Evening Star Newspaper, January 22, 1931, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR |minister prociaims ever and anon thab With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C THURSDAY. .. .January 22, 1831 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor e ronperer The Evening Star News r Compary g s Omre. et 81 and Pennsyivania Ave, the City. 45¢ Rate by Carrier Within ... - .45¢ per month enine Star. ndays) e Sunday Sta Collection made at the en Orders may be sent in by m: National 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. land and Virginia, 13r. 1000: 3 mo : 1 mo., 50 mo., 40¢ d of each month. ail or telephone 00 $4.00: 1 ly and Sunda: i Fl{ only . 3 00: 1 inday only $5.00; 1 Member of the Associated Press. exclusively entil on of all news mo., 178 mo., 50¢ tled vaper and also the local news d herein. All rights of publication of | ":?uj ublishe B dispatches herein ) spec also teser President Hoover’s Declaration. President Hoover did the unexpected though logical thing when he trans- mitted to Congress the report of the ‘Wickersham Crimes Commission w!th a statement at varience with that one of its recommendations, which tentative- iy pointed at the revision of the eight- eenth amendment. He did not palter | with the matter, but declared himself as | opposed to consideration of the revision which the commission su ed (with an “i”) for some future time. In view of the decid=dly hypothetical terms of the commission’s recomm:ndation that the amendment be changed frem man- datory prohibition to a grant to Con- gress of the power of enactment of pro- | hibition laws, the President’s words arc to be taken as specific indorsement of | the amendment as it stands. With| this statement he couples the declara- | tion that it is his “own duty and that of all executive officials to enforce the Jaw with all the means at disposal without equivocation or reservation.” It would have been entirely in order for the President to send the report to Congress without comment, other than explanatory or interpretive. There was | no obligation upon him to express him- self as to the principle involved. He, had previously referred to prohibition | as a “noble experiment,” worthy of the | utmost test and trial and the stoutest efforts at enforcement. He was not| classed as unmistakably “wet” or “dry." | ‘This fact undoubtedly led many to look for a non-committal message of transmission, which would have no po-| litical implications or commitments. | However, the President took occasion | in sending the report to Congress v,o" declare himself as opposed by direct inference to repeal and specifically op- posed to suggested revision. He thus ‘wrote his name in the list of those who are favorable to the eighteenth amend- | ment and pledged himself furthermore to its enforcement, in so far as enforce- ment is possible with the means at his disposal. ‘This was an act of personal and po- litical courage. It was particularly courageous in the light of the elec- tions in November. Those elections showed clearly a strengthening of the lines of the anti-prohibition fbrces. ‘Whether they demonstrated solely a notable increase in the number of those opposed to the eighteenth amendment or in part merely an increase on the one hand and a decrease on the other hand in attendance at the polls is not determined. But there were abundant evidences that the elections proved also the folly and the weakness and the unpopularity of a divided stand, a non-committal atti- tude, an evasive position. Those candi- dates who shuffied were almost invaria- bly beaten. Perhaps in view of this fact the President has politically strengthened himself by his unmistakable declar: tion. He has assuredly won the re- spect of the country for his unequivocal expression of faith in the amendment. As Executive he is in an impregnable position. It is his duty to enforce the law as he finds it written and with the means that are provided to that end. ‘There can be no quarrel with such a purpose, let the smoke of the battle between friends and foes of the eight- ecnth amendment blow where it will. —————— ‘When attacked by Gilbert Chesterton, Freud did not make arrangements l‘be present and defend himself. It would be worth while to hear what the great psychoanalyst thinks of Mr. Chester- ton and it would be no more than fair | to allow the distinguished doctor to| have his say. i ————— In Russia the working man is repre- sented as an object of especial consid- eration. This consideration appears to consist in making him work constantly harder for continually decreasing pay. MacDonald’s Close Call. Defeat on a division in the House of Commons long ceased to lack the | element of novelty for the British Labor government. S0 when Prime | Minister MacDonald saw his cabinet wilt into minority support yesterday over the controversial educational bill, he did what he has done bafore, namely, nothing at all. To opposition shouts of “Resign! Resign!” the Labor leader re- torted that as no basic principle of policy was involved, the government ‘would not quit office. Defeated at first by 282 to 249, a hostile majority of 33, the MacDonaldites later {n the day, on a reconsideration, squeezed through | by a vote of 256 to 238 in their favor, | 2 life-saving margin of 18. i ‘The fall of Labor from power in Downing street is, as all the world, in- | cluding itself, well knows, merely a matter of time. It is a minority gov- ernment. It holds on purely and sim- ply by the grace of Mr. Lloyd George's Liberals. Whenever that small but potent balance-of-power group sces fit to join wholly with Mr. Baldwin's Conservatives on some question of un- deniably broad principle—say, against 2 fundamental Labor program for un- employment relief, or tariffs, or finance reform—then the knell of Labor will ring. It is altogether a question as to he is ready and even eager for a fight. Labor belleves it can go to the country in serene confidence of a third lease of office. Though it has failed lamen- tably to ameliorate Britain's paralyzing domestic plight, the MécDonald gov- ernment has at least two imgerial achievements to its credit, upon which it can legitimately plume itself. B in- stituted and carried to success thg Lon- don Naval Conference, including pri- marily cessation of building competi- tion with the United States. It has, with amazing speed, laid the founda- tions of an autonomous India. It con- ducted the 1930 Imperial Conference not, it is true, to any conspicuously constructive result, but at least without loosening empire framework. These are talking points which Labor will not fal to exploit in & British gen- eral election. No one knoys better than Ramsay MacDonald how to make them count. —————— Killing the Goose. The consent decree, under which light and power rates in the District of Co- lumbia are annually adjusted, is a goose which, in the opinion of the Public Utilities Commission, has been laying an excessive number of golden eggs for | the company and not enough for the | public. While there has been a pre- liminary examination, disclosing this | weakness, there has as yet been noj| authoritative diagnosis upon which cor- | rective treatment might be based. An | operation has been hinted, with the, theught that the bird may not respond to superficial treatment. But the pro- posal to kill the goose should be approached with extreme caution. It has not yet been demonstrated that this is the best method to get more golden | eggs It is highly proper that the division of profits between the public and the electric light company under this con- sent decree be examined thoroughly, and if it is shown clearly that modifica- tion of the decree would yield to the| public more adequate returns in the form of lower rates, as compared to the returns enjoyed by the company, the Public Utilities Commission should proceed to seek such modification. This it has wisely determined to do. But it has correctly upheld the prin- ciple represented in the consent decree. That principle assures the electric light company the returns that are increased by efficiency, good business manage- ment and wider use of the commodity sold. It holds out a tangible reward for initiative on the part of the com- pany. And the proof of the pudding, as far as the public is concerned, has been a steady reduction in rates for electricity of more than one-half since the decree became effective. There may be weaknesses in the con- sent decree that have developed in the years since its promulgation, and the Public Utilities Commission has de- cided that the company's return of more than ten per cent, enjoyed under the decree, is excessive. But before any move is made to abrogate the decree and discard it entirely, with the hope of getting something better, the public should be fully informed as to the pros- | pects. As yet none of these prospects has been sufficiently analyzed, nor stated in terms that are concrete enough to indicate why the proposal to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs prom- ists a more liberal share to the public than less drastic measures. If the ax falls, there should be no uncertainty over the public's benefits from such ac- tion. As things are now, there is con- siderable uncertainty. An Appropriate Selection. Announcement that Representative Louis C. Cramton of Michigan will, upon the close of his present congres- sional term, become one of the direc- tors of the George Washington Bicen- tennial is highly gratifying to those who have been associated with him during the years of his legislative serv- ice in Washington. Hs is especially well qualified for such &.duty. He is intimately acquainted with the Capi- tal. He is the author of important legislation concerning its park develop- ment. He is indefatigable in his dis- charge of duty and will in the position of a director of the national celebration of the anniversary of Washington's birth without question render the full- est possible measure of service. It is especially appropriate that he should succeed Col. Grant in this assignment, for they have for a number of years been in close contact and have a unity of view regarding the execution of plans for the attainment of the ideal of the National Capital. Upon Washington the city will center the celebration of the anniversary of Washington the sol- dier, statesman and executive. ‘There is none who, not himself a Washing- tonian, is better fitted to work for such a manifestation of national ap- preciation of the great sponsor than Mr. Cramton. —— e When Alfalfa Bill of Oklahoma de- cides to do a little clowning, it is once deemed possible that he is doubt- ful of the prospects of the political professional and wants to be rated as an amateur. ——rme. Emergency Public Works. While from time to time announce- ment is made that large manufactur- ing establishments that during the past few months have lain wholly or partiy idle have resumed operations, putting men to work by the thou- sands—notably in the gutomobile cen- ters—Iittle is heard of relief of the unemployed in unclassified categories, in the non-technical gccupations, in the unorganized ranks of labor. Yet to judge from the accounts of the emer- gency measures that have been adopted by the State and Federal Governments there must by this time have been & considerable offering of jobs in all parts of the country to those hitherto idle. Estimates of the unemployed have va- ried over a wide range. Some have been optimistic, placing the total num- ber at two million, others gloomy with the total set at four and even five mil- lion The chances are that the lower estimate is correct, and that the total of the idle people in the country is di- minishing rather than increasing. ‘The Federal works that have been au- thorized by emergency legislation and appropriation have begun to show re- sults. Millions of dollars have becn al ‘when the Conservative-Liberal allies, ‘who are allies for anti-Labor purposes only, consider the time is ripe to cast th: MacDonald segime into the parlia- ready spent in the purchase of road- making materials and gangs have becn hired for the operations, in all sections. At the same time, according to a state- ment just made by Chairman Arthur ‘Woods of the President’s Emergency { war flood of bond issues of the States | | ment of the American THE EVENING Committee for Employment, a total of approximately seven hundred million dollars for public constructions of all kinds has been made available by the cities, counties, townships and other political subdivisions other than the States and the Federal Government within the last hundred days. This amount, Col. Woods states, will be still further increased as the bond issues totaling $217,402,000, authorized by the voters at the November elections, are sold and the proceeds are made avail- able. Some of these bonds have already been sold and the money is included in the seven-hundred-million total. ‘These local bonds have been author- ized for a wide variety of purposes— sanitary sewers, schools, town halls, harbor improvements, airports, grade- crossing eliminations, parks, hospitals, light and power plants, swimming pools county homes, playgrounds, street wid- ening, river straightening, fails, bridges, welfare work, police stations and street improvements. There will be no demur to this “orgy of spending.” as there was to the post- and lesser units of Government, which | covered a wide range of objects, some of them unworthy. This is a case of | borrowing for two good reasons, to re- lease money for the employment of suffering people and to provide for needed works. There may be some in- dulgence in the satisfaction of local | pride in additional equipment, but the | list of objects recited by Col. Woods in his summary embraces in the main | wholly worthy projects, the consum- mation of which will, in addition to meeting the economic emergency of the people, result in the material advance- communities toward their ideal of organization and establishment. The hope chiefly to be expressed 1s that this great volume of cash will flow mainly into the pockets of those who need it, and that little, it any, will go to the further enrich- ment of those who are in no present | stress. & ey The few people who understand Prof. Einstein’s theory have not been suc- cessful in imparting their knowledge to others. There should be at least enough experts in the subject by this time to warrant forming a society and, before the distinguished visitor departs, hold- ing a convention in his honor which will afford material that the audience can at least begin to grasp. No one would be permitted to suggest a contra- | diction. The greatest element of triumph in the Einstein career is the manner in which he has organized the entire public into an assemblage of unanimous “yes men." — et Sweden, having awarded prizes relat- ing to our science and literature, is now being studied for a solution of pro- hibition perplexities. Without being at all ostentatious in the matter, Sweden is, in fact, one of the busiest countries in the world’s intellectual and practical life. ——— e Oklahoma has untold wealth in ofl, tut has not managed to keep it in cir- culation so as to prevent hunger. Abundant natural resources have never been more conspicuous in all parts of the world in association with problems | of distribution. r———— Gangsters go to great expense In giving one another magnificent funerals not so much, perhaps, as indications of affection as for the sake of demonstra- tions that show indifference to the cost of making the publicity connected with a vendetta as impressive as possible. — e Many people would rest easier if racketeers could find some method of doing business without keeping books. Expert accountants are apparently most necessary in the underworid in order to keep the crime profiteers from cheating one another. e A scholarly study of the workings of prohibition may reveal much and yet show comparatively little as compared with the day books and ledgers of a well organized group of racketeers. o SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Awaiting Sir Ground Hog. 1t will not be so very long Before Sir Ground Hog, honest friend, Will bring us a reminder strong ‘That every Winter has its end. And even though his tale may be About a few more weeks of snow The road to Spring, we must agree, Has but a little way to go. 80 be it clear or overcast We'll view the sky with feelings gay And vow we'll start anew at last, Since here’s another Ground Hog day! Apathy Averted. “Some of the things vou have said will require explaining,” warned the friend. “I hope s0,” answered Senator Sor- ghum. “There is often an advantage in not being too clear at the outset. So long as your public keeps asking you to explain, you can feel comfortably sure that you are keeping them inter- ested.” Jud Tunkins says two good checker players can always get a crowd, but they can’t gather up gate money like a pair of debaters or pugilists. Avoiding Unemployment. ‘The world, if it continues thus In unrelenting fury, Will have no work for most of us “ Save serving on a jury. As the Combat Proceeds. “I just heard that the Moviestars have separated. “Which shows,” said Miss Cayenne, “how unreliable gossip may be. The last news I got is that they are still in a clinch.” “A speaker always has at least one teresting message,” said Hi Ho, the L of Chinatown. “Even if he has no facts to communicate, his turns of idea and even his pronunciation will offer revelations of his own personality.’ Tmportance of the Trivial. Beware the mood which is not sure Its passing speech to heed And let a trivial word obscure The call to some gocd deed, ¢ | Dax ain’ no uso trvin' o be & boss,' | Moe, Vet thankles, & profession, snd sald Uncle “Eben, “unless you knows how; and if you knows you don’t have to try, You jes' - STAR, WASEINGTON, THIS AN BY CHARLES E. Now that the United States has min- iature go¥, there are some of us hoping that next Spring and Summer the world will see plenty of midget gardens. | Why not? | ‘The miniature garden would be just the thing for the man or woman with little time to devote to the hobby, but | who nevertheless wanted some flowers. | By “miniature garden,” of course, we | refer to a real midget, not a small back | yard. The eity is full of those. | Many excellent back yards have been achieved by devoted ~amateurs, but | these results cannot be considered as | midget, in any sensc. Midget means something “teensie-tinesie,” as they say South, away down South ok ok ok A true minfature, in a garden sense, would be no more than 10 by 10 feet, or at most not over 12 by 12 feet. Gardening in such a space would be gardening, indecd. The best recourses of the most accomplished amateur would be called into being, in order to accomplish anything worth while. For, of course, one does not refer to a plot of that size simply crammed with zinnia, or petunias, or whatnot Such a lag-out would be a flower bed, and nothing more. What we want is a garden. R & have seen were 50 I | tiny, down Maybe vou gardens which Christmas_time. Somebody or other has large book on the subject, all about where to get your dish, and how to build it up with concrete, and where to get the little houses and bridges and figures to put in the garden book felis what plants to secure. and how to plant them in the dish, and how to take care of them, particularly in the matter of water, after they are planted. Most of the dish gardens in _the| florist shops at Christmas were filled with varieties of cacti. This, it seems, is not exactly fair. For if a dish garden | is supposed” to represent a Japanese | scene, it should not be filled with plants | from Mexico and vicinity. Yet perhaps the members of the ! cactus family come as near to giving an Oriental aspect as it is possible to secure in a bowl 6 inches wide and 8 | inches or so long | ol K 3 | Our idea for a real midget garden | would be something-on the order of these dish gardens,cxcept that it would | be outdoors, of course, and would be filled with larger plants. A If we are to remain true to our na- tional model, the little golf course, we would have to have a small house, and stream, and maybe a pool, and perhaps a bridge, with enough walks and so on to give the aspect of a village. A miniature pcol might weil be the central feature. In it one ordinary water lily could be planted. In such a garden, it would be a glant, by con- | trast, but that would not matter. | There are plenty of small edging plants, such as the old standard Sweet Alyssum, which could be used to form beds. these dish popular at written a | e ] Such a garden ought not contain flowers which grow over a foot high. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands EDENCION, Guadalajara.—Inall; Spanish - American countries | there is the constantly sounded | alarm of “Yankee imperialism.” | ‘The phrase has been used so| frequently that the idea seems real and | indisputable. But, for our part, we do | not believe that any American believes | only in himself. They expect nothing of their own, nor any other government, | and in their business life wish to be| free from governmental interference. | Individual initiative is their main re- lianc Personality is what is needed to achieve power, influencs and wealth. So instead of shouting “Yankee im- | perialism!” the youth of Latin America should start now to change its outlook on life. Our young people must de- velop personal Initiative They must free themselves of dependence on | the government, and obsolete the notion | that it can help them solve their prob- | lems. The best government has the | least possible to do with the private 1if of the people. It interferes only when absolutely necessary. We have heard on all sides Americans are stealing our lands. do we let them do it? Because th real situation is this: A native of some Latin American countrv has titl to a tract of land that he makes ne effort to cultivate. An American ar- | rives. He sees the value of the land for a certain crop and offers to buy it. In most cases the price offered is gen: erous, more than the owner ever ex. pected to get, so he takes it. He thinks the American is demented. Then, after awhile, this unproductive land has be- come a magnificent ranch or planta- tion, worth 10 times what it was before. The original owner regrets his bargain and envies the success of the new purchaser. H: considers all Americans robbers and imperialists. Men and women are educated practi- cally in North America, while in Mexico and South America we have much book learning, large vocabularies, but no individual initiative. We should adopt something of the North American practicality, and learn to solve our own troubles, not expecting the government to do everything for us. T e ] | o German History Of America Is Exhibited. Berliner Tageblatt.—A most interest- ing historical exhibition was consum- mated recently in the Wintergarten. Films, or at least portions of them, were exhibited’ showing the development of | moving pletures from the very inception | of this dramatic invention. And it must be confessed that the early pic- tures, before all sorts of mechanical de- vices were used to make optical illu- sions, had an appeal and a beauty that has riot been surpassed in 35 vears, for | that represents the age of the moving picture in the year of 1930. The spectators showed their appre- oation by tumultuous applause, as the whole science of scene projection was evolved upon the Wintergarten stage by that exponent of such universal en- tertainment and_instructfon, Herr Max Skladanowsky. He showed the proto- type of the screen picture, made with light rays; the silhouette and the sta- tionary views of thc magic lantern. From them he progressed to the ear- lier forms of the .cinematograph the “Serien-Apparate,” or illuminated panorama unfolded _vertically upon the stage, and rolled from oné cylinder to another by a crank operated by the lecturer's mm‘m'thA(erX'hi(;pe Apparate” came e “Biosl ) g\{lr?ulne moving picture, in all essential respects the same as we know it today. This is the original machine which gave to the world the first moving pic- tures in that glorious presentation, last- ing & week in the Autumn of 1895. * ok kK Peruvian Journalist Dies at Age of 85. El Comercio, !;l';u -:Ml::flm died in this cf af Jose Antonio Miro who, rected the destiny of EI Comercio. The death of this personage of im- maculate honor and incomparable abil ity has plunged all Peruvian journalism into the deepest mourning, because it was in this country that Don Jose de- voted all the years of his life to so he loved Peru as his und ot laily beca ‘n?:”m%uy, :n‘e affection so profo | that § withstood on only oo many | girls into virtual slavery, D. C. THURBDAY, JANUARY 22, 1991, D THAT TRACEWELL. A few shrubs, or preferably evergreens, would be permitted to a greater height, These would fill the place of tress in an_ordinary garden. Such a garden as here outlined in brief might be an interesting feature at the end of a path th a regular gar- den, or it might be planted in a patch | of ground where nothing larger could be_attempted. We are thinking of many yards in what may be termed the mjidsize—that is, too small for a real gartlen, yet too large to be left entirely to grass. The trouble with attempting to fix | such a place as a regular_garden is! that it lacks perspective. Most often such a place is viewed from a porch, and the elevation permits the beholder | to look utterly over and beyond the entire garden. ~ He cannot hold his eyes | down to the earth. | A miniature garden, by being a defi- nite thing in itself, would concentrate | the vision on itself. It would restrain | roving eyes. It would give the be- holder- something not only definite to look at, but by incorporating small in- dividual features, such as paths, bridges, houses and even small figures, would intrigue the spectator to look and dis- cover more. ok ok ok If any one brings forward the objec- tion that this miniature garden would be, after all, nothing but the typical Japan:se garden of legend, we cheer- fully admit it, and ask what of it? | From the pictures which we have seen of Japanese gardens, with their torii gates and their curious stone lan- | terns and their twisted, gnarled ever- | grecns and vines, blooming in their | seasons, they must be works of art on a | small scale. Surely they might be transplanted | to this country with no more violation to the ethics of gardening than 1s committed against architecture by the | introducing of a Spanish house along a typical American highway. Those who are unable to grow grass in certain spots ought o thrill at the knowledge that many of these Japanese gardens use only sand or gravel. The paths and walks are of sand; in some the entire space not occupied by plants or handiwork is sand. Sand forms the entire foreground. Surely this would relieve one of a great deal of bother. In fact, it would seem that the typical Japanese garden, after it was “got going,” would be ideal for the busy American. * * x x We have a way, we Americans, of fancying ourselves busier than any other people ever were, but one may | wonder if it is so. We fancy the | Europe of Shakespeare's age was a busy | place. If we may judge from the rest- | less explorations ‘which roamed the | trackless seas, the English and the Spanich were very busy, bustling peo- | ple, too. If we are as busy as we like to think | we are, however, a miniature garden, whether Japanese or not, ought to just sult thousands of persons. Indeed, it | need not be Oriental in character, but might equally well be Persian, or | Arabian, or Tunisian. It might be— but what's the use? It might be almost anything. The only thing to be feared would be that some one would attempt to play golf in it, after all, mistaking it for a miniature links, c‘ulom the severest tests of its integ- rity. n Jose Antonio Miro Quesada was born in Panama January 19, 1845, and was brought to Peru at the age of 2 years by his parents, who took up their residence in Callao. From then on, al- most without interruption, Don Jose passed his life in his adopted iand. All his working days were dedicated to_his Jjournalistic_art and enterprise. Few men have held up such a shining e ample to their fellows for industi vision and achievement. combined all the qualities and attributes | of a talented editor, a benevolent friend, a merciful foe and a patriotic citizen. His innate energy, united with his un- usual genius, enabled him to rise to the ‘very front rank in the periodical liaerature of the world. * ok ok K League Is Fighting Slavery of Baby Girls. W China Weekly Review, Shanghal.— The League of Nations and the N: tional government of China have united in a campaign against the sale of baby which has been a custom in some parts of China for centuries. Although the laws are different iIn the north, the sale of girl babies and even women is widely practiced in many districts. This is a purely eco- nomic_matter. During the past two fienrs Shensi and Kansu Provinces have een affected by widespread famine. Thousands of fathers have been unable to get food for their families. As a last resort. they sold their daughters and ever! their wives, Shanhi Province has been fairly prosperous during this period and there has been a shortage of women and girls in Shanhi. Men have been willing to pay for wives or for small girls. The latter they either raise as wives or use as household drudges. The legal status of these sales is doubtful, but government officials have not interfered, realizing that a worse fate awaited the women and girls sold if they had remained to starve in the famine districts. Usually the persons thus sold were willing to be sold. Ancestor worship in China has been partly wgsponsible for the growth of the practice of selling girl babies, al- though the economic factor has been supreme. Boys are alone able to carry on ancestor worship, which most Chi- nese consider of supreme importance, and boys also are economically an a vantage, whereas girls are a liability. With the rise of the standard of lv- ing in China the sale of women and girls probably will disappear. But until conditions improve the practice will doubtless continue in some districts. —— v Reduction of Acreage. From the Pasadena Star-News. The American farmer must learn the fundamentals of economic wisdom. Manifestly the farms cannot ove: produce year after year, and specialize in certaln crops, without being penal- ized, as it were, by falling prices and sl demand. Diversification of crops is the hope of the farmer. In those crops of which there has been overproduction there must be heavy curfailment. It is disquieting to note that the Lower House of the Georgip Legislature has defeated a resolution which indorsed a 25 per cent reduction of cotton acreage in Georgia. This re: lution declared that overproduction @f | cotton has beer responsible, in a meas- ufe, for the lew levels in volume of business. It is surprising indeed to note this action by Georgia legislators, in view of the obvious- effects of over- production. One thing is sure as fate —s0 long as the South clings to cotton and overproduces it; so long as the Middle West clings to wheat, and over~ produces it; so long as there is over- production of any crop, in any part of the country, so long will there be a glut market and 'ruinous prices for the ‘This 18 ‘t’l‘)« r’undlmen!u.l principle upon which the farming in- dustry must rest. The farmer cannot disregard basic economic laws and succeed in ‘his industry. He Is as| much bound by economic law as is the, manufacturer. s Efficiency. From the Toledo Blade. Our notion of an efficient man is one who could march through a revolving Mw&thnhfll&(uml.ndnnlmls a beat, | in’ the rep In him were | p The Political Mill By G. Gould Lincoln. ‘The report of the Wickersham Com- mission on prohibition has accomplished one thing at least. It has given added impetus to the proposal that the whole question of national prohibition, as pro- vided in the eighteenth amendment to the Constitution, be resubmitted to the people through the constitutional con- ventions in the individual States. Sev- eral of the members of the commission state specifically in thelr individual re- ports that they believe that such a course would do much to clear the at- mosphere. Practically the entire mem- bership of the commission wishes the question of the eighteenth amendment resubmitted in one form or another. The statement in the summary of the report signed by 10 of the 11 members to the eflect that the commission is op- posed to repeal of the eigateenth amendment is abeut as clear as mud. It means, probably, that the commis- sioners agree that it would not be proper to eliminate the prohibition amendment and go back to the old conditions prevailing before that amend- ment to the Constitution was adopted. S However, if the country is not to have national prohibition end contr:l of liquor as they now exist, what is to be tituted? * There’s the rub. It is failure of all opponents to agree on any single plan to take the place of the present system that gives the drys added confidence. Some of the wets wish modification, cthers wish flat re- peal. If the drys can keep the oppos tion sufficiently divided over this mat- ter, they feel they can hang on to the cighteenth amendment without much difficulty. Chairman George W. Wickersham's separate statement or report embodied t of the commission sent to Congress by the Precident is perhaps the dryest in t-ne of any of the state- ments ‘of the individual commisgjongr: with the exception cf that of J Crubb. Mr. Wickersham recomn a resubmisslon of the eighteen amendment to the people, through the State constitutional route. Judge Wil- liam S. Kenyon of Iowa, Henry W Anderson cf Virginia, Ada L. Comstoci president of Radcliffe College in Cam- bridge, all express the opinion that the | matter should be resubmitted, as do still other members of the commission ‘ iy Mr. Wickersham's plan would be t) have the pecple vote for delegates to the State conventions with the prohi- bition question the sole issue in their minds. He suggests, however, that Con- gress put through a resolution proposing 1o amend the Constitution “simply re- pealing the eighteenth amendment.” He does not suggest a substitute amend- ment be submitted to the people. Prob- ably that is the form the ultra drys would prefer to have the question take if submitted to the people, feeling that it would be easy to picture to the voters the evil conditlons which existed before national prohibition became part of the basic law of the country. A substitute, such as that written into the commis- sicn’s own report, glving Congress the power 1o regulate or to prohibit the { liquor business, seemed not to be in Mr. Wickersham's mind at the time. Presi- dent Hoover has flatly opposed such a substitute in his letter of transmittal to the Congress. L Apparently th» commissioners when they wrote the substitute giving the Congress the right to determine whether there should b: regulated liquor traffic in this country or flat prohibition had in mind the difficulty of revising the Constitution itself and preferred to leave { the matter to Congress in the future, so that if evil conditions arose again un- der the proposed regulated liquor traf- fic the country could go back to na- tional prohibition by a vote of a ma- jority in both Houses of Congress and the approval of the President. The great difficulty about such a plan ¥ould be the fact that it would leave the liquor issue perpetually in politics, with a wet and dry side in every election. At lcast that is the argument urged against the proposal. However, it ap- pears that the liquor issue has been in political campaigns in this country for many, many years already. Before the eighte:nth amendment was adopted it was an issue in congressional cam- igns. Since its adoption, it has been an issue in at least one national cam- paign for the election of a President and promises to be an issue in the com- ing national campaign of 1932, i Although President Hoover in his letter sending the Wickersham Com- mission’s report to Congress declared against the proposed substitute for the eighteenth amendment written into the commission’s report, some of his friends say today that the President/ has “an open mind” with regard to possible re~ vision; that some other form of re- vision might suit him. If that is the case, the sconer it is officially stated from the White House, the more clear will become the situation to the voters, The ardent drys have interpreted Presi- dent Hoover's letter as a flat refusal to accept revision of the eighteenth amendment and a determination to drive ahead with the present system. If these ardent drys believed anything else, there would be a torrent of dis- approval immediately loosed. at -the President. On the other hand, if the opponents of national prohibition as it now is practiced were informed that the President favored revision in some form, they would “cease firing” at the Chief Executive. One thing is certain, as a general thing, in politics. That is no candi- date for public office, whether for Presi- dent or constable, ever gets far or con- tinues to win victories if he straddles an issue in which his constituents are vitally intereste Unless the country loses its present interest in the prohibi- tion question before the next presi- dential campaign gets under way, Presi- dent Hoover, if he is to be a candidate to succeed himself, undoubtedly will make his position clear as crystal. To do otherwise would be to court disaster. B Already his Democratic opponents, through Jouette Shouse, chairman of the Executive Committee of the*Demo- cratic National Committee, have put forth a statement pinning the dry label on President Hoover, or seeking to do s0. Furthermore, the Democrats are chiding the President because, having set up a commission to deal with this question of national prohibition, he has declined to go along with the suggested revision of the eighteenth amendment which has been approved by the com- mission. The indictment by the membeérs of the Wickersham Commission of the cor- rupt conditions that have existed under prohibition during the last decade is remarkable. It is existence of those conditions that has aroused so many of the voters today. Thousands of those' who wish a change are not anxious for a mug of beer or for a drink of whisk; ‘They are anxious to do away with bootlegging and speakeasies. The commission calls attention to the strong public opinion existing in m2ny of the States against the present system of dealing with_the liquor traffic. ‘Whether President Hoover, running as a dry, can defeat a Democratic nomi- nee for President, running as a wet, next year is a question that probably only the election, after a campaign, can answer. It may be the campaign, if the issue exists, will reveal the trend of sentiment and indicate which of the candidates for President will win under such conditions. The race might, it is true, be complicated 'by & third party candidate, running as a progressive, as a Farmer-Labor candidate. e belfeve. that Mr. Hoover can win re-election if he sticks firmly to the cause of prohibition. The wets in- sist that he cannot. In 1928 it was as- serted again and again that the women were winning the battle for President Hoover against Alfred E. Smitha the wet Democratic nominee. The women may turn the trick again for Mr. Hoover in 1932 if the Democrats put up a wet candidate against him and he remnmsl steadfast to the dry cause. 3 A number of dry sympathizers strong- fore the opening of Lheorm»- . of that all of the BY FREDERI Did you ever write a letter to Frederic J. Haskin? You can ask him any question of fact and get the answer in a_ personal letter. Here is a great educational idea introduced into the lives of the most intelligent people in the world—American newspaper read- ers. It is & part of that best purpose of a newspaper—service. There is ao charge except 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Frederic J. Haskin, director. The Evening Star Information Burcau, Washington, D. C Q. Please give a blography of John Knox who wrote “The Great Mistake.” —H. J. A The publishers say that John Knox is & pen name. The identity of the author has not been disclosed. Q. Is it proper to call the battle in which Gen. Custer and his men lost their lives, a massacre?—R. M. K. A. This is a misnomer. It was a battle in which both sides were armed and which was fought until the result was defeat and death for all of the United States troops who were in the engagement. . . Q. How tall is Paderewski and how much_does he weigh?—W. B. O. A. His height is 5 feet 1013 inches and his weight, 172 pounds. . When did the Chinese first come to California?—E. A. S. A. The gold rush attracted the first | Asiaties to California about 1850. By /1852 there weré 25,000 and by 1890 |they had reached their maximum of 107,000, Q. Does Gen. Pershing belong to any fraternal orders?—W. C. A. He s a thirty-third degree Mason. Q. What is the word that appears occasionally in the Bible which has no meaning?—G. F. T. i A, We do not.find that any word in the Bible has no meaning, but ther many centuries controversy ecise meaning of the word b 3 s occurs 71 times in the Book of Psalms and three times in Habakkuk. It is variously described as a musical rest, a recommending for the nding of the body in reverence, and ejaculation’ corresponding to Q. What is the status of the United States in Haiti>—A. J. F. A. The Department of State says thet the status between the United States and Haiti is determined by the {reaty made September 17, 1015. By virtue of the treaty the United States will have occupation privileges until May, 1936. Q. What does “fret,” mean?——H. A. A fret is one of the narrow ridges of wood, metal, or ivory crossing the fingerbcard of the mandolin, guitar, zither, etc., against which the strings are pressed by the fingers to shorten thelr vibrating length and thus raise the tone. Q. How long Is the Russian verst?— P. “the musical term, K. "A. It is a measure of length equal to 0.66288 miles. Q. Why are the mornings at this time of year shorter than the after- noons?—J. W. A. The Naval Observatory says that forenoon and afternoon are alway: equal, or very nearly so, by the sun; they are, at times, far from being so, by the clock. The reason for this is that clocks give, not the actual solar time, but the mean or average solar time. Noon by the sun is when the sun is due south—that is to say, noon by the sun is midday or very nearly midday between sunrise and sunset. Noon by the clock may occur as much as one-quarter hour earlier or later than C J. HASKIN noon by the sun, the difference being known as the equation of time. It so | happens that when the days begin to | lengthen in December noon by the | cloek is growing relatively earller at a |rapid rate; in other. words, i8 moving |toward the time of sunrise and away frgm the time of sunset, the tendency belng to shorten the forenoons and to lengthen the afternoons. Q. TIs a_ pregervative used on obelisk in Central Park?--C. D. | . At one time, about 15 years ago the obelisk was treated for the purpose of preventing the obliteration of the hieroglyphics, Q. How Milten C. had th Address | the many books on cards has Work written? Which one largest s: 2 V. K. Work has written 14 books His rst was on whist, then came auction, and now contract. “Auction Bridge Complete” had the largest sale over 300,000 coples. His Iatest bock “Common Sense Contract Bridge. just off the press Q Hanke W —E. The Trinity Church tract tained about 62 acres and was v rown as the King's Farm, the arm and the Queen's Farm Twiller, the Dutch Governor of Amsterdam, sold this tract in 1 Roclof Jans and by his will it became the property of his wife Anncke. She died in 1663, leaving eight children, of whom but one, Cornelius Bogardus, in March, 1670, executed an instrument known a “transport,” conveying the property to Col. Francis Lovelace, then Governor of New York. Trinity Church by royal eharter on 1703 Queen Anne th tract of land t How large was the Trinity C How did Trinity Church ac v con was_incorporated May 6, 1697. In formally pres-nted the Trinity Church Q. How long i§ a cycle?—E. N. M, A. A cycle doe§ not imply any length of time. The word de: any interval of time in wi of regularly and continuall series of events is completed. recurring Q. Who is in charge of the loan exhi- bition connected with the Bicentennial celebration of George Washington's | birth in 19322—W. C. | _A. Mrs. Rose Gouverneur Hoes is.in charge of the Bicentennial Commission’s exhibition; address, George Washington Bicentennial Headquarters, Washington | Building, Washington, D. €. Mrs. Hoes, a_great-great-granddanghter of Presi- dent Monroe, has long been fdentified | with historic exhibitions, being particu- |larly well known for' her work in | assembling the costume exhibition in | the History Building of the United | States National Museum, in which are | exhibited, on figures, dresses of every mistress of the White House from Mrs | Washington * to and " including Mrs. Coolidge. Q. What form of government had the | Colonies while the Revolutionary War | was going on?—C. W. | A. As Andrew McLaughlin, historian, says: “During the whole course of the Revolutionary War the Central Gov- ernment. was the Second Contintntal Congress. There was no written instru- | ment defining the power of this body. | It used such powers as it needed to use or was permitted to use by the people. Congress composed of delegates annually In this Congress each State had one | the States and for many important to an amendment or alteration in the March 2, 1789. It then flickered and ¥ % The Central Government, if | government it may be called, was a | appointed by the States and to this body was given considerable authority. * * * | vote. * +*¥"No step could be taken without the consent of a majority of measures the consent of nine of them was necessary. All States must agree | Articles. The Confederate Congress continued its formal existence until went out without any public notice. Attention has been again turned to the status of the family by the encyclical of Pope Pius, in which he reaffirms the position of the Catholic Church toward divorce and allied subjects. Many' de- . clare that society as a whole must take to heart the opinion as expresssd by the Vatican, while others point out in- evitable conflicts with modernis: “Nobody who reads the encycli the subject of Christian marriage, clares the Detroit Free Press, tain any doubt about the fundamental attitude of the church of which he is head toward the institution of matri- mony, and toward the general question of sex and family relationships. Many people will consider the letter from Rome final and binding, many others will disagree with parts of it more or less violently. A few will reject it in toto. But nobody can reasonably fail to admit that his holiness has met one of th> most active and vexed questions of the time in a direct and aggressive way, and without concession to the enem the encyclical uniformity with which a spade is call:d a spade, the | declination to compromise with or speak in softened phrase regarding things the writer considers evil, give the document a character that should pro- voke att:ntion even from those least likely to accept it as a rule of life. Its content makes it an historic declaration ‘whose significance may be more ap- parent a decade hence than it is now. “It may easily become one of the great Vagican papers of all time,” thinks the Scranton Times, as it offers the Judgment: “With divorce increasing in this country until it is looked upon with alarm, and the ease with which some other countries liks JFrance, Mexico and Russia permit the marriage ties to be dissolved, there is, it must be conceded, need for some one or som: institution with authority to raise its hand and cry halt. Pope Pius' encyclical is intended to protect the family, the home and society. *€ e & “Aside from the issues thcmselves,” in the opinion of the Oklahoma City Oklahoman, here stands out eternal, the inflexible character of ghe Catholic Church. In the matter” of fundamental principle it is entitled to whatever credit accrues from being the same yesterday, today and forever, If there is any virtue in' remaining true to the traditions, in aining impervious to chance and changing conditions, in thinking and acting in terms of cen- turies, then the Church of Rome pos- sesses the virtue in a degree possessed perhaps by no other order in all time.” “As a high and noble restatement of the sanctity of the home, the encyclical should be taken to heart. As a solution for difficult problems, too lar ignores the needs of this age,” asserts the Milwaukee Journal. The Hamilton Ontario Spectator advises that “the fact that the condemned practices are, to such a great extent, already accepted as expedient if not necessary, by large sections of the people, cannot be ignored. That paper concludes that “the overwhelming majority of Protes- tants will be absolutely at one with the Vatican in its detestation of such abominable experiments as ‘companion- ate’ marriage.” The Janesville Gazette says: “In a world gone mad over sex relationships, somethin werful, as Is this encyclical, was surely needed. It is like a halting signal by some leader at a time when a mob is in motion and attention fixed ‘on the man who has drys get behind a proposal that the eighteenth amendment be resubmitted to the people through constitutional | conventions in the States, and that the referendu l%k‘ in the present calendar year, W, old congressional or presidgntial clection “to™gomplicate the matty Some of the dryeaders were willing, but a majority wer® not. The | Pope’s Eneyelical Pr;)duc_;s New Discussion of Family ‘The positive, assured tone of | the | I assumed that bold and daring leader- ship and needs to be heard.” “It is a document not only of the highest import for individuals, but for the peoples, nations, states, as well, be- cause it is the advocate of the first unit of society, the family,” avers the Cath- olic Daily Tribune of Dubuque, with the further statement: “Pope Pius XI de- serves the good will of the whole Chris- tian world for this timely reiteration of the church’s stand, which she has up- held valiantly, uncompromisingly, and with terrible losses. * * Only a few days ago Comdr. Evangeline Booth of the Salvation Army, in an interview, saw the necessity to vigorously condemn divorce as a practice and a legal sanc- tion that ‘cheapens marriage’ and that strikes a blow against the family that ‘is a blow against the civilization of which we are so proud.”” % W / “It is well that we are reminded of the sanctity of the home, of the tragedy of divorce, and the dangers that beset us in a day of extremity and modern- ism,” states the St. Louis Times, while the Hartford Times holds that “the family is the bulwark of society,” and “with its integrity stands or falls the lwm;!{- social structure and civilization tself.” “Monogamy seems to be the surest afeguard of individual happiness, as well as society’s general advancemen contends the Omaha World-Herald vith the further estimate of the extent of the questions involved: “Truly the problems of society are ever changing and always perplexing. With little ex- perience te guide them, some men glad- ly turn to the absolute rule of a Pope and thankfully let him govern their lives and their conduct. Some cannot do this, seeking in themselves the an- swer to their problems. It may be that this present century will witness a re- casting of soclety into conventions, manners and morals that will be star- tling, new, different and highly indi- vidualized. It may be that tentative excursions into such realms will turn the race, as & whole, more strongly to the ancient, time-proved customs. This is a troubled, transitional period, and there is mone wise enough to read the answer concealed by fate and by time.” “Is it to be supposed,” asks the Boston Transcript, “that the church which certainly holds itself to be immutably founded can, by reason of popular cu: rents of action and privately propr gated influence, abandon its settled principles? * Hardly. To do so would mean the loosening of other influences than those pertaining especially to | these particular tendencies. It would | mean that the captain of the ship, be- | cause menacing waves were rising high, was really to leave his post and the deck itsclf and lcap into the surg'ng seas cf doubt and materialism, or at least of latitudinarianism. The influ- ences against which the Pope lifts his voice are those of earthly convenicnce, of the material situation of men and women. It is no part of the function of the church to confirm or approve these influences.” e Real Competition. From the Hartford Daily Courant. The great meat packers of the Na- tion won the right to deal in all kinds of food, & concession which may le t them ih time to meet the co put up by the drug store: ———————— Radical. From the Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator. Canada is to have an “Eat More Onions week.” This, we think, is the strongest measure yet taken to pep up usiness. RSNSOI § Of No Concern Then. From the Rockford Register-Rapublic. It will take 100 years.to. est our opp unn.¥I is now lost, Théissue will go into the, year: !nnflonnl camp ‘ next | denuded lands and by that picales Wwill have ceased jo interest & 1o pl Jb,