Evening Star Newspaper, December 10, 1930, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR Bruening silenced the Fascist-fom- |the farm relief act does not meet the Sunday Morning | With Sunda; Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. ‘WEDNESDAY . . December 10, 1930 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Off g Rate by Carrier Wit] e Evenine Star. . . e Evening and Sundi undays) (when 4 vs The Evening and Sundi (when 5 Sundays) The Suncay Star ... °°" Collection mads at thie erid of lers may be sent in by ma Ational 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. fly and Sunday. £10.00: 1 mo.. 85¢ E“I only . $6.00; 1 mo.. nday only ' 34.00: 1 mo.. 40¢ All Other States and Canada. E}g’ ;l?lfl! Sunday. i l}lsg. 1 mg” 81 g dayomy v 800 1S B2 Member of the Associated Press. «oThe, Associated Precs s excluaively entitled ice: Lake Mic Office: 14 Engian: hin the City. 45¢ per month ai -*60c per month ar o5 per month < Ter cnpy each month, GF Telepnone ited in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also 1eserved. - Who's Playing Politics? - Both Houses of Congress acted speed- | ly yesterday to put through measures for the relief of unemployment and the drought-stricken areas of the country. ‘The accomplishment, hcwever, so far as the Senate is concerned, had scarcely been brought about when Democratic Senators unloaded their vials of wrath! upon the head of the President, who, earlier in the day, had ventured to de- clare that some members cof Congress | “are playing politics at the expense of human misery.” The President men- tioned no names in his statement. Some of his critics, however, took the Chief Executive remarks as a direct slap at them. And several of them proceeded to slap back with vigor and vituperation. Benator Caraway of Arkansas, for ex- ample, said: “The reputation, whatever he has, of the President of the United States rests upon administering a relief fund which never cost him a cent. * * * It it were not for that, there would not have been anything to his biography ex- cept the date of his birth and a b!-nk left for that of his death.” Senator Caraway is the author of a| bill to pay the adjusted compensation certificates, issued to veterans of the ‘World War, in cash at this time. He| holds that this would give “almost the widest possible distribution for relief.” These adjusted compensation certificates in the aggregate amount to something like $3,500,000,000. But Mr. Caraway is not alone among the members of Congress who support such a proposal. Benator Vandenberg of Michigan has exchanged letters with Secretary Mellon of the Treasury Department urging that steps be taken by the Federal Govern- ment to permit the veterans to obtain cash for their certificates at this time. Senators, among them Mr. Walsh of Massachusetts and Mr. Harrison of Mississippl, as well as Mr. Caraway, feeling themselves aggrieved at the statement issued by the President charging that politics was being played “with human misery,” also launched at- tacks upon the Chief Executive. Their effort was to place Mr. Hoover on the side of the wealthy taxpayers and to range themselves on the side of suffering humanity. Despite the slurring remarks of Mr. Caraway, the President of the United States has done more during his career to relieve the suffer- ings of humanity, in this country as well as in Europe, than quite a number of the members of the Senate if all their efforts in this direction were lumped together. The unemployment emergency in this eountry this Winter must be met. It will be met. The farmers of the country whose livelihocd has been wiped out by & disastrous drought must be aided. ‘They will be helped. The Congress will do its share and so will the President of the United States. The real aid, however, will be rendered by the Amer- munist-Nationalist guhs by threatening to take over the foreign ministry himself if Dr. Curtius were unseated. The bluft was not called. The chancellor is now at liberty to work out a plea concerning the German mincrities in Poland and otherwise steer the Reich’s -course, un- hampered by party maneuverirg, until February at least. Meantime the gov- ernment’s rigid fimancial retrenchment policy will have time to establish itself, while, with the most of the Winter gone, economic stabilization should have pro- | gressed substantially both in Germany and abroad. ‘The demand for treaty revision and | of readjustment of the Young plan is not likely to cease. But the outside world has the satisfaction of know- ing that a strong and unterrified gov- | ernment is at the helm In Berlin, a gov- ernment which will not be stampeded i into excesses in international policy. {In the present parlous state of Europe, that is an ascet of the first magnitude. i : Interest in the Schools. | The taxpayers' interest in their schools was again exemplified last night in the representative attendance of delegates from citizens’ organizations who came to hear Dr. Ballou ex- plain some of the provisions of the last budget as they affect the schools. The answer to Dr. Ballou’s query, whether these twice-yearly meetings should be continued, was unanimously affirmative. There was nothing surpris- ing about that. Such meetings pro- vide almost the only medium for for- mally acquainting the school-support- ing community with the problems of the schools. The attendance has al- ways been satisfactory and there is no reason to expect any diminution of the intelligent interest shown. Dr. Carusi and Dr. Ballou are both impressed by the demand for more space confronting the schools, which seems to be the crux of the school prob- lem now. Of course, it is no new de- mand, and there is the complication arising from the more than seven thousand vacant seats in the schools. The difficulty is to supply space for the growing portions of the community and to fill the space that goes begging 1n some of the older portions of the eftv. The five-year prcgram failed, as far ‘as the realization of a program designed to overcome the congestion in the schools within a period of five years is concerned. The demand fcr new build- ings and equipment continues apace, despite the good progress on construc- tion work that has been made in the last few years and which will continue under the Budget Bureau recommenda- tions. Some cf the criticism of the five- year program has been based on the alleged inability of those who framed it to anticipate the needs of the schools for five years ahead, such predictions necessitating a knowledge of the direc- tion and extent of community develop- ment. Wrong judgment may have been shown in some instances in the location of school bulldings and the trend of pcpulation may have fooled the prophets. But this is no reason to condemn the wise principle of looking five, ten or fifteen years ahead as regards the needs of the schools and of basing a new pro- gram on the results. The school authorities and the Budget Bureau have made recom- mendations which, it adopted, should lead to an interesting experiment for the greater utilization of space in some of the older buildings. The plan to puplls in some of the outlying sections to and from school by bus is based on the desirability of thus elim- inating the need for portable schools that now serve in these outlying sec- tions. But an extension of the prin- ciple might enable the authcrities to solve other problems that accompany extreme congestion in some schools and empty seats in others. If the school buildings for the time being are not so distributed as to meet the needs of the city, quick and convenient bus transportation might serve to distribute the pupils instead. In the meantime more attenticn than is now being given should center on the fean people themselves. Mr. Caraway ibes at Mr. Hoover with an assertion that his :eputation rests alone upon the administration. of a relief fund | which cost him rothing. The Senate | and the House will pass measures look- | ing to the expenditure of money for | the relief of the unemployed. The mil- | Mons of dollars so expended, however, | will cost the individual members of | these bodies mighty little in comparison | %o the total appropriated. It is the people who will pay the bill. No one| | | doubts that thpse who are better able Stabilization of armaments is hoped | to pay should pay in such an emer-| gency. But those members of Cong: ess who seek to make political capital for themselves out of these appropriations | man sanity will permit another war will | will be doing exactly what President|at least be thankful for an outiook for | Hoover has charged—"playing politics 8t the expense of human misery.” It is & game that may be overplayed. ————— | Nikolai Krylenko, Soviet attorney gen- keep afloat in a way that makes him eral, staged a farcical demcnstration when he placed conspirators before the | microphone to confess and then to be | forgiven. Russia has produced many great dramatists, and Krylenko's name must claim a place high in the list. —_———— Distribution of free seeds by Congress- men was in times gone by the subjegt 000,000 revolving fund for the board to | of much facetious comment. The drought just now makes seed distribu- | Hon a matter of very serlous importance, Strong Government at Berlin. It is three months now since the Wwave of Fascism and Communism swept over Germany in the Reichstag elections, and the government at Berlin still lives. Yesterday Chancellor Bruening won the latest of a series of | parliamentary victories which fortify his cabinet for the time being and ap- perently for the indefinite future. By dint of a sheer exhibition of bulldog courage, Bruening beat off determined sttacks on the government's interna- tional policies and in particular on Dr. Julius Curtius, foreign minister, who is thefr exponent. ‘The chancellor's foes attempted to force a dehate on the Polish situation, . Tevision of the Versailles treaty and the Young plan—three cardinal planks in the Hitlerite platform. Bruening #ppealed to the Reichstag to approve his view that Germany’'s best interests would be prejudiced, not served, by scrimonfous discussion of those con- tentious issues at this time. By a ris- ing vote, the chamber supported the chancellor’s attitude, assuring a Mid- who sought the old “equalization fee” ~-Om the Richmond News Leader. winter of comparative political trans- Quillity on the tempestuous Spres, acquisition of school sites. There is no | reason why these sites should not be bought and held for five or twenty yegrs. If the choice of the site has been wrong, it can be sold. If it is good, the city will save money by buy- ing it now and building when the needs of the surrounding population justify construction. The choice of a site should not necessarily await the deci- sion to build, nor should it definitely commit the school authorities to build. R = for by Delegate Hugh Gibson, speaking in Geneva. It is not all that was hoped for. But those who do not believe hu- | armaments not in danger of being shot "to pleces. manages to e Sometimes a “lame duck” look for a while as if he were “sitting pretty.” e Farm Relief. President Hoover has asked Congress to appropriate another $150,000,000 for {the use of the Federal Farm Board. | Originally Congress authorized a $500,- |ald agriculture in this country. Two appropriations have been made under | this authorization, one for $150,000,000 !and another for $100,000,000. | When the act creating the Farm Board was put through Congress, de- signed to ald co-operative marketing of farm crops and make it possible for the great farm organizations of the country and the individual farmers to market their produce in more orderly manner, the Government took a big step forward in the aid of this basic industry. The board's operations have covered little more than a year. Yet the value of the legislation has been demonstrated. Without the aid of the Farm Board during the last year, dis- tress on the farms due to depressed prices recelved for crops might have been far more severe. The Federal farm act is a construc- tive measure. It deserves support. Had |1t become the law geveral years ago, | before depressed conditions in the | country unbalanced the whole economic structure, it would have received a fairer trial. This 15 no time to ditch llhe Farm Board by failure to make the | appropriations asked for by the Presi- | dent. Opponents of the administration, or the more recent “debenture” measures of farm relief, complain s that situation. But raids on the Treasury for more direct ald, amounting to gifts of public funds to the farmers, cannot cure the conditions. At present there are demands made upon Congress for the appropriation of millions of dollars out of the Federal Treasury to purchase food for the farm- ers in the areas which suffered from drought during the Summer and Fall. The Secretary of Agriculture, Mr. Hyde, has strongly opposed this procedure, on the ground that in cases of real dis- tress the American Red Cross can meet the emergency adequately, and that it would be a mistake to set a system which amounts to the “dole” in this country. It seems quite clear that if Federal money is to be appropriated to feed farmers who are hungry, there is no good reason to be advanced why the Government should not also provide a who are out of work and unable to ob- tain food. The industrial depression, which has brought about a dislocation of unemployment, is just as serious a matter to the industrial workers as the drought to the farmers. It behooves the leaders in Congress to stop and consid- er where they are going in this scramble for “relief.” Some of it smacks entirely too much of politics. The people of the Nation themselves, through their local organizations, are pouring millions of dollars into relief funds for the poor and needy. It is proper they should do so. The Federal Government, through the program set up by the ad- ministration, is planning to give em- ployment to thousands of men on public construction during the Winter and Spring months. Hysteria will not help the situation. = ST The Brotherhood of Locomotive En- gineers approves of Mr. Doak as Secre- tary of Labor despite the objection of the American Federation of Labor. These two famous organizations have never yet been able to effect a coali- tion. .ot An appropriation to relieve unemploy- ment should prove eventually a profita- ble investment if it can be handled by } industrial experts who know how to manage men $0 as to turn their labor into wealth. ————— Bakers say that though the price of wheat is low the cost of manufacturing bread is high and prevents a reduction in cost. The situation offers consolation to neither the farmer nor the consumer. In discussing responsibility for the World War statesmen feel compelled to consider financial as well as moral re- sponsibility. —— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Scapegoat. For every inconveni:nt way The new events may frame, We now invariably say, “The Russians are to blame!” Even when speculators gay Are tahgled in the game They study prices and they say, “The Russians are to blame!” The ballet of the present day Is nothing like the same. The music’s different and we say, “The Russlans are to blamel” So Russia, as we meet dismay, Some gratitude must claim. Whatever seems in disarray, She always takes the blamel! Big Figures. “I have been studying taxes and appropriations,” said Senator Sorghum. “What conciusion have you reached?" “That in addition to getting ac- quainted with political economy a man in my position needs training in the higher mathematics.” Jud Tunkins says there is no Job as hard as getting one when work happens to be temporarily scarce. War Paint. The legislators cheer our lot As they become acquainted. Th> enemy of yore is not 8o bad 25 he was painted. But later on it may be found A warrior will endeavor With brand-new war paint to come 'round And s00n be worse than ever. Delicate Intimation. “We have put up a monument to our | greatest gun man,” said Cactus Joe. “What kind of a monument?” “One of those simple stone slabs that | has ‘Rest in Peace’ carved over his name. We're hopin’ that when he' happens to be passin’ h=’ll notice it and maybe take warnin’ | “One who reserves his politeness only | for those from whom he must ask favors,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- ton, “must not take offense if he is measur:d in estem as a professional mendicant.” Fickle Audiences. | The changes time may bring are such | As to produce surprise tmmense, The gentleman who “talked too much” Now gets the larg:st audience, dole to feed the people of the citles | the ‘WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1930. THE EVENING STARE WASHINGTO! : s THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. * Emile ZolaMn one of his lesser known novels, ends a description of a Parisian garden by saying that the crown of the place was a group of trees which stood at the far end. Trees are, figuratively and literally, the crown of most homes, streets, gar- dens, buildings, parks, situations. We received a telephone call the other day from an irate lady who want- ed us to sally forth at once to the rescue of several monarchs of the forest whtl:h were being cut down in a public ark. % We told her, truthfully, there was nothing we could do about it. Later in the day she came in to see us per- sonally,.and insisted that we “do some- thing about it.” While we thanked her for her trust In our ability, we asserted again that work of caring for the city's trees was in capable hands, and that the officials who had it in hand probably knew what they were doing. It does seem a shame, it must be admitted, when any of our big trees have to go. It may be that they ought to be saved, or even could be saved, with a little less thought to progress and a bit more to beauty. It would seem that Beauty ought to get a large share of attention these days from all concerned in city plan- ning, on account of the accent which is being placed on it by the monu- mental building program. Certainly the Government must not make the same mistake made in the past by some private builders, who mitted to cut off sunshine from any | one, nor will they, if some thought has been given to their placement from the r;e:;innlng.e The tree is, as far as most human beings are concerned, a per- manent planting. Wherever it is, it is there “for keeps,” as the children say. Even buildings are torn down more often than trees. The planting of one is thus no light thing, but is rather in the nature of a ceremony. It is pleasing to know that officlals and others interested in tree planting so regard it. Exercises in which trees are planted always have a solemn and official na- ture, and the effect of this, especially upon children, is good. It is very much to the credit of small boys, we belleve, that they mostly leave the city trees unmolested. Occasionally one will see a boy whacking a tree with a stick, but for the most part they are inclined to let them alone. The work with trees in the schools no doubt is responsible for this good attitude, Much yet remains to be done to_in- duce householders to plant trees, Per- but has thought of setting out a few, but how many have done it? The answer would be only a fraction of a per cent. For this failure there are many rcasons, among which may be instanced the transient nature of many home buyers, lack of interest in garden- ing, as an art and occupation, and a queer. feeling of ignorance. * Kk ok ruthlessly cut down all the trtes on their lots. Even the most indifferent of these has seen the error of his ways. | RS | M. Zola properly called trees the | “crown” of a garden, especially of the | city_garden. | There are many suburban places | which are so surrounded by trees that gardening, in the best sense, is almost impossible. ~About all one can do is| to delve into the intricacies of growing | plants which love the shade. Those who have attempted such gardening know that even when one is | successful, to a large extent, the work lacks the’ genuine interest which goes with gardening in the sun. Trees, therefore, ought to be subdued to the general effect which the home owner wants, especially if he is inter- ested in flower growing. Of course there are some household- ers who prefer shade. On their places you will see the blinds pulled down at all times of the day, as if there were something inimical about the sun- shine. Such persons are either by nature shade-lovers or they are dwelling in the outworn belief that sunshine is hurtful. As every one knows, the modern thought, backed up by science, is that the sun's rays, especially that portion known as the ultra-violet, “filters and fibers the blood,” as Walt Whitman | put it. Whitman was a sun-lover, if there ever was one. He went around bare- | headed half a century before the col- legiate youths took it up. He didn't know, for, instance, that sunshine puts vitamin B into your blood, or that it has an obscure but none the less certain happiness-izing | effect upon the mind. He did say, however, that fresh air, washed with sunshine, “filters and fibers the blood,” and with those words the modern workers with sunlight would agree. o ‘Trees, therefore, should not be per- Yet tree planting might be one place where fools rush in to good advantage. For always a tree may be trans- planted, or cut down, if necessary. Even tree-lovers shou'd have no hesitation about righting wrong plantings. While we mourn th: loss of ancient trees, often seemingly cut down for no | Bood reason, we should have less sorrow over the removal of poorly planted and wrongly placed ones. The ax and the pruning knif: are necessary instruments in horttculture. Properly used, they make for better growth, or the correction of wrong plantings. If too many of us do not possess the knowledge to use th:m cor- rectly, that in itself is no argument against their use by knowing hands. The feeling of ignorance in relation to all growing things of the garden world, including the tre:s, is one of the biggest, factors against more plentiful planting. Too many persons shy away from purchasing and planting trees because | they do not know anything about it No, the work is not natural t,:) every one. Many of us who love gardening never work up a rcal ability at it, but at least we achieve a mastery of that old- time fear which assailed us when first we took to the work “for which no man is too high or too low.” Our greatest triumph will come some day when we stage a tre> planting cere- mony of our own, and, with proper reverence, put into the ground small trees for future ages. Because most human beings are rest- less by nature, and do not like to wait too long, we would urge the planting of as large trees as feasible, Young trees are cheap enough, so that the largest sizes of planting stock do not cost so much more than the emaller on:s. Yet how most of us hesitate over that additional dollar! We should plant more trees, and better trees, and thus help to offset the loss of those that are cut down whether we like it or not. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Despite external manifestations of strife and ruction in Democratic sen- | atorial ranks, no tangible evidence is forthcoming that “Joe” Robinson’s | leadership is in peril. That his political | associates are not a unit in supporting his “co-operation” plan is a certainty. But from no quarter, as far as Senator Robinson himself is aware, is there any demand, or anything savoring of a de- mand, that he abdicate the minority command. Leadership of either party| in the Senate has been a highly pre- carious proposition for the past 10 years. The Republicans’ troubles on that score have chronically been far more bothersome than anything the Democrats now face. Things will have to be a lot worse for “Joe” Robinson before they'll approach in vexatiousness the trials and tribulations that used to dog “Charley” Curtis' footsteps as G. O. P. leader or those that now keep “Jim” Watson awake at night. Apart from his own qualities and qualifica- tions, what Democrat could make a better job of it than Robinson? That's the question facing minority members who may be thinking of unhorsing the Arkansan. As far as uncertainable, no- | body actually harbors any such notion. | % * ok Say what you please, that man Hoover | is certainly going through Big Stick mo- tions nowadays with a vengeance and apparently as a mattey of habit. The President’s lambasting of members of Congress who “are playing politics with human misery” is his fourth or fifth exhibition of “T. R.” stuff during the past few weeks, Evidently the election determined the Californian to aban- don the role of a “stationary engineer” —as one of his critics used to call him— and swing into action whenever he gets an opening. When it became known at the end of last week that the Senate was going to raise the Hoover ante on drought relief, and vot> $60,000,000 for the stricken farmers instead of the $25,000,000 the President proposed, at least one congressional leader frequently called to the White House was s elbow. The idea of giving political philanthropists a public spanking was | p, thereupon proposed, considered and approved. e e e As usual, the House is setting the pace for legislative speed on Capitol Hill. In the first week of the session, Representatives discussed and passed two of the budget's biggest appropria- tion items—the Treasury and Post Office supply bills, aggregating $1,083,000,000. Then it lost little time in voting $110,- “De chicken,” said Uncle Eben, “is a trustful bird. Ev'ytime I looks in de! coop 1 sees dat another one has been ! ,mflkln‘ friends with strangers an’' get- | tin’ took foh a ride. | e stk | Hole in One! | Prom the Minpeapolis Star. After 10 futile efforts to knock a' golf ball through a hollow log, you can | understand why New Yorkers shot the] | owner of a runt course. | e e Ot | But They Had No Cadet Ushers. Prom the Kalamazoo Gazette, i The Grecks and Romans had no modern advantages, yet they managed | to design structures which were almost as magnificent as our movie palaces. _— -t Motion Submitted to Vote. From the Louisville Times i To John Mascfield's motion that poetry be broadcast by radio we offer the amendment, “some,” the word to be inserted before the word “poetry.” B R Signals: 2X Equals AB. Prom the San Antonio Express. ! University of Oklahoma is utilizing its stadium for class rooms. Now it might fostill a little pep into “math” and English by introducing some yells e 000,000 for accelerating the Federal building program—s$40,000,000 less than President Hoover urged. House rules and the pliable G. O. P. majority which Messrs. Longworth, Tilson, Snell & Co_ have to manipulate make, of course, for promptness which cannot be matched under Senate rules and party condi- tions. In the incoming Congress, with a will-o’-the-wisp Republican majority, Af any, the well greased parliamentary machine that now functions so smooth- ly will have considerably rougher going. * ok % x Representative Henry Allen Cooper, | Republican Progressive of Wisconsin, father of the House, is on active serv- ice—though with the aid of a cane— after a serious accident in his home district this year. It wasn't one of the casualties that befell 50 many Re- publicans on November 4, having been merely a stumble over a chair. At 80, Mr. Cooper is on the threshold of his nineteenth term in Congress, though not quite conSecutively, because he was missing from the Sixty-sixth Congress. He has served in the House through the administrations of Cleveland, Mec- Kinley, Ro>sevelt, Taft, Wilson, Ha: ing, Coolidge and Hoover. Foreign af- fairs, which House committee Cooper has adorned for decades, are his fa- vorite political diet, and music his private hobby. Wisconsin has the daddy of the House and the baby of the Sen- ate—*"young BO‘h" La Follette is 35. * x % John W. Carey, breezy Sloux City Journal columnist, deposes out in the corn country and says it's time to set But Adjective Is Unnecessary. The difference between intelligence and education is that you can't be a complacent ass i you have intelligence. / Hoover right on “the noble experiment” | phrase. “He never used it,” Carey con- ! tends, ‘and the Hawkeye sage is right, The President’s sole outgiving on the paramount issue to date is the passag in his speech of amcceptance at Alto in August, 1928. It reads: “Our country has deliberately undertaken a great soclal and economic experiment, | noble in" motive and far-reaching in purpose. It must be worked out con- structively.” That's practically what Candidate Hoover wrote to Borah be- fore the Kansas City Convention, =5 %% Dealing with politics and politicians day and night, Sundays and holidays included, from one end of the year to the other, Washington newspaper men are naturally political addicts them- selves. They play the game with a vengeance at their annual National Press Club_election, which is about to be held. The fight for the presidency this year is as hot as ever, with two popular candidates in the field—"Jim” ‘Wright of the Buffalo News and E. 8. (“Red"”) t of the Detroit Free Press. FEach of them has an active campaign manager and committee in the fleld, who are working hell-bent~ for-leather cadging votes for their re- spective candidates. The board of elections at Press Club pollings con- sists of “Jim” Preston, veteran superin- jr., superintenden of the House press gallery, and “Willig Collins, one of Preston’s lieutenants, * K % % |_If the trustees of the Harding Memorial at Marlon, Ohio, are looking for somebody ynafraid of public eulogy of the late President, they'd do well to look up the address or telephone number of Representative James M. Beck, Republican, of Pennsylvania. At this week’s annual dipner of the Wash- ington Association of Oldest Inhabitants Mr. Beck took his courage in both hands and delivered an eloguent laudation of Harding. He sald, “There are laws for- bidding curs to enter cemeteries,” and declared, “There ought to be laws pro- hibiting literary curs from defiling the memory of departed public men, whose personal honor and integrity are un- challengeable.” Then he mentioned Harding by name. As far a3 thic on- server's memory runs, Beck broke fresh mfl in venturing to utter such | | T A e o Nearly every Washingtonian in the course of a week is approached by a “panhandler” who wants a dime, or a quarter, or what hgve you, for a “cup of coffee” or a “sandwich.” One day recently Secretary Mellon was taking a constitutional down Sixteenth street between the Treasury and Scott Cir- cle, en route to his home on Massa- chusetts avenue, when he was tackled by a fellow who invited himself to step along with the Pittsburgher while eco- nomic negotiations proceeded. Presently, and apparenttly without any hesitation, “Uncle Andy” unbuttoned his overcoat, removed a glove, and dived into the pocket in which he carried loose change. A second later, the “panhandler” walked away wreathed in smiles, evidently the possessor of a very tidy plece of coin. (Copyright. 1980.) ———— |Employers Are Urged | To Restore Hired Force To the Editor of The Star: There can be no argument to the | fact that as long as employers continue | to cut down their force unemployment | will continue. The ones complaining the loudest about “depression” are usually the ones who are most respon- sible for the army of unemployed{ They are of the same group whe e shouting “Buy now for prosperity!” and at the same time raising the price on their ccommodities, It seems to me that conditions can - | quickly and definitely be cured if all employers will restore their force to what was one year ago and at the equivalent wages. Then let them ad- vertise that fact. I believe that this plan will not only bring prosperity to those businesses that belleve in fair dealing, but. it will quickly wipe out those who are at the bottom of all unemployment and labor troubles. WILLIAM B. HOOKER. oo haps no one who has purchased a home,| Gold System Called Baneful to Mankind To the Editor of The Star: Mr. Giaich’s letters to The Star de- manding a better currency system are certainly forthright and commendable. A metropolitan newspaper recently printed an editorial entitled “Blaming the Government.” whitewash all Federal fault was evident, Mention of a rather important Fed- eral agency, however, was meticulously avoided. This agency is money. How can any editor so complacently ignore the boon of boons—the idol of |ter to The Evening Star Information |ation. The Shi idols—the reward business craves every instant—the goal of every “good” Amer- ican’s existence? How could the busi- ness depression be tied up with the ofl that keeps all wheels turning-—cash? Is it conceivable our governmental deity— gold money—can be responsible in any way? Rather, can we conceive that it isn't responsible? ‘When we consider that the so-called struggle for existence works out in prac- tice to be merely a sordid scrap for scarce money, what would happen to the “struggle” were legal tender no longer chronically absent from our pockets? Pirst we make our medium of ex- change indispensable by marking it the national gold pagod. Then we make it inaccessible by restricting the total of authentic currency to the chance cos- mic amount of gold metal! And never- theless the public is expected to be- lieve—and accommodatingly does be- lieve—that this crlide, illogical, freakish sort of money is the finest offspring of a union of science and ethics! It is not! It never was! And it never could be! Gold money simply means primitive, Individual idolatry of the worst sort ex- tended to national, or world, scope! In- Stead of deifying or idolatrizing of a useless metal proving a benediction, ex- perience and history show that gold money has always been a_ malignant failure as a developer of manhood, wom- anhood and childhood! And what else matters? The mere accumulation of wealth in the hands of a comparatively few avaricious persons is not exactly a utopian process! It is a devilish one! And we owe the the spectacle of today's moral, mental, physical and financial breakdown to the one important func- tion of National Government—money, tl)s ;"lt.her false money—a metallic, disk ol! What queasy folly, therefore, to al- lege that governments themselves are not to blame! Since democracies are such only in name, since they could be more accurately described as gilded kakistocracies, how terrible to hold cul- pable the well-meaning, hard-working, creative and often big-hearted producer for his inability to gather the shekels which do not exist! Pardon the truism, but it is impossible to possess something which does not exist! . ‘The allowance of legal tender needed by industry is so atomical in amount that private money lenders, “bankers,” by very grant of. that government which is “not to blame,” spring up to supply the other nine-tenths of a normal work- ing currency with a curious, spurious, bookkeeping intermediary called bank credit. Banks are traffickers in the medium of exchange and as such are ethically as fantastic as would be trafe fickers in postage stamps! They are legally permitted to consume for thelr private benefit the enormous interest upon $65,000,000,000—thus making the Dpublic turn its own credit into debt and— mirabile dictu!—pay for the use of what 1s really its own currency! This $65,- 000,000,000 should obviously be in the form of Federal cash, so that all money needed in business could be owned in- stead of “borrowed"—at a crushing rate of approximately 50 per cent—and so that all exchanges could be made with instant efficiency and perfect satis- faction! There 18 no halo attached to the word “credit” as used in the financial world, Credit is inseparable from debt and debt has done nothing whatever for the human race except injure it! Yet, notwithstanding, Government is blameless! Why do not our well paid Congressmen react to the above 1- lenges? In the last few decades have all had access to the facts about our antediluvian money system. It fis going to be harder and harder, how- ever, for them to kick against the pricks. They cannot much longer evade the issue stated in this manifesto, since every other plan under the sun for core recting the present trade slump has been advocated and already proved in. adequate! VICTOR MARSDEN. Urges Study of Causes Of Business Depression To_the Editor of The Star: & million dollars unem) the ‘D‘lb‘: l;fllty of New of charity to the yed of that city. Laudable as is, it would be more important that a similar sum be given to the study ::;_ c"r.l? ef'mufld bv.he solution of the cyclical business depression, since the victims of these recurring panics want work rather than charity and the prevention of future business depressions. In a reasonable length of time this fit, however large, in allevi- ating the distress of the sectionally un- oyed, will have become exhausted and another required. If Mr. Rocke- feller would donate one million dollars to & propaganda of education and the enlightenment of Senators and Rep- resentatives, as well as the people, of the provisions of the 25-year non- interest bearing bond bill now pending in the Ways and Means Committee, giv- ing States, cities and counties the right to deposit their bonds with the Secre- tary of the Treasury and receive legal tender money to start needed public improvements, paying back 4 per cent annually until the bonds are canceled, he would be doing a real service to humanity and prevent such depressions in the future. The payment of this money to all the people, which is the Government, is secured by a first lien on the improved real estate of the State, city or county receiving the money, such as is now given by them to banks and other financial institu- tions for public improvements. Since, because of the high rates of interest demanded for money, very little is now being loaned for such purposes, it 1s necessary to get legal tender money into circulation to start the business wheels revolving. . Of all the bills in- troduced in Congress at the present ses- sion and now pending, this bill is the most constructive and far-reaching, and will do more to banish unemployment and create prosperity than all the pub- lic building bills combined. . And it will not tax the people who do not need public improvements, as is the case of public building bills now before Con- gress, but only those States, cities and counties which need public improve- ments, receive the benefits thereof and are willing to tax themselves to repay the money issued on their bonds. W. J. DWYER. ] Gasoline War Misdated. | From the Seattle Daily Times. Unhappily, the latest gasoline war | comes at a time when nobody wishes to | g0 any place in particular. s Truth Comes Spontaneously, From the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat. Blessed are the poor. + They can tell their creditors they are broke without lying about it. T— What a Party! Prom the Oakland Tribune. Halle Selassie VIII went broke payin for his coronation ceremonies. An from all accounts they were worth it. - ge as Object Lesson. From the Grand Rapids Press. One result of the depression is that seats on the Stock Exchange can now be bought at the box office. Stock Exchan, Or Trying Other Explanations. From the Muncie Sunday Star. Few glumni are heroes to their wives after t.xh;' ’& mhln the e Good Stomach Ache Idea. From the Ban Antonio Evening News. ‘The small boy thinks he would lke Recently John D. Rockefeller donated | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ‘The resources of our free Informa- tion Bureau are at service. You you please. It is being maintained solely to serve you. What lon can { we answer for you? There is no charge at all except 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Address your let- Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Washington, D, C. director, Q. Please tell something about Rich- ard Cromwell, who played in “Tol'able David."—E. R. A. This 20-year-old youth, who never acted before he was given the star role in “Tol'able David,” is the son of a widowed mother who was left with five small children. He graduated from the Long Beach High School in California and then won a working scholarship to an art school in Hollywood. As he got only $15 a week, he supplemented this by working as a soda jerker. Dur- ing the time he was studying art he kept up with what was going on in the various studios. On hea that Columbia was casting “Tol'able vid” | was registered and given a screen test. ‘The next day he was offered the ?-n. Now he is signed up on a long-term contract. Q. How many commercial aviation companies are opera in Alaska?— C.B.T. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1930, there were five. There were 24 planes in service; 3,654 passengers were carried; 17,690 pounds of mail and 103,043 pounds of express were carried during the year. . How many Negro schools has Jufius Rosenwald helped to establish in the South?—R. B, A. On June 30, 1930, the five thou- sandth school was open®d. Leon Free- man says: “Seventeen vears ago, Jullus Resenwald began helping Southern States and countles to build rural public schools for Negroes. The first school in 1913, near Tuskegee, It was a little, one-teacher frame building, costing $950, toward which Mr. Rosenwald gave $300 and Negroes gave in cash and labor an equal Mr. Rosenwald, until toda five tmuun:dimbnc schools have been bullt, with help from this fund, in 930 counties of 15 Southern States. To the total ureme of bullding these schools, the Julius Rosenwald Fund has con- tributed $4,000,000; Negroes, themselves, in thousands “of ‘small contributions, have raised over $4,000,000; individual white friends have given another mil- lion and the remaining $16,000,000 has come from public funds of the counties and States. tenance is carried by tax funds as a part of the public school system.” . What was the result of the Liter- nr? Digest's poll on prohibition?— D. ©. C. A. The Literary Digest sent out some 20,000,000 ballots. From these it re- ceived nearly 5.000‘020 vakrs. g‘nmn ore than 30 per cent were for enforce- ment of the constitutional amfendment as it stands now, more than 29 per cent were for modification, and more than 40 per cent were for repeal. Q. How is the Chinese political party's name pronounc%i—‘n is spelled Kuo- ing-tang?—T. mA.g Itgis pronounced as if spelled Ko-ming-tong. he rushed to the office of the studio, | jn, ‘The entire cost of main- | J. HASKIN. Q. How many of the ships fiying the American flag are privately owned?— { | __A. On June 30, 1930, out of 11797 | registered American ships of 1,000 gross | tons or over, 1,320 were 'g:h'-wly owned. Of those in hands of the Government only 184 are in active oper- Board is disposing ldings as rapldly as your 3 A plain intention to | 8re invited to call upon it as often as |A. J. | of Government | possible., Q. Should the conjunction “nor” be used with “not” and “never”?—Q@, A. Bushnell's “Good English for | Everyone” says that the conjunction “nor” is the proper correlative for the words ‘“neither,” ‘“not,” “never,” and similar negatives. Q. What is the cost of operation of hotel rooms?—C. R, H. A. The cost of operating the mil- lion and one-half modern hotel rooms in the United States is averaged at $2.50 per day. This figure includes rent, taxes, insurance, bullding main- tenance, furniture maintenance and de- preciation, laundry of furnishing in room, light, heat, water, power, print- stationery supplies, and advertising. Q. How long do canarles Nve?— P. M. R. A. The average life of the canary is Dbetween 12 and 15 years, although some birds have been known to live 18 years. ‘There is one case on record in which a canary was known to be at lcast 34 years old when it died. Usually with advancing years birds begin to molt irregularly or lose part of the feathers entirely. Even their eyesight is im- paired. It is saitl e;hx“ c-nncl;l‘csl that have not been paired live much longer than those allowed to breed, and that females are shorter lived. How many ple are émployed un%!r United Bh&o Civil Service?— . D. A. There are about 609,000 executive Civil Service employes. More than halt of them are in the Postal Service, Q. What is the inscription on the statue of the Pioneer Mother at Ponca City, Okla.?—R. G. T, A. The Ponca City Chamber of Com- merce says that’the inscription reads: “This Monument was erected by E W. Marland in appreciation of the heroic character of the Woman who braved the dangers and endured the hardships in- clfl% to the dally life of the ploneer and homesteader in this country.” Th statue was unveiled on April 22, 1930, and 40,000 out-of-town people hav: since viewed it. Q. Is there a Currier & Ives firm now in existence?—M. C. A. A. Everett R. Currier, grandson ot Nathaniel, and Burt Vaughn Flannery, painter, art director and collector, have revived the old firm. Q. Was F. Hop‘klnao?n s;rmlgl. the at thor, also an engineer?—T. W. A. He was both artist and engineer. In New York City he did much work for the Federal Government, including the stone icebreaker at Bgm Conn.; the foundation for the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbos} the Race Rock Lighthouse, off New London, Conn., and many life-saving stations. Q. When was the magnet first was into Europe as early as 1300 A.D. ‘With unanimity of opinion the press of the United States voices a] of the seating of James J. Davis by Senate as Senator from Pennsyl in spite of obj: raised by Senator Nye of the Inve iting Committee. ““The offense to nsylvania—it be- ing assumed that the Senator from North Dakota means no personal of- fense to the former Secretary of Labor —in thus challenging its choice of a United States Senator is unnecessary and provokes resentment as deliberate and wiliful,” s the Philadelphia Eve- ning Bulletin, “because the charge, or the intimation in the absence of suffi- cient ground for a charge, is so com- pletely at variance with the common knowledge as to the campaign carried on by Mr. Davis and its circumstances and the public’s belief that Senator Nye could easily have acquainted himself with the facts if he had tried or de- sired.” - ‘The Harris| ‘Telegraph asserts that “every mmmylvlnh interests or Pennsylvanians as individuals have come before the Senate in recent years they have been unmercifully mauled and unfairly assailed.” Rebuking Sen- ator Nye for what it considers an un- necessary insult to the then Senator- elect Davis, the New Castle News states: “There is work to be done in the United States Senate, work that is vastly more important than hunting through pri- mary returns in an effort to find some- thing that seems to warrant another fishing expedition. If Senator Nye will apply himself to some of the important tasks of the Senate with the same zeal that he has tried to direct the affairs of Pennsylvania, he may not break into print as often, but he will be perform- ing a service worth while.” * ok ok X Attesting the cleanness of the Davis campaign, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says, “His nomination was a popular victory in the best sense of that phrase, and represented a clear-cut repudiation of money power and special privilege.” So also says the Erle Dispatéh-Herald: “If ever & man was cleanly and hon- estly elected to the United States Sen- |ate, James J. Davis is that man, No member of the Senate has ever pre- sented a cleaner election record.” ‘The seating of M . Davis, despite the opposition, led by Senator Nye, phasizes the catlike luck which has followed Davis in his political career,” notes the Scranton Times, which finds “‘Puddler’ Jim's ability to land on his feet quite uncanny.” “The use of half a million dollars in a hard-fought campaign in a great and populous State, such as Pennsylvania, is not in itself any indication of fraud,” declares the Lexington Leader, no | that “Mr. Davis spent l?lemmllly a little | more ‘than $10,080. He is a man of high character and 'hable reputation. He would not have coun- tenanced any corruption,” concludes the Leader, “After all, it is not so much the amount that is spent in elections that.| matters, but the question «f how it is spent,” in the opinion of the Sa: Morning News. "The'ruk of relativity should apply to political slush funds as well as to other mundane or even celestial mat- ters,” declares the Charleston (8. ©.) Evening Post, which figures that “$600,~ 000 would be a flood in South Carolin: but it is only a bucketful in Penns; vania.” Analyzing the situation as re- gards campaign expenditures, the Madi- son Wisconsin State Journal remarks is the need of wide publicity at a heavy cost that the voters may have informa- tion in regard to the candidates that renders difficult the task of writing of corrupt practices acts in which cam- paign expenditures are limited. Only through the work of volunteers or by methods which occasion large expendi- tures for legitimate purposes can cam- paigns be conducted,” this paper avers. * ok ox Kk “It is much more costly and difficult | for a senatorial candidate under the present system, ‘where Senators are chosen by popular Vote, than it was when they were elsctedWy the legisla- tures of the several States, and there is | Siag | mi Seating of ‘James J. Davis Has Indorsement of Nation vania have led to the feeling of doubt as to the integrity of her elections i3 hinted by the Lynchburg News, which avers: “Spending huge sums of money, what seems in comparison with expenditures in other States to be emmm;:um of money, to win elec- tions to be an old Pennsylvania custom. Circumstances that = would arouse no interest in the case of a pub- lic official elected in some other State arouse suspicion when it affects one elected in Pennsylvania.” The Akron Beacon Journal suggests that “States which do not like the way millions are being l&ent to gain nominations should revise the system which imposes such a charge upon candidates. It is either spent or take a political beating, and none of them seems to favor taking the beating,” this journal declares. “The action of the Senate in seating Davis does not preclude the Senate Campaign Funds Investigating Commit- tee, of which Nye is chairman, from con- tinuing its investigation' into the cam- paign expenditures in the Pennsylvania contest, but in all probability not much more will be heard of it,” states the Roanoke Times, as it explans that “Davis has his seat, to which the voters of Pennsylvania elected him, and it is doubtful if efforts to oust him will suc- ceed.” On this same subject the Worces- ter Telegram advises that if Mr. Davis “is improperly present, it is within the power of the Committee on Privileges and Elections to discover and disclose this and to bring about his expulsion. In attempting to bar him on suspicion Mr. Nye was malicious and ridiculous,” this paper affirms. “Such an investigation after an elec- tion would leave the Senate in a more comfortable position when it is called upon to pass on.the admission of a can- didate for membership,” is the viewpoint of the Lincoln State Journal. ———— Suggests Giving Surplus Food in U. S. to Starving To the Editor of The Star: The world seems staggering under very curious burden—a superfluity of w‘gen and other foods, coffee, meats, e One reason that I have never seen mentioned is that the coming of the llions of automobiles has displaced millions of horses that formerly con- sumed the hay and grain from tens of miilions of farm acres which must now be_devoted to other uses. Moreover, prohibition vastly decreased the consumption of grains formerly used in brewing and distillation. These new conditions farmers failed to realize ting | OVe:production and a falling mr.-"zi resulting. ur Government's farm-aid appro- priation of a half billion dollars and purchase of millions of bushels of whea\ entirely failed to stabilize the price of that staple in the world market. . ‘The farmer, thus failing to find any sale for his produce, has no money to invest in manufactured goods, and Zhu& has compulsorily lost his character as the freest of all spenders. Hence gen- eral depression! Meanwhile, just across the ocean am a hunure‘d ;n\llloml o{ gtumm beings starving for very laci our super- fluities. Might R’ not be J)oul‘le for a modern scheme of national benevolence, meml%' not entirely - new in the world’s history, to get to work in real philanthropy, donate the needed hun- t [dieds of millions of bushels of wheat and keep alive millions of future poten- customers? lent Hoover is an adept in feed- ing starving peoples. Can't he n show his abilities in that line? fon't I Ry W n brotherhood to be something more & hollow boast? EDWARD BERWICK. . A Real Tip. From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Better do your Christmas parki fairly early, too. o L — no evidence that the calibeg of Senators ~has im) ndlmdumn&‘i )" notes referee’s to pick up after that hurricane on a the Utica Observer-! benna farm. That polisioal [} It's Open Season. TR o to be mosily aé lame ducks, » J { « ‘ ’ il f