Evening Star Newspaper, August 31, 1930, Page 14

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY. .......August 31, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES. The Evening Star Newspaper Company 1 Business Office: wew'¥ Editor and Pennsylvania Ave 110 East 42nd 8¢ Ghicsso * Lake Michizan Building. ice: 14 Regent St.. London. Englan: Rate by Carrier Within the City. Star. ... .45¢ Ter month and Bunday Star m ening ‘when ays) ;. 60c per month .~ and Sunday Siar ndass) 65c per month The Sundey Star . \ o 250, Der cop: Collection made at ti of ~ach mant! rders may be sent in by mall or elepnone Rate by Mall—Pagable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. All O Press. Associated Press is exclusively entitieo ublication, of all news cig- 0 1t or not otherwise cred- aper g0d also ‘he iocal iews Al rig) in ot puplication et es Derein are also reserve Sunday. ] yr.. 812 PETIYNRAN £ 0 1} ' A el §5.00: Now Lock the Door! ‘The fact that a hall of archives is| ncluded in the grand project for Gov- ernment buildings does not lighten the | loss that was suffered yesterday in the destruction of one of the “war-time” temporary housings with a great mass ' of valuable, irreplacable records. Had| the archives building been already | erected and the records not immediately current been removed to it this loss would not have occurred. Or, if the fire of yesterday had been postponed for a few years the Government would noj todsy be the sufferer of an ir- | Temediable Joss. Yesterday's object lesson has been | often predicted. Repeatedly, in the course of the many years elapsing be- tween the proposal of the erection of & Government record building and the adoption of plans for its provision, it has been foretold that in the absence of ssuch a structure the Federal ad- ministration would some day lose ir- reparably through fire. The prayer of all who knew the condition of the record housings was that in the virtually inevitable happening of fire in a public structure—either old-type ‘‘permanent” or makeshift “temporary” or rented— the damage would not be heavy. | Yesterday's fire, as far as it is now possible to determine, wiped out the records of or more years of work | ers to station caddies with flashlights at approximately the spot that they ex- pect to reach on their drive, and for the second shots to send the caddies ahead to mark the greens, but how | about Mr. Dufer when he goes out at night with the light strapped on his chest and hii retinue of flluminated caddies strung out ahead of him? Has he any approximate spot which he in- tends to reach on his drive or is it Just as likely to be the woods to right or left or a dribbled ball down the middle, whick he might just as well kiss good-by? And after how many lost balls and shets ‘will he be able con- fidently to send his caddies ahead to mark the green? To Mr. Duffer play- ing through- the chasm of darkness be- tween his owa ‘light and that of his numerous caddies it will certainly seem as if every hole is a “water” hole, and after a few of these he can be depended upon to look up, for what reason he only knows, on every shot and the game to him will become one of exeruciating agony. 3 y It would be Idle to prophesy that golf lon regulation courses could never be played at night. But for the present at Jeast, it will remain outside of the field of nocturnal amusement, and the new excuse that “I lost so many balls tonight, my cear, that I couldn't get horhe until three-thirty in the morn- ing,” will not go over very big with trusting spouses. ————agens The Incrsasing Assessment. Elsewhere in today's Star the new assessment figures on which current tax bills are based are discussed in an inter- view with Assessor Richards. The in- crease of some seventeen millions of dol- lars over the previous year's figures is explained for the most part by new buildings and improvements and the higher value, in some sections of the city, brought about by sales, rezoning and other neighborhood changes. What a great many Washingtonians will want to kaow, however, is whether the real estate depression hes been taken into consideration by the as- sessor's office. The best answer to that question is that tax bills are remaining either stationsry or increasing. It is true that the assessment mow under consideration was completed in Janu- ary of this year and does not con- template property values since that time. But Mr. Richard's theory as to the general effect of a depression on the assessment figure is interesting. This, the tax assessor explains, is merely to bring the assessments pearer to the 100 per cent of true.value demanded by the law than they were before. For by the Federal Trade Commission and the records also of the Children’s Bu- | feau. The Trade Commission’s archives were of partfgular importance and value. | They included the detailed accounts of several far-reaching investigations into industrial and business enterprises. Furthermore, all the “working papers” of current use were destroyed. The instance, property assessed four years ago within a certain neighborhood was found to be approximately ninety per cent of the true value as determined by real estate transfers in that neigh- borhood. Suppose for the purposes of this illustration that the real estate depression accounts for a decrease of ten per cent in value. The effect is merely to bring the assessment to the conditions were such as to invite com- | Pplete destruction. The object lesson was | complete. | It is not completely a case of locking chosen some time before the happening the blaze that within a couple of wiped out the work of years. But | is logic in the demand that no! time be lost in the provision of fireproof structure that alone will upon the law of chance, on the theory that it reduces to a small percentage the danger of another destructive fire. Under the law the present occupants of the site chosen for the archives building have until January 1 next be- fore ouster can be effected, unless the Government ) desires earlier octupancy, in which case it must give sixty days’| notice. If that notice be given at once the market now occupying the site can be vacated on the first of November. Meanwhile the detailed plans can be Pressed and every possible move made toward the leiting of contracts. . With diligence the work of site clearing can be under way before the first of the year and the ground made ready for the first strokes of construction in early Spring. 3 In point of precedence the Archives Building becomes the most wurgent necessity of all the Government's struc- tural needs, in view of yesterday's dis- astrous fire. This, however, does not mean that other works should be neg- lected or postponed. All of those on the general program should be pressed with the utmost speed consistent with sound construc JFor they are to afford housing for bureaus and de- partments now occupying in some cases unsafe, in all cases inadequate buildings, snd the working records of these ad- ministrative units are in daily peril. < it i Bovietism professes humanitarian pur- poses, but has not yet worked free from | suspicion of rough politics disguised | #s philanthropy. st e Long Summer months never prove discouraging in Washington, D. C. ‘ "There is always another place to go fishing. ——— Nocturnal Regulation Golf. If this thing keeps up, sleeping will become a lost art. Not content with night tennis, night base ball and foot ball, and that game of the miniature variety, that has by a misnomer been | labeled “golf”, the American public is | trying still more experimenis to con- vert night into day. One of these ex- periments took place last night at the | all its records, with other losses, §8%€ fair grounds and we don’t want to be Manor Club, and it consisted of four | the District’s Fire Department its blg~ fooled, Have you any papers to show well known Washington linksmen at- | gest opportunity of the year and &l- youire o resl cowboy?" tempting to play a regulation golf course with searchlights attached to their chests in the foursome, good scoreg were made and the participants are sald now o hosts to the firemen of nearby MATY-| cows and buy tickets to see your show.” Be converted into night golf addicts. Be tnat s it may, it scems hardly likely that the royal and ancient game can be enjoyably played nocturnally untll a luminous ball is invented and greens are fringed by incandescents. ‘Wives, therefore, should have no occa- 100 per cent demand by the law. One is naturally inclined to ask why a real estate depression is necessary to produce a theoretically perfect tax assessment, and why, if tke assessment four years | ago was considered as nearly perfect as | it could be, that assessment is inter- preted now as having been ten per cent Off before the raarket for sales declined. It would be obviously impossible to reassess every property every year. It is to be granted that Assessor Richards, following the law, has tried ‘to the ut- most of his ability to make his assess- ments as near true value as he can. But as long as real estate activity en- ters the picturs at all as & gauge of that elusive “true value” sought by the gasessor, it is pessing strange that when real estate fluciuates in the wrong di- rection the owaers' tax bills show no compensating decrease. Assessments have been climbing steadily since the full-value basis was adopted in 1923 and normal increase in values is naturally to be expected. But coupled with the climbing assess- ments, the tax rate has been either in- creasing or remaining stationary, and the next year's budget is prcdicated on a still greater iacrease in the tax rate. Growth in population is supposed to bear some defirite ratio to increase in the assessment base. What is this ratio? It would be enlightening to know. Since 1923 the District's pop- ulation has increased by 32,466 persons, according to the Census Bureau. In the same period the assessment has in- creased $476,800,732. That means that for every person added to the popula- tion, the assessnient has increased $14,- 686. The average per capita real estate assessment for cities of the United States other than Washington studied by the Bureau of Efficiency is $1,481, How does the load heaped on Washington in the last seven years compare with the increases in other cities during the samg period? No ex- planation of Washington's - unprece- plete without consideration of the fact that the city has been faced with the | necessity of producing this lddlllonlll revenue to finance huge budgets, with the Congress refusing to meet the Fed- !ernl obligations which it lawfully im- posed and has been persistently | evading. ———t——————— England admits that India is a hard | problem, at the same time dwelling on the fact that only Englishmen have given it the time and attention that point to hope of its solution. | ——— et Firemen at Work and on Parade. ' Yesterday's blaze, destroying the ! Federal Trade Commission’s office and most coincided with its annual parade and demonstration on Labor day. To- Eight holes were played | morrow the men constituting the Cap- | tyre concerns.” ital's defensive organization will be land and Virginia. On Safurday these State units came to the help of Wash- ington. Some of them came without being asked, ard their services were of | value, as=they took the places of the companies engeged at the scene of the fire. In the same way the District fire- sion to worry in the mear future, at men go to the help of the neighboring leagt, tat husbands have found another axcnse to get out at night. Golf, #he is played.” is a game of sheer de- Ught when the shots are clicking prop- ‘erly. Part of this delight, however areas in cases of meed. A most satis- factory spirit of reciprocity prevadls be- | tween the three jurisdictions, Tomorrow's parade, preceding the .| now institutional base ball game be- omes from watching the flight of the | twzen the Fire and Police Departments well ‘tous this cannot be done a‘ night. hit ball, and under present condi- 'in aid of their pension and benefit funds, will show the Capital's organiza. & 36 all very well for four goad golf- tion at Ita best. 1t is today one of the A dented increase in assessment is com-, THE SUNDAY | most eficient in the country. It has as complete and advanced an equipment as is to be had. It lacks only a high- pressure service of water to supplement and to save the drinking water supply. At yesterday's fire, especially, such an extra source would have been of high value. In the reckoning of merits in the handling of yesterday’s blaze credit should be given to the Police Depart- ment for its efficient work in the keep- ing of order at the scene. The condi- tions made for possible confusion and congestion, the departments and busi- ness establishments having. closed for the day shortly before the glarm sounded. So well were the police lines held, however, that the spectators, ir- | risistibly attracted by the clangor of | sirens and the spectacle of a dense volume of smoke, were kept in perfect order and beyond the danger point. B Whet Has Happened? If Alfred E 8mith, former Governor of New York attends the Democratio State convention as a delegate next month and earrles out his announced intention to nominate Gov. Franklin Roosevelt for a second term, it will be with & proxy instead of with full dele- gat: credentials, For by some mis- chance or by some malign influence his name was omitted from the slate of delegates prepared under Tammany auspices the other day. When the omission was noted and inquiries were made regarding it everybody secemed surprised. Nobody knew how it hap- | pened. Tammany Leader Kohler of the tenth assembly district, in which the former Governoy”lives now, said he | was shocked to learn that the omission was not in accordance with “Al's” | wishes. “Why,” said Kohler, “Al never | mentioned to me that he wanted to be a | delegate. I naturally assumed he would |80 as a delegate from the first dis- trict.” The fact that the Governor has | not. lived in the first district for years makes the explanation somewhat inef- fective. ! That this omission from the slate of delegates was an intentional slight by | Tammany is believed by many of the | political wiseacres of Manhattan. They point out that Mayor Walker is going as a delegate from the first district, Mrs. Belle Moskowitz, Smith's political | adviser, as & delegate from the ninth: Senator Wagner from the sixteenth and District Attorney Crain from the seven- teenth, These inclusions would seem to make the absence of “Al's” name the more significant. In point of fact it should be now as it was once a case where Ben Adhem Smith’s name “led all the rest.” ‘What has happened? The Governor is a perfectly good citizen of Manhat- tan, is engaged in an important and lucrative business there, and is still as nominee of his party for the presi- dency in 1928 the titular head of the Democracy. Again, what has happened? P —— A word of sympathy is due Albert Payson Terhune, who suffers a genuine bereavement because his favorite collie was killed by a motor car. No man has written more interestingly about dogs than Terhune. He has contributed much to the enjoyment of life by enabling men) and four-footed compan- jons to understand each other just a little bit better. | Numerous members of her following intimate that Mrs. McCormick can be as dry as she likes without meking any difference in thejr favorable opinion. In Chicago, regardless of official an- nouncements, the wets appear to be perfectly confident that they can man- age the situation for themselves. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Shifting the Personnel. Into a chain store I proceed. Politeness greets my little need. And yet I miss, as I draw nigh, The friendships of a year gone by. Among the salesmen and the clerks, New people seem to run the works. | T ask in accents sad and siow, | Where are the folks I used to know? The poet asked, in song so clear, “Where are the snows of yesteryear?” ‘While plodding on from day to day, A friendship gleams; then fades away. As spoken by & voice brand-new, | 1It's not the same old “Howdy do?” | I ask, when purchasing 1 go, ‘Where are the folks I used to know? Variability. “Are you & wet or a dry?” “May 1 speak in personal confidence?” asked Senator Sorghum. | “Certainly.” “My sentiments on that subject must | depend on whether we refer to the hilarity of the evening before or the remorse of the morning after.” Jud, Tunkins says it's a good idea to | keep a diary. It reminds you of how little importance things are that you once made a fuss about. The Tireless Robot. ‘The climate puts in evidence A “Robot” with a vogue immense. What old “Thermom” keeps on display And never hkc.l & holiday! ‘Real Cowboy. “Are. you a cowboy?” asked Farmer Corntossel. “I am,” answered Cactus Joe. “L brought the family to these here “Certainly. I have salary contracts with several of the m.uml motion pic- “All right. We'll sell some more ““Life is a game,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chiftatown. “He who plays it hon- orably may face financial disadvantage; yet he is never truly a loser.” Joining in the Demand. The city chap needs grain and milk As well as ease and .garb of silk. The city man needs pork and beef. for “farm relief.” pai leaves yoh sins | violence caused at their public meetings | mately liable to" find 'em STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, AUGUST 31, 1930—PART TWO. | UNPROFITABLE BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES STUBBORNNESS E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, Bishop of Washington. Text: “If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it"?—1I1 Kings, v.13. The old aphorism that “a half loaf is better than none” has much wisdom in it. We cannot always realize our expectations, and frequently smaller op- portunities that are the open doors to larger ones are neglected and ignored, resulting in bitter disappointment. Great expectations have their place, so do high ambitions, but refusal to accept, when occasion offers that which is presented, is indicative of a spirit that is unworthy. It would be diffi- cult to say how many men and women there are in the world who find them- selves at the bottom of the ladder, simply because from a sense of false pride they demanded a ghcz of superior advantage. On the other hand, it is interesting and inspiring to note how many men who today occupy the fore- most places came to them gh ac- and seemingly out of consonance with thelr gifts and talents. The story to which the above text relates furnishes a case in point. The field marshal of a great army, who had been afflicted with leprosy, and who is described as “‘a mighty man of valor,” came to one who had gained popular favor as a prophet and miracle worker, seeking to be healed of his malady. He came with all the pomp that belonged to a man of his place and power. He also carried with him a letter from his King to the prophet setting forth his distinction. Arriving at the prophet's home, he would not enter it, but sent his messengers, ad- vising the healer that he awaited his attention. With becoming dignity the prophet Elisha sent his humble serv- ant, saying to the royal prince, “Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.” Whereupon the anger of Naaman broke forth, “Be- old, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and recover the leper.” To wash in the muddy waters of the Jordan was beneath his dignity. The torrential streams of his own proud city, Damascus, were “bet- ter than all the waters of Israel” In anger and disappointment, he turned from the prophet's house. Presently one of his servants spoke to him say- ing: “My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done i{t? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, ‘Wash and be clean?” Yearning for re- covery from his awful affliction, he complied with the prophet's direc- tion, securing the cleansing he sought. incident is not only dramatic, it has in it a deep lesson that bears upon the most vital concerns of. life. All of us may with propriety conceive ' of what the world owes us in the way of a living. We may appraise our own ‘worth at a standard of value, frequently at too high a standard. Our demands may fail of satisfaction simply be- cause of our willful sl roess. Wi shall not have to seek far in our per- sonal e: ience and observation to find the application of this. The tide, if taken at the flood, so Shakes| Te- ceptance of a place that was humble | minds us, and ce. kind -of humility that is to all true attainment. grace that is overconspicuous today. We seem to forget that “The height; by great men and kept ‘Were not attained by sudden flight. But they while their companions slept Were toiling upward in the night.” When applied to our religious experi- ence, the word spoken to the great sol- dier has deep significance. It is rea- sonable for us, no doubt, to expect great things from God, but it is likewise rea- sonable for us to dare great things for God. The gifts and blessings which he bestows may at times seem poor an - mean, far below our expectations. There are few evidences of excess gifts that come in answer to prayer. It may be that the seemingly smail things He gives are but the precursors of f:uer gifts to follow. It is our part to be obedient, if need be to accept with humility that which seems ircommen- surate with our claims. If we want to do great things, we shall find our ;‘]fi;::c;flo? "ll.,nd our"pencs in the ful- of the smaller duties presents to us. e reach'd BY WILLIAM HARD. “No_re-election” is the idea thought here to be at the bottom of llr‘?on all of the recent revolutionary dis- turbances in Latin America. ‘The slogan, “No re-election,” has been borne on the banner of the Mexican revolu- tionary forces, ever since they drove Porfirlo Diaz off the Mexican presi- dential throne, and it has finally re- sulted in the peaceful accession to the Mexican presidency of Pascual Ortiz Rubio, who is a first-termer and who is ruling without stir. It is second- termers and attempted second-termers and attempted life-termers who in gen- eral are producing the revolts. In Bolivia the reigning President, Hernando Siles, was to go out of office on the 6th of this month. He re- signed before the expiration of his term in order, it was believed, to accomplish some sort of forceful or fraudulent tinkering with the Bolivian constifiition for the purpose of securing his return to the presidential palace. It was with the intention of frustrating this sus- pected design of his that the Bolivian capital, La Paz, was captured by the military movement headed by Gen. Blanco Galindo. * ok k% ‘That the ideal of Galindo's movement was not a military dictatorship, but, on the contrary, a restoration of stabilized constitytionalism would seem to be in- dicated both by the promises he has made of speedy new elections and by the character of the candidates agreed upon to compose the coalition ticket which will be presented to the Bolivian voters. This ticket, consisting of Daniel Salamanca for president, ex-President Montes for first vice president and ex- President * Saavedra for second vice | president, is a reasonably impartial representation of the various rival political groups of Bolivia and exhibits three personalities who have outstand- ing political popular support altogether aside from military considerations. Ex-President Montes and ex-Presi- dent Saavedra have been out of office for some time and their appearance on the ticket for vice presidential is not regarded as any violation of the “No_re-election” rule which condemns really only an effort by a sident to succeed himself in presidential power without any intervening chance for his political competitors. e The principle underlying the rule is that a Latin American president has s0 much centralized personal power that he can almost always re-elect him- self, if he so pleases, by methods bor- dering upon force, or even including it, and that therefore a re-election is not fair and should be condemned and prevented in the name of & striving toward ultimate perfected political freedom. In Peru the reigning President, Au- gusto B. Leguia, had re-elected himself twice. He was by that very fact a “tyrant.” The severity of his measures aroused little important opposition dur- ing his first term. This severity became intolerable when his prospective third term began to stretch itself before the eyes of his countrymen. Hence the revolt against him under the dashing military hero, Col. Luis M. Sanchez Cerro. A Cerro's political policy 'is still to be revealed as these words are written, but. the guess here in diplomatic circles is that he undoubtedly will announce new elections. His overthrow of Leguia was facilitated perhaps by the low prices of Peruvian products, such as tin, and by the’economic depression of the country; but there has been a general economic depression all over South America, and it is notable that the military revolts which thereupon have happened have been directed only against presidents whose faces have become too famili and whose actions are thought to have become accordingly too autocratic. Al In Santo Domingo the recent revo- lution was caused by the behavior of President Horaclo Vasquez in using his presidential power to gain for himself an extension of his presidential term from four years to six. This indirect violation by him of the “No re-election” rule was presently met by a military march upon him by Gen. Estella Urena, who expelled him from office, but wh thereupon soon permitted new elections, at which the presidency passed to Gen. Rafael Trujillo, a new man. In Haiti one of the greatest resent. ments caused by the American occupa- tion was our connivance in the self- perpetuating habits of President Louls Borno, our Haitian presidential humpty- dumpty. It is universal expert opinion that withoyt us he would have fallen from the wall years ago. He re-elected himself in 1926. We lately found it necessary to supplant him with a new man, Eugene Roy. o In Cuba an approximately similar situation prevails, President Gerardo Machado's colossal troubles grow essen- tially directly out of the fact that in 1928 through the operation of a basical- ly unconstitutional “constitutional con- vention” he brought about his re-elec- presidency. He now rules over a peo- Fh whom he can keep quiet only by orcibly excluding the ition party from the ballot and by indicting the leaders of the opposition for armed attacks upon those g’y his own o ition tion to a second term in the Cuban |of Revolutionary Turmoild Unusually Rife in Latin American Countries of Latin American commentators that his attempt to override-the “No re- election” rule would eventuate in an og;n and successful rebellion against him were it not for the universal Cuban bellef that such a rebellion would be s:l down by the United States Marine TPs acting under orders of our State Department in the name of the “Platt amendment” and for the security of Cuban sugar plantations owned in New York City. Bk W In Argentina the apparent discontent with President Hipolito Irigoyen, evi- denced by the precautions which Iri- goyen has taken against possibs assassi- nation, is not directly the result of “re-election,” because a _considerable interval occurred between Irigoyen's last term and his present term. But it would seem that this second term has gone to Irigoyen's head and he has become an inconsiderate and arbitrary and surly character who refuses, for instance, to name an Ambassador to the United States, and who similarly refuses in Argentina to perforin any of his duties that irritate him. He would seem to be rapidly on his way to being one of the Latin American rulers who have overstayed their welcome and thereupon get thrown into the “tyrant” classification. * ok ok In Venezuela the top-notch “tyrant” of the whole Latin American scene, Gen. Juan Vicente Gomez,-has been in direct or indirect supreme power ever since 1908. When he is not President, he is commander in chief of the army and gives. orders to the President. He remains supreme, but he is obliged to suppress incessant little outbreaks and to exile continuous complainers, His condition of omnipotence, having:been 80 protracted, is troublous, In all remaining Latin American countries the Presidents, whether in their background there is ar. armed revolution followed by an elestion or else only an election, are in their first elected terms, and to date the popu- Iations over which they hold sway are reported generally quiet and unrecep- tive to any idea of any important up- l"'illnl efforts. The general situation is Te-election” and trouble, and “No re- election” and relative peace. (Copyright, 1930.) .- Plans to “Sell” America To European Travelers BY HARDEN COLFAX. ‘The National parks of the United States have had more visitors this sea- son than®ever before. This indicates that Americans are “Seeing America First” or, at least, that they are traveling extensively. ' Now the Depart- ment of Commerce is gathering a huge amount of data in order to be pre- pared for a campaign to attract foreign visitors to this country. Heretofore few if any governmental efforts have been made to attract foreign visitors, ithough other countries were reapin a rich harvest from the expenduure’ of Americans attracted by advertising and travel promotion plans. At the height of the season nearly 2,000,000 visitors passed through the National parks each week. This trend is distinctly pleasing to officials of the Department of Commerce, whp feel that the travel habit is one which aids in the distribution of money and is of advantage to retail trade in practically every section. They are heartily in ac- cord with the slogan which, so far as can be learned, was originated by the late Fisher Harris of Salt Lake City. But they also hope to gain a falr share of the travel u:ld!l'l:k?:l by foreigners. * A tentative plan for the formation of Travel Bureau in the Department has been formulated. It would provide services for American transportation and travel companies to aid in en- couraging and facllitating travel both at home and abroad and would special- ize in methods of attracting foreigners here on business as well as pleasure. A bill authorizing some such form of bureau has been introduced by Repre- sentative Dyer, but it is belleved by some authorities in the department that its provisions could be made more comprehensive. The foreign offices of the Depart- ment are now studying how the foreign governments attract visitors. It is an almost universal habit, these ofices re- port, to fill public places both abroad and in the United States with brightly colored and attractive advertising mat- ter. It is frankly said in some quarters that the transportation companies of the United States have been aslcep and, until lately, in so far as travel of for- elgners here has been concerned. Theirs has been one-way haul. They took Americans abroad and brought them back, but now they are anxious o bring Europeans here and take them back addition. L There will be no formal travel division in the it of aecessary ted. But the depart. ready to put such a bureau to functioning on almost a minute's notice. It is estimated that approxi- Wi visit Wil approximath §690.000,000. Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. Two hundred years ago our Colonial ancestors 'were wrestling with the same problems that are monopolizing the headlines in the rewspapers today, with conditions exactly reversed. Among interesting historical material which is now being published are the executive journals of the Council of Colonial Virginia. The fourth volume of this series just issued by the Vir- ginia State Library Board. of which Representative R. Walton Moore is a member, covers the period from 1721 to 1739. It shows the contrast between conditions and practices at that time and now. Instead of there being a surplus of; grain crops, there was such a that drastic measures were taken to prevent_exportation of the wheat and corn. The principle of separation of church and state, on which Gov. Pol- lard of Virginia doubtless rested his re- cent refusal to recommend a day of K:ny;r for rain, was, of course, not then e Thus it is found that under council orders the asion proclaimed a day of fasting and hu- miliation, becayse “it hath pleased Al- mighty God for the punishment of our sins to afflict this colony with a large and violent sickness and grievous mor- tality,” it being thought proper that “all persons may be excited to a speedy repentance that so the Almighty may be moved to avert his judgments.” On another occasion there was simi- lar action because “it hath pleased Almighty God in & very surprising and unusual manner to overspread this Do- minion with a vast multitude-of cater- piallars which threaten destruction fruits of the earth and which we have Just cause to fear are wagent upon us as & punishment for our many sins and impieties. And for as much as a sin- cere and unfeigned repentance with a speedy application to the Throne of Grace will be the surest means to avert the impending “Jrud*'m‘en:." Members of the diplomatic cox'-ga who are making warm-weather holiday at Point Lookout, some 90 miles from the Capital, while they keep in close touch with their respective embassies and le- gations in Washington, have become greatly interested in the historic ground on which they are taking vacation. On account of its stragetic location on the Potomac River and the Chesa- peake Bay, which offered easy access to the naval forces as well ag to the National Capital at Washington, Point Lookout was chosen as a military loca- tion by the Federal Government and used as such in the war of the “Sixties,” with a large hospital, a fort and stock- ade, or )prl.uon camp, in which were held a large number of Corfederate soldlers and officers. On an_inspection trip to this famous prison, Gen. Benjamin F. Butler dis- played marked humanity toward the prisoners. When he found that their principal complaint was lack of fire- wood, he detailed 100 Confederate pris- oners, placing them on their honor not to make any attempt to escape and al- lowing them the use of four-mule wag- ons to go into the forest. cut and haul to camp all the firewood necessary to make them comfortable. To prevent an outbreak of scurvy among_the prisoners, Gen. Butler ad- vised that a boatload of onions be or- dered from the North to add to the camp's provisions. When advised by the wmmn.ndlnq officer that ngcessary funds were lacking, Gen. Butler ordered che onions to be shipped.at once and they were paid for out of his own pro- vost funds. . . e Protests the Proposed Increased Tax Rate To the Editor of The Star: I have been very much interested in your editorials concerning the proposed increase in the rate of taxation in the District of Columbia. think it is time that the residents and tupny:g of the District give voice to their feélings in -this respect. other words, the residents of the Dis- trict instead of being undertaxed are overtaxed, and when one thinks of the contemplated increase in the rate of taxation I, as a resident of the Dis- trict and a taxpayer, wish to enter a vigorous protest. Most. properties® in the District in- stead of being assessed at 100 per cent of their actual value are now taxed at 125 to 140 per cent, and with many vacant properties it is very hard for property owners to pay their taxes, and I know a large percentage are unable to do so, \ ‘To put it another way: The assessor assessed properties in the District at 190 per cent of the high value of some years ago, and we are still taxes on this high, excessive assessment. Property therefore today is not worth within 25 or 40 per cent of the as- sessed value, and tie assessed value should, therefore, be reduced instead of increased. For example, if one purchased stock at 178 some years ago and the market value today is 78, the owner of the stock pays a tax on 78, and not 178, while the reverse.is true with respect to our tax on real estate. We are pay- ing a tax on an excessive assessment that is not the true value today, and I contend that the assessed value should therefore be reduced instead of increased. Regardless of whether or not our tax rate is increased, I contend our assess- ments should be reduced to the true 100 per cent value. PERCY H. RUSSELL. ——— Dig at Dentist. From the Ann Arbor Daily News. Bandits who held up a Chicago den- tist didn't molest the patient whose tooth was being filled. But the patient's bmmmu come, about the first of the month. - .o Keeping Lawn Mowers. From the Detroft News. One place where the drought has helped is that fewer lawn mowers have been borrowed this Summer. profited extensively from foreign travel and all are plowing back a part of their profits in advertising to in- crease the volume of visitors. Germany has taken a decided lead in this matter, according to recent visitors who declare that the German advertising and promotion maferial 1s remarkably attractive. It is belleved that raaio dd motion pictures will be used farly extensively in the American campaign together with newspaper and magazme advertising and maps, leaflets and folders. * ok ok ok Cities and transportation companies are taking a leaf from the book of for- eign experience. Shopping centers are now encou: the formation of shop- ping parties, which are personally con- ducted and not only given a chance to buy what they require, but have an attractive sightseeing - and en! in- | tril ' after immedial e e ment program laid out for them, ese. personally conducted tours often cover & radius of several hundred miles from the shoj J:lng center. ‘This idea was originated by a former English Army offi Mving (with diffi- culty) in London the war. He had ,000,000 by the end of 1930. In other | of to| a0 % Protection for Writers and Musicians | BY FREDERIC Authors and composers of the prin- cipal nations of the world have just made a fresh bid for solidarity in the protection of property rights in their productions and with special reference to the motion picture and the talkie. Creating property which in many re- spects is intangible, writers and com- posers have always encountered diffi- culties in protecting themselves. Plagiarism long hns been recognized as an invasion of rights, and the law ides for the prevention or the pun~ hment of infringements of copyright. However, the Invasion of the original | artist's property rights often is complete before it has been detected. Damages are difficult to assess and plagiarism hard to prove. The fact that writers have produced almost identical works and that composers. have written almost | identical tunes in entire innocence of each other’s works raises: that reason- able doubt which often makes courts lenient with offenders. The step which has just been taken Boverniny "The - arater. oF property e fer y rights 12 works of art in the literary :nng‘ m'gtl?hl flelgts‘.o vrith gpeeltl refer- e e motion re industry. The International Hd-:num of ::A,- lthm and Comj * Socleties has been meeting at Budapest, and the wide representation indicates that the writ- ers mean business. Delegates attended from Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Great Britain, Finland, France, Ger- many, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Rumania, Spain, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Jugoslavia and _the United 3tates. It is believed to have been the most international congress of writers and composers ever held. The rise of the talking picture | prom action by these creators of | artistic work. Motion picture scenarios | in the days of the silent film often were { completely worked over during produc- | tion and bore little resemblance to the original work. They pretended, in the first place, to be little more than skel- | etons to guide visual action. With the advent of the talkie, however, espe- clally when accompanied, as practically always, by musical compositions, a much more pretentious work of art was produced. The author and com- poser now do & finished job. The musi- cal score and libretto may be taken by any director and the finished pro- duction made, as in the case of an opera score or a play. Importance of Property Rights. In other words, there is a more def- inite property created, having a greater value. Now that the motion picture in- has grown to such magnitude, of dollars invested, ths ly L tion has, therefore, Wn g the one hand and the temptation to piracy by producers on the other. At the congress resolutions were adopted urging the United States to enter the International Copyright Union, or Bern Convention. Nearly all of the European countries and those of South America are l&mwms. and this gives mutual protection. The most revolutionary demand agreed upon by the writers and com- posers provides for a double source of collecting royalties on works. They re- solved that the sale of a scenario to a film-} cing company be restricted merely to such production. Royalties would be demanded for this right. J. HASKIN. Then, when theaters exhibited these they would be required to {,uy an additional royalty for the privilege of public showing, The theory of this double demand is that film-producing companies and exhibiting companies are not always the same: in fact, in Europe they are seldom the same, al- though in the United States the oro. ducers have in the last two or three years largely entered the exhibiting and theater-owning business: But generally, the world over, the producer merely makes the film and gets paid for it by the theater owners who wish to ex- hibit. That is one complete deal. Then the theater owner gets paid by the blic’s buying seats to witness exhibi- gdnm. From each separate and complete deal the artists believe they should be allowed royalties. ‘The international conference at Budapest expressed what might be termed a moral indignation at the manner in which artistic creation and thought have been industrialized. It is stated that “a strictly commercial con- ception of intellectual proprietorship and industrialization thors and to wipe oul tained by them in the course of the past century in matters of protection of their rights.” Changed Conditions Should Be Met. Not only has, the conference thus taken steps for the better pro I3 new creative works; it has agreed o yo into the matter of a revision of older works in connection with their adapts- tion to the talking filn. Certain pre- ducers have urged that a copyright onps granted cannot be expanded to give agd- ditional protection. This is answered by the writers and cornposers with the argument that the sound picture rerre- sents a new departure, a new use not in existence and perhaps not even ex- B:cud when original copyrights were ued, and that the creative artists con- cerned have a right to an adaptation of protective laws to changed conditions. As matters now stand with the United States outside the International | Coj ight Unton, European authors do not have a direct and effective means of imposing their desires on American motion picture producers. However, the European societies ‘are urging solidarity upon each other and the suggestion fs | advanced that a species of boycott of | American producers be resorted to until | they agree to give the same recognition | to the rights of foreign authors which | they enjoy in their own countries. First Contracts Tempting. There is a strong temptation for an author, especially a iounn author pro- duc! his first work, to take almost anythi in the way of a_contract of- fered him by producers. Indeed, there is among American producing com- panies a tendency to put authors on a continuing contragt or salary basis which gives the company the right to exploit the artist's entire output. This the Europeans regard as a pernicious tem and are urging members of au- ors’ and composers’ societies to ac- cept no such terms, but sell their pro- ductions as separgte entities. Such a system, for one thing, does not lay the writer open to orders to produce dic- tated work to fit some purely commer- clal scheme inimical to the interest of the purest In.‘ lucers of creative work in the literary and musi¢al fields always have borne the reputation of being poor busi- ness men, poor negotiators. Fifty Years Ago In The Star Judging from the following ted in The Star of August 23, lug.flnpu- L simism regarding pub- Pessimism jic morals 18 niot whol- % ly of latter-day de- as to Crime. velopment: “The remark is frequently made that one of the degeneracy of this age orded in the numerous :rom contained in the daily papers of crimes. The man who is too far advanced in life to look forward to anything this side of the grave loves to think and speak of the ‘good old times’ when he was young, nearly everybody was honest and crime was a rarity. His f, which he considers unanswerable, a reference to the columns of the datly papers, and, it is true, a very large proportion of the space daily devoted to telegraphic news is filled with mur- ders, suicides, robberies and all sorts of crime, many of them shocking in- deed. But this is really no evidence Yoars s proved. Every repo ter how ohu:ur:‘un parties or tired the place of its occurrence, is put upon the telegraph wires and published in the papers, so that the reader of a daily newspaper has presented to him every twenty-four hours the crime rec- ord of this whole country. “The rapid growth of our population, too, natural- ly adds to the increase of crime. In the ‘| old times’ that the believer in the neracy of man delights to tell of, population was scarce and telegraph was not dreamed of.” * K Kk ‘The following letter from a reader printed in The Star of August 24, 1880, ;. 5 tells of a situation on the River Boats potomac that l;:l i long ago passed under in Races. e’ pan of the law and public disapproval: “The excursion to Fortress Monroe and back by the Potomac boats is so delightful that there ought to be no drawback to its enjoyment. But there is such a drawback when boats of rival lines run abreast mile after mile, with- in only a few hundred feet.of each other a good deal of the way, as was the case d:!unn the R)‘lfi: ‘tesw n‘:““ be- ore reachin ey unday eve- 5 und:r such circumstances the slightest accident to either rudder must have precipitated a frightful collision. The worst feature of the affair was that there was no necessity or excuse e boats running so dangerously River * ok ok % S5 | Half a century ago'efforts were g | nsel for the hree men who el ad been’ convicted of Mercy for the murder of young Criminals. Hirth and had been i Bt cure & commutation of the! - 1{:nm. The Star of August 26, 1880, | sald | “Tnc.e 1s a féeling in the community | that should the murderers. of youn* Hirth escape , human life wil not be worth much in this eity. 'l'hel sentimental sympathy for criminals that shows itself*in spasmodic lgpeda for their forfeit lives or in mal their deaths an ovation is well satirized in; f M, Victorien Sardou, the butis e P 10,000 francs ‘for virtue.' id that the prize was a_misnomer, for virtue is no longer in fashion. The philanthropy of the nineteenth etet;‘emr, takes a dif- “‘It 18 no longer the virtuous who interest us, but the criminal. - A new hy, claiming to be based on science, sees In man nothing but a combination of matter, and declares that his morality depends solei, on the perfect equilibrium of his organs; and this doctrine, hlvln’ many medical men, it is not in humanit 18 very . factor is an fll-balanred being instincts the effects of & tients. n“.‘ T with approval of his autonomy in the provinces and respol ¢ibility at the center,” with transitional Ne‘ulrdl. would satisfy all reasonable people :dnnte on the is prospects of the conference are- British Prime Minister Faces Many Difficulties BY A. G. GARDINER, England's Greatest Liberal Editor. | . LONDON, August 30.—In the most torrid weather experienced in England for 20 years, Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald has curtailed his brief holi- day in the Far North and flown back to London this week to face an unprece- | dented accumulation of first-class issues affecting both home and foreign affairs, His first business was a meeting with Llo{g George and other representatives of the Liberal party for the pt ot considering a common policy regardin; unemployment, the magnitude of whicl steadily increases. Registered persons out of work now exceed 2,000,000. The most disquieting feature of this m!em is generally agreed to be the kdown of the unemployment insur- ance scheme under the growing byrden of uncovenanted benefits to uninsured, known as the dole, which has al left the scheme with a deficiency of $250,000,000 and threatens the gravest disaster to the next budget, * K K Scandals associated with the admin- istration of the dole have now alarmed even the Labor , Which realizes that insured workmen are being ex- ited for the endowment of wastrel , and Prime Minister MacDonald has -grolneed & committee representing .llofi' les to formulate remedies for the ligacy that threatens bankruptey for the whole insurance system. | _ But the chief reason for MacDonald’s early return to London is the need of preparing for the great events which next two months—the sembly of the League of Nations at Geneva, which opens next week; the Imperial Conference, which l.lkel‘r ace in London during September, and the round-table conference on India, which is fixed for October. * ok ok % Of these the most anxious is the Con- ference on India, for the question whether the Indian Congress can be induced to send representatives still is unsettled, llthmlgh the negotiations have not broken down. M. P. Jayaker | and T. Bahadur Sapru have borne Ma- | hatma Ghandi’s terms to the viceroy and are now returning to Allahabad and Poona, presumably with the view of seeing Ghandi and Nehrus again. Meanwhile, events do not make the B ey B, ges in Bengal and ai nt | demands made upon“ :flmm" that they practically cut off association with British control, as a condition of being removed from the black list, have., aggravated internal feeling, and the arrest of the Working Committee of Congress at Delhi is taken here to indicate the gravity of the outlook, especially in view of the extreme patience and forbearance shown throunhzut*by e viceroy. ¥ But the position i8 not without fea- tures of hopefulness. The two bodies which will certainly be represented at the London Conference have passed de- cisions illustrative of the general tend- Bombay cotton ency to rally around - iy ly the Simon Com: ment. oyt ) ugh an im t minorit; favored & return to tm}t’-Mmfg report as the basis of settle- The European Association at passed a resolution in this ore significant is the fact that the | conference representatives of the South- e i ¢ cl r atti- tude toward the Simon report. The Dewan of Mysore declared, apparen! Sudiense. that ful in India. This is & very marked part of a powerful sec- of Indian opinion, but much more Deeded before it can be said that the ful The difficulties are not only in Indi on In England there are disruptive influ ences, small "Mnmd voige in Winston Churchill, who doomed the nol it as an Ek'l':,o dnffi'mm hm*"' but noisy, which have cteristic irresponsibility had conference in advance, d(- wi India ints e £ subject for punishment men, e and Pinn, were later in the week re- a -espite being granted jovember 19, On.that day Bedfaa and Queenan were hanged, Pinn's sen- having oot doe i ™ )