Evening Star Newspaper, December 4, 1927, Page 62

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, DECEMBER 4, 1927—PART 2. M— i Capital Sidelights [NOTHING NEW IN LATEST PLANS WHE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Béition. WABHINGTON, D. C. {BUITDAY.......December 4, 1987 THEODORE W. NOYES. ... Rditor e R a—— "The Evening Star Newspaper Company ’ .é,:‘m Omicet Mmkv:mn Ave. t Ry 10 Burovesn Ofce’ R o S W vening Rtar with the Bun¢ay morh iy deinsered by cArviery with 1P Ste a1 40 centa per month: daily v 45 cents par m)nth: Sundase only. 20 cen month Orders may he seut Vo ay 1aphone Main 5000, Collection is ma «carrier at end of each month. Rate by Mall—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. !}:fl; Bl w §§RR ] me: K«E undav onlv.. 1 vr. $300° 1 mo.. 2 All Other States and Canada. By s Sover v g me S Sundav oniv v 400" 1 mo- Member of the Associated Press. Associated Prees 18 exelysively entit R T L natehes 1l o it or pot ot ok o RN Sher ol B R I ot aparial dlanatohes rein AN AINO PRV \d The Eighteenth Amendment. Ever since the eighteenth amend- ment was ratified and became a part ot the Constitution of the United elapsed 'since the scale of rates Which the courts have declared to bé excessive went into effect. In that period many of the subscribers have died or have moved away. These probably eonsti- tute the majority of the potentinl own- ers of this undistributed refund. As- suredly there is ho reason why any person now living in Washington who is entitled to the refund rhould not know of the matter, for it has been widely advertised. It has been the sud: ject of numerous news publications. From time to time since the first tribution oteurred attention has b.en called to the subject through the press of this city. ‘The refunds are in most cases small items. Probably most of those that re: main to be made are only a few dol- lars each. Yet the smaller the average the larger the number of clairants, and it is surprising to find that so great a sum of money should remain undistributed. Assuming that the aver- age individual refund is $20, the amount now in hand represents almost 19,000 persons. It can hardly be that all of these have died or left Washington beyond the range of the £00d news of restitution in the eight years elapsing since the beginning ot the distribution. and the conclusion there s that there are some thousands of people who are either still ignorant of the refund or who do not deem It worth their while even to telephone In inquiry regarding it. States efforts have been made by op- ponents of prohibition to prove its in- valldity on one ground and another. They have, however, all failed, and it' is somewhat surprising now to find it seriously contended that the amend: ment e not valid because it was not submitted to the vote of the people. This proposition has been advanced by Former Senator Williams of Mis- sourl in an address before the Okla- homa Bar Association at Tulsa. His contention is that the Constitution may be amended either by the people or by the State Legislatures; that the subject matter of the proposed amend- ment determines who may ratify it. If the proposed amendment relates to the operations of the Government, the Legislatures have that power, but if it gives new power to Congress to regulate the conduct of the people and to punish them for the disobedience of laws passed under such powers, the people must ratify it. There i8 nothing whatever in the Constitution {itselt that justifies this argument. Article V of the Constitu: tion provides as follows: . The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Con- stitution, or, on the application of the islatures of two-f the sev. Sroposing - améenaments. Which: 1 Bither case, shall be valld o alil in tents and purposes, as rfl of thi Constitution, when ratified by the latures of three-fourths of the several States, or conventfons in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress. This citation shows that whatever may have been in the minds of the Constitution makers regarding the power of ratification, they did not write into the fundamental law any provision requiring submission to popular vote. The nearest approach to that was the provision that Congress might require that ratification be made by conventions specifically called In the States for that purpose. In other words, Congress may attach to any amendment adopted by it by a two. thirds vote the stipulation that ratifi- cation shall be effected in this man- ner. It has, however, never exercised that right, but has always submitted proposed amendments to legislative approval. In some instances, as in that of the eighteenth amendment, the changes in the Constitution have been pros posed by Congress after the Legisla- tures have been elected in some of the States, and that in consequence ratification has been voted by those Legislatures without mandate by the people. But unless it is specified that a certain length of time must elapse before submission to the Legislatures, after congressional adoption, in order that every Legislature shall be chosen ‘with the proposed amendment pending ‘before the voters when they select their State lawmakers, it is inevitable that some of the Legislatures will be in a position to vote updn the amend. ments without an expression of publio will on the subject. This is owing to the fact that elections for Legisia- tures occur in different years and the terms of Legislatures are of varying length. No amendment has ever been proposed with such a provision. A time limit was in fact provided in the case of the nineteenth amendment, ‘within which it must be ratified in or. der to become part of the Comstitution. The contention of Mr. Willlams is barely of academic importance. His separation of amendments into two categories is arbitrary, without justifi. cation in the language of the Cone stitution itself. His proposition may evoke discussion, but it will not lead to action. —————— It can hardly be likely that the gentleman who is just now engaging Jocal attention under the sobriquet of “The Cat” is merely preparing for engagement by a public amusement enterprise. ————— Every time Congress meets the gallery habitues prepare for & nice long series of siestas. PERSSEEISIe A Fortune Seeking Owners. The Potomac Electric Power Co. finds itself in the very peculiar posis tion of owing $378,222.75, of having the money to pay that debt, and yet being unable to pay it because it can- not find its creditors. It has been gaged for many months in the settle. ment of this account, in the refund of rates collected between August 1, 1917, and December 31, 1924, in excess of those finally declared by the qourts to have been just and legal. These aifferences amounted to $2,953,787.31, of which amount $2,575,664.56 has been restored to the rate payers. Despite all efforts to find the subscribers to whom the balance belongs, the large sum of more than a third of a mil- lion dollars remains unclaimed. If it is not claimed by the 13th of January next it will revert to the treasury of the corporation and will be lost for ever to those to whom it is now right. tully due. 1t may be that this money will never x claimed. More thag ten years have —————e The Proper Attitude, France was under no obligations to release Emmett J. Doty, a young Mis sissippian who quenched his thirst for romance in the uniform of a French Legionnaire, marching under a scorching Syrlan sun or squinting through the shimmering sights of his La Belle at the wily and feroclous Druse. Mere releasing him from his vath of enlistment would have been a thing unheard of, but to pardon him after a courtamartial whioh sen: tenced him to death for desertion, commuted his sentence to imprison ment, then changed this to serving out his unexpired period of enlist. ment is an act of generosity and mercy which has tew prevedents in the stern workings of military law. The dusty bones of more than one ©ld soldier must be turning in thelr graves. Young Doty, now on his way to France to take ship for a home that never seemed sweeter, can give fervent thanks that France has seen fit to acknowledge, gracetully, the sentiment of many Americans whose sympathies were stirred by the plight of their young countryman, though it was a nest of his own making. Doty enlisted in the Legion, and while serving in Syria, after having 18 | been cited in orders for bravery un. der fire, “'got fed up and went A. W, O. L.” which is & dangerous practice for any soldier under ordinary condi. tiond, but & fatal one in the fuce of the enemy. He was sentenced to death. Americans became interested in him, and in response to thelr rep: resentations France commuted the sentence to eight years in a military prison. The latter sentence was served only in part, and Doty wes sent back to Algeria to complete his period of enlistment. On Friday he was released from further service and is heading for home. Except for his almost fatal lapse, Doty had been a good soldier. He showed it by standing at attontion and answering “Oul, mon celone),” when that hard-bolled veteran told him flercely that he deserved twelve bullets through his chest instead of & trip back to home and frysdom. And he showed it again when he told the Assoclated Press that nobody would hear him complaining about his treatment. “I knew what I was get- ting into when I enlisted. I aid not expect any pink tea party. T think I got better than a square deal.” Retain that attitude, Mr. Doty! And do not give it up when the ship news reporters get you In New York Hor bor and the Statue of Liberty lures you with upraised arms—to talk. Remember where the status and you came from! —————— Chicage goes Boston one better. Whereas the Massachusetts metrop- olis used to be known, In somewhat Jocose parlance, as a state of mind, the Windy City of the Middle West has come to be known as a state of war, I it Few Congressmen seem to realize the absence of public expectation of accomplishments by the session that is about o open. Yet all strive to make the Congressional Record as voluminous as possible. ———— Ot Insurgent ultimatums are promptly conceded in the Senate. A spirit of sweot kindliness prevails, which is not altogether remote-from the fact that next year will be marked by & presidential campaign. ————re e “Better Than the Best.” The young bootlegger who sped through the downtown district the other night at fifty miles an hour, and when finally caught after colliding with seven automobiles and menacing the lives of hundreds boasted that he was one of the best “automobile drivers in the world,” will have more than a year in fafl to cogitate on how it happened that a policeman who makes no claims to skill in automobile pilotage overhauled him in the chase and blocked further progress. When taken to court he calmly jotted down the various items of his sentence, and while he received three hundred and ninety days in prison, one of the atiff- est penalties ever handed out for trafs fic oftenses in this jurisdiction, it may take him even longer than that to get it through his head that good as he may be there are many others atill better. g This case illustrates the necessity of equipping the local Police Depart- ment with cars capable of matching in speed, pick-up and flexibility any- thing that the law-breaking traternity may produce. It has aiready illus: trated that at least one driver of po- lice cars is “better than the bes when In pursuit of & criminal who s menacing the lives of innocent road users. There are probably many more potential drivers of this type in the police ranks, .u: unfortunately they lack the equipment to demonftrate their prowess. At the coming session of Congress heed should be taken of Maj Hesse's earnest appeal for better mobile equip: ment for the department, in both quantity and quality. Washington Is ohe of the few large cities handi- capped with Inferior apparatus to aid in apprehending its lawbreakers, and this situation Should be corrected at the earliest possible moment. It Ix surely a ridiculous condition which compels policemen, in many casés, 1o commandesr private care with drivers of doudtful ability to cope with erim inals in high-speed automobiles, piloted by experts, A few fast automobiles driven by competent police chaufteurs will soon convinve other lawbreakers, besides the young bootlegger, that they are "better than the best” when it comes to deiving — - A The Royal Game. A romance of the chess world occurred recently, when Alexander Alekhine, a former Russian nobleman, and now a oftizen of France, took the championship from Jose R. Capa: blanea of Cuba, title holder since 1921, In the province of the royal game there is no hationality but that of the kingdom of the mind of man. One of the very oldest pastimes of humanity, the game of chees still rules supreme with its devotees. It s the only mental game of Its kind to win a place regularly in the sporting columns of the press. That thib 18 due solely to the stakes played for, lovers of the game will not admit, but prefer to believe that sport-lovers teel that chess 8 a game of a peculiar sort, a real sport at the eame time that it is a rare mental diversion. Those who are not acquainted with chess might look into it with profit, especially it they are Americans, for one of the greatest players the worid has ever known was Paut Morphy of New Orleans. Morphy went to England during the stormy days of 88, and chased the great master Staunton, -then the holder of the world’s title, to Paris and back to London again, in an effort to get a match, but had to leave Bngland without ever coming to grips with the player after whom the stahdard pattern of chessmen Is named. Chess 18 a ploturesque indoor oceu- pation, which most persons will find it profitable not to take too seriously, but which every one ought to know comething about. 8o ilke real war. fare as to be amasing, chess may some day be the battle ground of world confilets, the mimic pleces of the checkered board the warrlors of the future, E — e No amount ot trafe regulation can cure the moron motor habit of try- ing to dispute the right of way with & fire engine; Only the attentions of a hospital staff can effect a recovery trom this pernicious affiiction. 8o long as the sufferdr 18 merely the intruder on the course of the fire- fighiing apparatus the community cares only for the- addition to the peril of destruction incldent to the delay ot the pump in reaching the scene of alarm. But it desires a bete ter understandiing ot the first prin. ciples of ssourity, mevertheless, on the part of all street users. —————t— Young Mr. Doty, just released from @ French military prison and on his way home, ought to have as good a chance to tell a profitable tale to | Amerioan vaudeville audiences as a Channel swimmer or an unsuccessful transatlantic flier. § s St Fortunately the American donors 10 the fund for the reliet of the fame ilies of Nungesser and Coll cannot | be blamed for the dispute that has arisén in France regarding the di- visfon of the cash. et s G AP i Yesterday's snowfall was just a flurry. There will be no distress It | 7 it is & sample ot all the frozen pre- cipitation Washington is to endure this coming Winter. B e S T— Paris fashion dictators will take notice of the tremendous interest manitested in this country in the ap- pearance of a new style in motor cars, made in America, L SHOOTING STARS. BY PRILANDES JOHNSON. The Only Difioulty. “Does Bliggins know anything about tock market?” 'Yes. He knows just which way the market is going. The only dificulty is that he can't tell when it is going to start or what it may 40 in the mean: time.” th Real Work. “Does your Congressman do any real work?” “I should say he does,” answered Farmer Corntossel. - “He has to work mighty hard to Keep gettin’ re.elected.” “Some men,” said Uncle Eben, “gets de reputation of bein' wiser dan others simply because dey has been mo' lucky in dodging consequences.” Sare to Come. Now let the gathering statesmen fling Deflant banners bravely out. We know there will be quarreling, Though not, as yet, just what about. Mild Approbration. “I suppose you enjoy oclassical music,” said the artistic person. “No,, answered Mr. Cumrox. don't exactly enjoy it. But as a social EVERYDAY RELIGION BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMBS B. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, Bishop of Washington “Things Which Remain.” "Things which remain.”—Revela: tions, iff, part verse 2, 2 In the swift change# of our modern lite it is sometimes dificult to deter: mine what are the things that remain =things that remain fixed and perma: fent. Some of our éxtréme progres- sive men and women would seem to suggest that there is nothing that re- mains, nothing that has permanent value. Principles, conventions, ideals —all these, like the time table, are subject to change, according to the ca- price of each succeeding generation. During the past 10 years the world has been largely engaged in the mat- ter of stock-taking, It has been seek- in; to determine what are ita assets and liabilities. In the prosecution of this it has been compélled to charge off to profit And loss many things that were hitherto regarded as havi distinct value. Notwithstanding all the passion for change and the desire for varlety, there are some our indlvidual and corporate life that have come down to uk a8 the result of long experiment and trial. We ate beginning to discover that there are basi¢ or fundamental Frlmlplu that @re utterly indispensable to out indi- vidual and corporate well:delng. In the immaturity of our youth we are 8o clamorous for variety that we are hardly willing to regard anything as fixed and immutable. Our appraisal of values is largely rmined by our caprice or inconvenience, As we grow more mature and reflective we are in evitably compelled to ize that there are some things in our life that are definitely determined for us. Our environment changes, the sacred tles of kinship are broken, old friendships pass away, even some of the advan: ages we galn from early education dre largely lost to us; the material things we gather about us lose some. thing of their charm, the money we make we spend, even some of the lux- uries we comeé to regard as commons place and they lose thelr appeal. Over against all this there still rémains that which i8 born out of experience and observation, and that in our sober and more serious moments we must necessarlly réegard as indispsnsable to life. Recently Chauncey M. Depew, the grand old man of New York State, in a period ot reminiscence sald: “We boast of our présent t pron;:erhy. It didn’t come suddenly ot itself. For ® hundred years or more the faw po- hings in | peas tentialities, the basis of présent wealth Fortifled by .thelr simple faith in God and immortality, they left us a magnificent heritage in both the spiritual and the material things. rosperity is perhaps the most hu- mitmly desired state. But does it bring supreme happiness when not accom: panied with sincere faith in God and immortality? There is only one an- swer. Are we the beneficiaries of the spiritual heritage our forbears left us? Do wé cling to this spiritual herit- age?” In the ripeness of his full years the old man was seeking to re- appraise the values that remain. His conclusion was that the religious prin- ciples taught us in our youth, prob- ably by our mothers, are the indispensable things that remain through all the changed and chang- ing circumstances of life. Long ago the Psalmist wrote eep innocency and take heed unto the thing that is right, for that shall bring a man ce At the last.” No matter how we may regard the value of other things that we hold and possess, one thing is clearly certain-—namely, the best and finest things we have are secured to us alofe through an unfailing prac- tice of the deep religious principles and ideals gi to mankind Jesus get along fairly well without luxuries, we m: strain of adversity 4;:- o inite and fixed religious principles and ideals that have to do with all the common concerns of life. We may give our children the best that we have to give them, afford them an edueation that will train mind and hand and fit them for the large con- cerns of the worknduf\" world--yes, we may largely carry their burdens for them—but when it comes to the real test of life it is not the things we have Tlvvn them in the way of mate: rial gifts that stand them in stead, The things that remain, that are fixed and definite and that have to do with the deepest and holiest concerns of life, are the principles and ideals that we inculcate in them. Chauncey De- pew’s inquiry is a searching one. Do we cling to the spiritual heritage of our foréfathers? Are we attempting to set Up a new order in which rev- erence for sacred things and the rec- ognition ot lite’s sreat principles are to be ignored and neglected? What are the things that remain? GOVERNMENT AIDS TO BUSINESS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. During the last fiscal year, as shown by the annual report of the Bureau of me and Domestic Commerce of the Federal Department of Commerce, vernmental agency rendered commercial services to the interests of the United ‘These services covered a wide range. Many of them consisted in answerln Inquiries of relatively minor Impor- tance, but each none the less a distinet aid to business. Others of more spe- cific moment include the preparation and issuance of an atlas of wholesale grocery territories, which is represent. ©d as having an actual e to the trade ot not less than $5,000,000. 8till oth that &3 yet are not susceptibl of concrete évaluation are the step: taken toward working out & solution of the problem of eliminating the ‘waste in distribution. In all, it ls clahmed, the bureau's activities for the year were worth ap- imately $800,000,000 to American finess, considered an amasing re- turn on the cost of the bureau, which $3,263,000. “Clearl; -Kl Dr. Klein, the bureau's chiet, “the American taxpayer is collecting most substanitial dividends on his invest. n the services of this organiza. tio! The halt billion dollars which may thus be entered on the credit side of the Amerioan business of, says the report, inoludes, not only actual orders secured by manufacturer: agriculturists and exporters through the assistance of the bureau’s for- and d bra olgn lorgestio apeaific losses which a cause of ‘action taken in behalt of exporters or information furaished to them. The estimate is based upon actual returns from numerous com- mercial and industrial enterprises. Evidence of the value of the bu- reau's work 18 to be found, it is inted out, in the increasing num- of calls which the business inter- of the country are making on it. number of trade promotion serv. ices rendered last vear was almost 25 per cent greater than that of the r before and five times that of 1923, A World-Wide Service. The bureau eommeroial taches and trade commissi tioned in all parts of the world, and, in addition to the regular staft as- si 1) rolal and ate re appointed during the last yea They are seeking markets for a wide variety of American commodulln. ine are looked upon tives of New K { exporters, and they are ex prove of material nes in im. proving industrial and commercial oonditions in that section of the couns try., ‘That they have a big fleld in which to work is shown by the fact that of 460,000,000 yards of cotton ,Ml used in the Dutch Bast Indies in 926 only 932,000 yards were exported from the United States, and of 2! 000,000 yards mpomal:x Bgypt last this country supplied & mere 783, 00 yards, while in other big markets for cotton goods the percentage of the trade secured by American manufac: turers is even less, The sucoess of the ureau’s trade representatives in other lines leads New Enfillnd interests to be absolutely con! greatly benefit from the service under. taken for them, and they are already preparing to take care of the increaned volume of business that is to flow in to_them, Foreign offices of the bureau are b coming of inoreasing importance first points of contact for American business men traveling abroad, a cording to Dr. Kiein. In practically all of thess branches the volume of callers increased during last fiscal year, not only travelers from the United but al native diversion it's more interesting than |\ trying to keep up & conversation.” Misanthroplc Biiss, “1 don't possess,” the oynio sald, “A single friend on earth.” And yet he litted up his head And smiled in chilly mirth. “I hear no scandal,” he explained. 1 got no tips that fail; 1 mourn no comradeship disdained; I hear no hard luck tale. “From crowds in the depantment store 1 turned with footsteps free. 1 make no gifts—not any more, And none make gifts to me! “I hide away, lest I may strike 8ome folly er some sham, And live quite happy—happy like ) An oyster or a clam.” e toreign service during the past year s | credited to the enactment of the Hoch bill by the last service was placed on & statutory and permanent basis, This is sald to have "pepped up” the entire overseas staft, a8 the foreign trade scouts are assured henceéforth a secure status. Assisting in Big Deals. Numerous instances are cited in the report of the sales hl"nl been given in closing big deals. For example, the Madrid office assisted ai. réectly in obtaining for an American firm an order for electric cars totaling more than $1,000,000, Through the aid of the Berlin office an American manufacturer of lubricants secured $300,000 of new business in three months, and the same office helped American printing machinery export. ;;:ozzoabuln orders amounting to The Bugnos Alres branch was able dent they will | Congress, whereby the | o that have | T, to establish connections for a San Franciseo fruit firm which resulted in more than $100,000 worth of orders. The Melbourne branch was Instrue mental in bringing about the purchase of American materials to be used in the conatruction of a new hotel valued at $260,000. Through the offices of the Montreal branch a New York nov- elty house secured $300,000 of new business. The Rome office arranged an Itallan agency for a Michigan mo- tor car company which resulted in #alea of more than $300,000 worth of automobiles. Through the assistance of Santiago representatives an Ameri- can airplane corporation was able t. obtain orders from the Chilean gov: ernment aggregating $200,000. With the foreign department fune: tloning so smoothly, increasing at. tentian is being devoted to the do- mestic service, Dr. Klein stats Bix hew branches of the bureau were established in this country during the ear under review, bringing the total reign “‘service stations” avail- able to American business to 23, and & geries of foreign trade conferences were arranged in A number of the larger cities. Also the year disclosed that the bureau is meeting with success in its efforts to awaken the business interests of the country to the im. portance of the bureau's activities as an ageéncy for the elimination of waste in domestic alstribution and the rromoflon generally of better domes- e business methods. The total value of business trans Actions each _year in the United Btates, Dr. Klein says, is imated at approximately _$80,000,000,000, 10 per cent of which may be said to represent waste in distribution. This loss to industry, therefore, is in_the neighborhood of $8,000,000,000, which 1s $3,000,000,000 in excess of the value of our total foreign trade. Obvious: it that waste can be reduced fal ly—and experts say that practically all of it should be eliminated=—the bureau’s activities in that line may rove more fruitful to American ess than anything it can do in the way of building up the Nation's forelgn trade, for the competition in markets abroad is growing keener every year. Tax Reduction Collides With Appropriations BY HARDEN COLFAX. Business and industry, from the humblest tiller of the soll and the lowest laborer in the mill up through the econiomic strata to the captains of capital, face the first session of the Seventieth Congress with questioning eyebrows arched higher than on any similar occasi . with he situation is surveyed and d@mands for tax reduction are seen rubbing elbows with strenuous re. quests for new or enlarged expendl: tures from the Federal Treasury. Mix this conflict of interests with a presidential campaign, which is just around the corner, and recognition of the fact that the members of each 0 presen Vot its most alluring record, and the rea: sons why the outcome of this session as a whole may be des Interrogation mark are explained. Numerically the taxpayers who bear the brunt of keeping the cash bins of ury amply stocked are out- numbered heavily by those citizsens who would benefit, or expect to bene- fit, from increased appropriations. Only approximately 2,600,000 individu. als and 262,000 corporations paid Uncle Sam income taxes last year—and the income tax i8 both the head and heart of the present révenue system of the Nation. Congress, however, has a S | habit of striking & financial balance by methods other than mere consideration 1of the relative number of persons at- tected on each side. * % 2% It s perfectly obvious that the maximum requests for tax reduction and the full demands for appropria- tions cannot be granted in full. dlupgnlntman!l necessarily nd therein lles the it t class, or mug. or plurals—will ‘'be found with the heaviest share of gall and wormwood when the long session closes? The ways and means committes will introduce a bill in the House next week revieing the revenue act so as to reduce the annual revenue of the reasury about $287,000,000. Effort will be made to increase this cut, De. mands are heard that it be put u&w $400,000,000. 'The measure has a long and rough road to travel before final enactment. Because tax revision could be effective in only halt of the present fisoal year, no danger of a deficit on next June 30 s even it the maximum cut were nted. Opponents of the maximum demands are looking to 12 months after that date, and farther into the future. major 1 ot appropria. With Reprosentative Finis J. Gar- rott, mlnuflx léader of the House, an announced candidate for the Sen- ate from Tennhessee, considerable in. terest has been focused upon Repre- entative “‘Jack' Garner of Texas a i8 successor as party leader. Car- ner is “different” from all of his fellow members. Most men in Congress live onh newspaper publicity, introduce bills for a thousand and one things in which constituénts may be interested, prepare long speéeches which they have printed in the Congressional Record, and frank them out in wholesale quantities to the folks “back home." Not so *Jack” Garner, who has gerved continuously in the House for 24 years, without any such recourse to self-salesmanship. He has for six years been the Democratic leader on the great tax.raising committée on ways and means. But he eschews all the well known publicity tactics. ‘When Garner went to the Texas Legislature about 30 Yunl ago he in- troduced just one bill in four years, which was promptly passed and as promptly vetoed by Gov. Sayres, who had previously served 18 yeats in Con- , and been chairman of the appro: ions committee. Garner's pro- posal was to cut the Empire State of Texas up Into flve & He was cartooned and denoun: but he still belleves that such legis. lation would have been for the best interest of Texas and the entire coutitry, Another {nteresting anecdote of his State legislative career is with refer- ence to a tax bill. rner spoke 16 times on ohe side and Cedil Smith spoke 17 times in opposition. That seventeenth time seems to have been effective, for the bill was defeated. Garner holds the record during his entire 24 years in the National House for the smallest number of bills in- troduced b; y member—averaging not more than two pér session, and even going for years without introdue- ing a single measure. fic also holds the record for “catch- as-catch-can” spéaking. He never wrote a speech in his life,. When he is handling important measures such as a tax or tarift bill for his party he just fills up on the subject, knows it thoroughly and is ready for the most effective kind of delivery by being prepared in advance for any objection that may be offered. And Garner s a peculiarly effective speaker, Whenever he is going to speak. his fellow members make it a point to be there. LI Borah, so much in the public eye-— most recently as a progressive stand- ard bearer in the comln{l Republican free-for-all—once risked hid life in a vild ride to discredit the alibl of & priso And it was for lack of money to go any further that he st at Boise, in the State that he has since made famous. He was traveling to. ward the Pacific Coast from Kansas, ;:‘l-:_ou he had earned admission to the About 80 years ago there was trou: ble in the mining region about Idaho, much of it centéring about the Cour d’Alene distriet, whére a non-union mine was blown up by masked men, who rode in and out again on a train trom Kellogg. Borah was one of the prosécuting attorneys when men charged with the orime were broi up for trial. -Much interest centered about one Paul Corcoran, th dence showing that he had been sit ting on top of a box car, with a rifle across his knees, his legs swinging over the side, as the train swung on la“ way from Kellogg to Burke. The on top of & box car and live, especially one who was not a trained rallroad man. The tracks ran up a narfow gorge with many twists and curves and experienced raflroad men testified that no man could have held his seat on top of a box car. Just to prove his cass Borah are ranged for the same train with same box car, traveling at the sam rate of speed, satn of the the trip with his lega over the side and a gun across his knees. That’s how he won the case and Corcoran and seven er eight others were convioted. L ] James Monroe was the last of our Presidents to wear kinee bréeches. James Buchanan was the last to wrap his neck in a stock. He was our only President to die a bachelor, because for 44 years he cherished the memory of a youthful sweetheart, estranged by oruel gossip, Who had dled sudden- ly. supposedly by suicide. A little packet of treasured love letters was TO DITCH FIXED BY BEN McKELWAY. Discussing some feasible, workable method of attaining permanent peace between the District and Congress in relation to the part that each should pay toward maintaining and developing the Capital, a prominent Washingtonian expressed an opinion the other day which may be quoted substantially as follows: “The 60:60 | plan of sharing ex- penses and the 60.40 plan sub- stituted in 1922 were all right while they lasted, but both are gone now and the quicker we tol‘fel about them the better. It was only throuxh lr~ plication of the half-and-haif principle that the Capital was developed after a neglect by Congress between the founding of the Capital and 1878, when _the orgahic law was enacted. But the House has shown that it will not accept this fixed ratio principle any longer. What we ought to do now is to detérmine a fair rate of taxation for the District——a rate to be determined by taking into considera- tion the taxes of other American com- munities, Settle that question on a sound, économic basis ptable to all concerned. Then let” the revenue from these taxes be paid into the United States Treasury irrespective of what Congress is going to ‘When the time comes for framing the Dis- triot of Columbia appropriation bill for Capital maintenance and develop- ment, let Congress frame it with the thought in mind that the residents of the Distriot have paid their taxes as other American citisens have paid theirs, and that the whole duty of maintaining and developing the Cap- ital therefore rests on Congress. Put the responsibility squarely on Con- gress. Then we won't have this eternal controversy over what the District 18 to pay for and what the Federal Government is to pay for.” LR Of course, there ia nothing new in this theory. It would be hard to un- earth a theory in relation to District. Federal finances that has not been dis- cussed and, debated at length. The ground has been so thoroughly worked that it is beginning to become unpro- ductive of new theories. 'The late Senator John D. Works of California had an jdea not unlike the one quoted above, but he linked it definitely with national representation for the Dis. trict, which sheds a rather different light on the ln:rc. Benator Works was a member of the salect joint com- mittee of Congress which conducted such an exhaustive inquiry into Dis- trict finances in 1915. He signed the committee’s report, but filed a separate report outlining his personal views. In this report he advocated convey: ance to the United States of all prop- erties held in the name of the District ot Columbia and assumption by the United States of all outstanding debts inst the District. He pi abolishment of the municipality of the Distriot, the territoyy of the District to be designated the City of Washing: ton, its affairs to be controlled ai administered directly by the National Government. The rate of taxation and basis for asséssment would com- pare reasonably with those of other citles and all moneys derived from local taxation would be paid into the Treasury, applied to the payment of District expenses and the half-and. half system abolished. The Federal Government would be wholly respon- sible for conduct and support of the Capital, and all appropriations there. for would be made from the Treasury regardless of the amount derived from the District. Special assessments or charges against privately owned prop. erty for ng of improvement of #streets or other public improvements would be abolished and residents of the District be granted the right of representation in Congress, the privi- lege of selecting their representatives and the vote for presidential electors: L Benator Works' views were more radical, but they did not prevent his concurring in the report of the select Joint committee. This committee had been directed to prepare a statement of the proper proportion to be paid This and That tound in a bank vault by his execu- | & tors, * k¥ Our two most consplcuous ‘“dark horse” Presidents have been James| " K. Polk and Franklin Ple The really family name slurred into “Poll'k Within 24 bours of his nomination for the bresidency, none—least of all himself «~had ever thought of him dential possibility. Martin Van Buren received a clear majority on the first ballot and was, up until Champ Clark was elbowed aside nearly threescore years later, the only majority ‘candi. date who fafled to get the necessary two-thirds vote and the nomination. Polk’s administration added more square miles to the map of the United | J: States than any other, except Jaffer: son’s acquisition of Loulsiana. The unheralded nomination of Pierce provoked Stephen A. Douglas to exclaim, ‘“Hereafter, no private eitizen is sate!” Presidential honors :e;- never less wolleomo, yet Plerce ad & more swoeping victory than any President since Monroe—and none ver re_ruthlessly discarded. tion and authorisation which belong on the other side of the ledger flood control, farm relief, waterwa; improvement, augmented national de fense and the natural inorease in the dost of governmental activities due to growth of the country. The list of other proposals which involve more or less expenditures by Uncle Sam is lengthy. * k2 A comprehensive program of na- tional flood control and a law calling upon the Treasury to support a broad plan of stabilising agriculture, either or both, conceivably might put the brakes on tax reduction sharply or risk a defiolt 18 months hence, even with moderato initial appropriations, The revenue bill probably will be passed before these other g:n rams have been decided, but th dow of expenditures will hover over the tax legislative measure throughout its stages, Other rmpoud legislation which will affect directly or indirectly ti pocketbooks of thousands includes the return of alien rnmfly seéized during the war} led legal facilities for rail. road _consolidations; disposition of Muscle Bhoals; ssttiement of the Colo. rado River problem, with its Boulder Dam project: changes in the immigra. tion law; restriotion of the sale of mer- rrroflum by convict labor; nted envelopes by the Post nt; brandi partment; with & statement of their co fibers; & series of bills designed to in- crease the consumption of raw dotton; revision of the regulations covering srnln. of live stook on the publio omain and forest reserves; extension of Federal ald in several directions and th nd so. Many bills to change the tariff act are expected, but the majority in the House has set its face against them, and in respect to this subject the House alone controls. Some of these proposals involve con- tests within themselves. For example, the private contractors are golng to make a h tag with each other. Their green eyes glistening, their striped ta held aloft, the two cavort hither and on, It is pure play, although now and then one will claw or bite a meow from the other. These infractions of the game, however, are infrequent; most of the time the best spirit pre- vails, Such Jumping o seldom sees. Bither ereature, the spectator is con- vinced, could len? as high as the house 1t it wished, or if the exigencies of the situation demanded. The exigenocies, toNnunately. mvlolr ag. - ipper is usually the essor. He is now about three-fourths the size of ack, and has & knowledge of tactics which Spratt has never been able to grasp: He knows the value of the offen- sive, Napoleon, as we recall, was the first general to put the value of the offen: sive into plain words. In all his bat ties he tried to use this knowledge. His plan was to strike first. He car. ried the battle .to ‘thloi a.omy. Nipper makes good use of the Na. ?xnnla plan in his daily tussles with GrouZhing in the grase for & sprii roucling in the grass for a spring, he dashes forward, his round body held low, his bushy tail carried lil banner. Nipper has perhaps the bush. fest tail on any creature short of & squirrel. It is, indeed, the perfection of tails, Jack Spratt, seeing ‘Nipper on the advance, will stand on his hind legs, and, ad the little cat attempts to nlnfi his forepaws around his neck, wil suddenly leap into the air clear over his playmate. They away, then, to a grand rush the entire length of the yard, their tiger-striped legs working as smoothly as pistons, Truly there is no grace more graceful than the feline. ERC I With & motion resembling that of llege foot ball player, Nipper will tackle Jack, selzing him around what may be termed his walst, and dragging him to the ground. Jack's strategy, at this point o for the counter:tumbl far as we have been able to make out. This involves rolling on his back, with ex: tended forep: and hind legs kick- ing back the enemy. This fourfold counter-offensive, how. ever, doés not seem to deter Nipper the slightest. He keeps biting at J':ok'l neck, and clawing at his white nose. bystander, watching the t winhers ihat héy 46 Aot Graw bisod in streams, so swiftly those extended claws play, so rapldly do those white teoth bite. [EREE Aroused by a too close nip, Jack @pratt arises in his might, and bowls Nipper to the ground, then holds him down_with his rjght paw, while his ears, lying flat to his head, show that somewhat irritated over the enooun Jack plays with less desire to hurt, Little Ni; wit & litele bl them they have Saaay pleasant hours : g“ tag, and Jump-on: RATIO PRINCIPLE by the District and Federal Govern, ments in support of the Capital City. After finding that the District was paying its share through then exist. ing taxes, the committee concl that the definite system of apportion- ing the expenses was no longer neces- sary, and proposed as a substitute that’ Congress should pursue a “defi- nite policy of regular and liberal ap- propriations, having in view not only the permanent moral and physical ad- vancement of the city, but also its pre-eminent beauty and grandeur the municipal expression of the tion's home and the people’s prid The committee did not determine, & directed, what the proportion of na« tional contributions should be, but its findings were made the basis six years later for the new 60-40 ratio established in the appropriation act for the fiscal year 1923, But long before Senator Works had advocated his plan or the prominent Washingtonian quoted above had sug- gested his, the same principle was advocated in the early seventies of the last century by Senator Lot Myrick Morrill of Maine. He said the United States should collect from the Capital community a reasonable, moderate tax, and then appropriate whatever addi- tiohal amount was uired to main- tain the Capital. Yet the Morrill plan was put aside after a thorough in- quiry which led to the organic act of 1878 and the definite ratio system. L It was Senator Works who stated that the only foundation for advocacy of continuing the fixed ratio principle was the fear that if it were lished Congress would n port its own Ca ame time, would overtax trict. “To concede that the fears themselves are well founded is to seriously reflect upon Congress,” he said. “I do not believe that Congress hasp urposely or willfully neglected the interest of the District. I think there are very few members of either house of Congress who have made themselves famillar with the condi- tions in the District or appreciate its needs as they should.” That state- ment, used as a ‘gument for aban- doning the fixed ratlo, is about as good an argument for its retention as_will be found anywhere. But of course the argument for a fixed ratio, which in reality confines itself today to an argument that Congress follow the intent of a law of its own making, founded on its own {nvestigation and never re- pealed, embraces more than a fear or distrust of Congress. It concerns a very well known principle of Americanism. It has been pointed out many times before that govern- ing and finanting of the Capital are inseparably coupled, and no substi- tute will be found that does not take into account and connect the power of control with the obligation to maintain and develop; protecting and promoting the rights and welfare of the people of Washington, while de- veloping the Capital. Those who ad- vocate discarding the fixed ratio of appropriation lay much stress on the incontrovertible " fact that the re« sponsibility for building the Capital rests on Congress. But it ifficult to understand what would lead Con- gress to this sudden awakening in the matter of its résponsibilities if the fixed ratio were discarded. Under the 60-30 plan these responsibilities were is no manner curbed, but defl- nitely outlined. That they were shirked time and time again by fail ing to match District contribution: with Federal contributions was dem- onstrated by an accumulated surplus of unexpended District revenuea nmoununs in 1923 to 34,438,154, Un- der the 60-40 plan Congress met fts responsibilities of contributing 40 cent for two years, then dodged that mronllblmy by a legislative triok, which h: bee law defl« fitely stipulating the tent of the Nation's responsibilities. In the light of past experience and present con ditions it is not comforting to think of the manner in which Congress would regard its responsibilities if their extent was outlined only in vague words, inspiringly optimistio. ‘a8 such words might be. Fifty Years Ago ‘In The Star. Half a century ago Washington was shocked by the mk oln.gh the Huron T, fiest word of the disaster reached Washington on No- vember 24, 1877, and was printed in The Star of that date. It was then feared that not only was the ship & total loss but that all on board were drowned. e Huron had left Hamp- ton Roads on the 284 for Havana, and ran into a severe storm almost imme. was stranded and beaten to pieces by the sea. In The Btar of Tuesday, No- vember 27, 18 given the substance of & statement about the wreck made by Ensign Young, follows: “About 8 o'clock, Fri he was told that the jib fiying stays were carried away and the wind was blowing a gale; went to bed sed about ml‘nlahl the quarterm: i g M r heard Mr. French a: of the weather. Quartermaster res plied, ‘Bad.' oft was again aroused about thumping of the ship when she bottom. He hurried on dec! up five rockets and bur: hundred signals, which, as wards learned, were seen by those All were shortly compelled rd, a jammed; the the upper side of fering much from exposure as sea would break over them. The launch_was stove in, the only left. Young offered to try to get a line to shore; he, with a sallor named ‘Williams, madeé the attempt in the balsa; the line gave out and they had to cut it AndT ’l'l;y to ;;:c';: -;wr;. for. assistance. 'y paddled the with pleces of paneling. The h: was capsized thrke times; Young, who - is an unusually good swimmer, was most of the time in the water steer) the balsa for the shore. Befors they knew it, they were on the beach, about . three-quatters of & mile above the wreck. Young helped up two mén, who were inside the surf, but were.. too mk“lg l’lllte. #vml mor.h men. were_pi out. uluiloaa-r' , powder and ball by e, ing open the life station, but when they returned all th of the Huron were gone and no one was oh board. ‘Telegrams were sént to Ad. miral 'l‘r;nehnfll for and provi. A i t ngton tha men were saved An: a towal wreck.” ° The story of T