Evening Star Newspaper, March 18, 1931, Page 8

ey — ' AE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON! D. C., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1931 ik : ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY. ...March 18, 1831 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: 11th St an gen%fi New York Office: 110 Ea ghicago Bftice” Lake. Michl uropean Ofce: 14 Regent England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. e 45¢ per month ;80c per month i i 65c per month The Sunday Star ;-6 per. copy Collection made at thie erid of ‘each month Orders may be sent in by mail or telephons NAtionai 5000, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, Datly and Sunday.....1yr. $10.00: 1 mo. §¢ Baily ohfy 5 135 %5600 § Mo Boc Sinday only 131 34.00: 1 mo. 40c All Other States and Canada. fly and Sunday...1yr..$12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 aily only 1yr. $8.00i 1mo.. 15¢ nday only " E 1¥r. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively ertitled £l news dis- n published herein All right pecial cispatches herein - Rates for Electricity. The utilities interests will doubtless interpret the motives of the Public Util- ities Commission, in seeking further reduction of electric rates in Washing- ton, as an effort to curb the Potomac Electric Power Company's earnings, not because the rates to consumers are too high, but because the net returns of the company ere extraordinarily high. There will thus be injected the ques- tion whether the purpose of public regulation of utilities is to give the con- sumers low rates and good service, or whether it is to prevent a concern, such as the Potomac Electric Power Com- from making more money than pany, the courts generally have held to consti- | tute adequate return on investment. That slant on the Public Utilities Commission’s fight to reduce electric rates is due to the unique situation pre- vailing in Washington. The city enioys relatively low rates. The list of “other cities” compiled by the power com- pany shows the favored position in electric rates held by the people of ‘Washington. And the consent decree, under which electric rates have been| annually reduced since its adoption in 1924, has been pointed to with pride by public utility interests far and wide 8s an instrument that has prevented | fussy litigation over rates, which has brought about lower rates to consumers and has permitted the company to reap the rewards of increasing business and efficient management. But the soundness cf the position as- sumed by the Public Utilities Commis- sion should be judged by considering another factor. A protected monopoly, such as the Potomac Electric Power Company, supplying an essential com- medity, 15 assured an adequate return, no matter how high the rates that are charged consumers. If business should 1all off, if the consumption of electricity should decline, the rates would be raised in order to permit the company to earn an adequate return on its investment. It is certainly true that if the con- sumers are foroed to pay high rates in one case in order to guarantee the power company an adequate retwrn when business is bad, the consumers shculd be given all the benefits that attend good business which has en- abled the power company to earn a return adjudged by the commission as being “excessive.” The question in this case is not whether the consumers have enjoyed some of these benefits. They have. The question is whether they have received | their full share of the benefits. -1t is| not whether rates in Washington are low, which they are. But whether they are as low as they could be, permitting seize control of the Conservative party and, having done so, of the government itself. Yesterday Mr. Baldwin at a meeting in London hit out at the “Fleet street politicians” in terms not as familiar on British hustings as they are in this country—frequently in the halls of Congress. “What are the methods of the Rothermere-Beaverbrook press?” the Censervative chieftain thundered. “Their methods are direct falsehood, misrepre- sentation, half truths, alteration of speakers’ meanings by publication of sentences apart from their context, sup- pression, and editorial ecriticism of speeches which are not reported in their papers.” His function as Conservative leader, Mr. Baldwin added, is to guard “the innocent lambs” of his party from such “wolves” as the one of his new: paper opponents who has openly de- clared he is out to smash the Con- | servative organization. “That is why this fight has to be taken up,” Baldwin ‘acncluded. “When wolves out to de- | stroy Conservative unity are raging in | this district I do not see at the moment who else is going to do it.” This morning’s Daily Mail and Daily Express, one may be sure, came back at Mr. Baldwin with fine fury. Politics is politics, apparently, in Britain as it is over here where the other branch of the English-speaking race has its habitat. Nor has politics in the day of ;Bnld\l‘ln, Lloyd George and MacDonald changed much in tone from that which prevailed when Disraeli, Gladstone and O’Connell with gay Victorian abandon jhad at one another in language that | was lurid and picturesque, if frequently | unparliamentary. — e | No Time for a Jester. Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, speaking be- fore the League of Political Education in New York yesterday, declared that Mayor “Jimmic" Walker should resign He advocated for the government of New York City a city management sys- tem and the abolition of party lines. Needless to say, Rabbi Wise was not | volcing the view entertained in Tam- many Hall in any of his suggestions for an improvem.nt of conditions in the country’s largest municipality. Still later in the day Rabbi Wise, vice chairman, and John Haynes Holmes, pastor of the Community Church, chair- man of the City Affairs Committee, presented formal charges against Mayor Walker to Gov. Pranklin D. Roosevelt at the latter's home, in New York City. The Governor of New Yecrk has the power to remove Mayor Walker if he considers the charges of sufficient merit. { These charges accuse Mayor Walker of neglect of duty. In his address to the League of Pclitical Education Rabbi Wise said: “We have had nothing less than the collapse of city government, a col- lapse made inevitable by the cheap sneers of the city's chief magistrate whenever wrongdoing and corruption were exposed in one or another of the city's departments. The truth is that no word of stern or terrible rebuke could have come from a mayor who seems to be oblivious to the truth that he was not elected to preside over a race track establishment or a place of dubious entertainment.” When the mayoralty election was held in New York last year Mayor ‘Walker, with the backing of Tammany, was overwhelmingly re-elected. There are those who contend that the mayor would be a victor again at the polls toduy, if another election were held, despite the assaults that have been made upon him. The result of such an election would depend upon the seriousness with which the people of New York regard the revelations of corruptior. that have gone on within the last year. In the meantime “Jimmie” Walker is seeking a rest in California. Rabbi Wise, however, will not be satisfied with the removal of Mayor ‘Walker and other city officials. In his was ignited, with the result of a sea horror never before enacted. ‘This is a heavy price to pay for realism in film drama. The “art” has taken toll in human lives almost from the beginning of the era of dangerous exhibitions presented to the movie audi- ences for the purpose of giving them thrills. Performers have been wounded in sham battles, crushed in motor car smashes, killed in airplane stunts and mutilated and even slain by wild ani- mals, drowned in the sea in risky ex- hibitions of daring. But never before has a cinema company and its escort been struck with death by wholesale as in the case of the Viking. Is it worth while thus to waste lives for the sake of sensation on the screen? A prison chaplain is expected to be mild-mannered and self-effacing. Yet he must inevitably learn, as Whitmore at Joliet did, to regard the men who come under his observation with sym- pathetic understanding, in which it be- comes his duty not to permit personal sympathy to assume too great an in- fluence. N Many a movie would be more highly ! appreciated if the brilliant publicity ex- pert were induced to appear in per- son as & part of the program. Barnum, the greatest of all publicity men, did not hesitate to line up with the “freaks" as an “extra added attraction,” —_— e Caribbean amity may be taken for granted after President Hoover's visit to those waters on the U. S. S. Arizona. One of the best things a modern bat- tleship does is to convey the assurance of friendship. ] Chinese “tongs” have fights in this country which would possibly be de- scribed as insurrections and rebellions if China turned the incidents over to eager news experts for discussion, o President Hoover is described as needing & rest. The highest office in the gift of the people has never proved to be a gift that carried with it a comfortable forgetfulness of care. S Many of Trotsky's notes were burned. There is not much doubt that he can think them all up again, if he can find a publisher ready to offer reasonable inducements. ———— Many people are now living to a remarkably old age. Some of them would live even longer if it were not for the hit-and-run drivers. ———e— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Movie Thrills. It was a wild scenario tale That the director shot, With characters o'er hill and dale Or even “on the spot.” The movie actors, even when The role seemed rough and bold, Behaved like honest workingmen And did as they were told. ‘When for repose the player drew Close to his home so dear, About his head the dishes flew And lawyers waited near. Scenario fiction has grown tame Where desperadoes roam, For true excitement change the game And write about The Home. “Why do you object to having your remarks printed in the Congressional Record?” “I'm afraid,” answered Senator Sor- ghum, “that I might be suspected of trying to make the good old Record serve the purpose of the professional colyumist," Jud Tunkins says the only real big boss he knows of comes into evidence the company at the same time to make | cpinion such action would not go to the ; with his wife's announcement that it is & fair and adequate profit. Nor is the question whether the consert decree should be abandoned. It is whether the consent decree rhould be modified in a way that would take into consideration the fact that instead of guaranteeing the company a return of 7!z per cent on an agreed valuation, which at the time was considered fair and adequate, it has permittzd the company to realize about 10 per cent. The reduction in light rates under the consent decree | has been beyond the expectations of those who agreed to it. But so have of the company. If rates still further, at the urirg the company a of the stipulated T4 per cent, they should be reduced. root of the evil which he finds in the “farce of partisanship in city affairs.” He demands a change in the system of government for the city, making it non-partisan, and the “high determi- nation of the people of New York to | regard its government not as a sty but as a shrine.” The suggestion of Rabbi Wise that the system of city government be changed so as to prevent a recurrence of evil conditiors goes to the problem of municipal government. The city- manager system. with the manager appointed by a city council after that | council has been selected in a non- partisan election, has many advocates in the United States. Literally hun- | dreds of cities have adopted some such time for house cleaning. Crooked and Straight. Two divisions of mankind Are noted up to date; Some are crooked, you will find, And some of them are straight. Wise men might assume to be And probably are quite rich, If only we somehow could see Exactly which is which. Seeking Repose, “Where are you going on your vaca- tion?” “New York.” “Thought you wanted restand quiet?” | ;" nemotional person like the Presi- | “Quite true. thorities contemplate if all the plans the au- are carried out, The Public Utilities Commission has | plan, with modifications here and there. | no town on earth will be quieter.” offered the electric light company the 2 of several methods by which eductions can be agreed to vol- It is to be hoped that the company will agree and that a modi- fled consent decree will take the place of the one under which both compa and consumers have benefited, increas. fit to co mers without g the benefits to the & oW, ght, British Political Amenities. Ther is ack of the Chicago may- oralty czmpaign zbout the heated by- election in the London parlimentary di- vision Seorge's, which will be de- cided The Conservatives, who orcinarily hold the seat by an in- disputable marg:n, are in the midst of int rparty strife over it, and the fight ig to a finish amid scenes and e reminisz-nt of County Kil- mart Mayfair a der of ousing the election of Capt. A. Duff-Coop-r. “newspaper peers,” Empire Free Trade party, put Sir Ernest Petter, an insurgent, or so-called “in-| While the majority of the ship’s com- dependent,” Conservative in the field, ipany have reached land, some twenty {bave perished in the explosion that and, in the cours: of their support of him, have induiged in unbridied denun- clation of the Baldwinites. Th: former prime minister incurs the “newspaper peers' " wrath because, under his lead- ership, the Conservativ:s declined to go the length of “free trade within the empire,” which the powerful chain- newspaper proprictors advocat'. Rothermere and Beaverbrook are openly charged by Baldwin with self- seeking. It is thelr reputed intention to r | the | With the story incomplete and de- The twin | tails and explanation of cause lacking, Lords Rothermere | the destruction of the Viking, floating and Beaverbrook, joint parents of the | motion picture “location.” stands as | On May 1, 1928, 364 cities were operat- | ing under a city manager foym of gov- | ernment. Among the larger cities hav- ing this form of government are Cleve- |1and and Cincicnati in Ohio, Kansas | City, Mo., and Rochester, N. Y. The |old plan of Zlecting a mayor, with a partisan campaign and election and the election of many other city officials at | the same time, was abandoned, because it was found impossible urder the older system to “clean up” conditions or, which is more important, to keep them clean. The citysmanagement plan has been regarded as the fruit of the move- | ment in this country to improve muni- | cipal government. It has been a growth of the last quarter c:ntury. The new system might prove a boon to New | York, to Chicago, where the people today are struggling to rid themselves ot “Thempsonism,” and to Philadelphia, which hes had troubles of its own. - ! It is evidently the determination of Wm. Borah to prove that while he knows a great deal outside of politics he also knows the inside of politics very through'y The High Price of Film Thrills. | the greatest tragedy of the film drama. | wrecked and caused the sinking of the craft or are missing and may be lost in the icy sea. The purpose of the expedition was the filming of the seal-hunting in- dustry. A large complement of ¢cinema Theory. A theory too often shirks Its purpose as it stops; 1t's truly splendid when it works, But awful when it flops. “A poodle dog,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “has traits that are very human. He barks at strangers because he is sure his friends are powerful enough to protect him." Genius. “A genius he!” That's what they said. But scant would be His daily bread. A g-nius great We now acclaim; His large estate Links wealth to fame. “T likes to go to church,” said Uncle Eben, “an’ hear some one talk dat kin | leave you comforted wif de feelin' dat dar ain’ g'ineter be no mo' argument.” the Cleaner’s. aily News White trousers are being urged for plumbers probably on the theory that they can stop in at their homes and get clean pairs while they are on the way back to their shops to get the tools they forgot. e Big Bill and AL From the Lynchburg News. Maybe Canada and the United Statcs have been at peace for so many years because the Canadians knew that in cas> of war they would have to try to capture Chicago. AT What Does It Ruin? workers and navgators accompanied|From the Boston Evening Transcript. the venture, ice to make steaming possible. The ship carried a quan- tity of powder for the blasting of the It s Iy A dentist says that champagne ruins he teeth. But there might be greater popular interest manifested had he ex- an opinion on the effect of home believed that in some way the explosive brews THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. For a little snow, much thanks. Snow, of all ural phenomena, makes the most impression on children. And this, not only bscause they love sledding, but even more because the books of childhood are filled with word and other pictures of snow. The fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen are fillled with snow scenes. One tale is even called “The Snow Maiden.” Countless other stories from Eng- lish, German, French and Scandinavian writers bring out the beauty of a world covered with snow. * wln % We of the cities, essentially con- trivances for comfort, deprecate the oc- casional snowfalls which clog traffic arteries. beauty which arises from even the smallest snow, but as much in the plain benefits which follow. The glory of snow rightly comes forth. For a time we go back to Eden again. Crass considerations vanish in the contemplation of the shredded loveli- ness which blote out so much common- place ugliness. Especially do those dear friends, the trees and the shrubs, become miracles of beauty, each branch and twig out- lined in magic. What previously was a somewhat bar- ren vista through a stretch of trees suddenly overnight has become a vision of beauty in black and white, ever Nature's most modish combination. Oc- casionally mankind discovers it. L The snow which begins to fall after dark, and which reveals itself at dawn, is perhaps the best snow of all. It is as though we sit in a darkened theater and watch a dissolving curtain g0 up on a scene beyond compare. The music of the night wind has ceased and now we are ready for the show. Gradually it comes, first in the realization, usually spoken with com- plete surprise, “Why, it is snowing!" Snow may be an old story, but one of its glories, and by no means the least, is that it is one of those things which are forever new. R Never docs a ;erson fall to say, “Why, it has been snowing!" And the surprise is real. The delight is unfeigned. Only when the crass considerations, involving discomfort, and blocked roads, and snow shovels, and slips and slides, and so on, begin to loom in consclous- ness do the surprise and delight begin to vanish. Then it is that a man or woman in whom the sense of wonder still sur- vives fings it utterly necessary to take the mind in hand and direct its path along the proper road of continuing appreciation. * ox % It will be well in families where the uz: of books survives to get out several of the familiar snow classics and to read them, preferably aloud, in the family circl ‘Whittier's “Snow Bound” is one of the best. Surely no one ever put a well. Whittier was a rather solemn poet, one who had a strict apprecia- tion of the duty of the poet to the and we consistently refuse to permit any k- or after intellectual novelty to tell us otherwise. The English know WASHINGTON BY FREDERIC President Hoover, it would is not going to have a monopoly of inves- tigation in the Caribbean. Haiti is shortly to be invaded by Senator Wil- liam H. King, Democrat, of Utah, for the purpose of acquainting himself with the present state of irs in that stormy little republic. It is four years ago since King tried and failed to enter Haiti on a previous occasion. President Borno, evidently taking umbrage at | things the Utahan had said about Haiti in the Senate, caused King to be in- formed that his presence in the island was not desired. It was intimated that he would be formally barred if he at- ‘t!mpud to break in. | ministration at Port au Prince has dis- | appeared since then, the United States is now represented there by a Minister and a legation and conditions are more or less normalized, in so far as relations with this country are concerned. Under |the treaty of 1915 the United States continues to maintain financial super- vision over Haiti, while several hundred Marines remain to keep the situation well in hand. ] “Ted” Joslin, the President's new secretary, who is to step into George Akerson’s shoes, is well liked by the ‘White House correspondents—a circum- stance that did not fail to carry weight when Mr. Hoover selected him. The Chief Engineer certainly seems to have had his heart set on getting somebody from Massachusetts, for he was angling some time back for the services of an- other Bay was President Coolidge's personal secre- tary. Mr. Joslin is so thoroughgoing a spaper man that high hopes are en- ertained of his meeting an urgent Hoover requirement—viz, more human interest stories about the Californian. The White House, even in the case of | dent, is always a gold mine of the Kind of things people like to read about. There's been no lack of such material fault has lain mainly with Mr. Hoover's disinclination to let it get out. “Ted" Joslin knows what's needed and may be able to deliver the goods. With 1932 in the offing, the need almost amounts to an emergency. e Tyler Dennett, chief of the division of publications in the State Department, is in the midst of an extended leave ot absence, to permit him to_complete a new life of John Hay. “The most many-sided American since Benjamin Franklin,” is Mr. Dennett's descriptfon of Lincoln's private secretary and Sec- retary of State under McKinley and Roosevelt. Few Americans are conscious of the versatility of Hay's caresr and talents. Soldier, reporter. editcr, poet, novelist, biographer, historian, diplomat, business man and statesman, Dennett discovers that Hay at different periods of his life scored outstanding successes in highly divergent flelds of activity. Twice, while he was Secretary of State, he was next in line for the presidency, through the deaths of Vice President Hobart, during the McKinley adminis- tration, and of McKinley himself, when | created another vacancy in the vice presidency. * % % K The Children’s Hospifal of the Dis- trict of Columbia has just come into | & small bequest under interesting cir- cumstances. An old woman, who for years was a newsdealer on Pennsylvania nue, am>ssed a fortune of $3,000 $4.000, and decided to will it to ashington’s only h-spital for young- sters. She was an eccentric and ended Ler days at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Insane. Her teStament contained a number of unusual provisions. It or- dered the United States Marine Band to play at her funeral and also express- ed a wish that various high cfficers of the Federal Government should be on hand to pay her farewell homage. The | Children’s Hospital has just success- | fully resisted attempts by some out- siders to lay claim to the old lady's estate. ¥ ok Austria’s outstanding painter and portrait artist rejoices in the honored name of John Quincy Adams. He is half American and a descendant of the ous New England family, his father ing been Charles Runney Adams of Charlestown, Mass. The latter devel- oped a flair for music and eventually, after studying in Dresden, became a Secretly we rejoice, not only in the| snowstcrm on paper better, if half so| reader, but he was at his best very good, | The Borno ad- | State “Ted"—Clark—who | during the present administration. The | | Roocsevelt's aceession to the White House | better. If you want to know how cul- tured Englishmen regard the so-called New England group of poets, including Longfellow and Whittier, read Lord Charnwood’s “Lincoln.” There he de- livers a well deserved rebuke to those who would sneer at these scholars be- cause they took their work and them- selves seriously. A . It is fascinating to realize, if one is not able to discover the fact for one's self, that the snow crystals are of in- finite pattern, no two alike. They are! seldom to be secen without the aid of a miscroscope. They are best collected on a p. . of black velvet, or similar material, and examined in some place | secluded from the wind, but where the tcnperature is practically the same as outdoors. An inclosed sun porch with- out artificial heat is ideal for this. Most people, however, have neither the equipment nor desire to study snow crystals for themselves. This will not prevent them, however, from realizing that these beautiful and diverse shapes exist. The realization will add to their wonder at the snow, and will prevent them from regarding the fall as com- posed of mere sodden lumps. ‘What a tragedy it Is in this world if one falis into the habit of seeing only lumps in things! Snow as lumps, blood as fluid, merely, foods as masses of vegetable fiber only! In truth snow is crystals, blood is cells, food is cells and vitamins, mys- terious principles almost Godlike, cer- sinly God-given. It is the duty of every intelligent | | person to make a determined attempt, in | the face of sneering, sophistication and | the like, to keep his sense of wonder well developed. Such a person knows, what the Psalmist only scnsed, that he is fearfully and wonderfully made. e In such a season as this, snow has very pointed utilitarian aspects, which also have ramifications leading forward | to beauty. | Snow has been called “the poor man's | fertilizer.” a happy phrase, it would |seem. It blankets the ground, keeping the plants warm, and, upon melting, | carrying needed moisture and dissolved | food elements to the rootlets. Every one knows how warm a house is when it snows, even when the wihd blows. This blanketing effect is what makes the Eskimo village possible. | (Although most of us can thank Heaven | that we are not Eskimo!) | The warm, wet blanket of snow is | peculiarly good for the grass. We never see a lawn covered with snow, even though lightly, that we do not suspect | that the grass is getting a great deal more good from it than from all the | manure ever put on. . _Snow carries no weed seed, for one thing. When it begins to melt, its re- | sulting water is at exactly the right ltexggernura to do the grass the most good. | " Shrubs and bushes of all kinds are helped immensely by snow water. The |only difficulty lies in the inability of a | light snow to make its way to sheltered corners, where such bushes are in most | need of water. |~ Those who do not like the appearance of their shrubs should shovel snow | around them, if available. Lacking this, | water should' be applied at this season. Experts say that brown, thin shrubs, | apparently dead, can be revived by | coplous watering. It is at least worth | attempting. OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. dramatic tenor at the Imperial Austrian Court Opera. During this period Charles Runney Adams married a Viennese Their son, John Quincy, returned to Massachusetts with his parents, but at the age of 14 the boy went back to Vienna with his mother, where he be- gan to study painting with Eisenmenger and L'Allmand. Today, aged 55, John Quincy Adams is Austria’s acknowledged master of portraiture. During the war he was assigned to duty as an artist with the Austrian Army, a sphere of activity from which several notable works emerged. The most famous of them is a large canvas of the Emperor Pranz Josef, surrounded by men from his favorite Kaiser Jaeger Regiment. ‘The picture hangs in the Regimental Museum at Berg-Isel. Several of Adams’ portraits are owned by Americans. He has recently been in’ this country to execute a second commission for Yale University. * X% x William J. Hughes, LL. M, LL. D, who has been a valued attache in the office of the solicitor general of the United States since 1899, is the author of a monumental new work on Federal ‘pnctice. It deals with jurisdiction and | procedure in civil and criminal cases. ‘Eleven fat volumes of “Federal Prac- tice” have just left the press and are attracting the attention of the Nation's lawyers. The purpose of Hughes' treatise, is to set before the attorney who practices in the United States courts or before Federal commissions and boards a clear and simplified ex- position of the unending problems which arise in the conduct of a case. e Into the Treasury; with this year's payments of income taxes, will roll a new and husky stipend for Uncle Sam in the shape of profits derived in 1930 by the proprietors of Tem Thumb golf courses. The figures, Secretary Mellon and his associates expect, will mount to formidable heights. Miniature golf has become one of America’s major indus- tries. Dr. Klein of the Department of Commerce ventures the prophecy that the Tom Thumb magnates will soon be forming their own national organiza- tion. There has long been an associa- tion of owners of highway hot dog stands. Ao A bit of the Emerald Isle was trans- planted, as if my magic, to the ban- queting’ hall of the Mayflower last night in honor of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, gathered to pay annual homage to Erin’s patron saint. Wash- ingtonians have never reveled in a more exquisite setting. The shamrock, the lakes of Killarney, th: flowing Shannon and all the verdant glories of the Irish landscape—cottage, castle and moun- tainside—were reproduced in resplen- dent and almost startling similitude. It was easy for Bainbridge Colby, master orator, to wax eloquent on “The Day We Celebrate” amid such an environ- ment. The Washington Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick commem- orated only its third anniversary. Dur- ing the evening it received telegraphic greetings {rom the parent society in America, the New York organization, which was founded 147 years ago—fve years before the adoption of the Con- | stitution of the United States. (Copyright, 1931) ——— Disarmament of Lawless. | From the Chicago Daily Tribune. | The criminal code makes unlawful | the concealing of firearms upon the | person. The courts have been con- | strained, therefore, to hold that conceal- ment in an automobile is not a breach of the law. The purpos= of the statute, which was to penalize the possession of deadly weapons by lawless individuals, is defeated and requires reassertion in a form which meets present conditions. The existing law was formulated before the coming of the automobile and its use as an important aid of criminals. A bill has been framed to make it un- lawful to secrete deadly weapons in automobiles. It is demanded by the police and is obviously needed. The right of reputable citizens, who can show reason why they should have arms for defense, will, of course, be recognized and provided for. But stricter regula- tions to make possible disarmament of the irresponsible and lawless elements should be adopted without further post- ponement. 1 itcular betterment. | ways known as the straightest square ll-hnd Phone Profit Held $63,000 Yearly To the Editor of The Star: January 15, 1930, I wrote the Chesa- peake & Potomac Telephone Co. as fol- lows: “I am an interested reader of your advertisements. Your altrulsm as por- trayed by them is striking. No end of the earth is unreached, no bowel of it unexplored, no alchemy unferreted, no mechanism untried but that your sub- scribers may be beneficiaries. “An instance will illustrate why I am constrained to be dubious. Unques- tionably the one-piece transmitter-re- ceiver is a superior product. This you place in the homes of subscribers at a rental of 50 cents per month. Its cost of production or purchase cannot con- ceivably be exorbitant as compared with that which you supply rent free. A subscriber for more than 20 years, with three transmitter-recelvers, I sub- mit I am no beneficlary of this par- At the same rate and for the same period to benefit by this improvement you assess me nearly $400. You preclude my benefiting my- self, for though I can purchase the same article or its like in the open market, for some $20 you prohibit my use of my own, compelling me to pay you rent for use of yours. “To me it is surprising that the Pub- lic Utilitles *Commission, seeking the weal of the people, has not long ago discontinued this practice. I hope you act before it does, for action by it 1s necessarily but a matter of time. May 1 await your reply to the following suggestions? “*(1)That this article be supplied to such new subscribers as may desire it at & final rental rate which shall be the difference In purchase price be- tween it and the rent-free article.” “(2) That it be supplied to old sub- scribers upon request at a final rental rate not greater than the purchase price.’ “*(3) That subscribers be permitted to purchase from you or others on ap- proved type of this article on guaratnee that it shall remain in use some, say five, years, ownership to revert to you in case the service is discontinued.”” March 5, while still awaiting a reply to the above suggestions, your columns carried a news item concerning hand phones in which the telephone com- pany was alleged to have supplied to the Public Utilities Commission many figures. The item stated, “the company claims that by proper multiplication, addition and subtraction” the installa- tion of this innovation would inure in a yearly loss in its net income of $136.000. By the same mathematical procedures the company’s own figures show it to receive a yearly return of more than $63,000 on" a permanent investment of far less than $200,000. Yearly increase in the use of hand phones—for new subscribers about one-half as costly as replacing for old makes—yearly in- creases this profit. The subscriber, hav- ing pald the cost of the phone in about | one and a half years, pray, what is he paying for thereafter? To benefit by this improvement he | must supply the funds which permit the corporation to purchase it, to Te- tain ownership of it and perennially to penalize him for use of it. Incidentally, a piece of phone wire longer than 17 feet, in the course of time, will cost him who needs and uses it a mighty | sum. Many men espouse Government | ownership; I still await a reply to my letter; corporate unfairness is the answer. ‘WILLIAM H. WILSON, M. D. —_— rw————— Q When did the first horse race take place?—G. R. race was run in A. first horse 860 B.C., in the twenty-third Olympiad Athens. The ness horse competition took place in the twenty-fifth Olympiad, when the low horses drew chariots. | nqfi“m was Einstein educated?— . Prof. Albert Einstein was born at Ulm, Germany, in 1879. His boyhood was ‘spent at Munich, but in 1894 his family migrated to Italy and Einstein attended the cantonal school at Aarah in Switzerland. Later he took a course of lectures at the Polytechnic School at Zurich and obtained his Ph. D. degree from the University of Zurich. Q. Why are letters and numbers af- fixed after addresses on mail going to London, Engiand?—R. T. A. London is divided for postal - poses into eight head districts which comprise a number of delivery districts. For instance, W. C. means west cen- tral; the number following indicates the delivery office. Q. Was German ever considered seriously as the language for the United States?—F. J. G. A. Although there was a discussion in the Continental Congress in regard to the use of the German or English lan- guage in the colonies, and a motion was made in favor of using the German language, the matter never came to a vote. Only in Pennsylvania was the | German element more than a small minority before the Revolution. Per- | haps a third of the settlers in Pennsyl- vania were Germans. Although the German language persisted in the| speech and in the press in Pennsyl- | vania, the English stock outnumbered all the others from 1760 to 1790. Q. Are the University of Paris and the Sorbonne the same?—T. R. A. They are. Q. Where did the game of dominoes come from?—K. J. H, . A. The game of dominoes is of French origin. Q. How much food does a big ocean liner carry?—T. F. R. A. The food required for a round trip of the Mauretania includes, according to an English authority: 45,000 pounds of becf, 17,000 pounds of mutton, 3,000 pounds of Jamb, 2,500 pounds of pork, 1,500 pounds of veal, 1,200 pounds of fresh fish, 750 pounds of salmon, 20 barrels of oysters, 3 live turtles, 200 boxes of dried fish, 100 pounds of caviar, 2,000 chickens, 3,000 other fowl, 5,500 pounds of butter, 28 tons of potatoes, 1,500 bricks of ice cream, 6,000 jars of cream, 3,000 gallons of milk, 1,000 pounds of tea, 1,800 pounds of coffee, 10,000 pounds of sugar, 720 quarts of pickles, 2,800 pounds of dried fruits, 80 boxes of oranges, 230 boxes Qualities of New Head Of Guatemala Praised To the Editor of The &tar: It has been interesting to read the news that Gen. Ubico has at last reel- | ized his ambition of becoming the Pres- | ident of Guatemala. I mean no allusion against the character or honor of the old fire-eater in question—he was al- shooter in Banana-Republic politics. I remember, some five or six years ago, when Orelanna was the President. Orellana was popular; he also enjoyed | the sincere friendship of the then American Minster, who himself was re- spected for failing to descend to the guaro-guzzling proclivities of sojourn- ing gringoes. There were, however, rumors and | whispers of conspiracies, fostered, it was believed, by the Herrerra Hermanos —one of whom had sat for a brief space in the chair vacated by Cabrera. Mar- tial law was imminent; was, in fact, oft- en present. Estado de sitio, I believe they call it; several times a week the barefooted soldiers would tramp to every street corner, where a bewhiskered corporal (or perhaps a general) would screech orders read from the document held in his dusky hand—orders that the | “rights” had been withdrawn and that the citizen who sallied from his house at such a time did so at the peril of his pleasure-bent self. I remember one night which we spent behind tightly barred doors and win- dows, with only candles to light the gloomy Latin rooms— for la lux had mysteriously “gone awa: Hourly we waited for the boom of the cannon to sound from the fuerte on the hill—and we were directly in the path of fire. We had stored provisions for many days. However, nothing happened. And this was also after the death of Orel- lana, who died mysteriously, following a supper party. The physician who was his closest friend and confidant afterward attended me during a brief iliness, and as mutual friends who also were in the “know” had called him for my case, he (although not a loquacious man) told of the failure to summon him before the poison served to Orellana had gone too far. Telephone wires had been cut, and the messenger, sent later, had required two hours to make a 20- minute journey. As I was saying, back in 1924, “all the world” wanted' Ubico. He was to be the next presidential candidate, and elections were not far off. All of them—Orellana, Ubico and Chacon—had been officials under Ca- brera, and it was sald that Orellana and Ubico had stood by him to th last. Like Cabrera, both were common men. Thin was the flow of Castilian blood in their veins, and they had much of the Indian. Ubico was then and had been for many years the jefe olitico of the Departament de Retalu- {’ehu. flush with coffee, rich with ba- nanas and abounding in sugar and guaro. Retalulehu had ever been the grafter’ paradise, but instead of enriching him- self Ubico cleaned up the region, paved the city and made himself more than disliked by the petty politicos and plan- tation owners, who had often benefited | hugely from the results of small bribes. Upon the death of Orellano, the vice resident, Chacon, became provisional urestdent pending the imminent elec ons. 1 saw the polls—set out in the public _quares—and I saw the soldiers stop each would-be voter and heard his ques- tion as to his choice. Chacon, of course, received an over- whelming number of votes, and Ubico trailed far down the list. This man Chacon, by the way, was popularly be- ifeved to be 2 half-wit, and it was said that he could not write. On the other hand, while the country did not pro- gress during his administration, no evils worthy of particular mention were per- {Mu‘l!ed during his regime. He mere- y was. I am convinced that Ubico is the country’s choice just as I am convinced that he will reap no benefits at the risk of his fellow citizens. ~A. DESSART. i Noisy Nelgm From the Fort Worth Record-Telesram. We can see readily enough where it once was comparatively easy to love one's nelxhbors as one’s self. But they went and bought a new car and now turn their radio on full blast! s No Stopping Them. From the San Bernardino Sun. 1 Mr. Raskob's plan for 500-foot wide | of apples, 800 pounds of grapes, | grapefruit, 1,000 pounds of tomatoes, 20 (denied. Those who uphold the Presi- ,500 peaches, 40 boxes of pears, 150 me}om. 20 bunches of bananas, 30 boxes of boxes of lemons, 300 bottles of sauces, 2,600 pounds of jams and marmalade, ports of ork, London, Hamburg, Los les, Rotterdam, Antwerp, San Francisco, Seattle, Liverpool and Sin- Q. Where was the first rope walk bullt in the United States?—A. V. N. A. It was constructed at Boston by John Harrison in 1642, Q. I From what country did Longfel- forefathers come?—G. MCE. A. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American for several generations. Both the Wadsworths, his mother's family, as well as the Longfellows, were originally from Yorkshire. Gen. Wads- worth was descended from John Alden and Priscilla Mullens. Q. What direction does the mansion at Mount Vernon face?—F. P, B. A. It may be said to face ths east, overlooking the Potomac River. Like many mansions of its day, it had also and gardens. Q. How many books has Gertrude Atherton written?—B. W. C. A. Bhe has published thirty-five or more. The “Sophisticates” has just aj peared. Mrs. Atherton is now 13 or years old, but has not lost her enthu- siasm for her work. Q. Why are flags finown on Mother's day?—S. B. A. In 1914 J. Thomas Heflin, st the request of the founder of Mother's day, Miss Anna Jarvis, introduced the joint resolution which was agreea 3 whereby the President should designate by anrual proclamation the display of the American flag on all Government buildings, homes and other suitable places. The United States is the first Nation in the world to give such & na- tional, patriotic honor and tribute to the mothers of the Nation. Q. How short a wave is used for radio broadcasting?—F. K. A. The shortest wave ‘which has proved successful is 18 and 20 meters. There have been experi- ments in frequencies below & meter. These, however, were not successful. Q. Can y;,uthnv:lm'h the betting odds on some of the big heavyweight prize fights?—D. E. 8. A. Betting odds when the heavy- weight title changed hands were: Sul- livan-Corbett, 4 to 1 on Sullivan; Cor- bett-Fitzsimmons, 5 to 3 on Corbett; Fitzsimmons-Jeffries, 2 to 1 on Pitz- simmons; Jeffries-Johnson, 10 to 7 on Jeffries; Johnson-Willard, 3 to 1 on Johnson; Willard-Dempsey, 6 to 5 on ‘Willard; Dempsey-Tunney, first figh 5 to 2 on Dempsey, and, second fight, 6 to 5 on Dempsey until nearly E,‘",;; with Tunney closing favorite af obtained between Q. When was the first railroad bullt %!t:leen Cincinnati and St. Louis?—L. A. The first road projected between Cincinnati and St. Louis was chartered in 1832, according to Carter's “When Railroads Were New,” but actual con- struction was not begun. Sixteen years later the project was revived by a new company, the Ohio & Mississippi Rail- road. Preliminary surveys were begun November 1, 1848, the first section was opened from Cincinnati to Cochran April 2, 1854, and the road was com- 430 tins of biscuits, 8000 pounds of pleted in 1857. 'Wagner Bill Veto Produces Veio of the Wagner employment ex- change bill by President Hoover has been productive of much in view of the demands that have been made in recent months on the existing system of aiding employment. The veto suggestion that it would disrupt the present methods is both affirmed and dent do so largely on the ground that it is a long-time measure and can be improved in the next Congress. %- | ponents of the Executive hold that the | delay is detrimental. It is agreed by the Baltimore Sun that “it is essentially a long-time rath- er than an emergency measure” and that “deferment of its to the next Congress, where it will likely be- come law over the President'’s veto, probably will not change the immediate course of events in any decisive way.” The Sun adds: “Among the economic objections are that it is a questionable extension of the system of Federal baiting of the States, and sets up a considerable amount of expensive m chinery which past experience has not given much reason to believe would get very far in meeting the basic employ- ment difficulties of the country. The President, however, does not address himself squarely to many of the im- portant realities in the case, nor does he respect the processes of representa- tive government by waiting until Con- gress has adjourned to give the coup de grace to a long-considered and ex- tensively debated measure, in which he has taken a most active interest,” “The present situation cannot be helped, but on the other hand the work would be retarded, declares the Charleston (W. Va.) Dally Mail, “by displacing a present operating system with one which cannot instantly be put into effect. That President Hoover is not insensible to the need of a better system, if one can be devised, is shown in his effort, in conjunction with Sec- retary of Labor Doak, to frame a me: ure which will be more effective than that proposed by Mr. Wagner and one which at the same time will not require so long a period in which to be made effective. e In the oninion of the Kalamazoo Gazette, “if ther is to be any criticism of the Presi” s action in rejecting this third unemployment relief measure, it mu . be based on his failure to stress his main cbjection more strongly while Congress was still in session. It is con- ceivable,” scys that paper, “that the lawmakers migl‘ have made so e ar- rangement for cortinuing the Federal employment s¢ .. » until such time as the new plan could have been placed in full operaticn.” The Gazette suggests that “perhars the President did not feel that the matter was of sufficient im- p: ‘ance to justify any vigorous inter- vention in the affairs of the legislative branch.” “The objection to the bill,” to the Chicago Daily News, “was not the ‘.on for Federal-State .>-op- eration in maintaining employment bu- reaus, but the provision abolishing the existing Federal employment service. The latter feature, as the President was acvised by the Attorney General and tF Secretary of Labor, would have| been seriously detrimental to the unem- ployed. Organization of the new serv- ice would have required many months, if not ~ears, since the various State legislatures would have had to be con- sulted and State appropriations ob- tained from them. us the Wagner plan not only would have been com- plc ffective in the present emer- gency but would have wiped out abruptly a service demonstrably valuable to la- bor. The exi g service finds jobs the rate of 1,300,000 a year. It r-in- tains specic! divisions for the benefit c” “~rmers and wa: veterans.” ‘Mr. Hoover has acted wisely,” main- tains the San Antonio Express, “Nothing will be lost by deferring final action, while experts pursue the subject further. The present Federal employment serv- ice has bullt up nt fact-findin highways is adopted, somebody will im- mediately begin building motor busses the same width. | —to bring to light its Sharp Division of Opinion statement that the minute the present Job-finding service is put out of, busi- ness, the new service “can go into oper- ation,” the New York Evening Post re- plies: “Yes, it can—but only legally and technically. It cannot really operate, as the President shows, until months of organization w-;rk‘hlve been done.” " - President did not veto the bill until he had been counseled by the Attorney General of the United States and the Secretary of Labor, himself a labor union executive for many years before entering tre Federal service,” it 1s pointed out by the South Bend Trib- une, while the Hartford Courant argues that “the last thing labor wants is & nebulous scheme of the sort to replace the present system, which gave 1,300,- 000 persons Jobs last year,” and that ‘action of the 50-50 type, such as the Wagner bill and the maternity aid m:.sure, are indubitable evidence of the m :rf Lhdewlen%rguhmmn in at properly long to the tates. The Rocrlxllnd Ar'z\u holds that “Mr. Hoover seems to have made out a strong case.” “If the President has acted wisely in vetoing the Wagner measure. we never- hope the matter will be taken care of in later legislation,” advises the Flint Daily Journal, while the Roanoke Times sees “s. evidence that the veto will be made an issue in next year's campaign.” The Asbury Park Press asserts that “the Wagner bill may not be perfect, but so superior is it to existing methods of unemployment re- lief that the millions now jobless de- serve that it be further considered' that “it cannot be expected that they will share Mr. Hoover's complacency over the ineffective system that the V’agner bill is designed to correct. The ~-ranton Times directs attention :4})1 th ““n th‘lk the Wagner bill “had e support of many influential econ- omist d lal and that “Senator Wagner has given particular attention to the unemployment situation.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer contends: “This opposition is difficult to understand, be- cause th. Wagner bills carry out recom- mendations repeatedly made by the series of conferences sponsored and pre- sided over in 1921, 1922, 1923 and Pfi’;{ by Herbert Hoover, then Secretary of Commerce in the Harding and Coolidge cabinets. * * * The President's eleventh- hour objection to a bill supported by ag.acies with such widely differing viewpoints s the A. F. of L. and the Taylor Society, by economists such as Fisher anc Taussig, by able students of employment as B. C. Seiple of C'cve- land is not convincing. Lack of convincing opposition is em- phasized also by the Buffalo Evening News, whi: makes the comment on the situation: t is unfor te be- cause Congress will not meet again un- til next December. In view of the fact that there will Le almost an even divi- sion of strength between Republicans and Democrats, with insurgency to be taken into account, the prc-pect for the adoption of a Doak plan appears far from bright. The time that must tervene before the President can put the matter to & test would be sufficient to get the Wagner plan well under way imperfections and prepare to correct them. As it is, the country must depend almost wholly upon the Federal employment service in the Department of Labor, as to whose offices in the pi it situation the country Coes not share the confidence ex.yressed the President in his veto message.” Bearded Bears. From the Hartford Daily Ti . b e, LA 5 s Oy 10] sul millions of “doubles” pl‘n thnpmwuntry No Place for Him. Prem the Milwaukee Sentinel. ¥ Dr. Einstein has bean dubbed “the - monarch of the realm of pure thought macl Scrap] it labor of some xun previously visshle." Quoting Senaf A and it just occurs to us it he'd not hang around L a west front, facing its private lawns ™ . 13 i i better