Evening Star Newspaper, March 5, 1930, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR, "WASHINGTON, D. C., WEDNESDAY., MARCH 5, 1930.° _— the THE EVENING STAR |wms Wmfl:'"’w"m With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. ‘WEDNESDAY.....March 5, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Nt iper Com) 11th 8t. and p.:::.'m. Ave, S New York S°T10 East 4204 Bt Lake Michigan Building. H ? .. London, icago Offie Bl Offce 45" Hesent &t England. the City. 45¢ per month 5 +80c per month .85¢ per month T R per copy oSpiection made at thic end of cach month; sent in by mail or telephone NAtional 5000. y . Rate by Mall—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. E:‘n‘:}’ and_Sunda: $10.00: 1 mo., oy’ only’ All Other States and Canada. iy and !undly.,l;r.,u:. ily only . 38.¢ . inday” only " is 38.00; 1 mo 85c 50c 40c Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press 13 exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dis- dit or not otherwise cred- this pape; in a aiso_the local news published herein. ‘Al rights of publication of pecial dispatches herein are also reserved. The Test of Coalition. Eternal vigilance is the price of coalition in the Senate, with the tariff bill under consideration. It is one thing for the coalition to swat the President, choosing as its club a debenture clause or an amendment doing away with the flexible provision of the tariff law, but it is decidedly another to keep the coalition in line on rates affecting in- dustries in the States of the coali- tionists. The coalitionists saved them- selves from defeat last week on lumber and oil only by the hardest kind of work. They ciarged “log rolling,” a trade of votes on several commodities, on a big scale. Last night the coalition was again confronted with a dangerous situation. Chairman Smoot of the Sen- ate finance committee came forward ‘with & compromise on the sugar sched- ule, proposing to' increase the duty to into service for even quicker transport of letters. If the new device, now undergoing test, makes good in practical use it will be possible to drop malils across country with the precision of the rail- road service and at greater speed. With planes large enough o carry fuel for long fiights assorted mails can be col- lected and distributed on a route com- prising a dozen cities without stop- ping the planes. Airmail service can be utilized for distribution over wide areas from central points, veritable rural de- livery by air. The novelty of today is the common- place of tomorrow. The airplane is no longer an object of curiosity. It scarce- ly attracts any attention whatever, un- less it is of enormous size, or makes a violent noise, or is in trouble and doing strange things in the air, The air- plane mail is regarded as an established feature of the postal service. Deliveries sc | and collections in flight will be the usual feature of the service in a short while. . o——— Plans for the Airport. As proposed by the Congressional Joint Commissign on Airports and am- plified in private conversation by its chairman, Senator Bingham, the plan for financing acquisition and develop- ment of Washington's much-needed and long-sought municipal airport seems both practical and equitable from the viewpoints of the Federal Government and its ward, the District of Columbia. It is to be hoped that this sensible com- promise between what threatened to be the irreconcilable views of enthusi- astic airport proponents—united from the first on principle but divided as to detail—will be crowned with the suc- cess it deserves and the solution of a yielding from extreme points of view nothing would be done and yesterday’s action by the House has resulted. The measure NOw goes into conference, and it may be possible there to reframe it in some degree 50 as to lessen the objec- tions to it. In the debates over this measure there has been evident an uncertainty as to just how it will “work” in practice. Some have declared that it will operate to the disadvantage of the lower-salared Government employes, others that it will be hurtful to the upper grades. There is always a conflict between the two classes of Government workers which it seems to be impossible to compromise or adjust. Government civilian retirement has not worked out altogether as it was hoped when the plan was first put into operation. The compulsory, arbi- trary separation from the active serv- ice of men and women of full com- petence merely because they have reached certain ages has worked in- justice and injury both to the Govern- ment and to the employes. The scale of annuities has always been too low. The pittances doled out to the elder workers thus set aside from the lower ranges of the pay scale have been wholly inadequate to maintain the an- nuitants in decent comfort. A great surplus of funds has been piled up in the Treasury, contributed to by the employes themselves through deductions from their pay envelopes. ‘The theory of the law is that it is neces- sary thus to establish a “capital” fund for the maintenance of the annuities, with the Government paying only a small percentage of the cost of retire- ment., The Star has always held that the Government should pay a larger portion of the annuity, that the active difficult problem will be followed by the legislation necessary to make it effective. An unfortunate misunderstanding as to the nature of the airport plan and the arrangement for dividing the cost between the Federal Government and the District of Columbia has been clari- 2 cents on Cuban sugar and to 2.50 on all other sugar imported. The coali- tionists learned of desertions from their ranks and fought to postpone a vote. ‘The threat was made to stay all night and talk if necessary to prevent a voté. In the end the best they could get out of the situation was an agree- ment to vote on sugar at 3 p.m. today. Upon the results of the importunities of the coalitionists overnight will de- Pend the fate of the sugar duty. The danger to the coalition is the breaking of the dike which has been Taised. If the Smoot sugar duty is adopted by the Senate, the members of the new coalition, if* it may be so called, may be able to force through duties on lumber and oil and hides and shoes, and perhaps other rates which are anathema to the old coalitionists, The ability of the old coalition of insurgent Republic- ans and Democrats to hold their forces in line on the rates in the tariff bill has been marvelous in the opinion of veterans who have had to do with the tariff acts. The coalition seemed Iast week strongly in control again. The acticn on sugar today will be a real test, however. The tarift bill has at last been re- ported from the “committee of the whole” to the Senate. This change in the parliamentary situation amounts to little more than the beginning of the second round of the fight over duties, although the second round is usually very much more brief than the first. It merely provides a second opportunity of voting again on matters which have alréady been settled by the whole Sen- ate in committee of the whole. A ridiculous procedure, but in line with some of the other rules of the Senate. In the committee of the whole in the Senate roll calls are permitted along with unlimited debate. In the Senate the same rules prevail, except that Benators give notice, prior to the bill's going into the Senate from committee of the whole, of the amendments on which they desire a vote.” Yesterday when the tariff bill was on the verge of “going into the Senate,” there was & deluge of requests to reserve votes on this and that subject, until finally, in exasperation, Senator Glass of Vir- ginia suggested that perhaps he should Teserve votes on the entire list of sched- ules. ; ‘The passage of the tariff bill through the Senate appears to be in sight at last. —————— ‘The “Bad Man From Bitter Creek” is an obsolete character in fiction. The Communist who advertises his reckless- Dess has taken his piace. Non-Stop Airmail Service. Tests were conducted yesterday at Hoover Field, near this city, of a new | device for the dropping and taking on | of mail pouches by airplanes in flight. The operation of the appliance, & broad-mouthed chute into which the| “arriving” mail is drawn and from | which the “going” pouch is taken with | the plane traveling at eighty miles an | hour, appears to have been fully satis- factory. Thus is ‘aviation as a practi- cal means of transport advanced by | successive developments, This test revives memory of the early devices for the transfer of mail pouches to moving trains. Before this mode of handling was provided it was necessary to halt all trains at stations to receive bags of mail matter, perhaps only a single letter. Otherwise the mails moved out only once a day, by strictly “local” service. A swinging-arm pro- Jjector was contrived, forming a hook upon which the bag was hung, later- ally, with the open end on the side of the train’s direction. An engaging hook was attached to the inside well of the mail car to catch the hanging bag and swing it into the car. The first devices were rather crude, but they worked— usually. Sometimes the train went t0o, fast for the apparatus; occasionally the bag was switched out of its holder and flung to one side, even under the wheels of the train. Or the engaging hook in the mail car did not function quite in time and “missed” the bag. But on the whole it was an advance. Later came improvements, until now the dis- patch of mails without the halting of trains is practically perfect. In recent years outgoing mails from rural post offices have in considerable fled by the printed report of the joint commission, appearing in full else- where in today's Star, and by valuable elucidation offered by Senator Bing- ham. ‘These make it plain, in the first place, that the municipal airport plan- ned for development on the sites of the present Washington Airport, Hoover Field, Arlington Experimental Farm and parts of the reclaimed Columbia Island is not to be construed in any sense as & “temporary” field. This land, on the other hand, is to be the nucleus of a great future aeronautic de- velopment on the other side of the river, to which the projected Gravelly Point area will in time be added as the necessarily tedious work of recla- mation proceeds and as the growth of commercial air transportation demands larger terminal facilities. As the joint commission’s report points out, the nor- mal rate of filling in this underwater area would consume some forty years. Even if the work were hastened and Gravelly Point were made dry land tomorrow, there would have to be a delay of five years until “the fill would settle sufficiently to warrant the con- struction of concrete runways or war- rant a proper development of grass.” 1f, however, the areas under discus- sion are acquired and developed in the immediate future, the National Cap- ital's municipal airport should be ready by 1932, when arrangements doubtless could be made to signalize its dedica- tion by some national air meet as one of the major features of the great pro- gram for the bicentennial year. Objections to the plan of financing the airport may have been registered under a misconception of the details. The Cramton Park bill's Treasury advance plan applied to purchase of the airport land, with the Federal Govern- ment’s share represented merely by the interest-free loan, plus the fraction of the lump sum contributions that would go toward its amortization, would of course place an unwarranted burden upon the District and would be obvi- ously unfair. But, under the joint com- mission’s scheme, features of govern- mental cost-sharing participation as in- cluded in the “Cramton plan” would be augmented by “the passage of legis- lation permitting the Government of the District of Columbia to use such portion of the so-called Arlington Ex- perimental Farm lands lying east of the railroad tracks and adjacent to Hoover Field as may be required for municipal airport purposes.” In addition, Senator Bingham's plan is further to include, as part of the airport, a large portion of Columbia Island now being filled in and to change the location of the Mili- tary road at present separating Hoover Field from Washington Airport. After contributing its share in land, the joint commission would have the Federal Government agree “that the full con- trol and management of the airport proposed to be thus established be vested in the government of the District of Columbia.” This would assure to the District, which is to become the chief investor, revenue to be received through operation of the commercial features of the airport. At the same time the Fed- eral Government would receive its re- turn through use of the airport by those agencies catering exclusively to the Fed- eral establishment. In line with the proper conception of all major undertakings assumed in be- half of the Federal City, the United States Government and the taxed, but unrepresented, members of the Capital community will (as they should), in building the airport, equitably siare the burden of expense and together reap the rewards. The work accomplished under difficul- ties by the Congressional Joint Commis- sion is to be commended and its fair and just suggestions as outlined in the report and explained by its members are to be praised. ————— | Apnuity Amendment Assured. Passage by the House yesterday of the modified Lehlbach retirement an- nuity bill, in the form of an amend- ment to the Dale bill already passed by the Senate, virtually assures action at the present session upon this most im- portant subject, of such vital interest to the present and prospective an- nuitants of the Government service. proportion been transmitted to the larger points of transport or distribu- tion by means of motor busses. It is no longer necessary, in such instances, to wait for a stopping railroad train or to hang the bag on its post to be switched off by a hook. Postal service o A There was a time when violent differ- 1 ences of opinion regarding the proposed House measure threatened to prevent legislation altogether. While those dif- ferences have not been adjusted, and all views harmonized, the fact has been demonstrated that unless there was some pay should not be severely cut to com- pel the assumption of the burden by the workers themselves. It holds now that the scale should be liberalized, with the Government meeting a larger share of the cost. This pending legis- lation may not be the most suitable means of effecting such & change in the policy of retirement. Eventually, however, an amendment to this effect should be adopted. ———————— United States delegates are causing disappointment among those who wish they were not so much inclined to re- main silent. And if they talked with- out restraint, artistic jealousies would arise because of suspicion that Uncle Sam was taking the center of the stage. ‘Thanks to previous service, Chief Justice Hughes has had no. difficulty whatever in adjusting himself to the routine of his present position. Many little questions that might puzzle a less practiced mind are disposed of promptly as matters of familiar experience. ——————— No doubt some of the wiser Haitians begin to suspect that if the island could find a good dictator willing to work hard without large pay, the people would do well to take him immediately to their hearts. — e His reputation as a balladist need not lehd any Soviet creators of disturbance to imagine that Mayor Jimmy Walker will try to quiet them by singing them to sleep. ————————— An eminent statesman sometimes gets credit to which he is not entitled, but matters average up as he gets a great deal of blame he does not deserve, ——————————— There should be consideration for the. United States Senate as a conscien- tious body of men sometimes required to dispose of too many problems at once. g SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Excessive Economy. The sun’ goes hurrying on his way Across the western portal, The golden glory on display Is free to every mortal. For him' who clings 'to eafthly things, His wealth, as he has stored it, The grim reminder often brings— “I fear I can't afford it.” And so the toiler passed the years In what he thought his duty. In fancy future joy appears " In opulence. and beauty. But time is precious and his care Strictly must be to hoard it. He cannot see the sunset there— Because he can't afford it! Color Scheme. “Do you think a Communist would object to being referred to as a red herring drawn across a trail of argu- ment?” “Why should he?” said Senator Sorghum; “a Communist is supposed to be in favor of anything red; even a red herring.’ Jud Tunkins says the great evidence of prosperity is the concentration of unemployment on the golf courses. Honest Compliment, My Radio—My Radio— You are a friend of mine! With fun youll entertain, I know, ‘Without one “risky” Iline. Behold the Girls Who Smoke! “People once regarded cigarette smok- ing as. effeminate.” “Well,” replied Miss Cayenne, “weren't they right?”. “He who has an envious heart,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “should keep silence lest he permit his envy to proclaim his own inferiority.” Hoping for the Worst. ‘The Communist addressed the throng— How often he has said it:' “If anything is going wrong, I'd like to have the credit.” “I like to think about Christmas,” said Uncle Eben, “but I gits tired bein’ reminded of it by nuffin but de weather.” . o Ignorance vs. Bliss. From the Boston Evening Transcript. orance is the world's curse, the National Education Association is told, presumably by a speaker who has never discovered that where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise. ) What a Welcome Decisiop! Prom the Indianapolis Star. Incidentally, it is time you began fig- uring whether to give up carrots or spinach during Lent. Knocking Right There. From the Columbus Ohlo State Journal. It may be poor sportsmanship to hit a man when he’s down, but it's at least taking advantage of a good opportunity. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. A lecturer on Japanese gardens ended his talk ?omnumthenwmo(- lormnlr ing in the traditional man- ner and declaring that in the contem- plation of such a garden the spectator could find peace and rest and “release from horticulture.” All those who have worked even in the smallest way with plants know what he meant by ‘that - significant phrase. From all the talk of backgrounds, color, harmony, balance, perennials, annuals, shrubs, evergreens, the weary soul of the gardener seeks repose. Even the most enthusiastic worker with plants, even the ardent amateur, finds himself at times becoming more and more perplexed over the theory of the garden, which in many cases seems to have overshadowed the work of the garden. Less mental u-n:1 lmm-e mu'}lmhwork in gardens, especially among the home- owning amateurs, would tend toward more real joy in the pursuit of happi- ness in the open air. Yet the nurser! of the country will give us no peace. Their organization this season is adver- tising two interesting booklets, one on “How' to Build an Outdoor Living Room,” and another on planting the home grounds. We are to be made artistic whether or no! . No longer shall the householder be permitted to splash up his front lawn with a big, inartistic flowerbed if he wants to. He must not be permitted to-want to commit such a crime. Of colirse, such planting is & misde- meanor, but the big danger is that home gardening is going to be spoiled for the average individual by too many rules and regulations. The first thing the country knows, it is going to wake up to the fact that a man’s garden is no longer the expression of his own temperament, for good or ill, but rather the expression of a set of men he never saw, whose ideas are their own, not his. ‘They will poke their busy fingers into perfectly inartistic but satisfactory garden and declare with a mighty sneer that Shakespeare was mistaken when he wrote that wheeze about something being “small yet mine own.” * K ok % ‘The release from horiculture for most of us simply means that we cease worrying whether our plantings would some expert. After all, an ex- pert is mostly an expert for himself. Each one of us is a bit of an expert in gardening_sense, and that bit ought 'Ll it does not, our expert- bring unnecessary sorrow e home ancdenir ougit o h e home gardener oug! approacl landscape gardening and its allied branches with an humble but a trite heart, determined to get all from 1t that he can; and when he has looked that field over carefully he should as carefully forget all except that which he manages to retain gracefully. ‘There should be no running back to consult his books or hanging with bated breath on the words of lecturers. Gar- den clubs are all very well, but some- times the most enthusiastic ner comes to wonder if they do any good to thl-i individual amateur worker with the soll. ‘The value of* college’ courses, as most graduates will admit, lies in the ex- posure of the student to the great advance of the mind along certain paths of learning. One goes to college not so much for what he will get out of it as for the chance to become en- of some one subject. ‘Then, by specializing in that branch Jilling to let Nature take 1ts'course with ‘What sticks in his mind, sticks; what vanishes, vanishes. And there should be no particular pride over the reten- ! W tion, or undue moaning when the lost | Wisdom, thoughts have put out to the sea vanished facts. 'y * k% % “There are few occupations of man in which the practitioner does not at times wish with all his heart that he were rid of the whole thing. weigh heavily upon the soul, but they cannot be dismissed lightly, except in those moments when men gather in reminis- cent mood to discuss the universe. ‘Then plain facts speak from the heart, and_calamity howls all up and down the line. In such meetings the successful lawyer wishes that he had become a newspaper man, and the lat- &rhre:nulhn e did not go in for e law. 5 The soldier wishes he had taken up literature, the writer that he did not nceegté the invitation of Uncle Sam to_join the Marines and see the world. ‘We see the philosophy of the release further worked out in the popular Sum- mer outings of business organizations, ostentatiously promoted to develop “good fellowship,” but in reality worked up and out to give release from the everyday grind. ‘The release of the seashore, country and mountains is well known. There are various lesser releases, such as giv- ing up of books for a time by the book- lover, the Winter solstice for the golfer, and the Summer interlude for the theatergoer. “All work makes Jack a dull boy,” as the saying has it. This composite Jack needs a release from more things than horticulture, yet that flelds narrows the proposition down to workable propor- tions for discussion. * ok oK It is in the garden especially that the home-owner deserves a release from rules, from the supereducation which at times, despite its glory, weighs down rather heavily upon the modern man. One of the most appreciated points of working with the soil is that here the brain has a chance to rest. Nature in her softer moments sings a lullaby which he alone will hear who | Wt goes to her with wide-open ears, the mind already ‘put to sieep for the day. That is why,.it has always seemed to us, '{: l.;';'-;'wnmn and evening hours are the or gardening. ‘ One may respect the opinion of those who sing the song of early morning in the garden. Surely the balmy air, the quiet, the sense of peace, is absolute on all sides, but the dew is wet to foot and hand, and the little ants, too, have come out for the morning stroll, and alto- gether the garden is not what some of us_would find it. In the morning the cares of the day are before the gardener. No matter how ardent his love for his plants, the office stares him in the face. Certain problems which must be met are there irics to Torget them: They peer 5t him es. . They peer a from the soft throat of gladiolus or sneer with a mock smile from the faces of every pansy in the bed. In the evening cares have been put away, and the home gardener is able to look his flowers in the face for the first time. Now, if ever, comes release from horticulture. There, amid the chill of the evening, surrounded 'by beloved plants, he may at beauty, not at of intelligence, he becomes a little ex- | plans. pert in his turn, so that he either may Hfelon Intercst or obby. " Eleer w elong or y. way, he is the gainer. Now, the amateur gardener ought to go to his books, magazines, lectures, in precisely the same spirit, determined to get all the good he can from them, but a|of the garden He sees happiness instead of page 4 magazine. He meets &o'en.u Nature grows them, rather an as botanical gardens are forgotten, and in their place stands a little back yard len, its sins forgotten, only its uty, peace and happiness remaining. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS Senator Borah on the stump in Bos- ton, in the elosing days of the 1928 campaign, said: “What we want, my friends, in the next four years is a pol- icy which will undoubtedly and effec- tively protect American labor and Amer- ican industry against the inroads which may come from Europe, both in manu- factured goods and in labor.” A dele- gation of New Englanders in Washing- ton, in'a final drive for tariff protection for , shoes and leather, called on s’:lmwr lc;lh this week,‘ told him ‘thlt ports of women’s footgear from Czechoslovakia were now pouring in at the rate of a million pairs a month, and that Massachusetts’ shoe factories were prostrated in consequence. They re':a uota- to the Idaho: Senator the above tion, and asked him to reconcile his present’ tariff position with his Boston campaign plédge. Borah refused to e cohcede that he had shifted his position on tariff, or that there was any incon- sistency - between the tariff doctrine which he had enunciated in Boston and His votes in the Senate. Had the Sen- ator been disposed to be captious he might well have suggested to his visitors that Massachusetts, by voting for Al Smith, had rejected the tariff pledges which ‘Botah had offered in Mr. Hoover's behalf and was estopped from now de- manding its fulfiliment. * kK ok Massachusetts has an added interést in Czechoslovakia by reason of the fact that it has supplied the new American ‘Minister*to,that country, in the person of Abraham C. Ratshesky, Boston banker ,and philanthropist. The new diplomat was in Washington this week to be sworn in and to get posted on the technique of diplomacy. While his post is not the most important one in Europe,” no American envoy has such a grand and gorgeous mansion as awalts the pew Minister on the banks of -the {Danube in Prague. It is a one-time .royal palace of 154 rooms, with | gardens which are = famous fl‘fl'flu’hout Europe, acquired by Uncle Sam for the American legation. Fortu- nately sMinister Ratshesky's purse s as ample as his palace, so the upkeep will not stagger him. . * ok ok o The Senate pased in its tariff de- other day to pay tribute to 'an “reporter of debates, Theo- - Shuey, 85 years old, and put bate the its vel dore into the Record their tributes to this faithful public servant. He has not missed.a day since he began his work of reporting debates of the Senate 59 He is a walking encyclo- pedia of information regarding the Senate and its members. Even in his advanced age he can hold his own with years ago. any of the younger men of the corps, and his accuracy is never questioned. Present Senate membership of 96 is nearly twice the number there were when Mr. Shuey started in soon after the Civil, War. He opines that present- day Senators are more garrulous than a half-century ago. “The day of ora- tory in the Senate, as compared v_!uh the olden times, is gone,” he says: “the speeches are less studied and lack the polish that men like Sherman, Hoar, Sumner - and Conkling gave to their addresses. . This is & swift-moving age and the Senate reflects the times. * ok K K Some one has suggested that the troubles “to_which' the Sehate’ recently has fallen heir are due to an absence of prayer. .+ The .Senate hasn't been prayed for since January 6, a two- month stretch—this in spite of the fact that custom and tradition require daily prayer from the rostrum.” The gr¢ “test deliberative in the ‘world has a chaplain for this particular task, but inasmuch as the Senate- is still proceeding ‘in the legislative day of January 6, recessing overnight in pref- erence to -dlmlr:’n; .the chaplain’s daily prayer is not in order. & L ‘The report of Dr. Jameson, chief of the division of manuscripts of i of Céngrésé, discloses for the first that Calvin Coolidge caused to be deposited with the entire. White House, files of presidential correspondence and other papers. Ex- cepting Taft, who followed a similar course, Mr. Coolidge is the first of our Presidents to turn over his private files in this manner. Other Presidents have retained their papers and letters for the use of themselves or their biogra- phers in subsequent book-publishing ventures. The Coolidge papers, carefully arranged by his secretary, Edward T. Clark, fill 50 steel transfer cases and afe accompanied by a card-index file. “They will be a rich mine of informa- tion for future students of the history tectio of Mr. Coolidge’s administration,” writes Dr. Jameson. “Deposited by him, they are at present under his control spect to access or consultation.” Ac- quisitions of further papers from Chief Justice Taft and three boxes of private papers of the late Theodore Roosevelt during the past year are noted. * k% % Alabama, Arkansas and Texas now stand as the only three Southern States where the “Hoovercrats” of 1928 are still in various -degrees of exile. Ala- bama bars them as candidates in the Democratic primaries, though it wel- comes them back as voters. Arkansas bars the voters from the. voting booth as well from the ballot only. The Democratic party in Virginia and Ten- nessee’ recelves them'with N arms. National Democratic leaders have been counseling a policy of conciliation all along the line, but their advice in the instances above noted has been disre garded. * LI R R Suggested for addition to the collec- tion of longest names ‘is, the !qllflfl.nfl: Hochfrequenz-Maschinen-Aktien-Gesell- schaft-Duer-Drahtlose-Telegraphie. This is the title of the German corporation which ever since the war has been try- ing to recover a wireless station at Tuckerton, N. J,, seized as alien enemy rropel’ty. Suit has been recently issued in the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia against Howard Sutherland, as alien property custodian, and Walter O. Woods, Treasurer of the United States, by the above-named German plaintiff. (Copyright, 1930.) ————————— Owners Should Guard Against Arrears of Taxes To_the Editor of The Star: In 1914, or 16 years ago, I bought a house and lot in Takoma Park, and have religiously paid District of Colum- bia taxes on same ever since. Recently when paying taxes for the year ending June 30, 1930, I was given a bill made out in another person's name, and on inquiring the reason was informed that since 1910 a small tax on a portion of the land had remained unpald up to March, 1929, and the District of Columbia had then collected this tax from another party and given hif a tax deed to the land. No notice was given to me (a 16-year owner) about the transfer of my prop- erty, and the same to be redeemed at & cost to me from the new owner. It is obvious that if the District of Columbia collector would advise present owners arn:ny old Ill;m‘::d taxes l‘;;\ uug property they woul vrnmfl paid, and thus save lots of trouble to the District of Columbia and law tangles between suceessive owners, q Any person buying property in the Distriet of Columbia should demand a tax-free certificate from the collector's office, which I understand is now issued, at cost of §1. H. Y. DAWKINS, .. —— A Smart Remark. Prom the Florence (Ala.) Herald. In his write-up of & home-talent play klahoma a an O editor _commen neighbor for his “clever of a gentleman. - —— Too ‘Much for the Jobs. the | Prom the Anniston Star. We had been for the colleges despit all the criticisms that have bol:.n hy a upon them until we heard that were developing after. spe: specimens in a herbarium. The | ha; Return of Virginia Part To the District Logical principle “That, which i logical must come to ¥ lore, Arlington Gounty must be returmed to the Disiziet . hen the Father ol "Gountey, it Immortal s hen the Capital of these great United States was determined upon, that the future Capital of this Nation should occupy a site extending on both sides of the Poto- mac River. It is not to be doubted that Maj. L’Enfant and George Washington both decided that a beautiful, harmonious and rounded-out development of the rat city of Washington could only take place as a Federal responsibility through in- clusion in the District of Columbia of of the Potomac. -in 1846 of the Vir- the original District of not a calmly and judicial- ly move . This by detachment of a vital and necessary part of the District of Columbia was obviously a hasty and ill-advised step, taken at a time when the Capital City was yet in the infancy of its develop- ment. It was truly a deplorable case of snap judgment. ‘Today it is hard to understand how Confl'!., as such, could have allowed itself to listen sympathetically to the tempest-in-a-teapot agitation of a small bloc of narrow-minded individuals then living only in the Virginia portion of the 't of Columbia. u.':h;.{-:“ ;)! t.h'e Im'linnfll their slaves on of a few luential -persons then living in the Virginia portion of the District of Columbia had much to do with this cleavage. The few slave owners involved entertained the fear that unless they succeeded in breaking away from the District of Columbia thetr -hve:c twuldl be freed by Federal on. EDouln the tl DNArrow prejudi point of view of a few ‘l‘oeinywr:fif.: of those early days in 1846 be itted to stand ms a permanent bar to the large-scale, orderly and proper ?;’;{,'}""“‘“ of the Nation's- Capital To keep Arlington County out of its logical place as a of the scheme of the -city of Wi is to discredit the wisdom and reflect on the memory of mxrmuut and immortal George il ¥ Let the short-visioned - ists stand aside, for the m:?:':‘gglv: rfl‘l‘l:‘al Beriered Tt reaiity" e “""."“"’m.. Teality. And lon_‘!h.dell;yed. ity” will not be terests of both the Nation's Capital City and the State of V;nnl: are deeply concerned in this retroces- e, 58 Pty ol o 4 ment of this momentous event. e H. E. HAY. What Hughes Did for American Policy-Holders To the Editor of The Star: None of Mr. Hug " def 3 Py 5o m;hud lenders, so far given him proper Lfit he played in tgg in- tion of the early part . In this case he was the antithesis of the corporation law- yer,. as he attacked mercilessly and utterly routed some of the largest and most _influential corporations in the mfi:f‘t‘l‘lflfl’r & world. At that e life insurance companies domiciled in the State of New Yol!:md many ‘companies outside of the State were using what was known as the ‘Tontine or Semi-Tontine plan of insur- ance. Under this Ehn the dividends or sa due policy! which should ive accounted for annually were withheld for a term of years, usually 20 years, and in case of death or failure to pay premiums were forfeited to the company and went to large salarl and swell slush !undl.m e under- the Tontine. plan. The nfllfll; of the icy contract was not affected adversely, but the cost of it to dividual paying for it den fell heaviest on holder. = It made little man of wealth that t! surance was increased under the Ton- tine plan, but to the poor man strug- gling to keep a small policy in force it mhtweumnnum_olu:em- n. As a direct result of Mr. Hughes' work, legislation ‘was enacted under which all life insurance companies doing business in the State of New York were compelled to account annually to the policyholder for the dividend or savings under his’ policy. ‘This was the death blow to the Ton- tine or Semi-Tontine plan of the life in- surance, as it app to_all companies doing business in the State of New York, whether domiciled there or not. The beneficial effects of this legislation are being felt in every town and village in the land, wherever life insurance is being carried. Nothing that Mr. Hughes has ever done redounds so much to his credit. It is ‘a complete answer to all criticism that has leveled against him. No man who has done as much for millions of Main Street people as he has should be accounted unworthy of the highest ‘honor at the hands of his countrymen. CALEB S. MILI v o Mammeoth Cave Listed Among World Wonders From the San Antonio Evening News. Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is men- tioned in nearly every catalogue of the world’s natural wonders. It is one of the most beautiful, as well as lnrgz't, caverns. Explorers have charted about 100 miles of underground passageways, which connect spacious chambers, pits and domes. The cavern holds a large subterranean stream, Echo River—so called from the wonderful reverbera- tions of sound along its course—and many tributarjes * * * Of course, there always has been a Ser TIEAGTUILS beloniged to il the povmre, ul all the le, and that Mammoth Cave should be a national park. A few years ago the State acquired the site and offered it to the Federal Government for that pur- pose. The offer was accepted on con- ditlon that the State purchase addi- tional land about the cave for such uses. The Kentucky Legislature lately passed a bill a| Yrflpflltlnl one and one- half million lars to that end, which assures consummation of the move. ‘The great cavern is a fitting gift to the Nation, and most welcome as contribut- ing to a better balanced park system, geographically. ' —ate—. Russia’s War Alarms Classed as “Old Trick” From the Spokane Spokesman-Review. It was a resourceful practice of the Plantagenet and Tudor Kings of Eng- land, on. noting domestic discontent, to beat the war drums against threat- ened ‘“invasion” from Spain, from France and even from Holland. Soviet Russia is at that old game. Affairs have not been going smoothly ::t;h the proletarian dlc;.ntonhlb. Ther; e been uprisings of peasants an bloody armed clashes, many summary executions of “‘counter-revolutionaries.” m dictators are beating the war ‘Trot 's successor, head the Red 'lh’ hlm a horrifs mn:’ue-m armies, mmmn. says, have grown enormously in recent Wherever there is an intelligent un- derstanding of world affairs, these gross exaggerations will be taken with amusement. But Russia'is steeped in m% prejudice and dark sus- ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, our free Informa- yuu‘:uvh: Yv.: to_call uj as often It is maintained Q. What is meant when it is sald !’hnA llr; Alrport has A-1-A rating?— 'A. It Is not intended that an A-1-A idea that the ulti- 3 g , and deals with the night-lighting equip- ment. Q. What is El Brendel's first name?— w. C. A. His first name is Elmer. Brendel 15 & popular motion picture actor, Q. What has become of John T. Scopes, the professor who was tried in ;m;a'g;e lor teaching evolution?— A. He is a scientist in the geological department of the Venezuela Gulf Oil Co. and is in Venezuela at the present Q. Please give the names of women who have owned horses which have won the Kentucky Derby.—L. G. A. Mrs. Lasca Durnel, who owned Elwood; Mrs. R. M. Hoots, who owned Black Gold, and Mrs. John Hertz, who owned Reigh Count, are the only women who have owned Kentucky Derby winners, Q. When was the Soldiers and Sail- ors’ Monument in Indianapolis dedi- cated?—L. D. 8. A. This monument was erected to the memory of Indiana men who fought in the Mexican, the Civil and the Spanish- 1‘9‘3:"““ warg,"and was dedicated in name the largest candle in it and de- | an Q. Please the world.—M. L. A Caruso memorial can- dle is the largest in the world. It cost $3,700, is 16 feet high, is 5 feet in cir- cumference at the base, tapering to a top of 18 inches. It weighs one ton. It is placed in the Church of Our Lady of , Pompeli, Italy, the last church in which worshiped. It will be burned one day a year (All Saints’ day, November 1), and at this :: it is estimated it will last 18 cen- es. wmgm;-woapecmmmd A. The Biological Survey says that a woodpecker pecks in order to out a nest and to obtain food. e drums, however, it is either for pleasure or it serves as a call to birds of the same species. Q. How should ground be prepared for a tennis court?—L. McD. A. In construc In ting a tennis court the ?mndlhmmhdu(upwlbwtl!- ]mazpm.menumaunm-m: r:?k‘ndahmot over | horse in part, and in part from age of the court, then a clay lhuul%b:n rolled great many use a_ finishiny bluestone or a substance brickdust. s Q. What breed of horse did the ar- mored knights ride?—C. O. A. The old English great horse, or black horse, was valued in olden times principally for its ability to carry the enormous weight of the armored knights, Various kings from John to Henry VIII, were inter- ested in this breed, and particularly in maintaining its size. The great horse was descended from the pre-Roman the finer stock introduced from Flanders. Q. How far do the serial letters on the new $1 bill run?—A. E. G. A. They run from A to L. Q. Do many South Americans drink mate?—D. 8. A. Mate is the favorite drink of about 15,000,000 South Americans. It is made like any other tea—by seeping and boil- ing in water until the desired strength reached. What is sap?—F. P. Sap is the water contained in liv- ing plants and the substances dissolved in it. All active plant cells have more or less wal in their protoplasm, and when there is a surplus it is in the form of drops or masses in cavities (vacuoles) in the protoplasyp. Inter- cellular spaces and the cavities of inac- tive internal cells also may contain water, holding varioug substances in so- lution. In terrestrial plants this water Q. A. appropriated by the protoplasm an nm( such as are soluble. It thus contains many substances, some of which are organie, as sugar, inulin, etc., and others inorganic, as salts of lime, potash, etc. By puncturing (as in the maple), crushing (as in the cane), or slicing and diffusion (as in' the sugar beet), the sap is obtained in large quantities, and on each evaporation ylelds much sugar, with many other substances. Q. What is the Comedie Francaise in Paris?>—E. H. A. The Comedie Prancaise is the official name of the national theater of Prance, which is supported by public funds for the purpose of advancing dra- matic art. It was long as La Mzison de Moliere, or Moliere's Theates. Q. Were ships ever cut in two | order to through the in the i during the war were sent through the :;.:‘umnmummummm in. Q. When were Pennsylvania's blue laws passed?—M. B. L. A. They were passed in 1794, Q. Is the Cuban peso worth 50 cents or §17—C. L. A. It is equivalent to the United Stafes dollar. gravel, then a layer of medium crushed that in order to provide for the drain- ‘Two developments in connection with | railroad consolidation in the United States promise to give rise to further Congress and undertaken by the Inter- state Commerce Commission. The posi- tion of the Burlington road raises ques- tions in .connection with union of Pacific and comes a subject of discussion. On the merger of the Northern roads the St. Louis. Globe-Democrat com- ments: “That Federal authority now cordially approves what it endeavored formerly at great cost in effort to pre- vent is one of the indications of the re- markable reversal is not one but many views which a quarter century has brought. The ancient question, how- act of 8 g n should be sanctioned due regard to maint reasonable competition, and two of the ten com- missioners dissent because of that point. This exact plan of merger between the two roads was recommended in the sev- eral tentative projects in national rail unification outlined by the Interstate Commerce Commission a few weeks ago. pending, not with full rejoicing by all the stock- holders of the Northern Pacific and Great Northern. . These roads own jointly all the stock of the Burlington system, whose earnings are among the most stabilized and generous in the entire railroad world. In fact, in some years the earnings on the Burl stock they own have gone far toward making it possible to pay dividends on Northern Pacific and Great Northern stock. Under both the tentative out- line of projects and the approving deci- sion both roads must divest themselves of this desirable stock and another dis- position of the Burlington is to be made. Many stockholders will prefer to have the Burlington without the merger than to have the merger without the Bur- lington.” * ok kX Recogn! that “important forward steps in railroad consolidations are on the verge of being taken,” the Louisville Courier-Journal quotes J. Vandyke Nor- man, traffic and transportation author- ‘ity! who spoke before the rta- tion Club, and states: “Mr. Norman sees no benefit accruing to any one from railroad consolidation, except the finan- cial interests, ‘who will make money out of issuing securities.’ He expressed him- self as being amazed that an ancient political and economic policy could be Norman fears that the result of con- solidation will be that advantageous long-haul rates now in effect will be raised so as to permit commodities to move in from the short-haul point, to the disadvantage of producers, The whole thing resolves itself into a matter of trust in the Interstate Commerce Commission—'a few men sitting around a table in Washington,’ as Mr. Norman phrases it. It would appear that the case of railroad and shipper alike lies in the hands of these men now, just as it must continue to do under con- solidation. Above and controlling them, it might be remembered, are the courts.’ “The com ion, while sanctioning unification,” according to the New York Herald Tribune, “has also sought to forge a wea) with which to defend its recent scheme of consolidations. It requires the Great Northern and North- ern Pacific to divest themselves of their Quincy as a condition precedent to uni- fication. * These wish to mei with the Burlington eventually in a bj Northwestern system. But the commis- sion prefers to make the Burlington the nucleus of an independent grouping. There is force in the contention that the Northern Pacific and the Great North- ern must hold the ‘i’é‘i"'fific‘{.’."‘" of it, as a connecting wi icago, d the commission i#2:1f disclaims in parti nat?l‘nl component in a merger of the two Northerns. The commission therefore, undertaking a strategical of- fensive in tr’;'ln: to cut the Burlington discussion of the plans authorized by reversed by propaganda * * * Mr |adds: 15, | little progress. And aside Moves in Railroad Mergers Create New Controversies road operating units are the | offset the disadvant 5 petition. Many of ¥ & | purely theoretical; competition is decid it follow that all ecou‘"-“ itably be passed along to is not established that me economies—the publ ers. The public's interest today in gen- eral rail consolidation is miost It is asked to give up the: benefits of sharp competition the raflroads. It must also be shown what it gets by way of return. This is mnhg( for e Borviana. Oreggi Journsl poiats rtla pol out numerous advantages which will come to its territory, incl timber,” as well as better contact with the Hill lines and the Chicago; Milwaukee &n!l. Paul system, and also comments: for local enthusiasm over the authority granted by -the Interstate Commerce Commission for the union of the Great Northern and Northern Pacific. ©Of wise there should be value to Por “If the Burlington is to be sej from the Hill roads,” says the In (Nebr.) State Journal, “without receiv- ing compensating advantages, the terri- tory served by the Burlington will have been discriminated t. If compen- sating changes are provided by the com- mission, the loss may be minimized, re- moved or turned into gain. It is in what happens after the Burlington has been divorced from present traffic con- nections that this territory must show its concern. * * * The readjustment will cost a great amount, will in some degree change present routing of traffic, may affect the market places of pro- ducers, and may not in the end result in all the benefits that some hope for.” N Referring to the withdrawal by the Baltimore & Ohio of its application for unification of a fourth trunk line in Eastern territory, the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette voices interest “in the B. & O. lan for a new New York-Chicago short Ine cutting across Pennsylvania,” and i “Meanwhile there is the Loree plan for a New York, Pittsburgh an Chicago railroad that would call for the ‘building of a 283-mile line between this city and Easton. It would tunnel the mountains, one of the proposed tubes being 5 miles in length. Its cost has been put at approximately $177,740,373. The B. & O, of course, and other East- ern carriers oppose the Loree project, declaring it unnecessary and tQo costly. Its proponents, however, turn the argu- ment upon the B. & O., declaring that if no new short line is necessary, then its own proposal must fall.” The Newark Evening News states that vtm :, & O, in conjul::tlon with mt: an Sweringen roads, prej fight, and the battle may md Wwithin two months. The effort would be,” continues that paper, “to convince the commission that the fifth Eastern system, which it seeks to create out of er- . ownership of the Chicago, Burlington & | Seal “that the Great and Northern Pacific roads prepared to surrender their in- terest in the Burlington system. Nor is group ready to concede that the proposed fifth trunk system should 'be scrapped in order that the commis- slon’s plan may prevail. Indeed, so far #s the withdrawal of the Baltimore & Ohilo plan is concerned, and, further- more, so far as the commission’s rul in the case of the Great Northern an Northern Pacific is concerned, the con- solidation movement has registered very from the offer B B, it aopers o e o at a) s e advance thus ‘lgp:' the railroad con- loose now. the outcome of this ‘experiment unification just ap- solidation movement this year.”