Evening Star Newspaper, March 16, 1931, Page 8

" A-8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY........March 16, 1831 THEODORE W. NOYES . Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company i Pensivanta A an ) Ofice: 110 Bast 4204 8t Glicaso Office: Lake Michizan Bulldine. European Office: 14 Regent' 5., London, by Carrier Withim the City. i 45¢ per month tog MRP .. s ig A Binday Star 4 Bundays) . ..60c per month Rate and_ Suj Sundays) 65¢ per month ndey 8t Sc per copy tion made at the erid of ‘each month. Qrders may be sent in by mall or telephone NAtional 5000, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sund; - Daiiy oniy Bunday only All Other States and Canada. i 1yr., $12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 $8.00: 1 mo., "8 5.00: 1 mo.s 50c Bunday only ‘Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled %o the use for republication of all news dis- publishec in_ All 1 special dispatches herein a i Mr. Hoover's Working Holiday. George Bernard Shaw's “Who's Who" | Butobiography sets down his recreation Bs “anything but sport.” Herbert Hoover evidently defines vacation as “anything but idleness.” The President will pro- ceed to the Caribbean this week aboard | a battleship for a ten-day “rest” in the | salubrious Antilles, but thé announced purpose of this respite from the ‘White House grind is a visit of spec- tion to Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Chief Engineer, in other ‘words, is about to embark upon a work- ing holiday. The country wishes him happy days @t sea, but will deplore his determina- tion to season them with official duty One of the hardest working Executives ‘who has occupied the presidential chair In years has not indulged himself in a real play and relexation period, save a week's fishing in Florida, since he took office. Mr. Hoover's week ends at his camp on the Rapidan are largely devoted to the Nation's business. August Thyssen, a famous pre-war Rhenish ironmaster sometimes known as “the German Car- | negie,” adopted as his motto: “If I| rest, I rust.” The President subscribes | to the same strenuous doctrine. | Mr. Hoover's decision to look at things | ion the spot, in both Porto Rico and the | Virgin Islands, is a portent of better things for both of our Caribbean pos- sessions. Events of the past few years, economic as well as physical, have dealt them heavy blo Hurricanes, famine, pestilential rains, agricultural distress and political unrest have seriously re- tarded the development of Porto Rico. Enactment of prohibition in the United States devastated the Virgin Islands’ once thriving rum trade, their main source of livelihood. Acquired by us originally from Denmark to !mstmte‘ a projected sale to Imperial Germany, the islands have just passed from con- trol by the Navy Department into civilian administration. The President is evidently anxious to see how his newly appointed governor purposes launching & brand-new form of Ameri- can insular government. Between his conferences at San Juan with Gov. Roosevelt and his sojourn at St. Thomas with Gov. Pearson, how- ever brief they are bound to be, Mr. Moover, with his particularly well trained powers of observation in exotic climes, will glean much of value to Porto Rico, to the Virgin Islands and to the American people. Uncle Sam has definite and important obligations in the Spanish Main. He will the better be able to shoulder them as the result of the President’s impending voyage of exploration. ————— Whatever charges may be made @gainst Mdyor Jimmy Walker, it will be difficult to find many who will re- gard him as a bold, bad man. PFriends will love him in the December of his career as they did in May. Many a time he is likely to regret that he did not remain a songster instead of be- coming a politician. - .o English formality insists on address- ing Charlie as “Mr.” Chaplin. There ought to be some good comedy made available by the experiences of a fa-| vorite performer with the exactions of social life. o The Bus Hearings. Tomorrow will bring to a close the lengthy series of hearings, conducted in | various parts of the country and ending in Washington, into the various aspects | of interstate bus and trucking opera- | tion. On the basis of information de- veloped in the hearings, the Interstate Commerce Commisston will ntually | recommend to Congress the nature and | extent of governmental control that, in | its opinion, should be extended to what | has come to be one of the vital cogs | in the Nation’s transportation system. Those who naturally have shown keenest interest in the bus hearings have been the railroads. They are the ones that have suffered most from the | unregulated competition of the bus! lines. They are the ones that expect the greatest benefit from some form of | regulation that will remove the dis- crimination against the rail carriers which, in the rallroads’ opinion, exists | from non-regulation of the busses. But| there are none among whom exist more radical differences of opinion over the | extent of proposed bus regulation than the raliroads themselves. Their sug-| gestions for regulation range from one | system’s plea that the busses be left alone, to the suggestion, seriously ad- vanced by another, that the busses be abolished as a factor in interstate com- merce transportation in sections where their competition has injured the rail- roads. Between these two extremes the Interstate Commerce Commission must seek the middle ground upon which to bufld its proposals for regulation. There will be, of course, recom- ‘mendations for regulation. Regulation is necessary if competition between the bus lines and the railroads is to be placed on an even footing. And if the need for regulation from the standpoint forms of bidding for business at the ex~ pense of the weaker competitor. But the problem of bus regulation has almost as many ramifications as there are busses. The bus operators are point- ine out that Federal regulation is im- practical; that it would reach a mi- nority of operators, and that common carriers, operating over specified routes, would bear the burden and the public would pay the bill. They have asserted that contract truck carriers, which have no fixed routes and which carry the major portion of automobile-borne com- merce, could not be reached. They have produced voluminous data relating to the high proportion of tcxes paid by | b sses, and to the regulations already extending over their operations as laid down by State public utility bodies. From the standpoint of the Govern- ment, the railroads, which have been placed under regulation, are entitled to the protection from unregulated com- petition. The public is entitled to the same protection from the eventual pos- sibilities of combinations and rate manipulations by the busses that played lation to the essential railroad industry. And in the end the chief problem of the Interstats Commerce Commission will be to work out a scheme based on the theory that there is room enough and business enough for both railroads and busses, provided each is assigned an operating field of its own, each guaran- teeing to the public the most adequate snd convenient form of transportation that circumstance permits at the lowest possible cost. B The New York Mess. New York is having a terrible getting itself investigated. The Re- publicans up in Albany, under the leadership of W. Kingsland Macy, the State chairman, are demanding a legislative investigation of the greater city. Two Westchester Republican State Senators, acting, it is said, at the direction of the veteran county leader, Willlam Ward, have so far blocked the adoption of the necessary resolution. As a result it has been charged that Ward is playing the game of the Democratio organization in New York. The Democrats, however, are rowing among themselves over the proper kind of inquiry into the affairs of the city, A shocking condition in the city of New York has been brought to light with justice undermined and officials 2nd politicians, not to mention attor- noys, preying on women, with many cf the victims “framed” to extort money from them. Notwithstanding the in- quiries which have been held during the last eight months, there is a feel- ing that the lid has not yet been prop- erly lifted, and that underneath the surface an even more scandalous con- dition exists than has yet been hinted. Mayor “Jimmy” Walker has gone to California for a rest. In his absence a move has been launched to have the mayor turned out of office, headed by the “City Affairs Committee.” The mayor's assistant, Charles F. Kerrigan, has issued a statement declaring that the city government of New York is a model affair and that the attack upon the mayor and District Attorney Thomas C. Crain has been inspired by persons who wish to halt a thorough investigation of the collapse of the Bank of the United States, an investigation which the district attorney has been pressing. ‘The Kerrigan statement is time declared by other New Yorkers to be | merely a fine breast-beating statement, typical of Tammany at its boldest. At the same time an inquiry into the vice conditions and the conditions of Justice and the police in New York City is under way with Judge Samuel Sea- bury in charge. This investigation is making it difficult for the district attor- ney. And there you are, ‘What happens to New York City, with its more than seven millions of people, is important to the whole country, not only because New York encompasses such a big block of humanity, but also bzcause of the significance which New York City affairs sometimes have in national politics. William Jennings Bryan's attack on Tammany at the Baltimore convention in 1912 was largely responsible for the nomination of Woodrow Wilson and the defeat of Champ Clark, for example. When former Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York was running for President on the Democratic ticket in 1928, one of the arguments used against him by his opponents was that he was a Tammany man. Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York is today an out- standing figure among the Democratic possibilities for the presidential nomi- nation next year. His political for- tunes may depend to a great extent upon the manner in which he meets the situation in New York City today. If he assumes & hands-off attitude, he may lose strength with the Democrats hroughout the cour On the other hand, if he is too severe on the Demo- ratic organization and its leaders in the city, he may find himself without a solid New York delegation at the Demo- cratic National Convention next yea Despite cha:ges that he was bolster- ing up Tammany and corruption, Gov. | Roosevelt did keep his hands off the New York mess Jast Summer and Fall when a general inquiry into the judi- ciary, was demanded. He was elected Governor nothwithstanding by upward of 700,000 votes over his Republican opponent, Charles H. Tuttle, who was shouting “Corruption!” from the house- tops. Sentiment in New York City it- self, however, is more aroused today than it was last Summer by the plece- meal revelations of conditions which have come to the surface. A bold stand by the Governor for a clean-up in New York City may in the end be a’ better stroke politically than pussyfooting. Certainly it would help him out in the country. e Congress sometimes suspends its in- | vestigations. but New York never quits. ! A Great Bargain. It certainly was nice of Francis X Bushman to throw himseif on the matri- monial market in that abandoned fash- fon. All the women of the country must have been given a great thrill. Think of getting such a man for a husband merely by supporting him in the style to which he is “accustomed”! Even if ———— of the patronizing public is not wholly apparent now, it will be plain when the bus lines have emerged from the pre- liminary struggles among themselves that always mark the early stages of any great industrial enterprise, and from which the public often temporarily benefits through rate cutting and other it is the woman who always pays and pays and pays, she will not have to pay very much for this erstwhile movie star— that is, not more than a hundred thou- sand a year or so. ‘There is no question about it—it is the chance of a lifetime for the women. Bushman is only forty-seven years old King Henry THE EVENING and only a trifle fat. Of course, his fame as a Beau Brummel is largely in the past. His appeal, naturally, will interest the older women. They prob- ably are the only ones who remember him on the screen. Present-day flap- pers not only do not possess the means to satisfy his “modest” desire, but most of them probably place him in the same era as the battle of Bunker Hill, But for the older cnes what a chance! Movie stars, if Bushman can | still be termed one, are known to make the kindest and most considerate hus- bands. Never are they the least bit tem- peramental. In fact, the longer they carry on, the more docile and domestic they become. They never want to grab |the spotlight, and they are noted for their helpfulness to younger players who will soon replace them. So all these qualities, it can be seen, make jfor that kind of happiness that is de- | sired in every little love mest. It will probably not be long, there- fore, before some lucky woman will be saying, “Good morning,” to her new hus- band, Francis X. Bushman, and he will courteously answer as he puts on hat and coat, “Good morning, wifie, dear. I will need a dollar today for my shave and haircut. Therc are some other little trifles that I cannot think of now, so you had better make it five dollars. If there is anything else I will let you know. Good-by.” e Prisoners are showing an increased desire to get away from the exactions of penitentiary life. A disposition to treat criminals with kindliness is de- veloping a tendency to discuss the war- jden as if he were a landlord, expected | to please all comers. R Salt is easily made in India. But, for that matter, so is home brew in this country. A government might find it easier to collect on products which require special skill in laboratory work. R e e N Ideas change. Dr. Mary Walker, who wore long trousers and a frock coat, would probably have been shocked by the thought of appearing in & mod- ern feminine riding costume. e —r—e—————— American authors manage to secure all kinds of bouquets in Northern Eu- rope. But, then, so did that precarious celebrity, Dr. Cook. ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Little Song. I heard a bird that caroled as a sun- beam came along. 1 must admit I thought it was a silly little song. But if you caught its meaning in a truly proper way, It was about the blue skies and the blossoming of May. I heard a simple ditty with an often echoed rhyme. I must admit it seemed a thoughtless ‘way to pass the time. And yet it told of pleasures that to youth are very dear, Responding many a year to a reminder of good cheer. Increasing Dry Sentiment. “I have been told that you are un- compromisingly dry.” “I am,” answered Senator Sorghum. “Out my way most of the leaders and |'their relatives have troubles with their livers and other inside mechanisms that cause doctors to forbid alcohol. Year by year these citizens have becorae more numerous till now I figure that their vote is worth going after.” Jud Tunkins says there’s no tellin’ track performance. When it comes to temperament a hoss is a four-legged prima donna. Literature and Pharmacy. Is it not truly strange to look Upon the drug store counter book, Designed with confidence secure Our various mental ills to cure? Philosophers with fine advice Are offered at a cut-rate price, And yet may grace some radio scheme, Like tooth paste or a shaving cream. Assignment. “Are you the city editor?” inquired the cub reporter. “I am,” answered the man at the desk. “Haven't you an assignment?” “Yes, I have a little story I found a note about. - But my most important assignment is from & magazine that wants one of these stories with a hard- bolled city editor in it. You have al- ways been polite and considerate and I may as well resign. You may be a good city editor, but as a fiction char- acter you are a disappointment.” Comparing Accommodations. “What is that very large bullding?” asked the stranger in Crimson Guich. “That's the court hou: answered Cactus Joe. “And the to 1t?” “That's the jail” “Apparently you do not have many prisoners.” “We have plenty. But the judge likes lots of room because he's there for life, while most of the men in very small building next temporary lodgings.” Love and Weapons. A love affair Brings hope renewed. It may, with care, Not cause a feud. Let Cupid use His bow for fun And still refuse To tote & gun. “To speak the truth,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “requires only a moment of utterance, but years of re- search in order to ascertain it.” Paper Profits. His “paper profits” made him rich, And then went to the bad. He lost a lot of money which He never really had. “Payin’ too much attention to little things,” said Uncle Eben, “is like givin’ yohself a black eye ‘cause you wasn' satisfled to shoo a mosquito, but wanted to smesh 'im.” - A Precedent. From the New London Day. ‘The Bishop of London is concerned over the “insidious doctrine of compa ionate marriage creeping in from United States.” What about history, Bishop? Take a look at the story about the Eighth, how to tell how to figure on a race| custody are well satisfled with only| STAR, WASHINGTON. M D. ARCH 16, 1931. Rosebushes are sending forth their leaf buds these days, under the influ- ence of comparatively benign air, filled with plenty of sunshine and some water. ‘The ever-reliable Dr. Van Fleet, that excellent climber, which adorns fences and houses and garages with its great pink-white blossoms in May, is one of the first of the roses to send forth its leaves. ‘We examined our one Dr. Van Fleet the other day, and discovered the leaf buds were quite fat, ready to uncurl at almost any time, depending upon the exact amount of natural ald. This bush is planted in pure sand, on the east side of the house. It was from this direction, of course, that the memorable rain of several days ago came. ‘This was the first time in many months—almost a year, in fact—that this particular bush had received any real amount of water. As the result of its abstinence, the bush was rather scraggly in character, but still very much of a bush. Has one a right to call a climber a bush? We think so. It is a sort of { generic name for the rose plant, even for climbers, which, unless kept severely trimmed back, do not form what, in the strict sense, would be called bushes, Ak * It is welcome news to lovers of this grand rose that some growers are introducing this Spring a new ever- blooming Van Fleet, which is said to bear roses continually during the grow- ing season. Most of us will take the word ‘“con- tinually” with several grains of salt. We suspect that it means more than one burst of bloom. Even two would be | swell, as the youngsters say, in view of | the true beauty of this rose What is prettier, in its season, than a fine Dr. Van Fleet? Its stout canes, its glossy foliage, its general appearance of health, and above all its unsurpassed | flowers put it in the A No. 1 class with | Paul's Scarlet and a precious other few. | It does not show mildew, as so manyi of the oider climbers do. Take Hia-| watha. Or Dorothy Perkins. It has| become the fashion, in recent years, to sneer mildly at these things, but they | remain good roses. But they will mil- dew. Not last year, of course, owing to the lack of moisture. And it would seem, alas, not this season, either! So mildew becomes desirable! Dr. Van Fleet can show more aphids, | or plant lice, per running foot of branch, than any other rose in captivity. The wholesome thing is that it withstands their ravages better than others, owing to the tough bark, or whatever you call the covering of the branches. ‘There are several new climbers on the market, notably one which was first introduced in this country last; vear, but it is safe to say that it will be years before Dr. Van Fleet and Paul’s | Scarlet are superseded in the general fancy of the public at large ‘There are few persons who see the latter in full bloom who do not stop to | inquire what it is. It is the reddest| rose in the world, yet without being of- | fensive about it. Its peculiar tone, and | one can call it nothing else, is dis- tinctive without being repellent. Every fence in the world ought to have at least one Paul's Scarlet and one Dr. Van Fleet. kxR What noble memorials these roses are to the men whose names they bear! | Many monuments of granite will perish from the earth while these things still | twine their glories around the homes of generations to come. In many ways a rose is like a book. Under modern methods and circum- stances of distribution, named roses be- come events at their “publication” to | the rose-growing world. Many editions are called for, with the result, as with books, that the price is likely to de- cline, and thousands who first held off because they felt the price was too high | Almost everybody knows what shadow boxing is. Ii's the motions through which pugilists go, usually for exhibi- tion purposes. They jab, duck, upper- cut, left-hook and feint just as if they | had an opponent in front of them. It| doesn’t mean a thing. Shadow boxing | isn't confined to the prize ring. Now and then statesmen indulge in it. By order of Secretary Stimson, Senator | Dwight Morrow and Ambassador Daw:s are going to do some shadow boxing in London. They will study the Anglo- Franco-Italian naval agreement and | see what the United States should do | about it. Why should they? We haven't done a single thing about the London naval pact which this new tri- partite European deal supplements ex- {cept ratify it. Congress has virtually | converted "the treaty into a scrap of | paper. Not a penny has been appro- | priated to carry our part of it into ef- fect, though the pact is a year old. It | will be two years old before the next| | Congress can’get around to doing any- | thing with it. At the recent log-rolling | | session Congress refused to rppropriate | 874,000,000 toward constructing _the “treaty mavy.” At the next session, if | we're going to catch up, $150,000,000 will be required. Will the pacifists and cheese-parers be any more inclined to give the larger sum their imperial ap- proval than they were the half of it this ‘Winter? e Perhaps _ President Hoover's life| aboard @ battleship during the mext fortnight may_incline him "to appoint another commission—to find out exactly | why there is no Ted-blooded effort to| start the treaty Navy. The blame is distributable in several quarters. In the first place, it is not of record that the administration itself is at any| pains to bring about the necessary | legislation. Two members of the cabi-| net—Secretary of State Stimson and| Secretary of the Navy Adams—helped negotiate the treaty. "Did anybody in Washington this Winter, or before, ever | hear either of these worthy servants | of the State boldly advocate that thelr London masterplece should be con- verted from parchment into steel? Did anybody catch the three senatorial members of the American delegation ralsing their influential _voices for | trealy action? Reed of Pennsylvania was busy keeping the mollycoddles from destroying the Army—he's chairman of military affairs. Robinson of Ar- kansas was busy keeping the drought controversy to the fore. Morrow of New Jersey was busy keeping still. There are Navy folks who blame Sen- ator Hale of Maine, chairman of naval affairs, for his conspicuous lack of | punch on behalf of the $74,000,000 con- struction bill. Hale was & bitter foe of the treaty. i Maj. Gen. Herbert B. Crosby, mem- ber of the District of Columbia Board of Commissioners, who is in charge of police affairs, is ready to depose and say that Friday, the 13th far from being & jinx, is a mascot. Last Friday, which was one of the sup- posedly unlucky combinations of day and date, Gen. Crosby, who alway arrives at his office in a state of sus- pended animation, found that the first three letters he opened were all com- | mendaticns of the Washington police force. Cognmissioner Crosby wasn't so lucky in one respect a year ago, when he entered office. The general is an enthusiastic cavalryman—was chief of Cavalry in the Army when drafted for his present job. Almost the very hour he became a Commissioner of the Dis- trict the new local budget, barring mounted police, took effect! Re N ‘Mabel Walker Willebrandt turned up at the Federal Farm Board offices at 9 o'clock in the morning the other day for a conference with a board law- rhaps about grape concentrate. | pleasantly accosted by an THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. | three | his oldish gentleman in the elevator, Who remarked: “Don't belleve I've scen you here before, Miss. ¢ di- buy it at last, much to their satisfac- tion. Roses circulate in another way. Slips, as they are called, or cuttings, are given by owners to other rose lovers, and these carefully placed in the earth, usually beneath a glass jar of some sort. Not_every gardener has good fortune with rose slips. Others succeed from the first, and get a garden full of bushes af no cost to themselves except a little work and trouble. Such bushes, of course, will be “own root,” and those Who swear that grafted stock is the best will not fancy them. We believe, personally, that there is a great deal of plain bunk about the “own root” and “grafted stock” con= troversy. We have had them side by side, under the same conditions, and we would have defled any adherent of either to have pointed out where it did better than the other, or the other less than it. R Tulips are up half a foot or more, while crocuses (or would you prefer croci?) have been in bloom for nearly weeks—are, in fact, almost through blooming. Those who fear for their tulips need not. These are sturdy things, born and bred, in all iikelihood, in Holland, where cold ocean winds sweep over them from infancy. They can stand a great deal of cold, even after their buds have formed. The advancing Spring has not_been at all inhospitable, so far. While precipitation is still behind, it has come down in larger amounts this ycar than during the last months of 1930, The rain of March 7 and 8 did a vast amount of good. One did not have to imagine it. The grass looked greener, the trees more thrifty. The grass al- most shone. We are much encouraged about grass this year. It gives every evidence, so far, of excclling. Sureiy this is surprising, except for one thing, in view of the severe drought. The one thing, of course, is this grass itself. There is no limit, apparently, to the | endurance of grass. Its roots are on the job all the time, and have a sort of mummylike life of their own in dry weather. Given but the revivifying touch of water, they will come back when it seemed hopeless. * K ok % Who says that cats hate water? They might have changed their opinion if they could have seen yellow Quincy. He is a cat so yellow that he is red, if you understand what we mean. Quince went out to look the situation over. It was immediately after the miniature cloudburst of Sunday morning early. ‘The garage driveway of the home across the street had a sunken place in it in which the water collected probably to the depth of 3 or 4 inches. This expanse of water attracted Quince’s attention immediately. Walking as if his feet hurt him, his usual mode of locomotion, he came to the edge of the pool, into which he looked for a few seconds. Then he put out one paw gingerly and struck the water. The sight of the ripples pleased him, evidently, for he continued this sport for several minutes. Then he decided to investigate & bit further. So he went in wading. Squarely into the center of the pool walked he. While he was indulging in this doglike sport a passerby went within 6 feet of him, yet without see- ing him. Here was the only cat in the world in wading that morning, and yet the passer missed the sight. How in- teresting if he could have gone home and said, “I saw a yellow cat in wad- ing, believe it or not!" If he had turned around he would have seen a stranger sight yet. Yellow Quince, not satisfied with wading, sat down in the water and remained there for at least 3 minutes. Which, one mustt submit, is doing pretty well for a cat. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. vision are you in?” Portia replied: “Oh, I don't work here.” The in- quisitive one persisted: “Well, where do you work?” Quoth Mabel: “I'm in business for myself.” Then, in answer to~a final interrogatory as to her identity Mrs. Willebrandt disclosed it, and her boy friend, having reached floor, stepped out, flabbergasted. The former Department of Justice lady now inhabits an office building, owned by Secretary of War “Pat” Hurley, which has ‘under its roof a whole nest of former Coolidge administration stars—“Ted” Clark, Everett Sanders, “Bill” Donovan, Henry H. Bond et al. Shortly Bascom Slemp, another relic of the Calvinian era, will join them. CR A No more diverting memoirs, of politi- cal import, have come from the press in many a day than Alfred Pearce Den- nis'’ “Gods and Little Fishes.” Why the vice chairman of the Tariff Com- mission wastes his time cn dull and dreary customs-rates instead of devot- ing his talents to literature will strike his readers as incomprehensible. Dr. Dennis knew at close range three men destined to become Presidents of the | United States—Woodrow Wilson, under whom he studied at Princeton; Calvin Coolidge, with whom he chummed at Northampton while Dennis taught at Smith College, and Herbert Hoover, whom the Secretary of Commerce sent to Europe as a special investigator, Two screaming chapters in “Gods and Little Fishes” deal with Dennis’ chaperonage of Senator Brookhart through Europe in 1923. In a spirit of rare sportsmanship, the author includes Brookhart’s maga- zine-article reply to a devastating ac- count, of the Corn Belt idol's idiosyn- crasies, which Dennis had previously published.. * ok % o* Secretary Stimson at & press confer- ence last week sprang a_new idiom. Somebody asked about a London yarn that the United States would insist on a brand-new treaty in consequence of the Franco-Italian naval deal. “I sus- pect that's just a journalistic_enter- prise,” the ‘colonel ‘replied.. Stimson takes to water daily and punctually at 12:50 p.m., because Eddle Savoy, per- ennial colored doorkeeper of the Sec- retary’s office, brought a glass to Frank B. Kellogg at exactly the same hour for four years, and has trained Stimson to the habit. * ok % ok Alaska newspapers indicate that a movement is afoot farthest north to change the name of Mount McKinley and name it after some locally famed Indian chief. Mount McKinley National Park is our second largest park, being almost as big as Yellowstone. The great peak which honors the memory of our third martyred Presldent is 20,300 feet | high and ‘the tallest in the Western Hemisphere. A profect to rechristen it wouldn't arouse much enthuslasm &t Washington. (Copyright, 1931.) gy e Bermuda Rejection Of Autos Is Approved From the Alhany Evening News 'he Upper Legislative Council of Bermuda has rejected the measure which the Lower Council had passed permitting physicians on the island to use automobiles while calling on pa- tients. So the old remains. T%e island, which has always been free of the modern automobile, will keep its free- dom. And somehow we are glad. It is good to think that somewhere in the world is a place where motors are not and motor horns never rack our nerves. ‘There ought to be a motorless Eden somewhere and Bermuda hms acted wisely in keeping the automc¥ile out. If physicians had been permitted to use cars then others might also have asked the privilege and gradually there would bz many cars on the island. It leaves a place where the pedestrian return to the quiet of The Political Mill By G. Gould Lincoln. Senator Willlam E. of Idaho ;nd igm;er Gov. Alfl mfri‘m;“)u‘ ew York agree on one , 8 3 and that s statesmen of today need more courage. The Idaho Senator, in an article in the current issue of Col- lier’s, gives his version of “Why States- men Straddle.” He lays the blame par- ticularly on “party loyalty.” A week ago, in an article attacking the direct primary system, Gov. Smith insisted there was not enough party loyalty and that minority groups, nor parties, were making cowards out of public men, par- ticularly those in Congress. Senator Borah complained bitterly be- cause the issues of today are not really faced by the political parties and by their leaders. To quote from the Idaho Senator: “The questions which meet the people every hour of the day in their struggle for success are sidestepped, straddied or ignored. The public prints are filled with explanations that leaders did not mean this or did not mean that. When Mr. Hoover was understood to have made a clear, positive declaration after the Wick- ersham report (on prohibition), a perfect vell of terror soon went up for fear that he had imperiled party suc- cess. To such a pass has party pusil- lanimity or expediency come that a President must have no convictions or {no decided views on any great prob- lem.” b i Perhaps if Mr. Borah had had the framing of the agenda of the recent Progressive conference he would not have left out the guestion of national prohibition. The Idaho Senator does not hesitate to take a stand on public uestions, prohibition among them. He was one of a handful of Senators who voted against the soldiers’ bonus loan bill when that measure was put threugh at the close of the last Congress. His article in Collier'’s seems to take a decided stand in favor of having the political parties and the political leac- ers take one side or the other of the prohibition issue. If that is Mr. Borah's attitude, 1t is one that will meet the approval of John J. Raskob, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who recently, according to Senator “Joe” Robinson of Arkansas, Democratic leader of the Senate, “precipitated a crisis” in the Democratic party by calling for a showdown on the prohibi- tion question. Both the cld parties so far have been afrald to tackle the prohibition question. It cuts across both parties, just as the slavery ques- tion cut across the old Democratic and Whig parties in pre-Civil War day: when those parties undertock to pr through their leaders, that the slave: question was not an issue and not properly in politics any way. As Sen- ator Borah pointed out, in the end the people themselves made the issue in 1860. Perhaps, as he says, they will do it again, not only in regard to prohibi- tion, but other policies. 3 R The Progressive Conference which was held here last week promises to have rather far-reaching political con- sequences. It has been ridiculed in many quarterss, 8ome of the criticisms leveled at the @@nference have been its failure to bring out concrete bills for introduction in the next Congress and the determination of the conference to set up committees to “study” many of the problems which were discussed in the conference. The attacks made by Senator Norris, Senator Borah and others of the Progressive group on the Hoover commissions are rather dis- counted by the fact that when the Pro- gressives themselves come to grips with public questions, they, too, set up com- mittees or commissions—they are one and the same thing—to investigate be- fore a decision is reached. * koK K ‘The Democrats have looked with longing eyes to the Republican Progres- sive camp for years. They have not been able to forget that a break be- tween the regular Republicans and the Progressives in 1912 gave them their first Democratic President in a ‘score of eyears, The Democrats are intent upon electing a Chief Executive next year. They are not particular whether this desired end is brought about Lhr;)‘ugh a split among the Republicans, with a ized, or is brought about through a union of the Republican Progressive forces with the Democratic party. Prob- ably they would prefer the latter, for it might mean the permanent increase in the numbers of Democratic voters and the building up of a stronger party organization in many of the States of the West. The Republican Progressive leaders, from Norris and Borah down the line, have insisted that & new lib- eral party is.not the answer to the present political situation and that they are not going to attempt a third party. Since that is the case, the Democrats are out to woo the Republican Progres- sives to their own party fold, if they can. - o Just before the Congress adjourned March 4—to be exact, on March 3— former Representative George M. Pritchard of North Carolina, the Re- publican nominee for the Senate in the 1930 campaign, filed a contest against Senator Josiah W. Bailey, the Democrat who won by upward of 100,000 votes. No one believes that Mr. Pritchard will be able to upset the re- sult of the election. But there is some likelihood, it is said, that an inquiry into the senatorial primary and elec- tion in North Carolina may show up some “irregularities” which may prove embarrassing to the Democratic organ- ization in the Tar Heel State. The Nye Investigating Committee dipped into North Carolina’s senatorial primary and election a little last Fall. The in- quiry by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections, however, may be a different kind of an affair. The subcommittee is headed by Senator George H. Moses of New Hampshire, a regular of regulars among the Repub- licans. On the surface it looks as though the contest now filed against Senator Bailey is a reprisal because of the atti- tude of the Democrats in the Senate toward the appointment of former Representative Jonas of North Caro- lina, Republican, to be United States attorney for the western district of the State. Senator Cameron Morrison led the fight against confirmation of Mr. Jonas' appointment, and in the short session was able to hold up action in the Senate itself. Mr. Jonas is now serving under a recess appoint- ment given him by President Hoover. Unless he is confirmed by the Senate when it meets again, however, he will receive no pay. It looks as though Mr. Jonas appears to be fairly sure of con- firmation, although in the next Senate the party lines will be closely drawn, with the Republicans having only an even half of the Senate seats. The filing of the contest by Mr. Pritchard against Senator Bailey four months after the election with no intimation earlier that he intended to take such action has stirred the politicians North Carolina considerably. * Ok K ¥ Senator Pat Harrison of Mississippi, Democratic member of the Senate Fi- nance Committee, speaking recently be- fore the National Council of American Importers and Traders, Inc, in Chi- cago, said that France is exporting 38 per cent of her products, Germany is exporting 64 per cent and Great Britain 62 per cent, while the United States is exporting only 6 per cent. The Missis- sippi Senator was ltflckin,tthe present Smoot-Hawley tariff law, g. turing it as a wall against the importation of for- eign goods and the cause of walls reared by foreign governments against Amer- ican goods. He pledged his party, if put in power by the electorate, to tackle the tariff again and bring about a re- adjustment of the tariff which would give American labor and capital a square deal and at the same time in- crease our foreign trade. One thing is | certain, the next time Congress under- | | takes to revise the tariff there is going to be a tremendous amount of pulling ever | is top dog and where one mar go to ind hauling, with further proof that the olden da¥s. tarift is, after all, & local issue, Chair- third Progressive party organ- | p The answers to questions printed here each day are specimens picked from the mass of inquiries handled oy our great Information Bureau main tained in Washington, D. C. This 1al uable service is for the free use of th public. Ask any question of fact vou may want to know and you will get an immediate reply. Write plainly, inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage, and address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Has- kin, director, Washington, D. C. Q. What is the stick called with which an elephant is prodded by the man driving it>—H. A. B. A. An elephant driver is called a mahout and the stick is an ankus. This goad is a stick about 2 feet long, capped with a sharp spike and hook It resembles a short-handled boat hook. Q. Where does Angelo Patri téhch school>—N. F. M. A. He is principal of School No. 45, New York City. Q. What kind of paper is used to make our stamps?—H. Y. A. The paper used in the manufac- {ture of "postage stamps s made of bleached chemical wood fiber derived, at the present time, from North Caro- lina pine trees. Q. What does it cost to collect the internal revenue taxes?—J. A. S. A. The total cost of administering the internal revenue tax laws for 1930 was $34,352,063.41, the cost being $1.13 for each $100 collected. Q. Ts the centrifugal force of a re- volving wheel greater at the rim than inside 1t?—G. S. A. The Bureau of Standards says that the centrifugal force of a revolving wheel is greater at any point on the rim than at any point nearer the center. Q. What was the first industrial glmi_:rtsklng started in this country?— A. The first industrial enterprise in the United States was a glass bottle factory erected in the Virginia colony soon after 1607. It was located in the woods about one mile distant from Jamestown. Q. For whom was Thomas A. Edison named Alva?—R. W. A. His middle name, Alva, was given him in honor of an old friend of his father's, Capt. Alva Bradley. Q. What is the difference between Memorial day and Decoration day?— M. H. A. The terms are used interchange- ably. They refer to the same day. Q. Why do woodpeckers bore into trees?—C. B. A. They are hunting the burrows of wood-boring insects for food. Q. What were the measurements of the city of New York a hundred years ago?—B. J. M, A. An article published in the Chris- tian Advocate says: “At the beginning of the nineteenth century the ‘com- | mercial metropolis of the United States’ occupied only the lower end of Man- hattan Island, what is now ‘up town’ being still made up of spacious farms and country estates, including the little village of Harlem. The actual measure- ments of the city proper are given as to Fourfeenth street), one and a half miles in width and eight miles in cir- cumference.” SWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. | three miles in length (from the Battery | | Q. How much money was there in savings banks last year?—C. W. A. In 1930 there was $9,190,969,000 deposited in the mutual sa banks. In the stock savings banks there was $1.166,192,000. This amount of deposits represents the deposits evidenced by savings pass books and time certificates | of deposits, Q. What does the term “loading™ signify in the insurance business?— R. G. D. A. It applies to that amount which is calculated as the cost of securing | the desired business. Q. Please give a brief account of Mme. de Stael's girlhood—D. N. A. Anne loulse Germaine Necker, Baronne de Stael-Holstein, was born at Paris April 22, 1766. Her father was the famous financier, Necker. Her mother was Suzanne Curchod. She |was a plain child but & coquette and | desirous of prominence and attention. | Excessive study and intellectual excite- ment injured her health, which was improved by the family’s removal to Coppet, her father's estate on the Lake of Geneva. In 1786 Mlle. Necker pub- lished a noved, “Sophie.” and in 1790 s tragedy, “Jeanne Gray.” Her first mar- ilage was to Eric Magnus, Baron of Stael-Holstein. first an attache of the Swedish legation and later minister. She was 20 at the time and her hus- | band 37. | Q_ What will Russla's cotton erop be this year?—G. A. K. A. In 1930 the cotton crop in Russia amounted to 1,400,000,000 tons. It is expected that this year's crop will ex- ceed this. It may be as much as five times as large. Q. What kind of stone was used in the Great Pyramids?—B. P. A. The pyramids were built of a hard rough-hewn limestone, but large blocks of granite were also used, espe- cially on the outside. The stone was taken from quarries in the cliffs which line the Nile Valley in its lower reaches. Q. Why can't airplanes be made to fly as the bird flies?—M. T. A. La Technique Aeronautique says: “It is well known that the primary feathers of a bird's wing are distinctly separated while in flapping flight. Tests made on models simulating this con- struction showed that the lift increased three times, and drag increased nine times. One of the most important as- sets of the bird's wing is its flexibility and control —a condition exceedingly | difficult to copy mechanically. Many | scientists are studying the flight of |birds to find any hitherto overlooked detalls of nature’s technigque that will help man in mechanical flying. When | inventors produce a material that has the strength, weight ratio of feathers and the hollow bones of birds with an |engine which has the efficlency of a bird’s digestive system and muscles, it will then be easy to build an air- plane as safe as a bird.” Q. Who gave the home of the Bishop |of “London, Fulham Palace, to the | Episcopal Church?—A. B. A. The Manor of Fulham has be- longed to the See of London since 631. 1t is said to have been given to Erken- wald, Bishop of London, by Tyrhtilus, | Bishop of Hereford, with the consent of Sigehard, King of the East Saxons | and Coenred, King of the Mercians, | Q. Wnhere is Rubens’ “Descent From | the Cross” now hanging?—G. H. A. It hangs in the Cathedral in Amsterdam, Holland. Turns Att Old controversies over the merits of “The Star Spangled Barner” are re- to the song as the National anthem. The vocal difficulties involved are rec- ognized, but many emphasize the stir- ring nature of the composition, espe- c:slly when used as an instrumental ‘We're glad that question’s settled,’ exclaims the Rockford Morning Star. “We have grown weary of amateur musicians objecting to a magnificent and stirring piece of music on the ground that it starts with ‘Oh, say,’ and | 1s difficult to sing. And what if the tune was originally ‘Anacreon in Heav- en’? If you've ever stood at attention at retreat and heard an Army band sail majestically into those opening chords, the music of the brasses float- ing skyward (o meet the flag coming down at sunset, you'll forget everything but the miracle of music that somehow is married with the primary colors of the American flag.” “It long ago obtained a real hold upon the American heart,” declares the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “That is the test of national songs; they are never established as such by artificial means, by law or official promulgation. They Just grow in the thought and habit of the people and develop their own tra- ditions. So it has been with “The Star Spangled Banner. Many years ago the Army and the Navy bands started to play it and before that the people be~ gan singing it. The only comment left | for the official sanction now given the anthem is that there was no reason why the action should not have been taken long ago." . “The sound that emanates from our ll}ps, ’ says the Appleton Post-Crescent, is & lusty ‘da-da-de-dum,’” after a line or two, and one resumes his seat, sen- sible, perhaps, of a lack of knowledge of the words, yet full of patriotic fervor and national spirit.” Chancellor Snow- den’s remarks on national anthems in general that “it is the music rather { than the words that really counts” are recalled by the Kalamazoo Gazette, which accepts the criticism that “it ex- ceeds the vocal range of the average patriot who has never becen exposed to voice culture,” but adds that “almost any one must admit that when played by a military band it is about as rous- could be.” * oK ok ok Adoption “more than a century after 1t was written” is a subject of comment by the San Antonio Express, with the further comment: “During the hearing before the House Judiciary Committee several petitioners sought to demon- strate that ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ could be sung. The effort invariably brought the entire assemblage to its feet—and perhaps that eircumstance de- cided the lawmakers favorably. Howbeit, no act of Congress could affect the song’s place in the people’s hearts— usage made it the National anthem long ago. Had Congress adopted another anthem instead—as some critics urged— the situation would have been the same. For a nation’s songs are not made to order nor adopted by, law.” “Most of us leave its proper rendition to orchestras and bands. The anthem has power to stir our hearts and we will always do it honor,” asserts the Rock Island Argus. The St. Paul Pioneer Press adds that “since it has been almost universally recognized as th: National anthem, it is well that Congress has given it official standing.” Assuming that “probably it is now established,” the Milwauke Sentinel suggests that “the great American public proceed to learn all the words instead of only the first two lines.” “Of course, it isn't really any more our National anthem than it was before man John J. Raskob of the Democratic National Committee promised the adop- tion of _Simmons plan, ap- proved by the Sen! the last Con- which would the Tariff Comgress act only on these sounds like a real plan, but vived as Congress gives ofiielal approval | ing and inspiring as any national song | Anthem’s Official Approval ention to Merits | the law_was passed,” thinks the Port Huron Times Herald. “And it isn't a bit easier to sing. But it is the song of our Natioral fiag, and the flag more than anything else is the symbol of our country. ~ And that made it our National anthem without any act of Congress. It is inspiring music and it is fixed in our hearts by time and tra- | dition and history. Probably it will be played and sung always, even if some more popular song of national senti- ment is some day evolved. And if the act of Congress has made it more sacred {in the eves of a few who have been | worried for fear something would hap- | pen to it, well and good.” * K kK Considering criticism from musicians that “it is not a matter for I tion,” |the Topeka Daily Capital At | least, the National anthem is not in the | Constitution, and Congress can amend or repeal as suits it. The country can be calm about it, so long as Congress does not bring in a national hymn of its own composition or President Hoo- | ver does not appoint a special commis- | ston to draft one.” “It is difficult to appreciate the rea- | sons, if there are any,” accore to the | Hartford Times, “why ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ should ne to be regulated by Congress as to what patriotic songs it shall sing. A ‘national flower’ by legislative enact- ment may come next, following example set by individual States. But the | rose will bloom from Maine to "Prisco |in _superior loveliness and varlety, North or South, whether there is a ballot taken on it or not.” “But why stop here?” asks the Worcester Telegram. “This is only a statute. The next Congress can repeal it, if a sufficlent number of members so desire. Why not place such a measure into the Constitution as the twentieth amendment? And why not require every public gathering to sing ‘The Star Spangled Banner, with the addi- | tional provision that the high notes and the low notes shall all be sung with equal ease, volume and pleasing effect? And think of this horrible omission— there is still no law against singing ‘America’ or ‘Speed the Republic.’” |D. C. Memorial Urged For Woodrow Wilson To the Editor of The Star: As one of the great number of ad- mirers of the late President Woodrow Wilson and believing him to be, as in- deed a great majority of American do, one of the outstanding men of our coun- try, I am deeply interested in any move- 'ment to perpetuate his memory t-hml:Th !an appropriate and suitable memorial. ‘The fact that I have not seen or heard of any attempt having been made to start a movement toward the erec- tion of a suitable memorial in memory of the late President Wilson in the City of Washington prompts me to write to ask if such a memorial has not been sonsidered and, if not, your idea as g thet:r'n‘wmnbmtynot it. It occurs me that no more fitting te could be paid by the American le to one of our greatest statesmen a Wood- row Wilson Memorial erected in the City of Washington, the Capital of our t Nation. ‘W. EARL HOI Asbury Park, N. J. —_— e A Record Maker. From the Detroit Free Press. ‘The departing Co; will history as the lgost “doleful” in ican experience. live in Amer- Just Like Calvin. From the St. Louls Globe-Democrat. An association of years is its effect upon Mrs. coulh:fi by reporters to say somef , she re- sponded, “Greetings!” Erasing by Radio? Prom the South Bend Tribune. Wireless messages were received and typewritten by a machine in 3 Mich., the other day. The radio eraser )