Evening Star Newspaper, April 17, 1929, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D.,C. WEDNESDAY. ....April 17, 1020 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The I:venln:!sur Ne 11th St. New York ice: Chicago Office: Lake Michigan European Office: 14 Regent England, Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Evening Star 45¢ per month The Evenin \per Company Office: 110 East 2nd. 8t. Bullding. don. ’ each month. Orders may be sent in by mail or telephone Main 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and vtrnxlnh. Dally and Sunday.. 1 . Daily only 1 mol. boc Sunday only 1 mo., 40c All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday..l yr. $12.00; 1 mo., $1.00 Daily only 151, §8.00; 1 mo., %8¢ Sunday only . yr., $5.00; 1 mo. 60c Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively entitled to the u i f cll news dis- —_— Triple Interest—Zero Participation. ‘We of the District have a triple in- terest in the new government which in all branches is now beginning to func- tion. Other Americans have only a single interest in it. To them it is only their National Government. To us it is National, State and municipal gov- ernment. To us Congress is National, State and municipal legislature. To us President Hoover is President, governor and mayor—“three gentlemen at once” ~like Mrs. Malaprop's Cerberus. ‘Though we half million of the Dis-‘ trict are thus three times as greatly in- terested in the new government as other Americans, we are the only Amer- icans in the continental and contiguous United States who did not participate as voters in November in choosing the new government, and who have no rep- resentation whatever in it. Our triple interest and maximum concern in na- tional elections and the resulting new government are accompanied by a minimum, an absolute zero, of partici~ pation in them. Search the world's records for strik- ing examples of unjust and injurious in- consistency, and not one can be found which compares in gressness and in- tensity with the inconsistency of Amer- fcans of the Nation in unnecessarily withholding from the half million Americans of the District the vital American right and power of repre- gentation in the National Government. A proposed constitutional amendment 1s pending which empowers Congress to give voting representation in Senate, House and Electoral College to the Americans of the District. This amendment deals solely with national elections; it proposes votes only for sych national officials as Presi- dent, Senator and Representative; it does not propose or involve changes in the municipal government of the Dis- trict; 1t does not make a State of the District, and it does not reduce in the slightest the exclusive power of Con- gress in respect to the National Capital, but enables the District to become a small fractional part of the Congress which exercises in respect to it exclu- sive legislative power. No valid ground remains upon which this measure of political equity can be opposed. This thought is elaborated in edi- storial correspondence printed elsewhere in today's Star. —_———————— Dropping Into Print. With an ex-President writing his memoirs and observations on his ex- periences in the executive office, now comes a near-President with a publi- cation project. Former Gov. Alfred E. Smith, who ran for the highest office last year and was defeated, is going to contribute to the columns of a widely circulated weekly the story of his life up to date. Announcement just made to this effect makes it plain that the |* magazine has only the serial rights and that later publication in book form is contemplated. The book will contain Mr. Smith’s early reminiscences and an account of his twenty-five years in pub- lic life, including the recent campaign. ‘There is already in circulation a book of the governor’s campaign speeches, proceeds from' the sales of which are being devoted to the reduction, if not the extinguishment, of the $1,500,000 debt of the Democratic national com- mittee. The political implication of this lit- erary enterprise of the former governor and recent candidate of the Democ- racy is interesting. As a rule politicians do not drop into print on their own behalf as long as they cherish ambitions for office. There is something of the order of finality about autobiography that is inescapable. Gov. Smith is not an old man. He is probably good for| a long time to come physically. If this present book is to be simply a first vol- ume of an installment series and is definitely so stated, he may be able to file a caveat, as it were, against the conclusion that he is writing his polit- ical obituary. There is no suggestion that Gov. Smith needs the money that will be earned through serial publication and, finally, book printing. He is reputed to be a fairly wealthy man as a result ‘of thrifty savings and sound invest- ments. Even if he is not to get pay from the periodical at the rate of $2 & word—report to which effect is de- nied by his close friends—he will make considerable out of this present enter- prise. This financial factor adds some- what to the mystery. ————— Discovery of land at the South Pole virtually paralyzed until the flood waters recede and the surface of the Bladens- burg rogd comes once more into view. ‘This recurrent nuisance will in a manner be relieved within the next year or so by action taken by the Mary- land Legislature during its past session. Bond issues have been authorized, the proceeds of which will be used to build an extension of Rhode Island avenue through to Hyattsville, thus eliminating the circuitous route that now lles through Cottage City and watery Bladensburg. Repair and new construc- tion will provide another route by way of a road that leaves the Baltimore pike at Laurel, following the old Columbia pike and the Colesville road and enter- ing Washington at the Sixteenth street gateway. Both roads will serve to elim- inate the congestion of traffic along the Bladensburg road, and will provlde‘ routes unaffected by the perennial floods in Bladensburg. One may wonder, however, whether the flood nuisance in Bladensburg is to be permisted to continue. This nuisance provides Prince Georges County and the State of Maryland with a very up-to- date and pressing problem of flood con- trol. Its elimination might prove cost- 1y, but it is unthinkable to believe that the condition today should be allowed indefinitely to remain. The highway might be kept open in all weather by filling in and raising the grade beyond the flood mark. But this would not eliminate a hazard that will remain until necessary dredging of the Eastern Branch provides a channel that can take care of the flood waters. Maryland, which takes a justifiable pride in one of the finest systems of State highways in the country, cannot afford to have such important links as the Bladensburg road and the new De- fense Highway weakened and placed | temporarily out of use by floods that, ! as now, go unchecked. b - Cow-Trading at Paris. ‘The world's greatest haggle is still in | progress at Paris. Whether Germany| shall pay her creditors five, ten, fifteen or twenty billion gold dollars in repara- tions, and so-and-so many hundreds of millions of them for so-and-so many years in annuities, remains tlie most moot of questions. It is more than two months now since the allied and Ameri- can experts set to work on revis’ Of the Dawes plan. Events have only proved that their task is so formidable j that even the world's best financial and economic minds have found it impos- sible to build Rome in a day. Exact figures have not been published, but enough has oozed out of the ex- perts’ conference room to let it become known that a wide chasm exists between what their creditors demand and what the Germans are willing to concede. Dr. Hjalmar Schacht, president of the shows their steadily changing position at a fixed rate of progress, shows them to be advancing toward the’earth. And the sky-gazers placidly accept the physi- cal fact and make a few cryptic compu- tations and kindly reassure the world that there is no need for worry for at least & blllion years, Truly, it is well to have faith in the figuring of the as- tronomers. ———— A Dramatio Rescue. ‘The whole world rejoices at the dramatic rescue of the brave flyers of the giant airplane Southern Cross. Capt. Charles Kingsford-Smith and his able lleutenant, Charles P, Ulm, with two companions, were forced down in the wilds of Australia far from human habitation more than two weeks ago, BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, It must be sad to be forever dis- ing with anything and everything T people say. ‘Usually one looks at these people from his own standpoint, but i he would put himself in their shoes and look at the world from their evident viewpoint he would find even more to pity. Much difficulty will be met, of course, in doing this apparently simple thing, for if one’s ind and disposition do not run that way he will find it im- possible to fill such shoes. ‘The heavily optimistic temperament, for instance, will not be able to take even a single step forward, so laden is it with good will and the milk of human and although the capabllities and |kindne resourcefulness of the aviators were well known, fears for their safety grew as days passed with no word from them. In order properly to conduct the search airplanes were mobilized near the point from which the last definite informa- tion as to their whereabouts had come from the fiyers, but it was only a day or so ago when one of these searchers, from his low-flying plane, spotted the Southern Cross marooned on mud flats in a wild and desolate section. The fiyers were nearly at the end of their resources when found. They had sub- sisted on mud snails and wild beans. Supplies were at once rushed to them by air and the adventure, with its tragic potentialities, has turned into a happily dramatic episode in the annals of aviation. i The Southern Cross made aviation history with Kingsford-Smith, Ulm, and two comrades, a year or so ago, when it spanned the Pacific in two magnificent hops, It was the first time that the world was able to hear & “running story” of a long-distance flight of an alirplane. The speed of the ship, its altitude, the spirits of the crew, what they ate and what they did was carried to the four corners of the earth by the radio set of the Southern Cross as she sped on her way through the limitless blue. It was & triumph, this flight of the Southern Cross. The world can il afford to lose aviators of the type of Kingsford-Smith and Ulm. They have demonstrated that careful preparation, good equip- ment_and flying skill can overcome many of the obstacles that face the ploneer in his effort to conquer the air. Their mishap on the present trip was due to no fault of theirs and the happy rescue restores them again to the world of aviators and gives them the oppor- tunity they deserve to advance further the art of flying. —_—a———————— Oysters are going out of season, and there is at least hope of a declaration of peace among tonging fleets on the Reichsbank, who is Berlin's negotiator- in-chief, insists that the grand total far outstrips Germany’s capacity to pay. He asserts that in order to meet past annuities to the allies and the United States she has had to borrow heavily abroad. Dr. Schacht naturally argues that if the Germans’ “revised” obliga- tions are to be more burdensome their foreign borrowings will mount corre- spondingly and saddle the Reich with a still more crushing load of debt. The Germans have an idiom which fits the present situation at Paris. It is the word “Kuhhandel.” It means, in English, “cow-trading.” What it denotes is the art of whittling down somebody else’s first price till you get what you want at your own price—or for nothing at all. That beloved American fictional character, David Harum, was a master “cow-trader,” though he happens to have specialized in horses. It can hardly be conceived that ex- perts of the caliber of Messrs. Owen D. Young and J. P. Morgan, and of their European confreres at Paris, have sub- mitted to Germany a scheme of pay- ments so fantastic and impracticable as Dr. Schacht pretends they are. The world will rather be inclined to believe that the president of the Reichsbank is merely an astute “Kuhhaendler” and is trying to drive for his country the very best bargain he can. Germany is borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars a year in the Ameri- can money market. She sings no tale of finaneial woe when her capacity to pay is discussed on these recurring occa- sions. i ————————— ‘Weather bulletins -disappoint. But ‘popular heroes of the sky and the base ball field continue preparations to say, in old comic opera phrase, to an admir- ing public, “Cheer up! This is our wedding day!” —————— As an old man, Elihu Root is not afraid of some old ideas and may be able to show why universal peace failed in the past and how it may succeed in the future. R Headed for a Collision. Somiewhere out in space a celestial projectile is heading for the earth at the rate of two hundred mjles per sec- ond. It is, indeed, more than a single projectile; it is a veritable shrapnel shell, consisting of a group of suns; known to astronomets as the cluster of Hercules. This fact, which has been known to scientists for some time, might cause some concern but for the fact that the distance yet to be trav- eled by the bombarding material is so great that, according to computation, it will take at least a billion years for the cluster to arrive. In that time the cos- mic rhythm may have been sufficiently disturbed to cause a failure of marks- manship, so that this earth whereon the human race has its present existence will escape the collision. But if the col- lision does occur, if the cluster hits this sphere, the result will be a display of aerial fireworks, and subsequent events will probably not concern the occupants may be facilitated if snowshovels are added to the exploring equipment. e e e Watery Bladensburg. As regular as the changing of the seasons the Eastern Branch, responsive to every heavy rainstorm, rises from its low-lying banks in and near Bladens- ‘burg and covers the main traffic artery between Washington and Baltimore un- der three and four feet of yellow water. ‘The result i5 a long line of stalled auto- mobiles, representing those ' venture- some enough to attempt a passage, ‘while hundreds of other bewildered motorists are sent by rough and un- familiar detodrs around the flooded area. Traffic of the earth. It is extremely difficult to grasp the thought of & billion years or that of a distance so great as to require such a length of time for passage at the rate of two hundred miles per second. The finite mind is balked by such dimensions —is balked, indeed, by the concept of a limitless space. regarding the outer zones of the heavens, as we know the spaces beyond our tiny cir- cult, are designed by sclence to account for the apparently impossible condition of infinity. Einstein has worked out a theory of relativity which reduces some of ‘the previous concepts of astronomical dimensions to absurdity. But here come suns that make up the cluster of! Chesapeake. s Some of the big steamships are dry going one way and wet coming the other. Even a steamship has to cater to its public. e S No understanding is possible that will insure perfect accord between the base ball umpire and the weather man, ———r—e——————— ‘The poet who wrote, “Somewhere the sun is always shining,” is again the hope of the local fruit crop. R SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Talking About the Weather, ‘When we expected smiling skies, The season proved a sad surprise. ‘We are commanded to forget The Robin and the Violet. ‘When Boreas sounds his rude refrain, Even the Cherry blooms in vain, ‘We bow before an Icy Rule, And every day is April Fool. ‘We miss the jesting and the chaff. ‘We shiver, where we once could laugh. The joke called “practical” draws near, While Wit and Humor disappear. The May Queen can no longer stray Hither upon a flowering way. Experience proves a cruel school ‘When every day is “April Fool.” ¥ Modern Oratory. “Your recent speech sounded as if you were a little tired.” “I was,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I miss the direct human applause, and I may as well admit that there's no inspiration whatever in the facial ex- pression of a microphone.” Jud Tunkins says he longs for the old days when hard-luck weather reports didn’t pretend to be nearly so accurate. No Need to Wander in the Quest of Life's Discomfort and Ungest. The Icy Winds we've had to fear Around the cottage door. With Arctic regions brought right here, Oh, why should we Explore? It Needs a Person Wise and Wary to Be a Perfect Secretary. “What s your position?” “I'm a secretary.” “Are the duties difficult?” “Not very. If any little thing hap- pens to go wrong I merely take part of the blame.” “The world is fairly honest,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “and egotism is what we have most to fear, No other deceives us so much as we decelve ourselves.” % Envy, When Tempted fo a Ruction, Proves Just a Fornr of Self-destruction. Friendship Js, easily laid. low By some conceited elf. £ The envious friend becomes a foe Who soon destroys himself, “De Gover'ment is held 'sponsible foh | ¥ mos’ ev'ything,” said Uncle Eben, “an’ 1 ’spect it's gineter be blamed foh hand- in’ out so much December weather, 'thout no Christmas.” He'll Join the Swim. ' From the Detrolt News. Really Flirtatious. -, From the Albany Evening News. T e fickle, Dt ceMainly ns en:f’m::ul part of the time. And He's Usually Wrong. Prom the Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator. cham| optimist is the 1&'&“&-&: ton of coal on ess. Optimistic persons leaning toward in- sincerity on account of their large op- timism which is unable to see the comi- cal or warped in others will actually see, or at least say that they see, noth- ing curious in the attitude of those under review. . * ok ok ok Most people will readily catch the note of controversy persistent in the everyday small talk of these ingrained “disagreers. ‘The one sign which gives them away before all is their selecting non-contro- versial matters for the subjects of their disagreements. If the subject under consideration were the tariff, no one could feel upset because the other argued with him about it. Even violent disagreement upon such & subject or any one of a score of simi- lar themes would leave one undisturbed, because argument is to be expected as quite the normal thing in relation to such matters, A man who wouldn't argue the tariff, or the Navy, or agriculture, would be only mildly ‘interested in his country and the world at large. Where there are inen there will be arguments when such topics are discussed. * % % x To have an apparently trivial theme disputed, however, just for the plain sake of disputation, tends to make a normal person angry. Say anything about anything at all, immediately this disagreeable person says exactly the opposite. If, grasping for the name of a flower, he calls it a [llly, the moment you agree that it is a Ily he says, “No, it is not a lily; it must be something else.” Why not a lily? Simply because you said so. If you had branded the flower a Dutch bulb, the other would have declared it Spanish. Had you said Spanish, then it might have been allowed to have been Dutch. * K ok ok The field for such petty and eternal disagreement is as wide as the world and as inescapable as mankind. One cannot discuss a book without having this unhappy person take the other side of the discussion. You say it is good, he at once brands it as terrible. You call'it poorly written, he imme- diately praises its” sentence construc- tion. ~You point to the fact that it is filled with that inexcusable construc- tion, or rather lack of construction, the sentence that is not a sentence because it has no verb. He at once launches into a defense of that bad habit, and you might point to the fact that none of the great writers used half sentences, :‘:Tn uthority would have no weight Had you, on the other hand, upheld the sentence murderer, he would have wondered mightily how you could pos- sibly speak on that side of the ques- tion, and no doubt would have quoted the very luhmzue: y‘nu‘trotud forth, ‘The sad truth is that his disagree- ment is not so much with what you say as with you! ‘That is why we urge every ohe who is offended with such persons to try put themselves in their place and thus discover what it is about one which rubs the other the wrong way. This will not be true in every case, of course. There are some persons so hopelessly given to taking the “other side” that they will argue with any one about anything upon a moment's notice. Usually they will do it with a glint of battle in their eye. There will be no rancor, but only a desire to cross mental swords. One can have some resnect for this sort of sportsman, His arena is men- tal rather than physical; he is willing to enter the field against all comers in a sort of intellectual battle royal, * ok ok K The chronic disagreer who “takes the cake,” as the vernacular ‘has it, is the man or woman who disagrees with you because you are you! Maybe familiarity had bred contempt. Were you a stranger, perhaps no one would be more polite. No opposition would be voiced even if you said the ;ll.n were red and the night as light as ay. Come out in the plain sunshine, how- ever, and express the honest opinion that the dey is fine, the other will at least say, , I have seen better days!” Who sald he hadn't? The question was not one of day comparisons, but simply one of the fineness of the day under discussion. But since there was no I;:ossmlmy of dispute over it, he must make another issue: “Oh, I have seen finer days!” Maybe he has seen better days. No one can survey all the days of the past and compare them hour by hour.. So he wins again. * ok ok K After one has searched his own heart he will be inclined to go back to his original opinion that the other is suf- fering from a nasty disposition. It must never be forgotten that civili- zation has done some queer things to human beings. Sometimes small boys take out the viciousness in their dis- position upon defenseless dogs and cats, Subjecting them to all manner of mgmfi" gste h uch youngsters when they grow up find that clvilized society frowns upon overt cruelties but easily condones those which may be done neatly and |lar “i;hd dispatch—the cruelties of the mind. So one finds all sorts of quéer mental accomplishments, which, analyzed, show themselves up to be nothing. more. nor less than cruelty. A desire to dispute with others about everything, especially questions of no moment, shows a disposition which would, if it could, grab you by the back of the neck and wring it. Happily for such people and their innocent victims, the best they can do is wrangle, WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Men who have talked with him lately Treport that President Hoover is afraid that Congress is going to fritter away so much of its time on details of farm relief that the whole business will be seriously delayed, if not altogether dished. Mr. Hoover is evidently of opinion that the question has already been so thoroughly threshed out that there’s neither rhyme nor reason in any more beating around the bush. The President wants action, and wants it now. He believes the plans worked out by agriculture’s spokesmen in Con- gress, and which generally coincide with his own ideas, are sound. Being such, Hoover cannot see why they should become the object of protracted wind- Jjamming—though that is not his word. The President faces his first congres- sional music. He's about to find out ——as one of his trusted leaders on Capi- tol Hill puts it—that you can't order ;\g'onere&s ué::ec;n or%er a gang of on an en Ting job or on a re- lief enterprise. e o * ok k¥ The equalization fee old guard, cap- tained by Chairman Haugen of the House agricultural committee, realizes that it is on the verge of surrender, but Seems to be resigned to its fate. You can hear some of them claiming that the President’s farm plan provides for the fee in another form, and that the rose is going to smell just as sweet under the name of Treasury funds. In other words, the equalization scheme called for contributions toward losses in the sale of surplus crops from the farmers themselves. Now (say the equalizationists) such losses will be covered out of the $500,000,000 revoly- ing credit to be set up in the Treasury cured Well,- the old McNary- Haugenites appear disposed‘to let Dr. Hoover try the ‘medicine he now pre- scribes and see how far his kind of *“cure” goes. Two field marshals of the one-time militant equalization army— George N. Peek, who “sold” the fee to Al Smith in 1928, and Chester Davis— have stacked arms and returned to no‘z:.-wrlcu!tunl and non-political pur~ S s * k% % Mr. Hoover hopes that Congress will attend to its farm-relief and tariff- revisfon knitting, and practically noth- ing else, and then quit. Politicians aver that the President obviously doesn’t know his Capitol Hill onions—and espe- cially his tariff onions. What they mean is that once you take the lid off the tariff in Congress, the sky is the limit. What they especially have in Cxplosive gl picce of poutcal doma: explosive le of lyna- mite in clp!ivlcy. Pmm and Presi- dents have toyed with it in the past at their peril and to their undoing. One old hand in the House goes the length of opining that the Hoover tariff mes- sage may turn out to be an event as momentous as the Taft Winona speech —which helped undo “Big Bill” in the presidency. in the tariff. will deal to say on that score e special session is adjourned. * ok ok % Walter H. Newton, liaison secretary at the wgu Hox, d'l.r:' a guest u{h a swagger diplomat ner party the other night. More men than women jurned up, so that the number of “stags” at table turned out to be unex- pectedly large. Newton was one of them. “I knew that'd be my luck,” the Minnesotan lamented during the eve- ning, “as soon as I was handed No. 13 for an automobile call-number at the : * kK ok ‘While lh‘c Gridiron Club and fits com) of mere men were merrym};n ‘Washington last Saturday night, the woman members of v being entertained at a ir own in the home of one of their e e loving e ‘Inasmuch be have a before i : : ; e : 8 a g i note that en of the = 1 (G Eg gs it i g Former Gov. Henry J. Allen, Repub- lican, of Kansas, is by far the most interesting of the newcomers to the Senate in the Seventy-first Gongress. He seems to have buried the hatchet promptly with Vice President Curtis, whom he succeeds. Time was when “Hank” and “Charley” did anything but hit it off in Karsas politics. Just after the Vice President administered Allen’s oath on April 15, Curtis grabbed the new Senator’s hand fervently, smiled expansively and wa$ observed muttering words that appeared to bub- ble with brotherly love. Senator Al- len’s first congratulating caller in the lobby was his old classmate and fra- ternity brother at Baker University, Dr. Paul M. Pearson of Swarthmore, Pa,, the king of the Chautauqua pro- fession. Pearson recalls that “Henry” ‘worked part of his way through college by assisting in the campus barber shop. “But you never used the right kind of hair-restorer, Senator,” his old chum remarked, as they greeted each other in the Capitol. Mrs. Allen and Mrs. Pearson were college mates, too. * %k % x One of the Democratic breakers of the Solid South has just been a guest at dinner in the White House—George F. Milton, editor and publisher of the Chattanooga News. Milton for years has been one of the high priests of the McAdoo temple, and managed the Cali- fornia Democrat’s publicity campaign in 1924. Throughout 1928, and before, Al Smith had no more uncompromising foeman than the Tennessee journalist. (Copyright, 1929.) Two Generations Lack Hands and Feet at Birth BY E. E. FREE, PH. D. A remarkable instance in which Na- ture seems carefully to have preserved by heredity a deformity certainly of no advantage t:ert'sA p%asesson ?II'DN hu- manity is r d by Eugenical News, the oéchl organ of the Eugenics Re: search Association and of the Galton Society. In two generations of a single family living in Brazil there have been five instances, the association is informed by its correspondent, Wesley Peacock,” of the absence of hands and feet. Four of these remarkable cripples— three children and their uncle—have been photographed in & group. The father of the children, now dead, pos- sessed the same heredity deformity. All inherited characteristics are supposed by biologists to be transmitted from one generation to another by tiny living granules, called chromosomes, contained in _every living human cell. Evidently the cell chromosomes of this unfortunate Brazilian family.lack some essential unit of their structure, which unit ordinarily is responsible for the formation of hands and feet. In its absence, these extremities do not de- velop. . Although the association refrains from pointing any moral, it is obvious that the interest of humanity, no less than their own, requires that these un- fortunate Brazilians be not permitted to produce further descendants; the same conclusion urged by advocates of eugenics for human beings suffering from other he.lndlury detects, physical, mental or mors [ — Really? From the Lynchburg News. Just a little while back a lot of fel- lows were getting licked for sm arettes and saying they hadn't; now a lot of fellows are "gemnz paid for em” when they th e Tt Will Be a Diversion. Prom the Columbia Daily Tribune, Wb Harry Sin- 'monfl. It usually follows Politics at Large By G. Gonlf Lincoln.’ Within an hour or two after Presi- dent Hoover's message had been read to the Senate and House yesterday, a farm bill running parallel in the main to the President’s ideas was ordered reported to the House by the House committee on agriculture, The provi- sions of the bill had already been ap- proved by the committee by a vote of 19 to 2, and yesterday action was merely formal. - But it was also ifl- cant.” The House apparently, wi huge Republican majority, is along with the President in bot] farm relief program and his plan for a | T. A, limited ur!.s revision., * K K K S of revolt appeared in the Sen- ate, ever. The Senate committee on agriculture discussed the advisability of placing in its bill the so-called ex- port debenture plan, fostered first by the National Grange, as an alternative proposition. Mr. Hoover did not men- tion the debenture plan by name in his message. Some of the members of the Senate committee took the view that as the President had not given formal disapproval of the plan, he would not be opposed to it. However, the fact that the President, in outlining his plan for farm aid, did not name the debenture plan as a measure of relief, was a suffi- clent indication to others that he does not wish the debenture plan included in the bill. The House.committee is opposed to it, and so0, it is believed, is the House. ' The Senate committee on agriculture contains a group which is inclined to make trouble for the administration if it can. It has on the Republican side a number of the Republican pro- gressives, headed by Senator Norris of Nebraska, not to mention several Democrats, who would not be averse to seeing the Hoover machine halted in_its smoothly running career quite early in the game. kR K It is not clear yet just how far the Senate committee or the Senate itself is going in opposition to the Presi- dent in his farm relief plan. It is ces tain, however, that even if the com mittee does not include in its bill the debenture plan, it will be offered as an amendment from the floor of the Senate and that a fight over it will ensue, If the President expresses his disapproval of the debenture plan, as it is believed in some quarters he will, and the Senate should insist upon placing it in the farm bill, the line-up may be the President and the House against the Senate. Such a lme-up may not inure to the credit of the Senate. In the first place, an attempt by the Senate to throw a monkey wrench into the program of the new |f administration would cause long de- lay. That might be distinctly unpopu- with the farmers who have been walting now these many years for promised relief. It is the aim of the administration to get the proposed TFederal Farm Board and the increases in tariff duties in favor of farm prod- ucts in operation in time to help’ the farmers with this year's crops. ‘The Senate committee on agriculture, | it is reported, has placed in its bill amendments which have been suggested by the Farmers’ Union and the Amer- ican Farm Bureau Federation. And if it accepts the debenture plan of the National Grange it may have gone far toward lining up these important farm organizations behind its bill. However, these farm organizations have indi- cated in the past they are willing to go along, generally speaking, with the Hoover administration in the matter of farm relief legislation, reserving always the right to fight for something more, if this legislation does not prove the benefit to the farmers that has been promised. * Kk ok x ‘The House is strongly organized. It is not unlikely that the House, which in recent years has been more or less shoeved into the background by the Senate, may be perfectly willing to go to the mat with the Senate both on the farm relief bill and the tariff bill, if the Senate insists upon running counter both to the House and the President in these matters. It is quite clear that there can be legislation even submitted to the President for his approval or disapproval without fits first being passed by both houses of Congress. If the Senate sets itself up as the obstructionist body it is likely to come in for a great amount of criticism from many sources in this country. Individual Republican Senators are showing a disinclination already to go along with the President’s views on tariff revision and farm relief, not to mention his recommendations that the national origins clause of the immigra- tlon act be suspended and the bill for the reapportionment of the House be put through. Senator David A. Reed of Pennsylvania has come out strongly against the proposed limitation on tariff revision on the ground that many of Pennsylvania’s manufactures need more protection than the House and the administration may be willing to con- cede. He is strongly against suspension of the national origins clause, /too. There are Senators from States which will lose representation in the House who are against the passage of the Teapportionment bill. It is not difficult to understand that with the trading practices which are sometimes brought into play in the Upper House various blocs opposed to_this legislation or favor- ing that may be welded into a mass which might play hob with the admin- istration's program. The Congress met Monday. Outside of hearing the Presi- dent’s address the Senate has done practically nothing so far. It meets again tomorrow, but the indications are that it will adjourn then until Monday. 1t so, the first week of the session will have elapsed with practically nothing done, * koK Kk It has been some time since the House held the whiphand in legislation and dominated the situation in Wash- ington. The House has just been elect- ed. It holds an immediate mandate from the electorate, while only a third of the Senate was involved in the re- cent unpleasantness, which placed Mr. Hoover in the White House. On the other hand, seven or eight new Repub- lican Senators were elected, swelling the Republican majority in the Senate. These new Senators may make the course of the administration’s program much more smooth in the Upper House than it would have been under the conditions which prevailed in the last c?’t‘hmt Indeed, there is little doubt of that. The President has in his hands the huge Federal patronage lever. Few Federal offices have been filled since he entered the White House. And Sen- ators are not averse to being considered Wwhen it comes to the appointment of Federal officers in their State—not by any means. * Kk k% ‘The President will have a strong sup- porter among the new Senators when it com:xn t‘;‘hla nrm‘s;ed txmnpm— grams person of Senator Henry J. Allen of Kansas. Mr. Allen has just sador ite | for the ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. This 15" special department, devoted solely to the handling of queries. This paper puts at your dis) the services of an extensive organization in Wash- ington to serve you in any capacity that relates to information. This service is {ree. Failure to make use of it de- prives you of benefits to which you are entitled. Your obligation is only 2 cents in coin or stamps, inclosed with your inquiry, for direct reply. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Eu‘).-edell;lcc.v. Haskin, director, Washing- n, D. C. Q. What cabinet member is ap- pmm.e;il for a term of definite length?— A. The Postmaster General is ap- pointed for a term of four years. The other cabinet members serve at the Pleasure of the President. Q. 1f black absorbs more heat than white, why can the colored race endure | hot weather better than the white race? —C. A A. In speaking of color, in & test made with the various materials dyed different colors and covering blocks of | ice to determine which color absorbed | the most heat, the blocks under the white | material at the end of a given period | were larger than the blocks under the black color. The explanation for this, of course, is that white deflects more rays of the sun than black. In speak- ing of the Negro and dark races and their adaptability to heat, this test does not hold good. “With the human ele- ment 1t is largely the question of being acclimated. The Negro race, as far back as our records run, was a native of the tropical countries. Consequently the transplanting of this race to North-‘ e climates makes its members just as uncomfortable as it would make an Eskimo, aiso dark-skinned, to put him in the extreme South. ;& What sheep has the most wool?— "A. 'The merino sheep has the largest| weight of wool in proportion to the weight of the body. - Q. What kind of school is the Mas- sachusetts Nautical School?—W. E. G. A. The Massachusetts Nautical School is a State training school for American merchant marine officers. It was es- tablished in:1892. Q. When was the first duel fought in this country?—W. T. L. A. The first duel occurred in 1621 in Plymouth between two serving men. Q. Is color blindness always congeni- tal’—A. K. P. A. Sometimes color blindness is ac- quired. It is then a symptom of dis- eases of the optic nerve and retina. Congenital color blindness usually a ects both eyes, and is often hereditary, and may be partial or complete. It occurs in eyes whose power of vision may be otherwise perfect, but errors of refraction usually coexist. = Acquired color blindness may result from disease or accident. Q. When were silos first built above ground in the United States”—L. B. D. A. Silos in the United States were formerly built undergrcund. In about 1875 it was discovered that they could be bullt above the ground just as well, and the first ones were constructed of brick or stone with a smooth coating of plaster on the inside. Today, siter years of experimenting, the Department of Agriculture advises that those made of wood, if properly constructed, would not -only be less expensive for the farmer but do just as well as the brick or stone ones. Q. How old is Junior Durkin in the stage play “Courage”?—G. N. A. Junior Durkin will be 13 years old next July. This young player has been on the stage since he was 275 years old. Q. Please name some of the largest fresh-water lakes—C. E. B. A. Among them are Lake Superior, 31,810 square miles; Victoria Nyanza, 26,000; Aral, 24,000; Huron, 23,110; 22,400; Nyasa, 14,200, and Baikal, 13,200 square miles. Q. What became of the stone sent by the Pope for the Washington Monu- ment? Why did he send one?—J. B. A. The following is an excerpt from “The Washington Monument,” prepared in the office of Public Buildings and Grounds: “Work progressed slowly un- til 1854, when an act occurred at the Monument which created much indig- nation and public discussion through the country. A block of marble which had originally stood in the Temple of Concord at Rome and which had been sent by the Pope to be set in the wall of the Monument was stolen, and no trace of it was ever found. Af the time contributions of stones from societies, municipalities and the several States were being encouraged, so that ‘Pope’s stone’ was not an unusual gift. The disappearance of the stone anzered and estranged a large body of citizens and discouraged the collection of public con- lrlbuldlons, 50 that all construction work ceased.” Q. Do humming birds go South in Em;}ers’ What do they feed on?— A. Most species of the humming birds are natives of the warmer climates, but, there are several species that go North for the Summer. Humming birds do not feed exclusively on honey, but depend largely on the insects found in flowers for their food. . Q. Did President Wilson use this ex- pression, “without the dotting of an i’ or the crossing of a ‘t,’” in regard tc his wishes concerning the League of Nations?—L. L. A. This expression was used by Sen- ator Hitchcock. President Wilson, how- ever, opposed any important changes in the covenant, Q. Where was the Cliffbourne Hos- pital located in Washington, which was in use during the Civil War?—E. D. A. It was on the north side of Cal- vert street, half way between Eighteenth street and the Calvert Street Bridge. Q. How long has the Eiffel Tower been'standing?—A. H. A. It celebrated its fortieth birthday on March 30, 1929. It was completed Just a few days before the opening of the Paris Exposition of 1889, and was 14 months in the building. It is ex- amined at regular intervals by engineers to make sure that it is still safe, and it is sald that it shows no_evidences of weakness. In addition to being a land- mark and observation tower for tour- ists, it is & wireless station, and is used at night for elaborate vari-colored elec- tric light* automobile advertisements, The illumination is not all advertising, and is very beautiful. Q. Is it possible for a person to have whooping cough without the character- istic whoop?—S. B. N. A. Some persons have the disease but never whoop. Arectic Submarine Cruise Plan Regarded As'Rather Fantastic ‘To most newspaper observers, the pro- posal of Sir Hubert Wilkins to cruise beneath the Arctic ice in & submarine appears fantastic and almost suicidal. . “The plan is so far outside the realm of things done hitherto,” says the Buf- falo Evening News, “that if any name less notable than that of Wilkins were sponsoring it the disposition would be not to treat it seriously.” Referring to the fact that Wilkins' “attempt to real- ize the visions of those fiction writers who are not fettered by science” has been postponed to next year, the Buffalo daily contirfues: “The project of diving under the ice and traveling well below the depth to which the ice cap reaches obviously implies a great advance in mechanics. The expectation of Wilkins apnears to be that his submarine can find air holes into which it can rise every few miles for observation and| oxygen renewal. Also there are hints at devices for blasting openings in the ice if natural gaps do mot occur. Appar- ently there is no fear that such & sub- | surface explosion would affect the sub- marine like a depth bomb.” The Kalamazoo Gazette suggests that “the prospect sounds thrilling enough, and might even prove attractive to men who regard deadly hazards merely as slight obstacles which must be over- come if the solution of nature’s mani- fold mysteries is to be carried forward. It is worth noting, however,” continues the Gazette, “that the Polar Sea is just about the most dangerous territory in which & man can operate the most dan- gerous of all known types of craft. * * * Yet all these dangers and many others are not likely to deter Sir Hubert and his associates if they are convinced that there is anything worth seeing beneath the polar ice. Experi- ence has shown that, despite the obvious perils of exploration, there are always plenty of volunteers.” “To the ordinary man,” remarks the Philadelphia Record, “the project looks like a rather elaborate way of commit- ting suicide. Taking a trip on a subma- rine under the most normal circum- stances would be a real adventure to us. But to go voyaging under the ice of the Arctic—ice that is packed 120 feet thick—appears as mad an enter- prise as any ever projected. But these men who know the Arctic have a sur- prising way of shoving death to one side and coming through the most haz- erdous experiences unscathed. And once they get the Arctic in their blood there is no way, it would seem, of stopping them. The secrets of the icy waste hold a fascination for them that is inconceivable.” “Highly infeasible,” declares the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “But Wilkins is a man who thrives on confounding the experts and achieving the impossible. ‘This bearded Australian all his life has made a bosom comrade of danger. To get unusual photographs he was mak- ing parachute leaps from balloons and walking over airplane wings long before such exhibitions were advertised by every county fair. He was the first movie man to get authentic pictures of hand-to-hand fighting in the Balkan wars, and the first of his profession to join am Arctic expedition. For 2 of his 40 years Wilkins flew over the battle lines in France, and was designated by e But Mr. Puller doubtless would go far along the road with the administration if he were nominated and elected. * K k% = In some quarters there is talk now o Henry P. t!r1lletcher, American Ambas- Italy, becoming & md.ldne’ te in place of Senatot-elect William 8. Vare, in the event that Mr. | Vare finally is denied his seat in the | makes his own bed has | For Sinclair should Senate or should voluntarily take him- the commender of the Australian fo 8s the most courageous, competent and useful man of all the Anzacs. The flight from America to Europe across the unexplored Arctic Ocean is only one of the impossibilities he has accom- plished. * ¢ =+ Of course, a voyage to the North Pole by submarine sounds impossible, but if any one is to attempt it our choice is Sir Hubert Wilkins.” ““To the layman,” records the Spring- field Republican, “it looks like & ven- ture into an unknown field without the usual preliminary experiments and practical experience. In the end on= may see a preliminary trip for the pur- pose of collecting data on such vitally important points as the thickness of an ice floe which can safely be broken by a submarine desiring to come to the surface. Not only is it impassible for a submarine to remain submerged indefi- nitely, but aside from the question of breaking an ice floe in order to obtai & fresh supply of air there are obstacles to submarine operation in Arctic waters which would not‘be met with in other latitudes. * * * To keep the inte- rior of a submarine warm over any ex- tended period would involve the expend- iture of energy and weight in one form or another. It would be a drain upon the reserve buoyancy otherwise zealously hoarded.” Quoting an expert of a submarine company who is “thoroughly convinced of the practicability of the project,” the Aberdeen Daily World remembers the submarine evolved by the imagiration of Jules Verne and capable of bucking the ice pack successfully, and continues: “But that was in fiction. There will be apprehensions of a new sort for a world that has become used to vicarious perils of the air if and when Sir Hubert and his dauntless assistants and crew take up their task in stern reality. The ex- pedition’s object, Wilkins explains, is to gather information as to the depths of the Arctic Ocean, the force and tem- perature of Arctic currents, conditions and drift of the ice, and comparative knowledge of meteorological conditions, For knowledge have scientists and ex- plorers periled their lives before and will continue to do so.” “The height of hazardous” is the ver- dict of the New York Evening Post, which concludes: “To the casual ob- server the perils of the frozen North would seem to be real enough without adding a submarine. But there is noth- ing which seems to daunt the explorers of the Arctic or the Antarctic. For them danger and excitement are the stuff of which life is made, and so insistent is the call to action that they Teturn to civilization only to plan new ventures.” ) Disturbance Created By Southern Pacific From the Spokane Spokesman-Review. The Southern Pacific Company is be- fore the Interstate Commerce Commis~ sion with another attempt to disturb transcontinental freight rates. It op- erates a line of steamships from New York to the Gulf, connecting there with its rail lines to the Pacific Coast. It complains that steamer lines from coast to coast through the Panama Canal are getting too much business and wants to lower its rail-and-boat rates to engage in more active competi- tion with the steamship lines. ‘There is nothing in t| incial con= dition of the Southern Pacific to justify its-attempted disturbance of the trans- continental rate system. The business and industries of Pacific Coast need stabilization in freight rates, not further disturbance. ‘The Southern Pacific is one of the big profit-earning raflraods. It had gross earnings in 1928 of nearly $219,- 000,000, an increase of $4,000,000 over its gross earnings in 1927. Its pros- perity has continued into the new year, with gross earnings in January of $16,- 757,000, as against $15,280,000 in Janu- ary, 1928. Southern Pacific stock is selling at $129 on the New York Stock Exchange. ‘The company is in no position to poverty before the commission as justi- fication for disturbance of transconti- nental rates or ition to the joining of the Great Nc and the We Pacific to permit the entry of the R N st e Wl e