Evening Star Newspaper, April 5, 1929, Page 8

fina PR . {THE EVENING STAR/|#n remit is ane of nday Morning Bifthn. . With Sunda; Edition. WASHINGTON, D.'C They are the formal Charles H. that vietory declaration Sabin, former Re] FRIDAY..........April 5, 1920 mitteewoman from New York, that shs THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor intends to devote her energies now to doing away with prohibition. Mrs. Sabin, it appears, does'not believe that "vmmmaur Newspaper Company [ women are as strongly in favor of pro- o Business Ottcer zez Yok Sl iR M, o " 5 4 Rloean Omce: 14 St., London, the City. 45¢ per month hibition as has been generaily argued by the prohibition leaders. She plans, 1t is said, to organize the wemen of the country against prohibition. Doubtless there are many women who believe as she does. But there are countless 60¢ per month | thousands who have benefited hecause ‘The Sunday Star . Collection made ai{he end of a:dl:n may be sent in by mall o ‘each month. r telephone Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Dally and Sunday....1 yr., $10. Daily only .. Ir. 8. Bunday only All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday..1 yr. $12.00; 1 mo., $1.00 Daily only .. ; 1 mo. 5 unday ited in this paper and also the local ne published herein. All rights of publication of Epecial dispatches herein are also reserved. = The Next Budget. Preliminary steps in drawing up the District’s annual budget are under way, the various departmental heads esti- mating their needs for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 1930. The budget now being framed promises to be one of the mest interesting in recent years. If the suggestion for a five-year finan- cial program is adopted by the Com- missioners, who now have it under con- gideration, the first budget under that | 3PPeal is made now by the President's program would contemplate the ex- penditure of approximately forty-two million dollars, which would be the largest budget ever planned for the District. Even though the five-year program is not adopted, the next budget will necessarily be large. Building and extension projects will make it so. When the Commissioners submitted their estimates slightly in excess of forty million dollars for the last budget, they were promptly returned by the Budget Bureau with directions for further cuts. Yet, when hearings were in progress on the appropriation bill, the Commissioners were criticized for not having asked for more, as the sur- plus fund in the Treasury represented revenues which could have been taken into consideration. The attitude of the Budget Bureau this Spring, when the estimates again come before that body, will be important. As the District de- rives no tangible benefit from a Treas- ury surplus that is greater than neces- sary for the year-to-year reserve fund, the Budget Bureau should approve the expenditure of the maximum funds that can be raised by the present tax rate, plus the Federal contribution. If such expenditures are not authorized the District should be given the solace of a reduction in taxes. ;i Auditor Donovan’s five-year program is based, it is understood, on the esti- mated revenues from the existing rate of taxation plus the pre-supposed con- tinuation of the lump-sum contribution of nine million dollars. It is difficult to see how the Budget Bureau could ‘wisely exercise its power of approval be- yond merely sanctioning the correct use of available funds. The tendency to cut down the amount of such funds, applied to the budgets of Federal de- partments, is of little benefit to the District taxpayers, whose tax burden has already been measured and whose money, once paid, should be spent. ——eate. Several eminent politicians admit that, while supporting the Volstead act, they permit themselves an occasional drink. There have always been re- ‘markable distinctions between theory and practicé. —————— So much attention is centered on pro- ‘hibition that there is apparently an in- clination to arrange for medals to be awarded those who observe the law. e Wisconsin Does the Expected. Wisconsin has gone “wet” again in a referendum on the repeal of the State enforcement dry law. The wets are hailing it as & sign of further revolt against the eighteenth amendment and the Volstead act. They ignore the fact that Wisconsin’s wetness ‘is nothing new. Indeed, it would have been almiost revolutionary if Wisconsin had voted dry. Wisconsin has its wet center, Mil- waukee, which provided nearly 70,000 of the 120,000 lead which the wets have in the referendum. Many of the coun- ties have gone dry in the referendum. More significant than the victory of the wets was the fact that the lead which they rolled up in the referendum just held was some 50,000 short of the victory they achieved in a somewhat similar referendum two years ago. The drys are by no means through with this Wisconsin fight. The refer- endum gave the sentiment of the majority of the voters, The State Legislature, however, must take formal action to repeal the State enforcement act. The battle transfers itself im- mediately ¥o the State Capitol at Madi- son. It is likely that every conceivable influence will be brought to bear on the legislators, by both the wets and legislators who fail to vote for the re- peal of the State enforcement act should be “recalled.” However, it can- not be expected that members of the State Senate and House who come from districts which voted “dry,” as many of them did, will cast their votes for of still halting the passage of the re- pealer bill. The wets are counting upon the effect of the prohibition referendum in Wis- the rest of , when special tighten H 5% g i i g H i'ig.’. fEl Es T # i : é i s0c | But the handshake is peculiarly Amer- do not come into ‘the same sphere of life as that inhabited by Mrs. Sabin, The Handshakers, ‘The American people are the greatest handshakers in the world. Other peo- ples have their methods of salutation, some more formal and others less so. ican. There are millions of Americans Wwho would be proud and glad to shake the hand of the President of the United States. Indeed, if the President would agree to meet all comers, he would have a constant stream filing through the White House executive offices and he would have no time to give to the busi- ness of governing the country. President Hoover, after a month in the White House, is finding the hand- shaking function of the Chief Executive onerous. He has cut the days on which he receives, except by special appoint- | ment, to two a week, and two days ago 11,700 visitors turned up to pass in line and shake the President’s hand. An secretary, Mr. Akerson, to members of the Senate and House not to be quite 50 liberal in the number of letters they give to constituents which obtain the privilege of joining the handshaking line. It appears that 188 handshakers were sent to the White House on Wednesday by a single Senator. To the President's secretary this number seemed somewhat excessive, Mr. Hoover is a gracious host. He is kindly and winning. The handshak- ers who visit the White House come away with praise on thelr lips for the cordial reception they have had. But the President should not be compelled to undergo the ordeal of shaking hands with three or four thousand visitors every week. It is neither fair to him nor to the office which he fills and which demands so much of the energy of the occupant of the White House. Mr. Hoover is a great worker. He gives his time and strength unstintingly in the public service. It is only fair that the people should think before they in- sist upon shaking hands with the Chief Executive and it is certainly the part of the legislators, who have the priv- ilege of sending constituents to the | White House to meet the President, to give this matter due consideration. ‘There is no desire on the part of President Hoover to be exclusive. He is entirely democratic. He has not a snobbish bone in his body. There is, however, a sense of proportion which should govern in the White House as well af’ elsewhere. ‘The problems of the American Government today, call- ing constantly for the attention of the President, ‘warrant. the curtailing of the handshaking brigade. One thing upon which the President may congrat- ulate himself, in the face of the advancing army of handshakers, is the fact that the embrace is not as cus- tomary a form of salutation in this country as it is in certain countries of Europe. r—or A Humane Act. Secretary of Labor Davis is taking a decidedly humane action in instructing officials of his department to admit to the United States young Mary Calla- ghan of Ireland temporarily without a passport if the story is authenticated that the colleen lost both her passport and her money as she saluted the Statue of Liberty while coming up the bay. According to press reports, Mary, in a transport of joy at reaching the land of her dreams, waved wildly at| the symbol of America as the ship churned past, but was reduced to tears almost immediately when her precious pocketbook, containing all her worldly possessions, flew out of her hand and splashed into the water. Although im- migration officials were reported as con- vinced that the Irish lass was safely within the quota limit, or she would not have been permitted to sail in the first place, they were forced to detain her at Ellis Island until a duplicate of her passport could arrive from Queens- town. This is where Secretary Davis stepped into the picture, and he prompt- ly ordered officials to admit the girl :f'| the story was authentic. Not only Mary, but all who read of it, will applaud his kindly act. . A Wall Street speculator may fall down and go broke; but that fact does not keep him from saving up for an- other stake. » e & City Sites. ‘When in 1609 Hendrik Hudson turned the prow of the Half Moon into the mouth of the Hudson River he was il search, not of a site for a, colony, but of & way to the Indies. He sailed up the river which afterward bore his name until the waters shoaled to the point of preventing further advance. Disappointed, he turned back and set out across the Atlantic for home, where he reported the'failure of his endeavor to reach Asia by sea, but told stories of fine peltries that he had seen in the do a bit of trading, and another ship was sent back for that purpose, with such hafidsome profits that other ves- sels were sent later and other cargoes returned, and finally trading posts established up the Hudson and, ] , & fort and shipping point was established on Manhattan Island, this being the beginning of New Amster- ] it s far from ideal, that it is an ex- tremely costly plaice as a great municipal center. But, of course, they do not re- pent the settiement by the Dutch nor its development by the British, nor its sub- sequent ‘enhancement by the self-lib- erated Americans. 3 Announcement has just been made of = proposed new public workyin New York that illustra’es the diszivantage of the island of Manhatfan as a great center of population. A plan has been devised for later submission fo the| board of estimate for a new subway on the East Side. It is to cost $600,000,000. If built at this figure it will raise the city's inyestment in its own independent transportation system to $1,200,000,000, exclusive of $550,000,000 invested in ex- isting subways under lease to corpora- tions. In other words; when this new tube is built the city will have $1,750,- 000,000 in undergrolind construction for the transportation of the people up and down the long narrow strip, on the tip of which Hendrik Hudson's successors in exploration and settlement located the first colony. \ The truth is that cities are not lo- cated and developed with ideas of con- venience. There is only one known instance in this country, and that is Washington, and one other known in- stance abroad, and that is Canberra in Australia. And Washington's site was not chosen with particular reference to urban convenience, but was determined rather by political and social considera- tions, urgent at the time. In some cases cities have been established with- out forethought as to future facilities, yet with excellent results. In almost every instance trading considerations have dictated locations. —— e Another Flower Show. «Within a few years Washington's blossom festival, which begins with the flowering of the cherry trees around the Tidal Basin, will be continued late into the Spring. The Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks has begun the planting of some fifteen hundred flowering crab-apple trees along the riverside drive in Anacostia Park and some time within the next decade they will come into blossom early in May, just about the time that the cherry trees have shed the last of their worn- out Easter finery and dressed them- selves in green to wear throughout the Summer. ‘The planting of the crab-apple trees, of which some twenty-six varieties are being used, is in line with a policy to | provide floral attractions for the differ- ent sections of the city and to prolong the Spring flower show ushered in every Spring by the cherry trees. Such a policy has almost limitless possibilities. Dogwood, which so brightens the first faint green of Rock Creek’s woods, might be used to advantage in border- ing the Rock Creek drive. As one of the beautiful attractions of Washing- ton's early Spring is provided by the magnolias in the White House grounds and Pranklin Square, one wonders if it would not be possible to plant a grove of these trees in one of the new parks, for, while the blooms do not last long, they provide a glorious spectacle in the first few warm days of Spring. Washington wants never to lose the cherry trees in Potomac Park. They have become a tradition in the com- paratively brief period of their exist- ence. It would be a great satisfaction to Washington to be assured that ade- quate precautions are being taken to preserve themr. and to replace those trees which are killed by disease or water. Keeping the cherry trees as a nucleus for the flower show of the fu- ture, other additions can be made from time to time, such as that already be- gun with the planting of the crab-apple,| trees. ———— April Fool day has passed. It is sup- posed to be dedicated’to fun, but is only a reminder of ancestral days when a rugged baronial intelligence dictated all expressions of humor. i Having disppsed of his horses, the Prince of Wales takes a ride in an air- plane; proving that he still has a liking for the thrill that goes with swift mo~ tion. N Discreet attention will necessarily be directed to communities which find it impossible to enforce laws against liquor without calling in the assistance of a coroner’s jury. L et SHOOTING STARS. ‘These days ‘ashingtonians to renewed acquaintance with their city, as they watch the young visitors from other municipalities eagerly engage in *Why noi? ‘There is an old saying that familiar- ity breeds contempt, but it may be sub- mitted that close acquaintance with one’s own city results in something ‘worse. "This is indifference. Praise is one thing, blame another, indifference still another and on an equal footing, although, perhaps, it is rstood. not generall 5 Consider, however, the place of praise al relationships. or blame Every one likes to be praised. No one cares to be blamed, either justly or un- ise and fault-finding have the samé merit, that they pre- ;\tl}x:pose some sort of interest ong to an- other. No one can be totally indifferent to you if they either praise or blame you! When cold indifference sets in, however, w?fi the least sensitive person feels the chill, * ok k¥ ‘When one becomes indifferent to the good and bad features of his own city, the place where he lives, he is both the rlvetr and the receiver of a chilling cur- rent. ‘Where the newcomer finds a, beauti- ful building, the resident discovers only a name, or even less, Where the visi- tor, whether young or old, sees an in- different street to be wondered over, he finds nothing to make a comment about cne way or another. ‘To make good use of streets and buildings is not to understand them, in the sense that understanding means some sort of opinion. Yes, one may have an opinjon about stenes and bricks, and the results se- cured from the use of stones and bricks. One must have 2n opinion about them, unless he is to fall into the sense~ less ways of the animal, which knows the world in which he lives simply through the senses of sight, sound and smell, without once having any under- standing. in itself, of all he sees, hears and smells. ¥ ik B Perhaps most city dwellers, no mat- ter which their city, fall into the great error of permitting themselves to be- come indifferent. So many things conspire in this lam- |entable pulling down that it is small wonder that the average resident can- not see his city with exactly the same | eyes as those through which the sight- seer views everything. The time-honored phrase, “places of interest,” points to the fundamental necessity, if one is to know his own home town, whether it be small, me- dium or large. ‘What one says of Washington applies equally to Cross Roads Center. Many a Washingtonian would get more “kick” out of seeing the Masonic Temple there than the Capitol here. * K K K Happy is the man who never gets over a pleased start of surprise when he sees the Washington Monument, no matter if he shall have seen it 10,000 times. ‘The happy thing is that it is even possible for him to appreciate it more than some sophisticated visitor who says he “doesn't think it is so much, after all.” The latter has had his expectations raised too high, so that nothing built by hands could quite come WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC ‘The business of where the half-sister ‘of the Vice President of the United States shall sit at dinner may strike the country at large as small potatoes, but here in this world metropolis of high society it is a matter of momentous magnitude. Since time immemorial precedence has been a ticklish topic in Washington. ‘American officialdom and the diplomatic corps alike are constantly concerned with it. Foreign envoys and their sisters and their cousins and their aunts eat, sleep, dream and drink prece- dence. It is the alpha and omega eof their existence. .That's why Sir Esme Howard, the Britjsh Ambassador, act- ing as dean of the corps diplomatique, sought a solemn and official ruling from the State Department about Mrs. Gann's rightful place at table. An ambassador or minister would be as reluctant to misplace a person at dinner as to sink a rum runner illegally. Either action would be a dreadful faux pas. It simply isn’t done. Secretary Hughes once said, when a precedence question bobbed up, that the only place he wanted to be first was at a fire. * x k X Dolly Gann, who may become as famous as Dolly Madison before she’s through with it, is the center of an im- portant incident, because of the social obligations imposed upon the YVice President of the United States. It is the business of the Republic's second in command to dine out on his country's behalf. Tradition thrusts that dyspep- sia-breeding duty upon him because the President and the First Lady, except on rare and fixed formal occasions, never dine outside the White House. Foreign ambassadors and ministers are contin- .{ually entertaining for the Vice Presi- BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Jubilant Survival. The chorus that keeps ringing clear, Re-echoes, “Hail! The gang's all here!” So what care we for accident On land, or in the firmament, If we can sing in tones sincere, Assurance that the gang's all here! Nobody wrecked by cruel chance; Nobody in the ambulance; Nobody saying “Love’s & joke.” Nobody by the market broke. And so, good friends, let us draw near And warble, “Hail! The gang’s all here!” Both Sides. “Are you in favor of prohibition?” “Absolutely,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “Have you ever taken a drink?” “Occasionally. As a trusted legisla- tor, I feel it my duty to study both sides of a question.” Jud Tunkins says the Easter egg Is an- other example of what art, if let alone, will do to nature. Decrees of the Fafes. We often in discontent, Of various hopes that Went astray, And quite forget some blessing sent Because we could not have our way. Back to the Old Home. “Crimson Gulch s wonderfully quiet and orderly.” . i “Yes,” answered Cactus Joe! “Our desperadoes have been to Chicago and they come back to the. old home town “We t00 often seek wealth,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “in the hope dent and his lady. Custom does not require the latter to reciprocate the hos- pitality of which they are the helpless victims. But as they are the most en- tertained couple in the Capital, the punctilious diplomatic corps must know exactly who's who and what's what when ‘the Curtis-Ganns are guests of honor. Nobody has decreed where the Vice President’s brother-in-law is to sit. Perhaps he doesn’t give a Gann. * k ok ok Everett Sanders, President Coolidge’s chief of staff at the White House, had a screaming experience in one of the Capitol restaurants the last time he was on “the HilL” As a lady was putting on her coat a pair of gloves which had been in one of the sleeves was acci- dentally flipped across the room and 1it, of all places, squarely on the head of a fluffy-haired girl at another table. They landed there so gently that the child herself was unaware of their pres- ence. Sanders saw the thing happen and also observed the lady hunting for her gloves. At almost the same mo- ment the. little girl pulled on her hat, gloves and all. Sanders thought the time had come. for him to speak up. So he said to the woman: “Madame, if you're looking for your gloves, they're under the hat of that little girl.” The woman couldn’t have been more flabbergasted if the suave Hoosier had volunteered to produce a rabbit from behind her ear. She left the Capitgl convinced that Sanders is not a politician, but a pres- tidigitator. * koK % for such & Mortument. were 1,000 h, it would still fall short of qm&mmm{zrmm? Washingionian to renew b ance wiih his city, Let him go back to the old childhood of “ 4 game ¢ and pretend, if to no one except that he is visiting the city for, the first to them.. Unfortuna Mhsior, it "ihe che feet C Then he will discover that the N: tional Capital, aided by the exquisite mantle of green which it s donning under the gentle pressure of Dame Na- ture, who annually insists on this rob- ing, has once again become beautiful his eyes and is as ready to entertain him as the happiest and gayest of high school boys and girls. Ok K K There is no better place to begin this reacquaintance with our city than south of the White House in those spreading parks and streets around and near the shaft which stands as a per- petugl monument to the mighty man whose name it bears, The Spring with its gloxy of cherry blossoms rored in the water, can strike as re- sponsive & chord in the heart of a man who lives here as in the breast of the sightseer from New York or Philadel- phia or points between. Here the resident may come again to & realization of the old truth that man never builds so well and so beautifully as when he takes Mother Nature into partnership and permits her to do the exterior decorating. There is no tem- ple, however lofty, which does not look the better for a fine setting of those first monuments, green.and shady trees, nor any shaft whitsoever which is not improved by being placed in the center of a great green carpet of grass, * Kk X ¥ It is not necessary to put one's self in the midst of an effervescent group of young visitors to get their viewpoint. After all, their greatest thrill comes from first acquaintance with the un- known, and this quality may be dupli- cated at any time in the life of an adult by taking thought. Thought has power, not exactly to make one young again, but to do even better than that—to force one to work up in himself that most beneficent quality, interest. There are millions of people alive to- day who would pay almost any price to get back again the supreme interest they once took in life. . They are ne longer interested in their meals because they have eaten too much food, no more interested in music because they have listened to the radio too much, no longer -interested in books because they have read too many books. In all things they show the results of sutfeit. Yet such persons, one and all, may get back at least part of their interest in life if they will grab themselves.by the back of their mental necks and by unaided brain power compel themselves to look at everything with the eyes of youth. How? All one can say is: Get out and try it, and you will see. There is no better time in the year to begin building up that old interest in life. There are thousands of young examples, walking around in gaudy felt hats, twirling canes. What distinguishes them? It is their interest in everything. But suppose you try to imitate them, and watch interest sprout at home. Al- most anything may happen in the Springtime. OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. 4 mir- Randell and his crew are disentangled from the meshes of the American law he will forsake the illicit booze traffic and become a motion picture director. His scheme, it appears, calls for a float~ ing film studio, with a company of actors and actresses, fully equipped for producing oceanic “features.” The Randell high seas studio would be “on location™ exclusively on the high seas, operating in the Caribbean and around the coasts of Central and South Amer- ica, with New Orleans as a base port. * ok % Senator Walter E. Edge, Republican, of New Jersey, has bounded into the gossip in connection. with the vacant Paris ambassadorship. He is reported to have refused the post on a previous occasion, but to be in ‘more receptive mood now. Edge is rich and could maintain the opulent American social standards which the French expect in the Avenue d'lena. Republican friends think the Jersey statesman would be loath to give up his place in the Sen- ate, to which, they say, he could be re- elected for a third term in 1930, with correspondingly enhanced seniority prestige. Democrats, on the contrary, declare that the reason Edge is willing to considér a diplomatic career is that he knows he’ll have to run against “Teddy” Edwards next year, and that a New Jersey senatorial election in a non-presidential year is always a horse of another color. * ok k Ok ‘Whenever Mrs. Hoover has intimate woman friends in for a cozy visit at the White House they almost always a sofa, There she is accustomed to squat, with her legs curled up under her, and knit while talking. 3 (Coy t, 1929.) e Cash Seen as Help Needed by Farmers To the Editor of The Star: As the star in the East moved the wise men and nmqsed the King some 2,000 years ago, we farmers likewise at this day look to The Evening Star in Washington, D. C.,, with reference to_farm relief. The writer's forefathers, Abraham, Isaac atnd Jacob, were among the largest farmers in this section of the Shenandoah Valley. They passed the word down lineage, saying that 2 per cent was about all a farmer could expect from his investment, and say—you couldn’t fool those old-timers very much. 4 Now in the modern age we farmers try to live like other folks. The result is we find we have bound ourselves jand heirs to pay heavy debts, from 6 to 20 per cent interest added, accord- ing to who financed us, and listen—it ' prompt relief,” he does. Congress, please give it to us in cash, Money will relieve any and all financial ills and very ) 80 give us ample 2 per cent money. ‘We have common sense enough to know where to apply it to prevent Willlam M. Jardine, former Secretary | tho 1 of Agriculture, is being “rumored” as the probable head of the Federal Farm Board to be set up by the forthcoming agricultural relief bill. He should fit the job like a glove, for the scheme under which the boar -d will fnction is the one original Coolidge- forecloser. A 2 per cent outgo,will equal our 2 cent income. is places the Parmer o s lfllr‘l: basis; “‘a{;’"{'fi: lief be dela) tinkering farig uéen the farmer’s continued beauty of the Tidal Basin, | °* find her snuggled up in the corner of the Centralized Authority " Extension Is Forecast central government, un] reply be contained in his first in which he states that our ‘War did not and cannot settle the right of revolution. , This seems a rather bellicose tion for the solution of the difficulties in which Mr. Lanier’s point of view puts us, yet, when coupled with his feeling that Jefferson’s career was “marred by pacifism,” seems to be what he intended as his reply. May I, then, ask him what kind of a constitutional revolution he would suggest, such as would not involve secession from the Union? Isn't it a bit forced, though, to at- tempt to discuss the constitutionality of revolution on the part of a State or coercion on the part of the central gov- ernment? Jefferson did not characterize coercive power as & constitutional right is words were that it was a “nat- ural” right. In the face of a situation which calls for revolutionand coercion, of what significance can a constitution be? It the comstitutional system does not prevent war by leading to peaceable con- sideration and settlement of controver- sial issues its whole purpose and value fails and it becomes a mere scrap of paper in so far as the situation in ques- tion is concerned. As between a revolu- tionary and a coereive power, there can be no constitutional rights. Such rights maintain their sanctity only while they save us from violence through the wise willingness of the minority to be ruled by the majority. But why attempt to solve these very human problems solely from the point of view of the legal traditions of our dead and dying past, tradi- tions whose complexities are be- coming as a milistone around the neck of progress? Our worthy fore- fathers were nos so unwise as to suppose that they had established a government which should remain unchanged in the face of changing conditions. They pro- vided a method of change, and despite Mr. Lanier'’s bypothetical case of the rule of two-thirds by one-third of the population, through the miscarriage of this system, such a case has never oc- curred, least of all in the eighteenth amendment, and it séems uncongru- ous, .yet none the less true, that the solution of Mr. Lanier's hypothetical difficulties obviously lies in destroy- ing the very thing he seeks so carnestly fo maintain—namely, the en- tity of the individual State—thus leav- ing to the majerity of the whole people the right to establish central authority and law as they see fit. 1 agree with Mr. Lanier that the eighteenth amendment delegates police power to the Federal Government, and in spite of Mr. Root’s learned arguments to the contrary, I agree with the deci- sion of the Supreme Court that it was done in due form under the Constitution. And in the face of a pending investiga- tion of the subject by a presumably learned presidential commission, I ven- ture the prediction that the solution of our criminal problems (and many others besides) will involve an extension, and not a regression, of centralized author- ALDEN A. POTTER. ————————— Differs From Dr. Riggs On Abattoir Benefits To the Editor of The Star: An article entitled “Abattoir Bene- fits Cited by Dr. Riggs” in a recent issue of The Star calls for an answer from those who hold opinions widely differing from Dr. Riggs. In the first place, Dr. Riggs fails to state the nature of the benefit which the establishment of an abattoir in the contemplated location would be to ‘Washington. Secondly, he is evidently under the impression that sanitation necessarily means the removal of objectionable odors and sounds, with which, as a mat- :,zrdor fact, it has nothing whatever 0. It is true that such plants are al- ways run under Government super- vision and are therefore sanitary from the health standpoint, but that such sanitation does not mean the absence of objectionable features is amply proven by the following: . Like Cooking Meat At a meeting. held about a month-ago, and attended by Col. Grant of the Park and Planning Commission, Mr. Everett, president of the Board of Trade; . the late Mr. Weld, president of the Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Moore of the Fine Arts Commission, and others, Mr. Henry Auth made the statement that the cook- ing of offal in the abattoir would give off an odor similar to that of cooked meat. If any one can imagine that the odor given off by tons of cooking meat —or offal—is agreeable, he must have an odd sense of smell. At the same meeting Mr. Auth was asked what disagreeable features would attend the shipping in of carloads of cattle and hogs, to which he replied that the condition of the cars and the odors emanating therefrom were none of his concern; that the railroad com- pany alone would be responsible for m. Summing up the above, it is evident to any unprejudiced and disinterested person that the odor given off by tons of cooking meat—or offal, even though it smells like meat--the stench created by the yarding of 4,000 hogs and 500 cattle a week, added to that from the cars in which they arrive at the plant, would be anything but inoffensive. Quotes From New York Survey. Regarding the statement that “we force the meat packers to go back 30 or 40 miles from the city to establish their abattoir,”- it suffices to say that there are many localities within five miles of the city which are entirely suitable for such a plant, and that if the abattoir is established where it is contemplated we would simply be placing ourselves in the position com- mented upon by the (gflnted regional survey of New York City and its en- virons, from which I quote: “It is probably true, even today, that if meat packing were made to pay its full true costs it could not maintain its present Manhattan location. Certainly, improvement of means of transporta- tion should soon make it possible to re- move the slaughter-house from the city’s front doont:g;’ I believe that above_completely, itly, answers Dr. S, H. C. MORRIS. or Movie Censorship Is Declared Vital To the Editor of The Star: Your editorial in issue of April 1 rela- tive to movie censorship, and taking the position that no censorship is needed at present, cannot be accounted for ex- cept on the grounds that you are far from being acquainted with conditions and tendencies throughout the country generally. Go inside these places and look the pictures over, Observe the filthy sug- lfl“\m watch the youngsters gloat, talk, ve parents in smfi towns, and I venture you wi decide b now that " time .| cleaner illustrations should be placed before young le. I am convinced that the motor car the movie (the low-class movie) ‘more erime and immorality than used to cause. Yet the hflg are bawling {hem- passive, or_silen! o TRy of serving Informa. - | to you in your problems? Ovr business is to furnish you with authoritative in- (ormation, 1« any tar , and we invite you to ask us et "Bena.your snauiry o The L. ur iry e 's mrmm.umnnnmu. Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. In- close 2 cents in coin or stamps for re- turn postage. Q. When wiil the Kentucky Derby be . | run this year?—C. F. B. A. The Kentucky Derby will be run May 13, 1929, at Churchill Downs, Ky. . Why does snow and ice bother fiyers?—H. W. D. A. Snow and ice collect on the edge of the two top surfaces of the wings. This changes the camber of the wings, making them lose their effectiveness. Also it adds weight, which is a great detriment to flying. 7 Q. What is the smallest, strongest string or cord made?—C. W. 8. A. The strongest textile fiber based on a unit of cross-sectional area is the silk fiber. A single filament of this material, barely discernible with the naked eye, would the smallest, strongest cord made. Q. When were the English 1-pound notes made?—M. H. A. In 1914, at the outbreak of the ‘World War, there were no English notes below 5 pounds, and ecurrency notes for 1 pound and 10 shillings were jm- mediately provided under the currency and bank notes act passed on August 6 of that year. Q. How far from geles is Hollywood?—H. L. K. | _A. Hollywood is 7 miles northwest of the business center of Los Angeles. Q. Why was Jamestown, Va., never rebuilt?>—E. J. N, A. Middle Plantation was aces and a natural place for the Ja ready a port and hence of interest as a home for the colonists, In many in- stances their Jamestown houses had been but temporary structures. Q. How did the terms “jerk-water- town” and “jerk-water railroad” origi- nate?—W. L. In the early days of the railroads it was customary for a train to be stopped near a stream when water was necessary for the engine. The crew car- ried the water in leather buckets. The practice was called jerking water. As villages sprang up where trains merely stopped for wafer, they were known as jerk-water towns, and small, relatively unimportant raiiroads became known as Jjerk-water rallroads. Q. Why is lobster meat so high in price?—H. R. A. The rise in the price of lobster is due to the increasing scarcity of this shell fish and the difficulty with which it is propagated. An expert at the lobster hatchery of Woods Hole stated that if only 2 out of 10,000 eggs hatched survived the fourth year. the present condition might be maintained, but that undoubtedly a greater percentage than this perishes. FLEATY . BY FREDERIC I HASKIN. colonists to settle. Willlamsburg was al- | 44 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS vime hag 5 b What is ht of & wilzhen kT VR ight of A. This urem pon the the mdlvldt:* w’mn:’n. A ".:fc of the proper height of working surfaces ac- cording to the height of the individual woman has been compiled. This pro- vides that a woman 4 feet 10 inches tall should have working surfaces 27 inches high, one 4 feet 11 inches, 27}z inches, etc. ' The ‘height of the working surface is increased half an inch for each ad- ditional inch.in the worker’s height. Q. How many were killed and wound- | ed in the battle of Waterloo?—W. C. A. In that battle the French lost in killed, wounded and missing about 31,000 men, while the losses of the allies were about 23,000. b Q. Does the word “sterling” on silver destroy the value of the piece as an an- | tique?—W. P. | _A. It would depend upon the -plece. The word “sterling” appears on Chester silverware as early as 1690. It is also | found on silverware made in Cork, Ire- {land, at the end of the seventeenth century. Q. How much money have United States citizens invested in Latin Amer- ica?—S. E. W. A. Over $5,000,000,000 have been in- vested in Latin America by American citizens. ‘There are supposed to be thousands of Americans who have in- vested money in Latin American corpo- rations. Q. How fast does coral form?—S. R. A. Little is known regarding the rapidity of growth in corals. A speci- men of Mocandrina labyrinthica meas- uring a foot in diameter and four inches thick in the most convex part was taken from a block of concrete at Fort Jef- terson, Tortugas, which had been in the water only 20 years. It has been calcu- lated that the average growth of a Mo~ candrina observed at Key West was half an inch a year. Q. Who is at the Head of the Soviet public of Russia?—J. P, A. The president of the Soviet Coun- cil of Russia is Alexis I Rykof. Q. Are the pictures hung on the walls of the rotunda in the Capitol at Wash- lr{w'sonclmc to the events portrayed?— A. “The - Baptism eof Pocahontas,” “The Embarkation of the Piigrims,” “The Landing of Columbus” and “The Discovery of the Mississipi River” are merely conceptions of the artists, while the others are true to life and events. These are the Trumbull paintings—"The Declaration of Independence,” d Surrender of Gen. Burgoyne at Sara- toga,” “The Surrender of Lord Cornwal- lis at Yorktown” and “Gen. Washington Resigning His Commission as Com- mander-in-Chief of the Continenta? Armies"—and were done by the artist from sketchés made where the events | took place and with personal acquaint- mhlccl!d"m most of the characters de- picted, Q. How much money is usually print- ed each day for this country?—R. A. C. A. The daily average of notes made |at the Bureau of Engraving and Print- | ing is 3,360,000 pieces, the money' value ‘of which is $13,370.000. . Italy’s remarkable national election, in which unopposed Fascisti candidates received about 98 per cent of the votes cast, impresses all American ob~ servers as conglusive evidence of Musso- lini's amazing and complete power, al- though there are differences of opinion as to the underlying causes and prob- able results of such a state of affairs. “The electors cast ballots ‘yes’ or ‘no” on the candidates presented,” the New York Sun explains. “Practically 90 per cent of the qualified electorate went to the polls. Of them, 8,506,576 voted ‘yes' and 136,193 ‘no.’ ed in the election in a'manner regarded as ‘remarkable.’ The royal family was conspicuous at the polls. These facts will be read by the Fascisti as con- vincing testimony to the popularity of the Mussolini regime, an indorsement of 1l Duce and the methods by which he has remade Italy. That indorsement is worth having at home and abroad.” “A great constructive autocrat has risen to serve post-bellum Italy,” de- clares the Cincinnati Times-Star. “The chaotic Italy of 1920 has become the co-ordinating, efficient Italy of today. The revolution has been accomplished with a minimum of violence. of classes is not upon Mussolini’s hands. ‘That the form of government is not in consonance with American pringiples must not cause us to judge harshly. ‘The genius of politics varies with lati- tude and longitude, and, above all, with traditions.” R R R ‘The clergy participat-- ‘The blood American Observers Appraise Italy_’s Remarkable Election may come in handy in future elections in case it is desired to ‘make it unani- mous.’ The Charleston Evening Post calls it curious psychology that the Italians “should submit. to the hypnotic abso- lutism of ope man as they have sub- mitted to Mussolini, that they should tolerate no question of his will, and that they should yet pretend to them- selves that they are free agents in the selection of thelr public servants.” The Kansas City Sfar refers to election as “a model contest” and one that “goes to show what can be done when an election is left to expert control.” | The Lincoln State Journal believes that “such an election would be the delight of a political boss in this country,” but asks “why have an election?” ®exbh “One wonders why Mussolinl stages the farce,” the New Orleans Tribune also suggests. “Does he believe such ‘elections’ delude the Italians into be- lieving they are exercising & choice”” The Pori Huron Times-Herald is of the opinion that: “If the big ‘yes’ vote | indicates simply that the pe(?le knew there was nothing else to do, the foun- dations of the Fascist regime may not be as strong and permanent as the subservience of the voters might:seem to indicate.” The Scranton Times records that “so infinitesimal was the opposition that there is suspicion the anti-Fascist votes were conceded by Mussolini in order to make it appear that there was , of course, at the same time destroy-' vil | 15, of ¢ L “The Italian leader not only leads the people, but makes them like it,” as- serts the Muncie Star, with the expla- nation that “the ticket was not only hand-picked, but nobody was permitted to.run in opposition. Then with a great hurrah the people rushed to the polls o express the wish of those who were pulling the political strings,” concludes The Star. “After all, it is not totally undemo- cratic,” concedes the Chicago Daily News, pointing out that “among the members of the new Parliament are many distinguished persons — scholars, industrialists, labor leaders, professional men,” and adding: “It may develop considerable independence. In time it may modify Fascism in a variety of ways without repudiating it openly. There is evolution in every form of government, and Fascism is no excep- tion to the rule.” "lg rem’nlm o:ne ‘}’\‘15 tt;u: plttur::n}ue wonders of modern ," acco! to the Hartford Times, -how the ltalian | - There is but one way to fix that sit= people continue to rally to the standards , Uation. The street cars should go into of the strenuous rule of the knight|a tunnel on Connecticut avenue below errant of the black shirt. The more|N street, where the grade begins. They unceremoniously he reduces the degree ; should come out of the tunnel on the of constitutional government and popu- [ W8y to Georgetown, where the grade lar participation in the affairs of the | Starts down, about Twenty-second street. state, the better the populace seems to | Above Du Pont Circle they could come like it. Nor will it do to say that much | Out just before hitting the grade up the of this submissiveness on the part of | hill. This will make Connecticut ave- the Italian people is actuated by fear,|nue what it is soon to be, the great for their loyalty too plainly partakes of | Shopping center, It will be the Fifth voluntary enthusiasm for the man who | avenue of Washington in 10 years. The is establishing order and efficiency and | street cars should be taken off the ave- is giving bis country an enlarged place [ nue in the Du Pont Circle radius at in the sun.” once. Nice approaches to the cars can “He is a world figure” says the | be made at points above and below the Nashville Banner, “and is fast building | €ircle. Italy into a power that must be re- Further out Connecticut avenue be- spected. His ideals are vast and com- | low Tilden street, the cars again‘should 'pelling. He reveres mem of his | enter a tunnel and come out where the country’s glorious past and is doing | grade starts down again beyond the much to restore that past.” . Bureau of Standards. There cars The Seattle Dally Times pays the | switch and turn back, just as they do tribute: “His countrymen recognize | at S street. This should be done all the fact that he has worked an almost | underground. miraculous change in his country. He| A strange thing is evident at the has, rehabilitated industry and saved it | Bureau of Standards. This is one of from economic ruin. Returned travel- | the most congested points during the. ers report that the cities are clean and | rush hours, yet no landing space is modern and that "all the people are, painted there. With the cars under- working. Even the beggars have dis- | ground, this would - greatly clear the appeared. Instead of importing most | Tilden street crossing into Rock Creek of its necessaries, Italy produces the|Park. The same tunnel plan should be bulk of its wheat and has developed | used at Zoo hill. The entrances to the enormous_hydro-electric energy to re~|smet cars could be placed off the lace coal erly purchased abroad.! streets, of course, and thus keep thoue ussolini’ be a. dictator, bu he is| sands of people who go to the ou$ a benign ruler and is inspired by the | of danger. On holidays, such as Easter highest patriotism.” - Monday, and :numhyl, the traffi¢ situa- B oty Heraig: O reason this Dulut 3 {1 reason one- how is popular is that it is work- | lend themselves to the job, and it would &;ns; far, -n‘:lopcm good results. It | be easy, and you Hhave helped the town f its trai 3 i Mom, bm‘t. ‘gwmm e at least a contest.” Agreeing as to the possibility that the opposition “may have been just so many appointed su- pernuineraries in the great drama of Democracy, a la Benito,” the ' Kala- mazoo Gai concludes: “Mussolini is nothing if not an expert stage man dger, and an election without any con= trary votes at all might have ‘looked just a trifle too ‘fishy’ even in the eyes of Il Duce’s most tractable country- men.” Street Car Tunnels Urged for Capital To the Editor of The Star: Your editorial on the Du Pont Circle traffic situation makes a very good point about the street cars and their turning to the left going out Connecticut ave- nue. This was a ridiculous thing to do, but it is done.