Evening Star Newspaper, February 21, 1930, Page 8

A5 THE EVENING STAR = With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C FRIDAY......February 21, 1830 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Ne paper Company e 3% %‘ i a‘.{":z“'r Boronean Ofice. 14 Reyent B1.. London. England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Toe Frenine Star 45¢ per month he Evening and Sunday Star Ddare) (when 60c cer month e Evend d_Sun tar -85 per month Sunday 6c per copy lection made at the end of each month Qiders maz be sent in by mall o telephone | Ational 8000 | Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Datly and Sunday. ... 1yr..$10.00: 1 mo. ily only 5 1yr. $6.00: 1 mo., unday only iyr. $4.00:1mo.. All Other States and Canada. | fls and Sunday..1sr.$12.00: 1 mo. dly only .00 71 yrl $800: 1 m ay only 1yr, $5.00: 1 8sc | 80c | 0. mo.. 80c | Member of the Associated Press. i The Associated Press is evclusivery entitlea | 10 the use fcr republication of ail news cis- patchies credited to it or mot otherwise cred- ted in this paper and wiso the iccai Lews vubllsFeu herein. All rights of publicati>n of epecial dispatches herein are elso 'eserved. = = Financing a New Chain Bridge. Reporting adversely on a bill by Rep-f resentative Moore of Virginia that would appropriate $10,000 from Federal funds for preparation of prelimimary plans and estimates for a new Chain Bridge, the Commissioners note the significant fact that the Budget Bureau stamps the proposed expenditure as not in conflict with the “financial program of the | President 1f amended to authorige an | appropriation payable in like manner | as other appropriations for the expenses of the District of Columbia.” In other words, $10,000 taken from Federal funds for the preparation of bridge pians would not be in accordance with the President’s economy program, but $10,000 taken from District of Co-| lumbia funds for this purpose would be in accordance with this program. As a matter of fact, the Commission- ers point out, the preparation of pre- THE EVENING shipping and American ports to the se- {Hmu attention of the Canadians and the British, Mr. White proposed that a special tax of ten per cent be charged against goods entering the United States through Canadian ports, so long as Canada maintains its present prac- tice. Strong protest was made by Mr. White, too, against “the projection of fighting ships, in a commercial sense, by the Cunard Co. into the trade be- tween the United States and Cuba.” He insisted that this British shipping company had deliberately sought this indirect trade of the United States, al- though Great Britain has always pro- tested vigorously against foreign shipping entering upon the indirect trade of Brit- ain. He insisted that the entry of the Cunard liners into the trade between the | United States and Cuba is uneconomic and has been attempted merely to drive American lines out of business. He would have the shipping law amended so as to reach this matter. If an overseas American merchant marine is to be a permanent institu- tion, it behooves the Congress to be at all times vigilant in the protection of American shipping against foreign discrimination. Competition in ship- ping is severe under any conditions, but when there is discrimination prac- ticed against American shipping, the competition becomes ruinous. Under the fostering care of Congress and the American Government, overseas ship lines have In the last decade been built up despite the competition and protests of foreign shipping. They have been built up, too, in spite of the opposi- tion of American capital which has | been invested in foreign shipping. This latter has been one of the strong de- terrents in the past to the upbullding of an American merchant marine. The old cry is raised that the foreigner can be the carrier of American commerce, because he can do it cheaper. But that is a foolish policy for American com- | merce, and, furthermore, American ships have shown their ability to com- pete in carrying charges with the ships of Britain and other maritime nations. ——————— liminary plans and estimates for the bridge would require the expendi- | ture of $10000¥at this time, as the | Bridge Department of the District gov- | ernment has accumulated enough data | from other studles of the project to| enable it t0 submit plans at any time | and without additional appropriations | for the purpose. If the construction of | the bridge is to be financed from Dis- | trict funds, the Commissioners point | out, the preparation and submission of plans should rightly come from the District authorities, and not, as the Moore bill suggests, from the Secretary | of War. A new Chain Bridge is one of the necessary projects confronting Congress in regard to the District of Columbia. But due thought must be given to the financing. It has been proposed, and rightly, that the State of Virginia should share in its'cost. This will en- tail legislation by the Virginia Legis- latiire as well as by the Congress. It would be extremely unfortunate, as well as unfair to the District, to conceive of the bridge as a purely local undertak- ing. Mr. Moore, a good friend of ‘Washington and one of Virginia’s able Representatives in Congress, might set the ball in motion now by inaugurat- ing steps that would lead to some agree- ment between the Federal authorities and the State of Virginia on the plan of financing ultimately to be adopted. Chain Bridge must be replaged some time within the next decade. Built in 1874, it was never designed for a mod- emn heavy highway Mead. The maxi- mum load of six tons allowed on the bridge at present, the Commissioners point out, must be further limited as deterioration progresses. An adequate bridge at or near the present crossing | is a necessary feature of the highway system and the vicinity. A decision as to financing the new | bridge should precede even the prepa- | ration of plans. ———— Particular attention has been accord: ed the sailfish. There is enough fine | sport near Washington, D. C., to call| presidential attention’ to the fact that there are lots of good fish in the sea. ——— vt Unfair Competition. Representative Wallace H. White, chairman of the merchant marine com- mittee of the House, yesterday delivered an attack in the House on discrimina- | tions undertaken by the British against | American merchant vessels. It is a| timely warning. If the United States | is to maintain an overseas merchant | marine this Government should not be slow to come to the defense of Ameri- can flag vessels when unfair practices are used by foreign competitors to run American ships out of foreign trade and off the seas. The development of a privately owned American merchant marine, to play its part in carrying the enormous commerce of this country overseas, has been the dream of for- | ward-looking American shipping men and of American commerce ever since | the disastrous days to American trade | after the outbreak cf the World War. | The United States was left flat, with | practically no overseas merchant serv- ices to handle its trade in those days. | It is & situation that this country does | not intend to face again. Further, the | United States Government at a cost of | $3,000,000,000 built up a merchant fleet | to meet our requirements during the war. The money came from the pockets | of the American taxpayers. Gradually these Government-owned merchantmen | have been pleced in considerable num- | bers in private American ownership and operation. * Mr. White complained particularly, in his address to the House yesterday, of the preferential customs and other discriminatory regulations put in force | in recent years against the United | States by Cenada and Great Britain. A | preferential tariff provides for a dis- count of ten per cent of the amount of duiy charged under the Canadian tariff act, if goods enter Canada through a Canadian sea or river port. In other words, the discount is granted if these goods are carried in British or Cana- disn ships. American ports, particu- Jarly in New England, and American shipping have suffered from this meas- ure of discrimination. The tariff laws ©f the United States, Mr. White pointed out, are general in their application and | lation. Purveyors of Poison. Pernicious propaganda is being con- ducted by radical agencies among the school children of Washington. By pamphlets and by meetings and indi- vidual contacts the young people of the Capital are being seduced into Com- munism. A statement to this effect was made at a recent meeting of the Petworth Citizens' Association and an appeal wes made by the mover of a resolution to secure action that will check this iniquitous procedure. The | difficulty of the situation, as the speaker | at the citizens' association meeting declared, is that there is nothing specifically unlawful in the methods employed by the radical organizations. It is almost a case for direct action by ecitizens to combat this wicked enterprise. Some of the literature that is being handed to the children as they leave! school—in some cases as they enter school—is quite innocent in appearance but sinister in its implication and sug- gestion. Other documents and tracts are more specifically poisonous. The writers of these documents are clever. They are what is now generally termed good psychologists. They try to arouse the curiosity of the youthful reader, to appeal to his or her prejudices and aspirations, ‘They misrepresent the motives and the morals of those en- gaged in the conduct of government in this country and they by the same token misrepresent the workings of the Communist State in Russia, which is the source of their inspiration. Many of the children take these tracts and pamphlets home and show | them to their parents, who, as a rule, | are both inclined and able to point out effectively the dangerous fallacies set | forth in them and to check any tendency the child may have toward “conversion” to radicalism. But there are other parents who are indifferent, who per- haps have lost interest in the moral development of their children, to whom hese poisonous prints are of no im- portance. Then there are children who do not show and discuss these docu- ments with their elders, parents or friends. Some of these are beguiled and fooled into belief, thus aoqulrlngl a point of view that is very difficult to overcome later. The Board of Education should take this matter into oconsideration. It should try to find a way to combat this evil. It cannot forbid the handing out of documents in the streets. That is for the District Commissioners to at- tend to under some form of police regu- But the Board of Education can permit, can perhaps even direct, teachers in the schcols to resist this pernicious influence in their classrooms | by calling attention to the evil of the | half-truths and untruths contained in these leaflets. If there is any skepticism on the part of the people of Washington regarding the malevolent purpose of these Com- | munist agents who are engaged in the | barrage of pamphleteering to check the development of young Americans into sound citizenship they should be in- formed that this work is definitely or- ganized in the United States by branches H of the Third Internationale at Moscow, | which is the directing organization of the Communist party of the world, seek- ing the perversion of all peoples. ———rwe——————— Priends of Cole Blease admit that he‘ has a rough vocabulary and only regret | that he cannot combine it with a suf- ficlent sense of humor to carry him to literary fame. Chicago’s Dog-Hair Remedy. The old plan of using hair from the tail of & dog that has inflicted a bite as a cure for the wound is perhaps the in- spiration of a scheme that has just been proposed in Chicago for the cure of the! racketeering evil. The head of a secret committee of six named by the Associa- tion of Commerce to fight crime has ad- vanced the proposal to raisc a fund of a million dollars that will be used to se- cure alibi-proof evidence against the big operatives of the criminal blackmail game. This money ic to be contributed by those who have heretofore been pay- ing tribute to the racketeers. It will be money that otherwise would go to the gangsters for “protection.” It would thus be ihe money of the racketeers, as it were—tribute cash turned into pros- the same rate of duty is levied whether the imported goods enter this country by New York or Boston, or through the ports of Cenada. In order to bring ecution funds. It is a good scheme, if it works. But are being extirpated, if they withdraw their contributions to the racketeers? In the second place, can it be assured that alibi-proof evidence can be obtained even with a million dollars? Finally, is there any guarantee of speedy and effective prosecution of the gangsters even with alibi-proof evidence? It may take some sort of community eruption, some municipal seismic shock to eradicate the evil forces that have been battening off the business of Chi- cago for some years and have caused a reign of crime in that city. The pres- ent financial ills of Chicago, which ap- parently have passed a crisis and are now abating somewhat, have nothing to do with the crime question or the racketeering except as the law enforce- ment agencies of the city are weakened through lack of funds, through the postponement of pay days and the gen- eral demoralization incident to virtual bankruptey. The racketeering evil is a perennial one. It has reached its pres- ent proportions—laying a total tribute, it is estimated, of not less than a hun- dred million dollars a year upon the people of Chicago through increased prices for commodities and necessities alone—because of the fear of the people and their lack of faith in the honesty and efficlency of the police and the courts. Perhaps a million dollars of graft money applied to prosecutions may help to restore confidence. oo False Spring. Washington's “false Spring” experi- enced during the past two days is not an unusual phenomenon, though yes- terday’s temperature was higher than has been recorded previously for fifty- six years. There have been numerous “warm spells” in past Februarys and many also in the Januarys of earlier wears, Indeed the “January thaw” has been a fairly regular feature of the ‘Washington climate beyond the mem- ory of living persons. Almost annually at this season of the STAR, WASHINGTON, 81 B 3 BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, “Dear Sir: We do not find ourself | convinced by your article of recent date | concerning your reactions to ‘Strange | Interlude.” Eugene O'Neill could well | have gone to China for many other reasons than hatred of women. His- tory records quite a few genuine woman haters who never took the trip. | ‘“Schopenhauer spent most of his ex- istence in Germany; Heinrich Heine traveled much, but ‘twas from an exile | brought on by political activities! Ana- | tole Prance laid bare some women's| souls, as has D'Annunzio. Nor are we | Swung over to your viewpolnt that O'Neill must hate all women. | “The delineation by means of drama of a type of woman does not imply a | hatred of the entire sex, nor the length | of a ‘Strange Interlude.’ Nina darec not bear a child by her husband, yet | she desired children. We see no evi- | dence of oversex in such innate wishes. | The mwr was physically fit for fa- therhodd; the dreamer—must have been a Harvard man, I know so many | like him—ecouldn't figure in the scene until Nina had reached a state of mind wherein the dreamer fitted. The hus- band’s dilation over fatherhood is not difficult to find in real life. “A great deal of emotion at variance with the precepts of the Old Testament has been classed, by experts, too, as love. I one's premise of definition Tests on the biblical precepts pertaining to love—omitting, of course, the Song of Solomon—ws wonder where the dramatist would search for material except in pagan lands? “As for men falling in love with de- cadent women, you doubtless recall Plerre Louys' powerful drama, ruined by bad advertising in New York: ‘Aphrodite.’ Here was emphasized the feature in many great loves: A saving grace. The sculptor wished to love where he believed his love was most needed. “Furthermore, decadent women are often very well equipped mentally. Many real women as mental com- panions fall short. This does not pre- sume to be a final answer to your ques- tion, but it may allay your quandary somewhat. year the buds begin to swell as the trees and shrubs feel the influence of the increasing warmth of the sun's rays. And there are just as regularly fears lest the sprouting carry too far and the virtually certain freezing tem- peratures of late February and early March cause disaster. But even though there may be peril to the plants in this premature heat these days are most welcome. They! represent a certain gain on the calen- dar, or rather gain on the season, in that every day that passes without bitter cold or snow is to the good and lessens the chances of dangerously in- clement weather. For in this latitude snow and near-sero temperatures are perilous. They cause iliness and death. So the bright sunlight and the warmth of this “false Spring” that Washing- ton is now enjoying are especially. wel- come for the sake of the public health. But it is a grave mistake to trust to them and to make changes of clothing to conform to the passing temperature. ———— An eminent American playwright says the drama suffers because of bootleg- ging which uuu%ue hands to be- come intoxicated. e stage hand can at least prove an alibi so far as a great deal of startling dialogue is concerned. e Truth is stranger than fiction and sometimes less satisfactory to the read- er who wearies of a crime narrative from police records which never gets away from the line, “To be continued.” evos s Somewhere Col. Lindbergh has an of- l fice and a mahogany desk. His best work is still being done in the sky, where nobody can expect him to punch a time clock. ———— World interests may depend on Tardieu's speedy recovery. The part played by a physician in politics may | not be very apparent; yet it is ulun{ highly important. oo SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Station MAY. A message is brought with persistence— A message from far, far away— We like it in spite of the distance From here to the blossoms of May. ‘The song of the bird, sweet and steady, Our greatest approval will win, For the May Queen the world's making ready, And now we are all tuning in. She is telling of rainbows and showers, ‘This Queen of the May whom we loye; Of branches that nod with the flowers As sunshine draws near from above— | We forget the harsh wind that comes | prowling To warn us new troubles begin; ‘We forget how the skies may be scowl- ing, For now we are all tuning in. Thorough Information. “Why do you consent to listen to & lobbyist?” “Well,” said Senator Sorghum, “you don't always have to agree with a lob- byist. Yet he is likely to hold your at- tention because he is one of the few; people who appear to have studied a subject sufficiently to know exactly what they are talking about.” Jud Tunkins says a policeman who gave a gal a ticket for speedin’ had some o' these rough, country boy ideas of startin’ a flirtation. Same Old Story. Stocks will go up; stocks will go down, Just as they always ramble. Wise men will say to all the town, “Invest—but do not gamble.” Disrespect to George. “George Washington was the Father of His Country. “So I have heard,” saild Miss Cay- enne. “But he can't prevent some of the reckless politicians from trying to treat his memory as if he were only a poor relation.” “He who owes no man,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “should hesitate to boast if his freedom from debt is due to the fact that no one considered him worthy to be trusted.” Evicted. "Tis said that custom did not faill ‘When Jonah occupied the whale. The whale exclaimed in discontent, “Get out! You haven't paid your rent. there 1s no assurance that it will work. In the first place, who will protect the “Dar is two kinds of idlers,” said Uncle Eben, “dem dat likes to talk an' this discrimination against American contributors to the fund while the gangs dem dat likes o listen.” ) “As for three men loving one woman, we recall viewing the late Lilllan Russell in her box seat at the race track, sur- rounded by many prominent and brainy men from New York's business world. We still have with us one Peggy Joyce —just blossoming into ‘lterary’ circles. “The doctor might well have had a love flame born in his bosom because of fatherhood. Recall the character in Huneker's ‘Painted Veils' Wasn't it Remy de Gourmont said, ‘Women begin by loving a man and end by loving love, whereas men begin by loving love and end by loving a woman?’ “To sum up, since we agree the sub- Ject 18 profuse, an adjustment of art to real life is quite an undertaking, rank- ing with the search for perpetual mo- tion. However, for the home circle we believe you have written a most com- forting article. Real life s eminently much higher in ethics than the life portrayed upstage by playwrights, We | Wipe from the slate of recollection, since | to keep would spoil the picture, the re- cent Gray-Snyder case in New York and the Snook case in Ohio. Very truly yours, 4 “P. M." L Unfortunately our correspondent’s erudition does not allay our quandary at all. ies, ours or others, are e habit of being allayed so easily. The big “why” of our previous query still stands. The big “whys” of most rguments continue to stand. That is where all the fun comes in. If one human being could convince another (about anything) half of the pleasure in life would come to an end. Politics, for instance, would quietly cease to function. Religion even might| become a back number. In the former men argue with each other about ideas, and in the latter more often they dis- putred heatedly about the meaning of words. Our correspondent, therefore, need not expect to convince us, any mere than we seem to have convinced him. There is something in the soul of man which refuses to awed by a piing | up of examples. The tricky brain im- mediately replies, “Why, yes, most of what you say is more or less so, but to me it seems that your data simply bear out my case.” (Of course, of course.) “All those cases show that some men, mostly on the stage and in books, do persistently run after women. The ques- tion still remains, Why?" Our correspondent has a bad habit of mixing up real women and play and book women, so we will untangle this for him and state that we are discussing here only such women in plays and novels. They were our original proposi- tion. His manhandling of life and love from the dawn of history to this very present moment simply shows that some men have liked and do like women who are—er—rather unconventional in re- gard to the love instinct. Our three main questions of the article in question were as follows: Why do plays give us a select circle of man friends in full pursuit of some charming female? We clamor to know why stage characters persist in sticking too closely and far too persistently to decadent women. The main lady of this obese ?hy might have intrigued the doctor for & few intrigues, coming and going, but that he would have wrecked his career for her or kept on loving her after his passion had spent its novel force is an idea that would occur only to a playwright. L e ‘The persistency of the fellows is the one quality which always has amazed our comforting home circle heart and mind. Although none of these mighty charmers has ever made' passes at us, we, too, have been more or less exposed to the second-rate brilliant beams. We have known several Knockouts who in- variably had an idea that all they had to do was to look at a man—any man— to make him roll over and play dead. The main Article in their Creed was invariably the same: Any woman could make a fool out of any man if she wanted to. These females (and we call them that to distinguish them from women—no less an authority than Kip- ling called them vampires) were sex conscious. They confused lust with love and fondly patted themselves on the back over it. It is probably true that the average woman can make a “fool” out of the average man—once. Our thesis is that the average man of any common sense at all, after he has had a fool made out of him for a time, would wake up and “come to himself” (we are not able to mass as many fa- mous names in a given space as our correspondent, but we can say offhand that Seneca and Woodrow Wilson both used that phrase). Yes, sir, when the average male being realizes that he has ben making a fool of himself he is rfectly willing to sneak back to the wife of his bosom and hope that nothing will be said about it. And the wise wife, knowing that she has something that the other woman hasn’t, namely, love and affection based on something higher than physique, doesn't say anything about it. 'The lure of novelty is something with which both men and women have to contend in | this curious world. It szems to us that Count Muffat, in Zola's “Nana,” 15 a good type of the unnatural man who sticks too close to the unnatural woman, and that Zola, repressed in love affairs, was a good sample of the sort of man who insists on making a character overdo it. (Per- haps there is some obscure relation, too, between the names Nana and Nina, wc don't know.) The count undoubtedly would have fallen for Nana, but that he would have stuck to her to the bitter end we find it difficult to believe, Why would he? ‘We defy any reader to read “Nana” two times and feel that Count Muffat is a true delineation of character. No, he is an inexperienced man's idea of how an inexperienced man would act; that is all. No man with an ounce of blood in his veins would put up with insuit from any women who ever lived, espe- cially when his trusty old mind told him that she was as vile a creature as ever lived. Such women live, undoubt- edly, both in real life and in plays and books, but that any decent man would stick to them we continue to doubt. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS The storm squalls on the prohibition | horizon are increasing in number and | intensity with each passing week. The latest is the threatened senatorial in- | vestigation of the Prohibition Bureau. | Bince in the past the friends of prohi- bition have ever fought shy of investi- gations by Congress, or by any one else, of prohibition enforcement men and methods, and since the drys rule the Senate, the proposal for a senatorial probe when offered 10 days ago by Wheeler of Montana was taken lightly and was generally assumed to be des- tined for early oblivion. Such may st'll be the ultimate fate of the Wheeler resolution, but that is now by no means certain. When the Senate judiciary committee started to deal with it this week, it developed that such warm friends of prohibition as Chairman Nor- ris and Borah and Walsh of Montana and Caraway were all in favor of the investigation. ~Senator S. Wildman Brookhartsof Towa, than whom no dry is dryer, declared that if the resolution was smothered in the committee he would lead a fight on the floor to put it through. La Follette and Blaine and Blease and Wheeler will join hands in this cause, which again proves that political exigencies make strange bed- fellows. Meantime, the White House has passed along the word to sidetrack the investigation at all costs. Next week may bring’a showdown on this partic- ular piece of busincss. * ok X The latest eminent citizen to run afoul of senatorial leasure is Charles A. Stone of New York, one of the country’s leading engineers and the senlor partner of Stone & Webster Co. A vacancy on the board of regents of the Smithsonian Institution was occa- sioned by the retirement of Chief Jus- tice Taft and the fact that Mr. Hughes, who takes Taft's place on the board by virtue of his judicial office, was previously one of the lay members of the board. Lay members are appointed by congressional joint resolution, and Senator Watson, administration leader, brought in a resolution designating Mr. Stone, and the Senate in a leisure mo- ment adopted it without protest or de- bate. But this action has been re- scinded at the instance of La Follette, who declared that he objected “to fill- ing key positions of Government with representatives of the power trust.” Norris and other “power trust” foes are lining up to do battle on Mr. Stone. * ok ok ¥ Such persons as are convinced that Mr. Coolidge is done forever with public office are quite confident that about the time t the Republican party is nominating a president in 1932 the New York Life Insurance Co. will be nominating Mr. Coolidge for its resident. In two more years Darwin . Kingsley will have completed 25 years as president of the New York Life, and will be 75 years of age. Mr. Coolidge will be just turning 60. In the six months which have now elapsed since Mr. Coolidge became a director of the New York Life his activities in that sphere have been constantly broadening, and observers profess to see a careful grooming of the new re- cruit in the insurance field for the headship of '.hl: b:lllgn-:ouar company. Representative Louis Ludlow, Demo- crat, of Indiana has ditproved an an- cient belief that to accomplish anything @ member of Congress must be of the major party and must have served for a long time. Mr. Ludlow, veteran Wash- ington newspaper correspondent, and a former member of the National Press Club, is serving his first term. His legislative accomplishments have be- come the envy of his colleagues and the pride of his district. He & $1,500,000 addition to the Federal has obtained | Building in Indianapolis. He emerged victorious in the contest between In- dianapolis and Cincinnati for a stop on the St. Louis airmail line, in this con- test besting Speaker Longworth, who hails from Cincinnati. He obtained an allocation of $800,000 for a housing pro- gram at Fort Benjamin Harrison. A new $500,000 veterans hospit: ssigned to Indiana, may be located Indian- apolis, thanks to Ludlow's indefatigable persistence. Last, but not least, he pre- vailed .upon the Navy Department to christen the latest of the new cruisers the “Indianapolis.” * ok ok x Senator Borah, generally credited with having induced Mr. Hoover to promise an extra session for tariff revision, of- fers a neat retort to the renewed ex- ostulations from the White House over he snail's pace at which the tariff bill is proceeding in the Senate. “There are 21,000 items in this bill, 20,000 of which ought not to be there,” sald Borah. “That is the answer.” Three months have now elapsed since the President sent word to the Senate that if it means business it could finish the tariff bill in 10 days. L i 5 Congress having provided for pil- grimages to Europe of Gold Star mothers and widows, whose war dead lie buried overseas, is apparently not yet done with the subject. Senator Henry J. Allen of Kansas, tried and true Hoover Republican and prominent leader of the Young Guard, tomes for- ward in behalf of the Gold Star fathers. “Why should the fathers be left behind?” he inquires, and, con- vinced that there is no valid reason for such discrimination, he this week filed a bill in the Senate to provide that all fathers who wish to do so may g0 along with the mothers on the Eu- ropean visit, all expenses paid by Uncle Sam. » * K ok % The Capitol restaurant, operated by the House of Representatives for the accommodation of the members, their guests, visiting sightseers and the news- pa.er contingent, is having a hard time making both ends meet. New economies are being devised to curtail recurring operating deficits. The size of the table napkins has been reduced 2 inches, and this saves 3 cents per napkin on 60 dozen recently pur- chazed. The small sliver of cheese which formerly adorned each portion of ple has been eliminated. Hereafter patrons who desire cheese with their ples are assessed an extra nickel. (Copyright, 1930.) —.— Prefers Cars to Busses Because of Bad Gases To the Editor of The Star: Dear Str: I was interested in the editorial in your paper, February 15, concerning the weaknesses of the street cars, in comparison with the newer: mode of transportation, the busses. I hold no stock in eithsr company and do not know personally a single official or em lo}'a of either road, so I do not pc& rom the viewpoint of a prejudi individual. But I am taking this opportunity to register my protest against dlmzn‘lfll with street cars and using entirely lumpity-bump- ity, unsafe, gas-and-smoke-producing, crowded-to-suffocation busses. If any one of these weaknesses of the bus is more objectionable to me than the others, it is the terrible gas that suffo- cates me at every turn when within two or three blocks of a plull}r bus. I am especially susceptible to all such gases, tobacco smoke and all other FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, . THIS AND THAT 1980, D. C.’s Street Car Service Held Far From Perfect To the Editor of The Star: In last Saturday’s issue of The Star you made the following editorial state- ment in regard to the street car system of Washington: “At present it is, in this city, one of the most nearly perfect and most satisfac)orily operating modes of public transgitation in the world.” Now, as a matter of fact, far from be- ing one of the most perfect in the world, the tramway system of this city is one of the poorest in the country, especially when you consider the fact that it belongs to the Nation's Capital. Over three-fourths of its present equip- ment is obsolete, and should be re- placed with new rolling stock. In par- ticular do I refer to the Capital Trac- tion Co. Largely because of these an- cient peanut-roasters dignified with the name of cars, but also due to the ab- sence of an adequate express system, service is unnecessarily slow through- out the city. An up-to-date schedule would likewise be advisable. ‘There has been for some time, in this country, a fallacy beneath which the writer of Saturday’s editorial evidently labors—the bus is superseding e street car. Despite the fact that, al- though busses have now been ineex- istence a good many years, there are nearly twice as many street cars in the United States alone as there are busses, and despite the fact that railways still purchase trolley cars in large numbers, this common error persists. cently to study traffic conditions in ‘Washington, when it was suggested that the street cars be replaced by s, remarked that the latter could not give many cars are even now_required to transport people along Pennsylvania avenue and then to reflect upon how many busses are needed to supplant a single car, to be able to visualize the gestion should be adopted. However, there are two unjust bur- In the first place, since most of the paving between tracks is worn out by automobiles, the city should at least bear half the repair expenses, instead of pushing the entire burden upon the companies. And, in the second place, why on earth a street car company should pay the salaries of crossing po- licemen is beyond me. ‘W. D. JOHNSON. ————— Animal Rescue League " Criticized for Methods To the Editor of The Star: As one who has been, for the past 10 years, since I first came to Washing- ton, deegly interested in the work of the Washington Animal Rescue e and who was until recently a member of its board of directors, I write in the hope that you will publish this letter and thus bring to the attention of some of the people of Washington certain conditions which shouldabe corrected. ‘The_object and purpose of the Ani- mal Rescue League, as is apparent from its title, and as declared in gen- eral terms in its charter, and carried out in practice since 1914, when it was feunded, have been primarily (1) rescuing from the streets stray, lost and injured animals, (2) humanely de hopelessly maimed or sick animals, (3) locating the owners of lost animals and (4), wherever possible, finding homes for animajs not claimed. That this work is not now being carried out and is bflnr inexcusably misdirected, I do not believe any one will doubt who will make even the slightest investigation. Without stop- ping to inquire into other matters of administration, the particular matter 1 fMave protested, and which I hope to bring to the attention of t#e public through the printing of this letter, is the present method of destroying ani- mals, both large and small, by closing them in chloroform boxes and slowly suffocating them to death. It may be done &:nlc ly with very young or small animals, but it is frightfully cruel with larger animals, as any first-class veterinarian or any one who has had experience in chloroforming animals, as I have, will testify. work of destruction has been going on now for more than two weeks, as I was told last Saturday by two of the present officers of the league. It is golng on notwithstanding there is still installed, as there has been for years, an electric lethal chamber which the official in- spection reports show in perfect working order. The continuance of this umane practice of chloroform- ing la animals is inexcusable and should protested by every one who cares for animals. Heretofore and until the sent moment, I have tried, in what little I have done in this work, to along with the league in the hope that con- ditions might be bettered, but I am convinced nothmg short of direct ac- tion or strong public protests will have any effect. MARION STUART CAKE. oo Praise and Thanks for Community Chest Service PTo the Editor of The Star: One of the great pleasures of a campaign such as the one through which the Community Chest has just sone is to thank those who have ren- lered signal service in the conduct of that campaign. There is no greater pleasure in this connection than that with which I thank yourself and your assoclates for your intelligent and dis- criminating support of the Community Chest and its member organizations through every conceivable instrumen- tality of your publication before and during the recent campaign. All that & newspaper might do you did do, courteously, sympathetically, intelli- finuy and forcefully, with an evident gh regard for the principle that a newspaper not merely is a collector and disseminator of news, and a creator of public opinion, but, also, an instru- mentality for community service of the greatest potency. We can pick out no single member of your staff to thank. Won' you please thank them all in my bjhlll and in that of the board of trustees of the Community Chest for the sery- ice they have rendered through your columns toward the attainment by the campaign of what I think is a very {;1: d‘fif °’x'"°§'i“ in the face of e conditions in which our com foxind lhsl” e . t would give me great pleasure if you might find it fitting to Dl:lhlflh this letter, so that your readers might know of our very sincere appreciation of the service which you have severally and collectively rendered. FREDERIC A. DELANO, President, the Community Chest. ——————eee—mee smokes and gases, and my life would be made miserable if I were compelled to travel constantly in gas-producing machines, such as busses and taxies. If you can assist in the search for eliminative invention to rid these ma- chines of such gas and smoke, make them as smooth-riding and as com- paratively safe as the street cars are, other nn&gunud folks like myself might be tempted to travel in them. At pres- ent I seldlom go anywhere that can be avoided where I must use a bus. The efficiency of our present two street car systems, 'lnd the efforts of the two companies' to continue this service and improve it, regardless of the question of increased fares, is cer- tainly appreciated by myself and many others, and we hope to see the service continued indefinitely. When the many cities in the country, much larger than ‘Washington, dispense entirely with sur- face carlines and subway cars, and use entirely the bus and other motor ve- hicles operated ? power producing suf- !ocl!ll;’ 8as and smoke—when this is done will be plenty of time for Wash- ington to consider the same action. E, DAVISO! A noted traffic expert, sent here re- as satisfactory service as the former. | It is only necessary to remember how | | Price.” ; | Arthur Byron in the farce, “A Kiss in chaos that would result If Such & suge | it iy SanC Meole Ao e Shn What do you need to know? Is there some point ‘about your business or per- sonal life that pussles you? Is here nmethl.n‘ you want to know without delay? Submit your question to Fred- eric J. Haskin, director of our Wash- ington Information Bureau. He is em- ployed to nelg':ou, uiry to The Evening hmu. Prederic J. , tor, ‘Washington, D. C., and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Q. When was Charles Evans Hughes | a member of the Supreme Court of the | United States?—H. W. A. He became an associate justice of the Supreme Court October 10, 1910. He became the Republican nominee for | the presidency June 10, 1916, and re- | signed from the bench the same day. Q. For what purse and length is the Kentucky Derby run?—C. D. A. The Kentucky Derby is a 850,000 race for 3-year-olds at 14 miles, The race was 115 miles from 1875 to 1805. It i5 run at Churchill Downs, Louis- ville, Ky. . Does it require more electricity to xe'.e outside stations than to get l%ul ones?—C. R. D. A. It does not require more elec- Star Information in, | tricity. ~@ Please give brief biography of Claudette Colbert?—M. W. A. Born in France, Claudette Colbert nt her early childhood in Paris. hen she was 8 years old her family came to New York City, where she at- tended grammar school and later the ‘Washington Irving High School and an art school. Her earliest role of im- portance was in “The Pearl of Great Subsequently she appeared with 5) Barker” and “See Naples and Die.” She. | i married to Norman S. Foster, who | fon pic- dens imposed upon the street railways | 'L Appear with her in the motion pic of this city which should be abolished. | ture dramatization of Katherine Brush's “Young Man of Manhattan.” Q. Where did Babe Ruth first play base ball>—J. P. J. A. He first played base ball in the Industrial School (St. Mary's) in Balti- re, Md. He was considered by the tructors to be such a good player that Jack Dunn was urged to come out to watch him play. He was signed to play with Baltimore. At that time he was 19. Q. Has aluminum been used for clothing?—B. O. N. A. Aluminum brocades have been put upon the market in some places. They are woven of fine aluminum threads. ‘The metal has been neutralized and has been made capable of stretching through layers of cellulose superim- pressed upon it. Thin aluminum is also much used for the outside covering of shoes, pocketbooks and vanity bags. Q. Name some books about the French Foreign n.—H. T. A. A. “Soldlers of Misfortune” and the four Geste books, by Percival C. Wi “Surrender.,” by J. C. Smith Horns of Ramadan,” by Arthur Train, and “L. M. 8046,” by David King. Q. How long have umbrellas been . D. s;d Umbrellas are .said to have been known as far back as the early days of Nineveh and Persepolis, for representa- tions of them ngpur frequently in the sculptures of those early days. The u: carried them, but the men never did. Jonas Hanway of Lon is said to have been the first man who walked the streets of that city with an open umbrella over his head to keep off the rain. He is eaid to have used his umbrella for 30 years before umbrellas Address your in- | This ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN, came into general use for that purpose. a. In lmn{‘. should material be put in front of the index letters or behind | them?—B. L. 8. | . A. Tt is customdry in most systems of filing to file behind the index letter. is the custom used in the Library of Confieu and followed by mosty such institutions. " Q. Has the Bible been translated into the Indian language?—F. §. A, It has been translated in whole lor in part by the American Bible | Soctety into 13 Indian languages spoken in the United States. Q. Who started the movement to have none but women as superintend- ents of omen in prisons?—G. W. C. A. This is not & matter of record. It is thought that Gov. Washington Hunt was responsible for having the first ‘woman appointed to such a position in New York. Q. Where was James G. Blaine buried?—W. 8. P. A. James G. Blaine died in Wash- ington, D. C., January 27, 1893. The first interment was #n Oakhill Ceme- tery, which is non-denominational, but, at the request of the State of Maine, re- interment was made in the Blaine Memorial Park, at Augusta e, in June, 1920, Q. Why do railroad rails meet in the distance?—J. K. A. Parallel lines apparently converge in the eye level of the observer. This is a well known factor of perspective and is caused bpsthe apparent decrease in the size of the object as it recedes from the eye. em to Q. Is the word “tidl, meaning “until,” in ood usage?—L. D. A. It is correct. Both words are in good usage. Q. How far nerth is the Hudson River affected by the tide?—R. V. W. A. 1t is affected by the tide as far up as the United States dam at Troy. . Q. Please explain the dole system in England.—F. L. H. A. The dole was of ally a dis- tribution or gift, especially of food and money given in charity., After the World War the term was applied in Great Britain loosely to the various kinds of weekly payments to the unem- ployed. They were first made on a natfonal scale under the out-of-work donation scheme instituted in 1918, and inasmuch as the scheme was entirely non-contributory, the term was nolz. inappropriate. The expression “dole’ in relation to donation payments be- came current soon afterward and was applied to the weekly payments made under the national unemployment in- surance scheme which was on a con- tributory basis from its inception. The contributing parties were the employer, the employed person and the exchequer, the share of the contribution borne by national funds being only one-fifth of the whole. This was later increased and amounted at one period to approxi- tely three-tenths of the whole. Gen- erally it may be said that from 1919 the term “dole” has been loosely applied to payments made from national or local funds to unemployed and even to. benefits paid from insurance funds to which the recipients themselves contribute. Q. Where are the best Government bass hatcheries in the United States?— women of ancient Rome and Greece|T. C. A. The State hatcheries at Hacketts- town, N. J.,, and Comstock Park, Mich., and the Federal hatcheries at Tupelo, Miss.; Orangeburg, 8. C., and Louisville, Ky, are excellent. uisville’s new hatchery is the finest in the country as to bulldings and equipment. “If the spirit of Edward Bok, who made possible the $10,000 award, looked down upon the occasion of Connie Mack's recognition, it must have smiled lection of the manager of the Ath- letics for recognition as the person who “rendered the most outstanding service to the city during the year.” That the public’s smile is one of ap- proval, if we are to judge by the com- ment on the committee’s selection, is apparent. “Some kind of award should now be awarded to the awarders,” says the Baltimore Sun, with the tribute to the timent, of cash, of thrills, of newlplgelr lineage, of national eminence and in- fluence upon the ambitions of the younger generation, Mr. Mack is just about Philadelphia’s most remarkabl person since Benjamin Franklin played with kites and held his own in conver- sation with M. Voltaire.” The Phila- delphia Evening Bulletin agrees that the committee has “made no more popular selection” than in “this year’ mark of honor given to Connie Mack.’ * ok ok ‘The South Bend Tribune adds that “certainly the vast majority of Ameri- cans outside of Philadelphia are more familiar with Connie Mack’s base ball accomplishments than with the other modern Philadelphia assets.” Applauding the action of the com- mittee, the Scranton Times declares that “so far as keeTl.ng public atten- tion focused on Philadelphia is con- cerned, probably no other agency did as much as Connie Mack and his world champion Athletics last year. How- ever,” adds the Times, “there is some- thing broader than this in making Mr. Mack the recipient of the award. Back of it is & urg;n to exalt clean, whole- some lporg. the years Connie Mack has been engaged in professional base ball, either as player or manager, he has been an inspiration to millions of boys who love the great outdoors.” o Times approves and lauds the solid judgment of the committee of award,” declares the St. Louis Times. “There have been eight gm:edlnz Te- cipients of this award. 'wo of them were honored as recognition of service in the fleld of education, one in music, one in science, and four in the province of art or public affairs. Thus the award for 1929 enters upon unfraversed ground. But it will be Judicially conferred. dearer to the hearts of the folk of a large city than the triumphs of their pennant-winning ball clubs. St. Louis knows, It possessed one, years ago, and gloried in it. The days of Chris von der Ahe are in the shadow, but their radlance still is filled with Jlm’y ‘Connie Mack’ is now 67 years old, but it is evident that his intellect is still at work. More power to him, and ma; he"vlvunruhlfl n;x'e:ll and read his md unf eritors possess an cherish them!" * ok ok “Innumerable are the instances,” ac- cording to the San Francisco Chronicle, “‘of honors bestowed on players, man- agers and teams. The winning of a pennant in any league is worth a civic banquet, a siren parade of moter cycles and a %eoch by the mayor. But the Philadelphia award is different. The Bok prize was founded by a patron of the arts and of civic progress. its previous winners were famous scien- tists, jurists, scholars and artists. Leo- pold Stokowski, conductor of the Phila- delphia Symphony Orchestra, was one of the first to win the award. But is the venerable Mr. McGillicuddy so strange amongst this company? It there is a science in base ball he is a master. He is an artist at concealing his strategy. And if any one better understands the music of the spheres, h\!l didn't figure in the last world series.” “Cornelius McGillicuddy refused to manager: “Take it as a matter of sen- | hi recognized as ‘There is nothing | b Connie Mack Called Master As Philadelphia Honors Him le. “He made it ‘Connie Mack’ and he made it famous wherever base ball is known. Athens used to give the winner of the Olympic games free board for life. Philadelphia cannot do that under her municipal limitations, but she is doing the best she can and is pleased to know that Connie Mack is fairly prosperous without regard to prises. The Olympic winner used to stand on a table of ivory and gold to receive the simple garland of wild olive that gave him a place in history. Un- fortunately no provision ‘for this had been made in the Quaker City, always proud of its quiet simplicity. Perhaps Mr. Bok never dreamed that any form of athleties would be represented among is prize winners. Yet the award will be approved from Maine to California and the Great Lakes to the Gulf, as & fair recognition of the part base ball prestige plays in the civic pride of le | the biggest and the littlest of our American municipalities.” * kK % “He has been the examplar of thou- sands of boys and young men, not only in his home city, but wherever. the ideals of good sportsmanship are known: and valued,” declares the Albany Eve- ning News, adding as to the great suc- cess of the Athletics: “But in victory or defeat, the modesty, integrity and courage of their leader have un- failingly demonstrated. Such character in a man may well constitute his serv- ices an outstanding contribution to good citizenship.” The Dallas Journal says: “It is distinction as well for the na- tional game with which Connie has been connected for so many years, and the conferment pays tribute to base ball not more as a source of entertain- ment for lovers of the game than as a factor for the unification of cemmu- nity spirit from which any city profits greatly. The Nation will applaud the decision.” “He represents the best in profes- sional base ball, and this latest tribute to his work will be applauded by mil- lons of fans scattered throughout the avers the Lynchburg Ad- ‘hile the Providence Bulletin says: “No man in base ball is more loved than the tall, taciturn manager of the Athletics, and the honor con- ferred upon him will be approved as a just one. In the management of the club he has displayed high courage, maintained rigid standards of fairness and promoted the general welfare of the great national sport. In his line he as been as successful as any of the previous recipients in theirs. Surely he has made Philadelphia distinguished for clean base ball, and on the basis of the fame that has accrued to the city be- cause of Mack's stay he merits recogni- tion as a worthy and leading citizen. Whether in religion, science, sports or ; |any of the other flelds of human en- deavor we recognize honesty, integrity, determination and honor, and Mr. Mack these tes in full measure. The award is a splendid climax to a useful life.” Civil Service Retirement Funds and Exemptions To_the Editor of The Star: Mr. Lehlbach's retirement proposition does not differ very materially from the Dale bill in the amount of annuity, but its chief defects are the indefinite methods of calculating annuities and the indefensible forfe! “memm. which will undoubtedly to re at- tention of the civil service committees to the interests of the Goverpment in retirement legislation. This ;&mumn should be included in any bill that is &dl g um.ulll;tl‘l l‘l:vulc thl’ve all who cons! the interests m:n Federal service :; struggle with a somewhat embarrass- name,” recalls the Dally be at least equal to those of the em- ployes. THOMAS CARLISLE. ’