? In fact, Senator Morris ought to be very ready to agree with the contention of Mr. Lucas that he is not a Republican. The gentleman from Nebraska might go even further and say, “When you call me, that smile.” K tt tt Other Factors AN interesting question of judicial fitness is raised by Henry Mentor, who feels that the recent emphasis upon corruption in the courts has blinded us to other failings which may be found in some who sit upon the bench. I do not quite go with this contributor in sweeping aside this phase of fitness, but I can agree with some of the points which he raises. Mr. Montor writes: “It seems to me most deplorable that the press of the country should have seized upon such an issue as honesty in the judiciary. The current Tammany scandals have of course, provided the pretext. '‘The buying and selling of judgeships has been made a paramount

furthermore by the germs that produce pus and the infection is passed in this way from one worker to another. When crude petroleum is refined, tfle products are likely to be less irritating than the crude oil itself. Nevertheless, It is known that benzine, naphtha and carbon disulphide will irritate the skin. Workers with paraffin and workers with shale oil also have these irritations. The use of impure vaseline or of vaseline containing a high percentage of carbolic acid may produce serious irritation of the skin, subject also to secondary infection. It now is known that repeated irritation of the skin with coal tar and with oils may result in a sufficient irirtation of the cells to set up an active growth which eventually becomes cancerous.

issue. What has happened, however, is that a red herring has been drawn across the trail of a serious investigation by the public mind of the integrity of the judiciary. And by integrity I do not mean honesty. “It is being held up as an unparalleled sin that a judge should have bought his robes. So that now, instead of asking of a judge whether he has human understanding or psychological insight, we ask him, ‘Are you honest?’ Honesty certainly is a poor substitute for humanity. “Honesty, after all. is a false issue, It is not only those who pay cash for the job that barter their office. What difference does it make whether a judge renders a decision favorable to a certain person because the latter has paid him or because he is merely a friend? “And such decisions, influenced by something other than the immediate facts, will be made as long as the men on the bench are flesh and blood and not automatons. tt tt a . Proof of Pudding “T TONESTY on the bench sounds XJL like that old proverb, ‘Honesty is the best policy.’ Presumably the best policy because something else might land you in jail. But if a man with heart, with progressive views, reaches the bench, it is a crime against the community to remove him and to penalize him because he could secure the post only through payment of money. “Perhaps the day will come when such intangibles as broadness of vision, delicacy of character and receptivity to the novel will determine ■whether a judge is fit to occupy the bench. “In the meantime, the question

KEPLER’S BIRTH December 27 ON Dec. 27, 1571. Johann Kepler, one of the world's greatest astronomers, was born at Wurttemberg, Germany. Asa child he was sickly, but exceedingly precocious. At the age of 17 he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tubingen. Though he knew little of the subject, Kepler unwillingly was made to accept the class in astronomy at Graz in 1594. Forced into this branch of learning, he made the best of it. He became imperial mathematician and astrologer and made the acquaintance of such scientists as Galileo and Brahe, Kepler’s chief title to fame is his discovery of the three laws of planetary motion. Other important features of his work were in regard to gravitation and the explanation of the tides by lunar attraction. In 1629 he called the attention of astronomers to the approaching transits of Mercury and Venus. That of Mercury, which occurred on Nov. 7. 1631, was the first transit of a planet across the sun ever observed. Kepler did pioneer *work on several important scientific subjects.

Exposure to creosote, asphalt, and other products of tar sometimes is followed by development of tumors. One of the most interesting forms is called mule spinners’ cancer. This occurs principally among workers in the cotton industry in England. Lowgrade oils used for the lubrication of the machine get on the skin. Neglect of personal cleanliness permits constant irritation and cancer follows. Tar and pitch are particularly irritating in this manner. Soot, lampblack, and peat produce irritations of the skin which sometimes are followed by warty growths and cancer. Fortunately, knowledge has become widely disseminated as to the nature of these growths and steps are being tak'in in all industries concerned to protect workers against the possibilities mentioned.

Ideals and opinions expressed in this column are those of one of America’s most interesting writers and are presented without regard to their *^f£ eI P,r nt ~o r disagreemeni with the editorial attitude of this paper.—The Editor.

as to whether a judge participated in a cash and carry transaction is irrelevant and uninteresting.” (Copyright. 1930. by The Times)

People’s Voice

Editor Times—The remarks of Dr. William A. Wirt of Gary would seem to show either a willful or a woeful ignorance of actual conditions among high school students in regard to drinking. It probably is true that drinking generally is done in small groups, but the important question is what percentage of the entire school enrollment is from time to time members of these small groups. With all due respect to Dr. Wirt’s ability and sincerity, it is doubtful if anything is to be gained for the community at large by deliberately or unwittingly glossing over or closing our eyes to the actual existing conditions. R. B. TAYLOR, New Augusta.

Daily Thought |

And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.—Ecclesiastes 1:17. Seize wisdom ere ’tis torment to be wise; this is. seize wisdom ere she seizes thee.—Young. If a man or woman chooses to spell his name differently from athers in his family, with the same sound, would it be legal to sign a marriage license with the different spelling? The license would be valid. A name can be spelled as the owner wishes providing it is not used for purpose of fraud. Who invented the helmets used in the World war? The first ones were of French manufacture and were designed by General Adrian. When America entered the war she had no distinctive helmet, and the English type, being easiest to make, was adopted.

Giving a Party? Our Washington Bureau's bulletin on Party Menus, Prizes and Favors will prove helpful to the hostess planning a big or little party. The bulletin will be particularly valuable to the hostess who wishes to make up herself, inexpensive and unique prizes and favors for her party. It contains many suggestions for such* small gifts—particularly “booby prize” gifts that any hostess can prepare herself from inexpensive materials. Fill out the coupon below and send lor it. CLIP COUPON HERE Dept. 108, Washington Bureau, The Indianapolis Times, 1322 New York Avenue, Washington, D. CI want a copy of the bulletin PARTY MENUS. PRIZES AND FAVORS, and inclose herewith 5 cents in coin or United States stamps, for return postage and handling costs. Name Street and No # City state lam a daily reader of l|fe Indianapolis Times (Code No>

.DEC. 2LV 930

SCIENCE —BY DAVID DIETZ—

Transfer of Public Lands to Private Ownership Rated as Important Part of Farm Revolution. 'T'HE passing of the public lands into private ownership is listed by Professor Louis Bernard Schmidt as one of the causes of the revolution in American agriculture, a revolution which has transformed agriculture from a poineer and largely self-sufficing occupation into a modern business organized on a scientific, capitalistic, and commercial basis. Professor Schmidt quotes statistics to show how great was the importance of the public lands. He says. "The entire continental land area of the United States, excluding Alaska, amounts to 1,903.200,880 acres. The public domain comprised three-fourths of tins area, or 1,400.200.320 acres: while the remaining cne-fourth, consisting of the original thirteen states and the states of Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas, embraces an area of 461,090.560 acres which did not come under control of the federal government and so never was part of the public domain. “Os this vast domain, the federal government had by 1860 disposed of 493,088,712 acres, thus leaving for future disposition an area amounting to 1,048,111,608 acres, the greater portion of which was located in the public land states west of the Mississippi river.” tt Land Went Fast THE rapid disposal of the public lands dates from 1862, with passage of the homestead act, the land grant college act, and the act providing for a grant of land for the first transcontinental railroad, Professor Schmidt points out. "Under provisions of the homestead law, the government during the period ended with June 30. 1929, disposed of 232,259,180 acres of land —an area equal to six times the area of lowa,” he says. “The preemption act of 1841, the timber culture act of 1873, the desert act of 1877, and the timber and stone act of 1878, together with the right granted under the homestead law, enabled any person to acquire the title to 1,120 acres of land. "Large areas of timber and mineral lands were acquired under other laws. The utilization of inferior lands was made possible by the Carey act of 1894, the reclammation act of 1902, and subsequent legislation.

“The huge grants of land to states and corporations for construction of railroad, wagon roads and canals, and for advancement of education also facilitated the disposal of the public domain. “The establishment of forest and Indian reserves further reduced the amount of public land available for private entry. “This legislation made possible the rapid alienation of public lands. The report of the commissioner of the general land office shows that in spite of the liberal policy of the federal government the remaining area of public land, unappropriated and unreserved, amounted on June 30, 1929, to 190,031,722 acres, located for the most part in the mountain : and Pacific coast states. | “The greater portion of this area, however, never will be available for agricultural purposes.” tt tt tt The Crossroads TRANSFER of this vast heritage from public to private ownership was accompanied by a corresponding increase in the farming area of the country. Professor Schmidt shows. “The number of farms was increased from 2,044,077 in 1860 to 4,008,907 in 1880,” he says. “In 1900 there was 5,737.372 farms in the United States. This number further was increased to 6,448,343 in 1920. “The number of acres in farms was increased from 407,212.533 in 1860 to 536,081.835 in 1880. This was further increased to 838.591,774 in 1900 and 955,883,715 in 1920. The average number of acres in farms was reduced from 199.2 in 1860 to 133.8 in 1880, due largely to the breaking up of the plantation system and operation of the homestead law. “This was increased to 146.2 acres in 1900 and 148.2 acres in 1920, but reduced to 145 acres in 1925; while the average number of acres of improved land in farms was reduced from 79.8 in 1860 to 71 in 1880 and then increased to 72.2 in 1900 and 78 in 1920. “That is to say, the average size of farms and the average amount' of improved land in farms remained fairly constant throughout the period. Passing of public lands has been accompanied by significant changes which characterize American agriculture in the twentieth century. “Among these changes may o e. mentioned: (1) The rapid rise of land values and consequent transition from extensive farming; <2> growth of tenancy; ( 3) decline of agricultural export trade; (4) utilization of inferior lands, and (6> reorganization of rural life. Passing of public lands has brought agriculture to the crossroads with modem industry. This is perhaps the most distinctive phase of the agricultural revolution in the United States.” Docs a tube containing air weigh more than one in which there is a vacuum? Yes.