Evening Star Newspaper, February 8, 1931, Page 28

hie THE EVENING SE éR ‘With Sunday Morning WASHINGTON, D. O. BUNDAY...,...February 8, 1931 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor e e The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: t. and Pennsylvania Axc. ok Offce. 110 East 42nd Bt ice: Lake Michigan Bullding. 4, Regent ., London. glan Rate by Carrier Within the City. fvln{nl S‘;rs I ml.(d!c per month vening and S n 4 gur‘m;yg“ 60c per month jundays) . 85¢ per month v i 8y be sent ‘mail or telephone 5000, e in by Rate by Maill—Payable in Advance. agarylanc =nd Virginia. 17yr., $10.00; 1 mo., 85¢ 1¥r, $6.00; 1 mo.. S0 $4.00; 1 mo., 40 All Other States and Canada. fly and Sunday...1yr. $12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 1 00: 1 mo. ily only . 8¢ nday’ only 0 1me: 8o Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press 15 exclusively entitled use for republication of all news dis- credited to 1t or not otherwise cred- in this paper d also the local news Dblished "hereth. c'“' Tiehts of publication of ‘special dispatches herein are also reserved. = Cheap Labor and Low Bids. The low bid for a school building project in Washington—an eight-room addition to the Stuart Junior High School—again has been submitted by an out-of-town contractor, and, unless there are unusual conditions relating to discretion in the use of materials, the Commissioners under the law have no alternative and must place the con- tract with the low bidder. The low bidder, in this case, enjoys & favored position among other bidding con- tractors because of the use of cheap, non-union labor, The differential in the wage scale largely accounts for the difference in bids, 5 ‘The situation in connection with the award of contracts for District of Columbia public buildings s well enough known by this time to be understood by everybody. By law the Commissioners have no discretion in the matter. And as the law works, contractors from out-of-town are able to submit bids based on low wages, eventually bringing in mechanics from the States to compete with Washington mechanics who have established them- selves in the community on & recog- nized scale of wages that should not be reduced. To reduce the scale of wages means to lower the standard of living. Some of the very mechanics who are denied work on these local projects contribute through their taxes to the public money that finances the projects. On last Wednesday the Senate unanimously passed and sent to the House a bill by Senator Davis of Penn- sylvania requiring contractors on public bulldings in Washington and elsewh<re to pay laborers and mechanics the wage scale prevailing for similar work in the community, and setting up the pro- cedure for determining the prevailing wage scale. The purpose of the bill, which received the favorable indorse- ment of Government officials and the heads of labor organizations, is to pre- wvent the very condition that exists here when a low bidder from out-of-town brings in foreign, cheap labor to fulfill his contract. The bill merely enacts into legislation & pelicy Rlready urged by the Tremsury ent in con- nection with Government's public works prégram. - * The House should take up this bill and complete its enactment Bt this session. Furthermore, the bill should be clear as to its application to public works undertaken by that agency of the Federal Government, the District of Columbia, and should remove any con- flict which may exist between its pro- visions and the mandatory provisions of the District appropriation bill re- garding the award of contracts to the lowest. responsible bidder. It is only through the passage of this legislation that the workingmen of the District may receive the protection sgainst unfain competition that is given the workingmen of other jurisdictions by their local governments. It is the reasonable approach to & serious problem. Bids for District of Columbia work cannot and should not be re- stricted to local contractors. But the low bidder should be compelled to base his bid and fulfill his contract obliga- tions on a scal: of wages determined by the prevailing scale of the community. — Einstein has been charged with pirat- ing some of the ideas in his theories. ‘The court that hears the evidence in this case will have its intellectual work cut out for it. ' ——————————— Prof. Einstein does not hesitate to remodel his ideas on the assumption that it is his own theory and he can do as he likes with it. —vor—. Four Miles a Minute. One of the most remarkable and sig- mificant features of the new world's automobile speed record of two hun- dred and forty-five miles an hour, set up Thursday by Capt. Malcolm Camp- bell in his fourteen-hundred-horsepower racing car, 18 the fact that he did not change tires in the course of his nine- mile run each way on the natural speedway at Daytona Beach. When the late Sir Henry Segrave came to this country in 1929 to put the mark at two hundred and thirty-one miles an hour he remarked that the best that the tire manufacturers in England could promise him was that his tires would hold at a speed of two hundred and forty miles an hour for one run of the beach, and in his trials he was careful to chkn;z them each time be- fore starting back. Capt. Campbell, doing almost six miles an hour more than the manufacturers could assure Segrave was safe, demonstrated that in the short space of two years the tech- nique of tire construction has been vastly improved, and in this demon- stration alone lies one of the valuable phases of his startling experiment of driving an automobile at more than four miles a minute. Probably in the not far distant future the construction of express highways between large cities will completely sevolutionize the present traffic theory on speed. Instead of a maximum limit of speed there will be a minimum lmit and on broad highways without inter- of any kind sutomobiles will by at speeds up to one hundred an y driver then who will be penalized and hot the fast one. The tendency is all that way. And it is just such tests as Capt. Campbell has so successfully passed through that lend impetus to the movement. Ten years ago the tire which would deliver ten thousand miles of trouble- free service to the motorist was an exceptional one. Today with the knowl- edge gained from high-speed tests and from researches as to the most durable materials, fifteen, twenty and twenty- Tve thousand miles are not uncommon. Ten years ago the stock car which could do sixty miles an hour without tearing the motor to pleces on & sus- tained run was a rarity. Today in many machines a “cruising speed” of seventy, seventy-five or eighty miles an hour can be successfully maintained for hours under the proper road and traf- fic conditions. And lastly as the result of general improvement in the motor car, balloon tires, four-wheel brakes, streamlining, sturdier steering apparatus and greater safety in every component part—all from lessons learned on the stern proving ground of experimenta- tion—roads are being bullt and will continue to be bullt adequately to take care of the new era in motoring. Capt. Campbell's trip to this coun- try, costing many thousands of dollars, 1s therefore not simply & sporting event to give glory to an individual. Les- sons of incalculable value have been learned from it and the knowledge ac- quired will go into the manufacture of even better motor cars for the use of the present generation. ——ors. Statute Law and Gang Law. ‘What might almost be regarded as a competition between statute law and gang law is in progress in some of the large American centers of population. Under statute law crooks, gangsters, racketeers and others of the ilk aresought and occasionally caught and sometimes punished. Under gang law those of the underworld who offend against that code are punished more swiftly and ef- fectively than under the statute law. A large percentage of the murders com- mitted in Chicago and in New York are known to be vengeance crimes of gang- land. Men who trespass upon the pre- serves of others, who interfere with the established traffic in illlelt goods, who take more than their share of profits, and especially those who for revenge or any other motive peach on their partners in crime are “taken for a ride,” as the Chicago phrase runs. They are “put on the spot,” as another expression goes. Perhaps they have been given a trial in their absence and condemned by the gang, or maybe by the leader alone. There are no hung juries or mis- trials. There is no appeal from such a verdict and sentence. There is, indeed, no less penalty than death. There are no second or third degrees of crime in the gang’s calendar. A case is just reported from Detroit to illustrate the persistence of the pur- suit when gangdom goes after its victim. Three months ago a man named La Mare, member of a gang, fell out with his fellows and was con- demned. He went into hiding in his own home, 50 effectually concealed from observation and sheltered from discov- ery that he was not molested. Then suddenly fate knocked at his door. In the absence of his wife he answered the rap and was shot down. The police, on searching place, fo & veritable armory, six - “¥w'gun, & Tepeating ._L tic rifle, a shotgun, l%flmfl' =" clock for timing bom| If the gangs galped no Wcruits they would eventuglly Uwterminate them- selves. But ®nfortunately for lawful society, they are constantly admitting new members to their ranks, perhape men driven out of the twilight zone of semi-criminality into actual lawless- ness, or maybe adventurous youths at- tracted by the glamour of a eriminal career, or drawn by the prospect of “easy money.” There is, of course, no easy money in gang adventure. It is hard-earned money, blood money, dan- gercus money. The gangster stands in the shadow of both statute law and gang law. A few of the conspicuous ones, leaders by virtue of great shrewd- ness and bravado, survive long enough to enjoy the profits of their enterprises. There is, for instance, Al Capone, who is a millionaire, according to repute. He lives in luxury though in desperate fear. Some day Al Capone will “get his,” from gang law if not from statute law, with more certainty of the former than the latter. The experience of Legs Diamond, who was so thoroughly perforated by & gang attack in a hotel in New York recently, iMustrates the high price that gangsters pay for their adventures and their profits. As far as the statute law goes, Diamond is immune. But evidently he is under sentence of death under gang law, and it is dollars to doughnuts that that sentence will be executed, with no parole or probation or commutation. If statute law were as swift and effective as gang law there would be a quick riddance of this pest from which the country is suffering so severely, and for which it is paying so heavily. — . King Carol has been presented with & gold telephone by the International Telephone & Telegraph Co. It makes & handsome desk ornament, but even a gold telephone may bring in the bad news if there happens to be any. - Transoceanic Competition, Prance, England and Germany are engaged in a sharp competition in pas- senger steamship construction with ap- parently no regard whatever for the possibility of aircraft supplanting sea- craft in the transport of people over the ocean. Immense sums are being expended in this rivalry. Germany recently put into commission two vast liners capable of extraordinary speed with luxuries of appointment not pre- viously attempted. England was soon out in front with a new liner that would carry a few more passengers and make somewhat better time, with ex- ceptional refinements of service. Now it is announced that the keel has been Iaid at Saint Nazaire of a new French liner that will duplicate the best and biggest bearer of the tricolor on a larger scale. She will be more than 1,000 feet long, with a tonnage of over 70,000, and will be the last word in comfort and speed in transatlantic traved. It is not likely that the two other competitors for oceanic supremacy will rest content, Both England and Ger- many are apt to new construc- hour. It will be the slow. tions that will stronger bid fop- of the thing he i THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, patronage than even this new de luxe French ship. At the present rate of progression in speed the four-day boat is an early possibility, There have been developments in engineering in the past few years that make this achievement entirely feasible. Recently an American cruiser on her trial trip developed & speed of thirty-four knots an hour in heavy seas. If such speeds can be de- veloped on passenger craft—and there 1s no reason to doubt—the transatlantic crossing will be materially reduced. With these advances in size, speed and comfort of transatlantic steamship service the demand for aircraft tra port over the ocean is undoubtedly les- sened. At this stage of development safety and certainty in the air are not assured. They may come. The heavier- than-air craft or the enlarged plane may be perfected to the point of as- sured security. But if meanwhile sur- face crossing is brought down to the point of time which is now clearly in sight, with the provision of every con- ceivable facility for comfort and pleas- ure and diversion in transit, the steam- ships will be in & position to hold their own against the new competition. ——————— Diplomacy and Publicity. A week or 30 ago there may have been & few thousand people in the United States who knew that Gen. Butler of the Marine Corps had re- peated & story about Premier Mussoe lini’s philoséphy of sutomoblile driving and of the state. And of those whoi knew about it by seeing it in a news- paper, the majority probably yawned and turned to the next page with some thought that something ought to be; done about these hit-and-run drivers. Today everybody, broadly speaking, knows all about Mussolini and Gen. Butler and the international incident that paved the way for still further and more complete knowledge. And the more it is talked about the greater number of embellishing characteristics will be added to the distinguished Italian Premier and to the distinguished major general of the Marines, as wit- ness Senator Heflin's opening statement in his customarily impassioned pro- test in the Senate against American kotowing to European tyrants. Be- fore the affair is over a great many people will doubtless feel that they must be loyal either to Gen. Butler or to Premier Mussolini, which never was and of course cannot be the real issue. All of which is an interesting com- mentary on the phenomenon of pub- licity when its blazing light is thrown on the necessarily and strictly formal diplo- matic relations between two friendly powers. oo o Publicity is being showered on SBmed- ley Butler in spite of the fact that he appears to have no great need of it either as a professional lecturer or as » screen star. et Superstitious weather observers assert with regret that the ground hog, while making occasional promises of molsture, D=0 A CRITICAL QUESTION "BY THE RIGHT REV. Bish Frequently stories are prompted by questions. Lincoln had & habit of saying, “That reminds me of a story.” A pertinent story that strikingly illus- trates a point is often more effective than argument. The master of story- telling was Jesus of Nazareth. It was said oi Him that “without a parable (which is a story) spake He not unto them.” Some one has recently the story that is best to the present age is that of e Good Samaritan.” Here again it was rompted by & question. We read that a lawyer asked the momentous ques- tion, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” “He sald unto him, What is written in the law? how readsst thou? And he, answering, said, Thou shalt love the Lord try God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor thyself.” Jesus readily responded, hou hast answered right.” The lawyer, to justify himself, asked the further question, “Who is my neigh- bor?” It was in response to this that Jesus related the dramatic story of the man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho who fell among thieves, the cold indifference of the priest and Levite and the despised Samaritan who gave to the unfortunate man the need- ed assistance and relief, ‘The whole story is a fine definition of what constitutes true neighborli- ness. It is worthy of remark that Jesus linked a kindly service rendered to an unfortunate wayfarer with the gift of eternal life. In fine, while He placed the love and worship of God as of primary importance, He gave second place to love for and service to our fellow men. He placed no limitation upon the terms of this service. It was not restricted to any prescribed area. He implied that wherever an oppor- tunity for service was found there the obligation was manifest. It is our habit to think of the gift of eternal life as something which comes to us through an act of faith or worship. It is certainly this in part, but an act of faith in the conception of the Master may express itself in terms of service. Too frequently we concelve of the expression of our reli- glous life in terms of a creed or in an JAMES. E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, op of Washington. act of worship. These obviously are in- dispensable, and rightly held they should form the basis for our conduct. A church as a place of devotional habit and practice constitutes in itself an es- sential part in spiritual and cultural development, but to restrict the field of our expressed religlous conviction to some limited area, however sacred, is to do violence to that which is implied in the story of “The Good Samaritan.” d | “Show me thy faith by thy works” was the demand of the practically minde apostle St. James. Again he said, “Faith without works is dead.” When our Christian religion becomes so extensive- ly operative that it touches practically and intimately the whole field of our occupation, our business, our social life, our domestic concerns, everything with which we have to do, it presents such a d:monstration of its value as to prove irresistible, Prof. James asks concern- ing any theory or philosophy, “Will it work?” If we seriously believe that the assurance of eternal life is based upon practice as well as belief, if we accept at its full value the implications of “The Samaritan” story, we shall find the wqyld in which we now live & happler, wholesome and more profitable one. ~Our religious convict expressed in terms of a creed is largely & personal matter, Our reli- glous conviction expressed in of practical human service may be more costly, bug it is a demonstration of the value of #he thing we profess with our lips. Our interpretation of Christianity often falls of appeal because we make it purely a matter of self-interest. Jesus was essentially practically minded. He lald repeated stress upon those things that concern human life here and now. He persistently sought to serve the needs of men and to lift their burdens. By making this world a more it place in which to live He guaran| to those who will co-operate with Him to this end & larger, fuller life beyond the grave. According to His own statement, two things are in- dispensable to gain life: love of God and love of one'’s fellows. And 50 it is that to each one of us, as we read this great story and ponder its implications, there comes the challeng- ing word of the Master, “Go and do thou likewise.” Federal Funds Will Probably Seep Into Food Purchase Work of Relief BY WILLIAM HARD. ‘The line between what the Federal Government should do and should not '‘do regarding the sufferers in the drought-stricken regions is getting worn very thin at this week end. The realistic prospect is that within a few months Federal public funds will be in course of being used in the drought- stricken regions for all needed pur- poses, including the supplying of hu- man food. This is because of numerous accumulating circumstances which the President, who is conscientiously ?- or osed to Federal public funds uman food, is unable to control. One such circumstance is the United States Weather Bureau reports, show- “H & direful continuation of drought- bringing weather throughout large sections of the regions already drought afflicted. In those sections another excessively dry season, with r or no crops, now seems highly possible. The is by no means doing his full duty by his own prediction. e Sometimes indicating wetness and then turning dry, many a politician has proved harder to guess than even the climate. — e inia Agriculture in California is looking forward to the possibility of making & crop of grapes more reliable than one of corn or rye. ——— Some enterprising reformer might organize an “Uncle Tom's Cabin” troupe to play a readapted version in Liberia. o France is represented as looking for- ward to more war, in deflance of the ancient aphorism, “Experience teaches.” SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Departed Eloguence. We have been taught of late to fear ‘The phrases, resonant and bold; Nor sorrow that we do not hear Great oratory, as of old. ‘To measurements minute we turn. For mechanisms new we strive. Of distant space we seek to learn, Silent, men study and contrive. And yet emotions deep arise. The thought of glory atill will come, To find, beneath story-laden skies, The heartbeat echoing to thg @eum! With simple speech we are éagtant. | We ask not that our hearts be sdrred By powers that are eloquent, And may bring terror with a word. Point of Ethics. “Would you consent to use money in an election?” “Not my own,” answered Senator| Sorghum. “There is a delicate point of jpolitical ethics which positively re- ' quires a candidate to save his own wealth and persuade other people to risk the money on his campaign.” | Jud Tunkins says his only objection to radio is that you take what you get and there's no use of having objections. Debate. Agreements may be brought about And minds avold collision. Men talk until their strength gives out. Fatigue makes the decision. Trying to Be Cheerful. “I'm trying to be cheerful,” sald Mr. Meekton, “In spite of those long months of drought.” ) “Do you get any comfort out of a drought?” “Well, it brings a little mental repose. Henrjetta doesn't keep me constantly worried about not forgetting my over- shoes.” “Every man,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “might be a hero, if life did not so seldom present opportunities for the particular kind of herolsm to which he is suited.” Love of the Gruesome. ‘The idle mind Tries to make life unbearable, And joy will find Its details strictly terrible. “I never goes into a guessin’ contest,” said Uncle Eben, “ 'ceppin’ to vote every "lection, which is de biggest kind of a guessin’ contest dar is.” o A Test. From the Minneapolls Ster. A measure of & man is willing %o Seh abot “ need for food by drought sufferers seems likely to increase. * K % % ‘The second uncontrollable eircum- stance is the gradual exhaustion of private charity funds in the North and Northeast, where distress caused by unemployment is in many localities rapidly increasing. People contributing to 1 unemployment rellef efforts in their Northern or Northeastern com- munities find it more and more dif- ficult to contribute also to Red Cross efforts for drought relief in the South. ‘When the senatorial discussion of the proposed $25,000,000 Federal appropria- tion for human food in the drought- stricken regions began, Senator of Pennsylvania urged the Senate to refrain from making the appropria- tion until the Red Cross drive for & $10,000,000 private fund had been pushed to February 8. As these words are being written on the eve of the dawning of that day the Red Cross drive has not yet yielded $7.000,000. ‘The average contribution to the d Cross drive per inhabitant of the United States has been less than 6 cents, * ok K ‘The reason for this result is held to be partly the anticipation of a public Federal subsidy to the Red Cross, which would make private contributions un- necessary, and partly & growing inabil- ity or unwillingness in the North and Northeast to respond to remote de- mands when local demands are so pressing. There is a mounting realiza- tion here that both of these factors in the situation, however regrettable, are facts. They seem to make it unlikely that further Red Cross drives for drought relief through private charity will now be attempted. ‘The third circumstance Wmndln‘ the use of Federal public funds for al ught relief purposes is to be found in the steady and apparently uncheck- able expansion of Federal humanitarian activities. On this point the President himself is giving the country a striking 1llustration. * K K x The President, in rebuking the pro- posal of Federal charity for human food, quotes a message of President Cleveland vetoing & Federal charity bill. ‘That bill, however, was for grant- ing seeds to farmers for the é)lln“n‘ of thelr crops, and the present drought- rellef law, which was passed by the Congress last December and which contains a provision for loans to farm- ers for seeds for the planting of their crops, was signed by President Hoover. President Cleveland vetoed a law for gifts of seeds. President Hoover signs a law for loans for seeds in circum- stances fn which it is clear that the recovery of the loans is extremely problematical. Thus the Federal Gov- ernment keeps always inching onward toward more and more general welfare humanitarianism, until, at this week end, in the matter of drought relief, we have arrived at the following ex- traordinary developments: * kK K The Federal Government undertakes today to do almost every conceivable thing fora drou{;lt sufferer except hand him a quart of beans for eating. ‘Under the present drought relief law it will loan_him a quart of beans for lanting. It will presumably watch le to see that he does not eat but lants them. If they grow into new {;eflns. he can eat the new ones. Old ones for eating he must get from the d Cross. In the meantime though the Federal Government will be at his side continuously. Under the speclal emergency ems- loyment bill it will start bullding near gy him a road which has no interstate value whatoever, but which is designed to provide him possibly with a job and with some cash, which is really a gratuity to him out of the goodness of the Federal heart. Under that same bill it will start dredging near by him into the shallows of a creek which never will carry any interstate commerce but which in the name of waterway development will possibly also provide him with a job and some cash for the food which the Federal Government does not think it ought directly to give him. * K K K Meanwhile, under a continuing ap- propriation, and as & matter of routine, the extension service of th® Department of Agriculture will give him and his wife a course of lessons in the cooking and canning of food. The extension service maintains nutrition rts who aim to teach all farmers, cluu;:s drought sufferers, what to do wi when they have it. Consequently, the dought sufferer is waiting for his loaned Government beans to come up, the Government nutrition expert will be counseling him on their ultimate consumption. ‘The Children’s Bureau will be munseunr him on the accommoda- tion of all foods to the proper diet of his children in the manner advoca in the bureau's widely distributed pamphlet on “Child Care” and in the manner further popularized by bureau’s “permanent health centers,” of which in Arkansas there are 14. Additionally, under the present drought relief law, if the drought suf- ferer'’s growing beans mneed nutrition the Federal Government will furnish him fertilizer for them. If they need [I to have a cultivator drawn along be- side them by a mule or by a tractor, the Federal Government will stuff hay into the mule and pour oil into the tractor. In fact, under the present drought relief law there is no assistance to the growing beans which the Fed- eral Government will not finance. * ok x X Moreover finally, if the drought suf- ferer falls in a faint before the grow- ing beans are grown, the Federal Gov- ernment, under an amendment passed this week to the urgency deficiency bill, will be right there to render him all needed medical help. ‘That amendment empowers the Pub- lic Health Service to spend $2,000,000 handing free “medical supplies” to drought stfferers whose sufferings have caused them to succumb. If & drought sufferer, through famine, gets anemia the Public Health Service presumably can hand him lver juice. In other words, the Federal Govern- ment will spend money humanitarianly employing the drought sufferer, finan- cing him, educating him, advising him and doctoris im. The only thing left to the Cross is, 80 to speak, to hand him some liver so that he won't need the liver juice. sober conclusion of most of Washington is that Federal public funds in this matter are already doing so overwhelmingly much of it all that great surprise will be felt if those funds do not ultimately seep into the food part and into every other part of the whole of it. (Copyright, 1931.) World Movement to Remonetize Silver BY HARDEN COLFAX. Financial authorities have been much interested this week in addresses by sev- eral of the leading directors of the Bank of England, as well as other European spokesmen, advocating what amounts to & remonetization of silver as an ald to world business recovery. They believe that this would raise, if not quite re- store, the purchasing power of more than half the human race—the Chinese, Indians, Mexicans and others. Gold, these authorities point out, has been accorded a value more than 60 times that of silver today, in spite of the fact that the relative production of the two metals has been what it is now for the past four or five centuries, approximately 14 ounces of silver for each ounce of gold. British financlers are coming to believe that an increase in the value of silver is absolutely es- sential to the prosperity of British de- pendencies and to her trade with China and South America. R At the same time, after agreement with American bankers, Mexico by gov- ernment decree now defers for two years gold payments on her interna- tional debt, which totals more than half a billion dollars. This suspension of gold 1s by bankers as offering an- other example of the far reaching eco- nomic effects of the drastic decline in are suggest- ing that the countries which have con- tributed to the decline in silver would do well to resume the coinage of silver on & more extensive scale, using a higher silver content in their coins. Bilver {s now obtalned largely as & by-product of other metals. The low= price level, therefore, would not seem to be a temporary one. Some authorities belleve that new uses for silver in the industries, arts and sciences will help stay a further price fall, and the Bureau of Standards is now experimenting with & method of utilization. It is generally agreed that the price of silver can be stabilized, but the que: is whether the cost would be too great. PR Various efforts have been made in Congress recently, notably by Senators from silver producing States, to help the silver mining industry, some of them taking the form of proposals to extend a I gold loan to China, thus to stimulate business. One of these sug- gested @ reshifting of war reparations by means of such a loan. rabled ad- vices to the Department of Commerce, however, show that China itself is not in sympathy with the loan idea. World distribution of gold also has been given special attention here this week. The United States and France together now hold some 57 per cent of all the gold stock. The approximate figures for the United States on Febru- ary 1 were just over four billion two hundred million dollars’ worth and for PFrance two billion two hundred million. th 1 Gold is coming into this coun ina hile . steady stream. Mm.u«rfiuh . FEBRUARY 8, 1931—PART TWU. Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. How “zealous, devoted scientists” n Uncle Sam’s service “delve into the mysteries of the arts and sciences and bring forth inventions not only of great moment to the world, but of financial advantage to the nation which em- ploys them,” was emphasized in the House by Representative Anthony J. Griffin, Democrat, of New York. He has for some years been endeavoring to get & medal of honor conferred on such scientists in token that this Gove ernment is not Representative Grifin cited the led | achievements of some men Whose names should be placed on such an honor roll. Recalling that the Coast and Geo- detic Survey was established by Thomas Jefferson, he pointed to the tide cal- culating machine as “an instrument with which an ordinary high school graduate, by pulling a lever, can indi- cate on a chart the tide in any part of this wide world from the beginning to the end of time.” It performs the most abstruse mathematical calcula- tions, he explained, and said that “vis- itors from all parts of the world coma yearly to Washington to look at it” as of man's finest achievements, instrument formula. was drawing a salary of $2,400 a year, Then came Ernest G. Pisher, a me- chanical engineer, who embodied the sclentific formula into the mechanical device. He was at the time drawing $1,800 & year, and was retired in 1921 on an allowance of $750 & year. They were assisted in this great work by Leland P. Shidy, still in the service, drawing today $2,400. “This marvelous instrument,” Mr. Griffin told his colleagues, “takes the place of 70 mathematicians and saves the Government $150,000 & year, and in the past 20 years that it has been in operation saved this Government of ours $3,000,000. We have never given these men even & word of recognition for glving to Uncle Sam these ‘brass brains.’ Representative Grifffn then pointed to “the death of some of our men in the Public ' Health Service, who sub- mitted themselves to the germs of dis- eases, incurring fatal maladies—yellow fever and typhoid fever—and died, thus m:l:_m. voluntary sacrifices of their “Bome striking instances of courage and self-sacrifice came before the House,” he recalled, “in a bill to accord to the captains of the Roosevelt and the Harding the thanks of Congress for iher stifniite canetactions c act to_the Government from workers in the Coast and Geodetle Survey, he said, include the wire-drag device, developed by Comdr. N. H. Heck, which two years 8go made the Alaskan shore wreck- {ree, with resultant saving of millions ted | in ship insurance rates. Then there is the fathometer for soundin, dept; of the ocean; echo lounm 'g.u:h).i the | TObS the fog of its terrors at sea. “Then in the Bureau of Standards,” said Mr. Griffin, “we find Dr. Lyman J. Briggs and Paul R. Hyle devised the earth inductor compass by which Lind- bergh was able to make his splendid solo flight to Europe and which is now worfd’.nflu use throughout the flying “Another device given to manki sclentists in the B“urenuwot thllndgr:’; is the radio direction finder, which is ia:lge r:a"hlve created a new era in safety Stressing the “splendid record of the Public Health Service and the achieve- ments of the men and women in that tl?.ranch 1;1‘ meamgle, biology and sani- on,” Mr, Griffin gave A - "‘%)rm: gave specific illus “Dr. Joseph Goldber foun e cause and cure of pellng; DrAdR.ul]L Spencer similarly investigated -with equal success the origin and cure of Rocky Mountain fever. Dr. John Mc- Mullen made similar researches in con- nection with trachoma, and a lady— Bacteriologist Alice Evans—made a study gl’ ml‘(n'ltfzfl;,e}; incl:llrl‘ing the disease erself wi result tha - abled for life. bt iy Listing some surgeons who died by contracting yellow fever—Waldo, Glazier, Groenvelt, Benham, McAdam and Wflxhtmnn—Mr. Griffin said that they ; :,I:,lehtmffnlugd hl“hflll;hebemme of 3 Wwho volunt 3 nd the risks of duty, injected zhemzelyvou with & fatal disease in order to extend the bounds of science, to open up to the world a knowledge of the causes of dis- ease, and who perished with a fortitude equal to that of any man who carried a gun in the trenches or advanced over no man’s land.” A Nebraska Experiment. From the Oakland Tribune. Nebraska, which has gone in for corn in a large way, is now to turn its atten- tlon to snooping. One of the first acts of its new Governor, Charles W. Bryan, brother of the late Willlam Jennings Bryan, has bee% the organization of a volunteer force Bf secret police. Mem- bers are to work without pay and their names and numbers wur‘be kept as secrets from the public. With all the rotection which a State can give them, his army of spies will be free to go snooping about in the name of law and order in the old State of Nebraska. By offering license to those who de- Iight in looking in upon other folks’ business the State is going Russia one better for the Soviet secret police work for pay while the Nebraska ones will spy for the fun of spying. No Sartorial Splendor There. n?x:u the Dayton Daily N lors may rave about clothes mak- ing the man, but you can't get away from the case of this Mr. Gandhi. —_— the Department of Commerce, no less than 28 nations, chief among them Canada and Cuba, sent us the yellow metal. In 1930 the United States im- ported gold to the value of four hun- dred million dollars, the largest amount in any year since 1921. Deducting ex- ports, the net imports stood at some two hundred eight-five million. * ok ok % ‘While the United States has been ac- cused in some foreign capitals of hoard- ing an undue proportion of the world's gold, our own lers and economists do not_accept this theory. This week Owen D. Young, deputy chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and chairman of the General Electric Co,, told the Subcommittee of the Sen- ate Banking and Currency Committee that in 1927-8 the Federal Reserve Board regarded the supply of gold in the United States as undesirably large. In order, therefore, to strengthen for- eign exchanges, that our cotton and food products might move toward Eu- rope, the Federal.Reserve System took measures by lowering its rates to fur- ther the export of gold. However, Mr. Young beliéves the low rates continued too long. If they had been advanced, he said, they would not have “permit- ted our speculative markets to absorb such a large amount of credit.” * ok kX ‘The Bank for International Settle- ments, popularly known as the World Bank, through which war reparations are to be made, has now entered the discussions over gold movements. At the request of the League of Nations, its board of directors, in conference with the governors of the banks of issue of Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Japan, is considering ways and means to “mobilize gold from coun- tries having surplus reserve to coun- MODERN DAIRYING BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. A change In the taste of the Ameri- can people which, in the last 30 years, has caused them to turn from bread to dairy products is largely responsible for the fact that the dairy industry has been least affected by the depression and present a sharp contrast to other groups of farmers seeking relief. During this period Americans have reduced their annual per capita con- sumption of grain products by the equivalent of 50 loaves of bread. Con- currently, they have increased their annual per capita consumption of dairy products by 150 pounds in terms of milk. ‘This would to indicate that consumption is key to farm pros- perity and eloquently recalls the or- efforts which dairymen have | addh made to popularize their products. The broad economic results which have ac- crued, affecting the entire structure of agriculture, would appear to suggest that 1t pays to advertise, Three billion dollars & year, or one- fourth of the total annual income of the entire farm industry, including the growers of the grain staples, the live stock producers, the fruit and vegetable men and all other bmehele of the agri an- nu;;}hyu by mw]’cl pl-nmnr.‘u = e ulture generally - nized w.flse suffered more sh.nrpnw?y than any other great division of American productive effort from the depressed period, the dairy industry not only stands out conspicuously from the farm class, but makes a far better showing than most other industries. In fact, it seems to have resisted, better than almost any other industry, the forces of business recotl. It is axiomatic that a man thinks more of his health, once it is threat- ened, than of any other possession he has. Every one is familiar with the oft-taught "lesson of the mldd.le-nm millionaire who is willing to trade millions back if by doing so he may recover his vigor. And, 00, every nor- mal American parent is extremely so- licitous for the health of growing chil- dren, especlally infants. Publicity Pays. Recognizing these basic social facts, the dairymen of the United States have widely publicized the generous vitamin contentf of milk and its health-giving qualitias. Moreover, they have empha- sized the measures they have taken to insure the purity of their product. It must not, however, be overlooked that the public itself pushed the dairy- men into their advantageous position and swung open for them the gateway 'fix 1‘6‘12“ present coign of business sta- A Before the days of the modern the people of the citles were mm small, independent milkmen. These men were conspicuous for their early rising and, it was claimed, careless and dirty methods of handling their prod- uct. Only the younger generation will have forgotten the m who came to the door with his large metal can and dipper. milk was dipped out from the can reservoir in the quantity the housewife bespoke. The can went in and out of both clean and unkem) kitchens indiscriminately, int ntact with Physiclans began to trace all man- ner of ilinesses to milk. Scientists be- gan finding innumerable germs ing themselves in the fluid. Individuals and societies commenced investigations. They found the me itions in the barns milkm it was not unheard of for ambi- milkmen to the ald of the pump or water tap in to their vendable suj 3 Publicity resulted and public health officials became interested. The result place in the history of the country. In- spection systems were set up by city governments, and dairies which did not maintain a high degree of sanitation on their premises and in their equip= ment were refused permits to sell. Also, dealers to submit thelr were the | product to public chemists for determination analysis for & of the purity and proper milk content. Effect of Reform. ‘While the reform had an almost im- mediate effect in raising the standard, it also had a sweeping - ness effect. The small milkman found that it costs money to keep clean. No longer could he water his milk. ‘The analysis would catch that. Inevitably the smaller men began to or, it the size of their business warrant were able to sell out to companies which sprang up. In this way the modern dairy came into being. Once forced to this higher standard, the dairies concluded to take advantage of the situation. Instead of cringing from the as some did in the early days, they began to boast of the unsurpassable fineness of their ‘The American people, being 8o suscept- ible to advertising, took notice and at that point milk consumption began to increase. Once started there was mo end to the campaign. Not only was the elean- liness of the dlm-flmnn{ I o, el S ng an :fl" t'mm whu.*hnth:e&nfin came. Model iry farms captiva e public mind. Pedigreed bmfln received publicity al- most equal to opera singers. The furore which had srisen in connection with be smallpox quarantines, Two other important steps wers ine & better product was compulsion, partly by voluni —the dairy industry finds i ering the storm of business far better than most industries. Fifty Years Ago In The Star A citizen signing himself simply “John” to & letter printed in The Star Street Car Seats LR 1881, discusses the and Gallantry, duestion of street tions as follows: car accommoda~ “A short time ago I noticed in the columns of your wide-awake and use- ful paper the valuable suggestion to the éffect that when the street cars could not furnish seats for passengers and chose to take them in on the stand, they should not receive pay. Exactly so. A man pays for a seat and ought to have it. The conductor should know when his car is full and should admit no more than it can ac- commodate. In England, where these matters are regulated by law, when & car is full the conductor turns out & placard: thus, ‘No room.” When a seat is vacated the card is immediately placed. In this way traveling is made comfortable. It is & penny-wise mflfi that suggests the idea of taking in who come along. Hundreds of tired pedestrians would occupy the street car if they could be comfortably seated. Apropos—let me just call attention to another point, of yet greater vexation. A poor tired man gets a seat with some difficulty. Presently come five or six ladies. They know the car is full What of that? Some one will give way, and in they crowd. The astute conductor calls out, ‘Pass up, gentle- men, and let the ladies in.’ ere are we to pass? It only means, ‘Get up and let the ladiés sit down.' And so the dear creatures crowd in, with their graceful forms and T'utoul smiles, as they say, one and all, while we poor fellows are jumping to our feet, ‘Oh, thank you, don't get up— keep your seat!” which only means, T want your place right now.’ This is no joke. I have experienced it very often. I don't think people should force themselves into a crowded car. If will, they ought to do as did the Dutchman's hen, ‘sit standing’ For my part, I have made up my mind to hold my seat hereafter.” * * “Would it not be and \ble would it not be cheaper also for the " District authori- Fire Engines as ties” uys'l‘%n ls.t':lr of February 5, 1881, Snow Cleaners. & sl | Z&. frovmd from the street crossings Wing with steam instead of by shoveling, which they have heretofore relied IIDQII7' The trouble with the latter plan is that it is only indifferently done and it is only & question of a very short time when the sleighs and other vehicles carry the shoveled snow back in into dis- | those England Interested In American “Dole™ BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, February 7—No contro- versy in America has ever aroused such acute interest here as that raging in regard to government relief of the un- employed and 6f farmers, in drought- stricken regions. Much doubt is expressed as to wheth- butions, but there is a general coneur- rence of opinion that the experience of this country provides a warning of the necessity of rigid precautions in adopt- ing -an alternative policy. + Nation comments: lg;lh John Bull. We have not heard accents on this side of the Atlantic for 20 years. But could one speak terms in Great Britain ‘without risk of ironical laughter from the audience?” 'This is significant as [ from an organ of most ad- vanced opinion and indicates the alarm felt in responsible quarters over enormous borrowings to finance dole. * x X ¥ Premier MacDonald week the necessity of ther borrowings recent borrowings have ‘The debt of the insurance fund now is mounting at the rate of $5,000,000 weekly. This is apart from the fact that the state contribution to the in- surance scheme hhs risen from 000,000 in 1928 to an estimated ) 000,000 in the current years. To this direct charge on the exchequer add the contributions of employers and em. ployed to the insurance fund—all of which constitute a tax on in a contributory cause of unempl The treasury is now frankly alarmed at the immensity of the drain, and the evidence that Sir Richard Hopkins, permanent, head of the treasury, has presented to the Commission on Unem= ployment Insurance has created the deepest public concern. He sald that continucd state borrowing on the present vast scale, without for repayment, would quickly call into question the stability of the British financial system and constituted a well recognized sign of an unbalanced bud~ get, the effect of which on the prestige of the country would be difficult to overstate. * ok * % No _instructed opinion questions that the insurance system o) con- ceived was wise and has enabled the country to pass through long years of depression without a revolutionary dis- turbance or the desperate conditions of the clean spaces, making the slush and dirt there just about as bad as it was before. And to cart it away costs more tries suffering from depreciation of gold stocks.”” The conference has just ap- r;;lnud & committee to arrange for gold nsfers on as economical a basis as possible, More economic and expedi- tlous transfers of gold balances will help to further our commerce with the ;enotm-mwwmlkmmn ess (Copyright. 19819 than the public purse can afford. the other E&nd, if steam from the xlp& of the steam fire engines could 'be turned on each crossing for & few min- utes the work of w would be both lete and permanent, and the cost of t process need not be very great. firemen are paid anyway, the exer- cise of the horses will be beneficial rather than otherwise, and the only additional expense will be the slight cost of-fuel necessary to get up the required steam. This, we imagine, will be much less than the pay of laborers who do the work of shoveling under the old system. At any rate we should like to see the experiment tried.” * * x ‘Washington’s telephone subscribers were not allayed by statements of the tional ~Capital Telephone Phone Co. 50 years ago regarding Rates, the proposed schedule of new ©8: rates and held a fully at- tended indignation meeting at which resolutions were adopted. The next day, February 8, 1881, The Star sald: “The subscribers to the telephone ex- change who have revolted against the new schedule of largely increased prices roposed by the company are very much n earnest, as shown in their action last night. They agreed almost unani- mously to abandon the use of the tele~ phone if the new rates were insisted upon. The company declare that they are losing money at the present rates and must make the increase in order to save .themselves from wreck. Of course, they know their own business best, but it certainly seems strange that with the It h value of their stock, hased on their nt rates, they cannof make their investygent pay a fair ‘interest without in ng the ™ to & sum far beyond ‘what the sul ibers think the value of the istru men§ is to them. They h ter poverty which the debates in the Senate at Washington show are prevailing in America. But the system has got hope- lessly out of hand, owing to the levity with which the rival parties, and espe= clally the present government, have yielded to new clamors for widening the scope of relief, and to the flagrant lbul-m which have grown up about the system. Senator Borah’s stout assertion that neither Americans nor Englishmen have ever been dole gatherers, and never will be, cannot, unfortunately, be sustained with regard to the English, for preying on the cole has become a widely exer- cised art practiced by growing multi- tudes of men and women. Coal trim= mers, dock laborers and others work« ing two or three days and earning high ‘wages come on the dole the rest of the week. Married women, without in- tention of working and living in places where their former trades do not exist, receive the dole as unemployed. Girls refuse domestic service, preferring oc- casional employment supplemented by the dole. Unemployment has become an une dustry, with men time and going on the & matter of course. * K ® ok Add to all this the le moral ol B 0 o to regard the state as an pool for general plunder, and the need for immediate and drastic remedies is apparent. The report of the Commis- sion on Unemployment Insurance is im< patiently awaited and there is & wides spread demand that the governmeny ree store the insurance system to ap ace tuarial basis and give the dole orly in goods. If America adopts ghe dole syse - tem England provides abundant warne ing on how not to do it. (Copyright, 1031.) the figure M:I&ufi:v«mdnu big rates and still not go to the poor house.’