Evening Star Newspaper, December 8, 1929, Page 34

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C. BUNDAY.......December 8, 1029 ' THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star N per Company et Rk .65¢ per month ...5¢ per copy of each -*n'n. il or telephone ble in Advance. d Virginia. 5 ¥r., $10 00; 1 mo., 40c yr'l 35,000 1 mo.l yr. $4.00: 1 mo.. All Other States and Canad: d Su ; herwise e Berens: Al siebts of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. The McCrory Explosion. Fhe real danger confronting the community, now that the coroner's Jury has sagely concluded that the McCrory explosion was an accident, is not confined to the number of other boilers or hot-water storage tanks in town that may be defective. The chief hazard lies in the possible willingness of those In authority to take the philo- sophical view that “accidents will hap- pen” and let the matter rest. Testimony before the coroner's jury indicated that the tank that exploded | was defective, and that this defect causeg, it to give way. The defect ‘was on the inside, and not visible from the outside. An ordinary inspection would not have revealed the weakness. As for fixing the blame, it was appar- ently impossible for the coroner’s jury to trace the history of the tank beyond the time of its installation in the store, some nine years ago, or to find out the name of the concern that made the tank and furnished it to the contracting plumber. Yet some individual per- formed the inadequate job of welding the bottom on the tank, and the in- dividual evidently weided the bottom on with the knowledge and consent of su- periors who must have known that the Jjob would be unsafe. It is inconceivable that in a case that involved the loss of six lives there will be no further efforts to trace the origin of this tank and to make known District. The existing bridge should be replaced by one that will conform in appearance to the “Million Dollar Bridge” that carries Connecticut ave- nue over Rock Creek Valley. But the cost of building bridges has evidently mounted, for the authorities contem- plate spending about $2,000,000 on re- placing the Calvert street structure. Chain Bridge, it is generally agreed, must be replaced within a relatively short time, despite the repairs and im- provements completed not long ago. ‘There is some hope that Virginia will share the expense if the new bridge is built. Its cost is estimated at about $336,000. ‘The Twentieth Street, or Park Road, Bridge over Piney Branch takes care of an increasing amount of traffic each year, and its replacement is already under consideration at a cost of about $300,000. There are, in addition, the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge over Ana- costia River, the Benning Bridge over the same stream and the P Street | Bridge over Rock Creek, all of them old | and unsightly structures and all of them weakening under the strain of continued and heavy use. The cost of the thml last named projects will be about & million and & half dollars. It is desirable that each of the new bridges be made an attractive adorn- ment of the city as well as meeting the demands of & new generation that moves swiftly on wheels, hates to slow down and sometimes skids. Italy and the Vatican. On Thursday last, for the first time in history, a King of Italy called upon the Pope of Rome. A few hours later Cardinal Gasparri, papal secretary of state, returned at the Quirinal Palace the visit just paid at the Vatican by Victor Emmanuel and his consort, Queen Helena. The exchange of respects was the outward, public token of the Lateran treaties which settled “the Roman question” earlier in the year— an accord which ended the difficulties between the Holy See and the House of Savoy. When their Itallan maj- esties paid homage to His Holiness, Pius XI, in the papal throne room, the world was witness to the finale of a politico-religious drama of generations’ | standing. Though he had no personal part in the events of December 5, in the newly created “Vatican State,” Signor Mus- solini was, of course, the spiritus rector of the whole epoch-marking occasion. Virtually ever since I Duce mounted the throne of suthority in Italy, re- lations with the Roman Catholic Church have bulked conspicuously in his pro- gram. Now and then he has not ap-| peared to be actuated by any aggres- the circumstances under which the tank was welded, sold in the District of Oolumbia and installed in & posi- tion where the weakness constituted a constant menace. There may be no eriminal carelessness, negligence or di- rect responsibility. But the facts should be made known. Testimony before the coroner's jury showed, first, that had the heating plant been installed in the basement and under the store instead of in a vault under the sidewalk, the disaster ‘would probably have been much greater, and, secondly, that & law now in effect in the District prevents the placing of boilers in sidewalk vaults. There has been some question as to whether the District authorities would make public their own report concern- ing the findings of the special in- vestigators appointed o look into the tragedy. One amasing reason for with- hoiding the report was that it might possibly show the municipality’s hand if there were suits for damage. ‘The report should be meade public. It should discuss the causes of this ex- plosion and explain the circumstances; under which a defective boller or tank may be sold in the District, apparently with no inspection, even if that inspec- tion would not reveal a weakness. It should explain the reasons for a la prohibiting heating plants under the sidewalk, when there is obviously greater danger when they are in a basement. Above all, it should discuss what the District government plans to do in the way of preventing such accidents in future. Catastrophes such as these are usually followed by a feverish dashing about and a hurried locking of stable doors. That is logical. But it would be more comforting to the public if the dashing about was more evenly dis- tributed throughout the year in expecta- tion, and not as the result, of accidents. Reference by Mr. Vare to Senate pro- ceedings relative to his claim to a seat| as “a big burlesque” shows the resolute sense of humor that enables a man | lsugh even when his aspirations are| defeated. —————————— | Selection of Mr. Hurley to be Secre- tary of War is generally regarded as a worthy promotion. Mr. Hurley has for some time been in a position to fa- miliarize himself with the details of his present job. ———t————— The District's Bridge Program. ‘The District budget now before Con- §Tess proposes to cross only one bridge before it is reached, the Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Klingle Valley. As a matter of fact there are at least six other bridges that must be crossed sometime within the next ten years or 80, and at & cost of about $4,600,000. The current budget contains an item of $3250,000 to begin replacement of the Connecticut Avenue Bridge over Klingle Valley, & project that will cost about $500,000. The narrowness as well as the age of this structure makes it the first one of the new bridges demanded by greater traffic requirements. At pres- ent the relatively wide roadway of Con- necticut avenue narrows sharply at the approaches to the bridge, and when & street car attempts to cross it while au- tomobile traffic is at its height a rather hazardous congestion results. During the work of replacing the bridge the engineers will have to provide some method of accommodating the heavy flow of traic on this much-used thoroughfare. There are no logical de- toura around the bridge short of Wis- consin avenue on the one side and Rock Creek Park on the other. Year after next the budget will prob- #bly recommend that anothe: of Wash- ington's important but aged buidge structures be replaced; and the Calvert Street Bridge presents itsell as the logical candidate for consideration. ‘This, by the way, is the largest of the bridge undertakings confronting the sive friendliness toward the papacy, but within the past year Mussolini in- itiated negotiations which were destined to lead to an Italo-Vatican reconcili- ation. The Pope was granted far- reaching sovereign rights within his own, though limited, domain, Outstripping the achievement of such independence and temporal power, from the Holy See's standpoint, and undoubtedly from Italy’s standpoint as well, is the cessation of long latent hostilities between the Italian govern- ment and the House of Savoy, on the one hand, and the Roman Church, on the other. Events which have just taken place on the Tiber are designed to solidify and perpetuate the new era of Ppeace and tranquillity ushered in by the Lateran accord. One of the further signs of the amicable times is the circumstance that henceforward newly ordained Italian princes of the Catholic Church, like cardinals, archbishops and bishops, are to swear fealty to the King of Italy, along with their oaths of allegiance to the Pope of Rome. A beginning in that significant direction was made on Thursday, when the new Archbishop of Salerno and the new Bishop of Ruvo | vowed their loyalty to Victor Emmanuel. In making Washington, D. C, & model city tne usual preliminary propo- sition asserts itself—more responsibility for a conscientious and already hard- worked police force. T — Parking restrictions still tend to push the “congested area” along toward suburban limits. Irresistible Impulse. ‘The doctrine of irresistible impulse seems likely to become established defi- nitely a8 & murder defense in the Na- tional Capital. Such is implied in the action of the District Court of Appeals in setting aside the conviction and ‘'THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. €. DECEMBER 8, 1929—PART TWO. “PROFESSION AND PRACTICE” ! merely means that 1t will be accepted when the emotional forces involved are sufficlently obvious, as they may have been in the Smith case. Hence- forth it hardly will be safe for courts in the District to rule against the ad- mission of evidence tending to show that the prisoner was not responsible for his actions because the “governing power of his mind” had been overcome. Actually, of course, juries have long recognized "this doctrine and have re- fused arbitrarily to convict when the emotional forces involved were such as to appeal strongly to the jurors themselves—as witness a long list of “unwritten law”'acquittals. In recognizing the doctrine of “ir- resistible impulse” the law places itself in & difcult position. It has no ob- jective criterion of such impulses. In the absence of such-a criterion it is necessary for juries to arrive at their determinations subjectively—to use themselves as the standard by which to judge others. This always is dan- gerous and unreliable. There can be no objection to ad- mitting the doctrine of irresistible im- pulse, in so far as it is scientifically established. But it is well to recognize how far-reaching are the implications and to try to arrive at universally ac- | cepted objective standards. There are { degrees of free will or there is no free| will at all. If the former is true there must be a measuring stick to determine the extent in specific cases—and the vague, subjective “common sense” of juries is not such a measuring stick and never can be. If the latter is true then at least our concepts of crime and pun- ishment fundamentally must be altered. N Uncomic Talkie Comedies. Comedies at one time were the spice of an evening’s or afternoon’s enter- tainment. They were & sort of dessert that every one waited for, and should the main feature be disappointing the motion picture goer would believe the time not altogether wasted if the com- edy was good. In the days of the silent pictures, only a short time ago, the comedies were good. At least they were funny—and that is what a comedy is supposed to be. As & dessert they were an aid to the digestion. But now since the talkies have come into vogue the comedies are comedies in name only. Such is the case with the majority of them. The actors and actresses make “wise cracks” that are as old as the hills, and only the most powerful imagination can glean any humor from them. ‘The one-reclers that are used to il in the program are not up to the stand- ard of the feature talking pictures. It would be better if they were omitted. ‘There are exceptions, of course, but the general run is poor, and very poor. They are sad. Hopes are entertained that the pro- ducers will remedy this condition in the near future. The American public wants to be amused. During earlier days of political dis- cussion & demand was frequently heard for the exercise of more influence in matters pertaining to public weifare by the practical business man. This wish is now coming true. — v Promises of prosperity for the coming year are emphasized by the immediate | prospect of more and better homes and greater business bulldings. Homicide mysteries appear to be working in relays. When one ceases to grip popular attention, another is pro- duced from the old records. — oo Mexican affairs are now suggesting an election investigation which will pos- | sibly include marksmanship as well as pertinent inquiries. Russia may yet come into line with new economic theories which call on people to forget fighting and go to work. ———v SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Banishing Dull Care. Come hither, merry dolls and clowns, Prom countryside and from the towns— Resembling marionettes, we see Delivered to the Christmas tree. Come hither, lass, with face so fair, Made of cosmetics placed with care; Come hither, lad, in bright array Of strange cut garb and colors gay. death sentence of a man for the stran- gling of his daughter in the midst of an emotional tempest more than a year ago. The prisoner's attorney asked the trial judge to instruct the jurors to re- turn a verdict of not guilty if they were convinced, among other things, that the prisoner's will, “the governing power of his mind, was, otherwise than voluntarily, so completely destroyed that his action was not subject to it, but beyond his control.” The court re- fused. Justice Van Orsdel of the Court of Appeals holds that when an insanity defense has been offered and “where the facts are sufficient to call for the application of the doctrine of irresisti- ble impulse, the jury should be so charged.” This is by no means a new doctrine, but its legal status is far frome clear. Theories of guilt and punishment gen- erally suppose the free will of the in- dividual to choose between right and wrong behavior. The law has been re- Juctant to accept the theories of that sehool which holds, often with brilliant logic, that human beings are helpless playthings of intangible forces over which they have no control. At present an insanity plea is required as a preliminary to offering this defense. The law assumes the ability of the nor- mal intelligence te exercise free will over behavior. But there are few sub- Jects concerning which there is greater confusion than legal “insanity. I courts are willing to accept evidence of involuntary suspension of the will, psychologists and psychoanalysis can furnish them plenty of it. Probably it is safe to say that few murders were ever committed where a plausible case of suspension of the will could not be formulated. Eventually, following this road, the law may have to go the whole way and discard the concept of will altogether. For a long time the acceptance of this sort of evidence will be limited by the “common sense” of juries. This Without a care let mortals wait, All passive, for a friendly fate, Content in sympathy to be With toys upon the Christmas tree. Relaxations. “You are said to read a great deal of fiction.” “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum, “all kinds of it, some of it by regular novelists and some who use mostly imagination in what they print in the Congressional Record.” Jud Tunkins says he didn't lose any money in stocks, though he might have lost some if had had enough to put down a bet. Ready for Holiday Cheer. Stocks that went down go up again, And problems once obscure grow plain. A tax reduction seems all right And well paid work is now in sight. The world prepares to voice the thought, “Oh, see what Santa Claus has brought!" * Liberality. “When you went into business, why did you call your place a ‘shoppe’?” “I desired my patrons to feel that they were being liberally treated,” sald Miss Cayenne, “so I gave them two extra letters on the sign for noth- ing.” “Buperstition,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is usually an effort to locate the blame for our troubles else- where than with ourselves.” Shep Early. “Shop early,” comes the summons clear, ‘Which we will not forget, While vowing in another year We will shop earlier yet! “If airplanes had been invented in Noah's " sald Uncle Eben, “he needn’t have gone to de trouble of bildin' hisself an ark.” * | considerable committee of business men P — Saving the Honors. From the Seattle Daily Times. As the auction bridge pla; would have said it, “All is lost save honors.” BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D,, LL. D, Bishop of Washington. Text: “Let your manner of life be as becometh your profession.”— Philippians, .27. thlng does more to make the ap- al of Christianity convincing than the ife of one who day by day lives his Christian faith. It would be equally true to say that nothing so disastrously affects the appeal of Christianity as the example of one who in daily practice fails to live up to its acknowledged pre- cepts. A “living epistle known and read of all men” is oftentimes more potent for good than much preaching. The Scotch woman who said she had rather see her minister walk from the church door to the pulpit than to hear any other man preach is a case in point. There can no doubt about it—the world judges the worth and value of our Christian religion by what it effects in our daily habits and practices. e as finding its larges and fullest expression within the con- fines of some sacred building. An atti- tude of devotion and prayer, or an ex- | great lon of &nue in hymn and anthem, ve their distinct place, but their value is immeasurably increased when they interpret themselves through a consist- ent gmuee in daily life. Qur Christian faith suffers from a too close confine- ment within the cloistered walls of the sanctuary. It may get its chief inspira- tions there, but the demonstration of its practical worth will be disclosed in the way it affects the commort course of our everyday life. Some one makes a clear distinction between Christianity and churchianity. ‘Unfortunately the terms are not always synonymous. Our churchianity ex- presses itself in acts of corporate wor- ship; our Christianity ax%reuel itself in terms of conduct. It has been saf that those periods in the church's his~ tory where the most meticulous care has been given to the recasting and re- interpreting of creeds, and the making of formulse, have been the most sterile and unproductive of spiritual results. It might also be said with equal force that the periods in which the church has addressed itself to mechanical de- id | titude and col vices and an excess of organization have been marked by loss of spiritual power llml Inlfl’uc‘m:e.‘ mmflhl'fl heaith s rarely foun ) great occupa- tion in the class room. The ‘:fi Vi ling than the ascetic. applying new tests and more severe to old systems and old modes of religious expression spicuously true. This by no means is an evidence of diminished interest in the deep things of our Christian faith— on the contrary, it witnesses to a desire to have the Christian faith presented in terms that are intelligible and in con- sonance with the teachings and higl aims of the divine Master. Too often the person of Christ, as well as His teachings, are obscured and rendered ineffective by an excess of ceremonial | on the one hand, or an excess of me- chanical devices and organization on the other. The heroic elements in the Christian religion are little stressed and is placed He sald, “Are ye abl cup that I shall drink of, and to be haptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” A later disciple de- clared, “Endure hardness as & good sol- dier of Jesus Christ.” :g:nl of it sug- ‘There was nothing in the the early Christian teachers gested a soft and easy way of salvation. Character was not made strong by pur- g the line of least resistance. It was the heroic element in the early days of the Christian church that made it strong and irresistible. Even the stern Romans were amazed by the for- with which the new converts maintained their Christian course. Every age that has witnessed a convincing expression of the Ohristian faith has been marked by a habit of life on the part of Christian adherents thi as courageous and aggressive. e does not differ from those that have gone before, and the sheer pe?‘u- larity of a Christian profession that proves its worth in practice is as ap- pealing and irresistible now as hitherto. Many Commissions, but Not a "Commission Form of Government '* WILLIAM HARD, ‘The Hoover administration, it seems to Washington at the week end, is making mnd.pm’vrm toward getting all the citizens of the United States sorted out into various “committees” " to which they and ‘“‘comm! should belong. The President’s new Commission on lliteracy met yesterday morning in the office of Secretary of the Interior Wilbur, who, having been an unde: iduate at Leland Stanford University cum'pny with the President, is now one of the conference business. The com.aictee on illiteracy is now com- posed of only 23 members, but it un- doubtedly will grow and undoubtedly also will produce a large litter of sub- committees. ‘The President's Commission on Child Health and Protection, according to the latest reports of its expnndlnr.mtlvluu‘ now has some 400 citizens laboring in various branches of its endeavors and intentions. Its executive secretary, Dr. H. E. Barnard, is obliged to maintain a formal uarters in the Interior Department, whence he directs the growth of the commission’s cord! cot of co-operating volunteers in widening ripples, which, presumably, in time will inundate every corner of the country. * K K One of the sublimest beauties of this sort of scheme is that, besides nobly nceupxuu the citizen and keeping him out of harmful mischief, it also reu a lot of money away from him without calling in the resented powers of the income tax division of the Internal Revenue Bureau. In lupport, for in- stance, of the President’s Commission on Education, Mr. Jullus Rosenwald of Chicago was induced to part with $100,- 000. e general notion is that people with bank accounts should contribute them to these efforts and that the re- maining members of the community should at least contribute their time, thus imposing upon everybody & sys- tem of supplementary taxation accord- ing to his capacity. ‘The President's Commission on Edu- cation has 71 full members, who form a sort of voluntary parliament of all factions to debate to an intellectual fin- ish the whole terrific problem of the proper relations between the Federal Government and the schools, colleges, universities and research institutions of this country. It has three subcommit- tees, under the general chairmanship of Dr. Charles Riborg Mann, who is the directing head of the whole enterprise, and it also has in co-operation with it a sort of interdepartmental committee of the Government, consisting of some 30 officials who have governmental con- tacts with various phases of the Ameri- can educational problem. It is hoped that all these experts will presently talk themselves into & stalemate, or else into something that Congress can pass. * kK Mr. Julius Barnes, chairman of the board of the United States Chamber of Commerce, will shortly appoint & to continue the work of the recent con- ferences held by the President on the subject of encouraging everybody to go in for “business as usual” and for more new works of bullding and of general construction. This committee will oper- ate through a multitude of subsections of the United States Chamber of Com- merce, reaching down into virtually every branch of industry. The number of citizens thus involved into the or- ganized combat against the conse- quences of the recent stock market crash will come to many thousands. ‘The President’s committee on recent economic changes, not content with is- suing a report in pages last Spring, is atill full of life and proposes to meet here again next month. ‘The President’s Commission on the Conservation of Public Domain, charged with the duty of trying to find out how to make the grass grow again on the Federal lands in the Western States, differs from the others so far men- tioned, in that the President is seeking financial support for it from Congress. The President's Commission on Law Enforcement is also a body with con- gressional financial recognition. It now | happily has grown into baving 11 sub- committees, with 11 notable chief ex- rts and a dogen or so of almost nota- | le subexperts laboring with their sub- . subassistants in all parts of Continental | United States. SR The President seems earnestly to| hope that he can get Congress to join him in the commission habit. Toward this end he will Congress an ex- | ample by presentl) pointing & com- | mission to take a at Haitl and our Marines there. Perhaps having thus | finally used up & large part of the commission material of the country, he ' looks to Conj , out of its own mem- bership, to staff four new com- missions, two which will be only for | inquiry, but two of which will be also for action. The two for inquiry, as already’ out- lined in a recommendation to Congress, would s respectively the merits or demerits of “chain banking” and the improvement of the organistion of the | Government for prohibition enforce- | ment. The two for action would be of an_almost revolutionary character. One of them would be empowered by Congress, on the basis of some general principles, but without any further subsequent detailed authoriza- tion, to sanction, in the name of Con- g?, any and all changes which the ident might recommend and Which the committee might approve inthe whole organization of the Government ' ial | the one who gets the least advantage throughout all its departments and bureaus and divisions and offices and commissions and boards. ‘The other would be empowered, with- out further recourse to Congress for detailed legislation, to make a eontract for the final worl of the po lants and nitrate plants at hoals on the Tennessee River. It can further be stated that four or five additional commissions of a “social service” sort, like the Commission on Education and the Commission on Child Health and Protection, are expected to issue after a while from the White House. There will then be two great d questions in the smoking compartments of Pullman cars: D | spelling, which sets forth the consider- Capital Sidelights | BY WILL P. KENNEDY. Ungle Sam has just gone back some 300 years to an old Indian deed to make certain of the title to some of the land he proposes to acquire for the great public bullding program. Assistant At- torney General Farnum sent to the Treasury Department yesterday his ap- proval of the title to land in the center of the city of Springfleld, Mass. In searching the title he ran across a deed of the Indians, dated 1636, embracing all of the land in Springfield, in language much different from that in use today and with a peculiarity of ation in terms of “fatham of wempam, coates, howes, hatchets and knives.” This deed was signed by the marks of Menis, Kenix, Wesai alias Nepinam, Winepawin, Cominuk, Macossak, Wsne- wis, Cuttonis, Wroutherna, Cos, Ilec- kusnek, with Ahauton as interpreter. ‘The witnesses to the s g were Join Allen, Richard Everet, Horton, Faithful Thayeler, John Townes, Joseph Jarsons and Ahauton. ‘The deed was entered in she records of the county July 8, 1679, and is the handwriting of John Holyoke, At & court held «t Northampton, March, 1661-62, Joseph Parsons testified on oath that he was a witness to this bargain between the Indians and Wil- Pynchon, liam , Henry Smith and Jehu Burr. Assistant Attorney General Farnum rolnud out facetiously the increase in land value since the Government is now & very considerable amount ($650,000) in gold equivalent for a very dend coveing. Lhe wiole ety S0kt Hor 00 whole city, sold for & few beads ll;d knives. x o * Postmaster General Brown let it be known today that the it is seriously considering the issuance of a two-cent atamp in commemoration of the tercentenary of the fou: of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. ere is also pending in Congress a legislative Pproposal to authorize the Treasury De- ”eomn:mfinx” Mg hmmmm-'m i -dollars of the 300th -n‘mvomry. * k% Although the Republican committee on committess has not completed the task of selecting a new House District ml:lfihe to hllllak all of Proposals affec B e ol wn it Charles L. Underhill, m“mm' active members of that committee for eight years, ranking in seniority next to the chairman and in line for the chair- manship, will not be a member during the present Congress. The District will greatly miss the services of Mr. Underhill, partially for the good legislation he fathered, and even more 50 for the undesirable lation that he prevented from “What's your business?” and “What's | 5 your commission?” (Copyright. 1929.) Tax Reduction Small Help to Millionaires BY HARDEN COLFAX. Pity the poor millionaire, for he is from the tax reduction which appar- ently is on its way to the President for his approval. Under the plan for reducing Federal income taxes which are to be paid next year for incomies received during 1929, the largest proportionate reduction in payments into the Treasury will be given those of smallest taxable incomes. This is accomplished by reducing the normal, or basic, rates of taxation of individusl incomes without disturbing the surtax brackets which apply only to those of the larger incomes. For instance, the plan would reduce by as much as two-thirds the actual payments to be required of those with taxable incomes of less than $5,000, while the few fortunates who have in- comes of $1,000,000 or more would have their payments to Uncle Sam reduced by only about one-twenty-fourth. Sur- taxes do not apply on incomes of less than $10,000, although 4he normal tax varies below that figure, and to show that the little fellow benefits more under the tax cut resolution it may be stated that the payments of those who are under the surtax brackets will be re-{ duced from 41 per cent up, while the reduction of those in the surtax-paying brackets of a $15,000 net income, for instance, will not reach 26 per cent, and the reduction decreases in percentage as the income increases. * % k% ‘This is in line with the theory of the income tax which Congress has adopted as its policy—that the burden of tax- ation should rest most heavily upon those in the best position to bear it. Every change in the revenue law since the World War has exempted additional groups of small taxpayers and lightened the payments of those remaining. The administration’s resolution does not give further exemptions, but merely cuts the payments of those remaining in the income taxpaying classes. It is unique in that it applies only to pay- ments to be made in 1930 for 1929 in- comes and if the reduction is to continue thereafter further legisiation will be necessary. As applied to corporation income, taxes, the resolution makes & flat cut of from 12 to 11 per cent in the rate to be applied to net incomes after de- Suctions Tor Bt e eporations wi , 80 . benefit proportionately. Treasury ofl; clals estimate the plan as applied wil reduce individual income tax payments by $70,000,000 next year and corpora- tion payments by $90,000,000. Anal bkt itted last lysis of the reports submi 8t year !gr incomes received in 1927—the Iatest complete figures avallable for such purposes, as final installments in the tax on 1938 incomes will not be due until December 15—demonstrates that “them as has” are bearing the tax bur- den for Uncle Sam. In the first place, only 3.46 per cent of the total popuia- tion of the country were required to file individual income tax re| under the law, and of the 4,101,000 individual re- turns filed last year 1,660,000 were non- taxable. Of the corporations filing re- turns 45 per cent had no net income, 165,000 reporting deficits and 40,000 be- ing lnntm and submitting no data. Income tax statistics seldom are exactly comparable in any two years because of changes m]tihe law, but the trends are similar in all years. ‘The m’lnnw that in 1928 in- dividuals with net incomes of $5,000 or m .- accounted for $14,064,000,000 of 11> $22,549,000,000 & te income re- ported by individuals, or 62.38 per cent of the total, although the $5,000 and up class represented only 22,27 per cent of the total number filing returns. This same 22.27 per cent of the individual returns paid 98.58 per cent of the total Federal income tax received dividual yers in 1928, or $818,000,~ 000 out of ,000,000. The class be- low $5,000 will get & 66 per cent cut in tax payments under the reduction reso- :uh!..lon, which will widen the gap fur- A Of corporations reporting last year for 1927 operations, a bare 10,051, or 3.87 per cent of the 280,800 which re- ported net incomes, had 78.42 per cent of the total tax paid by col tions, or $025,601,000 out of $1,13 ,000. (Copyright, 1929.) from in | th pidly. legislation for which he worked earnest- include workmen’s compensation and the insurance code. When the proposal was made last year to authorise the acquisition of the site between Third and Sixth streets, north of Pennsylvania avenue, for municipal center, it was through ;I;t:.nu of Mr. Underhill that the ‘was as four cf o The ulldmh‘ m‘m Capital = pital City will ot S At o 3] leg- islaf of the "ky-lt-oz:fln-mn#" type for the District. He has been ife on the floor of the House chamber in behalf of the District, in- sistently deman that the voteless and unrepresented District taxpayers be given & square deal. He has not been as some others, merely critical of the District, but instead has been con- structive and helpful. He had the con- fidence of the House, and when he spoke on District matters, has had attention. L ‘The death of Representative W. W. Greist of Pennsylvania, chairman of the House committee on offices and Dost roads, has d! how strong the Keystone State has been on that com- mittee with five out of thirteen Repub- members being’ Kendall, Keno. B rioes endall, 3 and Swarts. o * x X X How one of the largest “factories” in Uncle Sam's leflll."e' takes cm.:)l its help is shown in the annual report of the director of the Bureau of En- COUNTRY IS INSURANCE-MINDED BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Reasons for the acceler~ by the or enormously mfim of life insurance people in the last decade two furnish an uncommonly fruil fleld for lp:eu.ln Department of that life insurance ann force in the the $100,- 3 is is & sum insurance equal to twice the life in- surance in all other countries of the world combined, despite the fact that the people of the United States number only one-sixteenth of the world popu- lation. Including every man, woman and child in the Nation. this means that every one is insured for $840. ‘This is a theoretical average and there are millions carrying no insur- ance whatever, but e proportion of the uninsured is belnier:duced every year. A very large number of children are insured, as it is becoming a custom for American parents to start insurance licies for infants as soon as they are- A phrase maker would doubticss say that the Nation has become insur- ance-minded. But as insurance costs money there must be other reasons. Primarily, it may be supposed, the rhl.nq prosperity of the country has cont ited very largely. People have had more surplus in the in last two [es than ever before. The savings | Gove: idea has been banks, and as of saving, which, in death or disability, widely advertised by insurance is a form case of early proves more beneficial, efforts of banks to induce | (00. savings have been helpful to insurance companies. Such advertisement has apparent been mutual because while the amount of insurance written has climbed up- ward at a phenomenal rate, savings bank accounts have done likewise. It itly as season does not pull down savings accounts as might well be be- lieved. Rather December tends to show gains in individual savings ac- counts. Even Christmas savings funds are not universally withdrawn at Christmas time. A large number re- main on deposit, the depositdr having acquired the habit of savi and, at ,l‘i‘l: end of the to revealed nce is that the death rate is mwllm, disease is being con- quered on all sides and the rate of longevity is increasing. Moreover, the Am people are not temperamen- E'I‘y & fearful race, anticipating dis- 3 New Sales Approach. Probal the intangible idea which has chiefly stimulated insurance buy- is the modern of insurance which gives the chaser the it while he is still alive. Put this down to innate selfishness if you will. Nevertheless it is clearly a demonstra- ble fact that the great growth in in- surance has been coincident with the type of i Ih“by 0.:: "Hr: 1-‘ Y com| . ummfi’m-mmyuflp. policy in his late, middle or age (depending upon the individual's point of view upon the life span) and, whiie still living, enjoy with nis family . T, secure income, Al gh encowment insurance is relatively new, it is worth noting that even now 60 per cent of benefits -paid by insurance companies is to li:ing policy holders. Formerly, the akin psychologically to purchasing one's own or tombstone. Now, in- surance n a Jjolller ap- proach; he proposes that the customer buy insurance to insure a comfortable old ) with perhaps more comforts than has known before and at least economic security. ‘The reader may take his choice of these reasons. The American people are especially susceptible to advertising and the vast amount of free advertising which insurance receiyed during the war unquestionably helped a lot in .SIM!IIO to the average American min e idea of becoming insured. The Government's war risk insurance which was placed on the lives of 4,000,~ 000 soldiers and the hundreds of thousands of newspaper columns of dis- cussion referring to it could not have falled to impress many people who never had given insurance much thought before. That this had much to do with the fantastic growth of the last decade is 40 | earlier—in 1908, In that strongly suggested by the fact that while it took 80 years of organized in- surance effort prior to 1922 to reach the $50,000,000,000 mark, the second $50,000,000,000 was piled up in the en- suing six and one-half years—the lat- ter period, of course, coming after the war and after the permeation of the rnment insurance idea. Stringent Regulation and Supervision. In the past 10 years the total amount of insurance written was $129,875,000,~ . Insurance is, in a national sense, & revolving fund. While this huge sum was being written and premiums paid upon it, the insurance companies were out large sums in claims and efits. So while during the decade a total of $129,875,000,000 was being id in, steady outgo kept the amount in actual force at any one time below the $100,000,000,000 mark until last Summer. ¢ ‘The writing of insurance is accelerat- lnq.lnd presumably each year will see a larger gmpomon of the total in the form of the endowment sort, that which the purchaser enjoys while still living. In 1928 new insurance written amount- ed to $18,618,000,000. Compare this with new insurance written 20 years year new in- surance amounted to only $2,063,000,~ 000. While that was considered big, it was only one-ninth of the 1928 new business, And the first t.hne-?ur'm o(tmmonnmmmnlno 8 per cen Full confidence in the solidity of in- surance companies and the integrity of officials and agents has had a great deal to do with the big increase. A quarter of a century ago there were oc- casional frauds on the part of com- panies which put the business in bad odor with many people. Since then— largely as the result of the big investi- gation of companies in New York, where 80 many of the larger organizations are located—confidence has ‘been restored Telating ‘0 Tequiation and supervision. relating to T and supervision. Blanket industrial insurance has added tremendously to the total in force. Under this system a company emrloyln: & large number of persons will take out a pol licy covering every employe, the going to the de- pendents of that employe upon death or disability. In some . a small dividend—much smaller than in case haser | ican peopie of an individual policy—is deducted from the ye's wages; in other cases the employing company pays the whole premium without seeking reim- bursement. ‘The hu~z sums paid in to insurance companie . in premiums by the Amer- toward the upbuilding of the community because these funds are sound, constructive and pro- ductive enterprises which add to the ing ' common wealth. Fifty Years Ago In The Star Ever since Presidents have bean send- ing messages to there has been Premature s texts in advance for Publicity. the sake of -dnnu‘e of priority of - knowl- Dot betrayed In the prematre.publl: premature publi- cation of these documents. Such & case occurred 50 years ago with the n-n;:‘ :J‘u President ’?t’; and the 'l‘x:nlhr of December 3, 1879, thus comments: “The publication of the President's message and Secretary Sherman's re- in advance deliveries to discussion, is still of ition graving and Printing, with nearly 5,000 | 3 number of treatments adminis- tered to em; during the year ag- . red with “.3!1 vious year, an increase of this number 28929 cases were treated during the last five months of the fiscal year at a time when the regular force was augmented by the employment of temporary workers. « Special equipment procured during the year consisted of two ini lamps, which are used for heat treat- ment; an eye mi t, an article used to enncth-uel an hm ; a p, wi an electrical attachment to secure better light in performing nose and throat treatment a sling psychrometer, which is used determine the humidity of the atmos- zheu. and a pneumatic aurisqppe, which used to examine the recesses of the external ear. During the latter of the year the space assigned to this division was reno- vated and repainted, making a neat and attractive appearance. In the branch office, located in the division of loans and currency, a total of 17,460 cases were treated. In the fiscal year 1928 a total of 13,848 cases were treated. This relief room has been changed from its former quarters to & section of the bullding is larger and better ventilated. EIE its; to wi a of the In- n Wilbur, came before & House committee for the first time, in connection with the estimates ot appropriation partment, which are now under discus- in the House, he was given & litde lecture as “new man" by Chair- mal Cramton of the subcommittee in charge of that departmental bill, as foll --‘3., 1 make this statement, Mr. Sec~ retary, because have come to direct the destinies the department with which this committee most closely associated. You will have business with various legislative committees. the only committee that touches all of il activities. Hence, while you will ave a great deal of business with vari- Ous committees, the committee on pub- lic lands, the committee on irrigation ATkt 1t pomaiis o 1% , we 3 ) Al of )g)lur problems, it “8Since you are new of Washington, let iy i ment t0 you as to the desire of this committee. We never know any friend here. We play no favorites, Even if we | i S sin, ot mil e, , e | Lord loveth He ‘chastené lovi th,” 8o you will understand that we do not always agree with you: nevertheleas our desire | the 18 to co-operate with those who have e administrative responsibility, It Mna:ur th that the best use of | the wrn:wnl Kl and the best between the iy tive branc cerned sire Il":l”. Airman, attitude is exactly for the Interior De- | in | cow intent upon his plan for the es- | tablishment of an advisory council or ing g get into print, but it was explained that it ha without his consent and that he had been deceived by his friends. In 1868, the very next ml‘. Secretary of '.:c"l‘rluury zle@l h mue a 3 Teport in the jumns of a 'w York paper before it had been sent to Congress. “Bacause of these ‘accidents’ the cu tom of printing the reports and m m and having them ready for dis- ition to the press upon being read in was discontinued for a time, but was again adopted as being on the whole the most satisf ar- rangement for the accommodation of the public. “It is now intimated that to prevent premature publication the President’s message and the department reports will in future not be ited in advance, but will be sent to ‘ess in manu- soript . :l.nn «n.:nhl‘: -mfiun mu:. newspapers for priority etting message on the streets, lncfndlnl hurried coj 3 telegraphing and typesetting, resulting annoy! blunders in the presenta- tion of the matter, ther with a great waste of time and money. Nor does the manuscript plan insure safety, It will be remembered that one of President Lincoln’s messages — or its main Was rllb“.lh.fl by & New York paper before the original manu- script left the White House. The best course for the President and his cabi- net officers to pursue in future is to print the documents as usual and take | J a little more care to prevent plifering.” * - kill the Czar of Russia n under the imperial An attempt to an ex) he Czar as to a Target. comment in The Star of Decembe: r 4, 18 ‘The nihilists of Russia have just falled in their fourth attempt to assas- sinate the Csar. This time they under~ took to blow him up with an infernal machine while he was en route to Mos- | n-rn;ment, At this distance and to m m| this last attempt of the nihilists upon the Ozar's life must have the effect of weakening his enemies, even if it does Was very his § ‘This plan would restore the oid- | & rallway train 50 years | *2 ‘the { not create sympathy for him. While he was endea to comply with the demand Extra Session Reveals High Cost of Congress BY DREW PEARSON. While a good many senatorial crities heaved sighs of relief that the special session of had tor of Congress adjourned for & short rest, probably not many realized ::nt tomlt&p.t c:;":‘x and then la,urt agal payer nearly & quarter of a million dollars. In other words, the lengt) Senate on overhead cost of running confim goes on just the same whether it is in ses- sion or not. Thus far the Senate and House clerks and stent jphers are re- tained o‘n an annual sal and t:e"e,x- nse of paying them goes on whether gw is In seasion or not. Only the pages are paid on a per diem basis. * % x The chief item of cost mmad{:uml?g Congress and then convening ain is in the travel expenses of its mll:&erl to and from their homes. For this they iven allowance of 10 cents a mile, commuted on a round-trip basis, means 20 cents a mile. ‘This is paid at the beginning of every session, whether they return to their . _Thus, & Representative living in California, Wash- m, 3,000 miles away, can total of $1,200 for a 6,000~ between sessions, even though y not leave Was) n. For this travel expense Congress ap- priates annually $51,000 for tl and $175,000 for the House of ntatives, making a total of * ook ok Aside from this, the expense of open- ing Congress is not very great. The President’s mnugtlairmtzd in the Government Printi ce without any considerable increased cost. The Senate depending upon carried. The cost of setting the type for tables and figures is higher, During & congressional recess a num- ber of printers and other employes are rop} from the Government Printing Office, and night work is usuall pended. While Congress is in full swing the Printing Office works nmfl‘ day, 80 that the Congressional may be on each member’s desk when he comes to his office in the morning, There are also a quantity of bills and resolutions to be printed. However, the overhead expense of the Government Printing Office goes on whether Con- gress is in session or not. * X X % ‘While President Hoovor has been try- ing to reduce expenditures for most branches of the Government, he ly for itself. As compared wi for both houses of Congress 500,000 for this year and $21,702,000 for 1930, President Hoover recommends Thi does ning ind it would seem that | sassin the ' will con: Onar mr?o. times without harm D':hhlm. The first was when & named o-l”pmkznmw in nt the