Evening Star Newspaper, December 13, 1929, Page 8

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8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY......December 13, 1929 THEODORE W. NOYES. ... Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: o Sk 1 icago e: Lal robean Ofce: 14 R £ e pasiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. mine St <45 - :48¢ Ler month Evening and 8 (when ¢ Bundass) - “60c per month The Evening and Sundiy’ Siar (when § indays) 6! 'tg Sunday Sta: .5¢ llection made at the end of each mon'h. Qiders mag be sent in by mail or telephons Ational 5000, Rate by Mafl—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. {ly and Sunday. o3 10 . ily only . All Other States and Canada. fly and Sunday..] vr.$12.00; 1 mo., $1.00 atly only .. 1yee sg00" Tmo. “0e unday only 1yrl 3500: 1mo. S0 Member of the Assoclated Press. is exclusively. entitled ublication of all news Gis- s credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and aiso .he local news published hereimn. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. Cost of Necessities. ©On January 1 the Potomac Electric Power Co. will hand the people of Washington a New Year gift in the form of a half-cent reduction in elec- tric rates. Half a cent is not a great deal to boast about, even if it does represent a saving of that amount on every kilowatt hour, and the number of such hours mounts during the course of a year. But there is reason to be gratified over the reduction, because it represents one more drop in the price of a commodity that five years ago was costing twice as much as it does mow. The electric light company has found that the best way to encourage the wide use of a commodity is to reduce the price and at the same time to emphasize, in its production, good management and efficient economy. When the long-drawn-out rate case against the Potomac Electric Power Co. was compromised in 1924, the basis of the agreement was that the rates for electricity should yield a return of seven and one-half per cent on the agreed valuation. Profits in excess of that return were to be divided between the company and the public. The pub- lic’s share has been manifested in rate reductions that have brought down the price of electricity from 10 cents in 1935 to 4.7, the rate that goes into effect January 1. ©Of course the local electric light company is recognized everywhere as a gold mine. It has prospered under effi- clent management and is yielding high returns. It cannot be compared, in this respect, to such utilities as the street car companies. but arother gold mine lies in the telephone company, which sells what has come to be recog- nized as a necessity of life, and which 1s expanding its service by leaps and bounds as the city grows. Telephone rates, for local service, have not been touched since 1925, when the Public Utilities Commission ordered a reduc- tion of twenty-five cents a month for unlimited service and increased by five the number of calls allowed under a flat rate for “party line” or limited service. The telephone company fought that reduction, but withdrew its appeal to the courts on the strength of a com- promise which guaranteed that the new Tate would be left undisturbed for two years. The compromise, which went into effect in June, 1927, expired last June. ‘While the telephone gcompany re- cently announced reductions effective January 1 on long distance call rates, thereby promising a saving of about $5,000,000 to the public throughout the country, the Washington public is more interested in & downward readjustment of rates on local service. Gas rates in Washington stand today ‘where they stood in 1923, with the same inequalities existing as to rates for large consumers that existed six years ago. The gas company ownership is to be examined in the courts. The company’s depreciation fund is now under study by the Public Utilities Com- mission. That commission has had its hands full with the street car company rate case, but, now that a breathing spell is in prospect, the gas rate struc- ture is due for an overhaul, and the sooner it is undertaken, the better. ———————————— Temporizing With Fire. “I have sald it many times, and I cannot say it often enough; when there is a fire, call firemen immediately. It is foolish in a situation of that sort to ‘waste time. Five minutes can make a | lot of difference, and in this case five minutes did.” The speaker is Fire Chief John Kenlon of New York, and he made the above remark in connection with the investigation of the recent fatal fire in a film studio in that city, wherein em- ployes first tried to check the flames with chemical extinguishers and emer- gency hose. 1In so far as Washington is concerned, however, let it be Fire Chief Watson speaking to the inhabitants of the Dis- trict. Words such as these are appli- cable to every community that possesses any sort of fire-fighting force. It may not be pleasant to explain to disheveled and disgruntled firemen that the blaze was trifiing and is now out, but it is a Iot better than for both parties to wish that the alarm had been given earlier. ‘Turn in the alarm, then get busy with the home apparatus, is a good rule always. ———— There are men who, having chosen a program of life failure, follow it to the bitter end. Not within memory has a prison outbreak proved successful. ————— No Business Emergency. Buried in a relatively insignificant portion of the statement issued today by President Hoover’s National Business Burvey Conference is an observation of highly gratifying and immensely im- portant significance. It is to the effect that “nothing of an emergency char- acter exists in the present business situation to require undue haste” in any further procedure by the conference. ‘The economic skies, in other words, are cloudless. Neither storms nor squalls ¢ | blank check for the indefinite future, there could hardly be a more stimu- lating message from the commercial watch-towers. It comes stamped with unquestionable authority. Its sponsors are the executive committee just named to carry out business stabilization proj- ects, as these were formulated at the President’s recent conferences with financial, industrial and agricultural leaders. Names which are foremost in the world of commerze and trade combrise the committee. When a Barnes, a Young, a Lamont, a du Pont, a Teagle, a Woolley, a Lorimer, a Gifford and a Strawn—to mention but a few of the better known men among the group of twenty who are leaders all—subscribe publicly to the theory that all is well § on the Potomac of the Nation's busi- ness, the country may contemplate the future with serenity. No man, no set of men, can write a and say that recession or depression can never come. But these far-sighted captains of America’s economic well-be- ing, conservative in their vision and sagacious in formulating long-distance programs in their own respective flelds, pledge their joint word that no “emer- gency” now visible or imaginable con- {ronts us. It is & simple declaration by plain- dealing men, which justifies the people of the United States in contemplating what lies ahead of them with confidsnce and hope, however snaillike the stock ticker may be in its upward flight. R A Day of Miracles. The Senate, which believes in investi- gations as firmly as the old Romans believed in Apollo, Minerva and the rest of the ancient gods, has finally found ~gnething which it does not care to favestigate. It does mot care to in- vestigate the election of Gov. John 8. Fisher of Pennsylvania, or the election of the governor of any State. Further, it was declared by such powerful in- vestigators as Senator~Thomas J. Walsh of Montana, Senator Norris of Nebraska and Senator Wheeler of Montana that the Senate has no authority to investi- gate the election of Gov. Fisher. Yet they say the day of miracles is past. The question of the Senate’s author- ity to inquire into the election of Gov. Fisher arose when Joseph R. Grundy, the new and long awaited Senator from Pennsylvania, appeared to take the oath of office. Senator Nye of North Dakota offered a resolution to deny Mr. Grundy the right to retain the seat to which he had been appointed by Gov. Fisher. Mr. Nye's theory was that if the Senate had a right to turn out, or rather refuse to receive, William &. Vare, who was elected in 1926 because of the heavy expenditure of money in the primary at which he was nomi- nated, it had just as much right to turn back Mr. Grundy, who not only raised $400,000 to be used in that cam- paign but also came to the Senate at the hands of a governor for whose ticket in that campaign there had been expended three times as much money as was expended for the Vare ticket. In true Tom Sawyer style, the con- stitutional lawyers in the Scnate who had voted to deny M:. Vare a seat in that body could not understand why Senator Nye should be so “dumb” as not to the difference between the cases ¢ Mr. Vare and Messrs. Fisher and Grundy. But Mr. Nye insisted that if the Senate was anxious to prevent its seats going to the “highest bidder” in an “auction sale” it certainly should take a look at the credentials of Mr. Grundy and give some attention to the fact that he was the product, more or less directly, of an expenditure of $2,000,000 in the Pennsylvania primary campaign of 1926, ‘The Democratic Senators, most of them from the South, to which section “States’ rights” has been a hallowed doctrine, except for Senator Cole Blease of South Carolina, almost solidly voted against Mr. Vare's being admitted to the Senate, despite the arguments made at that time that Pennsylvania voters were entitled to send to the Senate any man they chose in ay election. But yesterday these Democrats rushed to the States’ rights colors again. They denounced any effort on the part of the Senate or any of its committees to challenge the election of Gov. Fisher and through such challenge the ap- pointment of Mr. Grundy to the Senate. Senator George of Georgia, for example, held up his hands in horror at the mere idea of referring the Nye resolution, which seemed to attack the election of Gov. Fisher, to the Senate committee on privileges and elections. He urged that the resolution be tabled. In the end, however, the Nye resolu- tion was sent to the committee with instructions to make a report on Mr. Crundy, while the chairman of that committee, Senator Shortridge, was pro- testing mildly against the Senate's im- posing “a duty og the committee to waste its time.” For once and for a time at least, the Senate is not ready to investigate one subject. oo Generosity is often rewarded. Mr. Grundy is a man of liberal inclinations, but did not spend his money on him- self. ——satee — The Ignored Sprinkler Order. Two of the officials of the company operating the sound picture studio in New York which burned the other day with the loss of ten lives have been arrested on a homicide charge based upon the fact that they had evaded an official order that a sprinkling system be installed in the building. The law requires that such a safeguard must be provided in every case where more than 5,000 feet of celluloid film is kept and stored in the building. In this case the order for the installation oi the sprin- klers was ignored on the plea that the footage of film kept on the premises was below the legal limit. Examination of the premises since the fire has brought to light that 162 tins of films, containing many thousands of feet be- yond the limit, were stored in the place. It is not at all important to determine whether the fire was due in any respect or degree to the presence of the film in the place. Indeed, it is absurd to imagine a business of this kind running THE EVE VING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, ! wholesale law evasions and the criminal exposure of humanity to the peril of death in flames for the sake of economy. It is hinted that this case will bring to light the existence of a system of or- ganized law evasion in respect to fire safeguards, & veritable “racket,” in the Chicago sense, which includes members of the municipal administration. Al- though no definite charge is yet made, certain facts are known that lead to the belief that firms of “fire prevention experts” do a large volume of business, simply in advising the owners of commer- cial properties how to evade the laws and regulations without incurring penalties. An as yet undetermined con- nection appears to exist between the offices of the municipality and the “experts,” who for a large fee undertake to get business proprietors “by” with evasions of expensive installation orders. With the loss of ten lives as a stimulus | it may be that New York will pursue this matter to a conclusion, punish those who are guilty of contributory negligence or worse and root out the racketeers who are profiting upon the economies of the “trade” and risking the lives of hundreds of thousands of people by exposing them to fire perils. Maybe! —————— A Cow in a Zoo. The “zoo” at Lincoln Park, Chicago, has installed a Holstein cow and calf in the animal exhibit for the benefit of city children who have never seen such creatures. This would seem to be the high water mark of the urbanization qf America, It is doubtful if future decades can produce anything to equal it, no matter what gigantic buildings are erected, or how complicated become the tramc problems. The solemn truth is as suggested, that | thousands of children in the great Mid- western metropolis have never seen the producer of the milk which they drink every day. A cow behind bars, therefore, ought to be as interesting as a lion or a tiger. Surely Bossy isno mean creature, either | in bulk or general “make-up,” and to a child who had never seen her she should make instant appeal. Perhaps the day is not far distant when all zoological parks will house cows. An extension of the idea to take in the horse might not be inappropriate, for with the omnipresence of the auto- mobile there are thousands of children who know little about the horse. A mother pig and her litter might attract almost as much attention as a bear mother with her cubs. Farm ani- mals are beloved of children the world over. Their story books contain pic- tures of them, and they are the inno- cent heroes and heroines of nursery rhymes and tales. The action of the Chicago Zoo| authorities constitutes an interesting ex- periment which will be watched by similar officials throughout the country. A miniature farm, with all the old- time activities, might not only prove interesting to children, but a valuable aid in the rehabilitation of agriculture. | The step is commended to the Federal | ¥arm Board for study. oo For a while the lobbyist was regarded as extinet. He has come back, but he works on & more expensive scale than the old-timer who expected to gain im- portant influence with & handful of | cigars and a few large dinner parties. ——————————— As a matter of statesmanlike cour- | tesy, all Senators are expected to say “Merry Christmas!” to one another, whether they mean it or not. e ‘The Stock Exchange goes on doing business. The development and passing of mutton continues. But there are always new lambs. o4 Pennsylvania will probably always favor the kind of tariff that makes it possible to keep campaign fuads inter- estingly large. 3 e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Scientific Opinion. I called upon a scientist, ‘Who dwelt in shadows dim. Of questions I had made a list. One that appealed to him ‘With special interest and bade His conversation pause Was the inquiry that I made, “Is there a Santa Claus? “What many men believe,” he said, “A germ of truth contains. Toward some negation harsh we're led By too relentless brains. He may be but a subtle thought ‘That through us holds its course, Or an exploding atom fraught With philanthropic force. “He may denote a general will That makes for that or this; To which we always should appiy Psychoanalysis. So, as a student, I should say— Not looking for applause— That in a scientific way There is a Santa Claus!” Publicity Welcomed. “I shall tell my associates that you ere a lobbyist,” said Senator Sorghum. “Go ahead,” replied the salesman of influence. “Like any other business, { mine benefits by advertising.” Jud Tunkins says as & rule a man ought to think twice before he speaks and then keep on thinking. Polar Reliability. In polar regions there is found Some fault. Mid frosty gales ‘The grocer seldom gets around, But the ice man never fails. Speed Estimates. “How fast can this car go?" asked Mr. Chuggins. “Ninety miles an hour,” replied thc salesman. “Where do you find your near-sighted bicycle cops?” “We desecrate the tombs of our an- cestors,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “and show that if we are not as wise, we at least have more authority.” without a far larger quantity of the in- flammable material than the law per- mits without the installation of sprin- klers. The facts of real significance are that the law was evaded, the sprinkler are threatened. The national ship of business faces calm seas. They may not be wholly devold of breakers, but none in sight menaces the course upon which U. 8. 8. Prosperity is headed. In this season of Christgnas trade which may lead to the revelation of more reliable.” order was ignored and ten lives were lost, largely, it is believed, because there was no automatic fire checking means within the bullding. ! ‘There is another point to this case A Stay-at-Home. Hamlet confesses to the king, “No more 1 say, ‘The play's the thing.' I do not go to see a show— I listen to my radlo. BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. "Every library should try to be com- plete on something, if it were only the history of pinheads,” said Dr. Holmes, in his “Poet at the Breakfast Table.” One is put in mind of this by & look at the average home collection. The chief impression an observer brings away with him is one of confusion. ‘The shelves have ng reason for being, but merely hold a collection of volumes haphazardly. Behind them is no thought at all. Chance has more to do with the se- lection than brains. One knows at a glance that the owner had no real ide of what he was trying to do; certain books came into his life and he put them behind glass. Now nothing severe ought to be said against such a home book collector. Any sort of library is better than none at all. The man who has ten books, or a hundred books, or a thousand books is just that much better off than he who has none. There is so much more satisfaction in a collection built on the real likes and dislikes of the builder, however, that it is a shame that any one who genuinely likes books should construct his private collection on grab-bag prin- ciples. k. The best way to make an asproach to the problem is along the line laid down by the genial “Autocrat of the Break- fast Table.” In actuality such a dictator must have been something of a bore. To be preached at every morning would be terrible. An autocrat at a tea tabie would be more acceptable. Any one who would deliver literary lectures today while at table would be looked upon with suspicion. There is much good sense in that famous series, however, a sample of which we have given above. “Every li- brary should try to be complete on something, if it were only the history of pinheads.” It makes no difference what the sub- ject is, or how the completeness is se- cured, an attempt should be made by the owner of even the smallest home library. We do not believe that there are no more home librarics, or that readers to- day do not take the same pride that men have taken for centuries in their own books. The great danger today lies in the collection of ephemeral volumes, here today and gone tomorrow. Even pro- fessional critics are not positive in their judgments. To take the latest offerings Solely is to run a great danger. Plan, therefore, is essential. The reader who has a plan will build his library on the sccure basis of his own tastes. He can have tastes only if he is independent in thought. The surest way to follow the crowd is to permit some one else to tell you what you should like and what you should buy. Book “clubs,” the modern substitute for the old-fashioned book agent, pro- fess to tell a reader what he should buy, but many find them lacking in practice because they fail to take into account that most essential element, the reader himself. o A book agent (they are still in the land) came in the other day to sell us a set of books that we didn't want. He never took the trouble to find out whether we wanted them or not. He did not care, in fact. All he wanted to do was to sell. When we informed him that we never bought from book agents he replied, with a hurt look, “Do you call me & book agent?” And when we asked him what was he, then he declared, “Why, I am a member of the firm!” One can never buy books by such methods. This is where the idea of completeness comes in. ‘The booklover is not confined to making his library complete on any one subject alone. He need not necessarily go in for histories of steam engines or sports. He may get the same result by collecting au- thors, perjods or subjects. Although the sale of “sets” of authors has fallen off considerably during the past decade, it still offers the home librarian one of the most pleasant and profitable ways of making a library complete on something. He must not make the mistake of thinking that he must read every line just because he has an author complete in his shelves. There is a great satis- faction in having all of him there. He can never be sure when he will want to read the very volume which he now scorns. Complete sets of those authors who have stood the test of time may be secured by picking up a volume here, another there, one in cloth, another in leather. We know one Washing- tonian who has a set of O. Henry in eight different bindings. In some re- spects this makes a more interesting collection than if they were all in leather. * ok ok ok Let a man go in for history, if he wants to take up something interesting. Here the “completeness” of his collec- tion will be problematical, but he at least will have a goal. If he further restricts it to some one period, he will find increased pleasure. The really great works on any onc period are few. A hankering for Rome will lead a man into devious paths. From history he may branch into the home life of the Romans, or their re- ligion. These may lead on to the whole subject of antiquarian discoverles, in which such marvelous advances have been made in the past half century. If a man is interested in dogs, he will find that there are many “dog books” on the market, some good, some poor. If he fancles any particular game, or sport, he will discover a large “library” attending each. Any golf addict would find a complete library of golf books a source of pride and never-failing in- terest. As good a way as any of making & library complete in something is to “go in” for the works of writers of a certain race. An American is particularly for- tunate, it would seem, in that he has such widespread tastes. One reader will take a fancy to Rus- sian stories, another to French novi and the happy thing is that so much of each language has been translated. A reader may never achieve absolute completeness, but who would want to? ‘The main thing is to possess the idea of completeness. This is a matter in which, as Stevenson said, it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive. If a reader is fond of the French writers, it is better for him to have great books in reserve than to be'in the unhappy position of having read them all. We_are to take Dr. Holmes' advice, therefore, with that reservation, having done so will find it good. The idea is not so much completeness as plan. Completeness is an ideal toward which we look, but the looking is more important than the completeness, be- cause such looking demands the use of the brain, which is what one reads with, of course. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. William R. Castle, jr., Harvard, '00, special Ambassador to Japan during the London naval conference, has just supplied the Harvard Graduates® Magazine with an informative article on “Harvard Men in the Foreign Serv- ice.” He reveals that more than 11 per cent (77 of its 690 members) of the Foreign Service are graduates or the Cambridge university. *“A goodly percentage,” comments Castle, “when one realizes that the service is drawn from the entire United States, and thac university training is not a requisite for admission.” President Hoovs emis- sary to Tokio narrates: “Soon after Mr. Kellogg became Secretary of State he asked me why there were so many Harvard men around. I answered that one rea- son was that Harvard, possibly more than any other college, brought Government service to the atten- tion of the students; that, in addi- tion, I liked to believe that Harvara training gave a man a more serv- iceable and adaptable intellectual background than any other. The Secrctary said that this was prob: ably true; that he had seldom him- self made the mistake of taking any one but a Harvard Law School graduate into his office. Whatever may be the answer as to the reason for this preponderance of Harvard, it is certain that proportionally many more men of Harvard train- ing take the examinations for the Foreign Service than men from any other university, and that more pass the examinations, in spite of the fact that the board of examiners is probably more critical of them be- cause they are a little sensitive over accusations as to the ‘Harvara clique’ in the Department of State.” A It'll be a sadly depleted State Depart- ment which the American naval dele- gation to London will leave behind it in Washington. Assistant Secretary of State Castle will already be in_Japan. Assistant Secretary of State Johnson will about the same time have taken up his new duties as Minister to China. Secretary of State Stimson will head the conference delegation, and in his entourage will be Mr. Marriner, chief of the department’s Western European division; Mr. McDermott, chief of the division of current information, and a number of other members of the per- manent staff. Mr. Cotton, Undersccre- tary of State, will be acting Secretary and premier of the Hoover cabinet dur- ing Col. Stimson’s service overseas. i Not so very many years ago Joseph L. Grundy, Pennsylvania’s belated United States Senator,-was almost as unpopu- lar with the Keystone Republican party as he is with Senator Caraway, Demo- crat, of Arkansas. Along about 1923 at a State convention the Pennsylvania G. O. P. leaders hissed and booed the big protection boss from Philadelphia and virtually denfed him a voice in their deliberations—so a well known Republi- can eyewitness informs this observer. It was a factional row, and at that time Grundy's name was anathema. Politics undergoes strange gyrations in Penn's Woods, and now Grundy comes to washington as the anointed favorite son of the State organization. All Washington is waiting to see whether the move to oust Senator Grundy, now that he has been seated, on the ground that he's a dyed-in-the-wool tariff lobbyist, will get anywhere. It would be the zenith of inconsistency, if it did, For Grundy to represent a 100 per cent protective tariff State in the Benate is every bit as natural and ap- propriate as it is for Senator Brookhart to represent Iowa agriculture, or “Young Bob” La Follette to represent Wisconsin progressivism, or for Senators Ransdell and Broussard to represent a Loufsiana which craves and demands high tariffs on sugar. Many of Grundy's foes on Capitol Hill think he will be far less of a menace to the Republic voting for protection in the Senate than he would if lobbying for it on the outside. * ok ok x “I allus hopes foh Santa Claus on Christmas,” sald Uncle Eben, “but I must say & candidate on election day is f Thirty years before he ever dreamed of being President of the United States, Herbert Hoover on a certain occasion in China gave graphic evidence of his belief in paredness for all occaslons. Hoover, then a young mining engineer, was assigned a job which required a camel ride of six days and nights before his party could reach its destination. The Californian had never before taken passage on a ship of the desert. Tender- backs, he learned, usually emerged from their first experience atop a camel con- siderably the worse for wear and gen- erally unfit to work for some time to come. The last night before the camel caravan was to set out, Hoover decided upon novel protective measures. He tore his bedsheets into strips about a foot in width, wound them round a tree, and then unwound them around his own body until he was completely swathed and wrapped in them. The engineer, now pretty well mummified, had to be hoisted onto the camel, but he stood the week’s journey unscathed and was the only man in the outfit able immediately to start on the job. * ok ko Capt. Sir E. Beachcroft Towse of the British Army, who has just visited Washington with the delegation of the British Empire Service League—the union of all of John Bull's World War veterans—is famed in his country as “the blind V. C.” Towse lost his eye- sight in the Boer War in 1900 while serving as an officer in the celebrated Gordon Highlanders. The Victoria Cross, Britain's most distinguished war deco- ration for herolsm, was bestowed upon Towse twice, an almost unprecedented instance, for gallantry in South Africa. Although sightless, Capt. Towse insisted upon serving his King in the World War, and was given the rank of hon- orary staff captain for base hospitals in France. Two years ago, in token of his work for the British Legion—the counterpart of the American Legion— ‘Towse was knighted. Among his pres- ent duties is that of chairman of the British National Institute for the Blind. * ok kK Uncle Sam is going to be an unusu- ally nosey census taker next year and ask his children a number of ques- tions they never had to answer before. They're included among the 24 queries to be leveled at householders.® The new questions are these: Do you own or rent your home? Have you a radio set? What was your age at the time of your first marriage? Are you actually at work in any gainful occupation at this time? Are you a veteran of the United States military or naval forces, and in what war or expedition, if so, did you serve? (Copyright, 1920.) o The Dole System. From the Toledo Blade. More than 1,000,000 able-bodied men and women in England who cannot obtain employment receive weekly doles in amounts barely sufficient for exist- ence. The dole is both a political and an economic problem in England. The enormous dole fund is made up by con- tributions by the government, which gets the money from its taxpayers, by employers and by working people fortunate enough to have jobs. Efforts have been made to dignify the system by calling it unemployment insurance, but “dole” it remains in street-level language. Away back in 1399 the Duchess of Gloucester directed by will that a dole of £20 sterling be divided among 15 poor men, each carrying a torch in her funeral procession and ¢¥%d in “gown and hood lined with white, breeches of blue cloth, shoes and shirt.” The dole system as it now exists is one of the evils of the World War fastened upon England. Originally its beneficiaries were discharged war vet- erans only. Pressure of poverty upon other unemployed men and women forced its extension to indigent civilians. Necessary and humanitarian as the dole seems to be, it is a heavy tax on national prosperity. In contrast with its shadows, President Hoover's confer- ence plan of expansion of industry, prudent public improvement under- takings and wage level maintenance is seen in most favorable light, Developing resources, improving high- ways, engaged otherwise in productive employment, men and womer in the United States who might have been idle but for the President’s prompt action work to maintain their own indepen- dence and self-respect and for the wel- fare of the Nation. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, and | { means of an appointed commission. The 1929. Christianity Is Seen As Solvent of Races To the Editor of The Star: This reader has noticed quite a bit of discussion lately in the newspapers relative to the United States mixing in the so-called European messes. Just what 1s interpreted by the term “Euro- pean messes,” I have not been able to learn, but I presume it has reference to the so-called racial prejudice which is said to exist there. It is the state- ment of the United States that their object in sponsoring the peace protocol is to outlaw war and have questions arising of that order settled in peacefut procedure by the court. This is the only way that these questions can bt settled peacefully. The race question is an issue that cannot come within the province of governments and it is the one great question that confronts all governments. Mr. Strong, in his book, “Our Country,” recommends thac the “greatest solvent of racial preju- dices is Christianity.” If this is so, I cannot think of a better and it is without doubt the main basic thought underlying the United States action. At the present time the majority of the governments of the world are re- publics, and this problem when pre- sented to them is directly presentea to their peoples. It is safe to say that where they have so much involved their decisions will not be unjust. PERCY GILLESPIE. e Attitude of Russia : Toward Pact Scored From the Portland Oregon Daily Journal. Russia says she is “amazed™ that the United States, along with other world powers, should call her attention to the fact that she is a signatory to the Kellogg-Briand pact and that under that pact she agreed to refrain from aggressive warfare, Rather, Russia seems to be “amazed” that the powers should expect her to live up to her covenants. Apparently those who are directing the destinies of the Soviet had an idea that the pact was merely a scrap of paper. They apparently did not believe that when the nations pledged themselves against aggressive warfare they intended to keep the pledge or expected Russia to keep it. = Now Russian leaders are “amazed.” ‘There is no better time for the na- tions to prove their sincerity than the present. There is no better time for them to prove that they took the Kel- logg-Briand pact seriously. There is no better time for them to demonstrate that a national pledge is a national pledge and a national covenant a na- tional covenant. There is no better time for them to prove to Russia by peaceful means that the world will not place the stamp of approval on treaties torn to bits and national promises thrown to the four winds. Russia _takes occasion to point out that the United States has not resumed | diplomatic relations with the Soviet re- public. There is a very good reason why those relations have not been re- sumed. The present government of Russia repudiated national obligations a long time ago in the matter of debts. It has repudiated national obligations since by resorting to propaganda and revolutionary activity in nations where her representatives were received. That government is violating its national pledge now by carrying on agsressive warfare. ) Hoover Told People Here “‘Only Humans™ From the Ann Arbor Daily News. President Hoover desires Washington to be a model city. Whether he can ar- range the little matter is somewhat of a question. Washington as & municipality is unique in the American scheme of things. It is a Federal community, governed by the Federal Government by citizens there cannot vote. There are other unique things about Washington. But the inhabitants of the place arc human beings, with human weakness The individuals who comprise the popu- lace of the unique city are not them- selves unique. They have their virtues and their vices, collectively, like those who live remote from the seat of central Government. It has been charged that the prohibi- tion situation is worse in Washington than In many other places. That is un- fortunate, if true, and doubtless a rem- edy can be applied. But it is question- able if Washington can rise .above the general level of law observance over the length and breadth of the country. ‘The ideal and the effort are worthy. But President Hoover should beware of expecting too much from those people who happen to dwell within the shadows of the Capitol. On the whole they can’t be much different from the folks who inhabit other citics. A municipality is what its populace makes it. —— e Canada and Immigration. From the Charlotte (N. C.) Observer. The United States Government has been content with its old-time notions about immigration and in consequence the waste places of the country are being filled, when filled at all, with a miscellaneous lot of immigrants, such a thing as selective immigration’ being unknown. ~Meantime, the Canadian government has been diligent in secur- ing population of the most desirable kind through its selective system long in operation. The Observer has given frequent examples of the excellent re- sults being secured by Canada, and now comes other evidence from Winnipeg. It is to the effect that the Canada Colonization Association, concluding its fifth year of operations as a subsidiary of the Department of Colonization and Development, Canadian Pacific Rail- way, has placed on land in Western Canada_ 4,225 families. The acreage occupled by these settlers totals 836,- year the association has placed 1,210 families on 123441 acres. Its opera- tions cover British Columbia and On- tario as well as the prairie provinces. There are mow opportunities present for 1,587 families on 332,596 acres. If the Southern Railway or the Sea- board Air Line should set up an immi- gration organization such as is operated by the Canadian Pacific they could fill North Carolina with a much-needed new population of the right sort of peo- ple. And there's the Atlantic Coast Line that runs through a region of rich land uncultivated and waiting the com- ing of farmers, with homesteads enough for a hundred thousand and more. r———— New York Reminded Of Its “Lost” Tunnel From the Boston Evening Transcript. New York City has just been remind- ed of the existence of the tunnel that was lost. It is proposed in New York to build a subway in order to provide spur tracks on which cars may be stored where they will be readily avail- able during the rush hours. Publication of the news of this project was fol- lowed by the finding of the forgotten tunnel. ~ The discovery was prompted by & man who remembered having visited the tunnel while it was under construction in 1911, It was abandoned partially completed because new ar- rangements were made with the Inter- borough Co., under which the city au- z:gm les decided it would not be neces- y. The tunnel was never lost, of course, }: as far as the records are concerned, and in the minds of some members of the city’s engineering department, but hur- rying crowds on Lexington avenue be- tween Twenty-sixth and Forty-second Streets were ignorant of the fact that they were traveling above the subway | that was never used. It is sald that it has been spoken of in the past as This newspaper puts at your dis- ‘Washington who will answer questions for you. They have access to the Government departments, the libraries, museums, galleries and public buildings, and to the numerous associations which | maintain headquarters in the Nation’s Capital. If they can be of assistance to you, write your question plainly and send with 2 cents in coin or stamps to ‘The Evening Star Information Bureau, F’redglccl. Haskin, director, Washing- ton, D. C. Q. Who holds the record for endur- ance In ice skating?—M. G. Z. A. Al Jennings, who skated for 51 hours continuously at Port Arthur, Canada, in December, 1927, has the }Josx:ges,t record in the Sporting Annual | Q. Who was lately elected President of Mexico?>—M. B. H. A. On_Sunday, November 17, 1929, Pascual Ortiz Rubio was elected. Q. How many licensed aviators are there in the United States?—J. Y. A. At the present time there are about 7,000, Q. What is the name of the scroll hung on the doorway or wall of every orthodox Jewish home?—W. R. E. A. The scroll hung on the doorway of every orthodox home is called, in Hebrew, a “mezuzah.” The observance of this custom is in fulfillment of the command in Deuteronomy, the fifth Book of Moses, “And they shall be upon the doorposts of thy house and upon thy gates.” The scroll contains these words in Hebrew. It is a symbol of a Jewish home and a reminder of loyalty to religion. Q. Are any veterans of the Civil War in Congress?—H. L. C. A. Maj. Charles M. Stedman of North Carolina is now the only soldier of the Civil War who is a member of Congress. Q. Where did Jack Elder of Notre Dame attend high school?—J. N. J. A. Jack Elder of gridiron fame was educated at the High School in Lebanon, Ky. Q. What has become of the all-metal airship that was built at Glendale, Calif.?>—H. E. W. A. The construction of the Slate all- metal dirigible has been completed, but there has been some trouble with the second engine installation. It was ex- pected to have the second engine tested and installed about a month ago, but up to the present time it has not been satisfactory. We are unable to state when it will be completed or when it will make its first flight. Q. How fast do_waves travel during a storm at sea?—R. T. B. A. The frequency of waves in the ocean varics. During a gale it was found that storm waves traveled at a ;peed of between 27 and 32 miles an our. Q. Where are our tage stam made?—K. R. e o A. All United States postage stamps are made at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, at Washington, D, C. Q. Does the United States belong now to the World Court and League of Nations?—E. C. A. The United States does not be- long to the League of Nations and a&s vet is not & member of the World ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Court, although the United States re- posal a corps of trained researchers in | cently signified its willingness to adhere |to the protocol, with certain reserva- tions, which have been accepted. Q. What is annatto and for what is it used?—W. B. S. A. It is the pulpy substance sur- rounding the seeds of a tree by the same name and imported into this corntry in cakes weighing two or more v :ads, to be used in coloring butter, 1eese and oleomargarin. Q. How many people listed in “Who's Who in America” are scientists?—T. N A. Men of science comprise 304 cent of the number listed, lawyers 15.2 per cent and physiclans and surgeons 7.3 per cent. There is a total of 28,805 names listed in the 1928-1929 edition. Q. How much did the bridge between Detroit and Sandwich cost How long did it take to build it?—B. A, H. A. The Ambassador Bridge was con- structed at a total cost of $22,500,000. Negotiations were started in 1924 and actual construction on the project be- gan about the middle of the year 1927 1t is now open to traffic. The bridge is a toll bridge, the principal rates being 5 cents per passenger and 50 cents per passenger automobile. Q. Is Gregg, the inventor of the shorthand system of that name, liv- ing?—H. T. S. A. John Gregg is living and was re- cently presented. with a golden trophy emblematic of his life interests by stu- dents and teachers of England. The history of shorthand from Roman days ?rp wmme present time is depicted in i gift, Q. How long is the James River?— E. N. T. A.' It is about 450 miles in length and is navigable from Chesapeake Bay up to Richmond, Va, a distance of about 150 miles. Q. Why are English night watchmen sometimes called “Charlies"?—S. E. N, A. This name was given to night watchmen in London about 1640 for King Charles I, who improved the po- lice system. Q. How m an atom?—C. H. A. Physicists of today state that there is evidence that all atoms known have in them a certain definite num- ber of negative electrons and exactly the same number of positive electrons. For instance, the lead atom consists of & Ppositive nucleus charge of 82 units about which 82 electrons revolve; zinc, a nu= cleus charge of 30 units with 30 revolv- ing electrons; helium, a nucleus charge of. 2 units with 2 revolving electrons; sulphur, a nucleus charge of 16 units with 16 revolving electrons; platinum, 78; gold, 79; radium, 88; and so forth. Q. Who is the tallest woman in the world?—P. W. B, A. Brunhilde van Droysen, who is 8 feet tall, is thought to be the tallest woman in the world. Q. Do many high school students study languages?—R. T. A. Of all students enrolled in about 17,000 high schools in 1928, 93.2 per cent was studying English; 24.7 per cent studying Latin; 15.3 per cent, French; 9.4 per cent, Spanish; 2 per cent, German. In 1922, only 79.5 per cent studied English, while 29.5 per cent studied Latin; 16.8 per cent, French: 11.3 per cent, Spanish; 8 per cent, Ger- man. any electrons are there in H. Davis Wins Wi In Pleading A radio plea by Secretary of Labor Davis that the housewives of the Na- tion, having a real occupation, should be entitled to an eight-hour day and an annual vacation such as the worker in business in industrial life has, has attracted unusual attention. There are many words of sympathy for women “whose work is never done.” Paying tribute to Mr. Davis for the worthy ap- peal, the Chicago Daily News com- ments on the fact that “he has only begun to deal with a large problem. “What,” for example, it asks, “would he sugge?; for the wives of farmers, the wives of keepers of small shops, the wives of traders in a modest way?" That paper continues: “It is perfectly true, as Mr. Davis says, that the wife of the wage worker gets little credit be- yond her own household for her indus- try, efficiency and manifold managerial skill. To add up her list of occupations, either in time of health or in time of sickness in the family, is to marvel at her endurance, ingenuity and executive ability. Unquestionably, she is entitled to consideration in all shorter day or shorter week movements, and she de- serves an annual vacation ‘with pay.’ Her husband and also her children, when the latter are old enough, owe it to her and to themselves to take steps to conserve her health and give her suitable pleasures and recreation, A little thoughtfulness, a little practical tenderness, from the family is or would be highly appreciated by the . house- hold’s general manager. The Census Bureau, by the way, is guilty of a fla- grant bureaucratic blunder in listing housewives as persons ‘without occupa- tion.” The protest of the Woman's Par- ty against that designation is under- standable, even though the phrass cb- jected to was intended to imply that housewives had no gainful occupation. No_ occupation, forsooth! Endiess and infinitely varied occupation would be much nearer the literal truth of the matter.” * ok kX ‘The census situation also stirs com- ment from the Hartford Daily Times, which says on this subjec! here can be no denial of the assertion that housewives do not receive sufficient credit for their work. Nobody seems to take the trouble to count the hours of their day nor evaluate the million and one things which they ‘whose work is never done’ accomplish. There is am- ple basis for the call which has been broadcast by the national vice c man of the Woman's Party, Mrs. Flor- ence Bayard Hilles, that in the forth- coming Federal census the occupation of housewives be designated in the forms. As it is, they have no ‘occupa- tion’ so far as the Census Bureau is concerned. That seems to be a pretty general attitude of governmental pro- cedure on this point and we are not surprised that the worm has turned. The Government is somewhat exclusive in its interpretation of the term ‘occu- ation.' Whatever is done inside the ouse is not officially recognized if done by the housewife, but let it be done by a maid, nurse girl, janitor, laundry- woman, social secretary, and it is care- fully noted mx‘G:vc:nment recerds.” * “It’s high time somebody championed their cause,” in the opinion of the Har- risburg Telegraph. “When labor law were being enacted, the housewife was let out. No eight-hour day for her; no increase in pay; no five-day week or Saturday half-holiday. Nobody ever fights for better working conditions, shorter hours or higher pay for the housewife. ~When the alarm clock speaks, it s she who responds most quickly. While her hard-working hubby turns over for another ten minutes in dreamland, she is putting on the cof- fee and frying the bacon. While he is reading his paper in the evening, she is putting the children to bed, washing the dishes and getting ready to do a bit of mending.” “Anybody who wonders why Secre- tary of Labor Davis keeps on in the cabinet year after year,” remarks the Youngstown Vindicator, “can find the answer in the radio address Mr. Davis made on ‘the greatest, busiest, bus executive in the world’ The tribute h the Lexington Avenue Folly, but here- after it may be known as the lucky blunder, New York may get a useful tunnel at 1911 construction Prlcu. a plece of good fortune calculated to make other great citles envious, | paid to the workingman's wife, who has de Response for Housewives cleverly expressed, but was deserved and should have been said by some ene in authority long ago. Coming from the former Sharon puddler, him- self a devoted husband and the father of six children, Mr. Davis’ hearers know that he spoke with all the weight of personal experience.” Speaking of the proposed vacation, the Flint Daily Journal raises the ques. tion: “What of the husband and chil- dren during those two weeks? Is the husband to quit his job in ord°r to run | the house during the two weeks his wife is vacationing? Or is he to take his own two weeks’ vacation by staying home and doing the housework? Weli, the argument goes on and on. One thing is certain: Where there are chil- dren and a home to maintain thers can be no such standardization of working hours. Husbands and wives probably have their troubles over who works the harder, but without one or the other or both being ‘on the job’' 24 hours a day, it means the home will not be a home.” A AT “Undoubtedly many housewives are really overburdened,” agrees the Grand Rapids Press, but that paper holds that “for the majority of the real home- makers, & number of these ‘jobs’—par- ticularly those having to do with the children—are not regarded as work at all. The problem of America,” con- tinues the Press, “is not so much with the woman whose ‘business hours’ are so occupied. Her lot is far ahead of that of the British woman, for exam| who must get along without mode: kitchen and cleaning equipment. A more pressing problem in the United States appears to be that of the wom- an whose week’s activities might be tabu- lated as follows: Monday, bridge; Tu day, luncheon and bridge; Wednesd: bridge and tea; Thursday, bridge and movie; Friday, Bridge Club; Saturday, bridge; Sunday, spend the afternoon with the children.” The Spokane Spokesman-Review is convinced that “the housewives, if we may call them that, will laugh at Sec- retary Davis' statement, because they are thorcughly in agreement with the old idea that woman’s work is never done.” The Spokane paper continues: “If any masculine critic undertakes 0 find a flaw in that tradition, he 1s told that he has a mean and cynical outlook on life. If any efficlency expert tries to point out that a housewife can so organize her work as to get it done in less than eight hours a day, he is given an _emphatic lecture on ‘Woman, the Toiler” But the Secretary means well. He wants to help arrange things so that the eight-hour day, and the Sun- day off. and the two weeks' vacation in the Summer, will be within the reach of any housewife who desires them. How many really desire them cannot be accurately guessed. They would de- stroy a grand old tradition—that of the housewife toiling all day over a hot stove while her husband is resting. —_— e A Real Clean-Up. From the Canton Daily News. A movie actress was awarded $167,500 from a hotel for a scalding received in a_bathtub, but the chances are that when she climbed into the tub she never expected to clean up that much. N New Protector. From the Detroit News. A friend in the foot ball business says he recently stuffed a Carnegle Founda- tion report into his jersey and it made a fine shoulder pad. . e Learning the Truth. From the New London Day. A Cuban court has ruled that confée. sfons obtained by injections of “trutk serum” are unconstitutional. Which isn't so important as to determind whether or not recipients of the serurt really tell the truth. L e e Cause for Shifts. From the Butte Daly Post. Certain mountains in California are to figure and plan to make her hus- band’s pay envelope meet the family's | needs and go as much farther as pos sible, was not only well considered and Ilarge floating said to be shifting. This could hardly = avoided, surrounded as they are by a sulation.

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