Evening Star Newspaper, January 18, 1931, Page 30

THE EVENINZ .STAR With Sunday Edition. WASHINGTON, D. € SUNDAY.......Janudry 18, 1931 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company 1y s B Benuyivanta, Ave PRy R Ky T8 uropean Ofice; 14 Regent St.. London. Rate by Carrier Within the City. enine Star. 450 ver per month The Sunday Star Collection made st the end Orders may be sent in by m: National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. irginia, Maryland and Daily and Bunday. . fi: c All Other States and Canada. g:lly and Sunday. 1sr.$ 0., $1.00 il 1yr., 8 3¢ Daiiy on Sunday only . only . 0. Bunday only T 35.00: 1 me: o i ench montty, ar telephone ¥ 1y Member of the Associated Press. o Assoctated Press 13 P i e A atches credited o it or not otharwise cre Sublished herotn” Al s i 2olaial “dispatches hereln A Blow at Charity. Senator Robinson deals with specu- lative philosophy and not with the reality of things as they are when he suggests that “it will be a poor excuse for those who can afford it not to con- tribute because the Government also proposes to give” toward the relief of the hungry. Suppose it is & poor ex- cuse. What has that got to do with it? ‘The proposed $25,000,000 food dole, aside from marking a dangerous and radical departure in the use of public funds, becomes & vicious blow beneath the belt when considered in its relation to the work of organized charity in the United States. It is doubtful if any proposal could be made that would as quickly serve to discourage private charity and welfare work and dump the responsibilities so represented into the lap of a government that has no intention of meeting them. ‘The Red Cross has asked for $10,000,- 000. It obviously considers that amount adequate to deal with cases that, be- cause of geographical isolation or other circumstances, fall outside the jurisdic- month | session. tion of the thousand and one private or semi-public charitable and welfare or- ganizations functioning in every city and town of the country. Along comes this proposal, under the guise of a humanitarian and helpful gesture from the Federal Government, for a food fund of $25,000,000. It rep- resents more than twice what the Red Cross asked for. Within a week it has accumulated $10,000,000 over and above 8 sum first proposed in the Senate as a. necessary food loan, and instead of a loan it becomes an outright gift. The Red Cross, just beginning the great task of raising $10,000,000 through private subscription, must now explain, by some method that is not made plain in the Senate, that it really needs $35,000,000, but the country at large is only being asked to give $10,000,000. The Senate proposal has already threatened to con- fuse and confound the Red Cross ap- peal. It may condemn it altogether. It will do more, if the proposal be- comes an actual dole. Its effect will be encountered by every charitable. and welfare organization in the land. Com- munities are learning how to deal with the individual problems resulting. from misfortune and suffering. They are problems as old as the world itself, and lessons in how to solve them have not been taught by the Federal Govern- ment. No aid has been asked or ex- pected from that source. But now enters the Federal Government with a $25,000,000 Federal food bounty, to be distributed by the Red Cross. Re- sponsibility in dealing with suffering is immediately divided, and division of re- sponsibility in such cases merely invites disaster. Confusion in the public mind ®s to whether the federally subsidized Red Cross or the community itself should deal not only with emergent problems, but with those that are al- ways with us, will x.aturally arise. The measure of a statesman will be made in terms of the number of potatoes or Ioaves of bread he has been able to ob- tain from the Red Cross for the poor among his constituency. And those who ask for donations, in- the name of sweet charity, will be referred to Wash- ington. If this proposal represents the emount of money necessary to feed the hungry in this country, it is absurd in its inadequacy. If it represents a sincere desire to help, it is funda- mentally wrong in its basic conception of the serious problem. If it is politics, it smells to high heaven, because, for political purposes, it capitalizes human suffering. B The ideal homicide mystery would b2 one which speedily fixed the guilt and then allowed the public to go on about its business. The Alley-Closing Bill. It would be & crowning feat for the Beventy-second Congress, which has done so much for the beautification of ‘Washington through the Federal park and building programs, to enact the mlley elimination bill. Washington's front yard, so to speak, has been put involved a piece of legislation as the alley-closing bill has of necessity been delayed until the last few weeks of this sesslon. ‘The pressure of other business may prevent its consideration. Yet one of the good points of the bill placed be- fore Congress is the fact that it repre- sents the most thorough study of the alley problem ever made and its aim is the scientific elimination of the cause of the evil as well as the results. Such a measure does not need emotional scare- heads to force it through Congress and it will live much longer than the present If it fails to receive proper consideration in the next month and a half, it will at least have established ¥ | itself on the program of needed legisla- tion to be presented to the succeeding Congress. Progress has been written in this measure already. It was presented to Congress last Spring, but received a setback at the hands of the Commis- sloners who were not satisfied as to the propriety of some of its details. Since then the points at issue between the Commissioners and such proponents of the measure as the National Capital Park and Planning Commission have been ironed out and it now has the universal support behind it that was - | lacking last year. If such friends of the measure in Congress as Senator Capper of Kansas and Representative Bowman of West Virginia deem it expedient to make a strong effort for its passage be- fore the March adjournment, they will have the undoubted advantage of pre- senting a bill that is devoid of contro- versial points in so far as the responsi- ble agencies in city government and city planning are concerned. Its pas- sage at this session is not an impossi- bility, nor is it too much to hope for. There are many measures that will con- sume more time and accomplish much less than the alley-closing bill. Communism in America. While the special committee of the House of Representatives, named to inquire into the authenticity of certain documents relative to Communist ac- tivities in the United States; has con- cluded, as stated in its report, that the papers in question were not genuine, the investigation, which has proceeded for several months, has not been un- availing or valueless. On the con- trary, the inquiry has been decidedly worth while, and the results, in the form of the report just submitted, fully justify the effort and emphatically may be said to warrant the cost. The com- mittee, headed by Representative Ham- ilton Fish, has expended only a part of the funds allotted to it, and sets a most. praiseworthy example by turning back one-fifth of its appropriation. But even if the inquiry cost many times the amount that has been expend- ed, it would have been worth while. For it has resulted in a clear and com- plete statement of the purposes of the Communist organization in this coun- try and of the relations of that or- ganization to the world Communist movement centered at Moscow. It has brought vividly to view the pernicious purpose of the Russian and American leaders, which is to overthrow the ex- isting Government in this country and the substitution in its stead of a Com- munist organization. ‘The report of the committee should be printed in a large edition and spread as widely as possibly over the country. It comprises a comprehen- sive statement of the history of the Communist movement and ‘a tracing of its part in the subversion of govern- ment in Russia, where it is now cen- tered and is, in fact, the actual gov- erning force. It discloses by the frank statements of Communist leaders who were examined by the committee the aims of the American Communists. It reveals the spread of the movement among the organized workers of Amer- ica and the steady increase in the numbers of those who, if not actually paying members of the party, are affl- iated and sympathetic with it. By dint of persistent direct question- ing of those who, in the name of Fom- munism, appeared before it, the com- mittee got to the heart of the purpose of this movement, which is to destroy religion, to destroy private property, to destroy “capitalistic” government. -It gleaned the acknowledgment from the recognized leader of Communism in this country that he and his fellows owe no eallegiance to the American flag, but regard the red flag of Com- munism as the true banner to which loyalty is avowed. It ascertained that the “revolution” for which the Com- munists are preparing and which they are constantly preaching is to be no mere gesture, but a bloody warfare, & physical conflict, a fight to the death. There is at present no legal means ‘whereby this pernicious activity can be arrested. The committee makes no specific recommendations regarding enactments to this end. One member of the committee, in a separate report, urges legislation to enable the Depart- ment of Justice to maintain a close watch over all radical activities, closer administration of the visa system and drastic laws for the deportation of un- desirable allens and rigid postal in- spection of all radical publications. Perhaps the most effective means of arousing the public interest in this matter would be to spread the report, in full, throughout the country. o The word “Relief” now stands out as through & cleaning-up and improve-| One that represents a special kind of ment process that will leave little to be|DI§ business, requiring extraordinary desited. The new office buildings, the|8mounts of capital administered with new arrangement of Mall drives, the| the greatest possible expertnes. roper landscaping of such vast prop- T, Eftics as the open land between the| Fast Ocean Transportation. Capitol and Union Station, the comple-| A real threat to German speed su- tion of the Arlington Memorial Bridge |premacy on the Atlantic marked the and its approaches on this and the|announcement of the French Line that Virginia side of the Potomac, will bring |1t intends to bulld the biggest and fast- added embellishments to an slready|est liner afloat and have it in operation beautiful city, and many of these things | by 1934. More than one thousand feet will have been made possible by the|in length, sccommodating three thou- Congress that soon will close its books.|sand passengers and with a contracted But the alleys—the hidden “back |speed of thirty knots, the proposed yard” of Washington—will remain, un- | French creation will be designed to cap- less favorable action can be taken on| ture the title of “Queen of the Seas,” the bill that has been presented for| held for 5o many yearsbythe Mauretania, their disposal. Behind the shining|the crack ship of the English, and more white stone of new buildings and the|recently by the new Bremen and Eu- grass and trees and flowers of new parks | ropa, ocean greyhounds of the Germans. there will remain the dirt-infested, dis- | Until the coming of the two German ease-spreading and unwholesome atmos- | ships the Mauretania was the undis- phere of the hidden alley communities | puted champion, with a speed of bet- wnat for generations have existed to|ter than twenty-five knots, with none shame the Capital. This will never be|to challenge her. The Bremen, how- the City Beautiful, no matter how many | ever, sister ship of the Europa, on her ‘millions are spent, until the dark places | maiden voyage boiled across the Atlan- that Me concealed in blind alleys are|tic at nearly twenty-elght knots, a eliminated forever. speed greater than the Mauretania It is in & way unfortunate that such could attain even in her heyday. The gn important and in some respects so Europa followed soon after and matched | THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, the speed of her sister ship, thus se- curely establishing German supremacy. For the past three or four yearsplans for American ships of thirty knots er more have been discussed, but without result. With its recent announcement the French Line has evidently taken up the challenge and with its new super- liner, driven by the same electrical pro- pulsion that enabled France to build the fastest destroyer afloat—the Verdun, which two years ago reached the un- precedented speed for ships of its class with forty knots—will make a definite bid to wrest honors from Germany. Fast boats, like fast cars, fast trains and fast airplanes, are expensive to operate, but with the public clamor for speed and speed and more speed, it appears that expense will have to be considered a secondary item. To many persons & few hours saved in the At- lantic crossing is of importance. The same thing applies to railroad and plane travel from point to point in all parts of the world. Consequently, all forms of transportation have been speeded up and the result has been that the present |s generation has been better cared for in | to respect to fast travel than any before it. And s0 it will be with future genera- tions. Speeds of today will seem slow compared to those that will be develop- ed in the next ten, twenty or thirty years. The pace of civilization is ever faster, but man’s ingenuity will meet all demands. The Goddess of Fortune. There are two persons in the world today who can well say “I told you so.” One is & wealthy widow—at least she is now after a period of comparative poverty—and the other is the son of an inventor. Both were scoffed at by their friends for their faith, but now is the time for both to smile with sat- isfaction. The widow is Mrs. Lolita Sheldon Armour, whose late husband, J. Ogden Armour, died almost penniless after losing his two-hundred-million- dollar fortune. The other beneficiary is appropriately named. Carbon Petro- leum Dubbs is the man whose father invented an oil “cracking” process which he and Mrs. Armour believed to be the best of its kind. So there is the romance of faith which character- ized the sale recently of the Universal Oil Products Co., stock ih which at one time was thought to be worthless, but which has netted Mrs. Armour more than eight million dollars for her share and Dubbs nearly four million for his. The Goddess of Fortune does indeed impartially bestow her favors, oo It has long been a humorous custom to typify the Democratic party by the picture of a mule. The ownership of a mule is a question that may come up | peing for discussion. The fact will always remain that, regardless of proprietor- ship, it may prove a hard animal to drive. — . Mention of Charles Dawes as & pos- sibility for the chatrmanship of the |u: Republican National Committee may have been prompted by & suspicion that there may be need of & vocabulary capable of delivering a supply of strong language promptly in case of need. B One of the most important func- tionaries in a politician's office s the secretary who has to keep a scrapbook in order to have his chief constantly informed as to what journalists think he is going to do next. —e—— “Wealth does not insure happiness” is a well worn maxim. Occasionally’ @ movie star whose income has ex- ceeded the wildest dreams of imagi- nation will go out of her way to prove the truth of the old saying. . There are men who would be unable to see the object of accumulating large sums of money if they could not bé used for forms of display that would keep the public entertained and make new friends. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Uncovered Head. Sir Isaac Newton sat Beneath the’ tree. “If I had worn my hat Well lined,” quoth he, “The apple, in its fall, My thoughtful head Might not have felt at alll We might have led A life of greater ease And gathered now Our apples, as we please, ‘With placid brow, Nor let the hours pass by And contemplate On Mathematics High A long debate.” In the Publicity Tide. “A man of your position should be careful about his associations.” “As careful as possible,” agreed Sen- ator Sorghum. “But you can't always decide that kind of a matter for your- self. In order to have your picture in the paper at all, it may be necessary to let it appear along with a display of llustrations relating to proceedings of a coroner’s jury.” Jud Tunkins says a debate is most interesting when it takes a question we thought had been decided and unset- tles it. The Great Inspiration. I wonder what a motion picture star ‘Would be just like If the press agencies, both near and far, All went on strike. Value of an Opinion. “Everybody is entitled to his own opinion.” “Of course,” answered Miss Cayenne. “But you don't always know what to do with a perfectly good opinion unless you can enjoy the lonely satisfaction of writing it on a post card and mailing it to a radio station.” “Riches,” saild Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “are often harshly spoken of. Yet wherever they may go, they are sure to find a welcome.” Hoping for the Worst, Into the room the idlers burst ‘Where homicide left clues, And said, “Oh, let us hear the worst! We dote upon bad news!” “If you does yoh best,” said Uncle Eben, “all you needs foh success is to avold pickin’' out sumpin’ you didn’t know how to do in de fust place.” JANUARY 1 THE SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE BY THE RIGHT ng JAMES ‘The spirit of adventure is characteris- tic of human nature. We are ever pro- Jecting ourselves into new scenes; we are ever seeking for new worlds to con- quer. The whole progress of the race has been registered by those who dared to set forth on uncharted seas in the quest for new continents wherein their genius might find its fullest and freest expression. The laboratory has been the lace in which have been unfolded to the vision of the bold ad- venturer new and wondrous mecha- nisms that have proved of lasting benefit to their fellows. The man of vision has ever been the pioneer, and the pioneer has blazed new trails that have ulti- mately become highways over which the race has attained access to broader fields of useful and extended service. ‘To assume for & moment that the last frontier has been attained and that man is incapable of reaching, through study and experiment, a more advanced position is to assume that the period of nation has set in. When we cease ve the spirit of adventure, when we cease to look forward with assur- ance to larger fields of occupation and human service. we have n the process of decline and decay. ‘The creative periods that have marked our greatest advance have been those in which the daring genius of man has explored hitherto unknown fields. One of the most striking as- pects of this is that these creative pe- riods have very frequently been those of the sternest hardship and misfor- tune. Some of the finest literature in the world has come from the pens of those who were actually suffering. Tennyson, in the midst of his sorrow, writes “In Memoriam”; Victor Hugo and Dante, in exile, give to_the world their choicest contributions; Bunyan, in Bedford Jail; Milton, blind, and Bee- thoven, deaf, produce works that give them immortality. In the field of in- ventive genius, some of our most valued mechanisms and agencies have come ishop of Wash E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, ington. from men who were sore pressed for the means of subsistence. The old aphorism that “necessity is the mother of invention” is very largely true. President Roosevelt maintained that the ploneers of a religious faith had laid the foundations of the Republic. Parkman, in his illuminating histories, tells the graphic story of those brave religious leaders who blazed the trail for an advancing Christian civilization. ‘We_ cannot believe that the checks that have been im upon us in re- cent months can other than stimu- late us to a fresh advance. We may not forget at this time the supreme place that spiritual ideals occupy in inspiring the spirit of adventure. The church of every name has in recent days felt the check imposed upon it, not only by a world-wide depression, but by speculations and doubts that in- evitably characterize such a dej The spirit of adventure has not been as marked of late as in former times. It has been hesitant, overcautious and too conservative. s ‘The hour calls for a more pronounced demonstration of true leadership. The atest adventurer the world has ever nown was the Man of Nazareth. He resisted and combated & conspiracy of forces that from the very outset was bent upon His destruction. This con- spiracy ultimately led Him to Calvary, but there is no evidence in His seem- ing defeat of the failure of His great purpose and design. He has marched majestically down the avenues of time, making fresh conquests, and while His triumph is far from complete, His name is a name above every name. A new spirit of adventure must once again seize and animate us. We must dare to make the present situation an oppor- tunity for advancing the high claims of His kingdom. b “New occasions teach new dutles, Time makes ancient good uncouth; They must upward still and onward Who would keep abreast of truth.” Congress Progressives Hesitate to Block Legislation to Compel an Extra Session BY WILLIAM HARD. Senator David Ignatius Walsh of Massachusetts has drafted and will presently introduce a bill for a Fed- eral b::; issue of btux,ew‘m;‘o.oot; w':e a3pocien upcn pul c works “for the relief of unemployment and for the stabilization of business.” This bill seems destinéd to be one of the pivots around which the question will revolve whether or not the so-called “‘progres- sives” can agree on a legislative pro- gram and can thereupon ee on & policy of forcing the President into the calling of a special session after March 4 next. ‘That the “progressives” in the pres- ent parliamentary situation in the Sen- ate now have the power to compel a special session is certain. The problem of whether they will do it or not is now discussed within their own ranks. Contrary to common supposition, their ranks are not united. There genuinely is no such thing as & senatorial “pro- ive bloc.” There simply are some 0 or 25 Republican and Democratic Senators of varying hues of “progres- sivism” who in almost all instances are highly independent and highly individ- ic in their methods and manners. ‘They are soloists. They are not an orchestra. When they happen all to | play the same tune, it is not a concert but & coincidence. At the present mo- | ment they have no understanding whatsoever among themselves as to what their policies would be if they should find themselves faced with the | necessity for action in a special session. | * ok ok % Most of them, therefore, at this mo- ment do not want a special session. ‘They fear that in it their divisions of views would make them look ridiculous and would by comparison strengthen \:'Eu‘rmldenli’" In the d’n:lntm:ml'ihe Refi cans ane e regular Demoerats in both houses of Congress are overwhelmingly opposed to a spe- cial session for reasons of their own. ‘The regular Republicans op) it be- cause they fear the Democratic strength in the Congress which would assemble after March 4. The regular Democrats | oppose it because they wish the Presi- | dent alone to bear the whole respon- | sibility for whatever economic adversity | may continue to exist in the United | States after March 4. The “progres- sives,” on the other hand, would like a special session if they could con- certedly think of something to do in it that would conspicuously immedi- ately benefit the country and their cause, but so far they have not in unison had the thought. These considerations would seem to eliminate the possibility of a special session, and yet it is not at this week end really entirely eliminated. Out of the clutter of the proceedings here dur- | ing the last few weeks a certain issue | has gradually emerged. This issue 1s a deep-down conflict between the local | taxpayers and the Federal taxpayers of | the country as to the sharing between | them of the public burden of the re- | lieving of distress and of the restoring | of prosperity. b it It is in the light of that conflict that Senator Walsh’s bill for a $1,000,~ 000,000 bond issue has to be considered. 1t is similarly in the light of that same conflict that consideration is attracted by the whole separate bill of Senator Henrik Shipstead of Minnesota for a bond issue of $500,000,000 for the spe- clal purpose of completing the water- ‘way developments of the United States within a concentrated period of five years. At the present time the emergency expenditures of our citles and towns and villages and counties and States for the relief of economic distress and for | the providing of work to the workless are enormously in excess of the cor- responding expenditures of the Federal Government. Senator Walsh states that in his own home city of Clinton, Mass., which has a population of some 14,000, there are today approximately 1,000 persons who are receiving relief from local sources. Similarly extreme situ- ations exist thxou_fl,houc many lons of the country. e emergency char- ities of the local governmen! d their emergency public works amount in cost to a total which so vastly exceeds the effortd of the Federal Government as to seem to most senatorial “progres- sives” to be extremely unbalanced and unfair. They accordingly almost unani- mously tend toward favoring a certain amount of direct relief to the destitute out of Federal funds and also toward favoring a large expansion of Federal public works at the expense of the payers of Pederal taxes. They think that they begin to see in this {ssue an underlying flerce fight be- tween different social elements. Sen- ator Walsh has quite accurately stated their general point of view by saying: * ok ok * “What is all this relief discussion in about? It is about who will pay the bills for relief. When we talk about New York and Arkansas and other cities and States paying the bills, we are saying that the cost of relief must come out of the pockets of a large number of ke relatively poor landowners of this eountry; for the local people who will be called upon to pay taxes for relief in the several States and communities are for the most part the average men and women who are the owners of homes and of other propertief that meet the demands of logal taxation. Thereupon what do these spokesmen mean who say that the Federal Government should not participate? They mean that the wealthy of this country, the individual Federal income taxpayers and the cor- porations which pay Federal income taxes and the importers of foreign goods who provide our customs revenue, shall in respect of a large part of their wealth remain exempt. They mean | that they are going to place on the backs of the small property owners in every municipality and in every State the major portion of the increased taxes for relief, not only this year, but next year. They mean that the States and municipalities which have increased tremendously their budgets for out- door relief to their suffering populations must place almost the entire burden of it upon their own local distressed land- owners and their own local unemployed.” % * % In other words, the conflict, as §en- ator Walsh sees it and states it, is be- tween two classes of taxpayers, one class being relatively poorer and the other relatively richer. Irrespective of the correctness or incorrectness of Sen- ator Walsh's contentions, it can be stated objectively that they illustrate the one deep immediate dividing line which is coming into existence between “progressives” and ‘“conservatives” in both houses of Congress. It represents, further, the eral basis upon which the “progressives” will arrive, if they ever do arrive, at an agreed Yrotnm of legislative policy for a special session. In detail Senator Walsh's bill pro- vides that the $1,000,000,000 in bonds shall be issued at 4 per cent and shall be expended at the discretion of the | President upon public works to be by him designated as needed and as ready for execution. It provides, further, that these public works shall include public buildings and rivers and harbors and “a Nation-wide system of hard-sur- faced postroads connecting the capitals of the several States and the District of Columbia.” (Copyright, 1931 .- Authors Hope for New Copyright Legislation BY HARDEN COLFAX. Hundreds of millions of dollars in the publishing business, the stage and radio broadcasting are involved in the pro- visions of the Vestal copyright bill which was passed by the House of Rep- resentatives last week, with prospects of reaching an early vote in the Senate. Authors, playwrights, artists and com- posers already are hailing victory as the culmination of 20 years of struggle for such legal recognition which will give them protection both at home and abroad. ‘The bill amends the Federal act of March 4, 1909, so as to grant automatic copyright protection to the creators— not the exploiters—of artistic and lit- erary works. In fact, it puts artistic property, as far as possible, on the same basis as any other property. It would become effective immediately and would protect the author or composer during his entire lifetime and for 50 years thereafter. It also permits him to “di- vide” his rights, so that he himself can deal with magazine editors, book pub- lishers, stage producers and “movie” concerns. * ok ok Last, but not least, it provides for the entrance of the United States into the International Copyright Union, through its extension of privileges to foreign artists, authors and composers. In re- turn for this, American artists and writers would 'obtain protection in the more than 40 countries which are now members of the union. Russia and China are the only important countries which have not already taken steps similar to those proposed for the United States. Ever since 1887, when the copyright union was established, efforts have been made to secure the entrance of the United States, and many bills have been introduced in Congress with that end in view. The law replaced by the Vestal act was adopted more than 20 years ago. Since then many new trade prac- tices have sprung up, as well as new mediums of expression, like the movies, the talkies, radio ‘and others. It has been contended that the commercial exploitation of copyrightable material has become the basis of many expand- ing industries and that, under the old law, the author and artist has been under serious disadvantages. * ok x * One of the most important provisions of the new legislation is that it es- tablishes the right immediately upon the creation of the work. There are, to be sure, certain provisions for registra- tion and records, but only as a matter of proof. Once having established his right, it belongs fo the author or artist curing his lifetime and for half a cen- tury afterward. Another pending bill introduced by Representative Vestal provides for transfer from the Patent Office to the Copyright Office of the registration of designs. This was called for by manu- facturers both at home and abroad, who have found the present system very unsatisfactory. It claimed that in many cases not only domestic, but also foreign designs, copled entirely or partially in the United States, were in- fringements of such designs and that often afterward these originals could not secure protection, owing to delays in the Patent Office procedure, until their seasonal value had been lost. A decision by the United States Su- preme Court recently holding that income royalties from the licensing of copyrights may be included in the basis of the New York corporate franchise act indicates some of the ramifications of the vast interests in copyright which will be affected by the proposed new Federal legislation. (Copyrisht, 1931.) —— et Endurance Plus Patience. From the Albany Evening Times. Genius is not only an infinite capacity for taking pains, but an infinite ca- pacity for taking hard knocks. ' 2. _BART TWO. Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. ‘While the aituation regarding the “Missouri ,” some 110 years ago, was not on all fours with the present conflict between the Presi- dent and the Senate of the United States, it established the rule that after papers have been transmit- ted, the action is final, according to Representative Robert Luce of Massa- chusetts, author of standard works on lte%hhtlve bodies and legislative pro- cedure. “In that year (.820),” mm-enhuve Luce writes, “Congress furnished a no- table instance of the questionable use to which may be put r ns on the time of to reconsider. By a trick rarely equaled in parliamentary procedure, Henry Clay saved his Mis- souri com| , Or at any rate, guard- ed it from danger. The bill had passed the House March 2. On the morning of the 3d, John Randolph, having voted with the majority, moved reconsidera- tion. Clay, as Speaker, ruled the mo- tion out of order ‘until the ordinary business of the morning, as prescribed by the rules of the House, should be disposed of.” “When at last that business was out of the way and Randolph renewed his , Clay informed him the bill had gone to the Senate, The fact was that Sehaie while C1ay was it Randolpn's 'nal WS lolph's motion out of o]raor.mn is ng;. 'urprlai flame quarrel involved the two men, developl the bitterest enmity and almost Randolph . The practice of the House was later changed so as to allow the motion to reconsider to be made at any moment within the prescribed time.” * ok ok % ‘The significance of the approaching Sesquicentennial Celebration at York- town has been brought to the attention of Congress and the world at large by Representative Schuyler O. Bland, who represents the Yorktown and Jamestown district in the House. He pointed out that the exposition at Philadelphia com- memorated the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Inde- pendence. Bunker Hill, Bennington, the independence of Vermont, Saratoga and the surrender of Burgoyne, capture of Vincennes by George Rogers Clark, the Battle of Kings Mountain and the work of the Continental Congress at York, Pa., have also been commem- orated, he said, in an appropriate man- ner. He pointed to the recent tercen- tenary celebration of the Massachusetts Bay colony, in which Congress notably co-operated. In )}en:z exercises will be held through- out the United States to commemorate the 200th lnl:l'}vemnrllryma{ the birth of Gen. George Wasl n. The crowning event of Washington’s military career was the victory which he won at Yorktown. This glorious culmination of Washington's military service came exactly four months and three days before his fiftieth birthday annjversary. The 150th anniversary of the surrender of Yorktown and the permanent establishment of American independence will precede by four months and three days the Nation-wide celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great soldier whose genius created this Nation, Representa- tive Bland emphasized. ‘The year of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Washington's birth will also be the 325th anniversary of the establishment at Jamestown, Va., of the first permanent English settlement in the New World. ‘These_reasons impelled the Congress of the United States to creaf tional commission to prepare and re- port a plan and a program for the commemoration of the siege and sur- render at Yorktown. This sesquicen- tennial commission consists of five Sen- ators of the United States and five members of the House of Representa- tives. The Senators are: Swanson of Virginia, chairman: Reed of Pennsylva- nia, Bingham of Connecticut, Town- send of Delaware and Wagner of New York. The House members are Repre- sentatives Bacon, New York; Fitzgerald, Ohio; Stobbs, Massachusetts; Byrns, ‘Tennessee, and Crisp of Georgia, who is vice chairman of the commission. ‘The commission has recommended a four-day celebration, with exercises along the same general lines as the centennial celebration at Yorktown in 1881, consisting of educational and commemorative exercises, assemblages of patriotic sncieties and military and naval reviews and parades. * k¥ ¥ Congress has meanwhile authorized the creation of the Colonial National Monument, which will consist of Jamestown, part of Willlamsburg and the battlefleld at Yorktown, with a highway connecting those points. ke wik Representative Bland recalls that the eloquent Winthrop of Massachusetts de- livered the oration at the centennial celebation in 1881, standing upon the last scene of Washington’s glorious military endeavors, when he said: “‘While the Coliseum stands, Rome shall stand,’ was the familiar proverb of antiquity. We associate the dura- bility of our free institutions with no material structure. Columns and obelisks, statues and monuments, con- secreated halls and stately capitols may crumble and disappear; the little St. John’s Church in Virginia, where Patrick Henry exclaimed, ‘Give me lib- erty or give me death’; the old State House, where James Otis ‘breathed into this Nation the breath of life’; the Old South Church, Faneuil Hall, in Boston, Carpenter’s Hall and the Hall of Inde- pendence, at Phludzalg , one after another, may be sacrificed to the im- rovement of a thoroughfare, or fall be- fore the inexorable elements; but when the character and example of Wash- ington shall have lost their hold upon the hearts of the people, when his pre- cepts shall be discarded and his prin- ciples disavowed and rejected, we may then begin to fear, if not to despair, for the perpetuity of our Union and of our freedom.” . The same thought was expressed near- 1y 50 vears later by another great orator of the American ple, Representative James M. Beck of Pennsylvania, speak- ing on the floor of the House as Repre- sentative on the 107th anniversary of ‘Washington's birthday, when he 4 “Let us reverently of our fathers that Washingto: ence is still a shining light. It illumi- nates as none others the soil of Amer ca. It is today, as it has ever been, a vital force. From his grave in Mount Vernon he still guides the destinies of the American people. When the seas are smooth, we little feel his presence, but when the ship of state plunges into a storm and is threatened by angry seas, his mighy shade is again our helmsman. “The Arthurian legend tells us that King Arthur sleeps at Avalon, but that he will come again and unsheath his sword if ever England were in desperate need. “Our Arthur, bravest of the brave and Trials of an Information Burealf, : & BY FREDERIC A long time ago a man by the name of Pope discovered that to err is human. ‘ At any rate, if he did not make the dis- | covery, he was the one to speak about it in the most widely quoted phrase on the subject, and the difector of an in- formation service can bear witness that he gave utterance to a profound truth. ‘To err is human, and a surprising num- ber of people who ask questions are de- cidedly human. ‘This is by way of saying that man: those who send in inquiries on various subjects make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the information bu- reau to give them the service it is anx- ious to render, and they do this by mak- ing wholly unnecessary mistakes. These errors are errors both of omis- sion and commission. Those in the first class are wholly inexcusable and are explainable only on the grounds of carelessness. For example, out of the thousands of letters received every week a formidable percentage will bear no signature, or no address, or an incom- plete or insufficient address. Yet each and every writer of these letters expects a personal reply, and expects it by re- turn mail!l Moreover, each one will be ready to make affidavit that his letter ‘was complete in every respect. Another error of omission that would be almost unbelievable were it not for the records of the Dead Letter Office of the Post Officc Dej ent is that of writing a letter, placing it in an en- velope, affixing a stamp, and then drop- ping it in the mail box without any ad- dress whatever on the envelope. Those of | the general strike, is understood to favor ‘who do that ilkewise are prone to expect the impossible—an answer to a letter that never gets anywhere because it never started anywhere—except to the Dead Letter Office. Absentmindedness, carelessness, undue haste are the only possible explanations of this error, but no explanation eases the trouble that is caused. Writing That Can't Be Read. Pirst of the errors of commission is illegible writing. Questions that cannot be read obviously cannot be answered, and signatures and addresses that are wholly or partially undecipherable mul- tiply the trials and tribulations of an information bureau. Of course, if a person cannot write & hand sufficiently clear to be read that is unfortunate—“Just too bad!" as the slangster would say. However, it is surprising, and provocative as well, how many who manifestly can write clearly do write illegibly. In- deed, it is often the “fancy” penman who seems to delight particularly in turning out a signature that defles translating, whereas most people whose penmanship is naturally poor contrive to make their writing legible. Much of the troublesome writing that is received is due to haste and care- lessness—and perhaps a little lack of consideration. ‘Then there is the individual who complains to his editor that he has written three times—they invariably say three—for an answer to a question or a booklet and has never received a reply. Experience indicates that to be an error of veracity. It is E;ncucully impossible for such a thing to happen to one person within the period of a few weeks or months. One letter mailed first-class might go astray, or J. HASKIN. be lost in the office celved, but the law of averages pre. cludes that happening three times in succession to the same person. Purthermore, since the sol . clf| an irar‘ormnuon“ burem‘x‘ is fs serve the reading public, it is & hit .un, {hiokabte that The baresu would Wriel a letter. It wouldn't last long as & newspaper institution if ft did. Complaints that such things do hap- pen are, fortunately for one's faith in his fellows, comparatively rare. More fre- quent is the complaint from the reader who does not realize how much time it takes for letters to go back and forth, or how much research work may be required to answer the ques- tions asked. A little patience is a wonderful lubricant to the machine that must operate between Washington and all parts of the United States. Questions That Shouldn’t Be Asked. An information bureau is precisely what its name proclaims it to be; it gathers and distributes information of a factual character. Hence it should not be called upon to answer a wide range of questions that nevertheless it is constantly receiving. Advice is not information. Whether it is advice as to personal relations, as to medical or legal matters, as to poli- tics, or as to investments, 1t is not with- in the purview of an information serv- ice. The bureau cannot tell an un- happy wife what she should do when she writes that she knows her husband drinks too much and suspects him of even graver derelictions. It can mnot tell a lovelorn youth how he can awaken a reciprocal affection in the heart of the f?lr one who persists in giving him the air. It can tell an inquirer what the di- vorce laws of any State are, but it can- not advise him as to whether he has grounds for divorce, or whether he should attempt a reconciliation. It can tell a reader what dividends a certain listed stock or bond pays, but it cannot advise hom as to whether it would be a good safe mnvestment. In- vesting money calls for the advice of a sound and trusted banker. Matters of opinion likewise are not . information. The bureau cannot an- swer a question such as whether a pub- lic official is right or wrong in a given stand he has taken, or whether So-and- So is a_good Republican or Democrat. Last, but not least, there are guestions that should not be asked because uki:fi them is not strictly ethical. First of are the questions that pupfls in school . are asked to answer as a part of their school work. Such questions are asked to test the intelligence and scholastic progress of the pupil—not of the in- - formation bureau. ' Second are the questions that arise through the innumerabie contests that are being carried on all the time in all parts of the country. These contests are * for prizss, more or less valuable, and it is intended that the winners should through their own cleverness or in= genuity. It defeats the purpose of the contests if the answers are secured through an information bureau. And, a parting word—don't, please don't, write on both sides of a sheet of paper! And, as to that erring business, an in- formation bureau is not infallible. It is made up of people who also are human. British Conservatives Summoned to Conflict BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, January 17.—Parliament reassembles on Tuesday, after the Christmas vacation, in circumstances of extreme anxiety. The urgency of Stan- ley Baldwin’s summons to his party to | rigorous attendance is taken to indicate a determined intention on the part of the Conservatives to overthrow the La- bor government at the earliest oppor- tunity. A crisis is expected to arise immedi- ately with the introduction of the trades disputes bill, the purpose of which is to undo legislation enacted by a Conserva- tive government after the general strike of 1926. The object of that legislation was to restrict the compulsory character of the political levy by the Labor party on the members of trade unions and to make illegal any sympathetic strike adtion in the interests of a general strike. ; Premier MacDonald will introduce a bill reversing this law, in fulfillment of his party program, but he is aware that the issue is en unfavorable one for a general election, for the mind of the country is still under the dominion of bitter ‘memories of the 1926 general strike. ) ol ‘The issue deg:ndl on the attitude of the Liberals, who are on the horns of a dilemma. On the one hand, a large sec- tion of the party is hostile to the main provisions of the bill, whose most for- midable legal opponent probably will be Sir John Simon. On the other hand, many Liberals do not desire to force an election, the results of which would be the installation in office of the Con- servatives, with a protection policy. Lloyd George himself, breach with Lord Asquith occurred through his veiled support of Labor in| a second reading of the bill and its amendment jn committee. But Baldwin calculates on such a division in the Liberal ranks that it will enable the Conservatives to defeat the government nd go to the country ‘on a most favor- able issue. * ok ok X \ Meanwhile the question of the Ameri- can debt, which is always simmering, has boiled over into an open contro- versy between Lloyd George and the | supporters of Baldwin. In a recent| London hewspapér interview Lloyd George attacked Baldwin for neglect- ing to protect the interesfs of the coun- try in arranging the terms of repay- ment, declaring that “the headlong ac- tion of Mr. Baldwin in 1923, in spite of the desperate protests of his own chief, Bonar Law, is largely responsible for the financial difficulties with which the nation is confronted at the present mo- ment.” Thereupon the London Times published extracts from an article signed by Lloyd George and written for an American newspaper syndicate in February, 1923, enthusiastically in- dorsing the Baldwin settlement with America as identical with the attitude of the late government, of which he— Lloyd George—was the head, and de- claring that no party had risen or was likely to arise which would disagree with Baldwin’s action. * Lloyd George replied on Friday, ad- mitting he wrote the article, but stating it was written at sea, with only the bare wireless announcement of the fact guide him. He said that immedi- ately on reaching England and seeing knightliest of the knightly, sleeps at Mount Vernon, but whenever disaster menaces our institutions, the American people again become conscious of his potent influence, and while that influ- ence remains the republic will endure.” —————————— Easy Sheet. From the Fort Worth Record-Telegram. Moving onto Easy Street is a disap- pointing procedure. One has to leave people who are genuinely sorry to s: one go and enter a community that frankly dislikes to see one arrive. o This Lulling Truce. From the Ban Bernardino Sun. Observing how that political armi- the details of the settlement he wrote another article-for the same syndicate, saying: '“A cold shiver ran down the back of iand when it was an- nounced officlally that the British gov- ernment had definitely agreed to pay over £30,000,000 sterling for 60 years to the United States with re to debts incurred in behalf of the allies, without seeking a contribution from Britain's debtors to protect the taxpayers of this country.” The article, he said, insisted e | that Great Britain, while paying her| own legitimate debts, ought not to be saddled with the debts of less highly taxed continental :ountrle!. X e ‘The public has been a good deal amused by this example of Lloyd eorge’s infallible system of reinsurance stice is working at Washington, a fel- low sort o' wonders what it would be like if they started fighting. Taking No Chances. Prom the Ann Arbor Daily News. With this efficlency expert in charge of the destinies of Monte Carlo, we pre- sume the goddess of chance will be re- to pudiated. election realized Tgxmt contingencies on every subject. incident is significant of the cease- less undercurrent of feeling in regard to the war debt question and the pres- ;::z v‘e'ndency for discussion of the sub- win’s h of forcing .election be e main issues are%pot likely be financial, but India, op which the country is with the government, uhospere it shoud Baid |1 Fifty Years Ago In The Star “Our Navy doesn't amount to much, - as every one knows,” says The Star of Great Britain's January 18, 1881, “but what there is of Costly Navy it costs a good deal, likewise. On as every one knows - the principle that misery loves company it is some com-_ fort, however, to know that in proportion to the amount of money ' paid some other countries are no-better off in this respect than ourselves. Eng-'’ land is an example. One of her crack* thips, the Bellerophon, which was buflt’ 15 i'cears ago at a cosc of $1,780,000, and which has since been repaired at an expense of $500,000, is now being over- hau}:xeledt;t ;!ntouthy b\?llt” > An- other, the Hatspur, built only 10 years ago at a cost of $880,000, ‘flfll‘!llr:eh‘ld $80,000 spent on her for repairs and is | now in dock for a second refit, to cost $400,000. A third, the Defence, which * cost originally $1,250,000, has since been * refitted at an outlay of $850,000, while the Sultan, which wag launched no longer than 1870 at a cost of $1,875,000 ' and has since received repairs amount- ing to $325,000, is again docked for an outlay of $425,000. The Shah left her ways a new ship only seven years ago. She cost originally $1,250,000, has had $140,000 expended on her since then and is now being overhauled a second time at an estimated expense of $200,- 000, which will probably be largely in- creased before she is sent to sea again. The Amethyst is another case. She cost $385,000 only seven years ago and is now in dock for her second overhauling, which will amount, with the one previ- ously had, to nearly half her original | cost, or $170,000. The most brilliant | passages of Mr. Robeson’s late admin- | istration of our naval affairs could hard- whose final | 1y surpass this record, which, it is need- less to say. is attracting a “good deal of attention in England just now.” . ‘The prospect of the assumption of work by the Government on_ the Poto- The Future of the ap LR at Washington Reclaimed Flats. stimulated sug- gestions of the use to which the redeemed area should be put. The Star of January 19, 1881, says: “In any plan for the reclamation of the Potomac flats the work should be done by the Government, and the land reclaimed should belong to 'Govern- ment. It should be made a continua- tion of the Government grounds now extending from the Capitol to the river at the Monument Lot. This added ground could be utilized to beautify the city and for Government use. Prof, Baird would no doubt be very glad to have a portion of it for fish ponds and lakes, and these sheets of water, sur- rounded by trees and shrubberies, could be made very ornamental. With a series of drives in connection with those now existing in the Armory, Smith- sonian, Agricultural, Monument and White House grounds, this present un- inviting region of the river flats would become a most attractive resort. The Government_should never give up this ground to a‘private company or to in- dividuals, but should always maintain contrel over the river front of the Capital City. Should this ground get into the possession of private partles, it will almost inevitably be used in a way to make it a disagreeable feature if not a positive nuisance upon the city front. Almost inevitably the bone-boil- ing, soap-fat, asphalt-refining estab- lishments would find their way to this locality, and it would become just such a nuisance to Washington as Hunters Point is to New York, with the added lgglvm.lon that it would be situated right in the neighborhood of the White House and as the prevailing winds in the Summer are from the south and southwest the offensive fumes and vapors would be wafted over the main part of the city.” o The Year Is a Complete Hoodoo. From the San Antonio Evening News. Folk who a year ago were dismayed to discover that the digits in 1930 add- ed up to 13 are horror stricken to ob- serve that '31 backward is also the hoodoo number. and the general despair in to unemployment and trade condif in ns?ecv. to which feeling is overwhelm- Ingly hostile to the government. If on the trade dispuf he chosen the worst horse in the mhlo.hu (Copyright, 1981.)