Evening Star Newspaper, March 26, 1930, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR o With Sunday Morning Bditlen. WASHINGTON, D. C WEDNESDAY. ... March 26, 1080 THEODORE W. NOYES. ... Editer mlmll..firn iper Company et Yy Penfissivania Ave bt -n@#&?%fi%%fifi; yr. 8 interesting to the shipping people, how- ever, is the fact that, in addition to placing in the Atlantic service these two fine new ships, the North German Lloyd, which owns them, has just an- nounced a merger with the Hamburg- American. In place of cutthroat com- petition, which marked the pre-war rivalry of those two lines, they have entered a co-operative alliance that connotes a determined effort to chal- lepge all in other things as well as i picturesque speed. Germany’s achievement which no one begrudges should spur American and British shipbuilders to their best. Here in America we cannot afford to sit back comfortably ahd watch the race. 1 Our own ships must be in it. POPEUNE Expanding the Building Program. Yesterday, just before adjournment for its week of rest, the Senate passed the Keyes-Elliott bill, already passed by the House, providing for the continua= tion and expansion of the public build- ing p , in Washington and else~ where, { Certain amendments were adopted \ which will require action by the House in acceptance or possibly a conference for adjustment. But the final enactment of the measute, in & short time, is assured. This means that the building program will continue without interruption or | delay, and that the area of use for publie eonstructions will be expanded. 1t will include the greater part of the triangle south of the Mall, correspond- ing to that within which new buildings | for Government use are now rising, | with more to come in the near future until the entire space is utilized. It will also assure the taking of lands fronting on Lafayette Square, on the east, for the continuation of the Treas- ury annex to H street. Changes in th: immediate building program are made from time to time, though not in a way to disarrange the | eventual project. Thus, decision has recently been reached to omit the new construction for the Department of Justice from the next group of works within the Pennsylvania avenue-Mall | triangle. That, however, signifies merely a postponement to permit a brief extension of life for the Center Market, pending decision as to its successor, whether publicly or privately built. An addition to the group next to be undertaken is a home for the Public Health Service, not hetetofore specifi~ cally included in the program. It is to go on a site that will be acquired under the terms of the Keyes-Elliott bill, just reaching enactment stage, in the neigh- horhood of the Naval Hospital, north of Potomac Park. Other items of the group are the new home of the Inter- state Commerce Commission, within the triangle, and a remodeling of the State, War and Navy Building, immediately west of the White House, Following shortly will come the new housing for the Department of Labor, which will be architecturally akin to the Interstate Commerce structure. This would prob- ably be included in the immediate pro- gram but for delay in securing posses- sion of the site allocated to it within the triangle. Thus the great project is developing regularly, and even more Speedily than was at first indicated. An economic pressure is felt for the hastening of these works to give employment to the largest possible number of men. In all likelihood the constructions now in view, in both of the triangles, north and south of the Mall, will spread over a period of ten, perhaps fifteen, years. New homes for the War and Navy departments are te by enine Blar B¢ per month by S TR SR el SR Qiders mas b n by MALl Of telep ryland and Virginia. my and Sunday 900: 1mo.§£ n only " w5 Al :.'nln States and Canada. I R P T AR inday only . 150, $5.00; 1m0.s ‘The Associated Press is exclusively entitled 0, u;l' jise tor cepublication of ell news dis- #pechal di od. Btightening Skies in London. States to nothing except consultation in event of a threat of war may, it aps tor in the negotiations at the London Naval Qonference. Such a treaty may on naval limitation with the United States, Britain and Japan. If it shall has arisen in London, the proposed con- sultative pact will have proved its value the -Naval Conference, in a formal statement issued today, has reiterated entering into any pact which would bind this country to the use of military 80 binding it. But a consultative pact, with the definite understanding that only to consultation in the event of international difficulties, abroad, a of this country as peacemaker, along with the other signatories to the pact, Much confusion has existed in this country over the entire matter of a col- Naval Conference, It is now learned that hitherto there has been no pro- ‘The desire of France has been for a security pact. And to such a pact not willing to be a signatory, but the British have balked. The Americans have taken not involve itself in any military alli- ance or become involved in the politics other hand, has been that it has already given Prance every assuraice through other treaties and that it is not willing to enter into still further treaties which The position of the Amerioan delega- tion in regard to a consultative pact clear that the United States will not be- come involved in any treaty of what- binding this country to go to the as- sistance with military forces of France London Conference. With the distinet and public understanding that America tion in London is prepared to consider & collateral consultative treaty in con- maments. This country already is & party to other consultative treaties not up arms. ‘The reports from London generally the situation. Agreement between America, Britain and Japan on the hope that France and Italy, with Brit- ish backing, may yet reach an accord France will be satisfied with a purely consultative treaty to which this coun- tunity for success. ———— tention to the fact that an eloquent House of Representatives does not in- entire dictionary to itself. —— e of the Prince of Wales may yet cause ultra-fashionable London to econsider rhinoceros as a parlor pet. —— e be valuable in keeping the party boss idea in temporary subordination. Another Record for Germany. Eighteen minutes yesterday wrote the seas and “just another ship,” for had the Buropa passed Ambrose Lightship ‘would merely have equaled the record set last October by the Bremen, her ing old records, not iiving up to old ones. And taking into consideration the Cherbourg was made on her maiden voyage and in the face of adverse con- her title more secure. ‘The Europa was out for the record passed the finish line. Her engines were driving and straining against time all the old Mauretania to second place, her task, beginning before her keel was laid, ‘There is no minimizing the world-wide prestige that has come to Germany in two ships that have been able to lower Jong-standing records for passage of the The British viewpoint of the German victory is a gnixture of regret over be- for supremacy in fine ships and of con- fidence that when the Cunard Line be- Mauretania the new shi¥p will regain laurels now lost. For it is to be re- cmlq_w_unm the City. (eLen 5 ars 8¢ per month '& Rate l‘.fllll\—hnbk in Advance. i mo. ise Member of the Associated Pre tches credited 1o it or not q tencs Bertth are Riso Sescrned. A’ tréaty which commits the United pears today, become an important fac- yet bring France and Italy into accord prove a way out of the deadlock which indeed. The American delegation to the opposition of the United States to force, or which might be construed as the United States shall be committed measure looking to the good offices is a vastly different matter, lateral treaty growing out of the London posal for a purely consultative treaty. only has the United States not been the position that this country should of Europe. The British position, on the the League of Nations covenant and are not necessary. has not changed. It has been made ever form which can be construed as or any other Nation participating in the will not enter such a treaty, the delega~ nection with the limitation of naval ar- involving it in any undertaking to take speaking today are of a brightening of cruiser tonnage is imminent. There is on Mediterranean affairs. And if try adheres, there is still further oppor- Tariff discussion will again call at- tend to allow the Senate to have the Photographic aspirations on the part the possibility of introducing the white . A little coalition now and then may ———— difference between a new queen of the at 6:12 am. instead of at 5:54 she sister ship. History is made by smash- fact that the Buropa's crossing from ditions, her feat is more impressive, from the time she started until she the way. Having seen the Bremen send was to give Britannia another jolt. turning out, within the space of a year, Atlantic. ing forced down another peg in the race lieves the time is ripe for replacing the membered, of course, that the Maure- to come, for example, with various mis- cellaneous structures. ‘The, transition of Washington is merely in the first stage. B ) Christening Planet Number Nine. Suggestions for a name for Number Nine Planet, recently descried in the heavens, have been almost as inappro- priate as they have been varied. They have ranged from that of the poet Vergillius — usually styled Virgil—to such absurdities as “Percival,” Chris- tian name of its theoretical discoverer. It would be most unwise were the series of mythological names for thesc sun-children to be broken by the addition of that of any mortal. Already they are known the world round by the names of gods and goddesses of antiquity— Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Uranus, Venus and Mercury, with even Vulean, Ceres and others thrown in for those of lesser size or vague identity. “Cronos,” son of Uranus, has been suggested; so has “Minerva” The relative unimportance of this new find might appear to make it undeserving of such prominenf names, not that many additional planets are likely to be located. It appears to some that this wouldl be a splendid chance to honor Bacchus. Construed according to their respective opinions and hopes, such a title would,be likely to delight wets and drys alike. ————————— Chicago racketeers are said to have vast sums set aside to resist the efforts to stamp out crime. There are condi- tions in which even thrift becomes a vice. —— et Still Healthy—and Alive! The Associated Press records the noteworthy fact that James D. Preston, otherwise known merely as “Jim,” has just celebrated the thirty-third anni- versary of the date upon which he de- cided to dedicate his life to the Nation and make the world a better place for newspaper men to live in. In other words, the superintendent of the Senate press gallery his been on the job for thirty-three years. Those who have seen him at work— and the statement carries no ironic im- plication that there are none such—won- der more at the fact that Mr. Preston is still alive and sound in body and mind than thas he has merely passed his thirty-third milestone in the Senate press gallery. If he had been able to remain within the relatively safe and sane confines of the gallery, his work would have been rather simple and less subject to the stresses and strains that have been his. But he has not been allowed so to remain. If newspaper men want to arrange a golf match, “Jim" does the arranging. 1f accommodations must be made for the press at a national con- vention, he is elected. If any large body of newspaper men are to be turned loose on any big story, Mr. Preston is awarded tania is now an old ship, while the|the delicate job of seeing that they all Bremen progress made in the art of ship- are properly clothed, sypified two decades,* More and pencil, given éhe speeches in ad« barbers, the last and the Europa represent all|turn up at the right time, that they with paper THE EVENING vance, furnished with red, white or biue ribbons and badges indicating their sta- tion; fed, watered and put to bed on time. The remarkable thing about Mr. Pres- ton is that he does it. He has never been known to lose a reporter. He ine variably has a satisfactory reply to such queries and remarks as “Jim, where's “Jim, where am I to “Jim, this soup is cold”; “Jim, where is that handout?”; “Jim, I have a putter and a mashie—find me a driver”; “Jim, I want you to get a seat for the cousin of my managing editor's niece,” or “Jim, I will not sleep in this upper berth; get me a lower, and, by the way, have you seen my necktie?” | Nothing reminds one so much of the | Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe as Jim Preston with a string of wild reporters in tow. Somehow he manages to live through it. May he keep on! e To L-0-A-F for a Week. ‘The Senate, in session for many weeks, plugging along at the passage of a tariff bill, is tired. It has done con= siderable business in wddition to the tariff legislation. It has passed a nums ber of miscellaneous measures. Its committees have been at work on a variety of items, and especially in the line of investigations. Sometimes two or three committees have been probing simultaneously. Senators have hopped from committee rooms and hearings rooms to Senate chamber to answer roll calls and make speeches, and back again. The mileage of these transits would reckon up into a considerable total. Altogether it has been a trying and fatigung session. So it is not surprising, nor should it arouse the ire of critics of the Upper House of Congress, to find the Senate adjourning yesterday, as it did upon motion of Senator Watson, Republican leader, to Friday, with the understand- ing that on that day it should adjourn again immediately to Tuesday. Ques- tioned as to the program, Senator Watson acknowledged that it was the plan to have the Senate loaf for a week. To stress the frankness of ac knowledgment the Republican leader spelied out the horrid word, “l<o-a-f,” and the Senate thereupon adjourned in accord with that program. It is just as well that this week’s ad~ journment should be avowed as a loaf- ing spell. It will do the Senate good to loaf awhile. It may do the country good to have it loaf for a week. Per- haps it will help to restore a better feeling on both sides. There have been asperities of public criticism of the tariff procedure. There have been some decidedly frank expressions of belief in the dispensable nature of the Senate. Of course, at heart nobody thinks so ill of the Senate as much of the coms ment of the past three months or so may indicate, It has its virtues as an institution of government and it has its decidedly meritorious records of past performances. And as for loafing, it has earned its right to a week's rest, whatever may be thé worth of the bill on which it has spent so many months of toil. ————— Reports that whales are sighted in the Chesapeake Bay come. too early in the season to be classified merely as Summer seaside fancies, The whales are undoubtedly genuine and not to be classified with that once highly popular myth, the sea serpent. o It is explained by Lindbergh that the glider depends on careful study of up- ward air currents. The atmospheric agitation of prolonged debate may yet be made mechanically useful. ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Practicing. When April is a-peeping Through the clouds, not far away, And the blossoms that were sleeping ‘Waken at the break of day, The world that was so dreary Pauses every little while In an effort to seem cheery ‘While it practices a smile, The robin looks dejected And the mockin’ bird is still, But the place is not neglected By a sunbeam'’s passing thrill, ¢ It is but a fitful gleaming In a faint and fickle style, But it has a happy seeming— Earth is practicing a smile. A Glum Audience. “I suppose you will have to explain the tariff to your constituents.” “No,” answered Senator Sorghum. “That's one thing to keep away from for a while. I was just on my way to & book store to buy some humorous stories with which to enliven my remarks.” Jud Tunkins says the income tax calls for a clear conscience and a spe- cial talent for arithmetic, Dictators. Theie was a noble Roman who Declared dictators would not do. But that was chiefly in a play ‘Which censors would not like today. A Fortunate Youth. “Do you admire the Prince of Wales?” “Very much,” answered Miss Cayenue. “He makes a fine appearance, com- mands a great deal of applause, and yet never feels required to sing or act.” “You cannot escape having faults,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “but you will have none so serious &s those invented by your enemies.” Fndless Program. When a discussion long has run, ‘We say, “Let’s dwell in clover! We're mighty glad that job is done— And now, let's start it over.” “Riches,” sald Uncle Eben, “’pears always to be mo’ dan & man needs, but less dan he wants.” [E—E Art as'Is Art. From the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat. If you doubt that art plays a part in Americans’ lives look at the crowd gathered to watch a billboard painter. ————— Baldy Time for Barbers. From the Florence (Ala,) Herald. A doctor predicts that in 50 years all men will be bald. But they will still be buying hair tonic from bald-headed STAR, THIS AND- THAT ‘Thornton Wilder in his new novel, “The Woman of Andros,” when speak- ing of life, instances “its power of cast- ing up from time to time on the waves of tedious circumstance such star-like persons.” \ Here we have the truth in poetical form, a wonderful combination, perhaps as good an explanation as any of the charm of Mr. Wilder's prose, inci- dentally. In verse it reads: Life— Its power of casting up From time to time On the waves of tedious circumstance Such star-like Persons.” He is an unfortunate man who has not_met such people. Mostly they are| of the so-called opposite sex, but that| is only chance, and by no means a necessity of the case. They shine to the inner light which man names mind, and are thereby called ‘stars” in man's eternal search for the poetry of life. * % x % ‘The waves of tedlous circumstance are too well known by most persons to need detailed description. They in- clude the average daily life as it is lived \today by the bulk of civilized human beings. Now and then one meets some one | of the “go-getter” type who so sums up | tediousness in a single man that he may | be_described with some profit. | He is the exact opposite of the “star- like” person. > In him there is no surprise, no ap- | peal, no great x or unknown factor. | 'The dollar to him is the Great Known, and is all he wants to know. Unfortunately, he appears to believe | that all other human beings are in the same queer boat with him; that all he has to do is play a tune on the adding | machine and the remainder will fall in | line, chops drooling with mathematical | hunger. | He is mistaken; that is all some of us care to say. We wouldn't be like him if we could, and we can't, so what's | the use? cwmx around for a comparison, writers find the stars handy, despite their distance. | Perhaps it is that very distance which | makes them useful in the emergency. Ordinary standards fail when one is confronted with an unusual person. Perhaps it is only fair to all con- cerned to say that quite often the “star-like person” is not star-like in and of hersell or himself. Much of the celestinl aspect is put on prettily by the beholder. Wherefore, no such person ought to take pride unto himself for the effect he bas upon another. Sometimes all the glow ancl wonder is in the beholding mind. x R oK K Mrs. Rachael Taylor in her book of last year, “Leonardo the Florentine,” devotes a chapter to a poetical lauda- tion of her hero as a star-like person, and succeeds in making out a very good case for him. Yet the average reader may be for- slven for suspecting that the mighty a Vinel did not so appeal to his contemporaries, nor did, indeed, deserve such fine treatment in and of himself. It took a mind thoroughly imbued with the renaissance, “sold” completely on the times and manners, to read into the manner of man Leonardo was some aspects of a man he was not. A read- ing of the “Romance of Leonardo da Vinci,” by Merejkowski, the Russian novelist, gives perhaps a truer picture, showing a man of indecisive character, % e WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS The Federal Trade Commission has dispatched to Congress its twenty-first interim report of progress in its pub- lic utilities investigation. Now tackling | the financial phases of this inquiry, the turning of the commission’s spotlight | on the American Gas & Electric Co. group, and resulting disclosures of their | enormous assets and large profits, served | to boost the stock market quotations on the shares of this holding company. The commission has not yet announced what utility group is next in line for public examination, and possibly similar run-up on the Stock Exchange. Mean- time, the commission is undertaking a separate power inquiry asked for by the Senate, at the instance of Senator Couzens, to determine the totals and relative P tions of intrastate and interstate electric power, a disputed question of important bearing on pend- ing proposals for Federal regulation of interstate power. Though the public utilities investigation is the commis- sion’s biggest job at present, it by no means monogolizes the commission's time and attention. Probes of cotton- seed oil pools, peanuts, newsprint, the chain stores and blue sky securities are trailing along with varying degrees of progress with each passing year. x k% x If continuous day and night tariff ses- sions in the Senate had run along for another month, it seems more than likely that the physical endurance of many of the Senators, already close to the breaking point, would have snapped under the strain. As it is, the state of health of more than one member is giv- ing his family and his physicians anx- ious concern. Borah is under orders to take an immediate holiday for rest and recuperation and may pay a visit to Johns Hopkins. Brock of Tennessee and Fletcher of Florida are on the sick list, | Couzens of Michigan is under the doc. tor’s care, Norbeck of South Dakota the same. Shipstead’s breakdown long an- tedates the tariff, but King of Utah was forced into the hospital two months apo as a direct consequence of overwork on the tariff. Gillett of Massachusetts went to Florida 2 month ago on his doctor's orders. Moses of New Hamp- shire is sailing for Europe next week for a prolonged holiday. * K koK ‘The release of Dr. Cook from Leaven- worth on the eve of the death of Chief Justice Taft recalls the latter's good- natured comment when the doctor wired ‘Taft presenting to the American people the North Pole, which he claimed to have discovered. Taft was summering on the North Shore of Massachusetts | at the time, had just come in from a | round of golf, when he met the news- | paper correspondents and handed them copies of Explorer Cook’s message. With his face wreathed in smiles and his huge frame shaking with mirth, Mr. Taft sald, “It is very kind of Dr. Cook to think of his fellow Americans, and I am sure that his generosity will be appre- | ciated by them, but now that we have the North Pole what shall we do with | it?” Taft's demeanor indicated in- credulity, but he sent the doctor a tele- gram couched in_appropriate language accepting the proffered gift. * Kk k% From the present outlook, the politi~ cal scramble in Massachusetts this Fall is to be strictly a battle of millionaires. Gov. Allen, Republican, candidate for re-election, is in the million-dollar class. William M. Butler has millions in the textile business, and his rival for the Republican senatorial nomination, Eben S. Draper, inherited a fortune amassed in the textile machinery business. Alvan T. Fuller, one time governor and now prospective entry into the senatorial fight, is probably the richest man in the State, with a fortune variously estimated at between 25 and 100 million dollars. On the Democratic side, ex-Mayor of Bos- ton John F. Fitzgerald, ex-Mayor An- drew J. Peters, Gen. Edward L. Logan of the famed YD Division and Marcus A. Coolidge, namesake but no relative of the well known Calvin, who are rival aspirants for either senatorial or guber- natorial nominations, are all rated from one to n:fi r;ll&lnn l;l‘nlhruruplm."“&:‘ % appears that the sinews of war 'b;.hfldn'- alsh 15 Senator David I. W only man of modest means who has |of wishes and |the splendid tribute of the shine and BY CHARLES B. .TRACWI'LL. who had the soul of a dreamer, yet had another side to his character which enabled him to stand calmly on the brink of hell in search of details. Two such opposite sides of a single tempera- ment cannot be reconciled, and it is the glory of the Russian that he makes no such attempt, but presents them side by side. Mrs. Taylor unites them and glorifies them, and so proves nothing but that the star-like person exists in the mind of the beholder. 2w These persons of whom we speak toll not, neither do they spin; yet they have the good fortune to so affect others that they become the recipients lesires and benefit from the free bestowal of characteristics which they do not possess. Often it is only long afterward that one sees that they weré in part hollow and wore falge faces, and were in no sense the equal of his dreams. Yet nothing can be held against them; for they, too, like all of us, are victims of time and chance, and are often unconscious of the love they in- spire, which they never asked for nor wanted, and which they had no means or _desire to return. Even their faults often are the result of the impossible qualities which the beholder attributes to them. Were they, | indeed, celestial they might live up tot the dignities which the other heaps upon them, but being only human they must often fall from their high estate. That is why tragedians, since tragedy has been written, ever found no more desirable way of ending a drama than by killing off the heroine. She could not live so. She had been made, too, too star-like, and frail flesh and blood could not stand the strain. Something had to happen, and the easiest way was to make her stab her- self or to be stripped of her false face, 5o that the rest of mankind—the audi- ence, as it were—might see her face to face for what she was. The mighty Napoleon was such & player in such a play. The star-gazers who sing in that sublime song, “My Emperor, My Emperor, Is Coming!” and who felt the urge to rise from the grave to help him, had to be helped out of their dilemma at last by the sight of the great man deprived of his glory and dying on St. Helena. The inner power of life cast up above the tedious waves of circumstance such a man as Napoleon Bonaparte to as- tound and intrigue humanity for a lit- tle while. But the sight of such a star-like person was too much for the world. The same power of life, now assuming snclk\ns, envious aspects, threw him high and dry on a little rock in a great sea and left him there for the endless speculation of mankind. * ok ok % Yet having known such star-like per- sons, one cannot forget them. The in- herent quality in & man or woman is 8o intertwined with the qualities which the mind of another attributes to them | that never in this life can they be| separated. | 8o the star-like person benefits not| only where he or she perhaps does not | deserve to, but also from the combina- tion of the true with the untrue, or romantic, as it is sometimes called. Star-like persons are often coldly impersonal, practical, even tigerish in instincts. ey are astounded at the reception which they receive, and tend to call their magnifiers “fools” in se- cret, if not to their faces. But the gainer is he who gives most. And what greater gifts are there than | sheen of stars? come to the front in politics in either party in the Bay State in recent years. One item at least for which the tariff tinkers provided no protective duty is that of false teeth. American dentists have no fear of foreign competition— indeed, it appears that last year the United States exported 25,700,000 false teeth to Europe, Asia, Africa and to our sister republic in the Western Hemi- sphere. Another export item is $368.086 worth of rubber erasers, and more than & million dollars’ worth of toy balloons and bathing clrl. Bicycles, shoe polish, garters, souvenir postcards and phono- graph records also bulk large in our export trade, ko % Who can supply & copy of Holmes', blue-backed speller, edition of 1860? This plaint has gone out from Ray ‘Tucker, Washington correspondent and one of the contestants in the National Press Club spelling bee between club members and men. The words on which the schoolmaster, Senator Fess of Ohio, will try to trip up the spellers will be taken from Holmes’ book, and ‘Tucker writes: “Members of the Press Club team—especially the author of this appeel—wood like to brush up on some of the red school house pusslers.” Several “copeys” of the book are in the Congressional Library, but Tucker understands these have been taken out by Prof. Fe: ert Luce of \ ‘The National Geographic Society is proposing a royal weicome for Admiral Byrd and the members of his Ant- arctic expedition when they reach their native shores in May. It has been suggested to Mr. Hoover that they be met by and transferred to a United States cruiser on the high seas and|ti brought direct to Washington for a gala demonstration here prior to the New York reception being arranged by Mayor Walker and his silk hat com- ittee. A similar procedure was foi- lowed when Col. Lindbergh returned from his epoch-making transatlantic flight. Admiral Byrd's sponsors want to make his homecoming just as hearty. The President is said to look with favor on the program. (Copyright, 1030.) Seventh Street Site Urged For New Farmers’ Market To the Editor of The Star: The Farmers' Market should be lo- cated on square No. 446 on the east side of Seventh street. The District of Columbia now owns 102,000 square feet of this square, 300 feet front on Seventh street and 340 feet front on O and P streets. This {mund is now occupied by the old Central High School, front- mg O street, the Polk School fronting P street on the northeast corner and the old Henry School on the northwest corner at Seventh and P streets. The playgrounds are on Seventh street op- posite the O street market. Some of these schoolhouses could used for office and other purposes in connection with the markets. O street, P street and Seventh street are all business streets, 8o the site is not a suitable one for school pulmle The buildings are all of the old &P construction and in the nature of things will soon be abandoned—the sooner, the better. The same conditions apply to this site for market purposes as were cited for the new Center Market. ‘To place these markets on these squares will clean up this old central part of the city, will not injure any vested interest; on the contrary, will greatly enhance values in all this sec- tion, and, in fact, greatly improve the city as a whole. If put to a vote of those who will use the markets I feel sure they would all be favorable to the proposition and that Washington's markets would be one of the places most talked of by visitors to the great Cap- ital City. A. M. PROCTOR. And Doubtless Does. From the San Antonio Evening News." California_schoolboy who lately won first prize for mi an apple gu against 50 woman contestants probably has a sister who can beat v him at base do WASHINGTON, D. €, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1930. A Farmer’s Thoughts About the Markets To the Bditor of The Star: Now that an effort is afoot to replace the old Center Market somewhere north of the Avenue at a cost of over & mil- lion dollars I would like to make a sug- gestion which will, in my opinion, not only save a considerable portion of that million dollars, but at the same time give the consumers better service. My idea is, instead of one central ms ket, make four master retail markets located as centrally as possible, and not neglect any of the smaller markets. I believe we already have, or have in the making, folr or five markets which with a little help from time to time will meet the need that will arise from the loss of our old friend, Center Market, Beginning with the Eastern Market at Seventh and C streets southeast, which already has much more space than is occupled and can readily take its share of farmers and dealers now doing | gyed: business in the old Center Market. The Fourteenth Street Market I know little of other than it seems located right. suppose the Patterson tract farmers’ market, now under construction seem- ingly in defiance of Congress, could fill purpose of a Northeast retail mai ket. It will never fill the purpose of wholesale market, and since it is a pri- vate party affair I would suggest that none of Senator Capper’s $1,500,000 be invested in it until thoroughly tested out. One Northeast market seems never overprofperous. However, it, too, may have its day when Center Market is razed. To complete this four-cornered market system, there’s nothing eise to do only build in the Southwest, near the Wholesale Market. All through this market fight I've giv- en it as my opinion from a farmers standpoint that we'd be better off with- out the Farmers' Retail Market in close proxmity to the Wholesale Market. That's still my conviction, but I've maintained all along that a retail mar- ket would prosper there, I would sug- t an up-to-date market there for ealers only; b keeplna out the retail farmers the dealers would have a chance to do business and keep specialties for accommodation, the main thing to be re- gretted in the downfall of the old mar- ket. We cannot ex our market deal- ers to handle a wide variety of produce, much of which they may lose money on, unless they |‘et some encourage- ment from the public. In closing would suggest if possible permit no chain store to operate in the immediate vicinity of a public market, I trust the people will see the im- portance of taking an active interest in the retail market system and keep the question alive, even if they do make the mistake of squandering a million dollars for some high-priced buildings to raze, PERRY F. SKINNER. e Taxi Driver Urges Lower Rates of Fare To the Editor of The Star: I sec a great amount of newspaper comment lately in rd to the taxi- cab situation in Washington, Most of it is written by gzoplz who evidently know very little about the subject. All of this comment has been brought about by recent competition—for the first time —in the business, For years there has been little or no competition in Washington in the taxi- cab business. Now this is all changed and there is real competition for the first time. An attempt is even being made by short-sighted people to stop this compe- tition by law. In other words, Congress is being asked to pass misguided laws, which, if enacted and upheld by the courts, would deny the people of this city the benefits of low-rate taxicab tné\:porutlon. PR me parts of city are poorly lighted and_perhaps are none too safe alter dark. Many people, both male and female, are timid—with cause—about walking from the car lines or busses or bus stops to their homes after dark in these sections. Such people often have | very little money to spend for the very safe transportation which a taxicab al fords. These advocated laws, if enacted, would make the taxicab a luxury to these people. Many le, perhaps, would never be able to use a taxicab. This writer has earned a living in the taxicab business for 19 years and he hopes no such laws will ever be passed or even seriously considered by Con- gress. In fact, he would like to see the taxicab fares cheap enough s6 that everybody could afford to use & taxicab at least once in a while, I want to say also that I think taxi- lcab fares have been too high in this city in the recent past. 1f rates had been cut a year ago, it would have cre- ated thousands of new riders and great- 1y speeded up the business, In conclusion I want to say that Con- gress and the newspapers should be on guard to see that no unfair laws are enacted which would create a monopol; in the business and leave the riders at the mercy of a greedy corporation. The sick, the crippled and the aged, who find that taxicabs cost only a frac- tion of the price of ambulances, and to whom cheap taxicabs are a blessing, should receive consideration ahead of some corporation’s greed. V BERNARD L. HENNING. ) Senate Action on Tariff On Hides Is Criticized To the Editor of The Star: It is rather startling to read in the March 15 issue of The Star the final senatorial decision with reference to he shoe and hide industry, as it af- fects the much delayed tariff question. Alvin H. Sanders of Chicago, who served as a member of the Tarifl Commission, called to Washington some years ago by the late and lamented ex- President Taft, apprises us, in a lengthy article on the hide question, of the amazing and unassailable fact that millions of pounds of hides are actually rotting in this country merely for the want of a buyer, despite the alarming decrease in the cattle production of this country, and yet, we find to ou utter disgust that the 10 per cent duty on hides has been defeated. These hides, Mr. Sanders tells us, are used each year for fertiliver, and he attributes this loss to our national in- dustry to unjust forelgn competition. Mr. Sanders is a nationally recognized authority on this question, which only helps to make matters all the worse. Now, if there was any eommodl‘g that deserved bej placed on the tar protective list, it was this hide busi- ness, especially when we know to what extent it affects our home trade. This means that our home industry must suffer partly because it virtually compelled to unjustly compete against the extensive importations of snake skins, now so commonly used in the manufacture of shoes. It does not only include snake skins, but various other kinds used in the same trade, which are now on the free list. So far as it affects snake skins, I think such material should be entirely viewed as being & luxury, and shoul not be admitted on the free list. As the matter now stands, 49 Sena- tors have cast their votes against our home industry and are quite satisfied to see our own hides converted into fertilizer because of foreign competi- tlon. 1Is it a wonder that shoes are so TAShte besily’ of the procesn: o o of 5 i y1..()‘.’1! . DILGER. ——— Burglars Are Disappointed. From the Cleveland News. Falth in human nature may never be what it used to be in the ‘who stole a ham and side of bacon from a meat market window and found them only imitations. et He Might Be in Politics. From the Bangor Daily Commereial. A bee has to make something lik: 2,000,000 visits to flowers to a pound of honey. Still, if he wasn't that what would he have on his 1 is of Pepnsylvania Dutch ancestry. d | peers had found him guilty ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, ‘The answers to questions printed here each day are specimens picked from the mass of inquiries handled by our t Information _Bureau, maintain in Washi; , D. C. This valuable serv- ice is for the free use of the public. Ask any question of fact you may want to know, and you will get an immediate reply. Write plainly, inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage, and address The Evening Btar Information Bureau, Frederick J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Q. Is El Brendel, the movie actor, a/ Swede?—M. H. A. He is an American. He was born in Philadelphia, Pa., March 25, 1891. He has made a zpedllt.{i of Swedish | characters since 1917. ¢ made his vaudeville debut in 1911. He fouht| during the late war, and returned to his ish roles, Strangely enough, Bren- del is neither German nor Swedish, but | Q. What part of the total does it| cost to collect the income tax?—E. J.D. A. In 1920 it was estimated that it cost $1.17 to collect each $100 in income taxes. Q. Was illinium named for its discov- erer?—P, M. 8. A. It was discovered by Dr. Hopkins and his associates at the University of Ilinois, and named in honor of the university. Q. Is the Negro population of Chi- lc)m;‘;-_ ¥ large as that of New York?— | | A. New York’s is somewhat larger,| but a larger percentage of Chicago's populatioh is Negro. In 1920 Chicago's Negro population was 112,536, while New York’s was 160,985. Q. Are any commemorative coins be- ing struck this year?—J. S. A. The Departmeht of the Treasury fg; that so far none has been author- | | | Q. How long ago was the song “Sweet Adeline” written?—L. S. A. It was published in 1902 by Harry Armstrong and Dick Gerard. Q. What is the second largest port in the Hawaiian Islands?—B. E. H. A. Hilo is second in size, Honolulu ranking first. Q. Why do railroad companies burn up their old ties instead of seiling them?—T. A. H. A. They sell them whenever ible to people living near the rail . The moving and handling is too expensive to make it worth while to sell them otherwise, . Few of them are good for anything except firewood. Q. Why does a person receive a! greater electric shock if he is standing| in water>—H. M. A. Water is a good conductor of electricity. Q. What is the United States doing to improve its waterways?—M. S. A. At Louisville, Ky, October 23, 1929, President Hoover outlined his waterways program, entailing the ex- penditure of about $20,000,000 a year. He said the Mississippi system com- prises more than 9,000 miles of naviga- ble streams. About 2,200 miles have been modernized to a depth of 9 feet and 1,400 to a depth of 6 feet. Some 5000 miles yet remein. The entire Mississippl system should be m?leted within the next five years, forming a North and South trunk waterway. At| the present time we have completed 746 miles of intracoastal canals. Approxi- mately 1,000 miles more should be huilt. ‘The improvement of the channels of the Great Lakes should be continued, and the obstacles of the St. Lawrence River should be removed so that ocean= going s can travel inward to the Great Lakes. Flood control on the Lower Mississippi should be exgedmd. An: unceasing development of harbors and littoral waterways should be con- tinued. At present approximately $85,- 000,000 a year is being spent on new construction and maintenance of these works. Q. In whose cabinet was Robert Todd Lincoin a Secretary?—M. Z. A. He was Secretary of War in Gar- field's cabinet, and continued to hold the post in the cabinet of President Arthur, Q. What is the highest peak in Ari- zona?—A. V. M. © A. The San Francisco Peak is the highest peak in Arizona. It is 5000 feet above the Colorado Plateau, snd is more than 12,000 feet above sea level. 1t was thought by the Indians to be the third mountain created,-and was called by them the “High P! of Snow.” In 1539 it was named by Marcos de Neza, a Franciscan friar, as the “King- dom of San Francisco.” The peak is also known on some maps as “Hum- phreys Peak.” Q. In what sort of packages was the food supply taken on the Byrd expedi- tion put up?—T. R. P. A. 'The Canning Trade says that after a thorough Survey of many types and designs of packing containers the lead- ers of the exped:tion decided to pack the foodstuffs and othier perishables, to the largest possible extent, in boxes of uniform size and type, so that they & could be used as building units. This hecessitated a container that would open on the side, making its contents accessible, while the box fulfilled its dual purpose as a “brick” in the wall and as a container, boxes were made of yellow pine a quarter inch thick, braced with cleats which framed the ends. The cleats were joined in Eoove: at the corners, but not nailed, s permitting the side of the box to be opened and reclosed. Previous ex- perfences in polar exploration pointed to the need for a one-man package, as loads too heavy or bulky for one man to carry are left behind in an emer- gency. Q. Are savages strict with the mis- behavior of children?—A. D. T. A. In savage life parents almost never chastise their children. Travelers everywhere have commented upon this. Q. Why do we use the Fascist em= blem on our dimes?—H. A. H. A. Since the days of ancient Rome the fasces has been the symbol of au- thority. Originally it was a bundle of elm or birch rods, from which the head of an ax projected, fastened toget! with a strap. In the beginning this was an emblem of authority car- ried by lictors. This country is as much &t liberty to use this ancient em- blem of authority as is the recently organized Fascist government of Italy. It is a coincidence that on certain of our coins what is now the Fascist em- blem should have for many years been a part of the decorative design, Q. What are the words of the “Flag Pledge”?—J. B. M. A. During the Flag Convention held in Washington in 1923, the flag pledge was changed. It now reads: “I pledge allegiance to the fiag of the United States and to the Republic for which it stands—one Nation indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” | Modification of the original provision | that foreign~ books -brought” into = the United States should be censored by customs officers has not ended the con- troversy. The new section of.the tariff bill provides that books which are re- garded with suspicion by the port offi- cials shall be passed upon by Federal courts. ‘This satisfies some critles, while | others feel that the court proceedings would discou rtations of needed s. There Il a substantial class that objects to any censorship. “The modified Smoot amendment leaves decision as to the true character of the books up to the courts, where, if it has a proper place anywhere, it be- longs,” says the Baltimore Sun. The New York Sun feels that “these provi- sions do not expose the works of great writers to the arbitrary decisions or the| ignorance of minor officials”; that “they | do provide a means for the use of rea- | sonable and informed discretion.” The | New York Evening Post suggests fl‘lll} the action “at least deprived customs | clerks of the autocratic authority to say what the rest of us might or might not read.” * kK K As to the courts, the Manchester Union fears that “those already over- burdened tribunals may not welcome the addition to their tasks, but their rulings will be likely to command re- spect.” The Fort Worth Record-Tele- gram advises: “The troublous problem | of passing on imported books should not | be difficult to solve. One method ap- pears astoundingly simple. It is appoint an additional customs inspector for each port of entry and require the applicants to qualify as to literary at- tainments.” “Seizure is still left to the whim of | the customs officers, who can subject| the admission of books to delays inci- dent to obtaining a court decision,” de- | clares the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “The | extent of the improvement, merely a matter of practice, will be determined by the application of the censorship. * * * But, however it works out in ractice, the principle is most offensive. Endmdunl liberty assumes the right of each man to be his own censor. In that achievement censorship of literature of- fers a jarring note of discord.” The Oklahoma City Times fears that it might “be used to halt & freedom that makes for enlightenment,” and the Waterloo Tribune asserts that “the cen- sors may burn and destroy some books, pamphlets and other th! , but people will find a way to get and to read the kind of m‘fiefll;l tiley*w:nt." “Like the purblind prude who ordered that Sappho's poems be burned as an act that is rightly thought by competent critics to be the gravest literary tragedy | of the centuries,” states the Birmingham | News, “Mr. Smoot would now give to the flames the poems of Catullus and | Bion, of Burns and Byron, of Shake- speare and Solomo The Detroit Free Press contends: ‘All censorship is based on an assumption of infalli- bility, which history should teach us is & dangerous thing to assume. Socrates, wisest man of his age, was handed a cup of hemlock because a jury of his of carrupt- ing the -youth of Athens! What he had tried to do was to replace the tot- tering authority of Greek polytheism by rational ethics.” Ot p is forever delivering de- crees,” says the Chicago Dail ne, “which time makes ridiculous or proves rerroneous and obstructive to human progress. It has always been the serv- ant of some sort of tyranny which a new generation or a subsequent age escapes or overthrows. The confident moral judgments of Senator Smoot are dissented from by many even of his cotemporaries who under the American system are, or ought to be, as free to make their own jut its as he. He or they may be right or both may be wrong. The point we would have those who demand censorship in America con- sider more respectfully than they do, is the ht of the individual to his| own inte! eetunl .:d*mim freedom.” 1t is held by the Salina Journal that | Prize Is Copy From the Manchester Union. tarift & finis| From the Censorship With Court Aid Fails to End Controversy le, and one that will not have & tendency through official ban to arouse & dangerous interest that will result in a demand for leg literature.” The South Bend Tribune’ comments: “Why should Senators assume that modern mothers will permit obscene and sedi- tious literature in the home? Since the Senators’ childhood- mothers haven't changed so much that a guard of cus- toms officials should be placed over the family bookshelves. e postal and other domestic laws unite with public wmr‘e "mon sense to provide sufficient pro- ction.” “No sensible person can believe that the procedure will in any measure im=- prove the morals of the country,” main- tains the Buffalo Evening News, while it is convinced as to the difficulties im= posed by the new laws that “any person may have the facts at issue determined by a jury, and may have an appeal or the right of review, as in the case of ordinary actions; but to gain possession of, say, a copy of ‘Rabelais’ brought from Europe and seized at the port of entry, who is going to take upon hime self the heavy expense involved in a jury trial? The machinery is provided for a proper review, but it is far too for the ordinary person to operate.” “The only resuit of the censorship,” as viewed by the Louisville Courlers Journal, “is not to protect the United States from contamination but to fur- ther the thriving home industry that is now turning out salacious ‘literature.’ A censorship under any circumstances to[ls not in consonance with American liberty. The Smoot measure is worse. It is a mockery.” The Memphis Com=- mercial ‘Appeal adds: “Senator Smoot need not disturb himself too much about the pornography that comes from for- eign shores until he has done some- thing about the products of home in-' dustry. American smut has shown re- peatedly that it can take care of itself in the world market. ‘There n thousand home-grown offenses Inst decency that assail the eyes and| ears of the people every day to one that slips through the customs offices.” Some home material is condemned by the Milwnukee Journal, the Rockford Star and the Cincinnati Times-Star. “The blind terrorism of political |cen« sorship” is assailed by the Topeka Daily Capital. ———— Readers Crave Books That Give Enjoyment From the New York Times. Only a small proportion of books pub- lished today are genuinely enjoyable. This is not to say that there are no humorists. Some of them attain their end, though humorists are born, not made. Passing them by, readers crave more books conceived and written so as to give real enjoyment. The degree of entertalnment may vary. One doss not demand that history and biography be entertaining. But both should be en- joyable reading. Too often does it seem to be the sole object of the present-day worker in these fields to put together. the facts he has collected and to feel that then he has discharged his whole duty to the reader. And in fiction the situation is still more disheartening. Is it that the world is too much with the authors? No wonder that Dumas is the writer of fiction most in demand at the public libraries, People must have relief from the analyses and psychoses so largely the ‘preoccupatiof of modern fiction. Yet, perhaps, it is wrong to say modern. Thirty years Kipling was mourning the the “three-decker” novels which in more halcyon days had been “taking tired people to the Islands of the Blest.” of Rip Van Winkle. Maybe the Naval Conference and the :fllwfllmelhntnceo!lib ——— Then Both Will. Munole Unless that ends ;“1&. i:h.fl uestion -;! ‘?uun. with the af an_effective manner—one 800d books befors young e v o a tie, one side acatunte, - ‘profiibition poll ends in lon Will insist that 1 fsn's