Evening Star Newspaper, August 19, 1929, Page 8

{THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY.......August 19, 1929 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company 11ep ot "ARE Penoivanta Ave. w York Office: 1 0 Office: La ropean Office: 1 NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ly and Sunday....1 3T., $10.00: Bl e only All Other States and Canada. fi, and Sunday..1 $1200: 1 mo.. & Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press i3 exclusively entitled e use for republication of all news d tches credited to it oF not otherwise cre in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of pubfication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. — The Real Issue. ‘The street rallway fare case enters its second stage today with the Public Utilitles Commission considering the petition of the Washington Railway and Electric Co. But interest now centers upon what is and always has been the dominating issue in the fare question— corporate merger and unified operation of the street car lines. The commission brought that issue up last week when it placed before the companies, with dramatic suddenness, its own revised merger plan and asked the companies to state their reaction to it. There have been the usual ob- Jjections from the company representa- tives. They do not want consideration of the fare case on its merits entangled with that of merger. They want the two questions separated and kept apart. But it is idle to speak of their separa- tion. The petitioning companies are now arguing for higher fares because the last merger proposal failed. The companies have admitted that a desir- able effect of merger would be econo- mies of operation; that the expense of separate operation demands more revenue. ‘The commission has taken the correct stand in refusing to separate the two questions and the objections registered by the companies can be con- sidered as gestures, to be expected in any sparring match. Instead of opposing the introduction of the commission’s merger plan, the companies, to be consistent, should ‘welcome it. A few weeks ago the com- mission invited them to submit their . own plans for merger. They declined, and their declinations were well grounded. But they reiterated their former expressions of approval of the principle of merger. ‘They recounted with some pride their voluntary and ploneer efforts to bring about a merger. ‘They indicated that if a new effort to ‘merge is made, it should originate from some other source, as the companies have made their views a matter of Tecord. Now the commission has taken the only natural course. With commendable celerity and an astute regard for the rights of the interested public, it has placed before the railway companies a proposed merger agreement that is based upon the plan approved last year by the comporations, the former members of the Public Utilities Com- mission, the Bureau of Efficiency and the committees of Congress. It has made changes in this plan in accord with its own expert views re- garding the rights of the car-riding public. Those changes will eliminate ‘the doubts and objections registered by opponents of the former merger plan. Some of them may raise new objections from the corporations. None of them presents an impassable barrier to the agreement on a merger plan that should be reached by the time that Congress convenes in regular session in Decem- ber. And there is little doubt that Congress, presented with a merger plan bearing the new Public Utilitles Com- mission’s stamp of approval, will move speedily to its ratification. ‘The companies will continue the submission of evidence and presentation of their arguments in support of their contention for higher fares. But the already extensive hearings on the rate case cannot be considered as closed or complete until the companies have made known their views regarding the commission’s revised merger plan. The sincerity of their expressed desires for merger and its benefits can best be demonstrated by s willingness to co- operate with the commission in the mecessary preliminaries. Nothing of any lasting value, either to the cor- porations or to the car-riding public, will be gained by any other attitude. —_———— By way of genial epigram President Hoover is quoted to the effect that “all men are equal before fish.” This does not take into account the tradition of the small boy with a bent pin who catches fish where fancy outfits fail. — Employment of Labor. Employment of labor in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, is on & high level. In a report Just made public it is shown that 40 of the 54 manufacturing industries re- porting had more employes at the end of this 12-month period than at the beginning. Furthermore, while it was shown that employment decreased 0.2 per cent in July of this year, as com- pared to June, employment in July of this year greatly exceeded employment in July, 1928. July, it is explained, is customarily a month of inventory taking in manufacturing establish- ments. Mining and retail trade oper- ations are also curtailed during this Midsummer month. To qffset these conditions, public utility companies are usually having a good deal of outside work done, hotel employment at Sum- mer resorts is at a maximum and the based on returns for 12,683 manufac- turing establishments in 5¢ of the prin- cipal industries of the United States. In July these establishments had 3,526,~ 174 employes and pay yoll totals of $93,- 576416. They furnish a fair index of conditions prevailing throughout the country. One hopeful sign was found in the fact that manufacturing industrics in July, 1929, had pronounced increases both in employment and pay roll totals over July & year ago. Outstanding in- creases in employment this year as com- pared to last year are found in elec- trical machinery, shipbuilding, machine tools, petroleum refining, foundry and machine-shop products and agricultural products. Cotton gopds employment ‘was 4 per cent greater in July this year than in the same month last year; hosiery, 8.5 per cent greater; iron and steel, 7.8 per cent greater, and automo- mobile employment, 6 per cent greater. 400 | Another encouraging feature of the re- port was the fact that the earnings per capita were 1.1 pery#ent higher in the July just passed than they were in the same month a year ago. This is the season for canning and the increase in employment in that industry for July over June was 65 per cent. ‘The conditions and measure of em- ployment in the United States, judging from the report of the bureau, are en- couraging. Army Economies. Representative Will R. Wood of In- diana, slated to be the next chairman of the House appropriations committee, has come forward in defense of Presi- dent Hoover's proposal for a reduction of Army costs. As chairman of the House committee, Mr. Wood will have much influence on the appropriations for the Army. His opinions will neces- sarily bear weight. He is convinced, he says, that the Army is topheavy with officers. In an interview on his return from the Panama Canal Zone he as- gerts that several existing branches of the military services could be eliminated or consolidated with others and that “frozen assets” of the Army could well be dispensed with. | ‘The program of reduction suggested by Mr. Wood is Interesting, particularly because of its source. His comment that an army of 111,000 men, with 11,000 officers, is topheavy with officers may require, however, some explanation. Ad- mittedly the Regular Army of the United States is kept at a minimum, a mere skeleton upon which to build a great Army in time of emergency. Sol- diers are not made overnight—not in these days of modern warfare and in days when the use of arms is discour- aged. But the making of an efficient Army officer, capable of leading men in warfare, is a still longer task. Re- duction of the number of Army officers in this country might be a costly ex- periment in the long run. Mr. Wood complains that on the Canal Zone the United States has only 9,000 men, with four major generals to command them. In time of war one major general, he points out, would command from 20,000 10 25,000 men. It is a better policy for this Government to have four major generals when the country is at peace |’ in command of one-tenth, for example, the number of men they would com- mand in time of war than to have two major generals with 20,000 men each under their command. Certainly it is more economical. The World War is a decade in the past. It burst upon the world at a time when many persons believed that the day of great international conflicts had passed. Big business, it was said, could not afford to have a war. But the war came. Another may come. Economy is advisable. But so is insur- ance. The appropriations made for the Army and the Navy must be regarded in the nature of insurance. The Army has already been reduced to a mere national police force in size. "It has been skeletonized. To pick the bones of the skeleton would seem upon its face most unwise policy. The proposed consolidation of various branches of the Army, suggested by Mr. ‘Wood, may be advisable. He proposes that the Coast Artillery be consolidated with the Field Artillery, and that the Chemical Welfare Service be merged with.ordnance. These are proposals which must be passed upon by experts. “Prozen assets,” coming over some of them from the World War days, should be disposed of without further delay, Mr. Wood insists. He points to $140,- 000 worth of harness on the Canal Zone which he says is not used, but which must be oiled constantly to prevent its decay. ‘This, he says, is but'a sample. Perhaps Mr. Wood is entirely correct in these matters. Certainly they are matters which the general staff of the Army should consider when they make their report to the President in regard to economies which may be practiced in connection with the military service. But with the fundamental peace-time policy of holding trained officers in charge of a skeletonized enlisted com- plement which can be swiftly recruited to meet any emergency, there would seem to be no present ground for dis- agreement. —_————————— ‘Valuable influence may be exerted by the Graf Zeppelin that commerce is more important than projects for mili- tary conquest. The Senate Here Again. The Senate is officaliy in Washington once again after its two months’ Sum- mer recess. Under solemn vote of the body last June it was compelled to re- sume its sessions at noon today, but with nothing to do. The tariff bill is still in the hands of the Senate finance committee and promises to be there for another two weeks or so. The Senate leaders, therefore, have reached an agreement to keep merely a corporal guard in Washington and to hold per- functory meetings every three days for the next two weeks. Neither the Senate nor the House is empowered to take recesses lasting more than three days at & time without the consent of the other body, ®nd the resolution providing for the Summer vacation specifically stated that the Senate should reassemble Au- gust 19 and the House September 23. ‘The effect of the gentlemen’s agree- ONDAY, AUG finance committee might have coms pleted the tarift bill before today had the whole Senate been held here in ses- sion, instead of taking the Summer recess. Certainly the committee would have a large number of irate Senators on its back, urging speed in the con- sideration of the bill. But that is all water over tne dam. The Senate took its recess and the Senate committee has failed to complete the tariff measure and the Senate will have to make the best of the situation. Also the country. It is Quite reasonable to suppose that the country, which is considerably in- terested in a tariff revision, would be glad to have the new tariff law finally enacted. The country, however, knows that the new tariff law will be framed along the same lines as the present law— comporting with the Republican principle of a protective tariff. For that reason it awsits the new measure with more equanimity than had there been a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President, threatening to change the tariff system of the country. It knows pretty well what is to happen. A numbgr of tariff duties will be raised in the end, and a very few lowered. Already there is strong indication that the Republicans in charge of the tariff bill will have aid in passing the bill from some of the Democratic Senators. The South, changed in great measure in recent years by the growth of its manufacturing interests, no longer is for free trade. It wants its industries protected. It is entitled to have them protected. But the South realizes that if its industries are to be protected the industries of other sections of the country also must have protection. So the word has gone out to some of the Democratic Senators from Southern States in emphatic tones. Among those who have heard particularly from their constituents in this regard are the Senators from Florida. There is every indication they will be found support- ing the Republican tariff bill, provided, of course, they find that the Florida in- terests are cared for in the measure. The Louisiana Senators, both Demo- crats, and the Senators from New York, Senator Walsh of Massachusetts and several other Democratic Senators may be found supporting protective tariff dutjes carried in the bill. *This Demo- cratic support for the bill in part at least places responsibility upon the Democrats. At least, the Republicans, if they find the new law unpopular, will be inclined to call attention loudly to the fact that it had Democratic sup- port, too. In the House a score of Democratic members voted for the tariff bill last Spring, and only a dozen Republicans voted against it. ‘The Senate, meeting today, may find itself almost continuously in session until next Summer. Should the special session run up to the time of the open- ing of the regular session, this is as- sured. But next Summer come the campaigns for re-election of the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the membership of the Senate. The desire to get away ang back to the home district and State to rebuild political fences will be strong by the time next May rolls round. ———————————— Texas is honored by the prospect of G. C. Butte's appointment to the Dis- trict of Columbia Supreme Court. It is a court before which many matters come up for adjudication which go be- yond the demands made upon most of the representatives of legal justice. —————e————— - ‘While distinguished gentlemen at Th Hague evince the greatest mutual esteem on terms of diplomacy, they have difficulty in coming into complete agreement as expert accountants. o Siberia was once regarded as a land of exile. Air traffic will soon enable it to take its place among the countries that recognize commercial interde- pendence. ————————— Virginia is happy to welcome Presi- dent Hoover and tactful in refraining from compelling him to utilize in hand- shaking most of the time set aside for a holiday. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Restraint of Speech. “Speak gently!” echoes from afar And bids us persevere, And never let a harsh word mar ‘The good we might do here, “Speak gently!” The advice today Still guides the bootleg craft That goes still further and will say “Speak Easy” gets the graft. Quicker Action. “Do you find that the home folks are still eager to visit you in Wash- ington, D. C.2” “Not 80 many as formerly,” said Sen- ator Sorghum. “A large number seem to think they can get more reliable facts in & shorter time simply by climb- ing into a sight-seeing wagon.” Jud Tunkins says if wealth always brought happiness, you'd have to give & mummy in one of those gold fur- nished Egyptian tombs credit for being in luck. Happy Fisherman, ‘To go a-fishing is & joy ‘Which none assume to doubt; And though the hardships might annoy. It's fine to talk about. A Student of Pugilism. “Do you approve of prize fighting?” “Of course,” declared Mr. Meekton, . “It is & gentle form of recreation with | General no hard feelings on either side and & chance of pretty good compensation even with the small end of the gate money. My idea of & philosopher is & prize fighter. He really knows what he is ‘trying for and doesn't spoll his dis- position by idle quarreling.” “Fashions change,” sald ‘Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “in standards of thought as well as in attire.” Inexpensive Thrills. I buy a little magazine And read, with conscience all .serene, About the fearful tangled lives Of men who steal other’s wives; Or, watching an it still, Pick on & pal and shoot to kil The world appears & tragic scene Viewed through my little magazinel “Tt would be & pertection,” sald Uncle could be educated on a dark night T 4 THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, Shadows of the Autumn garden begin to fall across many a mind. Sunlight and shadow are more in the heart than in the visible world. ?ome gardeners prefer Fall, others do not. 1t is among the latter class that ap- proaching Autumn casts its impending shadows, seen by the sensitive when flowers are in full bloom. ‘Those who do not understand this attitude will wonder why the garden of September and October is less attractive than that of July and August. They point to the blooming of dahlias and chrysanthemums as a veritable high point of the gardening year. They say that the crisp weather of the later months makes gardening more enjoyable. One is free then, they as- sert, from annoying winged creatures, such as flies and gnats, and from the evident effects of high temperatures. * koK ‘Those who believe otherwise admit all this, yet still feel that the year’s gardening is at an end in September, with shadows cast across enjoyment even so early as during these last days of August. Perhaps it is nothing more than the first small evidences of death to the flowers. The waning of blooms on such shrubs as the altheas bespeaks the nat- ural end of the garden for another Winter season. Back of these slight changes stands the acceptance of Nature’s decrees. The time is coming and shortly will be at hand when outside gardening will be a thing of the past. Some of us feel it even now, although the days may be warm and the garden in practically perfect condition. No doubt the individual gardener’s physical being plays a great part in his mental attitude toward the seasons as they come forward and pass away, out of the mystery called Time, back again | tim into its innermost recesses. ‘Time thus stands at the very garden portals, taking the little flowers by the hand, saying to them, “Here, my dears, is your place,” and later when Autumn comes leading them as gently out-again into the silent unknown. * K ok K Now the grass begins to wither, al- though it still is green, and the flowers to fade, although they are yet bright, and he who cannot see mystery has missed the spirit of gardening, s0 some think. It is a trick to make flowers grow out of season, but it is not gardening. Sclentists have forced plants by a sys- tem of artificial sunlight, but, as in- teresting as the results have been, the process cannot be called gardening. ‘The essence of gardening is a com- munion between the mind of the gar- dener and the universal mystery called Time. The common sport of every day known as “killing time” has no place in the garden. Cultivated plots are useful to man- kind, mot only for what is grown in them, but because they show once and for all the absurdity of being impatient on the one hand or hot-headed on the other. Every child finds that he cannot hurry up a seed. He may go to his plot a thousand times a day, but his anxiety does not make his seedling hurry up out of the dark ground into the lightl of day. So he becomes tired of his new toy which will not exert itself for his benefit and soo,l: {:‘)ra:‘et.s*ln about it. What is the child’s astonishment some days later to discover that green leaves are poking their soft noses through the crusty earth! ‘The child has been taught, although by indirection, that Time and the seed cared nothing for him; in fact, did not know he existed. ‘The seed functioned not only in the earth but in Time. It took as much ‘Time as it did moisture and warmth to stir it into plant motion. A serious gardener soon learns that all his worry and all his plodding around cannot stir his plants into any- g\ng more than Time has outlined for em. 2 They grow in Time and have their being in Time, and, when Time decrees, come to the end of their curious exist- ences. And it is because the gardener knows this, or rather feels it, that he experiences the shadows across his mind at this period of the year. ‘There is no particular shade of sad- ness in this shadow. It is rather ac- ceptance, not only of the facts of life bu,t of the essential rightness of life as s. * x ok ‘What right have we to kick becaus2 everything in life is not to our liking? ‘The flowers grow, live and die the same as the rest of us, and they have nothing at all to say about the process from beginning to end. Human beings have a great deal to say about it, but the processes of birth, life and death do not seem to change much for all the protests, lamentations, wailings, rejoicings, calm considera- tions, religious musings, ecstatic visions, which have gone through the minds of men since the beginnings of historic e. We are like flowers in the garden, although we don’t know it, and prefer not to admit it. Secretly in our own hearts we see our kinship with these living, growing things which flower grandly and nod into decay. We know that our lives, based firmly on unknown principles, go through a similar process. ‘We believe, and we cannot help be- lieving rightly, that the lives of hu- manity are so much fuller of conscious- ness, of ability, of creation, that it is impossible for them to be wiped out as the flowers of the field and to be no more in the long run than the with- ered blooms in ‘yox‘:de: v‘nse. All that the flowers are and that we hope to be comes out of the crucible of ‘Time. ‘That is why we sometimes grow tired of listening to the eternal admonitions not to waste it. There is so much Time that we do not see how we can waste any of it. ‘Time is not a natural recourse, like forests, which may be wasted against a day when we have it not. ‘There always has been more Time than any one knew what to do with, and there seems to be no possible short- age of it ‘Wherefore, like Walt Whitman, we lean and loaf at our ease, observing a blade of Summer grass, seeing in the first brown tinges of Autumn the end of our horticultural enthusiasm for an- other year. Fred Erb’s Case Might Be Bungled by Men From the Wichita Beacon. The court of last resort will decide the fate of Fred Erb, 75-year-old ploneer of Lawrence, Kans. Fred Erb, you know, killed his wife one day last week. They had lived happily together for a half-century. She was desperately. ill. Fred Erb feared they might come to want, that he might die before she. So he killed her. Fred Erb is one man who is beyond reach of the law. Suffering from the infirmities of age, worried unto death, the end is near for him. You are stunned at such a tragedy. None voices harsh. eriticism of old Fred Erb. He appears sane. The law may temporarily handle his case and his affals. law may confine him in a cell for a few short days, acting for the time as his’ guardian. The law cannot “punish Fred Erb. The law can inflict no humiliation on him., The law is powerless in such a case. Even the courts of the State can- not pass judgment, really, on this aged man. The people will not pass judg- ment on him. ‘The people of Kansas for the first time know all about the Erb family, which has been highly respected. It is a pity we did not know about this elderly man and his aged wife before this tragedy occurred. It might have been prevented. It too late now. OIld Fred Erb calmly waits the coming of death. |- Death will take him to meet his Maker, possibly to reunite him for_ eternity with the wife he loved, whom he killed, to stop her suffering. Old Fred Erb in a short time will pass before the judgment seat. The evidence will be hefore the all-highest court. What will be the verdict? “Thou shalt not kill,” said the Lord. There is not enough wisdom in all this world to say what should be the fate of old Fred Erb. It is well that his case will go to a higher power for the final decision. For the chances are that men, kno ing the law, but knowing nothing about the soul, might bungle this case. Farm Board Action Held Encouraging From the Atlanta Journal. ‘Two iteme of especial interest are noted in the first financial action of the Federal Farm Board—items which will be invested with at least a momentary significance because they do lie in the board’s initial functioning. The $300,- 000 loan was made, not to one of the great grain interests which were ex- pected to be the principal beneficiaries of the program, but to the citrus grow- ers of Florida, and the loan was made, not as a routine movement to bolster and stimulate a permanent marketing organization, but to meet an emergency situation arising from the depredations of the Mediterranean fruit fly. ‘These aspects of the loan are as- suredly encouraging for many reasons. They indicate upon the part of the board a genuine sensitiveness to agri- cultural needs, whatever the section af- fected or whatever the cause of the exigency. It is not to be expected, and certainly not to be hoped, that the board will continue to utilize the half- billion-dolllar stabilization fund for similar purposes, even if a continuing need arose. But the action was prompt and showed a commendable sympathy WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS One way to effect economy in Uncle Sam’s military establishment is to dis- pense with some of the major generals and other wearers of gold braid, accord- ing to Representative Will R. Wood of Indiana. His statement last week anent the Hoover plea for retrenchment in Army costs made a strong point of the fact that the Armfl); seemedn:a have fi good many more officers on the pay rol than peace-time needs demanded. The statement, came close on the heels of a conference between Mr. Wood and the President and was presumed to be of White House inspiration. Gen. Sum- merall, chief of staff, and others in command are reported to have ex- pressed the view that Army expendi- tures were already “pared to the bone' and inferentially opposed the Hoover Mrs. Edith Nourse Rogers, Massachu- setts Congremmwoman, is utterly inde- fatigable in the multiplicity of her ac- tivities in behalf of her constituents and her country. Her tariff labors are second to none. Veterans' hospitalization, rail- road rates and ocean differentials, radio and navy yards, all claim her porsonal attention. She has just completed an incpection tour of New England Army posts and military training camps, and was accorded a 19-gun military salute on the assumption thatan M. C.rated as a major geheral. It turned out that that only holds true when assigning state- room accommodations on Army trans- ports. Mrs. Rogers usually travels by airplane to save time. T week it is disclosed that Government chemists are trying to discover self-extinguishing cigarettes and fireless matches at the drive for further curtailment. What- ever the merits of the Wood contention of too many officers, it is the sort of charge which easily catches the popular fancy and one that hands the Army staff a bit of & jolt on a tender merve. The strategy from the Hoover stand- point is obvious. With the economy ax poised above their own heads the Army officers will make haste to find some other spot in Which it may \be impaled. S Denials have been forthcoming from the White House of the soft insinua- tions that the President is personally revamping the Republican national committee organization and personally dictating the forthcoming successors to Chairman Work and Mrs. Hert, the vice chairman, and other prospective changes in personnel. It is to be be- lleved that the committee itself and as- soclated party leaders are producing the metamorphosis. Executive Secre- tary PFranklin K. Fort of New Jersey has just week-ended at the Rapidan camp and doubtless told Mr. Hoover all about it. Meantime, a still hunt is in progress for a first-class publicity di- rector for the Republican national com- mittee, to match wits with Charles Michaelson, the Democratic' press chief. * K K X Senator Frederick H. Gillett of Mas- sachusetts enjoys the almost unique dis- tinction of being the only member of the Senate, whose term expires with the conclusion of the present Congress, who has not announced his candidacy for re-election. Gould of Maine is the only other Senator in that cate- gory. In both cases the opinion pre- vaiis that a decision to retire has been reached. But neither Gillett nor Gould has spoken. In Gillett's case much depends on what ex-Gov. Alvan T. Fuller of Massachusetts finally decides to do. Fuller has said that he contem- plated going after the Senate seaf, but Bay State commentators are divided as to whether Fuller will run when the time comes. Gillett, presumably, will not enter the primary if Fuller fl” in. Some observers believe Fuller trying to force Gillett out, without going in himself. Fuller last week in & public statement called on Gillett to “resign as a Jonah of the party.” It is a right merry war. * kK K ‘The Federal Farm Board cannot draw until they have been Such s the express instigation of the solon from the Bay State. * Kok K It is discovered that the White House laundry still boasts old-fashioned wash-~ tubs, hand wringers, and the ordinary old-styled flatirons. , too, in an electrical age, with the Chief Executive an engineer and efficiency expert. Here is a fine opportunity for the electrical equipment companies to get together and present a model electrical laundry m[:n'-gllflon to the First Lady of the (Copyright, 1929.) Warner Brothers Get $1,000 a Day for Life From the Oregon Daily Journal. One thousand dollars a day for life, so fixed that it cannot be changed by any future freaks of fortune, is the happy financial status of the three Warner brothers, Hollywood movie pro- ducers. Five years ago they could barely meet the pay roll of the small organ- ization’ on which they were then doing business in the motion picture world. One of them m his house and lot to help meet obligations. Financial matters were so tight on their street then that to help. them tide over a tight place one of their stars loaned them $19,000 of the $20,000 she accumulated. She was secured in her loan with stock in the company and earnings on'the $19,000 have since mounted to $60,000. The great stroke in their financial affairs was development of the talkies. ‘The first big sweep of fortune in their direction came with Al Jolson’s singing pietures. It was a financial tidal wave that drove away all threats of lean days and landed Warner Bros. on Easy street. Like many another case when dark clouds spread gloom over struggling men, marvelous fortune was waiting for the Wlm:orl wi(lut llrmmd the gmther It may iting for any one e very hour of the deepest gloom—and the moral of it is, never give up. Early Tobacco Cutting Due to Planting Change | From the Louisville Times. City residents driving through some of the Burley tobacco countles may be surprised to see the current bel cut and housed, and it is true time. In former times Kentucky tobacco growers watched annual races between ing to the Weather Bureau planting has been done earlier and cutting time has gal Bgsa 3 B8 with the problems of an agricultural industry which faces just now a most critical and formidable crisis. ‘The loan will enable the Florida ex- changes affected to meet the Govern- ment_regulations which the fruit fly has made imperative. by the board as “an emergency loan to meet an emergency marketing situa- tion.” Its deeper significance, perhaps, les in the implicit recognition of ex- traneous factors as disrupters of normal marketing conditions. Marketing pro- grams have nowhere contemplated the interference of a meddlesome fly. The fly had no part in the farm relief scheme, but it appeared, and the Farm Board acted immediately to oppose its threat. That beginning is auspicious for the South. Reciprocal Agreement Planned With France From the Baltimore Evening Sun. ‘The State Department has just con- cluded a tentative agreement with the French government under the terms of which French fonctionnaires, or job- holders, will be permitted to come to this country, enter into American manu- facturing houses and examine the books and cost sheets of private concerns. ‘Thus the State Department proposes that in addition to the constantly grow- ing number of domestic jobholders who already harass business men it shall import foreign jobholders as well as give them legal right to pry into domes- tic affairs, It is true that certain American busi- ness men have for a long time de- manded that our jobholders should have the right to examine the books of French manufacturers. This precious scheme is a part of the present tariff law. If the foreigner wants to scll goods in this country, he must allow our jobholders to examine his books or else face the prospect of an eml his products. Several countries have already ac- corded our jobholders this right rather than face the loss of their American market. But the French manufacturers, unaccustomed to such prying, have stoutly resisted. The State Department has been negotiating the point for a long time and the reciprocal agreement just announced is the outcome. It is our guess that the American business man who is faced by a demand from a Prench fonctionnaire for the right to examine his books will begin to wonder whether reciprocity is all it's cracked up to be. <o Comeback Ends Gloom In Cotton Industry From the Schenectady Gazette. This Summer has marked a distinct change in the kind of materials used for women’s wear, bringing cheer to an industry that for the last decade has besn fearful of its future. One of the results of the war 10 years ago was to encourage women to discard cotton goods in favor of silk. The prosperity that came to the country generally had much to do with this, for previously silk had been a luxury, worn by many only on state oc- casions. With greater purchasing ability, and comparatively lower for real or artificial silk, the latter came ey saw mflr business steadily creasing before tife superior attrac- tions of silken garments; and efforts of many kinds were made to save the day for them. ‘Among other things there was an ap- peal to the artificial aid that was ex- cted to be derived from increased pro- fimn through higher tariff rates. Looked upon as the sole hope, this soon wved its inefficiency, and the gloom in cotton industry became deeper. ‘Then those connected with it be&-n to realize that success lay in other directions. They set themselves to the production of types of cotton goods, for which there would be a demand; and this demand ‘they fostered by providing things that appeal to the feminine taste. ‘The result is apparent to any one who walks along our streets. mxmumnnmm m'umyyuu,onrn. questionably & - l\lh g our !m"lh{l e, althoug! ibtless g e e is to be seen ‘There is un- jreply. It is described |8, S, More_cotton | march ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ' BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘The answers to questions printed here each day are specimens picked from the ::u of inquiries handled by bu Wash: , D. C. This valuable service is for free use of the public. Ask any question of fact you may want to know and you will get an immediate Write plainly, inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage, and address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, ‘Washington, D. C. Q. What is a “20-30” club?—S. W. T. A. It is a club of young men between the ages of 20 and 30. The first club was started in Sacramento, Calif., in 1922. Since then 37 clubs have been rollment is about 2,500. resemble Rotary, Kiwanis, etc., desire to be of their com- munities, Q. What percentage of the population service to of the United States is credited Mlh‘ the Christian beliet?—B. M. A. Although only about one-half the Ppopulation is included in the member- of Christian churches, it is esti- mated that 90 per cent of the inhabit- ants hold the beliefs of Christians, Q. What opportunity is there for a girl in aviation?—V. B. S. A. Since aviation is one of the newer industries, with a promise of rapid growth, it is to be supposed that there will be great opportunity in this field for both men and women. Now there are only 65 woman pilots in the United B"l‘gt. as compared with 6,000 man pilots. Q. Is Poland an independent gov- ernment?—A. R. A. -Poland is a republic. The coun- try elects its own president, who has a body of men corresponding to our own Congress, which is a law-making body under the jurisdiction of the president and his advisory cabinet. Q. If a dog bites a child and a year | later develops rabies, will the child | develop hydrophobia?—M. B. A. Rables can be transmitted only by animals that are actually diseased at | the time. There is no foundation for the belief that persons bitten by a dog which subsequently becomes rabid may contract the malady. Q. When was the first newspaper printed in Chile?—H. R. A. In 1811 a printing press was sent from New York to Valparaiso. It was set up and managed by three Ameri- cans who went with it and furnished Chile with its first newspaper. Q. What was Carrie Nation's maiden name?—M. O'N. A. Her maiden name was Moore, and her first husband’s name was l:noyd,l but it was after she married David Nation that she became famous as a saloon wrecker. Q. Do wild buffaloes roam the plains in any part of the country?—H. H. A. There are no wild buffaloes to be found except in the big game refuges, such as Yellowstone National Park. Q. What was the first name of the Gen. Lincoln who received the sword of Cornwallis?>—A. W. S. A. Benjamin was the given name of Gen. Lincoln, who was assigned by Washington to receive the sword of Cornwallis. Q. What is the temperature of dry ice, and what is its chief advantage?— | decimals of feet or yards. is —114 degrees Fahrenheit. Its chief advantage is that it melts to a gas directly. g Q. In a recent game of auction I was playing the hand, and my partner, who was dummy, pushed one of his cards on the trick. Do I have to permit this play to siand?—E. W. K. A. Rule 30 (b) (2) of the Laws of Auction Bridge says: “During the play dummy may not suggest a lead or'play by touching. or naming a card or other- wise. Penalty—Either adversary may direct that declarer make such lead or play such card (if legal) or refrain from doing s0.” You will see, therefore, that either of your opponents had the right to insist that the play stand. MQ ‘Where was Irving Berlin born?— . Irving Berlin was born in Russia, May 11, 1888, the son of Moses and Leal (Lipkin) Baline. Q. In what year did the elephant Jumbo die?>—G. W. 8. A. Jumbo, the big elephant, was owned by P. T. Barnum. Jumbo was killed when crossing a railroad track in Canada in 1885. Q. How is the elevation or altitude of a given point of land above sea level computed?—G. F. D. A. ‘The necessary instruments for de- termining the elevation of a given point of land above sea level are a spirit level and a level rod, which is graduated to The instru- ment is set up and leveled at a point some distance from the water. The rod is then held on a point which has been determined as sea level. The level tele- scope is pointed at the rod and a read- ing taken, which gives the height of the instrument, or “H. I as it 1Is called. The rod is moved then to a point for which the elevation is de- sired, the telescope directed to it, and the elevation read from the rod. This is the whole proceeding, except that the point for which the elevation is desired may e one mile or a hundred miles away from the starting point, in which case it is a matter of repeating the operation described above at inter- vals of a few hundred feet at a time until the objective is reached. Q. Face powder containing orris root gives me hay fever. Is it possible to buy face powder which does not con- tain orris root?>—T. L. A. Some manufacturers of tollet preparations have taken into consid- eration the discomfort which orris root causes some women and have made powders which contain no orris root. Orris oot seems to bring about in some cases a condition similar to hay fever. Q. Why was Puget Sound so named? ~M. H. D. A. It was named for its discoverer, Peter Puget. Q. Who was the first American killed in battle in the World War?—A. M. A. The first members of the combat- ant forces of the American Army to be killed in front-line action were Corpl. James B. Gresham, Pvt. Thomas F. En- right and Pvt. Merle D. Hay, all mem- bers of Company F, 16th Infantry. These three men were killed on Novem- ber 3, 1917, at practically the same time in the course of a German raid on trenches occupied by American soldiers. Previous to this Americans had been killed while serving with the British forces, and also by bombs which were dropped upon a United States Army base hospital. VAS Dry ice is solid, compressed car- | bon dioxide snow, whose temperature Q. How tall is the Iowa State Capl- tol?—R. T. A. It is 275 feet high. South and Nation Watching Year’s Campaign in Virginia More than State issues are involved, in the campaign which is under way in| Virginia. The split in the Democratic party which put the Old Dominion in the Republican column in the presi- dential battle turns the attention of-the entire South and of the Nation as well to the coming alignment of voters. The substantial majority in the Democratic rrxm-ry given to James Garland Pol- ard, many feel, is shared by Gov. Byrd. Both favored Gov. Smith in the last national campaign. Dr. Pollard and his opponent, William M. Brown, supported by Republicans and insurgent Demo- crats, are allled with the educational circles of the State. ‘The difficulties that must be faced by the coalition candidate are set forth by the Roanoke World-News (independent Democratic) : notable student of American history in discussing the fail- ure of the campaign of Horace Greeley for the presidency describes the move- ment which led to Greeley's nomination as ‘a hybrid mixture of incompatible | to political elements.” The young Wash- ington and Lee professor who has been hand-picked to oppose the Democratic nominee for governor in November may find before he is through with the cam- paign that the hybrid mixture which st | brought about his nomination has in it fully as many incompatible elements as did the Greeley campaign. And he will probably find on November 5 that he is as badly beaten as Mr. Greeley was in the seventies.’ “Candidate Brown is one of the dis- coverers of 'Raskobism’ as the outstand- issue “in the gubernatorial cam- paign,” charges the Norfolk Ledger- Dispatch (independent Democratic) “Such matters as road construction, taxation, the school system, the insti- tutions of higher education, the election laws and all other State problems that are under discussion from time to time are of small moment. The only thing that really matters in the Virginia campaign is ‘Raskobism,’ and Dr. Brown is one of the pioneers and ad- venturers in fhe darker sciences who have identified and segregated that sin- ister power for evil.” Of the coalition the Charleston Eve. ning Post (independent Democratic) declares: “It is entirely an opportunist combination, a joining of forces for strategic purposes, on the part of the Republican organization to get a foot- ing in the South, and on the part of the Cannon outfit to acquire control of the State government of Virginia. ‘There is no principle involved, but only a striving for political power.” The Baltimore Sun (independent Demo- cratic) offers the judgment: “Virginia faces for the first time in decades a serious two-party contest in a State election, but this prospect, long the hope of friends of good government, appears under circumstances which make it not a blessing but aitragedy. * ¢ * There can be no_disguising the fact that in Virginia church and state, religion and politics, are now tightly interwoven.” Dr. Pollard is described by the Char- lotte Observer (independent Demo- cratic) as one who “might be regarded as Democracy’s best chance to ‘redgem’ the Old Dominion” and as “‘a big man’ in his home State.” That paper adds, “Pollard secured the ngmination by a handsome vote, the size of it giving vote on election day will command in- terest”, The Terre Haute Star (inde- pendent Republican) gives assurance that “the Republican party will watch the outcome,” while the St. Louis Globe- Democrat (independent), calling it “no mean battle, one worth viewing from & ringside seat,” asserts that “analysis of conditions seems to favor Dr. Brown slightly,” but adds, “That it is becoming a battle for and against Bishop Cannon rather than for and against Smith weakens the force of the November precedent.” “The country will be at least curious, if not excited, to learn whether the dictatorship of the fighting churchma: is to be eliminated or strengthened, avers the Boston Transcript (independ- ent), while the Kansas City Star (in- dependent) thinks “it is fine experience for Virginia to have a genuine election between two parties.” “The signs today point to a closely contested general election,” according the Asheville Times (independent Democratic). “Bishop Cannon insists that prohibition, Smith and ‘Raskob- ism’ are still the foremost issues. But the bishop has lost some of his prestige, and it will be difficult for him to com= mand the following he did last Fall, Many anti-Smith Democrats will doubt- less take the position that Al Smith is not an issue in the election and will therefore vote against the fusion candi= date, Dr. Brown.” “Mr. Pollard is a regular of regulars, and the size of the vote given him is fair enough testimony of his standing with his party,” in the opinion of the Saginaw Daily News (independent), while the Richmond News-Leader (in=- dependent -Democratic) states: “He is admirably equipped to discharge the duties of governor of & great State. He is a gentleman and a scholar. For many years he has been a deep student of government. As an official holding State and Federal positions of trust he has measured up fully to the highest standards.” Recognizing that “the forces headed by Gov. Byrd appear to have won de- cisively,” the Tulsa World (independent Democratic) suggests: “‘Out of the fight may come a real presidential candidate. Gov. Byrd, if he wins this figl undoubtedly be a favorite in 1932. Richmond Times-Dispatch, holding that “the coalition hopes to win on a fiuke,” asserts that “ ‘Raskobism,” which means nothing, will be thrown up as a smoke screen to hide both its own weaknesses and thé strength of the opposition. As the situation is viewed by the South Bend Tribune (independent Re- publican), “Dr. Poll is a prohibi- tionist who put party loyalty first and campaigned for Smith last year. His dryness makes_opposition to him by Bishop Cannon on moral grounds en- tirely ludicrous.” The Great Falls Tribe une (independent Democratic) sees “the real test of whether Bishop Can- non is the political of Virginia.” The Norfolk Virginian-Pilot contends that “the coalition spokesmen leave the questions of immediate concern to Virginia voters almost entirely out of consideration.” The Kansas City Jour- nal-Post (independent Republican) is convinced that because of recent events “the bishop will not be able to have quite as clear as in the anti- Smith fight.” Predictions of retwrn to mnormalcy, party harmony and vietory at the polis for the regular organization are made by the Newark Evening News (independ« ent), the Chattanooga Times (inde= peadent Democratic), the Raleigh News 's Democratic machine” as by the Ne'h!‘le:k Sun _(inde- and m on WW the &fi e -Can. »|Savannah News (Democratic), the. Harte ford Times (independent Democratic) the Savannah Press (Democratic), ti Loudsville Courie J( 1 (I.I’!Qe' & lo er Journal ent), the Mo‘l"nntown New Donm (independent), the Birmingham B | (Democratic) and N the Aberdeen Wi (Republican). : —_————————— Spain and Its Planes. f From the Worcester Evening c-mh 1] mmfiuoflh‘i“’mnfim th