Evening Star Newspaper, February 2, 1930, Page 36

9 . THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. FEBRUARY 2 1930—PART TWO, : —_— e — s s ~THE EVENING STAR |two erest Republics. Representative |to be banned in States with prohibitory With Sunday Morning Edition, WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY.... THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star N ening Star.. . 43¢ ver month aare) . ot #0c Der month Bunday Siar Ly per r.onth cach month, lers ma: . ey 'mh. sent 1n by mail or telephone Rate by Mall—Payable in Advance. nd and Virginia, Ffl' o4, Sunday. ... .1 yr. $10.00 unday enly .. i 10 Al Other States and Canada. fly and Sunda; iy only " unday only Rate by Carrier Within the City. e o Merber of ihe Associated Press “t:h oy Publ; e Associated Press is exclusively entitled € nse for Tepublication of wii news o hes credited o it or not ‘otherwise ‘ere aper and aiso the loc shed ‘hereitr - All TIRts of mublication of dispatehes he: Contrary to Reason and Practice. The nature of improvements to the ‘water distribution ‘system contemplated under the five-year program and which the Commissioners ill-advisedly have recommended should be financed through a twenty to twenty-five per cent in- crease in water taxes plus a fifty per cent increase in main assessments de- | mands that the cost of these new proj- ects be regarded as direct property benefits and capital expenditures for plant enlargement, and as such should be paid for from local assessments plus money taken from the general fund. These improvements and additions to the water plant are necessitated for three reasons. ‘The first is that growth of the city and the enlarged supply system have increased demands for water and have made the water available at the pumps without providing for the correspond- ingly larger burden on the distribution | system, thus requiring new and larger | mains to augment old and smaller mains, installation of new pumps and the building of new reservoirs. ‘The second reason is that real estate development in such sections as Ana- costia, Chevy Chase, Brightwood and American University-Wesley Heights has increesed the water-consuming popula- tion in those areas, and water in suffi- cient quantity must be delivered through new main extensions. ‘The third reason is that a new main 1s needed to connect the District’s water supply with the pipes of the Washing- ton suburban sanitary district, thus al- lowing Marylanders to tap in on District ‘There is nothing to justify shoving the cost of these projects to the private water users of the District. A committee which drew up the re- port on the five-year water extension plan, consisting of E. D. Hardy, senior | engineer of the United States engineer office; D. W. Holton, superintendent of the District Water Department; Maj. Brehon Somervell, United States engi- neer, and Capt. Hugh Oram, Assistant Engineer . Commissioner, declared that “these - expenditures are believed " to represent capital investment and hence should be charged to the general reve- nues of the District * * * To increase the rates to take care of these capital expenditures would not be in line with Yet the Commissioners, in the face of the difficulty encountered by our budget framers in striking a balance in blue as long as the inadequate lump sum: represents the Federal contribution, override ‘the engineers, override “ordi- nary commercial practice” and decide to dump the cost of enlarging the water plant on the private water consumer. «February 2, 1930 Mary T. Norton of New Jersey has in- troduced a bill carrying an appropria- tion of $100,000 authorizing the eree- tion here of such a memorial to Ferdi- nand Foch, late generalissimo of the allied armies. ‘That the United States troops en- gaged in the World War were placed under the general command of a leader of foreign blood and forelgn allegiance casts not the slightest slur on Gen. Pershing, Gen. Halg, Gen. Gillain, or, in fact, on any one of a number of excellent tacticians and inspiring lead- ers from various lands. A one-man Jjob was needed and Foch seemed to be. |and was later proved to be, that man He treated our troops as if they were his own; the admiration and grati- tude he enjoyed in this country were comparable with those rendered him by his fellow-countrymen. Marshal Foch, memoralized by & statue or other appropriate edifice here. would but take his place along with Lafayette, Rochambeau, Steuben, Kos- ciuszko and Pulaski. It happened that none of these foreigners held supreme command, but all at one time or an- other commanded original American troops, and America’s gratitude to them is exemplified in enduring bronze, The memorial to Iafayette, Foch's fellow- bearing his name by a similar process of congressional appropriation. It is to be hoped that, whatever the fate of Representative Norton's bill, no captious critic, inside Congress or out, will de- mean himself, his constituency and his country by offering small-minded utter- ances on the subject. All of us owe a debt of gratitude to Foch and to France for having produced such a soldier and such a man, e For Those Who Wait. On this Sunday morning it will be well for Washingtonians to take ac- count of stock, as it were, and to think about the Community Chest and all that it implies and the obligation to help to fill it this season. On this day preferably, because there are no so- licitors for the Chest making their rounds and it is possibie to consider the matter without disturbance. Community Chest simply means community co-operation in protection against suffering. It means the con- centration of the giving impulse. It means, when the final reckoning is made, community insurance for twelve months, If there were no Community Chest there would be seventy-five different appeals, from time to time during the year, all of them urgent, all of them de- serving. They would be for hospitals, general charities, special charities, homes for ths aged and infirm, welfare works, every element of the community’s earnest endeavor to alleviate sickness to prevent disaster, to maintain fam- ilies, to cure sickness and to keep the Capital in good order morally ang, physically. If there were no Community Chest some of the agencies and works for the help of the unfortunate and the needy would suffer for lack of funds, while others would be oversupplied—if in- deed such a work is ever more than adequately financed. It is to prevent this jnequality of supply that the Chest is organized. To make it of the grest- est usefulness and effectiveness it must be filled, even to overflowing. ‘There is no risk of really overflowing, in the sense of s wastage of means. If the year's budget is oversubscribed the surplus will go toward next year's needs. It would be ideal to have a larger surplus each successive season, until after a while there are enough in hand at the first of the year to pro- vide for all the requirements for twelve months, with the Chest filling agaln at onee. In other words, to put Wash- countryman, was erected in the park | laws of their own; the Nicoll plan to amend to permit Congress to. authorize certain beverages; the du Pont plan to amend to cause the eighteenth amend- ment to remain operative throughout the country until one or more States should have establisheq g system of State con- trol, whereupon it would become in- operative In such State and inoperative everywhere when three-fourths of the States have done the samie; the Quebec plan and other Proposals, Stch a convention as Mr. Bruce pro- poses would net necessarily be of the kind provided for by the Constitution itself for the Proposal of amendments. It would, as it now appears, be merely a convention of delegates committed to the proposal of amending the eighteenth amendment and that alone. The Con- stitution provides that whenever the legislatures of two-thirds of the States— thirty-two at present—shall apply, Con- gress shall call a convention for propos- ing amendments. That is the alterna- tive method of initiating changes, the other being by congressional initiative. convention called by: thirty-two of the States must be ratified by the legis- latures of three-fourths of them, or thirty-six. An amendment proposed by @ convention such as Mr. Bruce suggests would have to be submitted first to Congress for adoption by & two- thirds vote in each house. It would not go directly to the States for ratifi- cation. Thus the meeting would be {simply a clearing house of ideas and i plans, held for the purpose and in the hope of concentration upon a single specific proposition. It is not difficult to foresee the spec- tacle that would be presented at such a meeting. The election or selection of delegates to the convention could not be regulated by any rule or law. Every organization in the country with a leaning against prohibition, specifically or incidentally, would have the right to send representatives. Some rule or proposition would have to be adopted in the matter of voting by States. It is to be feared that the flood of oratory would break all bounds of time limita- tion. A confusion of tongues would most probably prevail. Perhaps the most definite tangible result from such a convention, if held. would be the formation of a national organization concentrated upon one purpose with a specific formula. It might even lead to the creation of a new political party, though that is quite unlikely. But, at any rate, the plan itself is something to talk about, though the prohibition subject does not now lack in talking points. e~ As the result of an old-time match, a beautiful set of Persian chess men, now in London, is the subject of a question as to ownership. A carefully played game of chess might have proper influence in promoting the spirit of great deliberation deemed essential to the proceedings. Under the circum- stances chess would be an even more appropriate relaxation than golf. —— - Reference to some of his bygone re- marks discloses a strong question in the mind of Mr. Grundy of Pennsylvania as to whether women understand 'the tariff. Women have votes, and Mr. Grundy may. one day need .them. .His political advisers may yet be moved to persuade him to & miore tactful manner of statesmanship. —— e ate——— ‘The charge has been made that Soviet agitators intéhd to make coun- terfeits of British and American cur- rency that will be preferred to the originals. Such experiments have been 80 unsuccessful on a small scale that it is far from likely to prosper as an ex- periment in mass pr‘dnc"on. + oo His commendation of home brew as | ington just a year ahead of its needs. But those who have not yet made & palliative influence in alcoholic activ- ities is far as yet from encouraging ‘The private water consumer in the | their subscriptions need not worry about | Representative Fort of New Jersey to District now uses only fifty-three per | this matter of a possible oversubscrip- | hcpe that recipes for beverages con- cent-of the water purified and pumped into'the District. But he pays for this ‘water at’a rate that takes care of plant maintenance and a portion of plant ex- tensjon and furnishes free water to the | Federal Government and its agent, the municipality. Increasing water rates to finance capital expenditures on plant is com- parable to the gas company's increas- ing rates to lay a new gas main to Ana- costia, or to the telephone company's increasing rates to string a new cable, or to the electric light company’s increas- ing rates to buy a new dynamo or re- build a turbine. Further inconsistency lies in the fact that increased rates will not be made effective merely to furnish new capital tion. They should not measure their gifts by the reported figures of sub- scriptions to date. They should give what they conscientiously believe to be their rightful share of the cost of pre- venting suffering and advancing public welfare in the District. Is there a feeling of personal “pov- erty” just now because of the recent stock market reaction, which, perhaps, has caused a “paper loss” or has set back some hopes of profit sand future ease? Then remember that those who are to be cared for and aided by the Chest are even worse off on this score than the possible givers. For they are the real sufferers, who, perhaps, have lost their positions in the course taining & mild “kick” will pass literary censorship and get into the cook books. ——r————— It is assumed that & maval confer- ence, in order to be nautically correct, should have a steering committee with & membership competent to take turns in keeping ships of state on their s i A SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Prowler. Some kind of an animal's prowling around— We turn our attention from questions profound And gravely sum up possibilities that r in the cat. for the projects outiined. When these of business shrinkage and curtailments | A neighbor neglected to call have been paid for there will be other projects, perhaps even greater, such as high-pressure for fire service in the downtown area. And there is no au- thority vested in the Commissioners to make a downward readjustment In rates when demand for new capital is satisfied—if it ever will be. Federal contribution to the water plant ‘ceased with completion of the new supply system. The supply system would, of course, be worthless without | distribution system. Why should not the Federal Government contribute as much to improving the distribution sys- tem as it did to improving the supply | system? The FPederal Government benefits as much from the one as from dhe other. Both systems constitute the ‘water plant, of which the Federal Gov- ernment is part owner. This part ownership assuredly entails more re- sponsibility than the mere receipt of free water. The District water user's bill has been increasing steadily. In 1920, it was $771,161. In 1925, it was $1,023,- 603. In 1930, it will be $1,305,000, and the Commissioners now propose a twenty-five per cent increase to take effect in the fiscal year 1931. Congress should reverse the Com- missioners' recommendation and finance these capital improvements out of the general fund, to which, as one of the owners of the necessary water plant and co-partner i» the task of capital « maintenance and development, it con- tributes. A Memorial to Marshal Foch. Honor paid to the greatest soldier ©f the present century, though a for- eigner, through' the erection in the Capital of the United States of a memorial to him would without doubt to all patriotic resi- re- and liquidations, some of them givers last year, and prospective dependents upon the charity of the Chest this year. May this day’s reflections bring reso- lution to meet this obligation tomorrow in a proper spirit of generosity and an honest valuation of the opportunity and the duty of giving. Give at least as much as a year age. Better than that, give ten, twenty, even fifty per cent more than last year. To do so will mean the curtailment of only a few pleasures and indulgences, & few less entertainments, perhaps the wra of old clothes a little longer, possibly a sacrifice of a substantial nature. But it must be done by some Washingto- nians, and if done by all, the added bur- den will be evenly distributed and not loaded upon a few shoulders. oo g Highway experts, however capable and industrious, are usually baffled by the rudimentary problem of getting the streets cleaned after a heavy snowfall. o An Anti-Prohibition Convention. Former Senator Willlam Cabell Bruce has sounded a call for & national con- vention to consider the prohibition ques- tion. He suggests a meeting this year of delegates from every State te adopt 2 single program of reform and to set up a militant organization to prosecute that program. In his statement on the subject, he reviews the various proposals which are now urged by opponents of prohibition as cures for what he re- gards as an unbearable condition. At that conference he suggests that every man with & plan present it. For example, the Hoyt plan to amend the eighteenth amendment to permit the manufacture and sale of all malt brewed and fer- mented beverages under the control and regulation of the States while prohibit- ing distilled Mquor; the Buck plan to amend by permitting the governmental sale and distribution of spirits, this sale ‘When gathering shadows are dimming our eyes Uncertain we grow as to shape and to size, And on this suspicion at last we stand pat— A neighbor neglected to call in the cat. Conservation. “Do you play bridge?” “Not very well,” admitted Senator Sorghum. “It is a very intellectual game.” “That's why it causes me to hesitate. If I have any concentrated mentality available, I feel that duty requires me to apply it to the tariff.” Jud Tunkins says a good orator can make a deep impression by tellin’ you things that he doesn’t know all about himself. In Spite of Argument. Although with oratory we may try To change opinions, we can never do it. A Wet is still a Wet; a Dry's & Dry— And simply this is all there is to it. A Preference for the Past. “We have made wonderful improve- ments in transportation.”. “Yes," answered Mr. Chuggins, “and yet when the filvvers are skidding into snow drifts, I'll admit I'd rather hear the chime of sleigh bells than the motor horns sending out distress signals.” “Laugh at folly when you.can,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “and hope that it will not later compel tears of sympathy.” Against the Government. The “bolshevik,” the, “communist,” ‘The “radical” draws nigh. ‘The “anarchist” still scans the list And leads it, by and by, “But de only poetry some folks is able to leamn,” said Even, “is ‘yeven’ phymin' wit * » Any amendment proposed by such a ' “THE POWER OF CONTACT” BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D. LL. D,, Bishop of Text: “A woman which was dis- eased came behind him. and touched the hem of his garment.”—St. Mat- thew, ix.20. We have an inherent belief in the value of contact. Even a handclasp has its deep significance. We are so constituted that we find our lives largely fashioned and formed by the kind of contacts we make. The quality of friendship is determined in this way. If books influence us, personalities more It is a remarkable fact that frequently in life & seemingly chance contact with some striking and persuasive person- ality affects for good or ill the whole course of our life, John Wesley met Peter Bohjer and it changed his career, Often our’ failures and disappointments are changed into glowing experiences through contact with one by the power of a strong will, and gives us a new outlook and fresh impulse. Tt fs un- questionably true that we make or mar our lives by the associations we form. Nothing is more suggestive of chis than humblest origin, who were brought into contact with the Great Master. Not cne of them was stable and secure. All disclosed weakness, and in the great crisis falled their leader. It was only through His generosity and expressed confidence that they ultimately rur- vived and came to a place of power and usefulness. This repeats ltself again and again as men and women came within the orbit of His influence. Mary Magdalene, whose life was soiled and stained, found new hope as she fell under the spell of His divine influence. Nicodemus, who came to Him under the cover of darkness, embarrassed and confused, found new light as he felt the kindling touch of One “who spake as never man spake.” There is no more suggestive example of that which ac- crued through contact with His great personality than in the instance of the the record of the 12 peasants, men of | Washington. woman long diseased, Who came trery. bling, presglng through the crowd, to touch the hem of His garment. Her'life had been marked by one disappoint- ment after another; the failure of physicians had brought her to a Jow ebb. She had heard that there was One abroad who had worked strangs cures, and whose generosity knew no limitations. She doubtless felt that to meet Him was the one hope that re- mained, We can well imagine her feebleness, as well as her modesty, as she “came behind Him and touched 'the hem of His garment.” She would not £0 much as face Him, she would not make her claim conspicuous. She would only touch His robe with the hand of faith, ‘The beauty of the story resides in the attitude of Jesus. Turning about he asked, “Who touched me?” With the great surging of the crowd about Him, He recognized with fine discrimination that one in need, Who had faith, had touched Him for a purpose. The chron- | fcle says that He perceived that virtue had gone out of Him. The poor crea- ture found in His kindly eyes and His gracious recognition of her need all that she sought. The cure was con- summated. The contact effected a changed life. There was tenderness and sympathy in gracious words. “Daughter, be of good cheer; thy faith hath made thee whole.” This is the story of a time remote, and yet it repeats itself again and again in all subsequent history. Men and women, down through the ages, have come to this great Master with their doubts and fears, their misfortunes, their disappointments’ and their sorrows, and repeatedly they have found in their ap- proach to Him that which had healed and restored. The contact must be ac- companied by faith. Tts efficacy re- sides in a bellef in His supreme power. He !; “I;“dyll:ndselr\ve humanity today As when He walked the lanes and b; of Palestine. AP Great Britain Is Seeking to Obtain Industrial Parity BY WILLIAM HARD. LONDON, February 1.—The most fm- portant thing here from the point of view of the practical American busi- ness man is not the Naval Conference, but the campaign to establish what is called “empire free trade.” This idea is that all British dominions and de- pendencies, together with Great Britain Itself, should be fenced about with a tariff wall, which would insure large trade within the empire and drastically exclude the importation of goods from all non-British countries, The great Erommeru of this idea are Lord Beaverbrook and Lord Rother- mere, both big newspapsr publishers. The whole matter was brought to de- bate in the House of Commons last Wednesday by a motion of & Conserva- tive member, Mr. Remer. He moved that “his majesty’s government in the United Kingdom be urged to open ne- gotiations with other governments in the empire with a view to the formula- tion of a policy to secure that the pur- chasing power of the émpire be direct- ed primarily to the full employment of the inhabitants of the empire. * * % x Figures produced by Mr. Remer were spectacular. ‘The annual imports into all parts of the British empire are more than $10,000,000,000. Of this $7,000,~ 000,000 is from non-British countries. The empire is getting badly beaten within its own domains by foreign im- portations. 1In 1913 England sent to India 3,000,000,000 yards of cotton cloth. Last year only 1,500,000,000 yards of cotton cloth were sent to India. This competition 1is_felt especially strong from Japan. Japanese cotton cloth is now sold in England in large quanii- ties right under the eyes of the Eng- lish cloth manufacturers. A vital international trade crisis is thus revealed. Great Britain is losing trade even in her own dominions. and the dominions are losing British trade. In 1928 Great Britain purchased $11 000,000 worth of wheat in Canada. n 1929 she purchased only $70,000,000 worth, Meanwhile the importations of whe:zt to Britain from the Argentine have almost doubled. In 1924 Great Britain took $30,000,000 of wheat from India. In 1929 she took almost none. * koK % Overseas trade is essential to British prosperity. Recent events have pre- cisely reversed the British and Ameri- can positions. Before the war the British export trade was 16 per cent of the world total, while the American export trade was 12 per cent. Now America has 16 per cent of the total, while Great Britain has 12 per cent. It is pointed out here, moreover, that America has a vast free trade area within her own borders, protected by & high tariff wall against all who are outside. ‘There is an_important crusade here for reviving /British world trade by imitating the .American precedent. A large part of the Conservative party here is converted to the idea of an established tariff barrier around the | St whole British empire with entirely free trade inside. This free trade within the British empire does not exist now. The dependencies and dominions have tar- iffs operating against Great Britain as well as against non-British countries. Products of the dominions entering Great Britain are generally taxed the same as foreign products. Many of the leaders of the Conservative party hope to in power in Britain by leading the way to complete British imperial economic unity. * K % % This is a large and practical menace to American world trade. It is de- signed especlally to combat American trade progress in the British domin- lons. Comparing 1927 with 1912, the British share of exports to Australia has fallen from 51 per cent to 43 per cent, while the American share has risen from 13 to 24 per cent. ‘The Conservative party here is in- creasingly committed to deal a counter blow at America by uniting Australia nd all the other British dominions ith the same tariff barriers against American and all other foreign trade invasions. This has already been done by the French. France has tariff union in all French territory in Asia and Africa. Consequently, in Algeria 79 per cent of the imports are from France and in Madagascar the figure is 81 per cen It would be a most momentous inter- national business event if Great Britain went over to the French system. The leader of the British Conserva. tive party, Stanley Baldwin, will d! cuss the subject in the immediate future. He leans strongly toward the union tariff idea. The idea is strongly resisted by Lloyd George for the Liberals in the House of Commons and by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden for the Laborites. * ok ox % Lloyd George maintains that Britain now has “the greatest international trade in the world per head of popula- tion,” and says that this position would be imperiled if forelgn raw materials entering Britaln were taxed by the tarift before being made into finished goods for world export. Snowden says the Labor government will give no support to any proposal for putting & tariff tax on senufactured goods enter- ing British dependencies. Nevertheless the Labor government of Snowden and Ramsay Macdonald has taken steps to summon an imperial economic ~conference of all British dominicns and dependencies in the near future. This conference is to endeavor to devise means of promoting prosperity within the empire as a whole. Also the government here has established ating o Brane. Mgt Seavdont Chancellor Snowden, J. H. Thomas, the lord privy seal, and two other members With United States of the cabinet, with a considerable, but still prospective, staff of experts and with Thomas Jones, deputy secretary of the cabinet, serving as secretary. * ok k% Great Britain is devoting herself with new energy to the whole problem of an economic revival. There is a consider- able movement here toward inspiring young man graduates of the old and classic univemsities to enter business, It is felt that Britain's greatest need at the moment is that the young and best brains should turn from the pro- fessions and from the army and navy to trade. A remark mournfully made to this m:flpundentz':y lé‘ol?]d.ul.:ne Britisher y was, “Eton ey inf Wall Street.” - e There is a distinct new impetus tn all Britain toward a higher capitalistic development, even under the Labor gov- er:lr!.r‘:e'nt. tl‘d; Thom?n. the Laborite m er of e unemployment problem, has adopted the American l;oovmte idea and announces that he expects help in solving the unemployment prob- lem through support given new indus- tries by British capital. The impression made on this eor- respondent is that Great Britain is fast Capital Sidelights By WILL P. KENNEDY. The ideal Federal employe has been discovered. He is one “who for more than 30 years has done his work be- cause he loved it” “he makes the Government service honorable,” “he takes a just pride in what he does for the Government,” he is about to be retired, and the Department of State is perplexed as to how his place can be filled. Tyler Dennett, historical adviser to the Department of State, brought this veteran employe to the attention of Congress during the hearings on the State Department appropriation bill, saying that “he would come to work it you took away every penny of his salary. The man thus commended is Henry L. Bryan, 604 East Capitol street, cditor of Laws of Congress, who is vice presi- dent of the Association of Oldest In- habitants of the District of Columbia, and who Was private secretary to Thomas F. Bayard, Secretary of State in the cabinet of President Cleveland. Mr. Dennett told the appropriations committee that a serious problem is presented regarding editing of laws of Congress. He reminded them that the statutes at large are edited in the De- artment of State. “After a law is signed it goes over to the Department of State and the slip law is prepared,” he said. “Fol- lowing that the editor of the statutes takes it, writes his marginal digests and makes his index; every two years you have the volumes of the statutes at large for the current session of Congress. “The man who has done that, Mr. i Bryan, has been at it, with some few interruptions, for more than 30 years. On the 20th of next August, under the existing retirement act, he will be retired. He is, I think, 77 years of age. At the present minute he is just as competent to do his work as any of us, and while it is not in the nature of the case that he has s0 many years in front of him, as we hope to have, he is still competent to do his work, yet under the law he must go. Now, we have tried for four years to bring to the attention of Congress that some provision must be made for this situa- tion. This year you find in the budget & request for an understudy for Mr. Bryan. I do not believe that a man can learn to do that work without hav- ing gone through a full Congress, a long and a short session. It is a big Jjob to take those volumes of the stat- utes and carry them clear through, to get the index right, to get the matter organized right, and produce the vol- ume promptly; in fact, I am confident that when Mr. Bryan does relinquish control there will be a period where we shall have to be patient. I do not see how we can escape it, that some measure may be found to retain Mr. Bryan so long as he is physically able to do that work, at leabt for a period of another two years, such a provision would have to be made, I suppose, by executive order. But we are at the point now where we just cannot let him go.” * ok kR Sanford Bates, Federal superintend- ent of prisons, and Representative PAVING WITH RUBBER. BY FREDERIC ‘With several cities carrying on anti- noise campaigns and the public gen- erally being awakened to—and by— | the noise nuisance, renewed interest is being shown in the use of rubber for street pavements. Coincidently comes the news from the rubber di- vision of the Department of Com- merce that investigations and experi- ments it has conducted indicate that the rubber block is practicable from many standpoints, the principal weak- ness in the proposal to make this use of rubber being the question of price. Everybody in America has walked on rubber-soled shoes and knows what a silent tread they impart. The police sleuth is colloquially known as “the gum shoe man” because of his noliseless steps. Conceive, then, of a city the streets of which would be paved with rubber which would endow everything that passed over them with practical- ly the same silence of movement. The percentage by which the noise of cities would be diminished is almost incal- culable. . Not all interested parties are wholly in agreement on the subject, however. Elaborate experiments conducted by the big rubber companies are reported by them to prove the thorough prac- ticability of rubber paving. On the other hand, highway engineers em- ployed by city governments have ex- pressed doubts. But the Federal Gov- ernment, without trying in any way to act as a salesman of rubber, but merely standing between and making careful obgervations, now asserts that the chief tacle to general introduc- tion is price. The blocks which have been used for street paving are frcm 3 to 4 inches in thickness. As a rule they are compounded of a hard rubber base with a surface of resilient rubber. They are laid in much the same manner as paving bricks or wood blocks and pre- sent a surface smooth and slightly ylelding. There seems to be little doubt about the durability of rubber paving blocks. In 1870 the courtyard of St. Pancras Rallway Station, in London, a place thronged with constant and heavy traf- fic, was paved with rubber blocks. This is the first example of any note on record. Department of Commerce has ascertained that after 60 years the rubber blocks have worn down just three-sixteeniths of one inch. Not long afterward some streets in Singapore were paved with rubber blocks and, while the department has no exact fractional figures, 1t is stated that the wear has been no greater there. Rubber Streets Wear Well. British city authorities have been well enough pleased with rubber paving to have steadily increased their mileage. London and Manchester, in England, are the most notable examples, but the thrifty Scotch also have used the ma- terial for pavements in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Indeed, there has been enough de- mand in England to have caused five companies to be in the business of man- ufacturing rubber paving bricks. Five recognized types are in commercial use —the Cresson, Gaisman, Leyland, Cowper and North British, ‘Three cities in the United States now George Holden Tinkham of Massa- chusetts, an outstanding “wet,” had a pleasant exchange of opinions during the hearings on the Department of Justice appropriations bill. They are old friends and Mr. Tinkham is a great admirer of the work done by Mr. Bates as commissioner of corrections in Mas- sachusetts. awakening to new world industrial re- quirements and is starting to-try to get industrial parity with the United States at the same time shre is conceding naval parity. (Copyright. 1930.) ) Chain Store Warfare Reaching Crucial Stage BY HARDEN COLFAX. Warfare between independent mer- chants and chain stores is rapidly reaching the crucial stage, legislatively if not economically. The roar of the heavy guns is heard this Winter in practically every State Legislature that is in session. One of a group of guber- natorial candidates in Alabama appar- ently is making his campaign center on this particular battle, and a skir- mish marred the peace and quiet of the national Congress this week. It is no mere figure of speech to employ such terms to this conflict. ‘There is every indication that the ris- ing 1ll-feeling resulting from the eror~ mous spread of chain retailing in the last decade 1s going to be brought forcefully to the attention of practi- cally every community of 2,500 or more inhabitants within a short time,' ff such attention has not been claimed already. For a half dozen years efforts' to enlist legislation as an ally of the independents have been made. Five tes have enacted svocial tax pro- visions aimed at chain stcres; in two the courts have ruled such measures unconstitutional and test cases are pending in the others. Before the year closes other States will have made attempts to reach c¢he same objective in_one way or another, Economically, the fight is intensified in a dozen different sectors, ranging from combinations of indepandents for mass buy nd increased advertising through research bureaus for statistical and accounting purposes, to plain, old- fashioned boycotts in whici independ- ents and their employes agree not to patronize chain stores for personal purchases. For several years there has knocked at the doors of Congress, promoted b; individuals and by the American pni Trade League, a measure which if en- acted would legalize contracts between producer or wholesale and the retailer Whereby the vender of branded goods could dictate the resale price. With 8 of its 21 members voting in opposition, the House committee on interstate and foreign commerce last week reported this bill, modified from its original form, but retaining the es- sential feature, with a recommendation that it be passed. In the Teport of this measure, the committee (or its majority) speaks without mincing words. It points to testimony that some dealers advertise cut prices on goods well known to con- sumers in order to attract them into their stores and then sell them other staple articles “at higher than a fair price,” and it uses such terms as “cut- throat competition.” - “And finally, and perhaps most im- portant for the public welfare.” says the report, “the effect of this bill would be to put the small local dealers more nearly on a competitive basis with the great chain store and other combina- tion. It is generally and properly recog- nized that the gradual extinction of small independent dealers will be & loss to countless communities throughout the Nation, and so to the Nation itself.” Consumers would benefit rather than be harmed by such legislation, this very interesting report asserts. * K KX % ‘This price-maintenance bill links in closely with the independent merchant- chain store struggle, it may be seen, yet it is opposed by many retailers who at the same time oppose chains. So far as concerns uniform resale prices of trade-marked goods, powerful firms no entirely ency systems or simply by refusing further supplies of their goode to distributors who cut prices. But less strong producers or wholesalers cannot follow these methods, which have upheld by the Bupreme Court. e b e o ween independents, many mes and t been | go. Mr. Bates was discussing the super- vising social worker as a common sense person whose duty it will be to advise correctional institutions just how best and most economically they can handle individual problems. “I have in mind,” he said, “one problem that has to be met. We have a flood of young men from the mountain districts, who have never been to school, cannot read or write their own name. They have no ambition and no desire to go to school. One of them sald to me the other day, after I had asked him if he could read and write: ‘No, I do not care for readin’’ ‘How are you going to get along in life?’ I asked him, and he said, ‘I do not have to. I am married and my wife has all the larnin’." ‘We must meet that problem,” said Mr. Bates, “those men are being pun- ished over and over again for a crime which was not a crime in the days of their fathers and grandfathers.” Representative Tinkham asked, “What crime is that?” Mr. Bates replied, “It is one that you are particularly interested in.” Mr. Tinkham then commented, “It is not & crime in morals. It is only a crime in law.” Mr. Bates replied, “It brings them in the penitentiary anyhow.” Mr. Tinkham's rejoinder was, “And more and more will come in.” Mr. Bates said, “And so more and more will it be a problem which re- quires some new treatment, and not a reliance on the old principle that you can punish virtue into people.” Mr. Tinkham then asked Mr. Bates if he had ever read Dr. Watkins' book on behaviorism. Mr. Bates answered, “Not every word of it, but I got as far through it as I could. We have it in the office, and like the gentlemen from the mountains, I let the other fellow read it.” * koK ok Folks who receive letters every day in the mall little realize the magnitude of -the organization which gives them such efficient service, at such a small cost. Hearings on the postal app: priations, which are now under con- sideration _in the House, discloses that there are 33,855 fourth-class post offices, 10,957 third-class post offices, 3,509 second-class post offices, and 1,169 first- class post offices, On July 1, last, there ‘were 15,627 presidential post offices in the country. * K K % One of the interesting little sou- venirs of important events which are being preserved for posterity in the Capitol is the furniture which was used at the Disarmament Conference in Washington. This is now in a large room on the ground floor of the House end, which is used as a conference room for the largest committee of the House—the committee on appropria- tions. On the back of each one of the mahogany swivel desk chairs is a silver plate, carrying the name and official title of the official representative from each of the great nations engaged in the conference. —_— almost all of the wholesalers are aligned with the independents. The chains, or most of them, deal directly with pro- ducers and hence have no transactions with a wholesaler, and many of them become manufacturers or rapidly domi- nate the manufacturer’s business. T in the United States runs about $200,000, combining wholesale with retail tran: actions, No one knows how many mer- chants there are—the census of d tritution_this year-will determine thi for the first time—but it is estimated there are around 1,1400,000 retailers. ‘Twenty yea 0 there were few chain stores; Z)dny .Smre are about H&.DW grocery systems, 1,100 in the business, units, with some 1,400 1300 in the fleld, mx.m and , and 215 in the five-and: unr—yeenl,-awn trade. | only ‘The Federal Trad le Commission is investigating chain stores and inde- pendent merchants to_report a com parison to Congress. But this is not only & costly but a long-drawn-out in- quiry and while ‘wasd reported only last week, indications were the legislative battle cannot be withheld to receive this report, nor can the economic » | showdown, Appeals to the public through the advertising columns of newspapers and mi in this conflict for supremacy increasing, and will continue to 80. Whatever the outcome, the public 18 likely to hear much of both sides, and in greater measure from this time (Qopyrisht, 198302 ... ¢ have a limited amount of rubber block paving—Boston, Chicago and Akron. J. HASKIN. Several of the large rubber nnnu(m-‘“ | turing companies have facilities to make | rubber blocks and one company in Racine, Wis., specializes in their man- ufncture. The machinery necessary in the manufacture is relatively simple, and obviously a somewhat lower grade of rubber can be introduced into the blocks than that used in the better types of automobile tires and in fine rubber goods, 21 K In addition to the diminution of nolsé, rubber-block paving is said by the partment of Commerce to possess othi advantages. From the point of view of the dally interest of the general pub- lic, one of the chief of these is thal this paving is dustless. From the engineering point of view one of the most important advantages is that a roadway paved with rubber does not vibrate. These advanta . come into play principally in conneg- tion with idges. The constant vi- bration set up by traffic rolling along streets and over bridges paved with the usual materials is so great that bridge structures are endangered. Since the introduction of the automobile, many bridges which were entirely ade- quate formerly have had to be strength- ened, not because of heavier load but because of the vibration set up by the steady throbbing of innumerable en- gines. In building new bridges en-< gineers now take this vibration into ac~ eount and allow a larger co-efficient of safety. Rubber paving, used as a sur- face for such bridges, absorbs this vie bration and goes far toward solving the, problems it presents. 4 Price Remains Big Factor. ‘The big factor, however, is the mat~" ter of price. Rubber is a product found only in certain restricted areas of the world. It ha3, in the past, been sub- Ject to astonishing fluctuations in price. The price range of crude rubber during the last decade has been from 15 cents to $1.21 a pound. This has been due to artificial governmental controls set up and to variations in production. Now suppose a city council votes an appropriation to pave a city street with rubber blocks. Estimates have been made and, perhaps, tentative bids re- celved. The paving is laid down at the time rubber was selling, let us say, at’ 20 cents a pound. Some time later it becomes necessary to make repairs and renewals or to extend the paved mile- age with the same material. It is dis- covered that the price of rubber has soared to 75 cents & pound. It will readily be seen that any city budget maker would be likely to have night- mares under such working conditis However, there is reason to belfeye that the days of wide fluctuations In the price of rubber are past. For the last year the price of crude rubber has been more nearly stable than it has in any year since the war. In spite of the fact that' consumption for automobile tires and other uses has steadily in<' creased in volume there has beeh no rise in price. Production and consump- tion seem to have reached a stable balance, both gaining steadily. In about 10 years a big change is likely to occur when the tremendous rubber plantation project in the Amazon Basin comes into bearing. At that time it is likely the price will drop. In fact, in all probabili- ty, as the time approaches for the Bra« zillan rubber to come on to the mar- ket, the new supply will be discounted and prices will trend downward in an- ticipation. 2 Fifty Years Ago In The Star The murder of young Hirsh in this city 50 years ago somewhat unsettled Need of Swifter oo ™os! e Tesidents of the Justice Stressed. Capital and caused a feeling that ‘Washington was experiencing what would now be called a “crime wave.” The Star of January 27, 1880, thus discusses the matter -of speedy Jjustice as a means of checking this criminal tendency: “Surprise is frequently expressed that a non-commercial city like Wash- ington should be infested by so large a number of the criminal class. It is an undoubted fact that there is an ab- normally large element of the idle and vicious class afloat here, and that the persistent efforts of the District au- thorities and emigrant socleties have not served to dislodge any con- siderable number of them. The ques- tion comes up whether the leniency with which they are, or have been, treated in our courts does not encourage them to stick to Washington as a safe and pleasant home. By comparison with do | other localities we suspect that almost everywhere else punishment is swifter and more severe than here. The sharp and prompt punishment received by criminals in the neighboring States of Maryland and Virginia have made them shy of seeking a home there, and, Jud, by recent court reports of Phil- adelpl they receive as little encour- agement in the Keystone State. A day or two since Jacob Miller, a citizen of passing through. Chery sirect early in pass| rou erry s ear] the mm'nlnT and robbed of his pocket- book, containing $45 and some papers of value. Miller called in the aid of the police, who, upon his description of the robber, instituted a search and arrested him in a low alley. The offender was taken before a magistrate, who held him for immediate trial; the case was at once presented to the grand jury, who promptly found & true bill. At noon of the same day of the robbery the case was called uglin the quarter sesslons, when Judga icock sentenced the thief to pay a fine of $1,000 and to undergo an imprisonment of 9 years and 10 months at separate and solitary confinement at labor in the Eastern penitentiary, “Criminals are naturally inclined to think badly of a city where they are dealt with in this vigorous manner and to seek more congenial quarters. It is safe to say that no such swift and severe punishment ever reached a crim- inal of this class in our courts. Of course, with an overloaded docket and the peculiar forms of law here, it is not so easy a matter to administer quick justice, but with the reorganized courts it is belleved that great progress can be made in this line, and it 1s hoped in the same connection that the judges will try the ing sentences of wholesome severity as & means of dispersing the vicious gang that now infest the city. Our judges all right as regards probity and learn- Int’wt they need to harden their hearts a bl * * % “Mr. George W, Childs” says The Star of January 27, 1880, “who prob- ably knows as’ much about Grant it as anybody, declares that Bo he knows nothing at all ex- cept what he had Yead in the papers about the reported move- ment or intention to withdraw Gen. Grant as a presidential candidate prior to the meeting of the Pennsylvania Republican convention next week. It is Just possible that as things stand at present no person or combination of persons at present in the country is authorized to dperfom that office. ‘The person duly em; to settle the matter seems to gone into hole and drawn the hole in after him, 0 to speak.” * % ‘The beginning of what later developed into the rural free delivery system is discernible in the measure Postal mentioned in the following Routes. printed in The Star of Jan: 31, 1880: “The bill declaring all ‘public roads passed IET e licy of administer- | in the German Politics Affected By Communist Activity BY DR. GUSTAV STOLPER, Noted German Editor and Economist. BERLIN, February- 1.—Political fer- mentation continues in Germany. The. situation grows ~more uncertain and . muddled day by day. The Young plan_must and’ will be accepted by, the Relichstag within thi eks, but all parties are arming for the par- liamentary ‘battles that will follow. ‘The government is menaced on evefy side and the gravest threat is that of, the Soclalifts, who form_ the strongest party in the coalition, would like to return to the opposition, from which they ‘ems in 1928. The opposition is comfortable and the So- cialists have gained no laurels in'the Mueller cabinet, . ki M The Young plan, which is the sole positive emn ,of the great coalition’s rule, pl nobody. The collapse of the public finances and the deficits in, the and municipal treasuries are the fruits of this government that make v.h% an.u& impression on the general. pul This condition cannot be remedied by popular. .measures, Drastic con~- sumption taxes are required and the Socialists would be parties carry :the onus of impesing them, for they see themselves menaced from the Left. Communist agitation is- wilder than for some time. The pres- Germany gives , favorable fleld, .and scrupulously. The unemployed are state’s used restore order the Communists welcome propaganda material to the Socialist'government as s workers. ‘ * ok kX ‘The government is doubly helpless against such methods, since the eco- nomic situation is'so bad that no hope of & speedy return to prosperity can be held out to. the masses, and drastie measures against Moscow’s propaganda are rendered difficult by thep fact that the fiction of intimate friendship be- tween Germany and Russia must be maintained as long as possible. ists' partisan the But the Sovial egolsm Tevolts against this. The other coall- tion partners are endeavoring to keep the Socialists in line for the period fol- lowing the Young plan's adoption. The Catholic Center has suddenly declared its demands for clearing up the Reich's financlal situation before the Yo plan is considered. The Center, which also contains many laborers, and hence Is touchy about Socialist agitation, will not get that demand fulfilled. The So- clalists also are angry because their onslaught against Dr. Schacht, presi- e dent of the Reichbank, faled. * ok ok % On the political right, the parties e course of reconstruction. (People’s Conservative Union). The called “Jungdeutscher Order” (Yi Germans’ Order), a somewhat romantic * after the war and to revitalizing patriotism and * attacking plutocracy, has formed the “Volksnationale Vereinigung” (People’s National Union). the mq ul route of the country, that special legislation of this charac- ° ter is continually before Congress. Bills ol u:i ol the dw bill ppurmn trh agains a] Under the m system, when citi- pondy 0 Teer the tne s s to refer the en ess the Post Office Department in & I rlth full l\lmm‘;‘ly &mnt petitiol for new routes when the service - sidered n 'bormol will ’:1)?:‘ Congress of the special case, give control for each of business dqafla-:z use this as new and -