Evening Star Newspaper, January 30, 1931, Page 8

A8 {THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY.......January 80, 1931 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Bustness Office: 11th St. and Pennsylvania Ave. 'ork Office: 110 East 42nd New o 5 ghicaso Office: Lake Michizan Bulldine. v opean Ofice; 14 Regent ., London, ‘England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. 5c per month ..60c per month W 65¢ per month The Sunday Star . _5c per copy Colleztion mede at the enid of ‘each month. ders may be sent in by mail or telephone jAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance, Maryland and Virginia. fly and Sunda: 1yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 88c fiu’ 1 . yr., $6.00: 1 mo., S0c only .. nday only 1yr, $4.00; 1mo., 40c All Other States and Canada. flv and Sunday...1yr., §12.00: 1 mo., §1.00 aily only .. 0 inday only ., §8.00: 1mo., T3¢ 5.00; 1 mo., 50c Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled the use for republication of all news d otherwise cre also the locel new b Allrizhts of publication o jal dispatches herein are also reserved. — e The District Bill. When the District appropriation bill Was finally enacted in the closing hours | of Congress last July, its approval in the House was accompanied by the passage of a resolution appointing a select com- mittee to inquire into the subject of fiscal relations generally. The select committee was appointed because the two houses of Congress were in direct disagreement over the amount of the Federal appropriation. Its duty was to find out, for the enlightenment of the House, at any rate, what this contribu- tion should in equity be. In reporting the District bill for 1932 to the House today the subcommittee that the bill is more lenient in respect to “small mammals and apes” at the National Zoological Park and has au- thorized plans for a new house for them—bless their little hearts!—which in size and comfort will compare favorably with the new reptile house. o Political “Chariteers.” 1If the Democratic leadership is in: tent upon making a Government “dole, in place of voluntary charity as con- ducted by the Red Cross, an issue in the coming presidential campaign, it is doing & foolish thing. The American people have been accustomed to meet the needs of the hungry and the suf- fering themselves, through their local charities and through the national or- ganization of the Red Cross. The in- sistence of the Democratic group in the Senate, aided by Republican insurgents, that the Federal Government shall be- come a dispenser of this charity does not take into consideration the fact that the American people, of their own in- itiative, have been able to care for suf- fering in the past and are doing it now. Many more millions of dollars than the $25,000,000 proposed by the Senate to be handed out from the Federal Treas- ury will be needed to meet the calls of charlty. Unless the Government is prepared to go the whole route, to take over the matter of relieving suf- fering throughout the country, it seems particularly stupid that it should make a gesture at this time which may inter- fere with the usual 'functions per- formed by the local charities and the Red Cross. Indeed, the drive for the Government dole proposed in the Senate has the appearance of a gesture, and a political gesture at that. If persisted in, it may prove a boomerang. The Republican party will make no mistake if it op- poses the dole and stands for the American Red Cross, which has de- clared that a Government dole marks on District appropriations takes the view that the amount of the Federal contri- | bution, $9,500,000, “should not be dis- turbed pending the report of the select committee.” This select committee has recelved an overwhelming mass of evi- dence to support the District's con- tention that the Federal contribution is | inadequate, and that its own tax burden | s adequate. But, candidly stating that such evidence was “embarrassing,” the committee obtained funds for the hire or' an expert of its own choosing, who is | now working on comparative tax bur- dens. The committee is marking time awaiting the expert’s findings. The committee and the expert have twenty- eight working days before the adjourn- j ment of Congress in which to complete their work and when Congress dies the committee dies. Thus the investigation as far as the District bill reported to the House today §s concerned becomes a mere gesture. The present bill has k<an constructed on the framework of ifie huap sum of nine and a half millions pius tie Dis- trict’s revenues. The Jump sum bears 10 more relation to the Federal Govern- ment’s real responsibilities, morally or lawfully, than it ever did. The District again must depend on favorable Senate action to correct the continued in- ‘The bill reported today contemplates the expenditure of practically all the District surplus accumulated during the years when the Budget Bureau held the estimates below the revenue avail- ability. It is notable for the fact that it will virtually reduce next year's estimates to current revenue. Current revenues cannot supply the needs of the District unless the Federal appropria- tion is materially increased, or unless the local tax burden, already high, is increased. The Federal appropriation should be increased in this appropria- tion bill to afford the Commissioners the proper revenue availability for the year following, 1933, estimates for which must be made next Spring. ‘This year's bill provides a gratifying amount for school construction. Taken in connection with last r's bill the new construction provided in both measures is designed to eliminate 53 portable schools, 116 part-time classes pnd 173 oversize classes “on the basis of present enrollment.” The difficulty there is that the school officials will not have “present enrollment” to contend Wwith, but a constantly increasing en- follment. The two bills, it is stated, with other constructions, are to provide factlities that when completed will re- Imove “the overcrowded conditions in the ‘Washington schools.” That is a fine ©objective, and it is sincerely to e hoped $hat it will be reached. ‘The bill increases the estimated cost of the new Courts Building in the Mu- nicipal Center development from five o six million dollars and authorizes the Commissioners to enter into contracts for its erection next Summer. In this connection the committee specifically states that “It is contemplated the Municipal Center Bullding will be con- Btructed comparable as to material, srchitecture and utility with the build- ings now under construction in the Mall srea,” thus definitely establishing the scale for a project that will eventually ost more than $22,000,000. But beyond he receipts to the District from trans- fer to the Federal Government of the present Municipal Building, now as- $essed at $3,471,000, no other Federal eontribution to the Municipal Center project is provided for outside the lump sum. ‘The bill provides a “project engineer” for service in the municipal archi- tect’s office, who may be able to expedite some of the work in letting contracts on public buildings. It has edded a valuation engineer and a valu- stion accountant to the Public Utilities CTommission staff and provided $5,000 gor other expert work. It has author- feed plans for a new Benning Bridge ®crss the Anacostia River anG « has provided for & Georgetown branch Kbrary site where the old Georgetown Feservoir at Wisconsin avenue and R street now stands. These are among $he good features of the bill, ‘The committee has disallowed salary the end of voluntary giving in this country. The House Committee on Appropri- ations has voted 18 to 11 against the dole. ‘The matter goes now before the House. The Republican leaders of that body have expressed confidence that the verdict of the Appropriations Committee will be sustalned by the House itself, despite the effort of the Democrats to force it to accept the Senate dole. From the Senate Dem- ocrats, however, comes & new threat that, unless the dole is voted, a special session of the Congress may be forced in the Spring. It is another attempt on their part to coerce the Republicans of the House and the President into accepting the dole. The Democratic leadevship of the Senate, having pledged co-operation with the administration to put through speedily measures for relief of the drought-stricken areas and of unem- ployment in this country, has sought from the first to impose its own ideas of relief—the Government dole—on the legislation proposed. Because the dole 18 resisted, it delayed action at first on the drought relief bill and the measure designed to give the unemployed work on Government construction projects. And it has delayed the raising of funds by the Red Cross for needed relief work by the intérjection of the idea that the Government, not the individual citizen, is to put up the money for the suf- ferers. The first proposal of the Democratic leadership of the Senate was for a Gov- ernment dole only to those in the drought-stricken areas. But since that first proposal it has been amended so as to provide a dole for the unemployed in the cities, a general dole. Appar- ently the change was made in the hope of gaining the votes of those who rep- resent industrial communities. Govern- ment dole is to go to those communities where the citizenship has been at work for months in the relief of suffering and the unemployed. What other step could be taken more effectually to halt the voluntary aid which is so necessary unless the Government is to assume the entire burden? The political “chari- teers” are putting their foot in it. —_— Taxicab Regulation. In closing F and G strects between Ninth and. Fifteenth to cruising taxi- cabs, the Commissioners are adopting a traffic practice that has been in effect for years in some of the larger citles of the country. In New York, for in- stance, empty cabs are prohibited from certain congested streets, and Philadel- | ohia and Chicago use the same method to promote a free flow of traffic. The situation on these two streets in Washington has reached the acute | stage, and the city heads are adopting the obvious means to afford relief. A large proportion of the present travel on F and G streets today is taxicab traffic, and with the city oversupplied with public vehicles this concentration has caused grave concern. Of course in inclement weather some inconvenience may be suffered by pa- trons of establishments in the restricted zone, but it is no part of the city gov- ernment’s function to serve taxicab passengers at the expense of almost paralysis of the traffic stream. The streets must be kept as free as possible under present conditions for the motor- ist and pedestrian, and if private inter- ests block this legitimate use of the streets then private interests must give way. Taxicab company officials have an- nounced that they intend to fight the new regulation in the courts, but there is small likelihood of their success. It is & measure designed solely to relieve an intolerable condition, and as such it 15 hardly reasonable to suppose that it will be subject to court reversal. — e ————— Oklahoma is rich in natural re- sources ‘and continues to regard Alfalfa Bill as one of them. While measuring the flow of impetuous oil wells, no accurate estimate is yet attempted of the amount of oratory this remarkable political phenomenon can deliver in a day. fncreases for District personnel, with the exceptions of those for the schools, police and firemen, thus continuing the policy foliowed this year by the Appropria- tions Committee of the House of repudi- ating these just increases. And by legls- Jative rider it now intends to center the and majestic force of the _Congress of the United States on get-~ rid of the one lone little kinder- for children of pre-school age by the Board of Education deference to the wishes of the com- in connection with Americani- 8chool..: % note, howefer, +—oos Gen. Butler's Indiscretion. Regrettable as the necessity is for disciplining an officer of the fine serv- ice record of Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler, U, 8. M. C, there can be no difference of opinion as to the right- eousness of the action promptly taken by the United States Government to undo the damage he did. The Secretary of State has sent an unqualified apol- ogy to Italy for the aspersions Gen. THE EVENING tico to place himself under arrest sub- Ject to court-martial proceedings. It goes without saying that these steps would not have been taken so unhesitatingly unless, as the result of Gen. Butler's own representations to his superiors, he had himself not lent full justification for them. This is a free country, as is said ever and anon. Speech is one of the freest things we boast of, and rightly so. But a man who wears the uniform of the armed forces of the United States is not quite as free with respect to speech as the ordinary ununiformed citizen. The mil- itary, naval or Marine officer is an of - ficial of the Government. In that ca- pacity he has far less latitude of ex- pression than the private citizen. His freedom of utterance is very distinctly limited when he e s to discuss a foreign power or official with whom the United States Government is on friend- 1y terms. Gen. Butler in a semi-public address at Philadelphia made, or repeated, al- legations about Mussolini’s humanity and motoring manners, which, if found- ed cn fact, would reflect disparagingly upon the Italian statesman's honor as a gentleman., The Italian Ambassador at Washington, as soon as Gen. Butler's remarks were brought to the embassy’s attention, secured a categorical denial of the charge from Rome and then re- quested the State Department to take corresponding action, ‘That our Government did not shrink from doing its full duty in the premises —immediately, unequivocally, hand- somely—will go far toward assuaging the feelings of Il Duce, who, being hu- man like the rest of us, resents the imputation that he is a man of callous sentiments. ———— Portraits of the former Kaiser of Germany published in connection with his birthday anniversary have an un- mistakably sad expression. As a man accustomed to being before the public eye he is necessarily aware that, even if he were inclined to take the world comfortably as he finds it, a cheerful expression at present would be his- torically out of place." _— e A pilot fifty-five years of age was un- injured by the overturning of his plane. Aviation recognizes no age limit for notable performance and in this re- spect holds an advantage over many forms of clerical employment. - There are no longer such things as concealed weapons. Any hold-up man enjoys flourishing a revolver in full view of an alarmed but attentive audience.’ i —————— It has been said that many serious controversies hinge on the definition of a single word. “Dole” is at present a word which exercises a large amount of influence in connection with philan- thropic work. —atee The Stock Exchange will discourage gambling based on the numbers of daily transactions. Wall Street may be inclined to see no good purpose in speculative guesswork which does not involve brokerage commissions. e, An occasional receivership may in time come to be recognized as de- sirable if the receivers can be made to qualify as business doctors who can look the works over and put them in first-class running order again. oo Racketeers no longer show prefer- ence for a metropolitan scene of op- erations. Any village with a gas filling station is big enough to attract a hold- up man. —tns SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Ground Hog Composes. Said the ground hog so gay: “I am hiding away, Composing my next salutation. If my shadow you see, Oh, be careful of me— For that sunshine foretells consterna- tion! “That shadow 80 strong Puts the season in wrong. But I'm trying to be ‘a good fella.’ An attempt might be made To stay safe in the shade If you lend me a spreading umbrella. “I'll ‘be ready with song ‘When that day comes along. The folks who draw near—I will show ‘em A sorrowing lay About Winter's delay— And maybe I'll have a Spring Poem.” Adapting Himself. “I prige myself,” sald Senator Sor- ghum, “on being the kind of person who can adapt himself.” “Are you a wet or a dry?” “On which particular sentence in an authoritative opinion I happen to be reading.” Jud Tunkins says there have been 80 many contests it has got so that a gal who wins a beauty prize brings about as much glory to the home town as a champion checker player. The Rollicking Racketeer. The gangster runs his business And somehow never learns ‘The mathematical distress Of income tax returns. A Move for Safety First. “What's our hurry?” asked Mrs. Chuggins. “I want to be noticed by a police of- ficer. “What for?"” “This road has gotten to be 8o crowded with all kinds of bandits that I'm willing to risk paying a fine for the sake of the protection.” “Disappointment,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “arises when a man discovers that be has asked more from life than he was entitled to.” The Universe Keeps Going. The Einstein theory is strong. Sir Isaac Newton was all wrong. Regardless of what each may claim, We're going just about the same. Apples will fall. The sun will rise, Stars will illuminate the skies, For Nature far too busy is To read a scientific quiz. “In dese days” sald Uncle Eben, Butler cast upon Prime Minister Mus-| “when a joy ride starts an ambulance Secretary of the Navy su'nmneuysmmu:qnua commandant of Quan- percession.” B I3 STAR, WASHINGTON, D ©. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Recently we read two excellent novels which left us with the feeling, however, that they had got nowhere. One may well wonder just what get- ting anywhere in the novel means. If the phrase means anything at all, it means two things: First, immediate action. Second, the sense of satisfaction which comes with a complete presenta- tion of life. Let us examine these two phases for a moment, for every one reads, and al- most every one reads fiction. The novel is not, only the delight of the young, but also of the middle-aged. Perhaps the place the novel holds in the affection of those who have passed the heyday of youth has never been sufficiently stressed. For many years in this country it was customary for many good men and women to deprecate the long story. Women who read them were said to be “frittering away their time.” Men scorned them entirely, or at least pre- tended to. All the time, however, the better works of fiction were being read by men and women who had passed over the great divide between youth and middle age ‘The novel gave them an intere: a thrill which had passed awa cveryday life. It still is not realized by many just how depressing ordinary life is for thousands upon thousands of hu- man beings. It is too bad, but it is true. Those who have studied the matter do not hesitate to place this sense of everyday stultification as one of the real causes of war. Men get tired of the life they are living; they want to and in - instead of porters. = O ‘We wondered why these two excellent novels had left us with a feeling that they had got nowhere, and in wonder- ing decided that a novel, if it wants to get anywhere, must give a reader two things—action and a sense of satisfac- tion resulting from a complete presenta- tion of life. Action is the great giant behind the supergiant of interest. Interest must be created, and often, but not always, it is created by action. By immediate action we mean the simple interest caused by the passage of time and its result on the characters of the story. Many novels lack this sense of action because the characters talk too much or the different parts of the story are thrown together so clumsily that a sense of jerkiness results. In either event the reader is puzzled with a feeling of dissatisfaction which often enough he is unable to account for. It is a well written book, he ad- mits; the dialogue is well done, the characters give some sense of reality, but the thing as a whole does not hang together and is lacking in conviction. ‘What does one ask of the good novel, after all? There is a question for you, one whose proper answer could only come as the result of long study. The aver- age reader, however, may make a satis- factory approach fo the question by using his common sense. As a reader he is the judge in the tlast analysis. It is he for whom the book Wwas written in the first place, and it is his liking and recommenda- tion which will keep it alive. ¥ o ‘There are five elements which may be expected from a really good work of fiction. The first of these is interest. In many respects it is the most im- Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler, U. §. M. C.,, who is to face a court-martial for calling Mussolini a hit-and-run mo- torist, probably isn’t surprised that the Nayy is subjecting him to drastic treat- ment. Now and then Butler's friends will tell you that the “department clique” has been gunning for him for lo! these many moons. From the same quarters last Summer emanated the tale that the Quaker leatherneck would have been appointed Gen. Neville's suc- cessor @s major general commandant of the Marine Corps except for the campaign organized against him by naval higher-ups. Butler has always resented Navy domination of the Ma- rines. He's fond of thumping his man- ly chest and exclaiming, “I'm a Ma- rine!” and by the same token giving thunderous notice that he's not a “sailor.” The enlisted men of the Ma- rine Corps swear by Butler and are generally for him, right or wrong. He personifies the pugnacious spirit of the devil dogs. For months Gen. Butler has been considering a fancy lecture offer, which would take him all over the country next Fall and Winter. If the fighting Marine lcaves the service the strong probability is that he will take to the lyceum platform and “tell the world” & lot of things. ERE Among_the not_inconsiderable ele- ment in Washington that is hoping and raying for a special session of Congress is the hotel industry. The Capital is always a mecca when House and Senate are doing business, committee hearings are in progress, and the legislative | wheels generally going around. Soclety Many a dinner party in Washington is built around an in- fluential Senator or Representative. | Usually you can't hear the axes being ground on these occasions, but the process is generally under way, all the same. As the time between now and March 4 grows shorter, the prospect of an extra session increases, because there is still a mass of vital legislation which has not even been approached as yet Nobody anticipated the delays that have ensued in connection with relief. * K k% Under the timely title of “Filibuster- ing in Congress,” William Tyler Page clerk of the House of Representatives will address the Cosmos Club next Mon day evening on the dilatory ways and means of Capitol Hill. “Mr. Page's 50 years of personal knowledge are better than a cycle of hearsay,” runs the | club's notice of the meeting. = The veteran is celebrating this year the golden jubilee of his association with the House of Representatives, which he entered as a page in the clerk’s cffice in 1881, In 1902 he tried to break into the lower branch as a full-fledged G. O. P. member from a district in his native Maryland. Just now he is busy as a bee, in the capacity of executive secre- tary of the United States Commission for Celebration of the 200th Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington, Whether Page will still be clerk of the House after March 4 depends on how many Republicans survive the “flu” epidemic. the job, too. ik . This year's 116th anniversary of Andrew Jackson's victory at New Or- leans on January 8, 1815, has signally revived the interest of both the Army and Navy in “Old Hickory's” defeat of Gen. Pakenham and his British red- coats. Maj. Cen. Frank R. McCoy. U. 8. A, commanding the 4th Corps Area comprising the eight Southeastern States, has just directed Col. Henry R. Richmond, senior Army officer at New Orleans, to work up a thorough study not only of the battle, but Jackson's orders from Washington, his personal doings during the engagement and everything that would lend popular in- terest to that glorious page in American military history. Assistant Secretary of the Navy Ernest Lee Jahncke is oir- culating ‘an attractive booklet, entitled tle of New Or- leans.” livered before the Louisiana Historical SocletL on the recent Jackson day. Jahncke wants to show that the United States Navy and Marines also played a valorous part in the fray. * ¥k X Speaker Longworth's talents as an nmmfiwm “Nick” is In get away, they want to become Herces | 3 is a gayer realm when Congress is on | portant of all, since without it the reader will not go on. Now the reader must go on. That is the primary hope of writer and publisher. Unless the reader reads on, the book might as well not_be written, The primary way to secure interest is to create action, not only physical movement, but even more the action of human minds, desires, the depths and heights of ry and grandeur. “This sort of action is dependent upon the presentation of real people in real situations. A novel which leaves the reader With a sense of having got nowhere sometims but not always, will be found to be presentation of real human beings. The characters in such cases are thin, somehow lacking the roundness of those men and women pictured in the greater works of fiction. Just how this result, one way or the other, is secured is starcely to be an- alyzed. It is another of the things which are done, not talked about. There, has been a great deal of talk about it and about, as old Omar said. but in the last analysis the only way to write is to write, and the only way to create great book characters is to create them. PR Human nature is the broad back- ground of every good novel. Even the most brilliant flights of the imagination must be based on it. Even the Tarzan stories have this solid superstructure. Sentiment and humor, to some extent at least, are necessary ingredients in the mixture. It will be found that even works of the strictly objective school yet manage to get a great deal of senti- ment in by the sheer proc:ss of letting the sentiment of the reader. Tho reader, whether he knows i or as he is a part of every good play, and even of ev great painting. ¢hy a novel which seems to scorn, in the sofl side of humanity, a great use of it, The last of our five simpler ingredi- ents of the good story is a difficult one to explain, even in a rudimentary way. It has to do with the grand depths of human nature. There are many excel- lent stories which never touch them. They are good tales, interesting, replete with action, but some way or other they leave the reader with a sense of lack. This lack, as far as we are able to pin it down, is due mostly to a failure on the part of the writer to create these grander depths of human nature. The writer almost seems as if he were afraid of himself, and had no trust in the reader, either. He may know love, happiness, misery, exaltation, but he is rather suspicious that these things are only the concern of weaklings, and therefore will be de- spised by the robust readers for whom he writes. “Therefore he fails to put the grand depths into his story, with the result that the reader, although he may praise the book, leaves it with a sense almost of humiliation. ‘Was the writer afrald to do his best? What might he not have done if, in ad- dition to his suspense, plot, humor, he had managed to put these characts into places where the depths and heights of human nature had been called forth? Every reader will be able to make a | list of novels which, for some reason or other, get nowhere, so far as he is con- cerned. They may move right along ers, but for him they are lacking. BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. incessant demand this Winter for repe- tition of his priceless stunt known as “The Battle of Austerlitz,” a piece with both words and music. “Nick” takes his place in front of the piano, of which he is an_accomplished player, assumes a funereal mien, and announces that he will portray a commemorative ceremony on the field of Austerlitz in the days of the late Austrian Empercr Francls Joseph. Thereupon the Speaker intones @ phrase or two about a departed field marshal. Then he plays & few of the stirring bars of “Gott_erhalte, unseren Kaiser,” the former Austrian national anthem. Rising to his feet, Longworth next inhales a mouthful of cigar smoke and blows it out, in imitation of the puffs that escape from the mouth of cannon_just_before a selute is fired. After that “Nick” squats on the piano keys, causing a detonation for all the world like the roar of artillery. The illusion is perfect and the ruler of the House plunges his audience into par- oxysmS. * % k% native Washingtonian, Maj. Lenox R. Lohr, is in chief charge, as man- ager, of the colossal construction opera- tions to eventuate as the s Fair of 1933. He was ered for the Job by Gen. Charles s when the present Ameri- ador to Great Britain was on war service in France. Maj. Lohr is a military engineer, and in that capac- ¢ saw active service overseas in 1917- v s our byword, all indications are that the fair at Chicago in 1933 will compare favorably in magnitude and magnifi- cence with other outstanding American expositions. With the opportunities we have, but which they lacked, we feel confident_that we'll outdo them all in splendor.” Rufus C. Dawes, the Am- bassador’s brother, is the president of the “Century of Progress,” the exposi tion’s official titie, and is personally di- recting its far-flung activities. X ok ok Ernest Walker Sawyer of the Alaska division of the Department of the In- terior is trying to remove the popular impression of our great. Northern ter- titory as “Seward’s Ice Box.” He says that the ice-box idea is old-fashioned when you realize that the cab~ 5 pounds in welght each. With- uge boundarics Alaska has & riety of climate. According to lands have such a mild temperature an enthusiast, who's an expert on citrus fruits, is thinking about estabe lishing an orange grove there. Sawyer is an authority on maps. “If you place a map of Alaska on a map of the con- tinental United States,” he points out, “the northern part of Alaska will fall over into Canada; the southeastern part of Alaska will extend to Florida and some of the western sections of Alaska will fall in Southeri California,” (Copyright, 1931.) ————— A Big Club. From the Onkland Tribune. An_organization which should serve well in its purpose to stir memories and add to good fellowship is “The Guild of Former Pipe Organ Pumpers.” Mem-= bership is limited to those who, when boys, used to get behind the church organ and pump while an artist in view of the congregation was given credit for the resulting sounds. A gen- tleman who has assembled his statistics y putiing the question to casual groups asserts that, if his fellows are to be believed, two out of three pumped pipe organs_at some period in their lives. This club takes place with that other whose members _studied the McGuffey Readers as one distinguished for having no serious purpose, no constitution and no by-laws. - No Noise. From the SBavannah Morning New: A t new liner is to be named President Coolidge. If it chooses to run, it will run silently. o No Idleness. Prom the Green Bay Préws-Gazette. Political employment jsolds up as well a8 ever. a failure in the | what happens be somethiny to apaeal to | not, is a party to every good novel, just | s | Panama Canal. action, | A former United States Army officer | ds raised in Fairbanks average | Sawyer, some of the Alaskan is- Says Time Was Cure For Unpreparedness To the Editor of The Star: ‘The experiences of Gen, Pershing and the comments of Brig. Gen. R. E. Wood, who in the later stages of the war was! acting quartermaster general under Gen. Goethals, are most interesting. The failure to furnish supplies to the American forces in France was most lamentable. It should not rest as a re- action against the original quarter- master supply departments. The de- ficiency in preparedness was more basic and far-reaching. For example, clothing could not be produced in the Fall of 1917 in enci mous quantities for the National Army at home and for forces abroad because (a) the cloth could not be bought or manufactured; (b) the wool board had to get an allocation of the world’s supply of wool; (c) the mills had to change the looms of machines to man- ufacture the melton cloth: (d) manu- facturing of clothing involved increased shrinking facilities not available, in- creased sewing machines for shops and changing over of large tailoring estab- lishments to uniform-making accord- ing to patterns that had to be supplied in all sizes. Then along came cold weather in France and a call for heavier clothing. A board hastily called decided to in- crease the weight of melton cloth to 16 ounces—a further wool conference for additional grades of wool. Finally real progress was made in December, 1917, to March, 1918. Go through a similar procedure for leather shoes, cotton and knit underclothes, wool blankets, etc. Then people realize what real pre- paredness involves. Time is the only cure under such conditions, not simply change in personnel. True, mistakes may have arisen; as was rumored, Snow shovels may have been on the first list | of railroad equipment scheduled for the But the real question !is, What progress is being made in prep- aration for the next war? President Harding was the first official to rec- ommend some sort of conscription of industry. His inaugural address March 4, 1921, advocated it. It has been in both Democratic and Republican plat- forms down to 1928, and now Congress has a committee to suggest how to use industry. The committee will report to the President the 1st of December. 1931—13 years after our unprepared experience. Then a law must en- acted. Lots of people have reactions. Is the country acting? ‘COURTLAND NIXON. L Community and Chest. To the Editor of The Star: | Both the concept and the purpose of ! the Community Chest are so praise- | worthy and beneficent that mere words can add but little tribute to its far- | reaching_alms and splendid achieve- ments. To contribute generously to & | centralized fund for the relief of the !needy and the indigent, for the rescue |of the dosgalrlng unemployed, for the | succor of the sick and hcleless aged, is indeed a rare privilege bearing its own ample reward. F= one is rich only through what he si/es and poor only through what he reluses. | " “Cast thy bread upon the waters, for | thou shalt find it after many days.” Some one has well said, “A rich man without charity is a rogue, and perhaps it would be no difficult matter to prove that he is also a fool.” For no one can advantageously withdraw himself from his fellow man. To give value or mean- ing to his life man must co-operate in the welfare of the whole community. Now, the raising of the sum of $2,000,000 for the combined philan- thropic needs for an entire year of this rich and opulent community should be a comparatively easy task. There are who can and will cheerfully contribute this sum for sweet charity and pro- tection without in the slightest affecting their fortunes. But may I venture to suggest that there are also many worthy | citizens who are unable to render | financial ald in this great cause, yet are ready and eager to contribute their time and labor in the proper dis- ! tribution_thereof. A staff of volunteer | workers in the administration of the Community Chest would save a con- siderable sum for the further extension | of its activities. CHARLES W. PAFFLOW. - F and G Street Parking. To the Editor of The Star: | If the authorities have a real desire to lessen the traffic congestion on F and G streets, why don't they cut out the double parking for conversation and convenience along these streets? | "1 have known cases where parking | was available adjacent the curb but the | parties too indifferent to pull into the space, Police patrol is surely needed. Follow this up by requiring those large vehicles which extcnd out to the car tracks to park parallel, or wait until_hours when traffic is not con- gested. One finds several bottlenecks of this character along G street especially. Also make some better effort to pre- vent parking on the approach side of the car stops Instead of requiring pro- spective passengers to file between vehicles, or confess that the warning on the stop sign is a bluff. A ten-foot opening is enough, but the signs say twenty. Also make some effort to have vehicles follow in line instead of trying to block both road and car track by straddling one rail. When they do this both lines have to move ahead before they can proceed. Spac: and time are both wasted this way. I think this is enough suggestion for one time. W. E. ALLEN. S Bad Movies Cause Bandits. To the Editor of The Star: Why are bandits increasing? Is it not because bandits and other desplc- able characters are made respectable and highly desired by the movies? It seems so strange to many of us why every other cause is given, while an astute observer can see that the bravery (50 called) of the bandit in the movies is the cause and only cause of the desperadoes now so prevalent. Wil the public never wake up and put a stop to these vile movies? E. J. WILSON. P, Keeping Men at Work. From the Deseret News (Salt Lake' City). During the past year many new and seemingly successful methods of in- creasing employment by dividing it and augmenting it in various ways have been tried in this and other countries. In one Eastern city a painting con- tractor who had a number of workmen in his employ finished all of his jobs. He sent out a large number of letters to house owners suggesting that he would be glad to adorn their dwellings at rea- sonable rates during the slack period, and was surprised and gratified to re- celve & number of orders, enabling him to keep his men busy. One great rail- way decided to repair and place in first- class condition its many sidetracks, switches and other station property, in order not to lay off any of its men. A large novelty manufacturing company has cut its forces to a five-hour day, thus retaining all of them. Another firm, engaged in making felt hats, de- cided to begin making straw hats, and trained a number of its employes in this line of work, instead of dispensing with their services. A plant engaged in the production of erishable articles decided to increase ts warehouse space, and thus store more goods than usual, thereby keeping its men on the working list. In Canada the government loaned money to rail way companies to enable them to ex- gu.nd their construction activities and uild new extensions earlier than they B arious loyment is being n various ways employmen! enlarged and living assured to many !basc ball and basket ball?—D. N. { fall short of the average?—D. C. more than enough wealthy persons here | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Few Americans realize how much their Government does for them. Read- ers of The Evening Star can draw on all Government activities through our free information service. The world's greatest libraries, laboratories and ex- perimental stations are at their com- mand. Ask any question of fact and it will be answered free by mail direct to you. Inclose 2-cent siamp for reply postage and address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. Q. What intercollegiate sports are | vlayed at Notre Dame besides foot ball, A. Other Notre Dame sports are golf, tennis, cioss-country and track. These are intercolleglate. There is also intra- mural and unofficial hockey, swimming, hand ball, boxing, squash and lacrosse. . How much was last year's rain- A. The Weather Bureau says that the Summer rainfall east of the Rocky Mountains in 1930 was approximately 500,000,000,000 tons short of normal. Six trillion five hundred billion tons is the approximate normal rainfall for the continental United States for one year. Q. Is the Chinese alphabet, similar to European alphabets?—N. P. F. The Chinese alphabet is not. simi- lar_to European alphabets. There is undoubtedly a system of Chinese char- acters corresponding to an alphabet which consists of three types of char- acters—pictograms, idiograms and pho- nograms—all of which are used, the first-named referring to objects, the second to symbols and the third to sounds. Q. How long has olive oil been used as a food?—T. A. A. It is one of the oldest foods. It is mentioned in the Bible, and was ex- tensively used in the early Greek civili- zation. Q. Who operated the hotel What Cheer House, built on a hull of an old ship in San Francisco Bay?—E. J. A. The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce says that this famous old hotel provided rough comfort for miners and ranchers. It was operated by Rob- ery B. Woodward, who also later con- ducted the well known pleasure park, Woodward's Gardens. The What Cheer House was located at Sacramento and LeidesdorfT streets in San Francisco. It is reported that this hotel was the first in San Francisco to be run on the European plan, and at one time it con- tained the only library in town, which was frequented by Mark Twain and Bret Harte. Q. How thick would ice have to be to support a railway train?—W. V. G. A. It has been shown that 18 inches of ice is necessary to support an ordi- nary railway train. Q. How long has Canada had mount- ed police?—I. A. C. A. On May 3, 1873, a bill was intro- duced in the Canadian Federal Parlia- ment dealing with the adminisiration of justice and the establishment of a police force in the Northwest Terri- torles. This bill was adopted by the House of Commons on May 20, 1873, and the following September the actual enrollment of the new force began to take place. Q. What does the word “Comihtern” mean?—R. D. H. A. It is an abbreviation of two words, “Communist International,” and is ap- %fled‘ to the highest governing power in ussia. Q. What country produces the most lodine?—W. N, country produces about 90 per cent of the available supply of fodine. Q. What is a “meridian stone”?—A. L. R. A.'It is & marker for the longitude of a place. Most county seats now have them, and they are commonly located just outside the city limits, away from disturbing noises which might affect the delicate magnetic needlcs of com- passes placed upon them for determin- ing direction. They are set up by the United States Coast and Geodetic Sur- vey. Q. What life insurance companies have the largest asseis?—K. McC A. The companies which are stricty life insurance companics having the largest assets arc the Metropolitan, Prudential, New York and Equitable. Q. Did the chemists from Antioch College who went on a scientific ex- ploration into the Western deserts find any plants of commercial value?—M. G- A. Proximate analysis of specimens to date, according to announcement just made from the Antioch laboratories, shows promise of several plants easily propagated or already growing in abun- dance, each of which prove to be a veritable “drug store” in itself. Al though the commercial possibilities of these desert products are not yet cer- tain, it seems probable that they can be 0 utilized. Q. Do animals have cancer?—A, C. A. Birds, animals and fishes have cancers. Growths of much the same nature are common also in the vege- table kingdom. Q. When did Great Britain scquire the Fiji Islands?—N. R. A. The sovereignty of the Fiji Islands was offered to Great Britain in 1858. This was at first declined, but was later renewed and accepted in 1874, Q. What_are ultra-violet and infra- | red rays>—B. M. E. A. The eye is not sensitive to light of wave length shorter than about 3.900 angstroms, but it is known that there are much’ shorter waves, called ultra= violet, lying beyond the violet portion of the spectrum and that they are in- visible. A delicate thermometer or thermoplle shows that beyond the red of the visible spectrum lies a great range of wave lengths belonging to what is known as infra-red light. Q. Are the values given in coin cata- logues the retail values of colns?—A. R. A. The values given are the prices paid by dealers. - Retall values are in general anywhere from 10 to 100 per cent higher, depending on current de= mand. Coins vary greatly in value, ac- | cording to condition and preservation. A rare coin in .uncirculated condition will bring a much higher price than the same coin which shows more or less wear. Coins which are fairly plentiful may bring a small premium in choice condition, but no premium at all if in ordinary condition. Q. How did the Nickel road get its name?—H. L. A. The following explanation ap- peared in the Service News of the Nickel Plate road: “The Nickel Plate was built in 1881 and 1882 to be a com= petitor of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern. But within a month after it had begun to operate it was purchased by the Vanderbilt interests, which ready controlled the Lake Shore, and William H. Vanderbilt became its presi- dent. An old yarn has it that one of its purchasers remarked, ‘Well, for the price we paid for it, it ought to be nick=l-plated,” and thus christened the Plate Rail- D. A. Chile is the largest producer, That infant.” Wickersham Report Viewed As Echo of Out of the babel which has arisen as'| to the value of the Wickersham report one predominant opinion may be heard. ‘That is that the document reflects the uncertainty of the public attitude to- ward a remedy for conditions. There are vigorous criticisms as to the inade- quacy of the statements, as well as tributes to the courage of the Wicker- sham body for frankly admitting that there is no present solution for the problem. The conditional plan to give Congress authority to legislate receives substantial approval. Inconsistency be- tween the general report and individual statements from the commissioners is emphasized. “If the report does nothing else, it at least should serve to remind fanatics in both camps that theirs are not the oniy opinions which can be held in high consclence and good faith,” declares the Atlanta Journal. The Omaha World- Herald sees in the report “evidence that the members of the commission have been courageous and open-minded in their inquiry amd intellectually honest and frank iM their findings. ‘The Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mall would “grant to each member of the commission, divergent as are their in- dividual opinions, respect for honest convictions, consclentiously arrived at after painstaking and careful research.” “Of course, the commission has not solved the prohibition problem,” says the Worcester Telegram. “It would have required 11 magicians to soive it, and 11 human beings, though endowed with unusual ability, as the members of the commission are, had no chance from the outset.” The Telegram believes that “Mr. Wickersham and his colleagues have made a good hand of their job.” *xx “Particular interest” is expressed by the Morgantown Dominion-News in “the plan for modification of the pro- hibition amendment proposed by Henry W. Anderson and recommended for con- sideration by Law Enforcement Com- missioners Kenyon, Loesch, Mackintosh, McCormick and Pound.” This is stated to be modeled after the Swedish system, giving power to Congress “to regulate or prohibit.” That paper concludes that “at first blush the plan seems to pos- sess much merit.” The St. Paul Pioneer Press gives “high value” to the point that “any change should leave Congress with flexible powers to handle liquor. The Akron Beacon-Journal calls it “the one redeeming feature.” The Milwaukee Journal points out that “10 of the 11 members agree on how the revision should be made—if the amendment is to be revised—giving power to Con- gress.” The idea of congressional power ap- peals to the San Francisco Chronicle as “sound,” and it is indorsed by the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. The Louisville Courier-Journal comments: “It would throw_the whole question of prohibition into Congress, leaving the people to de- cide, through contests between the wets and drys, perhaps in every congres- sional campaign, whether liquor is to be prohibited or to be merely regulated. This really is the most significant fea- ture of the report.” The Wilmington Delmarvia Star is convinced that “whether the amend- ment is to be modified or repealed, it appears essential that the responsi- bility for dealing with the revolting criminal by-products of prohibition be placed upon the States” The Ann Arbor Daily News argues: *“ ‘States’ rights’ are not likely to be the answer to the question. And total abandonment of prohibition is not desired by the public. Any change must be one calculated to dispense with the evils of the Volstead law while retaining the virtues.” The South Bend Tribune maintains that “the Anderson plan, like all modifica~ tion programs that have been offered thus far, contains no recognizable rem- edy for the current evils,” " s Condemnation ,of the report me: from various papers. The Birn m who would otherwise have suffered. Sug- Public¢ Discord Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader, while the Columbia Daily Tribune brands its sug- gestions as “tepid,” the Meridian Star as ‘“glittering generalities,” and the Champaign News-Gazette as “comproe= mising bunk.” The New Orleans Times Picayune holds that “the net result is most certainly discord.” The Asbury Park Press charges that “government by commission fails utterly.” The Oak- land Tribune concludes, “That the issue remains, is possibly injected as @& large one in politics, and the commis= sion has done no more than advance thought and clarify a certain opinion, are the items upon which there is a general agreement.” ‘The report is interpreted as favorable (to the drys by the New Castle News, the Rochester Times-Union, the Lexing- ton Leader and the Raleigh News and Observer. The Topeka Daily Capital concludes that “the commission could reach no conclusion other than Federal control in some way of the liquor prol lem.” The Houston Pest-Dispatch say “The disagreements strengthen rather than weakent the report. These differ- ences of opinion indicate that even the membets who favor repeal or modifica~ tion, with one exception, agree that na- tional prohibition gains should be con- | solidated, that it should be given a more thorough trial, and that it has been as successful as could be expected.” P “The Individual opinions of the mem- bers of the commission,” according to ithe Cincinnati Times-Star, “are about the most worth-while features of the report. An unprejudiced person, read- ing these opinions without previous knowledge of the history of prohibition, could scarcely fail to form the opinion that the eighteenth amendment should never have been put into the Constitu= tion and that rt of change is urgently needed ¢ Dayton Daily News avers that the report “thundered one thing in the index and another in the book,” and that “it has given the impression of a confusion and an in- consistency within the commission which detracts vitally from the substance of the report.” “The Charleston (S. C.) Evening Post calls it “a true epit- ome of the whole body of hypocrisy which is called prohibition,” and re- marks that “it would perhaps have been too sensational if a siraightforward, clear and courageous conclusion had been returned by a group of men who for a year and a half had been engaged in exploring the fetld swamps of pro= hibition.” "The St. Louis Times con- cludes: “Instead of being an indorse- ment of prohibition. the findings are quite the opposite. Ten out of cleven of the commissioners in one way or an- other suggest revision or repeal as a way out, with enforcement until such day as a substitute has been found. If the die-hard prohibitionists find any com- fort in the decision of Mr. Hoover's hand-picked board, they are welcome to it. The facts are otherwise, and the Xutt'lx;r; will prove it.” *‘The average man in his attit thinking,” remarks the Rnnnokeuvd\;o:l?fi News, “is as frankly puzzled as is the Wickersham Commission in its contra- dictory findings. We in Virginia were not satisfled with what we had in saloon days and voted to change it. We are not satisfied with what we have in the days of the bootlegger, the moonshiner, the rum-runner andthe law evader. But as yet no leadership has devel- oped to suggest a way out of the di- lemma. We are not going back to what we had. Neither will we be content much longer to continue the unfortu- nate and unsatisfactory conditions we have now. The extremes of prohibition :_n!olleln.nce are having their inevitable eaction.” Our Advisers. From the Milwaukee Sentinel. What would we do without sagacio gentlemen to interpret what othe: 0% ple say for our edl:&cnfim? S News states that “in view of confli 2 individ inions it is of little re pointment is voiced tar and the Charlotte futtlity 1s the theme of the The Acid Test. bR #rrom tne Fort Worth Star Telegras friend is A real o