Evening Star Newspaper, December 31, 1930, Page 6

THE EVENING ‘With Sunda; WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY . . December 81, 1830 STAR Edition. THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor Evening Star Newspa Company il X S g s R s . LoD g K- Lot ithin the City. e o 60c per month Rate by The Bunday Collection made a ders may be sent in by ma! RAdienal ood: by Mafil—Payable in Advance. A Maryiit n’:‘d Virginia. g cf ¢acn, mon or felephone .+ $10.00; 1 m¢ 17 %oy Sun 1000 1 m day’ only $453; 1 e Member of the Associated Press. lusively entitled 1l news dis- Pk atches this paper and also the !‘:&@.«“m‘:m. All rights of publication of speci; ‘dispatches herein are also reserved. Nobody Except Everybody at Fault Are school building delays to become, like the weather, something that every- body talks about but nobody does any- thing about? The school officials have generously exculpated from blame every- body concerned, especially Mr. Simmons of Nebraska. Mr. Simmons has re-| sponded characteristically by blaming | everybody, except Congress. Now that 18 over, it would be a source of great satisfaction to the parents of children attending school under unsatisfactory conditions if a determined effort were made to remedy what is wrong. It would be an interesting and a nohle experiment to try to fix responsi- bility, for one thing, in connection with acquisition of school sites and school buildings. Do the school officials have this responsibility? Obviously mnot. They merely recommend to the Com- missioners their idea of what is right and proper. Do the Commissioners have the responsibility? Certainly not. They merely recommend to the Bureau of the Budget what they consider right and proper. Does the Budget Bureau have the responsibility? Under no con- ditions. The Budget Bureau merely recommends to Congress what it be- eves is right and proper. Do the com- mittees of Congress have the responsi- bility? Certainly not. They must take what the Budget Bureau suggests, the ‘Budget Bureau merely acts on what the Commissioners recommend, the Com- missioners merely act on what the school officials have presented. If the Commissioners do not accept the school officials’ recommendations the school officials are of the opinion that their hands are tied in the matter. If the Budget Bureau does not accept the Commissioners’ view, the Commissioners believe that their hands and their tongues are thereby tied by budget practice. After Congress appropriates the money, what happens? The District Bullding must purchase the sites. The District Building cannot buy a site a$ a price that exceeds an arbitrarily fixed maximum in relation to the as- sessment figure. Thus the matter of the purchase of the site may go into the courts. If the courts decide the price is higher than Congress thought 1t ought to be, the matter must be de- layed until Congress agrees with the courts. Once the site is bought, how- ever, and the money is appropriated for the building, there must ensue a delay until the beginning of the fiscal year ‘when the municipal architect can draw his plans. He cannot draw them all st once. And in one Dparticular in- stance of delay cited by Mr. Simmons, the architect’s plans were delayed while the National Capital Park and Plan- ning Commission and the officials at the District Building agreed between them as to certain grades in the locality of the school buflding. Then the Fine Arts Commission must approve the plans before the bids for construction are advertised or the contracts let. Oc- casionally there will be some delay while the Commissioners decide whether the work on such local contracts must go to an out-of-town low bidder, constituent of some influential Congressman on the HIll, or whether it can go where it be- | longs, to a contractor employing local labor. ‘The schools have a business man- ager, or co-ordinator. But he is a| school official, not a District Building official. He may endeavor to co-or- dinate District Building activities and school activities, but he has no authority to force co-ordination. One is uncertain whether to agree ‘with the school officials and blame no- body, or with Mr. Simmons and blame everybody. Possibly both are right, and everybody should be blamed although no one is at fault. The best thing that may be hoped for is that the an- nual debates over what is wrong will be suspended while the wrong is righted and some person or committee given direct responsibility in meeting the building needs of the schools, and be held duly accountable. — g Parking conditions have given rise! to one opinion which is just about unanimous. Not a dissenting volce is raised when the emphatic but slightly inconclusive statement is made that elsewhere, are naturally constrained to make every possible concession to the caste and creed which are represented in Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia and other regions of the imperial domain on which the sun never sets. The turn of the year finds real prog- ress achieved at London in the effort to keep a more or less pacified India within the framework of the empire. As was to be anticipated, compromise, that unfailing arrow in the quiver of British statesmanship, has been gen- erously invoked to that end. It has been agreed that there is to be an all-India parliament, with elected rep- resentatives clothed with wide-flung autonomous power over purely Indian affairs. Britain would control defense, finance, foreign and native states af- fairs, including the supervision of re- lations between the tribes. But barring a truce between the Hindus and Mos- lems at the conference, even this far- reaching scheme appears to be doomed at the source. The guess is justified that Mr. Mac- Donald and his coalition British dele- gation of all partles will devise a method of bridging the Hindu-Moslem gulf. The prime minister's position is all the stronger, if he finds it necessary to stretch the bow of compromise still further, because of ‘the fact that Con- servatives and Liberals are loyally back- ing the Labor government in its grapple with the toughest empire problem which Downing street has to solve. — t———— Railroad Consolidation. The transportation act of 1920 gave to the railroads psrmission to consoli- date into major competing systems for the purpose of bringing about greater efficiency of service to the public and better rates. Maneuver after maneuver during the decade intervening has met no success. And now it is announced by President Hoover that a plan for the consolidation of the Eastern roads, ex- clusive of New England, bringing them all into four systems, has been agreed upon by the railroad heads. Mr. Hoo- ver, in his announcement, called atten- tion to the fact that the proposed con- solidations come at a time when they will be particularly beneficial, providing additional employment for labor and strengthening some of the railroads materially. It has been recognized for years that the ccuntry can b2 better served through a consolidation of railroads. The diffi- culty has be:n to get the railroads themselves to agree to combinations which are fair to all and to the public. The details of the present plan have not been revealed. It is understood they will not be made public until the whole proposal is submitted to the Interstate Commerce Commission for its approval. Under the terms of the transportation act, the commission must give its ap- proval to the plan before it can be car- ried into effect. The commission, set up in the inter- ests of the general public, judicial in character, should be permitted to pass upon the consolidations proposed under the law. However, no sooner had the announcement come from the White House that an agreement had been en- tered into by the raliroad executives than there were rumblings on Capitol Hill. It appears already that, not con- tent to leave the matter to the deter- may undertake to hold hearings on the railroad plan, and that if certain mem- bers of the Congress are not in accord with the proposed consolidations, legis- lation will be introduced to halt them or to place further restrictions upon them. There is, among some members of the Congress, a determination finally to force Government ownership and operation of the railroads if it can be brought about. In the opinion of many other members of Congress and of & vast num- ber of American citizens, such a result would be a calamity. Once the GoV- ernment owned and operated the roads there would be no element of compe- titlon to bring better service, There would, too, be the organization of a vast political army of rallroad workers, threatening in itself. ‘The agreement entered into by the railroad executives for consolidation of the Eastern roads, provided it safe- guards the public and the interests of labor and looks to better service and, in the end, cheaper rates, should, in the interests of the country, be approved. It is too early to pass judgment. The details of the agreement are still to be made known to the public. In the in- terval, however, the skeptics and the critics should withhold attack—if they can. ——————————— Perhaps the average mind is excusable for not being able to understand Ein- stein’s thecry, which involves higher mathematics to a very abstruse degree. The average mind in many cases finds it difficult to understand the compara- uively simple calculations by means of which finance is sometimes made to operate in the production of new monetary dimensions. ——or—s. A bear is a Wall Street operator who expects to prosper by always hoping for the worst. | | e ! Defensible Extravagance. | A prominent Senator from the Micdle | | West has seen fit to criticize in rather severe form what he regards as the | sinful extravagance displayed at a re- cent social function given in this city A wise man a number of years ago re- | marked that every shield has two sides, | “something will have to be done.” —————— Efforts to add materials which will render whisky still more unpleasant leave no doubt that a beverage which never had many friends has been going from bad to worse. ———— The Impasse Over India. Because 250,000,000 Hindus and 70,- 000,000 Moslems cannot bury their virulent religious and racial differences, the India conference at London, which has sat for nearly two months, has reached a stage of depressing deadlock. Prime Minister MacDonald hoped today might bring forth a way out of the impasse which manifestly threatens the success of the conference. India’s two vast sects have not found 4 possible to agree on their propor- tional representation in the new leg- islature which it is proposed to ret up for & federalized India, more or lass on the lines of the United States of America. The Moslems, being heavily among the empire’s definite safe- British, and it would seem that there are very few subjects that cannot be discussed ' from different angles. i A man of great means gave an enter- | tainment which 1s said to have cost & | | small fortune. It is presumed that; | when he paid all the bills it did not make any serious hole in his capital. It is sald that the flowers alone cost a very large sum. It is true that the | affair might have been just as enjoyable | with fewer flowers. However, the next | day the florists found that they had that much more money with which to pay their gardeners or even to buy coal or ofl for their greenhouses. Guests might have enjoyed the supper just as much had they helped themselves from | sideboards instead of being served by a kost of well paid waiters, Every extra walter had that much money with which to buy a pair of shoes or hat if he needed it. It is true that the young people could have danced as late had there been fewer musicians, but every violinist found that he had the where- withal to buy some new fiddlestrings, which would help along those who are engaged In the catgut industry. Out of the thoussnd or more guests it is pre- | | clothes,” said her father. THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, sumed that many found it necessary to replenish their which would mean & visit to a haberdasher or a shoe store. It would be difficult to guess how much money was spent on transporta- tion by the people who would other- wise have stayed at home and listened to their radios. Many Socialists, as well as more con- servative economists, think it is a good thing to spend money for work well done rather than give it outright to a work- man out of a job. Some people think that owing to the decline in the stock market many standard issues of stock can be bought now at bargain prices. If the host of the evening had spent this large sum of money on stocks, it might be that a year from now he would be a wealthier man and enjoy an even larger income, but that would be a matter of interest only to himself and his New York broker, whereas every dollar that was spent on the criticized entertainment was a dollar put into immediate circu- lation instead of being tied up in a safety deposit box. Extravagance is to be frowned on at all times, but this time when every one is urged to buy instead of hoarding, it would seem as though there were such a thing as being penny wise and pound foolish. Plans are resolutely under way by Rallroad Expert L. F. Loree to build a line between Pittsburgh and Easton, Pa,, that will bring the Pittsburgh part of the country 75 miles nearer to New York. Commercial enterprise may pro- | vide so much mental occupation that Pittsburgh may be able to make New York not cnly still richer, but more inclined to the manner of old-fash- loned propriety. Mayor Jimmy Walker says the theaters need censorship and a short line might permit valuable out- side assistance in this respect. e After a brief period of power a Rus- | P sian autocrat can scarcely fail to won- der whether his turn will not come early for a personal share in the dis- heartening experiences he has helped to render so common. ——— e The year 1931 will be enthusiastically welcomed and wishes for happiness confidently exchanged. It is fortunate that the world is peopled by a race of optimists, whose confident hopes go far toward assuring real betterment. . Consolidation of Eastern railroads will enable some expert traffic directors to take charge of a situation in which big lines looking for business seemed in danger of colliding with themselves. ——e—. Wheat was never intended as fuel. Students of economics have before them a situation that should interest the best brains of the world. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. After a Drought. Christmas we did not make claim to 80 much, ‘Though banquets brought perfume 80 rare; And jewels are flashing in pride as they touch A lady surpassingly fair, But now to a new resolution we turn As the New Year sets hope all aglow. ‘We don't ask a great deal, all the world may discern. All we want is some Rain and some Snow! A New Resolution our earth must make plain If the grass and the blossoms come back; So we're asking no gems, 'midst a merry Tefrain, But plain gifts that so seldom we lack. The jewels so0 bright in the stream run- ning clear And the flow'rs where the kine softly low— For these we will hope as we greet the New Year; All we want is some Rain and some Snow! At Moment of Disappointment. “SBome af your constituents seem a litle disappointed in you,” sald the candid friend. “We must be prepared for that,” re- plied Senator Sorghum. “After the first flush of victory we are compelled to face the solemn fact that our Government neglected to supply enough positions to take care of all the voters who showed intelligence and conscience by coming to our support.” Jud Tunkins says men who lose their tempers when they see a camera are generally excusable, having previously seen the kind of pictures they take. Bound to Intrude. Our statesmen now are friends so true, And sing a generous refrain— That note of discord which came through ‘Was just a thought of next campaign.. Limitations. “I don't see why you want more “That gown you are wearing is a thing of beauty.” “True,” answercd Miss Cayenne. “But clothes are different from poetry. Be- cause it is & thing of beauty is no rea- son for expecting it to be a joy for- ever.” “Brave men,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “have defended cities at great sacrifice; yet they have not always been able to keep brave men in power as their successo; A Census of Gloom. A politician that I know Has pictured people in a line And seems just now prepared to show ‘That all he mentions should resign. “I done purty good as a story telle: sald Uncle Eben. “I told de fam'ly a | story 'bout & rabbit stew an’ I had de rabbit wif me to make it come true.” ——e—s Opportunity for Rockne. From the Worcester Telegram. Such a person as Mr. Knute Rockne might get those University of Havana students to gain more ground agains the Havana police. r—e—s Not a Monopoly in Canada. From the Indianapolis Star. Dinosaur tracks have been found in Canada and there also are numerous imprints on Southern California’s grid- Dislikes Senate Club Dues. the Indianapolis Ster. _.!enu-hum'anbcmdm in advance, gl N THIS AN D. C. D THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, Enthusiasm, unlike hope, does not spring eternal in the human breast. It tl a quality which every one has to infuse into himself, and the trouble with it is that when one forces the quality it escapes him. True enthusiasm is born, not made; it is almost unconscious of its?lf; it is scarcely ever thrust ugan one from outside. Perhaps that was why the anclent Greeks called an enthusiast one pos- sessed by a god, hence our word. It was clearly recogniz:d in the be- ginning that the man overwhelmed with a great enthusiasm had something abnormal, or supernormal, about him. Ordinary, everyday folk, who bought carefully and never let their emotions run away from them, at onc> admired and were a bit fearful of the enthusiast. Out of one side of their mouths the good folk of every day said that “he was possessed of some god.” Out of the other they said he: was a visionary, a self-deluded person. ‘The god within him, they were eager to whisper, was no real or proper god at all, but was merely a figment of the fellow’s too powerful imagination. * ok K K ‘The enthusiast, through the centuries, has gone his way, unmindful of his critics, mostly unaware that he had either praise or criticism. His enthusiasm, whatever it might e, has so enwrapped his mind and | heart that he has had eyes for nothing | else. | With one great enthusiast it was| religion. man’s relation to God, and for | \it he was willing to suffer shame and | death. With another it was sclence, which | led him to the torture chamber, to re- | cant with his lips only, 50 long as he was permitted to go back to his be- loved telescopes. With another it was books, which he collected around him to the end of his happy life, years during which millions of men bled and died, as the result of other enthusiasms, but years which for him were glorious, filled with hap- iness. With others paintings and architec- ture and sculpture became enthusiasms. Still others worked up enthusiasms for the North Pole and the South Pole, or became so enamored of Africa or South America that they went to their death in search of their unknowns. * ok ok x ‘Thus we see that enthusiasm, as| almost every other thing known to man, may be good or ba If a god possesses a m: old phraseology, there is no sort of god he may be. There were good gods and bad gods | in all the mythologies. We are apt to think of mythology as so much foo ishness nowadays. Those old fables, we | say, had aspects of beauty, but nome | of religion. But there was a great deel of com-| mon sense in them, especially in the myths of those universal people, the | first historical Greeks. Something at once natural, human | and filled with plair horse sense peeps | out today from the fables of Greece. | This is so widely recognized that | even little children are told these stories. * X K % , to use the | telling what ‘To be “possessed of a god” meant to have a driving power toward some end which seemed to be rather more than human. In this way the clear-thinking Greeks criticized themselves and so humanity. They secmed to imply, as far as we can make out, that humanity is not able of itself to work up real enthusiasm. th'i requires a “‘god” within us to do at. And surely there is something divine about enthusiasm, look at it in any way we please. Enthusiasm is the light which lies around many an ordinary activity. Have you ever stopped to wonder just why foot ball and base ball and golf, just to mention but three sports, get so much space in the newspapers, and such a great deal of attention from the American people? In themselves it is questionable, at least by serious-minded older persons, whether these and other sports are worth the great pow-wow which they create. It is the enthusiasm in them—not which they create—which makes even college presidents look with favor upon them. Every player is an enthusiast. Almost every spectator is an enthusi- t During the time of the game, at least, a veritable descent of ancient gods goes on. No sane man, we tell ourselves, would cavort, prance and otherwise distort himself as yonder cheer leader. Surely 50,000 persons, all of so-called normal mentality, would not yell such nonsensical sentences in unison if there were not something “in the air” which rdmx‘ct possession of them and made them o it. as * % ox o Enthusiasm is not dependent upon noisy vocal displays, however, nor is the athletic grounds its only field of en- deavor. Any one of a thousand lines of ac- tivity may develop an cnthusiast, one who becomes so interested that he for- gets the average viewpoint. ‘This forgetting of the average is what makes enthusiasm great. Selfishness, money, place, power—these and many other things can induce men to put on a cloak of enthusiasm, which may fool many. But only a true forgetting of the average viewpoint, a self-induced dis- regard for the wav the average person thinks, can instill in a man the happy enthusiasm which makes him alike in- different to food, weather and personal convenience. So one becomes possessed, as it were, to the point where jealous persons brand him visionary, and mean ones say he is a self-deluded man. He is not self-deluded. What if he is not the “expert” which he fancies he is? Only by thinking himself such can he ever be. ‘While the sneerers are sneering their | sneers, he is going right ahead master- ing his activity, so that upon some day in the future he will surprise his critics —end himself.most of all—by being universally hailed as great. We say “great,” which may or may not seem successful. There is many an enthusiast who is not successful, in the world’s ordinary definitions of the word. ‘They have worked up for themselves their own definitions, which make them accountable to no man, only to the god or spirit of enthusiasm within them, WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY -FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. President Hoover's feat in bringing | the four great Eastern railroad lines to- | gether for consolidation purposes por- trays him in his favorite and prcbably | in his most effective role—that of a con- ciliator, Temperamentally the Chief | Engineer vastly prefers conciliation to | conflict. That doesn’t me‘nn that he.lpsl ven to running away from a scrap | ehen fighting would do good. But Mr. Hoover chooses the peaceful path if he | finds that eventual success can be pur- sued in that direction. Authorities can already be discovered in Washington who say that the President's rail con- solidation achievement is enough to en- | title his administration to outstanding | distinction. He has won where Harding and Coolidge in successicn lost. Victory, | moreover, comes at a peculiarly ps\-gho- logical moment. When the railroads’are sick, countless other interlocking in- dustries, and especially labor, ail. No other single business in the United States affects so many other businesses | net directly allied with it. Among them | all, Messrs. Hoover, Crowley, Atterbury, | Willard and the Van Sweringens ha struck a mighty blow for national we fare. Here's hoping the Interstate Com- merce Commission will do the rest! PEER] ; One of the smoothest little proposi- tions in the whole Republican party, Dr. E. B. Clements, netional committee- man from Missouri, gumshoed his way in and out of Washington the other day. There wouldn't have been anything| especially notable about that, except| for the doctor’s ultimate destination, | which was Northampton, Mass. His pur- pose in going there was to pay his re- spects to the town's most distinguished resident, a retiring gentleman named Calvin Coolidge. Just what directed the Missouri G. O. P. leader's footsteps to “The Birches” is not officially disclosed. Merely an inkling of his purpose was revealed in an interview at Washington on his return, in which Dr. Clements was quoted as saying that Coolidge would not clgoou t,l(‘) rugslol‘ ?r:&l:::: in 1932, either. £po] are that “Cal” thinks Clements talked too| much. * ok x * The mysterious death of a White| House naval aide is being linked by ‘Washington gossips with a tragic-comic incident said to have occurred at the recent judiciary reception in the Ex- ecutive Mansion. It is narrated that naval aide, not the suave Capt. Train, who is “ " naval aide to the Com- mander in Chief, made the break of announcing “the President and Mrs. Coolidge” when Mr. and Mrs. Hoover made their formal entry for the recep- tion, * ok ok ok Maj. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, the| new chief of staff of the United States Army, was recently guest of honor at a reception tendered him by Maj. and Mrs. Parker W. West at the Soldiers* Home, in Washington. Maj. West, re- tired, is deputy governor of the fine establishment which Uncle Sam main- tains for retired men of our military establishment. There’s a picturesque link between Maj. West and the youth- ful chief of staff. During the Russo- Japanese War, West was aide-de-camp to MacArth distinguished father, Lieut. Gen. Arthur MaaArthur, and was with the latter during most of the campaign in Manchuria. ~When voung Douglas was graduated from ‘est Point, he bzcame his father’s aide, eventually relieving Maj. West from that duty. Now the two men have come together again, after the lapse of 25 years, and nobody is hap- pier over the meteoric career of Gen. MacArthur than the major, so many ears his senior. * ok K K David E. Finley, special assistant to Secretary Mellon, has been entertain- ing a young Englishman, who bears a distinguished English literary name— Hon. John D. T. Pepys, & collateral descendant of Samuel Pepys, the dia- rles’s II reign. The immortal Samuel had no children, brother of one of John Pepys’ ances- tors. One of the thin; e visiting Briton has accomplished since arrival in this country, Mr. Finley says, is to bring about a change in the common ronunciation of his family name over re. Most of us have been calling it “Peeps,” but “Pepis” appears to be the correct version, with the first rld\l'l;.l: Mr. Mellon’s right-hand man avers, far more thoroughly than any American he knows. ik Nobody wants to give up $40,000,000 these days without trying not to. At any rate, the big insurance companies which now have to pay the damages claimed by the owners of the Black Tom and Kingsland munition plants, blown up in 1916, are putting up a ter- rific kick at the State Department. Recently the German-American Mixed Claims Commission absolved the Ger- man government of responsibility for the explosions. That left it to the American property owners to collect their insurance policies. These are understood to be protesting to Secretary Stimson against the recent arbitral de- cision, but a reopening of the case is extremely unlikely. R Representative Henry St. George Tucker, -Democrat, of Virginia. was ap- proachad at a recent White House re- ception by another guest, who, survey- ing the jurist-stateman’s distinguished presence, queried, “You are a justice of the Supreme Court, aren't you?” The former president of the American Bar Association and author of “Tucker on the Constitution,” smiled back and said, “No, but I ought to be, because I'm a —— good lawyer!” A Charley Michelson, who slew the G. O. P. dragon in November with printer's ink, has a new claim to dis- tinction. He’s been mistaken at Wash- ington twice in a month for Al Smith. There's quite a resemblance. The local diplomatic corps also boasts of a mem- ber who looks a bit like Al—Senor Mal- bran, back in the United States for a second tour of duty as Argentinian Ambassador. (Copyright. 1930.) oo Egypt and Cotton. From the Cincinnati Enquirer. The political situation in Egypt is sufficiently unstable, but this fact does not represent the chief occasion for the country's alarm and economic despera- tion. The foundation of the country’s existence is the cotton raising industry —a British beneficence, conferred and developed only against long and fiercest antagonism. But its worth to the coun- try and people impressively has been demonstrated. ‘This business now is threatened. The price of cotton continues to fall. It has reached the lowest point in its history. There seems small hope for improve- ment in the near future. The people are gravely perturbed—the high as well as the low. In a recent interview Prime Minister Sidky emphatically asserts that what hit hardest 1s “the outrageously high tariff” which the United States has levied on Egyptian cotton, though, in the end, as he sees it, this fact must redound to the benefit of Egypt, because Europe, which previously bought American cot. ton, is now buying Egyptian product, w{hich labors under a restrictive tariff of §7. There are many angles to this tariff question. America’s cotton must be adequately protected, but we do not want to see this industry hurt. Senator Harrison and his cotton confreres afirm that it will not be. But will it? Of the tariff generally Senator Smoot, of course, says that it has been vindi- cated; that imports have risen until on November 24 they were little under 1929. All criticism levcled against it he lays to imports “rush” and world depression. So here is hoping! But, as we have said, there are many angles to the question. ——— Evident and Natural. erom the Muncie Star. It seems evident and somewhat natural’ that the World Court will be <ubjected to the law’s delay. . - eatee. Long, Long Ago. From the Milwaukee Sentinel. A writer refers to a period as “some time prior to B.C.” and we're just won- dering in our imless way how long ago that was. o Stocks Put Men on Feet. Prom the Lousville Times. h.l.t cannot be denied that Wall Bg::t t thousanda,of men on. their feet—by forcing them to sell taelr caza. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 3 the Egyptian market | 1930. Prison C-~g Pictures Zalled Bad Practice To the Editor of The Star: Many Prison Gang Pictures.” read this item over again and again and I agree with all therein stated. As president of ‘the Prisoners’ Relief So- ciety, a national organization seeking {to refosws. criminals and men and women who have been in prison for violated law, I have often thought along the line. It's bad practice to show up to the coming generation acts of law vio- lators; it has no good effect. Men and women who have bad records sometimes reform and often they seck front-page publicity relating the history of the crimes they have committed. As an ex-convict, & man who has served time for law violation, I have never come out with a story boast- i I have always claimed that I was not a reformed man, but the same kind of a {man I always was and tried to make every act connected with my imprison- ment constructive, I have never gone to see one of the prison act pictures. I have had many 1free tickets and invitations. Been asked again and again to commend the show, but I have never done so. If it was left to me I would not allow such pic- tures. Our society has been offered sub- stantial sums of money to indorse prison pictures, but up to this date we have not, and do not intend to do so as long as I am in charge as the executive officer of the organization. E. E. DUDDING. — Press Held Partial On Judges’ Rulings To the Editor of The Star: A few days ago a Federal judge, down an opinion that the eighteenth amendment is not valid. The judge apparently knows his psychology. He ot. what he evidently expecfed—the ront page of nearly every newspaper in the country. A few days lates other Pederal judge, Walter C. Lindley of Chicago, ruled that the eighteenth amendment is constitutional. His ruling has scarcely been mentioned by the press. Why this difference? Judge Lindley gave his ruling as a matter of doing his duty under the Constitution. Judge Clark attacks the Constitution and says in substance at the time that he did not expect to be sustained in his opinion. Why is one now just a Chicago judge and the at- tacker of the Constitution is a world hero? There certainly is some interest- ing psychology underlying the whole matter. Why did not the press give the same publicity to Judge Lindley's ruling that it did to Judge Clark? It seems to me that in all fairness the press should have given as much space and publicity to c.e ruling as to the ther. J. C. REYNOLDS. ——— England and Capital Punishment. From the Dayton Daily News. “Let it not be supposed that the social order will depart with the scaffold. The social building will not fall for want of its hideous keystone.” Victor Hugo wrote that long ago, and the British Government Committee on Capital Punishment recalls his words in making its recommendation for aboli- tion of the death penalty during an experimental period of five years. It would have Parllament empower the home secretary to commute to life im- prisonment death sentences already im- posed but not yet executed. Under the suggested plan life im- prisonment would be substituted for all offenses now carrying the death pen- alty. No distinctions would be made between sexes in the administration. of Justice. Revision of the rules on in- sanity and complete elimination of the death penalty for persons under 21 are other recommendations. The comment on medical considerations is interest- ing in view of the report of our own National Crime Commission Committee, which has just completed a two-year study of the subjgzct. The English Iact-finding group is convinced that adoption of its most drastic recommendation—abolition of the death penalty—would not endanger either life or property or impair the social security of the empire. “If wi take away the scaffold,” they say, fol- lowing the lines of Hugo, “it is because we feel it is not needed in this new day of social rebuilding. We can build better without it.” ~The committee peints for proof to Belgium, where cap- ital punishment has not been inflicted since 1863, and other nations which have taken similar steps. In America both points of view on capital punishment are buttressed by apparently significant statistics. . But the experience of the world through the ages has been that drastic punish- ment is not a deterrent. Certainly it would be interesting to see the experi- ment made in England, and the con- sensus of political observers there seems to be that it will be made. —_— e Minnesota’s New National Forest. From the St. Paul Ploneer Press. Creation of a third national forest in Minnesota brings the total area set aside in Federal timber reserves in this State up to nearly 3,000,000 acres. The new forest, on the Iron Range north of Hibbing, adds 100,000 acres to 2,500,000 acres in the Superior National Forest and 250,000 acres in the Chippewa Na- tional Forest. In setting aside this huge domain | within MInnesota and other reserves | throughout the country the Federal {Government is very properly taking the leadership in restoration of forest re- sources. Reforestation, so far as it can be achieved on public lands, goes ahead another step as this new domain is set aside for the cultivation of crops of timber under scientific direction of ex- | perienced foresters. Extensive as these Government-owned forests are, they do not represent the |answer to a timber shortage which is {impending. From these lands sufficient | lumber to meet needs of this State never can be harvested. Additions to public forests do not reduce the necessity for private reforestation. Such eminent foresters as Charles Lathrop Pack and Tom Gill have pointed out that “the lands that the Forest Service is buying in the East and in the Lake States can never add an important amount of timber to the Nation’s wealth, but it is serving as an incentive and as an example to private timber owners. Only the widespread practice of forestry on private land can reach the ultimate solution of our tim- ber_supply.” ‘The further expansion of the national forest program within Minnesota's boundaries emphasizes by contrast the failure of efforts at private reforesta- tion and the State's neglect of timber planting and culture. The State should proceed coincidentally with the National Forest Service in reforestation of State- owned timber lands. Importance of re- storing timber supplies as well as pre- serving tax revenue sources commend & program to stimulate reforestation of private lands. e Doesn’t Need So Much. From the Savannah Morning News. King Carol has asked for 22 per cent cut in his royal income. You see, now that he has settled down, he doesn’t need so much money. gt e Warning to Others. From the Indianapolis Star. William T. Clark of New Jersey, handed | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC Stop a minute and think about this fact: You can ask our Information Bureau any question of fact and get the answer back in a personal letter. It s a great educational idea intro- duced into the lives of the most in- telligent people in the world—Ameri- c:“th::wl:::v.p" relder? It is a part o purpose of & newspaper— service. ‘There xE“n cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Get the habit of asking ques- tions. Address your letter to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Wash- ington, D. C. Q. Can alrmail be sent to or from all post offices in the United States?— ing of the thing that sent me to prison. | B, 8, A. If the post office is not on an airmail line the mail 15 carried by ordinary methods to or from the near- est airmail station. The envelope should be marked “Via Airmail” and bear adequate postage. It costs 5 cents for the first ounce and 1C cents in the United States, Mexico. Q. How much would one inch of wllg covering an acre weigh?— L G W. A. One inch of rain is equivalent to 100 tons of water for every acre of ground. Q. How does the present population of Dawson City in the Yukon compare with that of gold rush days?—M. C. A. The town was established in 1896, and at the height of the gold rush its population reached 20,000. By 1901 it had fallen to 9,142 and in 1925 was 975. Q. How docs the timber acreage of North Carolina compare with that of South Carolina?—C. M. C. A. In 1929 there were 381864 net area acres of standing timber in North Carolina. In South Carolina there were 42,378 net acres in 1929. Q. Please tell of some inventions patented by women.—H. M. A. There are a great many more patents granted to men than to women. For instance, during the first 98 years of the patent system, from 1790 to 1888, only 2455 patents were granted to women; altogether 15,000 patents have been granted to women. The fifteen- thousandth one was granted to Rose Shulman of Brooklyn for an ice-bag. ‘The first successful application under the patent law by a woman was record- ed in 1809, when Mary Kies took out a patent for a method of weaving straw with silk or thread. In 1789 Miss Betsy Metcalf hit upon an invention for plait- ing and braiding meadow grass into bonnets. Miss Lucy Johnson in 1824 wove seamless pillowcases. Hannah Montague invented the detachable shirt collar. The modern paper bag is the invention of Miss M. E. Knight. Mrs. Martha J. Coston invented the flare light used for signaling by our Coast Guard and mariners all over the world. The first ice-cream freezer was invented by Nancy M. Johnson. Q. How heavy do hogs grow?—S. S. A. There are authenticated records of hogs of 1,250 pounds or more and orts which have not been investi- gated by the Bureau of Animal Industry jcf a few which have approached 1,500 pounds. Canada or 0 charge except 2 | for each additional ounce to any point | J. HASKIN. m:u:hu once called A. Matches were formerly u.llod’- Congreves in Sweden, France and Gere many because the progenitor of the modern match, a friction light devised in 1827 by John Walker, was named by him after Sir William Congreve, an English artillery officer, who had in- vented the life-saving rocket. Q. When did Count Zeppelin build & successful airship?—L. J. C. A. Count Zeppelin's first ascent in a balloon was made at St. Paul, Minn,, during a visit. This is said to be the / incentive of later experiments. In 1900 / he bullt an airship which rose from ' the ground and remained in the air for 20 minutes, but was wrecked in landing. In 1906 he made two successful flights at a speed of 30 miles an hour and in 1907 attained a speed of 36 miles. He retired from the army in 1891 and de- voted his time and wealth to experi- {nen!s in connection with dirigible bal- cons. Q Can a person d ence of radium?—N. V. A The Geological Survey says that there is no simple test for radium ore that can be made by the inexperienced. ore can be readily and easily de- termined by one having experience with the use of a delicate electroscope. Q. In the banquet scene in “Mac- beth” is the ghost of Banquo shown upon the stage?—R. S. A. Both versions of the play “Mac- beth,” by Shakespeare, are given—with the ghost appearing and without it. At |present the Ben Greet Players, pro- | ducers of what is known as pure Eliza- | bethan drama, do not show the ghost | of Banquo at the banquet table, as this is a deviation from the true Shake- speare. Other companies, having in mind the dramztic effect of its appear~ ance, show the ghost of Banquo, with weird lighting etfects. Q. How are the members of the Communist party of the Soviet Union classified?—B. H. G, of 1, m"& / letect the pres- . M. ‘The membership as 1928, consisted of 1,317,369 and applicants. They were classified as follows: Workers, 60.8 per cent; peasants, 209 per cent; intellectual and office workers, 18.3 per cent. Q. What American company got contract for telephone installaf shortly after Carol became King Rumania?—J. E. D. A. The International Telephone Telegraph Corporation of New Y was awarded the contract. The telephone will be used exclusively. This will not be an innovation, since the first dial phones were installed four years ago. Q. What is the origin of the word “confett! M. E. C. A. It is the plural of the Italian “confetto,” literally m sweete meats or bonbons. Originally imitations ‘were vals for streets. J of bonbons in plaster or used by the Italians in pelting one another in the Q. Why does the hair “stand on end” when one is frightened?—J. F. A. Fright causes a contraction of the muscles of the scalp and produces the sensation which is known as the hair “standing on end.” | Norris-Lucas Issue of Two chief questions are recognized in the controversy within the Republican organization over the disclosure of methods employed in an attempt to de- feat Senator Norris in the last election. The position of Robert H. Lucas, an of- ficial of the Republican National Com- mittee, is widely condemned, but in his support it is denied that Senator Norris is entitled to be classed as a Republican, “There will be no end to this conflict, declares the New York Sun (independ- ent), “until we have a new political cleavage. When the radicals gfdw strong enough they will become a party, iopposed by the conservative elements in the two old parties. Meanwhile any demagogue who supports Government cperation of utilities and unlimited ap- propriations for paternalism, bureau- cracy and bonuses is licensed to call himself Democrat or Republican, as he chooses, and if the wind sits in_th: right quarter he is wafted into Con- S5 “In a country of the size and nature of the United States” says the Wor- cester Telegram (independent), “it is a tremendous task to organize and maintain national parties which can be effective. Along with firmness for certain prinéiples, there must bz mod eration and compromise on all sides. The Telegram holds that “the question of the impropriety of Mr. Lucas’ actions is not even debatable among those who profess to have any regard for straight forwardness and truth,” put it o8 that “political parties cannot be effec- tive unless they can ot times control majorities”; that “they cannot control majorities unless their members are united.’ While it is the opinion of the Chicago Daily News (independent) that “the chronic insurgent is prone to degenerate into a nuisance,” that paper finds no ground for “insisting on strict party regularity these days,” and also com- ments: “Rational independence is not synonymous with perverse, professional insurgency. So long as there is a lack of major party issues to stir the pop- ular heert, there is bound to be much straying from party folds at particular times and on particular questions.” On the question of the regularity of Senator Norris, the Topeka Daily Cap- ital (Republican) states as to his record, particularly in supporting Gov. Smith: “These actions are for the people he represents to judge. They are the Re- publicans of Nebraska, and they nom- inated him in a fair primary and made him the Republican candidate for the Senate.” The Ann Arbor Daily News (Independent) adds: ‘There is no law prohibiting an independent from seeking a Republican nomination, and citizens of Nebraska cannot be de- ported or jailed for electing Norris re- peatedly, if they desire him to be their representative, whether he be irregul mugwump or whatnot.” “Though quite correct in his convic- tion that Senator Norris was rot a Republican,” argues the New York Herald-Tribune (Republican), ‘MT. Lucas was singularly unhappy in wha he set out to do about it. * * * He proceeded to conduct his anti-Norris activities in secret, whereas he should have known that such seerxcy is vir- tually impossible in politics. This minor political mishap has now been exposed, with all the customary artifice and trumpetings which can be expected from Senator Norris’ se) rial friends. The net result is a anfortunate widening of the breach between in- surgents and regular Republicans and a probable strengthening of Senator Norris’ political position.” “The Republicanism of Senator Nor- ris,” maintains the Hartford Courant (Independent Republican) “is rot for Mr. Lucas or any other individual to determine, Under the political system that prevails in the United States, such an issue can only be determined by the voters. It was presented to the Republicans of Nebraska in the last election, and {ley rencered the verdict at the polls thai Senator Norris was a Republican fit to represent them in the Senate. No individual, whatever his position in the party, can go behind such a verdict. Otherwise the control ‘The Indiana Society of Chicago held a speechless banquet, but the chances are that most of those present will get even on some other organization. s O A Examples Already on View. From the Hamilton Evening Journal. When modern furniture becomes antique it won't be difficult cigarette scars, “pointiess of the party wol taken from the hands 8( t¥n Vg&rfln er in Ne: braska or ‘onnecticut, ar ed in the hands a petty bureau re- sponsible no one” The Luchs campaign against the §en- ator is de bed by the Wheeling In 5 ligencer publican) as involvin [ : Row Raises Party Regularity servative.” That paper cl that “reactionary forces, principally the power trust, tried to beat Senator Nor- ris for re-election and failed,” and that they used “methods of deception.” The Springfield- Republican (independent) denounces ‘“cheap and dirty politics, thus far without a defender,” and the Charleston Evening Post (independent Democratic) asserts: “Election of Hitch- would have resulted in a majority in the Senate and would have indicated to the public that the Demo- cratic landslide was of even greater pro- rtions than it was, inasmuch as orris was a terrifically hard man to beat. Nevertheless, the executive di- rector of the Republican National Com. mittee sent money to Nebraska to hellp elect a Democrat over a Republican. It is not to be wondered at that Republi- can Senators have demanded the resig- nation of Lucas. What can they expect of a party chief who is likely to use the committee’s money to put the Demo- crats in power next e if he decldes that the Republicans have not been supporting President Hoover?” erring to a statement by H sentative Wood of the Republican organization, the Baltimore Evening Sun (independent Democratic) remarks: “What Representative Wood seems un- able to get through his head is the fact that it was not because Mr. Lue;: - | doesn’t like Senator Norris that his fi against the Nebraskan is criticized, because it was a sneaking, undercover fight. After all, there are certain pro- prletltps to be observed even in devil- ment. “Senator Norris has no doubt he is the only boy in the whole regiment who is keeping step,” thinks the San Fran- cisco Chronicle (independent), offering the comment: “Robert H. Lucas makes a totally effective reply to Senator Nor- T ‘thlnti\'! charge that Lucas shat- tered party regularity by working against the Nebraska Senator’s renomi- nation in the Republican primaries and therefore should be dismissed from his job as_executive secretary of the Na- tioral Republican party. But Mr. Lucas could have been just as effective at much less trouble by saying, ‘Tut, tu Senator.”” The Manchester Union (independent Republican) maintains that “a man is no Republican if he habitually opposes Republican_executives and Republican Policies.” The St. Louis Globe-Demo- crat (independent) makes a plea for the ousting of the insurgents, with the state- ment: “They now head \most of the more important committees of the Sen- ate, positions which give them great power, which they hold solely because they are accepted as Republicans, when by every test they are not. Removed frem the party, their power and in- fluence would greatly reduced. And then the Republican party would defi- nitely stand for something, - without shifting compromises to pacify the in- surgents, which even when made are seldom effective.” “Of course,” suggests the Fort Worth Record-Telegram _(Democratic) “the ancient motto, ‘What is best for the good of the order’ will prevail. Perhaps it should. Such co-operation is that which effects organization and organi- zation is the bird in the hand that is more to, be desired than great riches. 1f it wete not for organization Repub- licans would present the exact state of chaos that the Democrats display every time destiny deals a hand that shows some likelihodd of capturing a presiden- tial ‘trick.’” The Anniston Star (Dem- ocratic) agrees that Senator Norris “is more of a Democrat than a Republi- can,” adding that “if the Republicans do not want him, tha Democratic party should be glad t6. have him.” Grand Rapids Press (dependent) com- ments: “A ‘follow the T’ Republican who would not step out on the occasional issue where he felt the party to be wrong would be a hopeless :und?n. But a ‘follow the leader’ Republican like Norris whose talking point is precisely his record for assuming that the party is usually wrong is the opposi and equally undesirable.” Pointing out bat Senator Norris “has’always run for as a Ropublican” and that he “has sought non-Republican votes,” the Lin. coln State Journa: {independent M'illjh lican) concludes: “The distressing Is that uabble,” since “Senat wa) been a liberal ) ways been highly ( I4 ¥ | / h y