Evening Star Newspaper, January 20, 1930, Page 8

TASg » NING STAR, WASHINGTON, . MONDAY, THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY. . .January 20, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company RBusiness Office: u ; 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave, New Yotk Office: 110 East i2nd Bt ko Office: Lake Michiann Bufldii uropean Office; 14 Regent 8t.. London. England. The (when . je Sunday Stal C_per copy T ettion made at the enid of tach month, Orders may be sent in by mall or ‘elephone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mall—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Vll(flllfl! - 0. ally 19T 8 §.u iz 1 junday only "’ All Other States Dally and Sunday..1¥ Daily oniy .........1 Sunday only and Canada. T $12.00: Member of the Associated Press. lusively entitled The Associated Preas 1s exclusively entitied Slurring the Washingtonian. In 1878 the Nation adopted a perma- nent commission form of government for the District of Columbia. After three-fourths of a century of neglect of its financial obligations to the Na- tion's City, the Nation assumed one- half the burden of Capital maintenance and development. It assumed at the s=r2» time full, undivided control of the vapital's government. Before the date of commission tempo- rary government the District had not the population or the resources to entitle it to ask for even one Yoting Repre- sentative in the House, but it had full control of its municipal government until the advent of the territorial form of government in the seventies of the last century. All direct participation in its local government was taken from it in the compromise settlement of 1878, with one slight modification, which gave it indirect participation in that govern- ment by making only genuine isolated Washingtonians eligible for appoint- ment to two of the three commission- erships. One of the three Commissioners was to be a military man, an Army Engineer officer, to represent theoreti- cally the Nation. The other two were not to be military men, but “from eivil life” and they were to be distinctively representative Washingtonians identi- fied in interest solely with the Capital community, and to this end there was declared as an essential requirement of eligibility to appointment as Commis- sioner actual residence in the District for three years prior to sppointment, during that period claiming residence nowhere else. Adoption of the pending amendment just proposed in the Senate will eliminate the Washingtonian from any legal claim to even this slight in- direct participation in his municipal government. To vote in & State has constituted heretofore the easily proven disbarring claim of residence elsewhere than the District. Under the proposed amendment one may live where he pleases and vote where he likes, and he 1s still eligible for appointment as Com- missioner if he maintains for three years & place of business in Washing- ton. Ever since 1878 efforts have been made in opposite directions to amend the eligibility provision. One movement strives to concentrate all powers of ap- pointment, as of teachers, librarians, etc., in the hands of the Commission- ers, then to permit the appointment of Commissioners from anywhere in the United States, and finally to degrade the commissionership into a mere bu- feau of some department of the na- tional Government. This is the “na- tionalizing” process as applied to the municipal government. The other movement tends to give the several hundred thousand isolated Washingtonians (those claiming legal fesidence nowhere else), all of the indirect participation in their munici- pal as well as their National Govern- ment that is consistent with exclusive control of District legislation by Con- gress representing the Nation. This is the “Americanizing” process as applied to the people of Washington. Neither effort to change has made headway. The eligibility provision is substantially the same on vital points as in 1878. This provision should not be amended, @nless it is in the direction of increas- ing the indirect participation in its gov- ernment of the isolated Washingto- nians, who have increased wonderfully since 1878 in numbers and resources and who constitute one of the most in- telligent, public-spirited and patriotic of American communities. 1t is inconceivable that in this fine, strong community there could not be found men of integrity and ability to render this public service. Many available Washingtonians can- not afford to surrender a profitable business or profession to be inade- quately compensatsd at the present salary of a Commissioner. Others, how- ever, have always been found able and willing to make a pecuniary sacrifice in order to render a community service with the expectation that their self- sacrificing labors would be appreciated and compensated by the honor which comes to the faithful public servant. It must be recognized as an obstacle to willingness to serve at a pecuniary sacrifice as District Commissioner that for some time the Commissioner's of- Yice, instead of bringing appreciation and honor, has made of its occupant the target for discrediting assault, of a kind against which, unsupported, he is defenseless. The Commissioner has been made in some respects to resem- ble the pasha in Marryat's novel, who is described as an official whose head is raised for p time above those of his fellows for greater convenience of de- capitation. Without disturbing national control of the Federal District the Washing- tonian needs representation in accord- ance with American principles in the national Legislature, which exercises this exclusive control and which may dispose of his property, his liberty, his life. . Pending the grant of this right the ‘Washingtonian should be scrapulously representation and participation in his own government and affairs which he now enjoys by custom or by law. He should endure no slurring discrimina- tion, new or old, which is not clearly shown to be absolutely essential to the national welfare. ————————— Peace in the Balance. In London tomorrow five great maritime nations of the world begin a momentous conference, It is no exaggera- tion to say that what they do may affect vitally the peace of the world for many years to come. Their repre- sentatives have it in their hands to turn the world toward limitation of armaments and toward peace. A failure to reach an agreement would be a dis- aster. It could be followed only by suspicion and hate and fear. The peoples of the world are for peace. The peoples of the five nations represented at London have after cen- turies of civilization building adopted the only instrumentality they possess to deal for them, the instrumentality of government. Unfortunately the political prestige of the men in power sometimes hangs in the balance and un- fortunately men in power sometimes place their own interests ahead of those of their peoples. Nothing has developed at London to indicate that such will be the case in the coming conference. It is a danger, however, that the peoples of these nations must guard against if they can. Full publicity of the course of events and the development of public opinion can assist. ‘The United States, Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan have sent representatives to the London Con- ference, which is to seek an agreement for limitation and reduction of “aux- ilfa y” naval cratt, such as was entered intc with regard to ‘*capital” ships and s wcraft carriers at the Washington Naval Conference eight years agd. The conference will deal with cruisers, sub- marines, destroyers and all other classes of naval auxiliaries. It will deal, in fact, with practically all kinds of naval vessels which played major roles in the World War. It will deal with those classes of vessels to which the naval powers have turned in the race for supremacy since the limitation of the capital ships. There has been & sug- gestion, too, that an effort will be made to bring about a building holiday in capital ships also, lasting until 1936, with the purpose of eventually doing away altogether with these huge ships which cost upward of $40,000,000 to construct and arm and which are re- garded particularly as the offensive arm of the navy. ‘ ‘This generation has not forgotten the thrill which the proposal of the United States for naval limitation sent around the world in 1921 at the opening of the ‘Washington Conference. This country made a magnificent gesture in the in. terest of world peace, voluntarily aban- doning the naval program which in & few years would have presented Amer- ica with the greatest force of fighting craft the world had ever seen. Today the world is walting for Great Britain to make its proposal for naval limita- tion. The conference will be formally opened tomorrow by King George. Through the British prime minister, Ramsay Macdonald, Britain has taken a leading part in . the present demand for further naval limitation. The plan for the London Conference was de- veloped finally by Mr. Macdonald in his conferences with President Hoover here and at the President's Virginia mountain camp last Autumn. The Mediterranean Sea holds its particular problems for three of the nations engaging in the conference, just as the Pacific Ocean held its problems for several of the nations' taking part in the Washington Naval Conference. The problems of the Pacific were worked out satisfactorily. A four-power Pacific treaty was negotiated and later rati. fled, involving the United States, Gre: Britain, France and Japan. A four- power pact related particularly to the Meciterranean, adhered to by the Brit- ish, French, Italians and the Spanish, might well be a material aid to the solution of the naval auxiliary limita- tion problem. The hopeful sign is the desire for peace expressed by all the nations in- volved. If they make the great effort; if they are willing to lay aside mere matters of pride and get down to the fundamentals, they will succeed. ———— Confident announcement is made that conciliations and agreements will be sought in the London conference. At this early stage of procedure, it is pos- sible to forecast thus far without fear of error. ———————— In asserting her right to a seat in Congress the daughter of Willlam J. Bryan employs no counsel, but, like her distinguished father, disdains depend- ence on borrowed oratory. oo The Time-Limit Clause. Probably never in American history will the perspective of the eighteenth amendment be sufficiently closed to permit the telling of the story of pro- hibition in the full, with all its ramifi- cations and side-lights and digressions. Even now, eleven years after the ratifi- cation of the amendment and ten years after its going into effect, the amend- ment’s validity is being challenged. Indeed, the challenging of the validity of the constitutional provision under which prohibitory laws have been en- acted has been a favorite pastime of many publicists and statesmen, who cannot reconcile themselves to the fact that the fundamental law of the land has been changed to permit such legis- lation. Saturday the debate in the House of Representatives over the provision in the pending appropriation bill for the meeting of the expenses of prohibition enforcement afforded opportunity for the latest contribution to the literature of challenge. The donor of this new chapter, raising a point of order that he acknowledged would not lie, and just doing it for the purpc-e of going through the motions of protest against the validity of the amendment, chal- lenged the validity of the fundamental law of prohibition on the ground that the inclusion in the amendment as submitted to the State legislatures of upon the aspect of the other side of the moon. Congress cannot determine validity. Only the Supreme Court of the United States can answer this ques- tion, and in fact it has already answered it by holding the eighteenth amend- ment to be now a valid, integral part of the Constitution and the laws enact- ed under it to be constitutional. The precise point as to validity turn- ing upon the inclusion of the time-limit clause in the body of the amendment resolution is an interesting but not espe- clally thrilling argument. For the first time the proponents of an amendatory resolution in Congress agreed to the limitation of the period within which ratification by three-fourths of the States was permissible. This was thought by some at the time to be a partial victory for the wets, who be- lieved that ratifying votes could not tures within seven years. As a matter of fact the amendment was ratified within one year. It is rather amazing that time should be spent upon so trifling a point as that the inclusion of the time-limit clause in the body of the amendment nullifies it. The question was raised at the out- set when the fundamental law was put to its first test in the highest court. That court ignored the question, swept it aside with a gesture of impatience, And yet now, after ten years of more or less operative life, the point is raised anew. Somebody ought to propose a time limit upon dead issues. The pro- hibition question is sufficiently difficult and complex now without attempting to add absurdities to the argument, ————s. A Needless Controversy. Desirable as are the new regulations of the Public Utilities Commission to govern the operation of taxicabs in Washington they will lose much of their desirability if they bring the com- mission and the Police and Traffic de- partments into dispute and friction in regard to authority over the handling of street trafic. The National Capital has for many years needed just the kind of rigid supervision over public car- riers that has now been put into effect by the commission. Financial liability for operators of public vehicles, rigid requirements to assure character and competence on the part of drivers and provisions for the safety of passengers by regulating the types of vehicles have long been needed in the District, but it the commission attempts to run counter to the director of traffic in traffic regulations much of the benefit 80 hardly won will be dissipated. It is in the commission’s lowering of the age limit for drivers, and changing the procedure of inspection following an accident that the police and Traf- fic Department feel that they have been ignored. And logically viewed it would appear that they are right in their contention. Fixing of rates and requiring financial liability and com- petence on the part of drivers would naturally be solely within the commis- | slon’s jurisdiction, while regulation of traffic in regard to speed and other rules would seem to be exclusively a matter for the Police and Traffic De- partments, i It is not likely that the controversy will get much beyond its present stage. While members of the commission ap- parently do not feel that they have usurped authority rightly belonging to the Traffic or Police Departments, the actual conflict between the rules laid down by the director of traffic and those proposed by the commission is so slight that adjustment can readily be made. And no time should be lost in making it. Too many cooks have spoiled too many soups to leave the lesson un- learned, and no District officlal desires anything but success with the new regu- lations. This success cannot be gained without harmony. ———— Floods in Missouri and Arkansas have rendered many hundreds homeless in the bitter cold. This kind of news should cause the man who has a frozen radiator or a break in the plumbing to be willing to forget his annoyances and interest himself in the relief of real niisfortune, — ‘There could be no question of a can- didate for District Commissioner being ineligible if he maintains a voting resi- dence. Conditions should permit him to do his voting here in the City of ‘Washington. et e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Caution, In safety now we shall agree To sall upon a pleasant sea. Of all the people set afloat, The worst 1s he who rocks the boat! And, as the conference waves we cross, Of caution there must be no loss, This warning shall make glad the trip: “Oh, do not rock the battleship!” More Study. “You appear to be highly resentful of these ideas that ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ may not be the greatest of all patriotic songs.” “Thoroughly resentful,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I am a slow musi- clan. I don't want to have to learn another tune in order to know when it is time to stand up in patriotic salu- tation.” Jud Tupkins says he used to brag of his good memory. He can't repeat everything he reads, only nowadays it mightn't be polite, Morning Exercise. I take my morning exercise— The task I never shirk— Then find myself, in sad surprise, Too tired to go to work. Dodging an Adverse Market. “You say you had luck in Wall Street?” “Yes" answered Mr. Dustin Stax. “I got into & golf tournament that kept me so busy I didn't have time to get mixed up in any trading.” “A great man,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is very often only an accident of the popular imagination.” Fable With No Morul. the time-limit clause nullified it auto- matically. The chairman of the com- mittee of the whole promptly denied the point of order and the debate proper proceeded without any attempt to re- settle the question of validity. Indeed, discussion of invalidity in Uncle Eben, “if it gits folks, 50 out 0" gong to the State é’:r‘"m"“ a Upon romance I take no chance. “These tales of family quarrels Are fables showing at a glance ‘They haven't any morals. “Quarrelin’ has its good side,” sald rrotected in the meager vetiges of Congress is sbcut as useful as debate breath dey can’t fight.’ S possibly be had from thirty-six legisla- | following: THIS AND THAT Where do the jokes and tricks of the world come from? We have talked to many men, but never heard any admit the authorship of & popular smart-aleckism of the day. Thus no one seems responsible for| the serles of trick bets which is going | the rounds of Washington business es- tablishments. Perhaps these are old, but to the vic- tims at least they are right up to the minute. After all, anything is new if you have not heard it before. A man who has never read Lew Wal- lace’s “Ben-Hur” has a treat in store for himself. No new “best seller” will| exceed it in interest, if half equal it. = ‘The best of the trick bets is the| Jones approaches Smith with an in- nocent smile. “I'll bet you a dime,” he begins. Just why the amount has to be 10 cents no one knows, but in many times that we have heard this bet proposed the sum has never varied. It might be for $J, or $10, or 25 cents, | but it never is any more or less than a dime. “I'll bet you a dime,” continues Jones, “that you can't say ‘It's a beautiful day’ today” after each one of three sentences I will say.” Smith’ thinks it over rapidly. He can't utter a foolish sentence three | times in a row? Why can’t he? There must be some trick to it. He has vague memories of somewhat similar “psy- chological tests” that usually succeed in making a fool out of a man. He doesn't want to scem afraid, and for the life of him he can't exactly see— “Why can't I say ‘It's a beautiful day today' after three sentences?” he coun- ters, fighting for time. “There is no ‘why’ to it retorts Jones. “I'll bet you a dime you can't do it, that's all. "No, there is no trick t.” st * % ok ok The mental combatants look into each other's eyes. The challenger already has put down his dime on the table. Smith brings out a thin dime. “All right,” he says, looking very de- termined. The _spectators—usually there are spectators—begin to snicker. The goat has bitten. “Oh, see the chair!” chortles Jones, | with an innocent air. “It's a beautiful day today,” replies Smith, feeling like a sap. “The clock is running,” Jones. “It’s a beautiful day today,” snaps back Smith, feeling that two-thirds of | the ordeal is over. And that feeling is where he loses. Jones, smiling blandly, reaches over | and picks up both dimes. “I win!” he announces triumphantly, the more triumphantly the better, * X X ok Smith looks at him, bewildered. “You win?” he protests. ‘“How do you get that way?” “Sure I win,” smiles Jones, jingling his 10-cent pieces. “My third sentence was ‘I win,” and instead of replying ‘It's protests BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. a beautiful day today’ you said some- thing else. In other words, you failed to say it after each one of the three sentences, didn't you?” The light which lies in the eyes of a man who has lost a bet (and admits it) flashes into Smith's., He realizes that he has lost, and think as hard as he may to find some ground for calling the thing unfair he cannot do so. R This #s not one of the so-called “psy- chological tests,” although it has the aspects of one.” We have watched this stunt ‘“pulled” on many men, and al- most uniformly the victim loses his dime. Those few who have steadfastly stuck to the monotonous repetition of the parrotlike sentence have been no more intelligent_than those who lost. What the trick does show perhaps is the possession of a true single-track mind by those who do not lose. If a man can keep the one idea of saping that silly sentence, even if an earthquake intervenes, he will win.® A curious feature of this trick is that men who know best what a sentence is and how to use if, almost invariably lose. The victim permits himself to be side-tracked because he is expecting to be defrauded and is too much on the watch for it. This is not a good joke to try on women. They do not like it. One may wonder if any one else does. Like ail such tricks, it leaves a sense of shame with the victim. i A curious feature of this, as of simi- lar bets, is that it varies little in phraseology. There may be variations, such as calling “I win" after the first sentence, but in the main it is the same everywhere. * K Kk ok Another of these trick bets, but not | as good, 1s the following: Jones bets Smith that he can't take off his vest and button it up again in two minutes. Smith, having got trimmed on the other bet a few days before, is par- ticularly suspicious now. Yet for the life of him he can't see why he can't take off his vest and button it up again in one minute, let alone two minutes. “You won't try to use force?” he asks. “Of course not,” says Jones. ‘The usual audience gathers, some “in the know,” others ignorant. All, how- ever, sense that Smith is in for another Just | trimming. This time the bet is 25 cents. why a quarter, no one knows. Smith takes off his coat and then proceeds to get out of his vest. He still has a minute and a half. “You bet I can't button it up again inside of two minutes?” he queries. “That's it.” Smith puts on his vest, grabs the top button and starts to button down. “I win!” cries Jones, pocketing the 50 cents. “I said button up, not down.” It is claimed that 9 out of 10 men when buttoning their vests begin at the top and button down. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS Prohibition holds the spotlight in ‘Washington, the London Disarmament Confererce is presumed to dominate the larger horizon, but if newspaper columns measure the degree of public interest, prohibition is paramount. Mr. Coolidge is said to have once averred that, in his opinion, prohibition was a question which it would take 50 years to settle. At all events there is scant prospect that the present moves and counter moves in Congress and at the White House will materially contribute to any settlement. At the moment the cynics are saying that Congress will seize upon the Blaine proposal to resubmit the eighteenth amendment as an oppor- tunity to record its devotion to prohi- bition on the eve of the congressional election. Then having rejected the Blaine resolution by nearly unanimous vote, Congress will proceed to scuttle Mr. Hoover's current proposals for tight- ening up prohibition enforcement. Be that as it may, the Wickersham sug- gestion for relieving court congestion by authorizing United States marshals to convict and punish “petty offenders” seems destined to encounter hard sled- ding on Capitol Hill. Already Senator Borah has sounded the tocsin, “Preserve the rights to trial by jury.” * K oK X While the politically minded are awaiting the selection of a new Assist- ant Secretary of War to fill the vacancy occasioned by the promotion of Col. Hurley to the headship of the depart- ment, the Army itself has its eyes turned toward the present and ensuing changes in bureau chiefs, of which an exceptionally large number impend. ‘The inspector general, Maj. Gen., Wil- liam C. Rivers, retired for age early this month. The four-year tour of duty of Maj. Gen. B. F. Cheatham as quar- termaster general expires this week. The chief of Field Artillery, Maj. Gen. Fred T. Austin, now on leave, will be retired the middle of February. In March the chief of Coast Artillery, Maj. Gen. Andrew Hero, jr., and the chief of Cavalry, Maj. Gen. Herbert B. Cros- by, will have completed their four-year terms, and by the rotation policy now in vogue will be replaced. Here are five coveted posts to be filled within the next 60 days. Changes in the recent past have included the elevation of Maj. Gen. Lytle Brown to be chief of En- gineers, succeeding Maj. Gen. Jadwin, and the sclection of Maj. Gen. William G. Everson of Indiana to be chief of the Militia Burcau. e . William K. Henderson, the vitriolic proprietor of, and broadcaster over, station KWKH of Shreveport, La., has promised the Radio Commission that, in deference to protests which finally reached the floor of the Senate, he will hereafter refrain from language on the, air which his critics characterized as “profane and obscene,” specifically omitting “hell and damn,” but that he will continue in full force and effect his denunciation of chain stores and | other “menaces.” The commission is, disposed to let the matter rest there for the present. It is mindful of the fact that twice in the past it has had Henderson on the carpet to review pro- tests and pleas from opponents that his license be canceled or abridged, and that on one such occasion Henderson produced no less than 167,000 separate signatures to affidavits of approval and indorsement from his radio listeners which seemed to show that Henderson | was providing just the sort of radio entertainment that “his public” liked. o P Robert J. Allen, ousted Washington police private, publicity sleuth and stormy petrel of the ructions which started with the now celebrated Mc- Pherson _suicide-murder _controversy and engulfed the local Police Depart- ment, grand juries, prosecutor’s office and the District Commissioners, turned up in Boston recently. He was pro- duced as e “surprise” witness before an investigating committee of the Massa- chusetts Legislature. In characteristic fashion he offered to blow the lid off of the staid Bay State capital, pro- vided he was given a free hand. It was insinuated that Allen was now an under-cover agent for the Department of Justice investigating Boston under orders from Washington. The Justice partment knocked such claim in the head quickly and emphatically when it reached here, “Allen is not a Govern- ment agent. He has not now, and never has had, any connection, direct or indirect, near or remote, with the Department of Justice, in any capacity whatever,” declared the ordinarily silent J. Edgar Hoover, chief of the Bureau of Investigation. * K oK K Ambassador Claudel will shortl; pre- ormal ation by ! invitation for offi the United States in the French Inter- national Overseas Exhibition to be held in Paris next year. Formal acceptances of participation have been received from England, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Por- tugal and many of the smaller nations. Japan, Canada and Cuba are among those which have indicated that ac- ceptances are forthcoming, and deci- sions are pending in 17 other countries, ‘The present exhibition is the fruition of plans which antedated the Worid War, for a great international exposition at Paris. The program is now to be car- ried out on a mngnmc:m scale, * Prognostications are now current to the effect that before Vice President Curtis relinquishes his office he will be ensconced in an official vice presidential mansion to be provided by a generous Nation for the first time in the history of the Republic. Such a project has been advanced often in the past and would probably have finally materialized 10 years ago, but for the personal wishes of “the then Vice: President Calvin Coolidge, who had no relish for ostenta- tion and no private purse to maintain an_expensive establishment. Now a move is afoot to revive the proposition in Congress and the sponsors intimate that Mr. Curtis will interpose no ob- jection. A companion legislative measure of interest was favorably reported from the House military affairs committee last week to confer the permanent rank of colonel on any Army officer named to the post of White Heuse physician and the rank of captain on any naval officer similarly placed. Similar proposals during the Coolidge administration failed to pass Congress, though Maj. Coupal, Mr. Coolidge’s Army doctor, was granted a temporary colonelcy. Y (Copyrignt, 1930 Canadians Have Prol.)lem In Second-Hand Autos From the Toronto, Ontario, Daily Star. ‘The utmost caution should be exer- cised in imposing regulations or duties which will exclude from the Canadian market forelgn products now entering it and thus deprive the Canadian con- sumer of the advantages of competi- tion ‘That is a safe general rule. But in a case shortly to be discussed before the tariff board at Ottawa the circum- stances are so unusual that the erection of barriers to importation may well prove to be justified. The case is that of the motor dealers who seek more stringent regulations regarding the bringing in of second-hand automobiles and trucks for resale, The Star does not propose to discuss at this time the amendments which they suggest. These will be considered in detail by the tariff board. But the general principle of the thing is of some public interest. And on general principles it may be said that we have in Canada enough second- hand motor cars of our own. These second-hand motor cars are, as every one knows, the problem of a motor dealer’s existence. He sells a new car and gets an old one in part pay- ment. He resells the old car and gets, perhaps, still another one in part pay- ment for that. How it works out is shown by the experience of an Ottawa dealer, who, in selling 163 new cars, took in 134 old ones. But before he got rid 31‘ the old ones he had to take in an dditional 105 in exchange. He handled 239 second-hand cars in order to sell 163 new ones. And this is not an un- usual experience. To aggravate this condition by glutting the used car mar- ket with old cars imported from the United States is to increase the diffi~ culties of the Canadian dealer and to depress the trade-in value of the cars which Canadians own. Everybody's car is reduced in value by these im- portations. The consumer, instead of being helped, is injured. There is another aspect to the case: There are quite enough old cars already on the roads without adding to this number the cast-offs of the United States market. Any oné can buy an old car at a reasonable price. No hardship will be involved in discouraging the importation of American used cars altogether, ] Ask the Senate. From the Oakland Tribune. It is not yet determined whether l&l:; ts this {:&" will spend their t. lobbying or testifying. A b TR Denunciation Essential. From the Racine Journal-News. What doth 1t ot & man o write a naugl ne x‘?:w will denounce ki JANUARY 20, 19 Clerks’ Flippancy Annoys Customers To the Editor of The Star: | Of all the daily dutfes of the average man that bring him into contact with his fellowmen I regard the one of shop- ping at some of the large grocery stores | {of Washington as the most interesting, not to say exciting. I never come out of one of these stores that I do not| expand my chest and feel as though | I could conquer the world. ‘This state of mind is brought on by the practice of the young grocery clerks of conferring titles upon you as soon as they speak to you. Why, I have been promoted by them as many as three times in one day! The other day at my first store the snappy youngster behind the counter hailed me with, “What's yours, Cap?” At my next stop the potential mer- chant prince greeted me with, “What'll !it be, Chief?” Now this sudden eleva- tion in rank, for thus I chose to con- strue it, must have had a magical and very noticeable effect upon my bear- ing, possibly even giving it a touch of pomposity, for upon entering my last store 1 received a promotion that was | worth” while. The busy young man here unhesitatingly asked, “Being waited on, Colonel?” I have been called by these young- sters “Mac,” “Buddy,” “Doc,” “Chief,” “Cap"” and “Colonel,” to mention only |a few of their pet names and titles, and if I have been suddenly demoted from “Colonel” to “Cap” I no more thought of resenting it than do I think of try- ing to get a raise in pay over ai equally sudden promotion from *“Cap” to “Colonel.” The only time that I have become really rofled was when one of these boys blandly addressed me as I‘E)rl‘(nfltor.” Him I withered with a There is one thing that grieves me, though. Some of these )E:rung men scem to be somewhat lacking in judg- ment and perception when they confer these degrees and titles, For instance, the other day I was waiting at a chain store counter while my order was ber ing filled when a young clerk spied {me and approached with the unmis- takable title glitter in his eye. “Being I am not an old man and yet he turn- ed immediately to an old gentleman, who, in appearance, was almost a coun- terpart. of Chaucey Depew when he was in his eighties, and inquired, “What's yours, Cap?” If was a mani- festly unfair differentiation and I seri- ously thought of waiting outside for the ‘old gentleman and just saying to him, “Don't you worry, sir. I'll trade titles with you.” However, he didn't seem hurt, so I held my peace. It is in the hope that The Star can do something to rectify this sort of unfairness that I am writing to you. Just think, though, of what an ad- vantage we men have over the ladies. All they get is “Missus” or “Lady”—at least to their faces. I used to get some grand titles at the chain drug store soda fountains, too. However, I'm afraid some of the drug store officlals became wise to this indiscriminate and profligate habit of their soda clerks bestowing free titles upon the custom- ers, for I notice they are now saying, “Have you been waited on, Su-u-r-r?” They almost choke on the “Sir.” The elimination of the anticipation of getting a malted milk and a colonelcy or a captaincy all for the price of the malted milk has taken all of the zest out of visiting the soda fountains. However, all things have thelr compensations and I reckon it is all for the best because sometimes they called me “Bud” or “Jack” and, after “Colonel,” that wasn't so good. SAMUEL H. MUMFORD. . Roosevelt Defended In Dry Killing Dispute To the Editor of The Star: On the editorial page of your paper of the 16th appears an lrtlzle Wll"ngn by John G..Thompson, in which he fully sanctions the taking of human life by weapons to prevent the escape of violators of the hibition law, and | in support of his far-fetched views on this subject he cites certain magazine articles written by the late and beloved President Theodore Roosevelt. It is to be noted that in the cited magazine articles from which Mr. Thompson quotes, Mr. Roosevelt spe- cifically qualified his statement as to when and in what cases the use of weapons by officers would be allowed or countenanced by the police commission- ers in the following language: “If a criminal showed fight we expected the officer to use any weapon that was re- quired to overcome him on the instant, and even, if it became needful, to take life.” Please note that in his own words the use of weapons was countenanced only if the person was known to be a criminal and showed fight, and that the taking of life in such a case would then follow only “if it became needful.” Cer- tainly there is not one word in the statéments made in the magazine ar- ticles to which Mr. Thompson refers which would in the slightest degree Justify him or any one else in assuming that Mr. Roosevelt would countenance the shooting of a human being for ither the :hllnuc‘: of the prohibition o esca) for such s violagion, 0. o™ ATesk Therefore, no analogy can be drawn between the cases to which Mr. Thom son refers (the ones cited in the mag: zine article) and a great many of the shootings of human beings that have recently occurred in the enforcement of | the prohibition law, wherein it has not even been claimed that the persons ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS Any reader can get the answer to any question by writing to our Information Bureau in Washington, D. C. This offer applies strictly to information. The bu- reau cannot give advice on legal, medi- cal and financial matters. It does not attempt to settle domestic troubles, nor undertake exhaustive research on any subject. Write your question plainly and briefly. Give full name and ad- dress, and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. The reply is sent direct to the inquirer. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic_J. Haskin, director, Washing- ton, D. C. Q. Did any major league player get six hits in one game last season?—B. G. A. Two players made this record last season. Lloyd Waner of the Pittsburgh Pirates made six safe hits on June 15. On June 23 Hank Deberry of the Brook- 1lyn team equaled this record. Q. Was a tunnel under the English Channel ever actually begun?—T. R. A. Somewhal more than two miles of tunnel was con:tructed previous to 1885 —about inrcc-fourths of a mile in Eng- land and the remainder in France. These sections are said to be in an excellent state of preservation. Q. What organization awards a medal for good diction on the radio?— E A "A.Tt 1s awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Q. What was Coue's principle?— D. B A. Emile Coue (born 1857, died 1926) was a French psychotherapeutist. Coue’s system of therapeutics deals principally with the power of imagina- tion as opposed to that of the will. He claimed that by means of auto-sugges- tion ideas which tend to cause illness and disease may be eliminated from the will. Coue invariably stated that he was not primarily a healer, but one who taught others to heal themselves. His famous formula was “Every day and in every way I 1 walted on, Colonel?” he chirped. Now, | be! bt e b N tter.” Q. Is the Rock of Gibraltar made of chalk?>—C. T. 8. A. The Rock of Gibraltar consists for the most part of pale-gray lime- stone of compact and crystalline struc- ture. Above the limestone are found layers of dark-blue shales with inter- ca:atcd beds of grit, mudstone and lime- stone, Q. Did Theodore Dreiser change his name?—A. G. S. A. Theodore Dreiser did not change his name. His brother, Paul, adopted the spelling of the name—Dresser. Q. Have thrift stamps of 1918 any value?—A. V. J. e i A. They may be sent to the United | States Treasury and redeemed for cash. Q. Are some solders known as soft and others as hard?—T. P, A. Soldering operations are classified, according to the composition of the alloy used, as either soft soldering or hard soldering. Solders of low melting points, composed mainly of lead and tin in varying amounts, are known as soft solders, while those of high melting points, composed of varying amounts of copper, brass, zinc, silver and gold, are | known as hard solders. The soft solder commonly used is made up of half lead and half tin, and melts at a tempera- ture of 370 degrees Fahrenheit. The more lead there is in this alloy the BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, ‘higher is its melting point, and an alloy composed of one part, tin and two parts lead melts at 441 degrees Fahrenheit. Q. Which is the larger seapart, Havre or Bordeaux?—K. H. A. Havre ranks above Bordeaux as & | seaport. Marseille is the greatest sca- port of France. Havre is the second. Q. Does the tartan of the Black Walch belong to some Scottish clan?— N. B. A. It does not. It is entirely mili- |tary. In 1725, when Gen. Wade was sent to Scotland to pacify the High- lands, he gave orders that the six com- panies in_existence adopt a uniform tartan. was of a dark color, and {gave rise to the name of the Black | Wateh. In 1739 these six companies were formed into a regiment, and the | history of the Black Watch began. Q. Please tell when Jerusalem was | destroyed —A. R. A. The Babylonians reduced the city of Jerusalem in the year 586 B.C. | Nebuchadnezzar demolished the walls and all principal houses, plundered and destroyed the temple and carried awa: | to Babylon all except the poorest citi- zens. Jerusalem remained in ruins for 50 years. | Q. When was solar surgery first used?—N. G. A. From the earliest times sunlight has been considered an important aid in the preservation of health. The ancient Greeks and Romans exposed their naked bodies to the sun in the open alr to recruit mental and physical energies. Exposure to the sun's rays was also adopted by the physicians of those times as a remedy for many affec- tions, “especially dropsy, inflammation of the kidneys and paralysis.” Q. How is a carat divided into points?—V, L. A. All precious stones are weighed by what is known as the metric carat of | 200 milligrams. The carat is divided into 100 parts, one part equaiing 2 milligrams; thus instead of writing & carat and one-quarter it is expressed 1.25, and instead of one carat and a half it is expressed by 1.50. Q. How_thick must ice be to support skaters?>—H. H. B. A. Ice of 1}; inches thickness is gen- erally strong enough to support a man. Four inches of ice s necessary to sup- port cavalry and light guns, 5 inches to support an 84-pound cannon, 10 inches of ice will support a crowd, 18 inches a | railroad train, Q. When was ‘Thurston, the magi- clan, born?—F. 8. A He was born in 1869. He has been a magician since boyhood. Q."Meats_are stamped with colored marks to fh¥iicate that they are kosher. Is the ink on the meat injurious to the ht:lthA?’TA. C. 9 stamping of food ucts is done with vegetable. dyes, "mcn are perfectly harmless. 'partment of &gflcl&l{t}ure ‘would not” t:ll: the use poisonous compounds in stamp- ing of any foods. e Q. Is there in a neo — R E gas n tube?- A. Neon is an inert gas, lighter than air. When an electric current is passed through it, it becomes incandescent. The neon advertising signs are com- posed of glass tubes filled with the gas, ;hrough Wwhich the electric current is People Prefer Pershing Free From Political. Partisanshp Gen. Pershing’s decision against the proposal that he seek the Republican nomination for Senator from Nebraska is widely commended, and the idea of “drafting” him for the nomination re- ceives scant attention from the country. It is evident from general comments that it is felt he occuples a position at present which would be affected if he were drawn into partisan controversies such as would be involved in Congress. “His refusal to let himself be con- sidered a candidate for the Senate,” in the opinion of the New York Sun, “is chgracteristic of him, and what might have been expected. His job as com- mander of the A. E. F. came to an end long ago, but he ‘has refused to relin- quish certain responsibilities that went with the job. No man who has had the opportunity that Gen. Pershing had, who met it as ably as he did, and who has lived through the years after the war without once suggesting to anybody that he was living an anti-climax, needs to be Senator from Nebraska to carry out his mission in life. Gen. Pershing has served his country well; he con- tinues so to do.” * X ko Voicing a similar thought, the Mil- waukee Journal adds: “More important still, the idea of fighting the candidacy of Senator Norris isn't a very sound idea, especially in a State like Nebraska, which shows independence in political thought. The Senate of the United States needs more men like George W. Norris, not fewer. You may not always agree with Norris, but you know what he stands for, and you know it is his own ideas and principles he expresses. Many Americans cherishing the old killed “showed fight” or did an; ything except try to escape capture and un‘esE And neither of these offenses is even remotely referred to by Mr. Roosevelt. 1t is therefore unjust to the memory of our great President to try to make it appear that he would, if living, take the stand with respect to some of the re- cent uses made of weapons which Mr. Thompson takes. W. T. PARROTT. ) Says District Assessor Misquotes Tag-Tax Law rolme Editor of The Star: read in your paper January 15 of the opposttion of Taxpeflmsmr ;y.lchlrgs to mailing autombile tags in the Dis- trict of Columbia. He quotes the tax and tag laws in Maryland incorrectly. Maryland cars are taxed as horsepower and not by weight, and he conveys the idea that only people living at distant points have the privilege of getting their tags by mail. Commissioner of motor vehicles in Baltimore prefers that tags be sent by mail in and out of the city. He also has a force of clerks on duty full 24 hours during December to put tags i the mail as soon as applications are received. As to taxing automobiles, we will take | Prince Georges County, Md. You are supposed to pay your taxes by a certain date at Marlboro. The typewritten blanks of each automobile owner, with a full description of car, are sent to the collector of taxes of Prince Georges County by the commissioner of motor ! vehicles of Baltimore. The tax collector perforates the applications of those who have paid their taxes and sends them back to the commissioner of motor ve- hicles at Baltimore and he, in turn, sends them to the car cwners, and all you have to do is to sign the application blank and inclose check or money order, at the rate of 32 cents per horsepower, plus 10 cents for return mail, and re- ceive your tags in three or four days, without any hardship to applicant. JOS, V. HEANY. —e—s Crime and Circumstances. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. ‘The strict moralist who contends that circumstances have nothing to do with crime probably never investigated the relation of weather to umbrella thefts. Cupid Blind to Taboo. From the Savannah Morning News. Bibb County had last year a legal marital separation a day on the aver- age. A divorce a day doesn't, however, Marriages sound ideals realize this. Nebraska “In refusing to be a candidate he shows high acumen,” declares the Spo- kane Spokesman-Review, stating as to other national heroes: “Washington was both soldier and statesman, but in him the two careers commingled from youth, and the occasion called for a soldier-statesman. Many admirers of Gen. Grant wish that he had not been tempted by the presidency. McClelian made the mistake of his life when he ran as Democratic nominee against Lincoln in 1864. Hancock, a brilliant Union general of the Civil War, would ' have fared better with history if he had not run for the presidency as the Democratic nominee in 1880. Army men do well to keep out of politics. Gen. Pershing acts upon that convic tion, and will stand higher in the regard of his countrymen.” e “His leadership of the American Ex- peditionary Forces,” avers the Omaha ‘World-Herald, “was distinguished by wisdom, by patriotism and by military genius of a high order. him now for the Senate only reveals how desperate is the hope of the regular Republicans of finding some one to beat Norris in the primary. * * * The bat-| tle that is being fought today is not one { fought with bullets. It requires courage | of a different order from that displayed | in military campaigns. It requires a knowledge not gained in the councils of war. It calls for a sympathy with the common man not acquired under &, discipline in which one man commands and all others implicitly obey. There is & crisis in Wayhington, but it is not | a crisis that can\ be met with gunfire! and bayonets. “Once he became mixed in a political controversy, he would lose much that he has gained in a fleld in which he excelled,” says the Lynchburg Advance. | The Ann Arbor Daily News assumes! that, “like most military officers, he is| probably a ‘plain, blunt man’” and| would regret to sce him associated with | he perpetual jockeying and stalling and zrguing that are accompaniments of political life.” “Why not let him complete his life as a great soldier?” asks the Columbus Ohio State Journal. “Why force him, now to undertake the unpleasant ex- periences of practical politics, a fleld of action with which he is entirely un- familiar? Let his friends talk of his fine qualities for the senatorial posi- tion. The Nation enjoys hearing all complimentary things they will say i To mention ; | Maine more than | wanted a car. session of good common sense. As a soldier he has achieved much honor and rendered distinguished service to his country and the world at large. As a member of the Senate he would prob- ably feel very much out of place.” * k * % “A senatorial contest in Nebraska,” advises the Oakland Tribune, “could not help being a bitter one, inasmuch as the opponent to any man who runs will be Senator Norris. ' He represents a definite insurgent following which carries into the fight some grain-State philosophy upon which feeling is both deep and divided. ing himself into a battle of the kind which would be certain to result, Gen. Pershing would have little to gain.’ “In a country governed as is the United States,” remarks the Texarkana |Gmne. ‘a military career ordinarily is not a good stepping stone to political position. There have heen notable ex- ceptions, of course, but ds a general rule | military training and political training do not lead in the same direction. It is not surprising, thercfore, that Gen. Pershing, who has won the highest honors possible to achieve in America, tells his friends to spread the word he | is not and will nut be a candidate for | United States Senator in the State of Nebraska.” * ‘Mentioned’ as a presidential - bility in 1920 and again wheme American Farm Bureau Federation vir- | tually indorsed him for that high office,” recalls the New Orleans Times-Pica- yune, “he resisted the temptation to plunge into politics. His current refusal to contest the Nebraska senatorship makes it practically certain that he will hold aloof from the political arena to the end and retain the added dis- | tinction going t! th.’ [ S |Potato Crop Brings Maine Prosperity From the Boston Evening Transeript. Tales that come from the potato fieids | of the Aroostook country would arouse the jealousy of the Hesperides, were those Greek maidens still guarding their golden apples. There aré reports from Northern Maine of a kind calculated to turn green with envy many & man who is raising golden oranges in the groves of Southern California. The humble potato is not worth its weight in gold, but the level fields of a size to suggest | Western flelds of golden grain rather | than the hundred-acre hillside farms of { Maine may be classed as gold mines be- ! cause of their potatoes. The fantastic idreams of Col. Mulberry Sellers find substantiation in fact in the region lying between the St. John and the forest pri- meval through which flows the Alla- i gash. There are millions in it. |, That is to say, there are millions in {1t in the good potato years. pears to be one of them. i crop of Aroostook This ap- ‘The 1929 potatoes is estimated at about 17,325,000 barrels. of raising a barrel of potatoes and car- ing for them until'marketed is placed at from $1.25 to $1.75. The Market News i Service of the United States Department of Agriculture reported under date of January 3 that $3.50 and $3.75 a barrel were betg paid for potatoes at Presque Isle. In round figures here is a profit of about $2 a barrel. Such figures indi- cate that the potato crop will bring into $60,000,000 and of that amount more than half will con- stitute the profit. * * ¢ Send the glad tidings to President Hoover. He wants money spent in ways to stimulate business and in a good po- tato year the people of Aroostook have the reputation of being liberal spenders. The tale of the man who ised his wife he would buy a car when he sold his potatoes is characteristic. ‘The ° dealer had sold all his Fords. No more would be received for several days. And then the eye of the potato grower chanced to fall upon a Packard. He Price was a secondary consideration. He bought the Packard. One commentator on the course of events in Aroostook County ts that for some months to come it is go- ing to be about the best place in the world in which to sell automobiles, about him. But in the end let him remain Gen. John J. Pe; 2 i Bums. radios, sewing machines, trotting orses, washing machines, refrigeration ichiny % dr ildcat s 3