Evening Star Newspaper, December 11, 1927, Page 62

UNDAY STAR, WASHI DECEMBER 11 . ~m— 'THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D C. BUNDAY.....December 11, 1927 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor : P The Evening Star Newspaper lompany Business Office: 1130 St and Pennayl New York Office’ 110 Eas! Chicago Office: Tower R European Office: 14 ot St.. Engran with the Sunday marn ered by carriers within per month: daily o) Sundays only 20 ce Month . Orders may be sent by mail or phone Main 5000, Colletion is made by ch ‘month The Evenine & e “earrier at end of e "'Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. aity and Sunday 000 1 mo aily onls ... i n unday onlv $300° 1 mo. Bue 25¢ Al Other States and Canada. aile and Sundas | er. 813001 mo. 8100 iy oriy i 4%00: 1 mo ndav only ... 01 vr. $400°1mo 38¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Assoctated Pross 1s cxcl st Ay o the usa for republication cf all news dis hes credited to It or not otherwiswe cred in this naver and niso the local Diblished herein. Al rizhis of publ ¢ #pecial disnatches herein are Washington's New Art Exhibit. ‘Washington's development as an American art center has been pro- ceeding steadily for a number of years, but is now advancing more rapidly. The Capital will in a few months possess an attrac- tion that will be of note throughout the world and will decidedly pro- mote the public interest in art in this community. In another part of The Star today is published an article by Charles C. Glover which tells the story of the acquisition and provision for exhibiting the remarkable art collec- tion of the late William A. Clark which was bequeathed to the Corcoran Gal- Jery ot Art by him. Accompanying this article are illustrations of some of the outstanding items of the collec- tion. | Senator Clark’s interest in Wash- | ington as an art center and in the Corcoran Gallery as an institution of high merit manifested itself a num- ber of vears ago in his generous pro- | wision for the holding at the Corcoran of a, biennial salon of contemporary American ofl paintings. He was later elected a trustee of the Gallery, an honor which he cherished. The collection which comes to Wash- ington is to be housed as a unit in a special gallery, the erection of which was made possible by the generosity of the donor's widow and their three daughters, who gave $700,000 for the purpose. Without this gift it would not have been possible to care for and to display the collection in the manner desired by the donor and adequate to its full appreciation by the public. Had it not been for this liberal as- sistance to the Corcoran Galiery the great collection would have been scat- tered, and as a group of art objects destroyed through its dispersal. Nearly two hundred paintings and drawings, including some of the most notable examples of the art of the old masters as well as modern artists, a priceless collection of tapestries, faience, laces, rugs, antiquities, sculptures and furni- ture comprise this remarkable as- semblage, which will be housed in rooms specially designed for their proper display. This will be the sec- 78¢ | ents? After all, they are the ones who reaily deserve consideration around Christmas time. A child al- ways has toys. They may be bricks, or shoe boxes, or old tobacco tins, but they are wondrously garnished with imagination. But your poor parent! It is only around Christmas time that father may with clear conscience de- vote hours to the assemblage of a railway system: test with delectable detail the frogs on switches; experi- ment for hours to determine a safe speed for his express on sharp curves; perspire in a labor of love to deter- | mine why Parlor Car No. 3-X is in- clined to leave the rails when proaching Block Signal No. the bearings on the shiny new steam | engine, toot the whistie, test the | steam, pull back the throttle and let | her go! It is only around Christmas | time that mother may spend esoteric moments in the selection of a doll with the proper nose tilt or shade of | hair to “go” with darling Annie; or | when she feels free to ruin her eyes to hemstitch a tiny petticoat for An nie’s doll to wear. As a matter of fact, Annie would rather have a pop | gun and a red fire engine like Brother | Willie has. Mother, dad and Santa Claus know each other pretty well. ®And if any beetle-domed statistician raises a hue and cry against spending so much good money on toys, this immortal trio should rise as one and throw him in the creek. Spending a lot of money on toys is a pretty good sign that the country is safe and sound. e at— Uncle Sam's Pensioners. Ever since the enactment in 1920 of the Federal retirement law efforts have been made to secure provision of more adequate and ecquitable an- nuities for those Government em- | | ployes who were detached from active service on account of their years. There have been some adjustment: but more remain to be effected before the scale of retired compensation is sufficient. One of the first bills to be introduced at this session of Congress proposes to amend the law by adding somewhat to the scale of the annu- ities. Tt will to an appreciable degree relieve the wants of those in the higher ranzes of compensation, but it { will not afford material relief to se eral thousands of the lower-paid an- nuitants. It should be revised before it is put upon its passage. On the 30th of June last there werc 14,119 annuitants on the Federal em- ployes’ 1etirement roll, receiving an average of $721.39 a year. But 4,681 of these were paid less than $600 an- 3, got less than $500 an- nually, 1,356 got less than $400 a year, 525 got less than $300 annually, 116 less than $200 annually and ten less than $100 annually, and the list closed with one receiving $34.44 a vear, or $2.87 a month. All of these people are superannuated or disabled and except in a few instances are wholly in- capable of earning their subsistence. The pending bill proposing to amend the retirement act stipulates that no annuity shall exceed $1,200. In order to conform to the character of the original act, it should likewise provide for a minimum, and that minimum should be in all justice no less than $600. The original law provided that the minimum should be one-half of the maximum in all classes. If this present amendment stands and fis made a part of the substantive law, there will be several thousand cases ond instance only in which an art collection has been given a place of exhibition definitely planned for it, the other case being that of the Freer Gallery. The same architect, Charles A. Platt, has made the plans and supervised their execution in both cases. It is expected that the Gallery will be completed within a month and that the collection, installation of which will bezin at once, will be ready for opening to public view early in the Spring. In this connection it is only fitting | that Washington should express ap- preciation of the services rendered by the author of the article which appears in another part of The Star. Charles C. Glover has been a trustee of the Corcoran Gallery of Art for forty years, this being but one of his numerous interests and activities in behalf of the Capital. He has devoted himself assiduously to the task of making the Capital a center of art. To him goes a large measure of the credit for this latest addition which gives to Washington an art collection comparable with the most valuable in the world, for it was he who se- cured the interest of the late Senator Clark in the possibilities of Washing- ton in that respect. The achievement which is so soon to be consummated adds heavily to the sense of obliga- tion which the Capital community feels for Mr. Glover. —.——————— ‘Art,er considering numerous kinds of slaying, psychoanalysis proves that it can explain homicides, but cannot prevent them. | taitea by of annuitants receiving much less than one-half of the amounts paid to the highest-paid_annuitants in their classes. A pitiful spectacle is presented by the condition of these lower-paid an- nuitants. Many of them served the Government for long periods, faith- fully and capably. They were trans- ferred from the active to the retired list without opportunity to better their positions. Some of them had been so long in the Government service that they were unable to find other em- ployment when they received their virtual dismissals. They could not subsist upon the pittances doled out by the Government from the funds created by deductions from the =al- aries of active employes, and they be- came dependent upon relatives and in some cases upon charity. It was the purpose of the retire- ment act not to cause distress to those who for reasons alone of length of service were placed on the annuity rolls, but to relieve the Government of the incubus of the superannuated without causing such distress. If ever the whole story of the sufferings en- the rigid and inadequate scale of compensation is compiled, it will make a shameful chapter of in- humanity. The opportunity is now at hand in the purpose to amend the substantive law to correct in some de- gree this fault of a system which should be marked throughout its scope by humane consideration and should afford no instance of such parsimony as that which provides an annuitant with §2.87 a month for maintenance. & oo 7 .- Mother, Dad and Santa Claus. +The Department of Commerce esti mates the Christmas toy sale this year at $250,000,000, and immediately there Government authorities in consider- |ing an insanity plea frankly suggest | that it is a wise man who knows when | | to be crazy. come to mind all manner of statis- tics concerning what could be accom- plished with this money if it were not spent on toys—projects depending on the taste of the projectors and rang- iggyfrom battleships to boll weevils, frorh highways, churches and schools 1o foundations and funds for the elim- jmation or the propagation of thi that and the other thing. But, after all, spending $250,000,000 on toys is spending in a worthy cause. And en couraging. years ago that the people of the United States were buying. $200,000,- 000 worth of Government bonds to help pay for the war with Spain Modern toys cost about as much as the wars of earlier times, which is a corgplimentary commentary on the advancement of the human race. As far as the children are concerned, A Woman of the Wilderness. The Dominion of Canada is always | doing Interesting things, from lifting ! jtself by its bootstraps to a position in | the Eritish Empire almost, if not quite | co-equal to the mother country, to giv- ing the capital of its neighbor on the | south the military treat of its life. It draws the Prince of Wales to be an Albertan rancher; it successfully na- it projects this, | tionalizes its railways; It was only about thirty | engineers that and accomplishes the | | other thing. All the world seems in- terested in the doings of this vast, young-yet-old country, in which al- most all the many nationalities to be | founa within the United States get | along beautitully with millions sprung | trom French stock, with Indians and | with Eskimos. | One of its latest novelties is the offi- they would not mind a great deal if | cial recognition of the virtues and ac- all other channe! felt that turn away from the $15 toy, all glis. gening in its sliny red paint and nickel | highest honor within its power to be- | rbed in building | stow, and has described her as one of -| the finest examples of heroism Avork, to become abs i steeple out of five old blocks a ca nter threw away. bitter pang of disillusion- ment caused by watching little Algle | tibi, one of the wilder electoral dis-| The children ight get along comfortably without toys. But how about the par- this money were diverted into|complishments of the ploneer woman. Every grown-up has | The government of Quebec recently | invested Mrs. Philippe Croteau of Abi | tricts, with the “Merite Agricole,” the the province has seen. She is the first of her sex to win this distinction. Mme. Croteau,for doubtless that is | Croteau what her neighbors call her, is a widow who, with thirteen young chil- dren and no money, went into the “bush” country in 1916, cleared a farm and in ten years had made it into a [ property conservatively valued at $42,000. When she first set foot on her 300-acre tract and planned for her farm building and stables, it contained nothing except zoological and botani- cal specimens. have been for her a constant daily record of achievements calculated to make the tired business man or the tired American farmer go jump in the lake. The government, realizing that it is people with the spirit of Mme. who are the real original makers of a country, has caused her story to be printed in book form and distributed to all provincial school children. It is in some ways too bad that our own country has had no such award on its list of honors. On the other hand o many would have been eligi- bie for the order. How gratifying | cap the recital of the deeds of his or her ancestors with the climax, “And before she died the Government gave her the Order of Such-and-Such. There would be a medal worth cher ishing, meritinga spot of honor among the civil war decorations, the certifi- cate of the Society of the Cincinnati, the letters patent authorizing original land grants and all the other baubles and parchments which are enshrined penates. Alas, the hardy and Intrepid women of our stock who cheerfully trekked into bleak New England, the Western Reserve, the plains or the Pacific coun- try got mo such decorations, though often it was the woman member of the pioneer couple who made a go of it when a more limber backboned hus- | band wanted to lie down on the job. If he faded out of the picture, she, in many an instance, carried on and came through with flying colors. All she got was the Medal of the Milk Pail, the Decoration of the Hot Skillet, the Cordon of the Cradle, or perhaps, at the last, the Grand Cross of the Scalp- ing Knife. All honor to Mme. Croteau and may all her thirteen children grow up to be similar credits to the Land of the Maple Leaf! And all honor in our own hearts to those our ancestresses who had no time and no money to be portrayed, bewigged and beruffled by eminent early American or Colonial painters for the delight of their pos- terity, but who, uncomplaining. com- petent and serene in their faith, “made the bleak and howling place the gar- den for a finer race.” The poet puts it that way, but with a little thought he could have found a less debatable adjective than “finer.” Most persons believe in a heaven, and it is not hard to imagine a special, de luxe portion thereof set aside for such as Mme. Cro- teau and her predecessors of the same caliber. That she gained recognition while still on earth will be a source of satisfaction to a vast gone-before sis- terhood. ———— The sooner Lindbergh gives his plane to the Smithsonian Institution the better an admiring but apprehen- sive public will be pleased—unless he insists on getting another for occa- sional personal relaxation. It nas been said, “Once a flyer always a fiyer,” and it may be doubted whether Lindbergh will ever settle down se- dately to continuous desk work. ——————————— “Leave to print” demands regula- tion. It offers a great temptation to a weary audience that would not like to undertake editorial responsibility for all that appears. ————————— Tt is always cheering to receive beautiful holiday literature from a great public service enterprise. even though the company is constantly on the verge of an increase in rates. ——————— Even men who are agreed on tax reduction are not unanimous in an opinion as to who ought to get the credit if it goes through. e Statesmen are inclined to protest that the Smith-Vare debate holds up proceedings at a time when filibuster- ing is of no practical use to anybody. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSO: Delirious Domesticity. There's nothing iike a woman's heart To soothe a weary man— Until she makes a sudden start Upon the latest plan, And says, “Old dear, T contemplate A union more companionate!"” The house was a delightful spot. A pistol she acquired, And at friend husband took a shot. No more was he admired. How many a spouse exclaims, Home fsn’t what it used to b ‘Ah me, Perplexity. “What I am telling you is history,” said the emphatic friend. “Yer said Senator Sorghum. “But what are you going to do when some folks insist that even history is all wrong?" Carrying Out an Idea. We'll have our Christmas tree alive, On which the leaves for years will thrive— And would It not be something cute Could it bear presents same as fruit! Jud Tunkins says he doesn't believe in telling children there is no Santa Claus. Children hate to learn that their parents are disillusioned. Drawback. “Anybody can own a car days,” said Mr. Chuggins. “Yes,” replied his wife. “But you can't get the fullest enjoyment out of your auto. Every once in a while you have to quit motoring long enough to earn money for its up- keep.” these Footwear. | 8o costly are the shoes we buy, | We're tempted many times to sigh, | “Remove the sole and heel, I pray. | And let me take what's left away. | A simple bootleg, ufter all, | Might yield a profit far from small.” “It's hard to be patient,” sald Uncle Eben. “’'Bout de best you kin do i to cultivate de art of Hlyln"nulfln‘ The last eleven years | would it be to many an American to | among a modern family's lares and | EVERYDAY “Source of Supply.” “At wmidnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom' Go e out to meet him.”—8t. Matthew, 2206 | | One of the purposes of the ministry of Jesus was to prepare men for emergencies. He sought to equip them o that in times of stress and storm they might stand the strain. He il- lustrated th in what commonly called the pa ble of the five wise and five foolish virgins. The picture that He here draws is one that is strictly Oriental in character. Indeed, it is quite as common to the life of the | Orient today as when He uttered the words. He scribes the scene where- in ten virgins, the attendants of the bride, were equipped and prepared to accompany her when the bridegroom came to take her to her nuptials, As He describes the scene, there was de- in the bridegroom's coming. After hours of weary waiting, as the night drew on, the bridal attendants fell leep. Suddenly at the midnight hour a larm was heard and the cry went forth. “Behold, the _bridegroom!” Hastily the virgins made themselves ready to go forth to meet him. They had their lamps and they were still burning, but as they issued into the outer darkness presently five of the group discovered that their oil needed replenishing. Their lights were burn- ing low. Turning to their companions, they asked them for oil to replenish their spent supply, but the answer came, “Not so: lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ve rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.” Continuing the story, Jesus said, “While they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage; and the door was shut.” In the narrative F likens those who had a_scant supply of oil to the foolish. All ten of the attendants had their vessels. In this respect they were all equipped alike. They differed only in their supply of oil. The story has a striking application to the com- mon experiences of life. Its vital les- son is designed to emphasize the im- portance of the source of supply. the source of supply that will stand us in | | BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. Bishop of Wachington RELIGION D, LL.D., upon life’s equipment is conspicuously true. Agencies and mechanisms bulk large In our vision. Important as these may be, they do not transcend in importance that which makes them ser able and useful. In our re- ligious life we str the valu= of things external; the forms or sym- bols that we use; indeed, we stress these so unduly that sometimes we seem to think of them as supreme in themselves. Their value is unchal lenged where properly recognized and used, but their value lies not in them selves, but in what they actually rep- resent of spiritual force and power. The lamp may serve as a symbol of our expressed faith; it is a useful and indispensable thing, but its useful ness depends solely upon its source of supply. Without this it is practically valucless. This source of supply comes alone from a continuing and unbroken relationship with the Su- preme Master Himself. After all, our religious faith is something more than a creed, something more than a s\ tem—yes, something more than even a desp-seated conviction. It is con- scious fellowship with Him who de clared Himself to be the life and the light of men.- To contend with the difficulties that beset us, to meet temptations as they arise, to survive disappointments that are heartbreak ing, to stand serene when storm clouds gather, and having done all to stand, prove the eficacy of our| faith and the closeness of our fellow- ship with Jesus Christ. Life at its best is a great struggle. Repeatedly it is put to the test. No matter what it may have in the way of external| equipment it demands, at all times and under all conditions, an unfailing supply of power. None of us knows when the hour of emergency may | come and the cry be heard, “Behold. the bridegroom! ~Go ye out to meet him.” To go forth with confidence and assurance means to have that sustaining supply that will fortify us under all conditions and carry us through all trials. “See that your lamps are burning; Replenish them with oil: Look now for your salvation, The end of sin and toil. The watchers on the mountain Proclaim the Bridegroom near, stead when the emergency or the crisis arises. That we lay undue emphasis A CONSTITUTION Before the newly convened Congress adjourns preliminary moves will be made, it is said, to bring about the calling of a constitutional convention to undertake a genoral overhauling of the Nation's organic law. . The pro- posal will be supported by arguments to the effect that some of the more re- cent amendments to the Constitution, with the enforcement laws and court decisions with regard thereto, are in direct conflict with other provisions of the Constitution and that the time has come for a complete revision of the famous document. It is not suggested that radical changes be made in the Constitution, or that more than one or two new provisions be incorporated in it, but it is contended that conflicts in the doc- ument should be eliminated and that its language should be clarified and its intent made unmistakable. It is insisted that experience has demonstrated this cannot be accom- plished by the process of adopting in- dividual amendments from time to time and then having them interpreted by decisions of the Supreme Court. An example cited of conflicts that have arisen is the one befween the fourth amendment and the eighteenth through the court decisions relative to the law for the enforcement of the lat- ter. The fourth amendment, be it re- called, is one of the articles of the so- called Bill of Rights and is known as the one guaranteeing “security from unreasonable searches and seizures.” The eighteenth, as no one needs to be reminded, is the prohibition amend- ment. The former provides that “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and ef- fects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath gr affirmation, and particu- larly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” The latter does not In itself confiict with this guarantée, but it is claimed that court decisions anent actions of prohibition enforce- ment officers have denied the guar- antee established by the fourth amendment. What the Courts Have Decided. In test cases that have been carried through the courts the decision has been made that enforcement officers can, without a duly executed search warrant, stop an automobile on the public highway and search it for con- traband liquor, and that the baggage of a person on a train can be searched without a search warrant merely upon the decision of the investigating officer that he wants to make such a search. This is re- garded by what is described as a considerable element of the populace as an fnvasion of the guarantees es- tablished by the Bill of Rights. Again, it is pointed out, the four- teenth amendment says that no State may “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws,” and there are those who think that what is forbidden to a State must also be understood to be forbidden to the Federal Government. However, Congress has passed a_law under which it has thus far been maintained successfully in the courts that when a prohibition enforcement officer kills any one he is not ame- nable to the laws of the State within which the killing is done, but must be tried in the nearest Federal court. where the Federal district attorney appears, not as his prosecutor, but as his defender. An instance of what may happen under this sceming conflict of law with a constitutional guarantee recently occurred in southern Maryland. A prohibition enforcement officer, who, with others, was making a raid on a farm in quest of an illicit still, nl’mll and killed an old man who had re- sisted the invasion of his premises by | persons who appeared under cover of night and who he might have had reason to fear were burglars. He did not carry his resistance to the point of injuring any of the invaders. No still was found on the place, it is said. Maryland authorities arrested the prohibition enforcement officer and charged him with murder, and sought to have him tried in a State court under the State laws covering the crime alleged to have been committed. Federal authorities intervened, had the prisoner removed to the jurisdic- tion of a Federal court, and the next thing the people of that section of Maryland knew the man had been re- leased from custody and was back on his job in their midst, presumptively ready to do another Kkilling if he thought the situation called for it. Debate Said to Be Futile. Dispassionate observers of cases | such as those cited—and there are many others—say that debate as to what is right or wrong. or what is constitutional or unconstitutional, is Go meet Him as He cometh, With alleluias clear.” AL CONVENTION BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. in some minds as to whether justice has been done. There are two ways by which the Constitution can be changed. By the first, two-thirds of both houses of Congress must approve a resolution for an amendment, which becomes adopted when ratified by the Legisla- tures of threefourths of the States. By the second, Congress, upon the ap- plication of the Legislatures of two- thirds of the States, must call a con- stitutional convention. Such a con- vention may produce an entirely new | Constitution or make any changes in | the existing Constitution, but what it does must be confirmed by the Legis- latures of three-fourths of the States. By the first, a two-thirds vote of Congress and a three-fourths vote of the States are required to effect an argendmt‘nt, By the second, a two- thirds vote of the States opens up the entire Constitution to amendment or revision, but three-fourths of the States must accept the action of the constitutional convention, whatever it may be, before it becomes effective. It has been charged that those who are opposed to the prohibition amend- ment are behind the movement for a constitutional convention because they believe that to be the easiest way of accomplishing their purpose or the only way in which the prohibition question can ever again be put up to the country as a whole. That, obvi- ously, opens up another debate, But there are people in considerable numbers who are interested in fur- ther changes in the Constitution aside from the indicated changes to elimi- nate conflicts, and they are those who believe in the so-called equal rights amendment, sponsored by the Woman's Party, and those who want a newly elected President and Congress to be- gin functioning the first week in the January following their election in No- vember, There are also advocates of a change that would give the Presi dent a term of six years and make him ineligible for re-election. There has been no Federal constitu- tional convention in the country since that presided over by George Wash- ington, which concluded its deliber ;i:n\'i& and its work on September . Funds Asked for a National Credit Survey BY HARDEN COLFAX. A survey by the Department of Commerce to determine how much credit the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker cxtends to their customers, plus how and perhaps why, is being sought by the National Re- tail Credit Association, which last week sent a delegation before the House appropriation committee to ask the necessary funds. All of which is a gentla manner of stating that the keen-minded gentlemen wh» rate possessors of charge accounts A, B or Z as the facts justify in retail establishments which are of sufficient size to support credit departments want to know how much Mr. and Mrs. Consumer and family owe merchants in the aggre- gate in a year, during the average month; In the country as a whole, by States; what they buy most liberally when extended credit, and many other facts. Particularly do they desire the light of accuracy to penetrate the mists of guesses about install- ment sales. ‘There is no ‘nervousness over the situation in this desire for a survey of credit conditions. It is the resuit of the constant hunger of the scien- tific business man of the modern day for more facts. * K k% In presenting to the appropriations committee their request for an appro- priation to enable the Department of Commerce to undertake a credit survey, the delegation pointed out that an average of 30 merchants fail every business day and that only a little more than half of all corpora- tions make a net profit in a year. Much is known of wholesale credit conditions; that is rather easily check- ed. Little is known of the vast vol- ume of consumption credit. No one even knows how many retail establish- ments there are in the United States, either as a whole or in any specific line. The credit men themselves might at- tempt to gather data on how and why the consumer buys. Indeed, they pro- pose to do much of the work of the survey, but they feel Uncle Sam's hand in the study would be helpful. Of the retail business of the country, around $40,000,000,000 a year, an in- creasing proportion is done by credit. And the ever-popular ‘“leaps and bounds” jnevitably is used in describ ing the growth of Installment buying. Thousands of retailers lack knowl- edge of the fundamentals of extending credit. _Scores of studies have been made of installment sales, but no na- tutile until there has been a revision of the Constitution. Nobody can win such a debate because nobody ~an be sure which side is right. Thece can be, and will be, of course, court deci- sions, but even In t adjudications there m y remain doubts tional survey has been made. EE ‘What are vie . “rcts of consumption credit? Increased ~msumption helps case of finall productions, mass production supports debts, employment and the wage scale, the ber (ceremonies in Washington. 27—PART 2 Capital Sidelights Every once in a while an almost forgotten bit of history is recalled during debate in Congress. In this way the research students and well read members contribute to the fund of interesting and tion. It was Minority Leader Garrett who treated the House to such an item on Friday in connection with the item for $463,752.49 in the deficiency appropriation_hill to pay an old debt of honor t# certain Indians the treaty with the Shawnee on October 14, 1868, Mr. € brought out of the memory mi somewhat analogous situation with to the of the States. While that constitutional amend ment was pending there were two States, namely, New Jersey and Ohio, that ratified it, who befor lamation usually issued by the Secre- ry of State in such cases had heen issued, withdrew their ¢ dertook to recall their The Secretary of State, Mr. Sew: ard, Issued a proclamation simply stating the facts and not proclaiming the fourteenth amendment as a part of the Constitution. Thereupon the Congress took notice of the matter and took another whirl at this amend- ment and passed a resolution, the ef- fect of which was to hold that a State could not reconsider a question of ratification even before promulga- tion of the proclamation by the Sec- retary of State. Mr. Seward accepted this act of Congress and declared the fourteenth amendment ratified. So there was a case in which the Congress took an action possibly somewhat on all fours with the one which the House had befor® it. e Leighton H. Blood, free-lance who has tility in Constitution atifications. pt. soldier-of-fortune journalist, jauntily_proclaimed his ves world-wide fields by the big head- lines he has commanded in new papers and the leading magazine his “inside stories” of great event movements, and who is a Press Club favorite, is going to give Washington and other great cities of the United States a new thrill next spring. He is bringing back with him the band and symphony orchestra of the French Foreign Legion for their first concert tour outside of Africa. T musical organization is as famous our Marine Band. It will be accom- panied by Col. Rollet, commandant of the French Foreign Legion, who fought alongside the American troops in the World War. The American tour is sponsored by the American Legion. The chief pianist was formerly as- sistant conductor of the Boston Syin- phony Orchestra and is now serving as a private. The famous stirring march of the French Foreign Legion has been re- leased to Capt. Blood for presentation to the United States Army Band, and this will be done with appropriate = x xw Tn reply to an inquiry whether and where Robert Fulton built and floated his first steamboat in Washington, there is a tradition, which seems to be grounded on some facts, that Ful- ton, while a guest at the famous Kalo- rama (Beautiful View) estate, once the home of the poet and diplomat, Joel Barlow, had his boat built in a barn back of the Kalorama house, in 1806. Local joiners and blacksmiths worked there under his direction. was launched in the mill pond of Rock Creek, to which the estate them ex- tended, and the experiment was con- sidered a success. This was a year before the Clermont was launched on the Hudson River. At that time Fulton and B. H. La- trobe, who is most famous for being one of the architects in charge of the building of the Capitol, advised with Barlow on remodeling the mansion and laying out the grounds. A Sum- mer house designed by Fulton stood un the brow of the hill at the present Intersection of Twenty-fourth and U streets, One of Barlow’s best poems, regard- ed as a national epic, “Columbiad,” wan dedicated to Fulton. * k ok X The visit of Senators Glass and Swanson of Virginia to President Cool- idge urging the appointment of Prof. John G. Pollard of Williamsburg, Va., to the Federal Trade Commission brings attention to a man who has not only previously performed valuable public service in Washington during the World War, but has spen. his en- tire life in worth-while work for his native State. Dr. Pollard is dean of the Marshall- Wythe School of Government and Citi- z°nship at William and Mary College, | where Washington received his com- mission as survevor and was chancel- lor, and where John Marshall, Thoma Jefferson, James Monroe and man others of the founding fathers were | educated, including four signers of the Declaration of Independence. One of Dr. Poliard’s benefactions is the preservation of the Blair House in Williamsburg, one of the oldest build- ings in America. The Blair family is one of the most remarkable in this country. This was the home of John Blair, sr. (1689-1771), three times act- | ing governor of the “olony of Vir- ginia, and of his son, John Blair, jr., a member of the convention which drafted the Constitution of the United States and a judge of tho first United States Supreme Court under appoint- ment of George Washington—from 1789 to 1796 Blair been a notable name n the field of American statesmanship. A Blair founded Princeton University and a Blair offered Gen. Lee the posi- tion of commander-in-chief of the Fed- eral Armies. The Blair family has been represented in the cabinet, on the Supreme Court bench and in the Sen- ate of the Nation. This old Blair homestead, .hich Dr. Pollard has preserved, was also the home of Prof. Ro Andrews, son-in-law of Judge Blair, and the home of Chiet Justice Marshall when he was a stu- dent at William and Mary College in 1779. The stone steps weie imported from England and \ere originally used on the first theater in America erectnd in Willilamsburg in 1716. - latter element boosts consumption. Cause and effect are sadly mixed in many minds, like two first-cousin tones of gray. Installment sales run anywhere from $4,000,000,000 to $7,000,000,000 a year, according to those whose estimate is accepted. The retail credit men want to know what the effect has been on wages, on interest rates, on turn- over of invested capital, on losses, etc. The credit men estimate instaliment sales last year as having aggregated $6,500,000,000. They regard it as “good business, if properly safeguarded.” Fd- win R. A. Seligman, professor of polit- ical economy at Columbia University, wrote a hook on installment selling, in which he characterized & as one of the “most signal contributions of the twentieth century to the potential cre- ation of national wealth and national welfare.” Chain stores and mail order houses, as a rule, do not extend credit to cus- tomers. Yet not all chain systems or mail order merchants succeed in busi- ness. A recent study estimated that 40.000 chain store units, in nearly 500 systems, last year had sales aggregat- ing $3,400,000,000, and that they sold 8 per cent of their merchandise at a loss and 26 per cent additional at no profit. The last national bank statements, called October 10, disclosed resources of $27,213,824,000, the largest amount in the history of the system, an in- crease of $793,000,000 in loans and dis- | counts as compared with last Decem- ber 31, and an increase in deposits of well over a billion dollars. Nothing in the present business sit- uation particularly alarms the credit men in seeking this survey. What valuable informa- | respect to the fourteenth amendment | United | the proc-| sent and un- | ‘The boat | | twice as bushy. Nipper's tail deserves 'D. C. SURPLUS OF 1925 NOW SPENT, ' BUT ANOTHER HAS ACCUMULATED | BY BEN McKELWAY. In their report last week to Con- | gress the District Commissioners, ac- counting for cash in hand at the close | of the fiscal year 1927, included $ | 631.78 as remaining from the surplus from District taxes rec | niz Congress in 1 | ing to $4,438.15 a incr to $5, fter an additional claim to 83, put forward by District Auditor Donovan, was upheld by the Comp. er General. But the report is some. t misleading, for while the cash remains, most of it has been author- ized for expenditure in the current fiscal year. | District’s surplus has dwindled . It is probable that the ap- opriation bill for the next fiscal ye Il include this $1,000. It will prob- be used to buy some bricks for schoo! building or to put some mark- rs in a park. In the meantime an other District surplus is accumulat- ing. * X ok ok After Congress had investizated in 1922-3 and determined the fact that | the District's surplus of unexpended revenues P - ical juggling of boo count the hope of Washington was that Con- gress would appropriate the surplus after the manner of its accumuation, nd arguments in that direction were confined largely to a very simple ex- planation of how the surplus had ac- cumulated. It was recalled, for in- stance, that after 1878 and the deci- jon by Congress to embark upon a program of building up the Capital, there were many lean years for the District in which local Tevenue could not match the amount to be spent by the Federal Government. The Fed- eral Government. therefore, made up the difference, and in the fat vears that followed always took it back from the District—with interest. In other words, when a surplus of expenditures accumulated to the credit of Uncle Sam, he always spent this surplus by matching it dollar for dollar with D trict revenues. This was not onl logical, but according to law. But in 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1920, when the Federal Government was hard at work spending money on ammunition, ships and soldiers, it did not find it practical to match its dollars for Dis- trict dollars, so that money from the District began to accumulate. This made up the surplus. * ok ok % But while the House unanimously recognized the existence of this sur- plus, the proposal that it be spent in the manner of its accumulation, or even under the 60-40 ratio, was consid- ered grotesque by some members of the House, who implied that the Dis- trict was insatiable in its demands and they had to stop somewhere. So the surplus has been spent, in accord- ance with legislation recognizing it, by inserting parts of it in regular appro- priation bills for the District for the purchase of sites for school buildings, school buildings and parks. About half the surplus went into the first deficiency bill in March, 1925, for school buildings and sites. ix hun- dred thousand dollars went into the second deficiency bill for 1926 for pur- chase of the Rock Creek-Potomac parkway; $1,725.000 was appropriated in the District bill for 1927 for build- ings and sites for school buildings an+ nother $300.000 for school buildings is contained in the appropriations for the current. fiscal y The balance now on hand, as stated above, is $1. 75. So much for the surplus of 19 * ok Kk K In reorganizing the fiscal relation- ship between the District and Fed- eral Government in 1922, Congress de- cided to put the District on a cash- paying, pay-as-you-go basis and de- creed that this be done for the cur- rent fiscal vear which began last July. And in looking over the record since 1900 Congress found that for 11 months out of every year the Federal Government had been regularly ad- vancing money to the District to As a matter of fact, the | ta | over the time before its own ised revenue became available, and these advances had been made without interest. Realization of this fact was a considerable shock to ome of tha members of Congress, though the fault lay plainly with “ongress. Previous to May, 1900, the semi-annual payment of District, in May and But in 1900 Congress law so that taxes could her in November or in human trait to put oft until May what should be done in g r resulted in delaving the | tatsing of District revenue until the | Jatter part of the fiscal year in which ¢ was to be spent. Every vear Uncla n had to carry the Dist long until it could raise the money to pay | tide it tax-r cl be paid_el May. The t " | him back the District on the cash- Aying basis this year, so that when here was money to be spent the money would he there for spending, | Congress authorized the Commission- | ers to accumulate, from year to ) 1 cash balance. And subsequently Congress provided that the lump sum |of $9,000,000, representing the Fed- | eral contribution in the last four fis- be made available at the = of each fiscal vear instead the rate of $750,000 a month. payments were also chanzed to September and March from vember and ¢, with penalties for failure to pay in September, so that | District revenues become available toward the beginning of the fiscal year and are paid in several months | before the close of the fiscal y with several months left over for de- linquent receipis. Added to the casn fund ted by the District Commis s, this enables the Dis- trict to year with a cash amounting to around 000,000 or more, with half its taxes becoming due and payable within the first six months of the fiscal year. * ok ok X put In 1 the Commissioners decided that a desirable cash balance to ac- cumulate in the vears remaining before the F-as-you-go__system went into effect would be $3,000,000 | and that this fund would be accumu- Jated at the rate of $600,000 a year The tax rate was fixed accordingly. But when the end of the fiscal year 1926 was reached it was found that this cash balance was only $1,973,179, instead of being the $2,400,000 count- ed upon. This made it necessary to raise 31,026,831 instead of the $600.- 000 that would have been necessary during the fiscal year 1927 to bring the cash balance to $3,000,000. Dur- ing the years between 1922 and 1827 ppropriations had reduced the cash alance, or surplus. but in the last fiscal year revenue credits exceeded appropriations by $1.787.699, so that at the beginning of the current fiscal year the c 1_amounted to §3,760,858, ™ £700,000 in ex- cess of the 1emed safe and advisable There interesting points in consid of this surplus. In the first piace, it cannot be regarded as a separate fund, deposited, and drawing interest, to be withdrawn in an emergency to carry the District ovc: an interval between tax pay- ments. It is simply a balance remain- ing at the close of each fiscal year in the general fund of the Treasury to the credit of the District. The amount, $3,000,000, was figured as a safe margin for a budget of $30,000,000. Already the budget has exceeded £40,000,000. There already exist ex- amples in which this cash balance has been diminished by appropriations. It is a bad policy to cross bridges not even in sight, but after departing from the fixed ratio system it is not stretch- ing the imagination to picture the day when Congress, having contributed its $9,000,000, might seize upon this un- expended balance as an excellent means of giving the District, say, an airport. The tax rate for the ensuing fiscal year would, of course, have to figured accordingly, and $3,000,000, in addition to regular needs, be raised to rebuild the surplus. This and That By Charles E. Tracewell. Nipper, little butter-and-egg cat, comes by his title honestly. He prefers eggs to beefsteak. The mere production of an e: the cardboard container send: into winding evolutions whick the legs of the kitchen table and the refrigerator. When_the egz is broken saucer, Nip sends up sundry of a_hearty character. When the fork begins to play a merry tune with the egg on the sides of the dish, in the well known beating process, Nipper goes into convulsions of desire. Standing on his hind legs, he meows lustily, his furry body seeming round- er than usual, his tremendous tail into meo a an article all to itself, which no doubt will be forthcoming at the proper time. * X X X We have vet to see the hour when Nipper refused to eat his egg. He has been known even to desert succulent beefsteak or veal (leftovers from Jack Spratt's dinner), to con- sume his favorite raw egs. His taste for butter, however, is an- other matter. As far as is known, Nipper is the only cat that eats butter. This fat seems to be an acquired taste, as it were, for members of his four-footed tribe do not eat it, as a general rule. Beef, fish, liver—these constitute the regular dietetic trio peculiar to the domestic house cat. He—or she—is perfectly satisfied on this fare. Every one of these household | friends, however, has its peculiarity in eating habits. Jack Spratt, he of the gooseberry green eyes, wifl eat one brand of baked beans, but none other. He was once known to jump up on the table and drag to the floor a por- tion of cottage pudding, which he held down_ with one paw, while he con- sumed most of it. Since that day he has scorned cot- tage pudding. A serving of pudding, handed to him, does not possess the flavor of the portion rustled up by his own ef- forts. This trait is not confined to animals. Children—and even their elders— have been known to find a peculiar relish in stolen viands. * X % *x Here is how Nipper came by the full title of “butter-and-egg” cat: About a quarter of a pound of the popular fat, with its Invisible content | of vitamins, was reposing on the table. Nipper was playing with a catnip | mouse. He seemed perfectly safe, since he had just finished a saucer of milk, one | of his favorite eggs, and several pieces of beefsteak. One might have thought this amount of food would have sufficed, but if any one thought so, he did not; know Nipper. “Nipper's eating the butter!" Rapid_inspection showed the large kitten sitting beside the butter plate, calmly licking the vellow slab, which by this time had all corners and edges neatly rounded. When caught, Nipper merely wink- ed a green eye, and proceeded with his | impromptu feast, as if it were the most regular procedure in the world. It is not necessary to inform any reader here that Nip was permitted to eat his fill; or that when he had fin- they want 1s not necessarily fewer but, possibly, better debts, (Coprajg. 1927.) Fifty Years Ago In The Star “On the principle that ‘the early bird catches the worm’,” says The Star of A “Shop Early” December 5, 18 in_inaugurating a Campaign “shop early” cam pressure on the paign to ease the local ~mereantil ablishments prior to the holidays. ome of the most sagacious dealers in holiday goods are already arrang- ing their displays and getting ready to make their attractions known t | the public. It is a well known foc that the best customers are those who make their holiday selections early while stocks are full and fresh, and when they can be properly waited on. Dealers who would desire thix desirable trade should therefore be prompt to give the widest publicity to such inducements as they propose to hold out to purchasers seeking bar zains. We need not add that the advertising columns of The Star are the recognized mediums for all com munications of this class, but we may be pardoned for reminding business men that the loss of a day’s trade Dbefore the holidays can never be made up after they have gone by. Those who commence earliest are col quently least likely to have to carry over a portion of their stock of goods until next season, with the risk of being out of style, shopworn and ult'- mately sold below cost to prevent o total loss of the investmen * * ok In an editorial in The Star of De- cember 7, 1877, is given an outline of D. C. Fiscal (he Flendee bill, which it s then thmam islation Would have the best Legislation 00 C. ot Serving as the basis for the expected legislation definitely establishing the fiscal re- lations between the Federal Govern- ment and the District. It was the bill that had been agreed upon by the special joint committee appointed to report on District affairs. It pro- vided for a Government by commis- sioners, one appointed by the Presi- dent, one elected by the House and one by the Senate. The Cemmission- ers should annually estimate and. re- port through the Secretary of the Treasury to Congress thg amount necessary to defray the expenses and pay the indebtedness of the District, for the next fiscal year. To the ex- tent to which the estimates showit be approved Congress should appropri- ate the amount of 40 per cent, the remaining 60 per cent to be levied and assessed upon the property in the District other than that of the United States and the District government. The Star concludea: “It is believed in view of the form!- dable array of facts presented to Con- gress by the citizens' committee, show- ing the extent of the burdens upon the impoverished taxpayers of the District, that an amendment to the bill making the amcunt to be con- tributed by the Government to Dis- trict expenses 50 per cent instead of i 40 would be readily adopted. This bill thus amended will, we believe, be generally acceptable to the people of the District, but they are not tenacious in regard to the form of any particular form of relief, so that it embodies the vital principle of fix- ing the definite proportion of Dis ant xpenses the Government will eal e Thanks Come Hard. From the Cleveland News. Price of beef seems to have joined ished, he licked his chops with cullar vigor, ___ _ _ - - ] the price of poultry in making it as foel hard as Elllhl for Americans to