Evening Star Newspaper, April 21, 1930, Page 8

MONDAY, APRIL 21, 1930. THE EVENING ' STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, o= O N s, e == ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C MONDAY.. April 21, 1830 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor Rate by Carrier Within the City. Evenine Star. 45¢ y Star Collection made st the end Orders may be sent in by m: NAtional 6000. Rate by Mafl—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. afly and Sunday.....1 3T 810, Bindas by All Other States and Canada. Dll!) and Sunday. T, 812, mo., Dally only .. ¥ ! Sindas "ouly “17Es 350 Member of the Assoclated Press. Easter in Russia. No Eastertide news from the outside world can have excelled in interest the dispatches reporting the fervor with which the festival of the Resurrection was celebrated in Russia. The religious universe, irrespective of creed, rejoices to know that all the churches in Mos- cow were crowded with devout Chris- tians and that elsewhere throughout the Soviet Union divine worship pro- ceeded on a scale comparable with con= ditions prevalent before the Communist atheistic movement was launched. “Long before midnight of Easter Sun- day,” the Assoclated Press tells us, “tens of thousands of the faithful could be scen mgking their way through courts that clearly have defined the law here, all of which will be destroyed by the Blaine bill in the form that is pro- It is further contended that redress lles through the courts, and that if grounds exist, foreclosures can be estopped by injunction. The chief cause of foreclosure, of course, is failure to meet obligations. No legislation can help & man who has borrowed money on his property and cannot repay the loan. Legislation can protect him against trickery, abuse and fraud. If Senator Blaine's investigation—and it should be thorough—reveals instances of the latter for which there is no existing remedy, or demonstrates that the home owner 3 needs additional protection, there should be legislation. The form of this legisla- tion is another matter. The Legislative Program. With May day just around the corrr, congressional leaders are taking stock of the situation on Capitol Hill and preparing for the final drive to bring about as early adjournment as possible. Many of the members of the House and Senate face contests for renomination and for re-election. They would welcome an opportunity to return to their States and districts as soon as possible to rebuild their “fences.” The House, as a matter of fact, has little left to do in a legislative way be- fore it will be in a position to shut its desk and leave Washington for the Summer. It has put through the ap- propriation bills, except the Navy bill and a deficiency bill. It has passed the one bill dealing with prohibition en- forcement of the President’s program which appears to have much chance of final action at the present session of Congress—the bill transferring the pro- hibition enforcement unit from the Treasury Department to the Depart- ment of Justice. In the Senate, however, the picture is somewhat different. Although the Senate finally passed the tariff bill a few weeks ago and sent that measure to the darkened streets, carrying lighted candles to guide them over the broken pavements to their favorite churches. * ¢ * It was a scene reminiscent of the old Russia.” The only noticeable mark of & new order this year was the absence of bells and chimes. These were recently si- lenced forever by government decree. The Red authorities devised other means for diverting the people from Easter meditations by ordaining reduced rates for theaters and moving pictures during the holiday. Performances were deliberately prolonged beyond the hour set for the midnight masses, but all accounts agree that these artificial methods of snuffing out popular rever- ence for the sacredness of the hour failed lamentably of their purpose. The churches “played to capacity,” despite the frreligious counter attractions staged for their detriment and notwithstand- ing even the jeers of atheists congre- gated outside. The autocrats in the Kremlin have not yet lifted all the bans imposed on the Russian people’s right to worship God in their own way. But the ex- periences of this Easter are promising, in light of the hideous crusade the Soviet rulers are waging against all forms of religious activity. When the world hears of unmolested priests of the Russian Orthodox Church carrying cru- cifixes, ikons and holy pictures as they marched in solemn procession behind banners emblazoned with pictures of the saints, there will be an inclination to hope that the Soviet czars may yet see the light. It is one thing to tear down the “capitalistic” system and establish a Communistic economic structure on its ruins. When the Russian government does that it violates merely its own best interests. It is quite another matter for the Soviet Republic to blast religious foundations which are common not only to Russia, but to the civilized uni- verse. When Moscow embarked upon that program it declared war on Chris- tianity. The God-fearing peoples of the globe have risen in stentorian pro- test against that arch-attack on their deepest and most ancient sentiments and susceptibilities. The Easter tidings from Russia would seem to indicate that their remonstrance is not in vain, ——ee—. India is still concentrating attention on itself in a manner which would efford renewed opportunity for another Kipling if one could be found. ———— Proposed Foreclosure Legislation. ‘The merits of the foreclosure bill by Senator Blaine of Wisconsin, upon which preliminary hearings were held on Saturday, can be discussed later when it bas been decided whether conditions in ‘Washington justify or demand the reme- dies contemplated in the measure, But the decision of Senator Blaine to investigate the actual need for enact- ment of his bill and the attitude of the Real Estate Board as expressed by its executive secretary, Mr. Petty, are cer- tainly reasonable. ‘The Real Estate Board, and other in- stitutions dealing with real estate and the loan of money on real estate, are against the bill because they see no need for it and because of the drastic changes in procedure and practice to result from its passage. Mr. Petty, how- ever, took the ground that while it is probable that complaints of unreason- able foreclosures have reached members of the Senate, as Senator Blaine says they have, the mere fact of the com- plaints is not enough to warrant passage of legislation. First there must be in- vestigation to determine the justification for complaints. If Senator Blaine's investigation dis- closes that the complaints are justified and that there are abuses under the fore- closure laws in the District that need Temedy, the Real Estate Board will not only favor remedial legislation, but will co-operate with the Senators in seeking the best and most effective form for the legislation to take. That is fair enough, and Senator Blaine's investiga~ tion should immediately proceed. In many of the States—possibly in most of them—there s a redemption period of varying length after foreclo- sure, during which the mortgagor may redeem his property. There is no such conference, it must still run the gantlet when it returns from the con- ference. The conference report un- doubtedly will lead to debate. The Senate, too, has another controversy on its hands over the appointment of a member of the Supreme Court, Judge John J. Parker, whose nomination probably will be reported from the judiciary committee in the next week or ten days. The judiciary committee has had before it for months the bill transferring prohibition enforcement to the Department of Justice. That meas- ure, if it is eventually brought before the Senate, will require time. And now it is reported that the President is planning to send to the Senate the London Naval Limitation Treaty for consideration eand ratification at this session. If the Senate finds it possible to complete such a program within the next seven or eight weeks, in addition to attending to a number of appro- priation bills it has not yet touched and other measures which are knocking at the door, it will set a new record of accomplishment. At present the House is more or less marking time. ‘The Navy appropriation bill has been held up until the London Conference should be completed. When it is brought forward in the House it will give opportunity for members of that body to express their opinions of the new treaty, an opportunity they will lack in the actual consideration of the pact, for it goes only to the Senate for approval, ‘The Senate for a week has had as its unfinished business the Harris bill to put immigration from Mexico on a quota basis. In the offing and on the steering committee’s program is a proposal to amend the Senate rules, introduced by Senator Swanson of Virginia, to elimi- nate the parliamentary stage in the consideration of legislation which makes it possible for Senators to demand votes on all items in a bill when a bill goes into the Senate after votes on these items have been taken in “committec of the whole,” which is merely another name for the Senate itself. The upsets in the tariff bill, which came in the Senate when the bill was reported from the committee of the whole, are respon- sible for this demand for a change in the rules. Next on the list is a bill to reorganize the Federal Power Commis- sion, advocated by the administration. When this Congress completes its present session its effective days for legislative action will be rather num- bered. In December the Congress will meet again in regular session, a “short” session, which must automatically close | March 4. It has always been difficult to bring about the passage of important legislation in a short session, especially if there is any opposition to it. It is all the more imperative, therefore, that the leaders manage to get as much done as is possible before adjournment this Summer, ————— Mail clerks will no longer be required to give attention to pictorial addresses. The skill of the artist is not always sufficlent to compensate for a conscien- tious effort to write plainly. Even if the picture is clever, a mail clerk is supposed to be too busy making trains to have time for incidental personal entertainment. ——oos A New Transcontinental Record. ‘Well, Lindbergh has done it again, but this time it is the Lindberghs who have done it, and the new transcon- tinental flying record must be shared by the colonel and his wife. For it was the former Anne Morrow who, swathed in electrically-heated clothes, guided their bullet-like speedster from the West Coast to the East while the fiying colonel devoted his time to check- ing instruments and seeking altitudes that would provide favorable winds. Mrs. Lindbergh was the navigator and according to the colonel's own words “she did a good job of it.” When about a year ago Capt. Frank Hawks sped across the continent in slightly more than seventeen hours the record seemed likely to stand for a long time. Hawks averaged better than one hundred and fifty miles an hour and made no stops en route. But the new team of “We” had yet to be reckcned redemption period in the District and the Blaine bill specifies one of fifteen days. The Real Estate Board points out that the Blaine bill is based on the use of mortgages, whereas the deed of trust form has been used in Washington since the founding of the city; that fore- closure custom and practice during the years have resulted in decisions of the A with. The colonel had a new plane, It was far faster than the average com- mercial ship and many miles faster than any service ship. It had been built especially for him. The colonel likewise had a theory that better time could be made by flying at high alti- tudes. So, when he and Mrs. Lindbergh decided to try out his theory and his Cl new ship it boded Il for the Hawks record. Shortly after five o'clock yesterday morning, at Glendale, Calif,, the Lind- berghs were whisked into the sky by the powerful motor of their low-winged Lockheed plane. Shortly after eleven o'clock last night the Lindberghs from a two-mile altitude pointed the nose of their plane downward and dropped softly to a landing at Roosevelt Field, New York. They had made one stop on the way at Wichitd, Kans., and the new American transcontinental record was set at fourteen hours, forty-five minutes, three hours better than that established by Hawks. It was a typical Lindbergh feat. Six hours, straight as a die to Wichita so high in the sky that until he appeared over the field the plane was unreported for the twelve-hundred-mile trip. A wait of twenty minutes, with motor still purring, for replenishment of gasoline and ofl and the Lindberghs again dis- appeared until watchers at Roosevelt Field, eight hours later, made out the dim outline of the sleek plane as it came in to end an epochal journey. Not only was it a great flight from the standpoint of the Lindberghs, their plane and motor, but it is quite likely that scientific facts of value have been obtained. When man acquires more knowledge of the upper strata all speed records of the present day will probably be broken. The Lind- berghs in maintaining an altitude be- tween ten thousand and fifteen thou- sand feet on a three thousand mile flight have done their part to bring the research to a practical basis. - The captain of the Berengaria re- ports that the Gulf Stream is moving toward New York City, and predicts that Long Island will one day be fringed with palms. The styles in bathing suits indicate preparedness even for so ex- traordinary a change of climate. ——ae— Some benefit is derived even from the sacrifice of an individual to underworld fury. The latest homicide has led to the establishment of “No Parking” signs on stretches of dark thoroughfare where they are most needed. D Mussolini is greater in power than the King of Italy. The King, owing to tradition, finds it impractical to start life all over and, imitating Mussolini’s rise to power, become a popular agitator. —_————— ‘The public rests a little easler as it is reported that Al Capone takes his amusement on a golf course instead of in a shooting gallery. . Easter music again called attention to the fact that the old-time composers have not been superseded by modern novelty. ——— Lindbergh continues to take the “This-is-my-busy-day” sign off his desk and hang it on his airplane. ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Subjective Impression, ‘The poet is a gentle And a philanthropic elf. He's often sentimental And he says, “Enjoy yourself!” And, like the shivering robin bird, He comes a-caroling. As usual, his song is heard About the lovely Sprng! 8o it’s “Never mind the blizzard ‘That is lurking 'round the hill’— For the poet is a wizard ‘With a stout unfailing skill! ‘Though it's familiar, more or less, His tune he likes to grind And vow that Springtime loveliness Is just a state of mind. Distributed Cargo. “It is now rumored that you do not personally abstain from alcohol, even though you declare yourself a ‘dry.” “I started the rumor,” answered Sen- ator Sorghum, “in an effort to please as many voters as possible.” “But, to quote an adage, you shouldn't carry water on both shoulders.” “I'm not trying to. I am carrying ‘water on one shoulder and a flask on the hip.” Jud Tunkins says there ought to be special polar expewurtions organized for the benefit of people who don't know how to appreciate comfortable homes. Remembrance by Mail. The valentines have ceased the thrills ‘That once made gay our lot. The melancholy fuel bills Show we are not forgot. Air of Melancholy. “When you let the office boy off to attend a funeral, does he return with a face that looks as if he had been weep- ing?” “Only when the home ball team has lost.” “He who has enough,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “strives on for more in order to protect it.” Suspense. As gruesome crime waves come and go, Policemen are bereft of bliss And move in stage fright through the show ‘Which people may applaud or hiss. “When a man makes a heap o' fuss 'bout what he’s doin’,” said Uncle Eben, “he's llable to ’'tract attention to a heap dat he ought to be doin’, but e May Be a Game. From the Cincinnati Times-Star. ‘The discovery that there are nine planets instead of eight has started the theory that some kind of celestial ball game may be in progress. Puzzle to Husbands, From the Charlotte News. Uncle Sam’s census question, “What's your relationship to your family?” gives modern husbands something to scratch their heads over. —— b ——— Probably the Best. From the Long Beach Press-Telegram. ‘The young generation, discussing ways and means of succeeding in life. list imagination, ambition and aspira- tion. Better not forget perspiration. —_—————————— A Good Idea! From the South Bend Tribune. Several astronomers have announced that they do not believe in the new planet. All right, let it be named Santa aus. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. A matter of perennial interest to ama- teur gardeners, those who grow flowers and other things for the love of it, is the way different plants do especially well some years. This is an_exceptionally good grass year, for instance, if one may judge from the fine growth of rich green which already is clothing the parks, lawns and parking areas of the National s is & good dandelion year, too, as mentioned in this column the other day. Not only are these small, bright flowers, universally beloved of children, bigger and brighter than ever, but they are more plentiful. Several seasons ago Washington knew its greatest lilac year in history. For some unaccounted reason, the lilacs bloomed more and better than ever, and the very next year went back to medi- ocre crops of flowers. Many and plentiful rains are good for fine early grass, but with the exception of the two good downpours of recent weeks the city has seen rather a lack of rainfall this season than the reverse. No doubt the unusual heat of several days had something to do with it. This was especially traceable as a factor in the recently seeded grounds surround- ing a new filling station, The warm weather brought the grass seedlings to the surface in double quick time, and when the latest fresh rain hit them {hey almost covered the plots overnight, so vigorous and healthy was their growth. o Yet behind such natural causes there seem to exist other and more intangi- ble factors, perhaps residing in the complex chemical changes which take place both in the soil and in plant tis- sue. The surface only of these changes has been touched in Investigations car- ried on throughout the country. They have an intimate connection with the amount of ultra-violet rays which grow- ing things may recelve, and in_ some cases which they must receive if they are to do their best. Fertilization, another factor which enters largely into growth and develop- ment of plant life, is scarcely under- stood by amateur growers, although it has been made the subject of much work among the agricultural colleges and by the experts of the Department of Agriculture. Fertility depends upon so many fac- tors that most home owners will be willing to accept it for granted, as they do the sunshine, and the rain, and the invisible but none the less wonderful work carried on by the roots under- ground in the development of food sources for the*leavcs above the earth. K ok ok Some seasons develop into what are popularly called “good rose years.” During such seasons all classes of roses dv well, no matter how poorly other flowers may do. The lilac bushes may put forth meager florets, the peonies may be smaller than usual, spikes of gladioll may not be up to the normal standard, but roses grow well, are free from insect pests, and reward their friends with many and finely tinted blossoms. The next year will show an entire reversal of this happy situation, with roses doing uniformly poorly in ali parts of the country. “But dahlias did well—" Such is the universal report from East to West. These unaccount- able changes vary from year to year. ‘The careful observer knows that no two seasons are exactly alike. Flowers sometimes seem to be tem- peramental, as if they had determined not to put themselves into the mechan- ical class of automatic creations, but to be fickle, capricious and wayward thus insuring for themselves the interest which mankind gives to the unexpected and the unknown. ho is there who does not possess invi'ns garden some particular bush or plant which simply will not bloom? A survey of the questions and an- swers departments of magazines de- voted to home problems, including those of the garden, will reveal any n\:m.g:r % ries from persons Who Wi igxhqa‘g Bow to miake & stubborn plant flower. One man says his peony bushes, now in the ground for seven years, have bloomed but once. He wants to know how to make ’em bloom. Perhaps a correspondent writes in and suggests that he keep all ants off the formed buds, “as the ants deposit a sweet coat- ing over them and prevent them from unfolding.” “This seems to be a widespread peony myth, probably bullt on the fact that the peony buds secrete a sweet fluid which attracts ants. The ants are there, all right, but they are not inter- ested in preventing the buds from open- ing. gA woman writes in to know why her calycanthus, which she set out several years ago, has not rewarded her with buds to date. Others in the neighbor- hood have dong w:ll,‘ but not her bush. %k How can any but theoretical answers be given? ‘There are so many factors to be con- sidered that only the Great Designer knows them all. Meny persons insist on planting shrubs which demand sun in the shade, and then wondering why they will not bloom. Often the transplanting from the north to the south side of the house will work wonders with a recalcitrant shrub. In many cases, however, there are obscure reasons for faillure to bloom which are locked up in the tissues of fhe plant, and about the best thing the gardener can do is to dig it up and Teplace it with another. If bloom is what he wants—and gen- erally it is—he should give no plant more than one normal blooming season to do its best. Then he should give it away to a friend, who will not expect much,” and probably won't give the thing any care, anyway. Sometimes in such cases the plant, as if angry at the refusal of its owner to keep it, bursts forth with a rhapsody of flowers. Na- ture is queer as well as grand some- es. * K oK K Since plants are so manifestly de- pendent upon weather conditions, it cannot be doubted that these offer the readiest explanation of why some years are “good rose years,” or “good peony years,” or “fine iris years.” And since the weather is not sub- Jject to man’s control—at least not yet— about the only practical thing the home owner can do about it is to make the best of it. This pleasant philosophy leaves us just about where we started. The fun in it comes in observing care- fully the flowers which do especially well, and in talking it over with one's garden-interested friends. Observation, after all, is not given to all men and women. So many thou- sands are so immersed in eating, breathing, walking around and similar occupations that they have no time for anything else. They are, after all, merely animals dressed up in clothes. A man becomes a human being when he has time to observe and note all those things which the brute creatures are not able to observe. Among these observations so essential in civilization are those which involve things of beauty, notably the flowers. ‘To live heedless of the greening of the grass is to miss much. To be able to compare one season with another, and to delight in the occupation, is to make time itself a companion in one’s journey through life. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. For the first time on record a Presi- dent of the United States has had the experience of having foreign critics lecture and lambaste America, to his own face, for being the bad boy of the international school. That's exactly what happened in Washington Saturday night, when Mr. Hoover sat through an hour and a half of speeches on foreign affairs at the banquet of the American Soclety of Newspaper Editors. Uncle Sam’s mentors were the distin- guished guests of the evening from abroad, Andre Geraud (Pertinax), political editor_of Echo de Paris, and H. Wiockham Steed, former editor of the London Times. Between them, they raked our role in the world fore and aft. Geraud declared in effect that most of Europe’s troubles are due to our scuttling from the international ship after the war. He strongly sug- gested that the Old World has become tired of American “advice,” and pre- fers action to pious words of counsel. EEE Steed was a horse of even franker color, in discussing America’s reluc- tance to become a fuller-fledged mem- ber of the “international community.” He compared our demand for naval parity with our unwillingness to accept “parity of responsibility.” In vigorous tones, the Englishman stated that “what Europe wants to know” is whether or not, in case of international complications, the United States will, or will not, take sides against the breaker of the peace. Steed Was re- ferring to the implications of the Kel- logg pact, at this point of his homily on our shortcomings. He capped the climax by disclosing that, far from craving American membership in the League of Nations, many Europeans think we'd be a “nuisance” at Geneva. ‘Then, with President Hoover at his very elbow, the London editor divested him- self of this: “The time might come at the League, when everybody else was in agreement, but the American repre- sentatives would have to wait for orders from Washington. They would cable the State Department, the Secretary of State would run over to the executive offices, and then the President would explain that nothing could be done until it was known :.'hat Borah thought.” ko Just how President Hoover relished these thrusts at our foreign policy and at the constitutional relations between the White House and the Senate was not apparent. Perhaps, like others present. he was thinking of an historic episode in the Guildhall at London, many years ago, when Theo- dore Roosevelt addressed a company of eminent and startled Britishers on their “duty” in Egypt. R. ‘em, roundly, that their duty was to “govern or get out.” He let loose a terrific uproar of resentment in Britain. Some of Roosevelt's friends claimed that the colonel, who had just come from the Nile, spoke at the instigation of the British authorities, who wanted to create public sentiment in favor of a stronger hand in Egypt. Not all the American opinfon-molders who heard Geraud and Steed took exception to their apparently calculated indiscre- tions. Some attributed them to the fog that enveloped visitors off the American coast for 24 hours preceding their arrival. Others held that “pro- vocative” discussion of foreign affairs is what's needed to stimulate interna- tional thought along right lines in this benighted country. * Kok Ok Senator Frederick Hale, Republican, of Maine, who is polishing up his microscope for examination of the Lon- don naval treaty in his naval affairs committee, has been entertaining his distinguished 82-year-old uncle, Judge Clarence Hale, of the Federal bench at Portland. The political tradition gives no sign of shriveling up in the Hale clan " Judge Hale's son, Rober! na- tor Fred’s cousin—is in the midst of a brilliant. career. Elected in 1923 to the Maine House of Representatives, “young Bob"” is now speaker of that body, is definitely headed for the State Senate and the governorship, and then for na- tional points south, Spe: ‘Hale took his A. B. at Bowdoin, his B. A. as a Rhodes scholar in Oxford, and his law degree at Harvard. His friends %Id klnltme; (é;nfldenllyl elxpe;':t him Tpetua e ancestral glory in pubfl: affairs, e * ok ok . From a veracious constituent of these observations comes word that his pro- hibition-poll ballot reached him signed, “The Literary Digesh.” At any ri he affirms, whoever wrote the last in the periodical's name made it look like “h.”" The way the poll is going sug- gests to him that before it's over we speaking of “The Liquorary e Elizabeth Morrow of New Jersey, “Lindy's” bachelor sister-in-law, who'll soon be a member of Washington con- gressional soclety, signalized her recent return from the London Naval Con- ference by establishing a school of her own. It will occupy a picturesque homestead near the Morrow place in Englewood, N. J., and Miss Morrow has taken a three-year lease of the property. The establishment will be a “Children’s Home School,” maintained entirely at her own cost. A graduate of Dwight School at Englewood, where she later taught, Miss Morrow will train young- sters of 11 to 512 years of age for admission to Dwight,” which seems to have been named after her dad. * xey One wrangle with which the D. A. R. itself had nothing to do nearly broke up the program at their last evening meeting. A famous United States Band was furnishing the music that night. Suddenly, to the consternation of its leader and members, the ccrnet soloist of a rival service band appeared and announced that he'd been invited to play a couple of numbers to organ ac- companiment. There was some very picturesque discussion before the atmos- phere cleared. For a while it looked as if there'd be anything but music in— and on—the air at Constitution Hall, «Copyright, 1930.) e A House Divided. From the Florence (Ala.) Herald. According to the Literary Digest, the United States, like ancient Gaul, is l‘ih’lldtd into three parts—dry, moist vet. ‘and — But Harder to Keep. From the Dayton Daily News. Latest reports are that a seat on the stock exchange is easier to get thesc days than one on a street car. o An Early Alarm. From the Loutsville Times. The ploneer of daylight saving was an early morning fly in a bed room. o Chance for Scientist. From the Buffalo Evening News. There is yet time for some scientist to win fame by showing the umpire how to warm up his eye before the game. . Don’t Get Behind Truck. From the Toledo Blade. Lima Beane says the straight and narrow road is all right, provided you don't have the hard luck to get behind a truck. Hardest and Softest. From the Louisville Times. Every motorist knows that the hard- est detours are really the softest ones. pEEEWR e Maybe Row Isn't Over. Prom the Omaha World-Herald But maybe the row between Ruth McCormick and Charley Deneen in Ili- nois is not over yet. The Political Mill By G. Gould Lincoln. Tariff time will soon arrive in the Senate and House again. For the last three weeks the Smoot-Hawley bill has been “in conference,” with five mem- bers of the House and five members of the Senate adjusting the 1,500 or so differences between the two houses. Now, it appears, the conferees have composed their differences on the rate structure of the bill, reaching com- There is no other agency in the world that can answer as many legitimate questions as our free information bu- reau in Washington, D. C. This highly organized institution has been buiit up and is under the personal direction of Frederic J. Haskin. By keeping in con- stant touch with Federal bureaus and other educational enterprises it is in a position to pass on to you authorita- promises in some cases, and one or the | tive information of the highest order. other group yielding on many items. The conferees still have to tackle and settle the ‘“debenture” amendment adopted by the Senate and also the Senate amendment_ doing away with the flexible provision of the law under which the President has the power to change rates by 50 per cent, provided a thorough investigation and report has been made by the Tariff Commission. ‘These are prize parcels of the Senate coalition. They were adopted while the coalition was “sitting pretty” and be- fore the urge of protecting local indus- tries had smashed the alliance, as it did in the final days of the tariff bill consideration in the Senate. The bet- ting has been that the debenture clause would finally be eliminated and that the flexible provision would be com- promised. * Kok % If the tariff dopesters are correct, the conferees will finish their labors before the close of this week. Then the meas- ure must run the gantlet again of the House and Senate. It is possible that the bill will have been finally disposed of by the middle of May, though that is still a matter of conjecture. The bill is a year old and has been the subject of more printed columns in the newspapers than any other piece of legislation, largely due to the fact that it_has been before one house or the other continuously for more than a twelvemonth. Probably there will be still a kick in it when the debate of the conference report is taken up in the Senate. But the country has grown tired of waiting for this particular bill, and the interests in every State of the Submit your queries to the staff of experts whose services are put at your free disposal. There is no charge ex- cept two cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Address The Evening Star, Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Q. What caused the peculiar echo in the Bryd broadcast?>—G. M. A. The sound was caused, according to W. A. R. Brown, a National Broad- casting Co. engineer, by what might almost be termed a “feed-back.” The Australian station in the 20,000-mile hook-up was receiving from both the Schenectady and New Zealand ends of the leg and rebroadcasting each to the other. This pick-up in the Australian studios was responsible for “ccho effect” heard. _In other words, a voice in the General Electric studio was picked up in Australia for amplification and re- broadcast to the New Zealand studios, and a portion of it could not be pre- vented from traveling back over the route by which it had reached Australia. Q. Do the United States and France use the same flags on ships which they use on shore?—T. J. A. The Stars and Stripes of the United States are used on men-of-war and ships of the merchant marine. France also uses but one flag, the tri-color. Q. Does the arrangement of flowers have special significance in Japan?— A. G. 'A. It does. Flower masters teach flower arranging, and a course is in- cluded in the curriculum of nearly all Union_affected by it, made themselves felt effectually before the measure fi- nally got out of the Senate. It is ex- pected that the combination of Sena- tors whose constituents believe they will be helped by the measure will be suffi- clently in the majority to put the bill through at last and let it go to the President. The House has no unlimited debate rule and will act promptly. Nor has the House had an_effective “coali- tion” of Progressive Republicans and Democrats to upset the apple cart in that body. * ok kK As soon as the bill has passed and become a law, claims of all kinds will be put forward. The Democrats wiil urge that the bill is an iniquity and that had it not been for their stalwart efforts it would have been worse. The Republicans will picture the measure as a panacea for all ills, and Progres- sives from the West either will con- demn the bill outright or will take credit to themselves for whatever good may be found in it. As a matter of fact, if the bill becomes law and busi- ness picks up a little this Srrlnl and Summer, the Republicans will get all the credit for their tariff bill. That is the way of polil‘ncs. 4 * “Old Joe” Grundy, in his campaign for the Republican senatorial nomina- tion in Pennsylvania, has advanced the idea that as soon as this tariff bill is out of the way another revision should be begun, with much higher rates than the pending bill carries. No wonder he has the support of the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association. One thing appears pretty certain, however, whether Mr. Grundy is successful in his race against Secretary Davis of the Depart- ment of Labor or not, the Republicans are not likely to undertake another tariff revision while they continue in power—that is, not for another decade. Once every 8 or 10 years is enough. Should the Democrats gain control of the Congress and the White House in 1932, they might f<el it incumbent upon them to adjust the tariff, though maay of them seem pretty well pleased with the Republican tariff just now. They can blame the Republicans for any evils that grow out of it and at the same time can reap the benefits, if there are any. * Kk Henry Allen Ccoper, who represents the first congressional district of Wis- consin, is to have the support of con- servative Republicans as well as Pro- gressives in his district, it now appears. Mr. Cooper has been a familiar figure in the House for years. He came to the House away back in 1891, and, except for one term, he has served continuously ever since. In the fights in the House between the Conservatives and the Progressives he has been a stalwart fig- ure in the Progressive ranks. The Janesville Gaz:tte, published in his dis- trict, is strongly conservative. But not- withstanding its opposition to the La Follette candidates for office, it has edi- torially indorsed the re-election of Mr. Cooper. It has said: “Representative Cooper should have a clear field for nomination in the first congressional district this year of 1930. Once nominated he cannot be defeated. Opposition is futile as a rule—has been but once since 1891. Whatever objec- tion there was at that time has long since passed away. He is the Nester of the House, one of the most popular members in it, is constantly active in behalf of the people of this district and, while his political attachments are not always in harmony with those of the majority of the first district, it has been coldly demonstrated that as a vote get- ter he has few equals. Then we should say, with all the attributes of a good and successful candidate why enter upon a campaign in order to tickie the ambi- tion of some aspiring litician'. who may have the obsession he is a states- man? Mr. Cooper should be permitted through the suffrages of the voters of this district to stay in Washington as long as he desires, which probably will be until the day he passes on and no longer answers the roll call. He is 79 years of age and as active as any of the Congressmen of half that age. He attends to business of the district and perhaps no member stands higher in the esteem and friendship of all mem- bers of the House than Henry Allen Cooper.” Fowi e e One day before long Senator J. Thomas Heflin is going to blow the lid off of the Alabama Democratic situa- tion, in an address to the Senate, if his present plans are carried out. He intends telling his colleagues, but more particularly the people of Alabama, Just what is the trouble with a Demo- cratic organization which denies him the right to be a candidate for the Dem- ocratic senatorial nomination in the primary next August. He has been storing up ammunition for a long time. Before long he will go down to Alabama to begin stumping the State in the interest of his candidacy. He will do a very complete job, and there are many Senators today who are will- ing to bet that he will win, no matter whether the edict of the State com- mittee holds against his entering the primary or not. b i Now that the new slush fund com- mittee of the Senate has finally been completed it may be expected to be-|letting the farmers use $150,000,000 in | girls’ schools in Japan. Q. How far from the earth is the planet which has just been discovered? —L. B. A. It is estimated at 3,720,000,000 miles. Q. Is there a Federal law which pro- hibits the issuing of a check for less than $1?—E. F. L. A. It is not against the law to write a check for less than $1 if the check is intended to pay a debt and not for circulation. The United States code, section 3583, reads: “No person shall make, issue, circulate or pay out any note, check, memorandum, token or other obligation for a less sum than one dollar intended to circulate as money or to be received or used in lieu of law- ful money of the United States; and every person so offending shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than six months, or both, at the discretion of the court.” Q. What is the percentage of il- literacy in the Philippines>—M. J. D. A. According to the last report it was 37 per cent. Q. Who invented dice?>—A. H. E. A. Dice were probably evolved from knuckle bones, but it is almost im- possible to trace clearly the develop- ment of dice as distinguished from knuckle bones on account of the con- fusion of the two games by the ancient writers. Both were played in times antecedent to those of which we possess any written records. Sophocles in a fragment ascribed their invention to Palamedes, a Greek. He taught their use to his countrymen during the siege of Troy. Herodotus relates that the Lydians, during a period of famine, in the days of King Atys, invented dice, knuckle bones, and practically all other games except chess. Dice have been used throughout the Orient from time immemorial and have been found in tombs and mausoleums of ancient E‘f}ytpt' classic Greece, and the Far st. Q. Is it really believed that the Mayan civilization is a survival of the old Atlantis?—K. F. H. A. The Bureau of American Ethnol- ogy says that the Atlantis of the development of the Mayan civil tion is no longer accepted by Mayan scholars. Q. How powerful a glass is necessary to watch races when part of the course is 6 or 8 miles away?—C. R. A. In order to watch horses, auto- mobiles, etc., at a distance of 6 or 8 miles the Bureau of Standards says that & 6 or 8 power binocular or a 20 power telescope is recommended. If fine details are to be examined the telescope is the better. Q. What was Voltaire's object in writing “Candide”?—V. K. A. “Canddide” is a satire which Vol- taire wrote to attack the current the- ory that “all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.” Q. How did the bridal bouquet origi- nate?—M. P. S. A. It is impossible to state when flowers were first used at a wed- ding, since this is a very ancient cus- tom. Orange blossoms were worn and carried by brides from the earliest times, as they portend luck and happi- ness. Spenser and Milton were of the opinion that the orange was the golden apple presented to Jupiter by Juno on her wedding day. It was customary for the Anglo-Saxon bride to give her friends small knots and ribbons to wear or carry on the wedding day. This custom still survives in the bouquet of the bridesmaids. g. f«mw far from Toklo is Fujiyama? A. This celebrated quiescent volcano is 70 miles southwest of Tokio. It rises to a height of 12,395 feet, and its southern slopes reach the shore of Suruga Bay. Q. Is it true that in Great Britain g"mccensus is taken within 24 hour: A. In Great Britain a certain day is designated for the taking of the cen- sus. For the last census, 1921, the enu-, meration was made on June 19. The preliminary report was made public in August. Q. What cable companies have sta- tlons in the Azores?—E. T. M. A. A number of cable companies have stations in the Azores. The Ger- man submarine cable from Borkum to New York has a station at Fayal. The German Atlantic Co.'s cable, laid in 1926 from Horta, in the Azores, to Em- den, Germany, was opened March 4, 1927. The Western Union cable from Newfoundland to the Azores was opened in 1928. The Postal Telegraph Co.’s cable connects at the Azores with the Eastern Telegraph Co. Q. What are cetaceans?—W. B. A. They are mammals whose struc- ture is so modified as to render them fit for an aquatic life; for instance, whales, dolphins and porpoises. Q. How long has the National Geo- graphic Magazine been published?—E. B. T. A. It has been published for 42 years. The society was organized in 1888. Q. Who were the Americans who served on the first jury of the Perma- nent Court of Arbitration?—M. 8. A. The four citizens of the United States who were on the original panel of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, established at The Hague in 1899, were ex-President Benjamin Harrison, Chief Justice Fuller, Attorney General Griggs and George Gray of the United States Circuit Court. Q. Are steam, electricity, airplanes, ete., strictly modern inventions?—T. P. A, Archeological _discoveries reveal that the principles of the use of steam, hydraulics, smoke screens, concave and convex mirrors, magnets, etc., were known to the ancients and employed by priests in temples to perform super- natural feats. Steam, for instance, was used in Babylonian temples as early as 1700 B.C. to cause images of gods to move their heads, eyes or arms. Many similar devices may be cited. Renewal of suggestions for increased postal charges, as made by Postmaster General Walter F. Brown, produces the same public reaction that has been characteristic of all proposals of the sort in the past. It is maintained by many that 2-cent postage on letters is an established policy and must not be changed, regardless of the cost of the service. The extensive use of the franking privilege also receives atten- tion, along with service rendered to other Government departments. It is conceded by the Charleston Daily Mail that “it might not be un- wise for the Government to revise its postal rates upward,” in view of Post- master General Brown's recommenda- tion of a rate of 2!> cents an ounce. That paper, however, suggests that “before the proposal is carried out a thorough survey of the department along scientific lines ought to be made in order that the exact condition of affairs might be known. Such an in- quiry might develop the fact that no increase in rates would be necessary, that the desired results could be achieved through a reorganization of methods. In an establishment as large as is the Post Office Department and where political considerations rather than business qualifications often are the chief factors in employment of a manager, there are bound to be many loose ends and neglected corners,” concludes the Daily Mail. “Before even considering a mnew letter rate,” advises the Detroit News, “a much more thorough presentation is in order upon the continuing losses due to political operation of the de- Klrtm?nh If Mr. Brown evades thi e will be doing just what his predece: sors have done before him; but the easy way of at once continuing the abuses of individual and business letter mail will find as little indorsement now as it has in the past. It is to be remem- and in other ways the public is being asked to pay and pay and pay. If indeed he has political preferment in mind, it appears that Mr. Brown has choscn the certain route to prompt and emphatic rejection.” An increase in postage with the ob- ect of wiping out a_deficit fails to press the Worcester Evening Gazette, which says, as to the various Federal departments, in arguing the matte: “Following precisely the same reason ing, the Department of Commerce shows a deficit of $58,000,000. The Agricultural Department has a deficit in excess of $155,000,000. and this takes no account of the deficit which is an- ticipated when the Federal Farm Board attempts to balance its books after gin digging away at primary expen-| trying to control the wheat and cotton ditures before long. It has $100,00% at its disposal, enough to conduct quite an investigation in a number of States. | Vice President Curtis met with diffi- culty in making up the committee. He appointed nine Senators before he could get a comm\tlge of five. * ok ¥ X The Republican party in the South does not appear to have changed a great deal, despite the fact that Presi- dent Hoover carried four of the States of the “solid South” in 1928. Reports from Georgia say that a Republican State convention was a riot on Satur- day, with two factions claiming con- trol. Only the Democrats themselves, it appears, are able to make any of the Southern States Republican. = Representative James M. Beck of Pennsylvania, former solicitor general markets. We do not speak of a deficit of the United States and one of the “wet” leaders of the House, has come out with an indorsement of the Brown- Davis ticket in the Pennsylvania Re- publican primaries. Mr. Beck argues that a vote for the so-called wet candi- dates in the field in Pennsylvania, Phillips for governor and Bohlen for Senator, is merely playing into the hands of the dry candidate for gov- ernor, Gifford Pinchot. Mr. Beck in his_announcement remarks: “If Brown and Davis were uncom- promising drys, a different situation would present itself, but both are lib- erals in the true sense of the word. They can safely stand on their public records as men of broad vision and constructive statesmanship.” and paying for them at the expense | bered that already through a new tariff | Increase in Letter Postage Condemned as Unwise Move in these departments, because we recognize that they are performing a service to the public. * * * The Post Office Department is not a public utility. There is no more reason why the individual letter-writer should pay his exact proportion of the cost of the service than why the individual farmer or business man should be charged precisely what it costs to serve him through the Agricultural or Commerce Department. The taxpayers of the country provide that service for the individual farmer and business man. And the taxpayers can well afford to pay what it costs to give the American people a 2-cent letter postage.” % ¥ ‘Two-cent postage “is one of the Wa- tion’s institutions,” in the opiniox of the Portsmouth, Ohio, Times, which ex- presses doubt that Postmaster Brown “will ever get very far with his récom- mendation for an increase in the first- class rate.” That paper fs\éc’r;a indirect payment through xation, though it concedes that Mr. Brown's arguments are sound and may lead to | increased efficiency. The Butte Daily | Post states, “Of "course, all the ex- penses of the Post Office Department | have to be paid by the people, and the *aanunl deficit has been met by tax- ation.” “It is a public-service entes which the public pays,” says fl‘;zr}li‘:v'fg: hill Gazette, “and whether the public pays n the form of rates adequate to meet the cost of the service or in the form of taxes to make up deficits is not basically important. This conclusion does not mean that we o rates adequate to meet the cost of the serv- ice. Such an increase would have the desired effect of placing the cost of the service on those who use the service. Such an increase should not be made, however, until department offi- | cials are sure that they are running | their department as efficiently as pos- | sible. And, finally, an increase suc- | cessfully applied should not be inter- | preted as establishing a business ente; prise on a paying basis; it should be understood as merely achieving cone centration on a single method of pay- ing for a public Sl‘,l‘"lcl.‘.; CEA “No one knows better than Oh'c's | member of the cabinet,” suggests the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “that factors other than the present 2-cent postage play a part in keeping his operations factor: virtual subsidy of airmail lines |is another.” The Philadelphia Evening | Bulletin argues: “First-class mail is the | basic business of the Post Office De- partment as a great public utility. It | has always paid its way, and does so today. No deficit to which it does n contr bute should be charged against it. s the consuming public is " advises the Kalamazoo Ga- t makes little difference whether & postal deficit is prevented by a higher postage rate or made up from tax rev- enues; in either case it is the public which foots the bill. If Mr. Brown for any reason prefers the former way, how= ever, there can be no harm in his sub- mitting the idea before the bar of pop- ular sentiment.” “No_other public utility.” contends the Yakima Daily Republic, “would an enormous amount of work for other organizations without any compensa- tion. The Post Office carries the mail for every other department of the Gov- ernment free: the amount of the con- gressional mail carried under frank W'Oul:lg be enough to bankrupt any public utility. ' ’ ! in the red. The franking abuse is one ‘ expect to operate without loss if it did ¢