Evening Star Newspaper, January 5, 1930, Page 28

2 Y HE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, JANUARY 5, 1930—PART TWO. _— e e British Naval Bases in West Indies BY FREDERIC J]. HASKIN. THE EVENING STAR [ With Sunday & Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY........January 5, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Yors Shee: N TEasr tad Bt cgo’ Sics Michisan Bunati : chigan ns. ropean Office 14 Regent St.. London, ‘Ensiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. mfli‘::r. E J45cLer month then & o e Evening and & Collection made at th mn may be sent in Rate by Mail-—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. ally and Sunda: 1yr..$10.00: 1 mo.. 85¢ aily only .. 1yr. $6.00: 1 mo.. 50c unday only 151, $4.00: 1 m ¥ mall or telephor.e All Other States and Canada. fly and Sunday..1yr..$12.0 e 2 1mo. 3¢ ted Press. is exclusively entitled R of eil news dis- @ not Dtherwise cred- R L R ey ublicat special dispatches herein are also reserved. = ‘Washington Cathedral. Work on the great ‘Washington On- thedral upon Mount St. Alban gc:s forward apace. Already construction has so far progressed that standing in the completed apse one can adequately envision the dignity and perfection of the finished structure. Where centuries ‘were required for the erection of the Old World cathedrals decades will suf- fice for the leading religious edifice of America. And this without loss to either the delicacy of workmanship or the durability of structure, How great the interest throughout the Nation in the cathedral may not be generally appreciated in the National Capital. One token of this interest is to be found in the Cathedral Book of Remembrance, which already contains upward of 30,000 names, each a contrib- utor to the fund with which cost of bullding is met. More than 300,000 worshipers and pilgrims visited Mount St. Alban during the past year. Every State in the Union is represented in each of these groups. Yet perhaps no greater evidence of the rightful prominence the cathedral undertaking occuples in the national consciousness is available than is a small brochure recently issued by the cathedral executive committee. In this i 1mo. 80c | achieved nearly three centurles ago. comparatively recently, at least, few parts of the earth have been 20 free of it. ‘The State most assuredly owes & memorial to the Calvinist ministers and puSM= officials who accomplished the tremendou- ':'-7->tual feat of discover- ing the fallacy of witcheraft beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary and who were able to con- vince the population at large that it should follow & star of broader vision rather than its eyes and ears. This in- deed constituted a “sublime spiritua! victory.” ‘These men were far ahead of their time. The world has not yet caught up with them. For it is obvious that & very large number of Americans still hold logically the same opinions as the Salem witch hangers and have been unable to adjust the evidence of their senses to the broader vision. Much of mankind still is groping forward toward the sublime spiritual victory which Massachusetts Puritanism e The Government's Archives. ‘Two recent fires in public buildings, the executive offices and the Capitol, give emphasis to the urgent need of the Government for an archives build- ing where the important records and non-current departmental files may be kept in zecurity. Congress has appro- priated $1,000,000 for the construction of such a building, with a cost limit of $6,000.000. The site has been chosen, comprising the squares lying between Ninth and Tenth streets and Pennsyl- vania and Louisiana avenues. The greater part of the land has been ac- quired and the remainder will soon be in Government title. The pilans the punishment of persons selling or manufacturing liquor, or transporting it for sale. The purchaser has not been directly attacked. The suggestion has brought forth loud protests from the wets, who insist that the clapping of & purchaser behind the bars would be in violation of the Constitution. They point out that the eighteenth amend- ment refers to the manufacture, sale and transportation of liquor and does not mention “purchase.” It is clear, however, that there can be no sale of liquor without a purchaser. The “fence” who receives stolen goods may be indicted and convicted of crime. The courts may well hold that a prohi- bition to sell covers also a prohibition to buy. If they do, a vastly different situation may arise in regard to the pres- ent illegal traffic in liquor. The Presi- dent of the United States himself has called attention on several occaslons to the fact that many citizens of the United States, highly regarded, are aid- ing the bootleggers in their traffic by purchasing liquor from them. ‘Whether the Department of Justice will undertake to prosecute the pur- chaser of liquor under section six of title two of the Volstead act is a matter still to be determined. But in the drive now on for law enforcement, it is ex- “NEAR ATTAINMENT” BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, Bishop of Text, St. Mark, ziil.3¢: “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” One of the most striking things about e ministry of the Master was the gentleness and consideration he showed in dealing with those who came to Him with their questionings and doubts, He never repelied men or women. There Was & winsomeness about His method that made those who came to Him with their fears and embarrassments feel altogether at ease. In the present in- stance it was a scribe, a man doubtless of much who had ventured to come to Him with evident sincerity, seeking to know what the new Teacher regarded aséthe fundamental and in- dispensable things in the law. Speak- ©of that the scribe would readily understand, Jesus rehearsed for him the two great laws of His people, namely, the worship of and obedience to the one true God, and second, man’s obligation to his fellow men. With alacrity the scribe acknowledged the Wise judgment of the Master. Jesus, observing that he answered discreetly, sald, “Thou art not far from the king- dom of God.” The questioner was on the gher D s R g e presence of ‘world's sublimest Teacher, but there is no evi- tremely likely it will be urged to do so. Finish the Groundwork First. Secretary Wilbur has disposed of the proposal to establish a “radio univer- sity” with a $10,000,000 endowment, by dubbing it premature and suggesting that no undertaking of such magnitude be attempted without preliminary study of the possibilities. At his suggestion the advisory committee on education by radio has appointed another subcom- for the structure are being drawn and probably within a year work will be started on the construction. Thus at last the Government is soon to have a storage place for its papers, its records of the past, the incunabula, as it were, of national organization. There are many tons of these docu- ments, letters, printed matter, books. Doubtless some of this material could safely be destroyed, and perhaps when the time comes to transfer it from its present hazardous places of storage to new housing there will be a careful sorting that will lessen the bulk of the permanent collection. ‘The material that was damaged at the Capitol Friday night may rot have any value whatever. It is doubtless an old accumulation of printed matter. Such documents, for which there will probably mever be a call, should be volume are recorded the expressions of a few of the many leaders of our Na- tion who have voiced their conception of the importance of Washington Ca- thedral to the destiny of America. The six most recent Presidents, together with a representative selection of other leaders whose vision of national trends is broad and clear, herein set forth their viewpoint as to the importance of the cathedral in the cause of the spirit- ual life of our country. It is impossible here adequately to Tecord these expressions. Yet upon their perusal this almost identic thought is seen to pervade each: Washington, as the Capital of this great Nation, must be made to express the ideals of our country. It is‘fitting that here should rise & city of great beauty, dominated by many monumental buildings which assert the power and dignity of the state. It is equally fitting, and even more essential, that above these illus- trations of the temporal power of America should rise a vast cathedral as & monument to the spiritual in- tegrity and historic faith of the Nation. ‘This is the consensus of the leaders of American thought and life. It should and will be the opinion of every thoughtful citizen as he contemplates foundations upon which the power country stands. —_—————— obviously the duty of Washing- C., to become a model city. It is D. observed at close range by many thousands of visitors each week who come, not to enjoy extraordinary gaye- ties, but to study the traditions of pa- t 50 closely woven into its his- tory. A Memorial to Witches. A proposal has been filed in the Massachusetts House of Representatives to erect a memorial on Gallows Hill, in Balem, to the witches who were hanged there, “in recognition of their sublime #piritual victory.” ‘The phrase in this eonnection has some meaning. However involuntary may have been the contribution of these “queer” unfortunates, the executions were the central factors in an intel- lectual and spiritual victory which New England would be justified in symbol- izing by a permanent memorial. If we can disengage ourselves from present habits of thought and take on those of three centuries ago, the Salem witcheraft persecutions appear in a somewhat different light. Then belief in th: malignant powers of certain individ- uals was “common sense.” It was an inbuilt part of the intellectual struc- ture of the normal, conservative, sub- stantial citizen. It was “logical.” Puri- tan fanaticism against a background of dark, mysterious forests, in whose gloomy hollows lurked dreaded, half- human creatures worshiping strange gods, incorporated in the culture pat- tern which the colonist had brought with him from the English villages, hardly could have led to any other be- lef. The people of Massachusetts did not fall into a sudderf frenzy of blood lust. ‘They simply proceeded according to the ®vidence, taking appropriate measures for their own self-preservation. When their conduct is compared with that of their contemporaries in nearly every Eu- ropean country and when it is consid- ered that their environment gave them @ far sounder logical basis for their be- lefs, it becomes evident that they acted moderately, reluctantly and mercifully maccording to their best lights. ‘The belief, as has been pointed out, is #uch as would normally result from the environmental stimuli flowing in the contemporary patterns. But Massachu- Betts provided what England, France and Germany could not provide at the time »—the intellectual force to destroy these ought patterns, an intelligence great enough to overcome logical deduction. ‘Folks were led to see the absurdity of | tommon sense. cast away when the time comes for the shifting of the really important collection to another storage place. ‘That place, however, will not be m the archives building, according to present plans, but in the House Office Building, soon to be expanded. ‘The White House files are of excep- tional importance. Probably most of the record material of the executive offices finds permanent storage in the State Department files. But that de- partment is now so housed as to have the poorest of accommodations for doc- umentary caretaking. Whether the executive offices remain where they are or are housed in a new State De. partment building or are given & new separate housing of their own—which they should have—provision should be made for the secure preservation of the files that are now exposed to the danger of complete destruction. ‘The Government of the United States has been remarkably fortunate in that it has lost little of its historic docu- mentary material. But that good for- tune cannot be expected to continue indefinitely. The new bullding pro- gram, including provision for a hall of records, assures early relief from the anxiety regarding the public files ‘which has been so keenly felt for many years. % —_———— ‘Weapon carrying is the subject of legal restriction, although gangsters are evidently unaware of the fact. When a gangster finds it expedient to interest himself in law, he does not depend on his own knowledge but employs a lawyer. Money in the Treasury is guarded with the utmost care and with elabo- rate mechanism. The precious records, often threatened by the firebug, should have the benefit of corresponding pre- cautions. Money can be replaced—the records cannot. ——————— A New York grocer drowned himself by holding his head in the bathtub. He was no efficiency expert. There are many methods of self-destruction that are much easier. ——— e One objection to “industrial alcohol” is its misdirected industry. Regardless of all restraints, it insists on working overtime. Is the Purchaser Guilty? ‘The Government is to reopen a case involving the guilt of the purchaser of liquor shipped to him at his own re- quest, it is now reported. The case is that of Alfred E. Norris of New York. The Supreme Court is to be asked to review the decision of the Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed the convic- tion of Norris on a charge of conspiracy to iransport liquor. While the Norris case, as it was brought by the Govern- ment, invglved only the question of con- spiracy to transport liquor, it hits close to the guilt of a purchaser of liquor, & question which has been forced into the limelight by the introduction of & bill by Senator Sheppard of Texas making purchasers of liquor guilty under the p: o~ hibition laws along with the bootleggers. Further, the opinion has been expressed by a judge in Kentucky that the pur- chaser of liquor is guilty under existing law, and the judge has directed a grand Jury 50 to hold. Section six of title two. of the Vol- stead act says that no one shall manu- facture, sell, transport or purchase liquor without a permit. It is that sec- tion of the law which is relied upon par- ticularly to reach the purchaser of ille- gal liquor. Senator Sheppard is con- vinced, as are other members of Con- gress supporting the dry cause, that this section of the law is sufficient to enable the Government to prosecute purchasers as well as bootleggers of liquor. The Texas Senator, however, has introduced his bill specifically declaring the pur- chaser guilty so that there may be no chance of a dispute as to the intention And when this happened the witch- craft persecutions stopped'\ suddenly. gx: with this, superstition{ in New land sank to a very low ellp. Until of Congress. mittee, which it is expected will recom- mend the establishment, within the Bureau of Education, of a division of research and information by radio. This new division would be aided in its study by an advisory committee including rep- resentatives of educational institutions, broadcasting organizations and the gen- eral public, ‘The aims and hopes of the proposed “radio university” have not been made clear, and as the plan will not mate- rialize in the immediate future, nothing is to be gained now by analyzing them. Secretary Wilbur's characterization of the scheme as prema is true in more than one sense, It is premature to talk of spending $10,000,000 on & doubtfully practical system of dissemi- nating university education, until we have spent the last cent that can be spent on making our present public school system avallable to every boy and girl in the country. It will be time enough to collect a huge endowment for the propagation of knowledge through the air after we have perfected the ways and means for propagating knowledge through the little red school house. The percentage of illiteracy among children in the cities and in rural com- munities 1s far too high and the per- centage of school attendance is far too low. Lowering the one and raising the other provides an objective that is worth striving for, and until we are nearer that goal than now, it will be difficult to create any great amount of enthusiasm for a plan that embraces & brand-new educational problem of which nothing is known. ————— ‘The brave men who fight the menace of actual flames encounter dangers. The dangers are not quite so great as those confronting the Coast Guard, called upon to fight firewater. — e A remedy for unemployment will yet be found to make service so attractive that the man who is content to idle while others work will no longer com- plicate the economies of the situation. —_— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Imagining Things. ‘The fancy that cheers, You may find growing sad And awakening fears ‘That the luck will be bad. The sunshine will quit ‘With the smile that it brings When in shadows you sit, Just imagining things. The day will be dark And the news will be grim. You have aimed at a mark ‘That grows distant and dim. ‘The bell that should chime, With deep sorrowing sings, ‘When you put in your time Just imagining things. Our joys are all true And their influence lives. ‘The griefs are but few And a solace it gives To know that each ghost ‘Which forebodingly clings Is made up for the most ©Of imagining things. True to Old Standards. “Are you envious of wealth?” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I still find it more satisfactory to be a servant of the people than it would be t6 quit and go into the lobbying game with an unlimited drawing account.” Jud Tunkins says a man who spe- cializes in making trouble is going to find he has loaded up with heavy over- head cost for a no account factory. Same Old Habits. New Year brought us hope profound, As for new leaves we'd call. The man who sends the bills around Has not reformed at all, The Dangerous Allurement. “Do you enjoy your rad’v?" “Too much,” answered Miss Cayenne. “I am not supposed to take on weight and the delightful advertisements of food keep me hungry all the time!” “Often,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “men who could not govern dence that he benefited by his in- quiry. He failed of attainment. The incident is highly illustrative of a com- mon experience that comes to many of us. We reach a certain stage in life where we seem to be about to enter some new land of promise. We give evidence of long preparation and fit- ness, but just at the point where we are to accomplish the end we have in view something happens, we fail of attainment. How many scientific men have through long hours worked in their laboratory, hoping day by day to attain the end of their search only to find that when it seemed in sight, they were incapable of securing it. ‘There are others who through long study approach a place of excelling Power and usefulness, and when they seem to have all the essential gifts and Washington upon them, and in the crisis they fail. Many adventurers there have been who ld‘lllve set bravely forth '.fg make & new scovery—a discovery that must prove beneficial to the race—but long waiting and exhaustive search wore out their patience, and when the object of their search seemed just over the horizon, they turned their vessels about—they failed to attain. How frequently it hap- pens that the promising valedictorian of a class, when the world's severe tests are applied, shows incapacity to meet them and suffers disappointment. We are standing again on the thresh- old of another new year. The days that lie ahead will unfold to our vision new experiences and new happenings. In self-confidence we feel assured that we can “make the grade”; that we can meet every test and survive every trial. We stand in profound admiration of the great Master of Life. We ap- prove the many Christian institutions that are attempting to set forth His life principles; we gladly commend them to the members of our household; yes, we reverently study the Master of Men who “spake as never man spake." Beyond this attitude of deep admira- tion and reverence, like the scribe of old, we fall to go. We almost enter into fellowship with Him and acknowl- edge Him as Lord and Master. We are not far from the kingdom of God, only far enough to be outside the magic circle of His mighty influence. We are “almost persuaded,” but not quite. One of the tragedies of life is near- attainment. To come within seeming reach of the object of our search and then to fall reminds us of the old verse: ’ “Of all sad words, Of tongue or pen, % The saddest l?-‘ these, It might have been.” It our quest is greater satisf: A the attainment of a peace ol“g&nd that is sustaining and refreshing, we must come to some definite decision With reference to Him who stands be- fore the world as its divinest Teacher, attributes a sudden test is imposed its supreme Master L and its uplifted Changes Occurring in Line-Up of Both Friends and Opponents of Prohibition | BY WILLIAM HARD. The cruclal outcome of the recent Senatorial criticisms of Federal prohi- bition enforcement seems to have es- caped the notice of a large t ot the ufoulntry. but, "lt is becom! in- creasingly apparent every day here in Washington. ik A sort of wedge has been driven into the prohibition movement. There has thus emerged from it a sort of “left wing.” This “left wing” is com- posed of prohibltionists for whom the regular prohibition leaders are too tame and tepld. The leaders preferred by this “left wing” of peculiarly ardent prohibitionists are such men as Sen- ator Borah, Senator Brookhart, Sena- tor Norris and Senator Harris. These Senators have started off on & campaign which is wholly obnoxious to almost all prohibition leaders of the regular stripe. The latter, pre- siding over our established prohibition organizations, have the policy of being as sympathetic as possible toward any earnest efforts that may be put forwara by the Federal Government to enforce the eighteenth amendment and the Volstead and Jones laws. They have always feared that drastic and de- | structive attacks upon the Federal | agencies would encourage the “wets” | in their principal argument, ‘which 1 that the prohibition amendment and statutes are “unenforceable.” * K ok ok Now various Senators come forward say, more or less, and in general vague terms, exactly in the manner ot the “wets,” that after 10 years of ef- fort the prohibition enforcement activ- ities of the Federal Government are in effect just no good at all from top to bottom. They thus have earned the applause of a large number of home- keeping “drys,” who have taken no part in the public toils and tribulations of trying to organize the Bureau of Prohibition and the Department of Jus- tice for enforcement purposes and whe know simply but surely that they stil see a lot of their neighbors and that in their opinion the Federal Government ought long ago to have stopped them from doln'_(mn. While in this way crusading Senators have captured a considerabie followis for themselves, they have been quite unable to carry along witn them the prohibition leaders who have suffered inful and grievous experi- ences in trying to make Federal prohi- bition enforcement into being at leasc as good as it 8 nOW. These gentlemen, having long cealt with the Prohibition Bureau and the Department of Jus- tice, are impressed with the difficulties that have had to be overcome ana they regard themselves, through their participation in the solution of these difficulties, as having become virtualiy an integral part on their own account of the enforcement that exists. ‘They, accordingly, have, almost to & man, rallied to the administration d to President Hoover in support inst the recent senat attacks. ‘There are three prohibition organiza- tions of insistent political interest to ‘Washington. One is the Anti-Saloon League, one is the Methodist Boara of Temperance, Prohibition and Publie Morals and one is the “Citizens’ Com- mittee of One Thousand for Law En- forcement.” * ok ok ok Fred B. Smith, the actual as well as the nominal chairman and manager of the “Citizens’ Committee of One Thousand,” has in the present emerg- ency said: “Any lweefilnz criticism of a depart- ment of public service is always wrong. There are men in the Prohibition Bu- reau of the utmost integrity and ability. There are some who ought to be weeded out, and the department is in the proc- ess of doing so. It seems to us that the important thing now for all friends of law enforcement is to back the ad- ministration to the limit.” Bishop Willlam F. McDowell, presi- dent of the Methodist Board of Tem- perance, Prohibition and Public Morals, met the senatorial criticlsms by remark- ing: “It is imperative that friends of the cause should not cripple our long pro- hibition campal by criticisms of petty features of enforcement. Prohibition has made more advancement within the last eight months than during the whole preceding time since the enact- ment of the Volstead law. We should all work together constructively and positively for the success of prohibi- tion.” As for the Rev. F. Scott MacBride, general superintendent of the Anti-Sa- loon League, his policy has not varied by a quiver from the one set forth in a recent resoluti which he helped to draft for the of organizations supporting the eight- eenth amendment,” comprising some 31 such organizations, and which was duly ndugml, as follows: “The President has presented certain legislative progoe s for the reorganiza- jtion of prohibition enforcement. We favor the enactment of all legislation necessary to make his program effective. their own households have deemed themselves qualified to govern nations.” Overproduction of Firearms. ‘We're missing lots of simple fun Because of a condition Where everybody has a gun And shoots upon suspicion! “De trouble ’'hout a loafer,” sald Uncle Eben, “is dat he ain’' satisfied For a d prohibition law violations e the effort to enforce h prosecutions for been directed to to loaf by hiseelf, He always wants a lot o' folks to quit work *’ keep him company.” We hereby declare our confidence in the President and pledge to him our un- wavering support.” * ok ko The situation then becomes this: At one end of the prohibition lgee- full trum, which might be called the deep and dark infra-red end, are the vocifer- ous “wets,” like the spokesmen of the Association inst the Prohibition Amendment, who continuously send to all the newspaper bureaus in Washing- ‘who are going along with what is large- ly their own handiwork in the Pr;}ll- bitlon Bureau and the Department of Justice and who are betting their pro- hibitory money on_ President Hoover. At the far top end of the spectrum, which might be called the ultra-violet end, are the “new prohibitionists,” the “all or nothing drys,” who maintain that after nugpmd efforts by President Wilson and by President Harding and by President Coolidge and by President Hoover and after the expenditure of vast sums of enforcement money by these four successive Presidents, we are still, so to speak, governmentally, in this matter, “all wet.” * K K ok The manifest undercurrent of poten- tial agreement between the “wets” and the “new prohibitionists” is what par- ticularly engages the attention and the curiosity of Washington. The Bureau of Prohibition is now being reorganized into conformity with the civil service laws and will presently for the first time have a totally tested civil service per- sonnel. The Department of Justice is now being reorganized toward prohi- bitory efficlency by Attorney General Mitchell with a zeal which, according to the best prohibitory observers, has never before been equaled by any Attor- ney General. When these changes have been accomplished there will then never- theless—in the opinion of those same anti-wet observers—be a lot of drinking, and a very large lot of it, in wet States and even in wet communities in dry States. There is not a really experienced dry leader in Washington who thinks that the Federal Government can ever by itself make this country totally dry in the absence of strong local prohibi- tory effort. When it thus irrefutably appears that the Federal Government is not the complete, or even the main, answer to the problem, it is calculated here that advocates of a modification of Federal prohibition enforcement the- ory will appear not only among the “wets,” but also among the “new pro- hibitionists,” who cannot endure a state of things less than approximately per- i (Copyright, 1930.) Senate Soon to Hold Philippine Hearings BY HARDEN COLFAX. Descendants of the followers of Agul- naldo are marching forward in the cause of independence of the Philippines, urged on by the same spirit as their forefathers, but now armed with silvery oratory instead of rifie and bolo. As the result of demands by repre- sentatives of Amd agricultural or- ganizations for tarift protection against the products of the archipelago, the issue of independence of the islands has come to the front sharply in recent months. Hearings on the subject will start before the Senate committee on ter- ritories and insular possessions before January ends, probably within two weeks, and promises to be the most com- prehensive of any held since those in 1916, which led to the passage of the Jones act, with its preamble declaring that “It has always been the purpose of the people of the United States to with- draw their sovereignty over the Philip: pid® Islands and to recognize their in- dependence as soon as a stable govern- nent can be established therein.” The King resolution to recognize this inde- pendence now will be the basis of the hearings and the Pilipinos have a special commission en route to represent them. * Kk x Involved in the issue are not only grave questions of national policy from the standpoints of domestic policies and international relations, but others which importantly affect economics, that material welfare of the people of the Philippines and of many in the United States s more closely interwoven than is recognized generally. Trade between the dependency and this country has been increasing rapidly, and much American capital is invested in the islands. The United States now takes about three-fourths of the exports of the Philippines, whereas less than twenty years ago it was taking approxi- mately ‘a third. In the exchange of trade the islands have profited more than this country, for they bought in 1928, and again in 1929, less than 65 per cent of their total tmports from the United States and as far back as twenty years ago they were buying 51 per cent of their goods here. PR ‘The advance in commercial relations has been steady. S8hipments to the Phil- ippines have increased 255 per cent in values, contrasted with the average of 1910-14, while imports from the islands have increased 500 per cent. In the first 10 months of 1929, total imports from the islands were valued at $112,241,000 in contrast to $09,142,000 in the corre- sponding period of 1928 and with $115,- 000,000 in the entire twelve months of that year, while tal exports to the Philippines in the first ten months of last year were valued at $72,847,000, compared with $64,803,000 in the same months of 1928 and $79,800,000 in the year. For the first time commerce between the $200,000,000 generously in 1929. It is this very increase in trade with the islands, however, important as it is to exporting manufacturers and to ton their tireless alleged proofs of their E;:pnlmon that prohibition has not n, 18 not now, and never can be, en- forced. In the middle of the spectrum are the mass of prohibitory “regulars” importers, that has aroused the farm Lis tions of this country to urgent demands_for protection against 4 ucts of Philippine soll. Attention was called by t.hh-mgmmuyuumu\e impen situatiof brought about by Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. The fire in the Capitol, attracting Nation-wide interest, has focused at- tention on this building, which is the very heart of the governmental body. The southeast corner stone of the original building was laid on Septem- ber 18, 1793, by George Washington. The building is of sandstone from the quarries of Aquia Oreek, Va., although the best products of most of the States of the Union have been used in vari- ous parts or in ornamental work. The north, or Senate, wing was finished in 1800 and the south, or House, wing in 1811. A wooden passageway connect- ed them and this was used for storage of the first modest library of Congress. On August 24, 1814, when the interior of both wings was destroyed by fire set by the invading British under Admiral Cockburn, the Library of Congress vol- umes were used to kindle the flames. In 1818 the central portion of the Capitol Bullding was commenced under the architectural superintendence of the noted Charles Bulfinch. The original building was mud in 1827 and cost, lncludl:)lgo g and repairs, less than $3,000,000. The corner stone of the extensions was laid on July 4, 1851, by President Filmore with Daniel Webster as orator of the occasion, at which time he pre- dicted the great monumental memorial bridge across the Potomac River be- tween the Lincoln Memroial and Arling- ton National Cemetery. Hi id: “Before us is the broad beauti- ful river, separating two of the thirteen original States, which a late Presi- dent (Andrew Jackson), a man of de- termined purpose and inflexible will, but patriotic heart, desired to span with arches of ever-enduring granite, sym- bolical of the firmly established Union of the North and the South.” ‘The material used in the walls of the Capitol extension is white marble from the quarries at Lee, Mass, and that in the columns from the quarries at Cockeysville, Md. The House exten- sion was first occupied for legislative purposes December 16, 1857, and the Senate January 4, 1859, The hall of the House of Representatives is 139 feet in length, 93 feet in width and 36 feet in height. When completed it was considered the most sumptuous legisla- tive chamber in the world, The Sen- ate chamber is 113 feet 3 inches in length, 80 feet 3 inches in width and 36_feet in height. David Lynn, architect of the Capitol, has just brought back to the Capitol for the comfort of many thousands of tourists some of the original iron curved benches which were first used in the new House chamber. They were then gorgeously upholstered in red plush. Many years ago they were re- moved to make way for individual chairs for the members, and have since been used in the Court of Claims, which occuples the original Corcoran Art Gallery Building, at Seventeenth street and Pennsylvania avenue. ‘The architect of the Capitol had charge of the recent refurbishing and refurnighing of the court, doing a beau- tiful job in walnut. At that time he reclaimed these original House benches and had them reupholstered in Spanish leather. They now fit into eight panels in the rotunda of the Capitol, where hey are proving a welcome resting place for foot-weary sightseers. ‘While the pitol fire occurred in the “old Library space” in the Capitol, which had previously been the scene of at least two disastrous fires. it was in rooms that did not exist in the days when the Library of Congress was quartered there. These attic chambers used as a storage place for old docu- ments, as a “model room” and artist’ studio, were made when the “old Li- brary space” was reconstructed in 1902 into the present offices, one of which is occupled by Minority Leader John Garner, and & number of committee rooms. After the original Library of Con- gress was despoiled by the vandal Briti- ish invaders, Thomas Jefferson, who was then in retirement at Mount Ver- non, offered his own personal library, consisting of 6,700 carefully selected volumes, to the Government. ‘Two bad fires swept the library on December 22, 1925, and on Christmas | eve, 1851, when most of the Jefferson library and more than half of the en- tire Library of Congress was consumed by the flames. This fire was discovered by the great statesman Edward Ever- ett, who had served the Nation with distinction as_a Representative and Senator from Massachusetts, as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipo- tentiary to Great Britain, who declined a diplomatic commission to China, who succeeded Daniel Webster as Secretary of State in the cabinet of President Filmore and who was a presidential elector on the ticket of Lincoln and Johnson in 1864, » R Uncle Sam has departed from his| usual custom in printing scientific and statistical booklets that are pretty dry reading for the ordinary citizens, and in an elaborate report on “The Mohave Desert—A Region of Contrasts,” by David G. Thompson, Yreunu a volume of 750 pages that holds many a thrill for the youth of the land. One of the “dry” lakes, Lake Searles, he says, not many years ago in mfieohllcu history covered 285 square miles and was 600 feet or more deep, while Lake Mohave covered some 100 square miles and was 40_feet or more deep. It narrates that the first white man to enter this region, comprising some 25,000 square miles of desert, was a Spanish priest named Garces in the eventful year of 1776. In 1920 the pop- ulation of the region was only about 15,000. Although so sparsely populated, the region has produced abundantly of its natural resources and there is an alluring fleld, for future development. ‘The products of the greatest value come from mineral deposits which since 1880 have yielded more than $100,000,000, chiefly in gold, silver, tungsten, borax, potash and cement. the beginning of tariff hearings before the House ways and means committee when the agricultural spokesmen gath- ered to launch their clatms for imposi- tion of full tariff duties on imports from the islands, or a Jimitation on duty- free receipts. The forecast that such demands would create r-newed pressure for independence of the islands has been vindicated. The issue ran through 1929 with varying force. The Senate only a few weeks ago rejected a pro- posed rider to the tariff bill, which was designed as a stepping stone to inde- lence of the Philippines by a vote of 3 to 44, but with several of those vot- ing in opposition explaining they did so merely because they considered the tariff bill & poor place for such an important subject. * K ok K ‘Two products of the Philippines dis- turb spokesmen for American farmers in particular—cocoanut oil and sugar. The first competes with various veget ble ofls of the United States, as sul stitution plays a major role in many in- dustrial uses of such oils, and sugar always is fruitful of vigorous discussion. Im) of cocoanut oil from the is- lands havé increased from an average annual value of $372,000 in the period 1910-14 to more than $23,000,000 & year: in fact, in the first ten months of 1929 alone these imports gated $25,325,~ 000 in value, besides $10,964,000 worth of c(t:&n "u:ll mwhl!'ch the oll was e);lncted after rec ere. Receipts of sugar from the Philippines hlge increased ‘fibfl\m an average of 116,000 ‘thh:;t::fi" in the pre-war years to more h= 000 tons in 1939, True, Congress has set its face against 8 tariff on products of the Philippines, although & modified tariff duty was the original policy after the United States assumed control of the islands and later a limitation of free imports was tried, but the demand for such action, despite the refusal, has brought forward the in- dependence issue again, with its h important puulhl.l‘!&. i (Coprright, 1030 Rumors that Great Britain would dismantle her naval bases at Bermuda and Jamalca are reported to have a 8ood deal more back of them than the existing trend of talk about naval dis- armament. Indirect advices from Eng- land are to the effect that there is much sentiment there in favor of sell- ing these West Indian islands to the United States. The {friendliness which the British people have for the United States would dictate such a course in spite of the sentiment which makes these British possessions dear to Englishmen. Shake- speare referred to “the far Bermoothes" and Sir Francis Dra%e cruised in West Indian waters. And there are many other reasons why the British cherish these picturesque islands. As locations for naval bases they are regarded by experts as unimportant, unless Great Britain contemplates war upon the United States, which there is no reason to suppose she does. However, they would be valuable naval | bases for the United States in view of the Monroe Doctrine. The United States now is engaged upon a survey of the Nicaraguan Canal route. It already owns the Panama Canal and, in the event the Nicaraguan Canal is bulit, will have additional responsibilities in the Caribbean. Under the Monroe Doctrine, the United States has the responsibility of policing the Western Hemisphere and to this end must keep the canals and the approaches to them open. Already the Danish West Indies have been purchased for $25,000,000, and they do not complete West Indian ct any means. Great Britain owns Ber- muda, the Bahamas and Jamaica and Prance the French West Indles. Attitude of Islanders. ‘What now is of special interest is that the discussion in connection with the naval bases has provoked comment from the people of the islands, espe- cially Jamaica. This is generally_re- garded as the gem of the group. It is phenomenally rich in agricultural re- Sources and is growing in imnortance as a Winter resort. Kingston :nd Spanish ‘Town are cities of great antiquity and charm and the interior presents as Jux- uriant flora as there is to be found in the world. Periodically some member of the British Parliament proposes sale of one or more of the British West Indies to the United States, and this is sure to provoke quite a storm. To be sure, if England sold any of her islands in these waters she would be likely to sell all, as | di it would mark the giving up of a West Indian policy. One of the strongest arguments which the military and naval as well as other British officials advance is that this would almost cer- tainly have to be followed by a re- linquishment of the whole Caribbean policy of Great Britain. Not far dis- tant is British Honduras with Trinidad and British Guiana to the southeast- ward. But, in addition to these out- right possessions, Englishmen have large financial investments in Central and South American republics. There- fore England has what nations re- gard as a logical justification for naval bases and coaling stations on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Her policy has been uniformly pacific due in part, no doubt, to the fact that the American Monroe Doctrine has frowned on any European colonization or intervention in the Western Hemisphere. Neverthe- less, there is strong support for the con- tinued maintenance of these outposts in the Western World. Another side to the question relates to the attitude of the people of Jamaica themselves. The matter of cession of | the islands to the United States is one which has long been a topic of debate among the islanders. While it has been rol by | raised with reference to the Bahamas and Bermuda, the people never seem to have taken the prospect with rauch se- riousness. Reports from Jamaica are to the ef- fect that the ple are divided into three camps. ere is an upper class (:tmli.l'.ll’:fll of a sort of colonial aristoc- racy dating from the early days of oc- cupation intermixed with the officials Tepresenti Great Britain and their | famflles. ‘There been considerable intermarriage among these and, lving |in a rather old-fashioned island do- main, they have constituted a definitely | demarked” upper class. Oddly enough, | 1t is this class which is indifferent on | the subject of cession for the most part. |.Some officials who would likely lose their jobs in such an event are naturally | opposed and some. members of old families who feel they might lose some | measure of their island prestige do not | approve, but as a general class they are | reported indifferent. Would Raise Standard of Living. | The middie class, made.up in large | part of storekeepers, professional men {in a small way, and small planters, is very definitely and outspokenly opposed to cession to the United States. This | is believed due to the fact they | have built up small businesses, acquired professional clienteles or have bought property. They feel a special loyalty to | the government which has contributed to_their well-being. ‘With equal positiveness the lower, | working class is strongly in favor of changing to American _sovereignty. These include large numbers of the class of light-skinned Negroes who have. in the last few years, gone to New York in large numbers. They have much to gain economically It is quite a step uj ward for a Jamalean worker who h: been living in a slum section and earn. ing 75 cents a day to the delights of Harlem and a wage of $20 a week or more as an elevator operator, doorman. or possibly a chauffeur or valet. ‘There are, of course, members of each of these three classes from the so- cial and economic point of view who Join with the cession movement. It is recognized that Jamalica is very greatly undercapitalized. A large proportion of the land is uncultivated and it is be- lieved that were a change of ownership effected. it would mean a substantial pouring_of American money into the | island. Development would increase the value of the plantations and would pro- | vide more work at higher wages. Ameri~ clnu:lvlnl standards would be intro- luced. On another hand, some Negro ieaders object that persons from the Southern | States would be most likely to come to | Jamaica and this would mean imposi- tion of race hatred and the institution of lynching and. in general, loss of the privileges which Jamaica Negroes have peculiarly enjoyed. There are many now holding jobs as civil servants and they fear loss of these. The other islands of Bermuds and Bahama seem not to be so exercised over a change in sovereignty. A reason may be found in the fact that they have en- joyed a great American tourist trade from the United States and, the Ba- g-mlst e:pecl-lll‘z have reaped a_rich arvest from liquor smuggling. It is doubtful whether any investment of American capital which might follow acquisition would exceed the sums an- nually spent there by American tourists, I:fn 57;:?’?1 db-'y’:_l Beflmudl was 8 part of nia. g disposed of the Virginia Company. o Should the West Indian naval bases be dismantled. the local attitude might be stronger in favor of joining the United States. At any rate. the tople is of that recurrent type which can be g:tr:in“d upon periodically to be agi- Microphones Making . Robots of Movie Stars BY JESSIE HENDERSON. HOLLYWOOD, Calif., January 4.— Bouncing steps and stiff necks fill Hollywood. You see them on the boule- vards, round about the movie lots, and whenever you see them you know you are looking at movie actors. It's the microphone walk, and it is also the microphone neck. Robot actors are the goal toward which the speakies unwittingly—some, unsympathetic, say half - wittedly— move. A robot is a mechanical con- trivance which, when set in motion, imitates the actions of a human being, but deceives nobody. When the movies were seen but not heard, an actor acted. Now he regulates his emotions so that the “mike” will ‘get him, for if the “mike” doesn’t get him the director will. Suffering from mechanical overeffi- clency, the movies at this juncture are cast as the parents of a ohild phe- nom, named Mike. They know that Mike's aunties are lucrative; they feel that he will be a great comfort to his folks in their old age, but they perceive with trepidation that Mike is nastily self-assertive and hard to control. There are even times when they ‘can't tell whether Mike is genius or cuckoo. Art “for the love mike” is the rule, and the condition is serious, because if it isn't remedied it will react upon—art. Yes, and the box office. * ok ok ok It is perfectly true, of course, that the speakies have knocked the theaters of New York, and everywhere else, for a row of ash cans, as the peasantry puts it. Every one in Hollywood, in the movies or out, tells you that. But not every one in Hollywood is astute or can- did ‘enough to express the bellef that the eclipse of the legitimate theater is only temporary, as Jeannette -MacDon- ald, star of musical comedy and of musical speakies, expressed it today. And few, indeed, there are who admit, as Richard Arlen admitted only to- day, that in some ways the talkies de- feat their own purpose, which is, sup- posedly, to give dramatic productions upon the screen. In the opinion of these two, who know the situation thoroughly from all angles, there will always be movies: but, contrary to what some experts bave been telling us lately, there will also always be the legitimate theater. And unless something or other can be done about Mike, the legitimate the- ater will come back with a wallop that would surprise you. Neither of these stars was in a mood of disgruntlement, either, in stating these views. * K % % “A microphone has to be extremely sensitive,” sald Richard Arlen, who is bt:fih movie star and a college gradu- ate. can be done about that point. In fact, I think that the difficulties will get worse as the mike gets better. Th more sensitive the mike becomes the more careful the actor will have to be to curb his dramatic action, so that it won't wreck the mike or take place out- side the mike’s range. “For example, lay the picture ac- tor is obliged to think of so many things besides his acting that some- times when it comes to an emotional scene he's forgotten everything but the fact that if he walks on his heels it will sound like the German army coming down the street. Such a recollection doesn’t make for emotional acting. As a matter of fact, it may make for a walk so cautious that it's funny.” Mr. Arlen illustrated by teetering across the floor of his dressing room bungalow. “Well, so then the scene has to be shot all over again,” he continued, “and by the time it has been shot on 10 oc- casions, because somebody has walked hard or funny, the dramatic pep on the part of the cast is likely to be all shot, too. I've seen pictures which ought to have been full of sparkle, but weren't, and I've heard the audience say that so-and-so was slipping. But I know gnt m-w WAS merely él,r‘ed out om g e through same scene a Mfil Art ought to be ‘And, personally, I don't see what Wa: e | Fifty Years Ago . In The Star Ex-President. U. 8. Grant., who had returned in September to the United | @ ) States. from. his trip rant's around the world, arrived Visit. in Washington for _the S first time after G‘flflf the White House, December 29, 1879, and remained for a couple of d: as the guest of Gen. Beale at 26 Lafayette tquare, corner of Jackson place and H uth, wi s rom,-Was 3 had a political significance with refer- ence to the presidential nomination in 1880, was generally accepted, The Star f December 30, 1879, says: _“Just now, in.what may be ulhl? the dull season, so to speak, in a itical sense, it is of interest to catch the drift of sentiment which gravitates toward the all-absorbing and inters g presi- dential question. Men of one decided sentiment today change on the suc- ceeding day and the merest circumstance seems to control the tide. The Grant men, those who will listen to no other candidate, talk with a refr con- fidence of his nomination. The plan is, they say, that before the mls of March his nomination will be assured. They say that in New York, Pennsyl- vania, Illinois and Indlana the conven- tions will b~ "1 in February and the delega .ed instructed to vote for Grant, and that he will thus ttfli.ln February have pledged to him over half enough votes to give him the nomina- lfilmon l‘t’ iélllemdht‘hlt Senators Conk- g and Cameron have - ed'tor comventiona i New Vork ad Pennsylvania, respectively, in Pebru- ary, that Indiana is already being ma- nipulattd to hold its convention the month and that Senator Logan rromised to see to it that Illinols fol- lows l:ult‘ “Then, again, say Grant's friends, if the plan succelgd., L{:e States which hold their conventions subsequent to Feb- ruary will naturally want to go with the popular tide and hence the influence of four great States declaring for Grant in February will be felt upon all the ° others. ‘Why,' sald an enthusiastic Grant man today, ‘I believe that by the middle of March it will be shown so | definitely that Grant is to be the nom- inee that Sherman will get out of the race, Blaine will be reconclled to take the second place on the ticket and when the convention meets in June there will be but one name before the convention and that will be Ulysses 8. Grant.’ ™ But alas for the well laid plans of the Grant men! Thelr favorite had only 304 out of 840 votes on the first ballot at Chicago in June, with Blaine a strong second with 284 and 8| third with 9 James A. Garfield of Ohio was nominated on the thirty-sixth l&lllnte receiving 399 votes to 306 .for rant spontaneous or, at any rate, look that y. “But we are all rowinc used to mike mechanics,” he added hopefully, “and— not because I'm prejudiced—motion pic- tures are better today than they ever were before. They'll get better yet.” * K ko “But they'll never supplant the reg- ular stage,” said Jeannette MacDonald, in the next bungalow “because they are a separate th: as a statue is different from & por- trait. great attribute of the stage is Ang Toom, ) Just “The life; you really see live actors, that this attribute is a powerful draw- ing card is shown by the thousands of movie fans who flock to see a movie actor make a personal appearance. Yet it s far more difficult to act in the talkies than to act on the stage. I find that some of the notes in my voice register better in the mike than oth 1 find that & tone loud enough to hit the last row of the balcony in a theater will gmuully tear the mike asunder, and I find that a tone hardly audible in the fifth theater row is wondertully . T by ), nd that I can't move head and throat around in front of 5'.{ mike as T do on the stage. It bothered z.n‘e‘ rnt‘ first, :lx'\lfl wm'e'tethmu 1 atill feel were singing 2 Stiff neck— it's disconcerting." (Copyright, 1820.)