Evening Star Newspaper, February 22, 1931, Page 24

many dirigibles as airplanes have been built. Otherwise the comparison in ac- cidents would not lean so spectacularly against the lighter-than-air ship. For in these accidents, the U. S. Shenan= doah and Roma, the French Dixmude, the English ZR-2 and R-34 and the re- cent horror of Britain's great craft the R-101, the loss of life has been heavy and the lay world has been shocked by the nature of the crashes. Airplanes, of course, have crashed too, but these ac- cidents have not drawn the same atten- tion because of the fact that their car- rying capacity has not been as great and consequently the loss of life has been less. It would seem logical to believe, how- ever, that in the future both types of ships will have their place in the scheme of things—the dirigible, vastly improved over present day craft, to transport heavy loads over long dis- tances, and the airplane, developed like- wise to greater efficiency and built for speed to carry its limit for short hops. aily only 1yr, $8.00; 1 mo, 78¢| The coming of the Akron, therefore, Bindas’ony 13r. $5.00:1mo. B0C | i) e watched with great interest, as it will mark another stage of man's Member of the Associated Press. o Assoctated Press is exclusively entitled | PTOBTESS in the air. to the use for republication of all news dis- ReiSr FE0 uber and. lso the Iocal new 1g @ S pab ""'i Beratne” Al Tichts of pubiicationef| The Dry Law's “Evolution. Epecial dispaicnes hereln are also reserved. | poteo oo o o resting part of ————————————————— | the vast accumulation of evidence on “Good Wolf!” prohibition sent to the Senate by the In the old, old fable, the shepherd,| Wickersham Commission are two ex- who, just to fool his fellows, cried “Wolf, | cerpts from the opinion on enforce- wolf” when there was no wolf, was|ment submitted by Col. Amos W. W. finally, when the wolf did come, eaten | Woodcock, prohibition administrator. by the ferocious animal because when| The first is taken from what might he cried for help none came. That |be considered as his objective as prohi- story has stood for centuries as a warn- | bition administrator and as long as the ing against false alarms. It is now |Prohibition law is on the books it should having reverse application in the re-|admittedly be the only objective: vival of business conditions from the| There seems to be, to the student of | the situation, only one alternative—to depression that the country nas suf-| o “the existing law, wWith such fered for more than a year. Frequent-|slight amendments as may become de- ly during this period of dullness in|sirable, fairly, vigorously and sincerely, trade the cry of “returning prosperity” | With the principles constantly in mind that the eighteenth amendment is a has been ralsed, without warrant.|gen,ration of pational policy, that the Those who translated hopes into fact|yse of intoxicating liquor is an evil and proclaimed that the turn of the tide|that, whatever may be the custom or had com , that | policy of other nations, ours is to work rT e c";:n out our civilization without the use of S 8 alcohol as a beverage. Anybody who @s the cry was raised it was disproved, |has had the opportunity to observe by continued sluggishness in business, | knows t};z mtlmshm x;zz b::é‘ go:;,,”;x’m - | many officials have adopted a by continued, even increasing, Unem- | g that they do not belleve in the ployment; by distress among the people. | 1oy " but, while they are officers, they Now the word is passing swiftly | will enforce it. through the country that business is| * qpe gecond quotation is from Col. better, trade is improving, employment | woodeock’s elaboration of his “home is increasing, and that indeed the option” plan. It might be constryed THE EVENING /STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. i WASHINGTON, D. C. BUNDAY......February 22, 1931 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: Lity 8t and Penncylvanis Ave, ew York Offce: 110 Bast 42nd &t Onicago Office: Lake Michigan Building. European Office; 14 ot M., London, Rate by Carrier Within the City. 45¢ per month 60c per month vs) 85c per month The Sunday Star .. .8c_per copy Collection made at the end 6f ‘each month. §iers may be sent in by mall or telephons fAtional 6000 Rate by Mafl—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. 0.00; 1 mo., 88¢ 00: 1 mo., 50c 00; 1 mo., All Other States and Canada. fly and Sunday.,.1yr.$12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 slump has ended. There are certain|gq expressing an individual opinion, and signs that this is true. But there Were| ;o4 tne omclal opinion of the prohibi- signs before, to some extent, and o the | yion ggministrator. It follows: often disappointed public remains skep-| 1 ¢herefore suggest, in reasoning tical. It does not quite credit the ery|which has much of sophistry, but & of “good wolf.” Happily, no disaster |gleam of common sense and prophecy " of what may be the final evolution of awaits those who refuse to believe, who |,/ troublesome question, not State, remain incredulous, who turn a deafoounty or district oppion, but home e et b m'.—' s (Gt i Rothae et oofass st ny of other pl of lemen It business is on the turn for the be' | )., \es & troublosome and die-hard mi- ter everybody, of course, wi PDY- | nority. Home option, about the same as And happlest of all will be those Who |individual opinion, eliminates the mi- have remained doubtful and despondent | nority. It could be put into effect by | a simple administrative policy: To during these many months of depres-| . no effort to overcome the diffi- o culties that legally exist in getting evi- It will require only a little change in Skt ket Sitimon oo not. taim. the TNt i ¢ | citizen could not c e rigi e ":h:" e ,"Z;m".‘.’:o:d buy or sell liquor. But if he possesses course, in the great yolume o liquor, or makes liquor in his own home, times” preceding the break in October, | and in such way as not to be observed 1929, but sufficient to restore millions :zr&hmm}::fi”mdmi{. heuproperlyldlup- ly, policy woul re- to employment and to xevive altering | quire ¢hay he be not disturbed. If he industries and business enterprises. It|fajis in a single public duty, if he breaks has been estimated that if every family | the peace in any way, if he fails to take in the United States were to spend | care of his family, if he fails to keep o himself it to perform any public duty, one dollar a day more for other than |4 Feio o ‘steps in and punishes, Thi the bare necessities of life wonlnmy fihn ‘makes unlawful -lém commerce in would be restored.: That is simply an | liquor, does not compel dry to sup- economic figure-of speech, as it J 'l’:rgu?l Erhl.j':y!:enl of Aflyhril;:uu)‘\e ::l e rather than a practical prescription. |jjeves he has, which may be exercised ‘The difference between hard times and | without affecting any one else. good times is measured by so slender &| o) woodeock has himself anticipated margin as that dollar a day for & fam- | 40 ohyious criticism of practical diffi- ::; Z( m:mu': ;:;.:‘m problem has | cyjtes jnyolved in such a scheme, such n get . as judging whether a man’s home It is'the dollars of the familles notl ;051q pe raided for violation of the blessed with affluence that make the liquor laws on the basis of the man's economic wheels turn. The buying pub- | yeeping himselt “t to perform any Ye, upon which trade depends for 38| ;e gupy» He frankly admits the volume, is the public of small means.| ., oyiery of gome of the reasoning. When employment fails for the artisan, the laborer, the clerk, the technical worker, the dollar for extra spending vanishes, Life from day to day becomes & problem of finding food and insuring shelter and of fighting sickness. Busi- ness flattens out when those dollars are not spent, and the vicious circle of idle- ness creating more idleness, of business depression inducing greater business de- pression is set up throughout the land. These present signs of business revival are encouraging. Spring is near at hand. The drought that has been efficting a large area of the country is in some measure broken. Farming con- ditions are improved. Construction works, stimulated by the severe depres- sion of last Autumn, are about to begin, with a heavy increase in employment of skilled and unskilled workers. Mills that have been in large measure idle for months are resuming operation, to sup- ply the materials for such works. The co-ordinated activities of the States and communities as well as the Nation are making for the almost immediate be- ginning of enterprises entailing the eventual expenditure of billions of dol- lars. Those are the factors that cause the present cry of “good golf,” or good times, to be heard with faith, —_————————— There is no doubt that the finances of this and other cities are basically sound. A certain amount of inquiry and supervision will serve to keep them that way. The Debut of the Akron. With Los Angeles, the only large dirigible in the American Navy since the Shenandoah was destroyed in an Ohio storm, now more than seven years old and approaching the veteran class of lighter-than-air ships, interest in the world of aviation turns to the debut this Summer of the Akron, which is nearing completion, More than two and one-half times the size of Los But the important thing is this: If some such scheme as Col. Woodcock outlines does in fact represent the “final evolution” of the prohibition laws, that evolution should be brought about by statute. It should not be encouraged by putting into effect any such “simple administrative policy” as Col. Wood- cock suggests. In the first place, the administrative policy involved would be far from simple. In the second place, the scheme as outlined would be eva- sion of the existing laws, and any ad- ministrative policy built on evasion of the law will defeat its own purpose. Evasions will not be confined to the home; the place, by the way, that sup- port, and not evasion, of the law should begin. The Wickersham Commission defi- nitely recommended the action that should be taken, The Volstead law should be amended to permit practices in the home that are now condoned through an administrative policy result- ing from conflicting interpretations of congressional intent, or the law should be enforced along those lines that Col. Woodcock so admirably suggests in the first quotation from his opinion. ———— Voluminous oratory is not expected of a President of the United States. The comparatively few words necessary to a veto enable him to record his senti- ments with clearer emphasis than the utmost eloquence could attain. ——— - Some of the evidence before the Wickersham Commission was confiden- tial. The report itself is not generally regarded as making a clear and definite analysls that puts the public in on the ground floor in its desire for information. e ‘Who Owns the Railroads? Whether or not such regulation will in the end be found necessary or ad- that the next session of Congress must occupy itself with another important extension of governmental regulation of rallroad control. Mr. Parker points out that after the maneuvers for control of the rallroads that have claimed public attention in the last few years an investigation into the various angles of the fight and legis- lation to extend control at this late date might be considered as locking the stable after the horse has gone. But there are more stables than one, and “it would appear sensible first to close the doors of the stables still occupied be- fore going in search of the horses re- moved.” With Congress having given the In- terstate Commerce Commission the power to control mergers and consoli- dations designed to reshape the rail- road map of the country, Mr. Parker emphasizes the fact that activity in ac- quisition of railroad control “is ex- plained by the competition of great in- terests for the possession of strategic railway properties.” And interpreting these activities as imposing a burden upon interstate commerce, he asserts that they have been by companies “act- ing beyond the jurisidiction of the commission, or at least as far without the reach of that jurisdiction as the cunning of lawyers could connive. Pending consideration by the Inter- state Commerce Commission of the pro- posed consolidation of four railroads in the East will develop information that will materially affect the plans of Con= gress. The consolidations, it is pointed out, may rclieve the Interstate Com- merce Commission of trouble it has ex- perienced over the indirect massing of control over the lines concerned in the consolidation, but legislation would en- able the commission to examine some of the activities west of the Mississippl, ‘where railways are reported to be seek- ing new connections. Mr. Parker regards the disclosures re- sulting from his committee investigation of railroad ownership as naturally bringing about a desire for the regula- tion of the holding company as an agency in business, and, once started, Congress should go through with a full and comprehensive investigation into all the activities of the holding companies “in so far as those activities impose a burden on interstate com- merce.” B Intimations that the family of a statesman may face a phase of social ostracism if his ideas contradict the customs of some of his colleagues as to pay-roll personnel are not so serious as they may at first sound. For a public man with a clear conscience and plenty of work on hand there is nothing easler to bear than the discovery that he is not being invited to dances and re- ceptions. ‘The idea of “home brew” as a remedy for conditions ascribed to prohibition is not unrelated to the suggestion that the kitchen stove can be made the most dangerous rival of the whdlesale bakery. Expert home brewers are even scarcer than expert makers of homemade bread. vt Al Smith demands better housing fa- cilities for those compelled to dwell in overcrowded city areas. ‘“The Side- walks of New York” is a picturesque phrase in song, but in plain prose it suggests serious economic responsibilities. i <= There are many new methods of transportation, but it is still the rail- road business that is relied on to give the Interstate Commerce Commission something to worry about. P One important advantage was pres- ent in the honored career of George ‘Washington. In a historic crisis he was able to concentrate on one public re- sponsibility at a time. Censors are going after & biography of Al Capone, thus assuring s liberal sale despite professions of disapproval by the readers. 5 SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Power and Titles. We said & man by fortune blest Was happy as a King. A monarch often is depressed. ‘Who knows what time may bring? A regal crown upon the brow May find its glory done. It is the bold Dictator now Who seems to have the fun. One simple title, after all, Of power fears no loss— That of the person who can call Himself the Real Boss, Voice of the People. “Do you listen to the voice of the people?” “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum, “but it doesn't do me much good. Out home the voice of the people is used mostly in applauding base ball games and prize fights.” Jud Tunkins says a man who brags about himself merely shows that he hasn't enough wealth or influence to get & press agent. Mental Consideration. The rural voter tells anew The politician what to do. The politician, with great charm, Informs the farmer how to farm. They speak as brother unto brother, They've learned how much they need each other. Metropolitan Peril Escaped. “Josh has been in town for nlxl months,” said Mrs. Corntossel, “and he's as flat broke as when he left| " home.” 'm proud of the lad,” declared her visable, the House Interstate and For- Angeles and, in fact, larger than any other air craft in the world, the Akron 1s designed to be the last word in its type. eign Commerce Committee’s recom- mendation that Congress consider leg- islation to bring railroad holding com- panies under the jurisdiction of the husband. “His record shows at least that he’s no racketeer.” e “It is well,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “to learn to say ‘no.’ Yet D. C, FEBRUARY 22, 19 THE USE OF PROBLEMS BY THE RIGHT RRV.'“;MMES E. FREEMAN, D, D, LL. D, Bishop of “None of these things move me.”— Acts, zz.24. The beacon lights of history have inevitably been the men and women who counted not their lives dear unto themselves. They have grown in stature in proportion to the magnitude of the problems they have had to meet and solve. In some instances they seemed to seek out problems, they lived and thrived in wrestling with them. It would be difficult, if not im- possible, to discover among the lead- ers in any sphere of human action those who gunued the line of least resistance. In all our reading we do not recall a case where true leader- ship has been disclosed that was not marked by & courageous determination to overcome all obstacles. We do not have to search far in our community life to identify the men and the women who are factors in shaping the course of events. We have sometimes thought of late in connection with the world- wide depression and its attending ills that it must prove a supreme test of our ability, not only to solve the prob- lems presented, but t4 disclose a new type of leadership. Somehow of re- cent years in & period of unparalleled ;mlpemy our genius for solvings prob- 'ms has not been conspicuously mani- Not only is this true, but there has been.a distinct decline in that quality of geniuus that makes substan- tial contribution to the fine arts. Studying the tflmgrmlve periods of men, we note that, in the main, they came out of situations that were dif- ficult and that tested and tried men’s souls to the utmost. In our frequent contacts with young men in our uni- yersities I note that those who are the strongest and making the finest rec- ords, and insuring to themselves the best’ futures, are those who by reason of financial limitations are working their way, and this at no small sacri- fice. Look in any direction we please, the observation holds true that the man or woman who Is really securing results is able to say in the face of every difficulty and obstacle, “None of these things moye me.” Applying all to the deep things | toda Washington. that we call our religlous convictions, as well as to their expresslon in daily habit and practice, we have abundant demonstration that faith of the heroic kind, that really entails sacrifice, that costs something, is the only one worth having. Every now and again some one comes to me with a sad complaint concerning the difficulties they experi- ence in holding fast to their Christian convie in the face of certain trends_and tendencies in our modern life. Something they have read, or some experience they have had, has un- settled them and turned their sweetness into bitterness. We are desperately mercurial when it comes to those things that have to do with our religious faith and practice. Passing changes in social life, sometimes a change of residence and a less inviting environment, a new occupation, possibly a new book with fanciful and seductive theories, shifts us from our base and makes us wonder whether what we have believed and practiced is really worth having. “Un- stable as water, thou shalt not excel,” was spoken to one of old. It has its application to many of us today. It is true, as was said recently by a discrimi- nating observer, that in this present world situation the church has been put on the defensive, We cannot but believe that this must prove vastly beneficial to the church and Christian institutions generally, We have needed something to make #hose who hold to a Christian concept of life vealize the value of that which they profess. For 20 centuries of time the most profitable and prolific eriods in the church's history have &-en those where it has met with oppo- Let us not be afraid of prob- lems. Let us gain strength through sceking their solution. Things are more fluid today than they were a dec- ade ago—and it is good that this is so, for it affords freshened opportunity not only to recast some of our methods, but to give deeper consideration to those things that are fundamental to our peace and happiness. “None of these things move me” is the affirma- tion we need to sustain and stabilize us y. sition. Parties Find Policies Tending Toward Fixation as 71st Congress Draws to End BY WILLIAM HARD. National affairs.—As this session of the Congress approaches its conclusion, its consequences upon the strategies of the two great political parties for the next presidential campaign have be- come pronounced. They can be summed up, as seen in Washington, as follows: This session has brought the grand policies of the Republican party for next year to a condition of nxirrem fixity. It has brought the grand poli- cles of the Democratic party for next year to a condition of considerable ap- parent fluldny4 and klndeurmtmunm. Hence, on the one hand, the general conspicuous debate among Republicans as to their next year's procedure. Hence, on the other hand, the calling of a spe- cial session of the Democratic National Committee for the early days of next month. The Republicans are not obliged to strive much to find out what | they think. It is now more or less set- tled for them. They, in numerous in- stances, are intensely personally hostile to President Hoover. They multitudi- nously, on Capitol Hill, find fault with his political management of the Re- publican party’s affairs at a hundred points or even at all possible points whatsoever. They, nevertheless, seem wholly unable or uninterested in bring- ing forward any rival to him for the next MquhDCln nomination. They, in effect, virtually unanimously accept Mr. Hoover as their prospective renominated presidential leader. In doing this they realize that they necessarily accept his policies as evidenced and fortified by the events of the present congressional session. * ok ok x Those events, for President Hoover, have had two main results. They have accentuated him as a “dry” and they t}}ave accentuated him as a “conserva- e ‘The Wickersham report gave him a: opportunity to take, at any rate, a “w detour in the following of his “dry” gen- eral route. This opportunity he de- clined to embrace. Some of his inti- mates, it is true, endeavored to attrib- ute to him slight potential diversion from the main prohibitory road. Their efforts were not in practice seconded by him. He has deliberately addec nothing to his flat condemnation of the eight- eenth amendment revision favored by a :njorny of the Wickersham Commis- on. The whispers of Mr. Hoover's open- mindedness toward revision possibilities have been succeeded by silence. The leaders of the “drys,” through direct and indirect contacts with him, give to that silence an emphatic and an assured | interpretation. Their attitude toward Mr. Hoover in the next presidential campaign is authoritatively revealed by Dr. C. C. Morrison, editor of the ex- tremely influential Protestant periodical, “The Christian Century, a recent highly Amporu:n ‘edl‘t‘o a] * ‘Mr. Hoover” says Dr. Morrison, “has now distinctly passed beyond his non-committal tribute to prohibition as & noble experiment and beyond his stout declaration of purpose to enforce it be- cause it is the law. Mr. Hoover now stands with those who believe that it is & good law, good at least in the sense that no alternative is in sight which does not involve worse evi Dr. Morrison then goes on to discuss the complications which confuse the ‘whole gruident.ln struggle of next year and al its out the extra “dry: ness” which Mr. Hoover as a “dry” will need in order in certain parts of the coun to overcome the effect produced by his increasing reputation as a “conservative.” : In this session of the Congress Mr. Hoover, through his support of a Fed- eral Power Commission, the members of which have been charged by a majority of the Senate with undue friendliness to the power interests, and through his sturdy defense of the Treasury and of the income taxpayers against the so-called “raids” upon them by drought relief projects and by the soldiers’ bonus loan g:flject, has seemed to “progressives” to be in course of be- coming a “conservative” of the Tory order. * x % % Dr. Morrison accurately states the prominence that Mr. Hoover must give to his “dry” position in order to sat- isfy the rural ‘“‘progressives,” who will abandon their “progressivism” only in order to be able to forward thelr . Morrison says: “Mr. Hoover's chances of success mnext year are dubious unless he makes prohibition the paramount issue in the campaign. ‘There are hosts of drys who will not support him if the liquor issue is subordinate to other issues in 1932, ‘Their opposition to his economic point of view is 50 pronounced that they can be persuaded to vote for him only in There are two schools of thought in | Interstate Commerce Commission is 50 | he who learns to say nothing else be-|the hope that a straight-out test of sviation, one favoring heavier-than-air | logical that it will perforce be adopted. | comes dull and obstructive.” craft and the other lighter than ai. The supporters of airplanes are in most eases convinced that dirigibles will take ‘The proposal, made after months of investigation into the activities of groups of financiers who are charged School Days. When now a youngster goes to school, but a small part in the future of flying, | with having circumvented governmental In car-fare problems he is quick. that they are unwieldly and slow, and in the case of foreign ships are highly dangerous beeause of their hydrogen contents. On the other hand, support- ers of dirigibles point out that lighter- than-air ships can carry a larger pay- Joad in greater comfort than in air- control over rallroad consolidations through the device of holding com- panies, will take form in a bill that Representative Parker of New York, chairman of the committee, has an- nounced he will introduce. The bill would amend the interstate commerce planes, that they are not dependent|act to bring railroad holding companies solely on the proper functioning of en- | under supervision and regulation of the to stay aloft and that they are|Interstate Commerce Commission. Nat~ of traveling grest distances' urally, the measure will have no t descending. chance of consideration at this session. Wales I8 must that not a4 Introduction would merely serve notice not teo He starts the morning @s a rule By studying his arithmetic. “De early riser,” said Uncle Eben, ‘ain’ 50 much belp to de rest of de folks if all he does wif de extra time is to sit down waitin' foh breakfas’.” R Just Good Enough. Prom the Boston Evening Transcriot. Nobody better than the Prince of knows that a smart salesman piay & good game of golf—but popular sentiment on prohibition will settle that question.” ‘This analysis by Dr. Morrison is thought here to correspond to the rural political facts. In precise proportion as this session of the Congress has pic- tured Mr. Hoover more and more as a “conservative,” it also has driven him more and more toward being fixedly ‘The Republican outcome seems to be a renominated Mr. Hoover and a re- em| 1 “‘conservative” and re- iterated “‘dryne: * kK % - With the Democrats the situation is chaotically different. They began Congress in & of their infe formed — ‘would not “start anything” lmpnkmfl'!:ym declaration was re- to the annual to nm'umu tallment in the celved with delight by Eastern busi- ness interests. It was in harmony with & strategy for Democratic success next year through carrying the sup) dly automati mocratic South and ‘“‘con- servative” and “wet” East. The Demo- cratic party on the 1st of last Decem- ber was “wet” in its National Commit- tee headquarters and in certain of its most glittering recent victories at the polls and it seemed to proj to be a duplicate to the Republi party during the depression by “sitting tight and not rocking the boat.” Since December 1, however, the out- standing assaults upon the power in- terests by the large number of Demo- cratic party, in the eyes of Eastern busi- ness interests, a color rather removed from that of “conservatism.” This con- sequence impels the Democratic party toward finding favor in the areas of the “progressive” West. There, however, and in the South, it encounters a large, firm “dry” element. That element, through Senator Morriosn of North Carolina, and others, has recently lifted its voice to speak in demanding accents. = w % The Democratic party today, out of the events of this session of the Con- gress, faces the possibility of several conceivable compromises within its own ranks. One of them would be that the | the party go a bit “wet” if the Eastern- erners in turn would let the party go “progressive” on behalf of allegedly down-trodden and indubitably discon- tented social elements in our population, both rural and urban. | _As opposed then to a Republican party quite “dry” and quite “conserva- tive,” there would be in 1932 a Demo- cratic party somewhat “wet” and more than somewhat ‘“progressive.” Such may be the outcome of the Democratic gathering here next month. In fact, the betting is that an outcome of that general character, not necessa- rily in words, but in basic deeds, may be expected. (Copyright, 1931.) ] Arguments For and -~ Against Oil Embargo BY HARDEN COLFAX. ‘The question of o:hcm‘ an embargo on petroleum products from foreign countries, as favored by a certain group of American ' producers, was argued in hearings last week before the House Committee on Ways and l‘CA.“:';IH introduced b luc Representative Garber of Oklahoma {nd ?::h!red in the Senate by Senator Cnp{xr of Kan- sas would limit the annual imports of crude oil to 16,000,000 barrels and pro- hibit entirely the imports of refined ofl products for the next three years. ‘Those favoring the bill claim that the United States can produce sufficient oil to s\?ply three times the present do- mestic demand and that we do not need any foreign importations. With a daily production of approximately two mil- lion barrels and fields “prorationed,” it is contended by those favor of an embargo, or, at least, the imposition of a high tariff rate, that foreign ofl, if not restrained, is likely to flood the American market and cause distress to our producers. * * % The main features of the situation which are causing concern to the oil industry are: (1) The enormous stocks of crude above ground, which are at present more than half a billion bar- rels. (2) The stocks of gasoline at present—at least four million barrels more than they should be at this sea- son. There is a large “closed in” c: pacity in our ofl flelds and considerable unemployment. It is pointed out by the independent ofl producers that the cost of production of the crude in various forei coun- tries is considerably less than in the United States a that competition with American oil might be disastrous. ‘While forei crude delivered on the Atlantic seaboard costs less than mid- continent crude, “yet the midcontinent ylelds several times the value of for- eign crude in finished products. e On the other hand, some of the testi- mony was to the effect that such a tariff or embargo is not necessary and would force up the price of gasoline, resulting in loss to the American farmer, who is dependent on cheap rates for running his farm machinery. The restriction of crude and gasoline would probably have little effect upon interior prices, but it would undoubtedly have a marked effect upon the price ructure of the Middle Atlantic and New England States. This is of great concern to New England, on account of {;‘N’l’-\ fuel oil used in power genera- lon. Protest was also made by varlous steamship owners, on the ground that fuel rates for American ships would be increased and ‘oil cargoes diverted to foreign ships. Adverse testimony was given by representatives of various heat and power companies, which use oil for fuel, to the effect that there would be a rise in the cost of fuel ol and, ther fore, an increase in price to the fuel- using public. The investment of several blllions of dollars of American money in production of oil abroad, it was stated, might be imperiled. * ok ok ok les, cur- uetion of crude in the ted States during | Southerners and Westerners might let | pe; RT TWO. Capital Sidelights BY WILL P, KENNEDY. As an aftermath of his recent clash with Herbert D. Brown, chief of the United States Bureau of Efficiency, over the latter's pet project to have the Fed- eral Government establish a paper mill in connection with the Bureau of En- graving and Printing, for the manufac- ture of distinctive currency paper, Rep- resentative Allen T, Treadway of Mas- sachusetts is telling his colleagues a good “joke” he has discovered on Mr. Brown. During the hearings before the House Committee on Expenditures in the Gov- ernment Departments the Massachusetts member sought to establish on what grounds Mr. Brown claimed to be an authority on the manufacture of paper. Mr. Brown saild that he had been brought up in a8 paper mill—or words to that effect. Now Mr. Treadway finds that the Brown family fortune was lost in a paper mill under private owner- ship and operation—nhis line of reaction being that Mr. Brown has grown up with a “grouch” against private owner- ship and that because a private concern lost money in the manufacture of pa- per he thinks it would be more eco- nomically efficient for the Government to set up such & plant, Representative Treadway says his authority for this little “comeback” a Mr. Brown is found in the prize-win- ning book on_“Grandmother Brown's One Hundred Years,” which was writ- ten Mr. Brown's wife about the ex- periences of Mr. Brown's mother, who was greatly grieved over the loss of the l-mll{ fortune in the paper mill and who frequently referred in the book to “Herbie” as her particular pet. * Kk x One of the “unsung heroes” of long service in the House, where he has been daily at the beck and call of all members for a half century—still on the job and going strong—Sam Robin- son, has just been extolled throughout the length and breadth of the land by having his record “written up” in the official daily newspaper of Congress— the Congressional Record. Representative Robert R, Oregon “extended his remarks” in the Record about how Sam Robinson has been plugging along loyally for half a century, working far into the night on messenger-boy service, in spite of the fact that he is now 71 years old. Mr. Robinson is not rated as a mes- senger boy, but essentially that is his duty, for he has to chase after Con- gressmen wherever they are to be found in Washington. In this way he has come to know intimately every member of Congress and where he lives for the past 50 yeafs. He carries about with him on his trips all over the National Capital the responsibility of submitting to each member of the House the typewritten transcript from the stenographic report | he of the member’s remarks on the floor. Before a member’s remarks are printed in the Congressional Record he is af- forded an opportunity to make gram- matical corrections, and- in some in- stances to eliminate after sober second thought portions of what he actually sald in the heat of debate on the floor. More often than cutting out some of their remarks, the members are anxious rather to extend them with voluminous interpolations and elaborations. For half a century, as boy and man, Sam Robinson has tracked the members to their offices and homes searching high and low for them until he per- sonally hands over to them this cop: and awaits the pleasur: of the individual member to correct it so that it may appear in the next morning's issue of the Congressional Record. He has the reputation of never arguing with mem- bers but if they tell him to wait while they stew over uncounted words of burning wisdom he waits patiently, In the heat of Summer, in the rains of grrlnj, through lightning storms and izzards, Sam Robinson has trudged hither and yon with the “copy” in his pocket. ith the development and expansion of the National Capital his at has been lengthened since the days half a century ago when most of the then 150 members lived in one hotel, so that he found it much easler to deliver and collect the transcript of their remarks. His long years have hardened him against any tremors of hesitancy about waking up any member at any hour of the night in order to gt back a revised copy for the Con- gressional Record, which he helped to make as much as any man who ever sat in Congress. Albania and Its Draft. Prom the Worcester Evening Gazette. Another nation has been added to the select group of countries which are willing to "'gefl the citizenship con- ferred upon their natives by our Gov- ernment. Hereafter naturalized Amer- icans from Albania may return to the shores of the Adriatic without fear of being forced to shoulder a musket in King Zogu’s army. The country's armed strength is con- siderably less than the Massachusetts National Guard and all of Zogu's sub- jects would make about half the popu- tion of Philadelphia. As our wu‘m con- tingent from Albania—men, women and children—numbers only 5,608, the army :Il‘:ckhhllrlme drieln'% !L:ndlm suffer very occasional returnt native not drafted into it. e i Still, the State Department is showing results, if not very impressive results, in carrying out the policy enjoined by the resolution of Congress in 1928. Perhaps in time France and Italy and the other nations that are holding out may be persuaded to sign a treaty conceding that a naturalized American is as much a citizen of the United States when he travels in Europe as when he stays at {:)rul']l;, :gdrlf they :I’:’Jl'l do this volun- , there are obvious ways - suading them. i ————— Foolproof. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A Texan has a theory that ocean cur- rents circuldte in fissures throuxhc:ge center of the earth. No one is likely to disprove the idea by practical dem- onstration. —,— 1930 resulted in a decline of 11 per cent from 1929, with the output at the end of the year the lowest in more than four years. The decline in the produc- tion of refined products last year was sald to be due to the efforts of the re- finers to balance supply and demand, although stocks of gasoline continue to mount. Imports of crude have decreased for the first time since 1926, but imports of gasoline have increased materially. The report of the Bureau of Mines points out that while the output in most of the flelds is being curtailed all the time, the potential or “shut-in” production has steadily increased. The daily aver- age of crude oil production in the United States for last week, for ex- ample, as stated by the American Pe- troleum Institute, was just over 2,000,- 000 barrels, an increase of 11,000 bar- rels over the preceding week. Large wells are being brought in all the time, but these are “capped in" to a frac- tion of their initial output. * ok ok k Last year an unsuccessful effort was the mittee, has declined to express an opin- lon on the pending bills to put a tariff oil imports. He ne for Congress rate or an embargo said the question was to_determine. In a few days the Interstate Com- merce Committee of the House will be- gin hearings on legislation designed to compel large oil companies to divest themselves of their pipe-line holdings. ‘The bills were introduced on behalf of the independent oil producers and their principal purpose is to open up to the use of the lndcmdenu the spiderwork of pipe lines ugh which crude oil is_distributed throughout the country. ‘Whether or not the public would gain or lose from such a separation is prob- (Copyright, 1931.) THE EMPLOYES’ BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. The haughty blonde behind the coun- iter of the department store or almost any other kind of merchandise estab- lishment spends from one-quarter to one-third of her working hours in pow- dering her nose, rouging her lips, flufing her hair and adjusting her gum—in other words, in_ waiting for something to turn up. This has been ascertained by a careful survey con- ducted by the division of domestic com- merce of the Department of Com- merce. Out of the dollar pald by the cus- tomer to the average store almost 13 |JOy cents goes to the salespeople in salaries. The one-third idle or waiting time which is not productive of revenue to the store is pald for out of this frac- tion. ‘The survey was made in an effort to supply shopkeepers with data on which to base methods of applying the time of employes to better advantage. No method of correction has been ad- vanced, but solid information as to just where the shopkeeper stands has been Butler of | the comptled. ‘The time of a salesperson is divided into six parts, the investigation has shown. It is up to the efficiency ex- perts of each re to discover means of readjusting these six periods to bet- ter advantage on the basis of the Gov- ernment data. ‘The six periods are divided as follows: Selling time is the actual time occu- pled between the moment a customer approaches a counter and a definite se- lection and decision to purchase has been reached. This is the longest sin- gle-time item, occupying 42 per cent of the salesperson’s day. There is wide variation among customers. A man al- most always makes a speedy selection and decision. Some women, who know just what they want, do likewise. But 2 very large number of women s an nd shop and shop. Ten or fifteen tes may be devoted to the selection of & handkerchief, The percentage is an WORKING DAY 7 vance, will keep all clerks busy to ca- g:euy at some hours while at others™ 1f of them will be standing around waiting for customers. Some adjustments must be taken into account, as between cash and charge sales. It has been found that the aver- age sale on a charge account involves approximately six times as much money a8 the average sale for cash. There are two reasons for this. There been a substantial increase in the extension of department store credit in recent years. Wealthier people have long en- ed open charge accounts and, nat- urally, make more expensive 3 But the wide extension of charge counts to of moderate circum- stances has resulted in larger sales. A customer is much more likely to buy and buy more expensively if he does not have to produce the cash from his purse then and there. It seems so easy just to say “charge it.” A day of reckon- ing comes, of course. Yet losses on charge accounts are not very heavy. The selling time consumed is &pproxi- mately the same. Cities Show Differences, Some highly interesting facts have been gleaned relating to the distribution of employes’ time in various cities. The results of the inquiry show an amazing consistency with the general reputa- tions of certain citles. ides itself on its snappi- and general atmos- here of hustle in business activity. ew York claims a greater dignity and sophistication, while Philadelphia for generations has had the reputation of |being a slow-moving, slumbrous me- tropolis where people rarely are in a hurry. See how this works out in the business of selling over the counter. In Chicago clerks are idle or waiting only 22 per cent of their time, as com- pared with the general average of 33 per cent. In New York they are idle 37 per cent of their time, and in Philadel- phia they stand around during 41 per cent of the hours of the day waitl for customers to come in. average. The next longest &eflod of actual working time is t devoted to eare of e stock. Nearly every clerk is char with keeping the stock in order. The shopper may desire to look at numerous styles or designs and various bolts of cloth have to be unrolled or many boxes opened. After the purchaser has left, it is the clerk's duty to restore the un- sold items to a neat and ord state in readiness for the prospective buyer, ‘This duty absorbs on an average 20 per cent or one-fifth of the employe’s work- ing day. Charge Customers Buy More. Nedxc ’::ma; l;:e time lpent‘ iau mmi are designated for purposes of - :gunuon‘ E &ltfmrv:.wl. This is the e spen to a prospective customer, showing the wares in which e is interested, answering his questions and otherwise attending to his shopping demands. This classification relates only to time the salesperson spends on & customer with no sale resulting. Nine per cent of the seller's working day is consumed in this manner. So far as revenue to the store is this is lost time except for the good will value it carries. ‘Two other time items go into the day's work. One is classified as service ame and h!lndlldu the -nd““-d m wrapping packages and wi change if the sale is for eash or the minutes devoted to making out the if the sale is to be period is the one-third period of idleness or waiting. This is, to a large extent, unavoidable. To main- tain its good will and reputation for service a store must have on hand a sufficient number of clerks to handle a k demand for attention. Customers come restive if asked to wait for the attention of a clerk. Rush ‘which cannot always be c! Alfonso’s Losing Fight For Spanish Monarchy b, sy o BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, February 21.—Develop- ments in the Spanish political drams are being followed by the British public with mingled feelings. doubt that their home in England. But it is not perso; the matter alone that explains the terest in Alfonso's fight for the throne, nor does the personal liking for monarch alter the fact that public opinion here regards him as pursuing a mistaken policy. * ok x % “This king business,” as a famous American Ambassador once described the monarchical system in Europe, has undergone a sea change since the World War. With the fs of three great despots and many minor royalties throughout the continent, the idea of absolutism has become not merely ex- tinct but dead as the dodo. In coun- tries where monarchism survived the whirlwind of war, it survived only by the complete surrender to the constitu- tional principle or, as in the case of Italy, by humiliating subservience to a violent dictatorship. Even in England a profound change has come over the relations of the throne and the execu- tive, and full acceptance by the mon- archy of the altered conditions explains the remarkable accord which prevails here between the King and the people. the dictatorial Anything app: attitude which Queen Vi 's recently published letters showed she toward her ministers, especially Glad- stone, would be wholly unthinkable in the atmosphere of the modern world; and if attempted would inevitably create an intolerable situation. * ok ok ok It is singular that with such over- In Chicago people are very much harder bargainers than they are in New York. There appears to be more of an inclination to haggle. Such a conclu- e working day o spentin cent of the worl ay selling time; that is, the actual time which elapses between meeting of cus- tomer and clerk and the closing of & sale. ‘This is pretty nuggy compared with the national average of 42 per cent, ;utkno;' when wx'n.;ufludz 1wm; m ork’s of ly pel . In pnu.a.nfifi':' 26 per cent of the clerks’ time is spent in selling. . ‘The figure for interviews—that is, the conversation between potential cus- tomer and clerk which ends with no Non-produc- tive haggling in 12 per cent of the time, compared with & ?M’l’ll AV of 9 per cent. New ork stands right at ‘hile in latter is y courtesy . to customers is to be main- tained. There will aiways be thx:: ze.pmenud by the 'omsol cwh‘&. ving practically every cloth and every box opened for her in ad- there. Fifty Years Ago In The Star ‘While the old Long Bridge, which was little better than a dam across the Potomac, remained in service, Potomac washington was subject to occasional inundations, caus- th of the inundation: “All along the river front today a scene of activity is presented, many men being employed in cleaning up and re- pairing ges by the flood. It is found in many cases that the damages are lighter than at first supposed. Much more ollhnrlve!wuopenwd-'i'.hm yesterday and above the bridge there is a large area of open water which is yet quite swift. From the causeway of the Long Bridge extending northwestward the ice is yet piled up to the Georgetown Channel and beyond there are immense drifts of ice, much of it having been ided in the low grounds on the south side of the river. “Fully 500 feet of the trestle work from the south end of the Long Bridge has been carried off, On this work the railroad company has about 150 men employed working night and day. They will, it is expected, complete it by the end of the week (four days later). At the north end of the bridge there are g;elr‘:(m men at work under the charge prunin; replace lost spans . Here there are two tugs at work with a plledriver, driving the piles. The tele- graph company has a large force at work. TLast night Mr, L. Moxley, having four calcium lights thrown on the bridge, made the scene a novel and beautiful one. It is now expected that this work will be done and the trains whelming evidence all over the conti- nent of the impossibility of sustaining the absolutist principle in a hereditary monarchy, so intelligent a man as King Alfonso should wage a hopeless strug- gle to preserve the principle in its last forlorn stronghold in Europe, He had all the personal qualities enable him to accommodat modern conditions and re-establish monarchy on the foundation of popular acceptance; but his gifts of political strategy, which are remarkable, have betrayed him into a conflict which every success only makes an ultimate de- feat more assured. He wins trick after trick, but loses the'game, and his very skill in breaking up combinations against him has left him with no pop- ular backing and only the doubtful sup- port of the army. ® e In throwing over the constitution in favor of the Primo de Rivera dictator- ship eight years ago, he did not realize that he brought the crown into the firing line and became directly and per- sonally chargeable with unpopular acts of the government. After the fall of hecessary 10, Alexandria the running by Saturday evening. “The tugboats which are in the employ of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad forced their way up to the arsenal last night and it was thought that the way for the ferryboats would be open today. The steamer City of got_down as arsenal this mo; a _point, forming a through which it was_impossible to pass, and it returned. From Giesboro Point two tugs were manfully and grad- ually working their way h, and it was thought at 11 o'clock that the ferry- boats would be able to run this aft- ernoon. “The City of Baltimore has two pon- derous ice breakers, in the way of steamers of great strength, with engines of extraordinary power, One belongs to the State and city jointly, and is ;.‘hm;gop.‘en;e h{(-'rghn‘e.' The other is e Tty of the city exclusively and is called ‘The !At.mb:.' A Rivera he undoubtedly was| pg - | anxious to repair that error; but instead of making a clean-cut break with the mistaken past, he exploited his genius for political beggar-my-neighbor or- der to keep the substance while yield- the shadow. Alfonso aims at maintaining abso- | N lute power while escaping personal re- sponsibility by restoring the facade of & dummy constitutionalism. The result of his maneuvers is that he has mobi- lized against him the Moderate Mon- archists as well as the Republicans, and the conflict has the character of an atgack on hi nally as well tack on monar qua mon- * ok k% ‘The ingenuity with which broken the oppcyduon into restored under Admiral Amnar by the old gangs is -'mhu:'no(mmw a dummy p extinguish a big fire in that city not long enough h’:k u: be forgotten.”