Evening Star Newspaper, January 19, 1931, Page 8

{THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. 'AI'IIGTOI, D. C. - MONDAY. .January 19, 1031 THEODORE W. NOYES. ... Editor The Evening Star ".fi". Company Mi 1 ’.Wfingg Ave - gl 8’53;..1..‘:'%3."52: Rate by Carrier Within the City. N e T e bonts 606 per month Soes 1t) Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. ind and Vlrrh;oh. Ballz afy Sncer oy titen: e Bie $4.00: 1 mo., 40c All ‘0% States ly D ¥ % and Ca The, Assoclated Press is exclusively 8o the use for republication, of wil e fatenes credited to it lted in this paper and :;'fil:"‘fl st Al righ 1 dispatches herein Upholding & Principle. Under the leadership of President Hoover the Nation is rising to meet the drought and unemployment situation. A special committee, including fore- most men and women of the coun- &y, has been appointed by the Chief Executive to head the drive for $10,- 000,000, the sum deemed necessary to grant relief to those unable to obtain the necessaries of life. Former Pres- ident Calvin Coolidge has been named honorary chairman, with John Barton Payne, head of the American Red Cross, as chairman. Alfred E. Smith, former Governor of New York; John W. Davis of New York, Gen. John J. Pershirig, and Gen. Abel Davis of Chi- cago are the vice chairmen of this committee. In the face of persistent demands from the Senate coalition for an appro- priation of $25,000,000 out of the Fed- eral Treasury, the call for contribu- tions to the $10,000,000 has brought slim results to date. The attitude of the people has been one of hesitancy. ‘Why contribute to the relief fund if Uncle S8am finally is to take the money raised in taxes and buy food and cloth- ing for the sufferers? The appoint- ment of the special committee by the President to head the Red Cross drive puts a different aspect upon the situa- tion. It is clear that the Chief Exec- utive does not intend to yield the prin- eiple for which he has contended—the relief of suffering by the people of the -Nation through voluntary contribution. The President’s letter inviting member- ship in the special committee calls at- fention to “a national emergency” and urges that “the American way of meeting such s relief problem has been through To do otherwise would, indeed, be to erush the spirit which for so many @encies, to help relieve suffering. dole from the Federal Government would be a precedent that would rise in the end to make a mock of efforts to raise funds for worthy purposes through voluntary contribution. What has caused a paralysis of the giving nerve of the American people since the call for the $10,000,000 went forth a few days ago? The prospect of action by the PFederal Government, nothing else. How easy, should the Federal Treasury now pour out the funds for relief, to eall upon the same agency in the fu- ture for relief in all kinds of emergen- cles! How easy to sound the death knell of the American Red Cross itself and the great spirit of giving in the American people! ‘The special committee has been ap- pointed. It will go forward with its appointed task. Its members have al- ready accepted the call to service. The country will rally behind it. It is the better course. SR No haste was shown by Gen. Pershing in getting his story of the World War before the public. The subject is one calling for thoughtful deliberation. His method of discussing it affords knowl- edge of the character of the man, as well as of the events in which he was 80 closely concerned. . ——— ‘There will be a large amount of in- terest in any grievance Al Capone may assert when he decides to regulate his affairs in & manner that will permit him to write communications over the signature, “Taxpayer.” ———— A social war is the only kind of con- flict that can be welcomed as being more amusing than terrible. Lindbergh's Enduring Fame. It is nearly four years since Col. Lind- bergh winged his way across the Atlan- tic, but the world is still pinning medais on Yesterday at the Prench em- , in the midst of a particularly graceful gesture of courtesy, Ambassador Claudel, in the name of the republic, decorated “Lindy” with the red ribbon and trophy of the Legion of Honor. It becomes a worthy addition to the load of distinctions which have adorned his modest bosom in gathering numbers since 1927. The ace of all hearts is sure to count membership in the Legion among the most cherished of his sou- wvenirs, for it was founded essentially as & reward for valor. Ambassador Claudel, in the classic ac- cents that always mark his too infre- qQuent public utterances in the United BStates, appropriately bracketed the names of his gallant flying compatriots Coste and Bellonte, with the name of cated the Lindbergh epic. Their proud country having bestowed the Legion of Honor upon them, M. Claudel pointed out that Prance believes that the ploneer of the transatlantic air route is entitled to “share” in the distinction. In inviting Lindbergh to join the Legion immortals, France recognizes his enduring fame. It is a sure test of re- nown in an era of fleeting fancies when a men on whose shoulders fame has perched is able to go his way, contin- uously, with that elusive dove still roost- ing there. “Lindy” gives every sign of doing so. Men who walk humbly gen- erally retain their comradeship with glory. House Rules. Periodically there arises a demand for a reform of the rules of the House of Representatives. The demand is al- ways for more liberal rules; rules that will permit the individual member of the House greater leeway to get before the House legislative measures in which he is interested. Such a demand is ad- vanced now by a considerable number of the House members, who féel that the fate of too much legislation rests under . | present conditions with a few leaders, including the Speaker, the chairman of - | the Rules Committee and one or two others. The opinion is advanced that the leaders among the Republicans of the House are prepared to make certain concessions to the progressive Republi- cans in connection with the rules, pro- vided the insurgents are willing to line up with the Republicans in the or- ganization of the House in the next Congress. The insurgents will hold the balance of power in any event. ‘The House has a membership total- ing 435, plus the Delegates and Com- missioners from Territorics and posses- sions of the United States. It is obvious that it would be impossible for that body to do business without more or less rigid rules. Such a rule as that of the Senate, for example, which per- mits unlimited debate would render the House entirely inoperative and fu- tile. There is, however, a proper meas- ure of freedom which should beé in- cluded in the rules of the House, grant- ing & majority of that body the right at all times to rule Indeed, there are plenty of members today who will in- sist that the majority in the House always cortrols. That was the conten- tion of the late “Uncle Joe” Cannon, for many vears Speaker and frequently referred to as the “Czar” of the House. ‘There was a revolt against “czarism” in the House Auring the Cannon regime, and the rules were amended finally so as to curtall the powers of the Speaker. Now the effort is to curtail the powers of the Rules Committee, as well as of the Speaker and the floor leader of the majority. Among the pro- posals advanced is one which would enable the House to vote on the dis- charge of a standing committee from further consideration of a bill, pro- vided a petition to discharge be signed by one hundred members of the House. Under the existing rules such a peti- tion must be signed by one hundred and fifty members. | conspicuous Still another proposal would make it possible for the majority of a standing committee of the House to hold a meeting of the committee to consider legislation, even though the chairman of the committee did not call such a meeling and there was no specified regular day for meetings of that com- mittee. The charge is made that chair- men of committees have arbitrarily prevented consideration of bills referred to their committees by the simple ex- pedient of never calling their commit- tees together, A third proposal would make 1%, possible to discharge the Com- mittee on Rules from further consid- erat'on of a special rule for handling & particular plece of legislation and bring that rule before the House for consideration. The charge is made that too many measures which might have the support of a majority of the House today are pigeonholed by the action of the leaders, tied up in committee, in conference, or before the Rules Committee. A casein point is the Couzens resolution, passed by the Senate last session, which would prevent further consolidation of rail- roads under the transportation act, ug- til Congress has had a chance to pass upon them. Still another is the Muscle Shoals matt:r, hung up for months “in conference” between the two houses. Representative Crisp, Geqrgia, Demo- crat, has submitted amendments to the rules to effect these proposed reforms. His particular aim is to shear the Rules Committee of its great powers and make it, as he says, the servant instead of the master of the House. Party control in the House has al- ways been far stronger than in the Senate, due to the more rigid governing rules. ‘The party which organizes and controls the next House will have to determine whether it wishes to break down this party control. It is not a matter which will be lightly under- taken. While the Republicans are in control of the House today, it is well understood that the Democrats may be in possession tomorrow. : ———.——— Leadership in Russia 1s a dangerous responsibility. Only a man with Stalin’s fearless indifference to any opinion save his own could have been persuaded to undertake it. ——————— The March of the Centuries. The fall of a great mass of rock at Niagara is a reminder that this cata- ract, the age of which is calculated at from thirty to fifty thousand years, is in & constant state of recession toward Lake Erfe. This dislodgement of rock, estimated at a million cubic feet, is the greatest within the memory of living men. It is probably indeed the greatest in several centuries. Yet erosion at the brink of the fall s incessant and in the course of the past three-quarters of a century doubtless a greater mass has in the aggregate fallen from the edge to the chasm below. This erosior has been more noticeable and rapid on the | Canadian side at the Horseshoe Fall {than on the American side, where this | Iatest break occurred. The rate of re- cession on the American side has been estimated at less than an inch a year, while on the Canadian or Horseshoe side it has been from two to four inches annually. Lindbergh. “Your visit to France,” re- marked M. Clandel fnst hefore herin. boning the Lone Eagle, “was to us a chal- Jenge, but it was also a lesson.” Then the Amigssador recalled how France' own “two grest space conquerors, Coste ad ‘Belionte,” fiying west, had dupii- ‘The latest fall of rock has cut & U- shaned segment about one hundred and ffty feet wide and two hun- dred feet 'p, somewhat west of the{gcenter. Fhe material is reported to be visible a8 & ple of of the Falls similar to that which is in evidence below Luna Island, the little bit of land remaining on the crest just east of Goat Island. This break suggests the possibility that further rifts may occur which may cause a very material change in the aspect of the American Falls, perhaps removing Luna Island itself. Between the main land and Goat Island are several small fragments of the original surface, one of which is used as an abutment for the bridge giving access to Goat Island. If the American Falls is in process of com- paratively rapid change it may assume & horseshoe form similar to that on the Canadian side. ‘The last preceding great fall of rock at Niagara was that of eighty years ago, when the famous “table rock” fell into the gorge. That, however, was not & part of the parapet itself, but was a ledge overhanging the chasm, forming a remarkable vantage point from which the falls were viewed. Its collapse was due, it is belleved, not to erosion at the base, but to the con- stant vibration occasioned by the tre- mendous pounding of the cataract. Geologists are not altogether agreed as to the precise history of Niagara nor as to the exact course followed in the cutting of the channel which has for countless centuries carried the great current of the waters of four great lakes, reservoir of more than one-half of the fresh water in the world. 1t is, however, generally accepted that when the flow began toward the Atlantic the continent was several thousand feet higher above the ocean level than it is today and these waters found their vent to the eastward with a more furious rush than now, breaking through from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario somewhat along the line of then existing streams, but marking. out new channels, break- ing down barriers, eroding beds through varying strata until the chasm that we now know as Niagara was formed with the brink of the fall far to the North near Lake Ontario. Steadily it has gone back toward Lake Erle, mile after mile, in the course of the centuries, and now, as this latest fall of rock at- tests, it is continuing in this course, and some day—unless man meanwhile completely impounds the waters for his own uses—it will reach the lske, prob- ably stabilizing in a series of grand cascades. ————— Speaking like a true New Yorker, Mayor James Walker says a few nights’ rest in Manhattan will restore his health more rapidly than a long vacation trip. A slight case of nerve strain is not likely to be readily cured under condi- tions involving & serious attack of home- sickness. One of the responsibilities now con- fronting citizenship is that of getting rid of Communists without giving them the chance to appear as martyrs. ——r———————— National prosperity is now to be dem- onstrated by the punctuality with which an extraordinary emergency calling for relief can be met. — e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNBON. The Aggressive Benefactor. Each mortal that you meet As you travel down the street Will tell you he is busy with a plan ‘Which, he hasn't any doubt, ‘Will in course of time work out In ways to benefit his fellow man. It may be a weapon neat For warriors when they meet. He'll present it to his own special clan. Great good he means to do, Even though he kills & few. It’s all to benefit his fellow man., When Gangsters Go Too Far. “Something must be done to stop the gangsters.” “Unquestionably,” answered Senator Sorghum. “If they get much further they'll have money enough as well as sufficient nerve to get into the field with candidates of their own.” ““They will soon destroy one another.” “Certainly. But no one likes the idea of having & man ‘taken for a ride’ in a political band wagon. Cruel Attack. ‘The radio singer struck high C And those who heard assert ‘That when she struck it there could be No doubt that it had hurt. Jud Tunkins says he went to see show that he disapproved of so strongly that he warned his neighbors against it; and they all bought tickets. The Great Historic Game, Of course, it's very sad indeed That statesmen must in quarrels mix. Yet without strife, it is agreed, ‘There’d be no zest in politics.. And they who see from day to day The rhetoricians throwing bricks Will sigh, “Life has to be that way! The one great sport is politics!” Partial Comprehension. “Do you mean to tell me that you understand the Einstein theory?” “Only art of it,” answered Miss Cayenne. t's & fine idea to tell peo- ple you have something great on your mind and then refuse to explain be- cause you are sure they can't under- | boy. stand it.” “Deception,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is easily managed if you are content to be one of those whose vanity enables them to deceive them- selves.” Rough Experiences. ‘The citizen upon & jury served, Where testimony was exceeding grim, And wondered when he went his way unnerved If home folks would associate with him. “If T bet on a hoss dat done lef’ me broke,” sald Uncle Eben, “I'd jes' hang around hopin’ dat mebbe I'd git a little friendly consideration when de ‘Be kind to Dumb Animals week’ come round ag'in.” e o Going Up! From the Jackson Citizen Patriot. Upward might well be the motto of New York City. It has the highest bulldings on earth and now has raised the minimum height of its patrolmen one-half inch. Discriminating. From the Beattle Daily Times. A In advertising its advantages e puniichy B that. 1t will attract Ifllfll& but not hitch- vast fragments at the bese hikers, BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. The detective tale has come into Lx:mlnence in the United States in the t 10 years not so much because any- thing new has been done with it, as be- cause of the large quantities in which it has been published. ‘The writing of detective stories has become a fashion, so that the book stores are loaded with them. The as- tonishing thing is that most of them are very well done. But they are not anything new in the realm of fiction. If any one, in the pride of modern- ity, belleves that they are, we take pleasure in referring them to “L’Affaire Lerouge,” generally translated “The Le- rouge Affair,” written by a Frenchman, Emile Gaboriau, and first published in a Parisian newspaper in 1866. That was & long time ago. Devout readers of this type of fiction will re-, call that Poe in this country had al ready written his few but famous d tective tales, notably the “Murders irr the Rue Morgue.” Conan Doyle was not to begin to write until 20 years later. We promise any one who has not read “The Lerouge Affair” a real treat, not only in respect to a good example of the typical “detective-story” style, but also as a French novel. In reading this book recently, it was this latter which struck us most. Just what there is so_distinctive about the way the French write we have never been able to unravel to our complete satisfaction, although we have attempted to do it several times and have read many so- lutions by other hands. When all is said and done, may not the real charm of French fiction rest on the fact that the French novel is not written “on the level of the 13- year-old,” but is written by adults for adults? There was a long period in this country and in England when it was tacitly agreed by all readers that noth- Ing should be printed which would “bring a blush of shame,” as it was phrased, to the cheek of childhood. It was commonly overlooked that there were many facts in life which would, indeed, bring this blush to the cheeks of the inexperienced, whether child or not, but which had no such effect upon the more hardended epidermis of those adults who were willing to “see life whole”—and see it clean. - To such life is life, “and knowledge is to the glory of the French writers that they have written in this belief, with the result that men and women of discretion, in their later years, turn with relief to an honest, & fair and an interesting depiction of life as they know it themselves. No, it is not for children. It is too frank for them, as a family discussion behind closed doors is too frank. But that the peak of it is vile, smutty or indiscreet, only the person with the mentality of a typical 13-year-old could believe or assert. French fiction, of course, not been free from its abuses. Abuses occur in the best regulated familles and nations, which from our standpoint may be considered as families of writers. But the grand names of French litera- ture stand out as beacons of honesty and truth. This is the way men and women are, we say to ourselves, If you don't like them this way, then you don't like men and women. * Ok K % “The Lerouge Affair” is so written that the reader has time, in addition to enjoying & good mystery, to detect for himself certain graces which he would look for in vain in any of the scores of detective stories being written today. Modern writers are so intent on being clever, in many instances, that they forget to be human. Having in their mind's eye the whole range of this type of fiction, lhziyn are so de- termined to “do something different” that they forget that the basic com- modity they are serving up, humanity, is as old as the hills. Our Gaboriau, being a pioneer, did not feel it incumbent on him to strain to be clever. He simply wrote, and in so doing did not forget that he was writing about real men and women for real man and woman readers. The re- sult is that “The Lerouge Affair” gives us not only mystery, but one of the first of the “unusual detectives,” M. ‘Talbaret, an old man, who takes up the work for the pleasure there is in it for him. If the reader did not know the date of publicafion of this story, he might think the idea an imitation from our own S. 8. Van Dyne! But he may feel sure that if Van Dyne had invented Monsleur Talbaret, or M. Lecoq, those gentlemen would scarce have been the real human beings they are. This statement is no reflection upon our modern author. He is a product of his age. His bright young—and bored— detective is almost inhuman. He even does not speak like a human being. It is as if his creator had mused to him- self, “Now, let me see, Poe had such- and-such a detective, and Gaporiau had his Lecog, and Doyle h: Holmes, and all the rest of them have their pets, what in the thunder shall I create?” * Well, he didn’t create much, it must be confessed. The worth of such stories as the “Canary” and “Greene” murder cases lles solely in a complicated and effectively concealed solution. The whole trend of the present phase of detective story telling is along lines of cleverly concealed crimes which defy the reader to solve them before the last page or two. Gaboriau _worked under no such handicap. Just as often in a real mur- der case, many persons hit on the right solution by instinct, and are “right,” without proof or even reason, 50 he worked out “The Lerouge Affair” in such a manner that the ordinarily shrewd reader is able to know the real criminal long before the detective him- self stumbles onto him. This, of course, is one recognized way of doing it. It permits the reader to feel & bit superior, and to read forward with supreme interest, not alone to see “how things turn out,” but above all to see if he, himself, was correct in his deductions. In addition to presenting the reader with an excellent tale of this type, “The Larouge Affair” gives him the typical humanity of the human French novelist. The reader who likes to un- derscore good lines will find much play for his pencil here, He will be delight- ed with the quoted words of an illus- trous duke, who sald: “I pay my lackeys to be insolent, to save myself the trouble and ridicule of being so.” Any one who has met discourtesy from office boys or other underlings will rec- ognize the worth in that. His pencil will underline, too, the words of description applied to the young vicomte, who has his counter- part_throughout the. world. “He is one of the fortunate ones who arrive without having to start.” ‘And maybe he will have had enough experience in life to recognize some friend or other in the following de- scription of the doctor hurt by life: “He still wishes, and more than ever, has | to acquire distinction, but he no longer expects any pleasure from his success. He used up that feeling in the days when he had not wherewith to pay for his dinner. No matter how great his fortune may be in the days to come, he has already pald too dearly for it. For him success is only a kind of revenge.” Now isn't that good? No one but a Frenchman would dare to bare a human soul so on paper. At least, no one_does. The reader also will recognize this person: “She has looked at everything, but then she looks through her own pretty glasses which show her every- thing as she would wish it, and which are to be obtained of dealers in {l- lusions.” Many a reader, no doubt, will find his own portrait drawn here: “He possessed none of the qualifications which insure success. He was cold and grave even to sadness, reserved and timid even to excess. His mind wanted brilliance and lightness; he lacked the facility of repartee and the of conversing without a It is such observations as these which make M. Gaboriau’s tales some- thing more than just detective stories, although they are excellent ones, and surprisingly up-to-date. As fiction, they are in the genuine line of the great French novels, than which no more can be said. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Chairman Wickersham himself is au- around, I s thority for the statement that, con-|daughter said: trary to widespread expectation, the report of President Hoover's Commis- sion on Law Observance and Enforce- ment will not be a “solution” of the prohibition problem. It will be exactly what it is supposed to be—a report. pure and simple. Facts and figures will be its distinguishing characteristics. To obtain such data was the commission’s assigned task. Chairman Wickersham is confident that the country will havg no fault to find on that score, whatever it thinks about the merits or demerits of the information submitted. ~With the liquor question off its hands, Mr. ‘Wickersham intimates that other branches of “crime” will now engage the commission’s energies. At any rate, he himself looks forward to at least another four or five months in con- tinued pursuit of the elusive truth be- fore swrrendering his chairmanship. The former Attorney General of the United States creates the impression that his year of prohibition sleuthing has rejuvenated him. He's approach- ing 173, and generates the activity of a youngster in the middle fifties. * %n Col. Lindbergh is setting up another record. Most men are men of their words, but “Lindy” is disproving the theory that age makes them men of many words. He's nearly four years older than when fame overtook him in 1927, yet invincible modesty remains his outstanding characteristic. Yesterday, after Ambassador Claudel had placed the red ribbon of the French Legion of Hdnor around the colonel’s neck, Lind- bergh's “speech” of response was ex- actly 17 words long. “Mr. Aml lor,” he said, “P thank you for the great honor you and your government have conferred uj me.” The colonel has evident); lopted Peter Pan as his pa- tron saint—he simply refuses to grow up. In all ways he’s still every inch a . Lindbergh was the only man in the gilded salon of M. Claudel’s embassy who wasn't in formal afternoon dress. He wore a bluish-gray sack suit. Med- als and decorations were de rigueur at this function. Many of the distinguished guests trotted theirs out. “Lindy” left all his at home. His dainty wife and her parents, Senator and Mrs. Dwight W. Morrow of New Jersey, beamed with suppressed pride as “Lindy” joined the French immortals. * ok K x Now that Gen. Pershing has given credit where credit is due for the “Lafeyette, we are here!” affair —to Col. Stanton of his war-time staff at Paris—the C. in C. of the A. E. F. might tell us just who it was that per- petrated in his presence the celebrated “bull” about, Stanton's undying apho- rism. One day after the war, Pershing was making & speech somewhere in the American Southwest. This was the in- troduction he got from the mayor: “General, we folks of this town look upon you as one of the great men of all time. You accomplished great things in France. But the finest of all, we , was that address of yours in Paris when you sald: “Lafayette, we here!’ " are * K K K In & certain well known home at Washington, where the youngsters of the house are accustomed to fhenda at ‘Sundown, daddy came home other day and announced, with , that he had an appointment to call on Mr. Hoover next day, “What ‘people do stand | its tuxedo U] en the small , after standing around a while, I 'spect you have a few cocktails!"” pose.” “Well, * ok ok % ‘There is a vague suspicion in Wash- ington story-telling circles that the anecdote was already registered at the Patent Office, but a recent visflor to Northampton brings back a Cgplidge yarn said to have beenr:gnn&{‘ ly & few days a “Is Bol s riding horseback?” quired of his caller, a Washingtonian. ‘Whereupon “Cal” supplemented, “Never could understand why the Senator is so fond of riding, because he has to keep on going in same direction as his horse.” * ok k% What d’ye make of this? Mark Sul- livan, political writer, historian and shining pillar in the Hoover church, has just returned from Raleigh, where he went to address a joint session of the overwhelmingly Democratic State Legislature. Moreover, while in the ‘Tar Heel capital Sullivan was the guest of one Josephus Daniels. The address was delivered in response to a joint resolution of the State House and Sen- ate inviting Sullivan to hold forth on any subject he pleased. He chose to discuss a non-inflammable theme—the advantages of a &nrlumenury system of government (in such countries as have it) over dictatorships such as Italy and Turkey enjoy. Sullivan was enthu- siastically greeted beneath the dome of the North Carolina Capitol, which ranks as one of the oldest State citadels in America. He dropped in on Duke Uni- versity en route to Washington and predicts that the tobacco-endowed in- stitution near Durham is destined some day to become the Athens of Dixie. * K k% 's diplomatic set is on the Washington' ! qui vive for this week’s performances of “The Queen’s Husband,” to be given by the Community Drama Guild. Under that innocent-sounding title is under- stood to be hidden a screaming bur- lesque of Queen Marie of Rumania's famous barnstorming tour of America three or four years ago. Mrs. John Otto Johnson, formerly Grace Peters of Thes- plan celebrity, will enact the role typi- fying the bubbling beauty of Budapest. Uncommonly regal-looking, Mrs. John- son is fitted both by nature and training to portray the royal lady at whom “The Queen’s Husband” subtly tilts. One wonders if the Drama Guild thought of inviting John H. Carroll, veteran mem- ber of the Washington bar, to coach the players for local color. He was the im- presario-general of Queen Marie's hectic flight across the Yankee firmament. * k% x ‘The new leader of the preparedness and anti-pacifist forces in Congress is Representative Melvin J. Maas, Repub- lican of Minnesota. On him the friends of the Army in particular are leaning for the fight to preserve the rudiments of the National Defense act, now under heavy fire from the mollycoddle trenches, Maas enlisted in the Marines immedi- ately on the outbreak of war in 1917, when he was 19 years old, and served in the aviation branch for 10 months over- seas. He's an insurance man by pro- fession and hails from St. Paul. (Copyright, 1931.) — e Protecting the Tuxedo. From the Ann Arbor Daily News. Al the articles stolen from & ch-m% fratganity house by a wumum" m;m" found n"iluudo. 1n the safe, his [opposed to him_politically. the former President in- | UARY 19, 1931 The Political Mill By G. Gould Lincoln. Emergency rellef for the drought sufferers again bobs up as & bone of contention between the President and the Senate coalition. The question hinges on whether the Federal govern= ment is to provide the funds or whether the funds are to be raised by voluntary subscription; whether the American Red Cross is to be responsible for both raising and distributing the funds—as it has done so often and so successfully in other emergencies. The President’s stand in favor of voluntary contribu~ tions has been approved editorially by many of the newspapers of the coun- try, including some of those who_are ‘The New York World, than which there is no more ardently Democratic publication in the country, in an editorial entitled “Government Doles and the Red | Cross,” says: “Its benevolent purpose fails to ex= cuse the Robinson amendment to the Interior Department appropriation bill providing for a Government gift to the Red Cross for relief of need in ti drought belt. Provision of such a gift, or such loaning of the money as is suj by way of compromise, would establish a precedent which cannot fail to be embarrassing both to the Govern- mentfand to the Red Cross in time to come.” * ok k¥ Ever since the reassembling of Con- gress there has been an effort on Capitol Hill to belittle and to override the relief program advanced by President Hoover. Those who have sought to override the administration have resented bitterly the statement of the President that they were ‘“playing politics” at the expense of human misery. The latest attempt to break down the administration pro- gram and to provide a dole to sufferers from the drought and from unemploy- ment leaves the President in a stronger position than ever, even when politics are taken into consideration, which should not be the case in any effort to relieye suffering. President Hoover's latest move counter to the Senate coali~ tion seems both wise and effective. His appointment of a special committee of 57 of America’s leading citizens, headed by former President Coolidge and with Alfred E. Smith, former Governor of New York and the idol of the Empire State's democracy, and John W. Davis, another former Democratic nominee for President, as vice chairmen, is, indeed, a_challenge to the Senate coalition which has sought persistently to bring about a direct Government appropria- tion for the distribution of food to the distressed, slightest doubt that the President will veto the Interior appropriation bill if that measure is sent to carrying the Robinson amendment providing $25,- 000,000 for the purchase of food to be distributed to the drought-stricken g'r’:::n and to the unemployed in the Such a veto would find a precedent in the veto of a drought-relief bill by President Grover Cleveland, who took a stand similar that of President Hoover in opposition to having the Fed- eral Treasury drawn upon for relief which, he held, should be done through voluntary subscription by the American people. * k% This row between the President and the Senate coalition threatens a special session of the next Congress. For some of the Senate opponents of the administration have indicated that if the President will not yleld in this matter and permit the $25,000,000 ap- propriation to become law, they will filibuster one or more of the annual supply bills to death. The President, however, will face a special session, futile as it might be, rather than give way in this matter of principle, which it 1s argued might well sound the death knell of the American Red Cross. ' SRR Leaders in the Senate who are op- posed to a special session of the next Congress are planning, if it becomes apparent a few weeks from now that there can be no completion of all the appropriation bills by March 4, to place all their eggs in one basket and to watch that basket. They would offer a “continuing resolution” to cover all the departments of the Government for which appropriations have not been made, a resolution which would merely continue over the next fiscal year the appropriations made for these Govern- ment agencies for the present fiscal year, The plan would contemplate also a motion to invoke the cloture rule on this resolution so as to force a final vote on it prior to March 4. To in- voke cloture requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate, and after cloture has been adopted, each Senator is allowed to consume an hour of time. The leaders belleve that more than two- | thirds of the Senate membership are anxious enough to avoid a spectal ses- sion of the new Congress this Spring to support a cloture motion. So many contentious matters are still | before the Senate, however, that if seems almost impossible for Congress to complete the appropriation program unless some such device as that out- lined is adopted. However, it must be admitted that the President has suc- ceeded in getting through the Senate, backed up as he has been by the House, legislation which the Senate coalition has sought to change vitally, and also that the effort on the part of some of his opponents in the Sen- ate to hamstring his appointments to the Federal Power Commission and the ‘Tariff Commission have proved un- availing, * ¥ ok % The long-awaited Wickersham report | on prohibition enforcement is expected | to go to Congress this week, perhaps tomorrow. Its contents have been jealously guarded, although it has been Teported time and again that the re- port will be “dry” and will urge a further trial of national prohibition. It 1s expected that the report, when | submitted to Congress, will be subject of debate. The wets in that body tasted victory in a number of congres- sional and senatorial elections last Fall. ‘They do not intend to have the Wick- ersham report dropped like a ton of brick on them if they can help it. will be plenty of replies from the wets to the report and recom- mendations of the Wickersham com- mission. * ok ok X Incidentally, if the Wickersham re- port is as dry as it has been reported to be, it may be expected that President Hoover will continue to take the stand that the eighteenth amendment is an “experiment noble in purpose and far- reaching in effect which must be worked out constructively.” It may be expected, too, that the Republicans in the 1932 national campaign will espouse the side of the drys, no matter what the Demo- crats may do. If the latter nominate a ‘wet candidate for President and moisten their platform a bit, as many of the Democratic leaders now expect, the weét and dry issue will loom up as a real issue in the campaign next year. If hard times should continue, the wets would reap the advantage of that situa- tion in the national election, just as gie,v did in the congressional elections ly dry as many of them are, ing increasing signs of fight against the Ehm of their wet brethren of the N¢ and East which call for the nom- ination of a wet presidential candidate and the adoption of a platform for the modification of national prohibition if not its repeal. Gov. Dan Moody, who steps out of the State Capitol of Texas, he | something ‘There appears to be not the | A. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ). HASKIN, ‘The resources of our free Information Bureau are at your service. You are invited to call upon it as often as p“}elu. It is hm‘twm“fln —~ serve you. What qu answer for you? There is no charge at all except 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Address let- ter to The Eveni Star tion Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, ‘Washington, D. C. Q. What study ave is required OA’ ';:“p ball players at Notre Dame?— . McP. A. At the University of Notre Dame foot ball students are required to achieve the same study average as any other student of the university. The student athlete who is on probation, for having failed in more than a third of his school work, is not permitted to participate in intercollegiate athietics during the time of his probation. Q. Are there more 18-hole or more 9-hole golf courses in the United States?—J. V. M. A. The American Golfer says that as nearly as it can check there are like 4,700 to 4,800 golf courses in the United States. Approxi- mately 60 per cent of these are 9-hole courses. Q. What are the names of the Finger Lakes in New York State?—J. A. M. A. There are, strictly speaking, 11 of these lakes. They are: Conesus, Hemlock, Canadice, Honeoye, Canan- daigua, Keuka, Seneca, Cayuga, Owasco, Skaneateles and Otisco. They vary in area from 66.7 square miles to .97 square mile. Q. Why is Delaware called the Blue Hen State?—C. E. M. A. Delaware is known as the Blue Hen State from the notoriety that one of her native sons, Capt. Caldwell, ac- quired in the Revolutfonary War for his love of cockfighting, and also his well drilled men known in the Army as the “Gamecocks.” His idea was that a blue hen produces the best cocks. How much did the journey cost wl?én Columbus discovered Amar{cfl— R. D. N. A. The total cost of Columbus’ first expedition, including the three ships, the wages of the crew, stores and pro- visions, was 1,167,542 maravedis, or about $4,580. Q. What is onomat ?—H. W. A. Words which are formed to repre- sent the sounds which they describe are onomatopoetic. Rumble, hiss, busz, splash and murmur are examples. Q. Did the Government spend more money than usual on roads last year?— . D. that expenditures in connection with Federal-ald highway construction in the calendar year 1930 ex: led those for any other calendar year. During the year the Federal Government paid to the States as its share on completed Federal-aid work $96,355,890, an in- crease of approximately $19,700,000, or 25 per cent more than in 1929. Q. What portion of the women who are entitled to vote exercised their franchise in this country?—E. C. H. A. It is estimated that the number of woman_voters availing themselves of the the last two elections has been between 25 and 35 per cent of the potential woman vote. Q. Please name the fruits whose aclds pass through the system unchanged.— M. L. G. A. The foods which contain benzoic A. The Bureau of Public Roads says acld are, namely, plums, prunes and cranberries. They are acid-forming because benzoic acid is not or broken down in the process of digestios. Other fruits, even though they acid, are not acid-forming in the blood because their actd content is oxidized. Q. At what age does the head of the normal person cease to grow?—J. L. ‘:én'r::; human R‘Lnbl.:tretche& maturity V) e person ween e ages 18 and22. = Q. What is a snow snake?—A. T. A. It is a long, slender shaft, curved slightly at one end, to be launched so as to glide endwise over a surface of ice or snow—a game which was popu- lar with the American Indians, mJ’ is still played to some extent today. Q. In what earthquake was the greatest number of lives lost?—G. A, C. A. The earthquake at Tokio, Japan, September 1, 1923, was regarded as the greatest and most disastrous in history. The area involved extended 140 miles east and west and 110 miles north and south. The loss of life was estimated at 139,000; the number of injured at 125,000 and 235,000 were be- lieved missing. The property loss was placed at $932,500,000. Q. What does the statue, the “Winged Victory,” represent?-—J, A. G. A. The so-called “Victory of SBamo- thrace” is the “Goddess of Victory,” ex- cavated by Prench archeologists who were at work between 1863-67. The “Goddess of Victory” was represented by the Greeks as having wings. Her name was Nike. - This statue, which was the great prize of the French archeolo- gists, is a beautiful example of the fourth century Attic sculpture. It was first !8:7‘5 ugchy Demetrius Poliorcetes about Q. When did the horse become do- mesticated?>—M. D. B. A. In Babylonia the first domesti- cated horse appeared about 2000 B.C. It was introduced into Egypt by the Hyksos, or shepherd kings, who came from the north and east of Syria, and conquered lower Egypt in the seven- teenth century B.C. In both these cases it is to be noted that the horse was preceded by many centuries by the ox and the ass. From these facts and as Probably it was accomplished by a ple of nomadic herdsmen to wi the convenience of riding would be obvious. er or later the mounted nomad came to realize the measure of his ad- vantage over the man who traveled and fought afoot, and was encouraged to wander farther afleld, conquering as he went. In any case, the horse (either as a charger or yoked to a chariot) be- came in very early times an important factor in war. The use of the horse for the workaday purpose of transport and tillage is comparatively a modern development; in Britain, for example, oxen were the comomn plow animals ;mcu the end of the eighteenth cen- ury. Q. What is she middle pedal on a piano used for?—M. G. A. The third pedal of a piano-is the tenuto pedal. down and keeping them pedal is released. Thus one is sustain a chord, leaving the hand free for other notes. Italian Air Fleet Points Way To Advance in Peace and War ibili- com- Commercial and military ties are both emphasized in ment in this country on the crossing of the Atlantic by an Italian fleet of seaplanes from the coast of Africa to Brazil. While it is observed that there were casualties along the way, the achievement is noted as another ad- vance in aviation in the direction of mass movement. “It is the first dramatic mass move- ment, and its success is nothing short of brilliant,” .proclaims the Salt Lake Deseret News, with the conclusion that “while mishaps to some of the planes have slightly held the others fact that the expedition as a whole met with such good fortune must be reckoned as altogether marvelous.” It is described by the Rock Island Argus as “the greatest squadron flight in his- tory,” though “the South Atlantic has been spanned nine times” and “three important long - distance squadron fllrg;t..l' have preceded this last enter- “It was altogether an impressive achievement,” says the Albany Evening News, “and some may predict that in the future, if America should be at war, squadrons of planes could across the ocean and attack the coast or even proceed inland. That is not impossible, of course, and if there were a war, planes would play a very im- portant part. As yet, however, this is only one instance, and the planes were subject to delays. The start was made December 17 from Italy. Fourteen planes started from Italy and 12 from Portuguese West Africa, and 10 ar- rived on this side of the ocean. While this was a great feat, it does not make certain the movement of great fleets of planes over the ocean.” “A step farther in establishing the reliability of modern planes” is seen by the Miami Daily News, “for the forma- tion flight, with its unequaled record, has demonstrated a standardized ex- cellence comparable to the records of individual ‘super planes’ of the past.” * ok ok x “The group flight made by the Ital- ians,” according the Charleston (8. C. Evening Post, “shows how practical is thc air passage of the Atlantic in mass as well as by single plane—that is to say, it shows that the plane, by multiplication, has considerable carry- ing capacity at one flight.” The Eve- ning Post also comments: “It gives a striking illustration of the possibili~ ties of the seaplane for this service as compared with the land plane. And it emphasizes what has already been remarked, that the course for such flights lies farther to the south than that which has been so frequently and 50 often disastrously essayed by ad- venturous aviators.” . **One shudders to think of the dreadful possibility of great air armadas crossing seas and continents, in war, to scatter devastation and death over wide areas, declares the Pasadena Star-News, add: ing that “one becomes more enthusias- tic and more profoundly thrilled to contemplate the peaceful conquests of the air in the future.” The Lexington Leader avers that “there can be no qumtiondhuseo zk;;t in a ywelr g; two !ui Tope an uth America, o Alica, Wil be linked up by ‘:e‘gum service, mail, express and passenger, and it is equally certain that the United States and Europe will be united in the same way.” “If fleets of planes can navigate an ocean, then oceans are no barrier against the attacks of air power in case of war,” argues the Milwaukee Journal, while the Rockford Register-Republic states: “Gen. Balbo, who organized the armada and led the flight, has strengthened his popularity with the Italian people immeasurably, Now he is talked of as Mussolini’s successor when Il Duce dies or retires.” The Portland (O Journal asks: “At what distance to be safe from att by air in t of an- o'her'#" is out with a demand that the wets be from the leadership of the Dem- Baltimore Sun in opposing the that no one ‘Democratic na~- . and holds that certainly means that the warfal future, it it is to be, will be doi ted * ok ok K ° “We would like,” remarks the Un Herald, the. bition cial e in so ly_of good will and commer- ort. But it was largely military far as the Fascist show was . The was in com- mand; the planes were huge military planes not unlike our great bombers; the ships have been sold to the Brazil- ian government. And Italy has been doing not a little saber rattling along its_frontiers.” ng “the general stimulation of aeronautics throughout the world,” the Des Moines Tribune-Capital says of the effects of the feat: “1. Splendid advertising for Italy, to the advantage both of her political and her commer- cial pi South America. 3. Demonstration, for all the world to see, that military aircraft can operate as a powerful fleet, under favorable condi- tions, at great distance from base, even across an ocean. The range of air fleets has been tremendously extended. 3. A building up of the Italian government's prestige, which means Mussolini’s, to another peak in Italy. Such a thrilling national accomplishment is second only to an easy and successful war in popu- larizing a dictator.” “The flight is not I in hero- ism,” observes the Hartford Courant, “but the thrilling effect upon the world has been quite wiped out by the dis- closure that the government of Italy urposely withheld the news that, dur- the course of the flight, two of the planes fell and men lost their Lves. * * * The authorities could scarcely have expected to keep the news perma- nently secret, and they must realize now that they have put the flight under a shadow.” New Note in Science. From the Rochester Times-Union. The general impression gathered by those who have followed the recent annual deliberations of the scientists is one of happy expectation. The gentle- men whose tion in the modern world is not unlike that of the prophets of old have surely sounded = positive note. So much has been written and spoker: in recent years concerning the inevitable warfare between organized knowledge and religious faith that it is pleasant to record the change of mind and heart which has come over scien- tists. These gentlemen are no longer the certain doctrinaires they, or their forerunners, were a decade or so ago. The physical world can no longer be relled upon to furnish ‘all that man needs to know about his origin and destiny. There are a vast number of things that must be known, if known at all, by other means than scales and measures. It is sclence itself, through its out- standing leaders, which admits a spiritual order in the universe. The leaders have passed beyond the ma- terialism of an older day. Led by men like Eddington and Jeans in England, Millikan in this country and Einstein on the Continent, there is being sounded a new spiritual note in the fleld of inquiry, which for a time seemed to be bent on shaking the’foundations of faith. This is well. A purely ma- tic science cannot help the world. Hard Going. From the Buffalo Evening News. The man who tries to dodge his obli- gations usually finds the detour much rougher than the road. Matrimony and Finance. From the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. A Berkeley girl says she believes an engagement should be long enough to cover the time payments on the engage- ment ring. ———— Erratum, Prom the Lowell Evening Leader. now the story was a myth. Thus another !ymhlulnm’l‘-hm ——— The State Star. Prom the 8t. Louls Post-Dispatch. to ‘Morni to regard ael tion—for wh due credlt i extended—as an exl Gov. Cross was present, of course, at ‘ceremonies, bug