Evening Star Newspaper, April 2, 1931, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR - With Sunday Morning Edition. WABHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY... JApril 8, 1081 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Kcnp:p- Company AT i ‘Build, Regent .. London, Rate by Carrler Within the City. . ... .45¢ per‘month 60¢ per month 66¢ per month Sc_ter copy ch mo S Tmtstione Mafl—Payable in Advance. nd and Virginia. 10.00: 1 mo., Ry 1R All Other States and Canada. E“y :fl?’ Sunday. 1‘ Y{.. ’1% % § mg . 81 gg inday only i1 ¥r. 5.0 1 mos e The Associated Press is excly use for republication of d in this paper also th ] : i LA 8 Sy published herein. All richts of publication of speciai dispatches herein are also reserved. Combating Wage Reductions. Bitter experience has made millions familiar with the vicious circle that accompanies, as cause or effect, such industrial depressions as that from whicb the nation is slowiy recovering. With sus- tained or increased buying power es- sential to keep industry moving for- 'ward, overproduction is followed by the layofts, the closing of plants and the unemployment which serve only to diminish buying power. There is no recovery until the buying power re- tums, and the buying power does not return until wages are flowing into the pockets of those who can buy. ‘There is much more than politics involved in the reported efforts by the sdministration to stem what has been characterized as a2 movemgnt, originating from variously described circles tn the | East and Middle West, to begin a wage- cutting campaign based on the drop in commodity prices. If there is any such movement it is short-sighted, a quack remedy destined merely to complicate the industrial problems that face the ocountry. “It would indeed be unfor- tunate if employers generally took ad- vantage of the present situation to en- gage in a wage-slashing movement,” Col. Arthur Woods, chairman of the President's Emergency . Employment Committee, has declared. And Col. ‘Woods and many others know that “un- fortunate” is putting it mildly indeed. One of the first steps taken by Mr. Hoover in his efforts to diminish the effects of the depression was to call into conference industrial and labor . Jeaders in an effort to bring them to an informal understanding that while everything possible would be done to maintain m, standard of wages and liv- ing on the one hand, agitation for wage increases and the resultant industrial disputes must be discouraged on the other, at least until the crisis following the stock market crashes was past. At best the “agreement” was the informal scceptance of a theory based on good slogic. It prevented what might easily have turned into a panic with catas- trophic effects. But even if the crisis that threatened is now past, it is as essential as ever to stick to the theory that the return of prosperity and the advance of our American standard of lving depend upon retaining an ade- quate wage scale. It is more important to lift the level of commodity prices to the now accepted standard of wages than to lower the standard of wages to the level of commodity prices. ‘Wage cutting and reduction of work- ing hours have doubtless been the last Tesort of some concerns to stave off greater evils, and in the competitive world of industry it must be a fine theory indeed to convince an employer that his responsibility extends beyond the limits of his individual problem. ‘The task facing the administration, charged with the Nation's well-being, is to create a sentiment that will prevent solated cases of wage reductions and other such expedients from attaining the proportions of a concerted move- ment, extending throughout industry as a whole. The situation calls for firmness and courage, based on com- mon sense as well as idealism. ———r———————— An effort will be made to Isssen the hardships of home-coming tourists next Summer when they are met by customs inspectors. The tourists themselves can facilitate matters a great deal by re- sisting the tempiation to try little ex- periments in smuggling. A few ili-ad- vised travelers can cause an immense amount of delay to those who harbor no sinister intentions whatever. e Six Seconds of Shock. ‘The first earth shock at Managua, it it is stated in the dispatches, lasted only six seconds. That seems a very brief period within which such terrible devastation can be wrought. Six seconds, barely time enough for a person to walk #cross an average size room! Yet in that brief span of time the earth retched and gaped end quaked. Houses | were crumbled, walls crashed to the| ground and many hundreds of people were slain. In almost all such disasters the period of actual quaking is brief. There has been scarcely & single great seismic dis- turbance extending over more than & minute in the spasm of acute destruc- tiveness. In some cases there are re- current shocks after intervals of quiet. Bometimes the greatest loss of life occurs in the secondary shocks when people are in panic and are caught by the crumbling of already broken walls. ‘Those who have never been in earth- quakes have no concept of the sensation caused by the sudden unheralded vibra- tion of the crust. There i no warning. The room in which one is sitting begins to move; the bed in which one is Iying ects in hammock fashion; the ground on which one is walking heaves. In- stantly one knows, usually even with- out previous experience, that a quake has occurred. Then the tremor con- tinues, and it seems to be many min- ates before it ceases and actually, as at Managua, it is probably only a few sec- onds in duration. To appreciate the brevity of the period of quake such us at Managua, one impossible to capture this sensation. It is said to be the habit of those who live in earthquake zones whenever the first tremor is felt, if indoors, to 80 at once to a doorway and stand be- neath the frame in the opening, which 1s regarded as the safest place of all, the frame serving as a protection. In tropical countries, which chiefly are af- flicted with these disasters, people who are out of doors at the time flee to the shelter of palm trees, the roots of which prevent the dangerous breaking of the ! earth, or to bamboo plantations, which serve in the tame way. 1In the great Japanese disaster of 1923, which was centered in the cities of To- kio and Yokohama, the first shock was brief, but was followed by others. It occurred at almost exactly twelve o'clock noon, when most of the people were at their “mid-day rice,” sitting around charcoal braziers in their homes. These fires were strewn about and ignit:d the straw matting with which the floors | were covered, and thus started the con- flagration which took the heaviest toll of life. o There Are Lives at Stake. Notwithstanding the pressure of other work and the demand for early comple- tion of elementary school buildings that have swamped the municipal architest's office, one may readily sympathize with the impatience manifested by the ‘Washington Tuberculos's Association over the apparent delay in commencing work on the Children's Tuberculosis Sanatorium. Conditions demanding the carly com- pletion of this institution, land for which has been bought and money for which has been appropriated, are de- plorable and refloct no great credit on the community. One health school, for white children, is overcrowded, with a number of children who should be in attendance there forced into the regular classes at other schools. The other health school, for colored children, is inadequately housed and should have been abandoned long ago. It is also forced to turn away children who should be in attendance. The fact that some children, suffering from & non- communicable type of infection, are not isclated and are allowed to attend reg- ular classes may not be alarming in itself, as the health officials are, of course, cognizant of the situation and permit it. The fact s, however, that these children should be receiving cor- rective treatment in specially equipped schools, under expert supervision, and they are not receiving that attention now. The health schools, moreover, are taking care of children who should be receiving twenty-four-hour treatment, instead of spending a few hours in ideal surroundings, only to travel long dis- tances to and from their homes. ‘The existence of these ccnditions, however, has been known for a long time. They led to the final victory for those who have been Insisting for years that the sanatorium should be built. A THE EVENING S'I‘A.RE WASHINGTON, D. C! l‘HU’RSDAYE _APRIL 2! 1931 meumuhmm'mmmummmmuunu. it being sbout five hundred miles above Panama. Whatever 15 done in the matter of smiargement or & new canal, it is evident from & study of the figures of canal traffic since Panama was opened to com- merce that in a few years the present facilities for the passage of ships be- tween the Atlantic and the Pacific will be inadequate. The Panama Canal is now a paying business for the United States Government and another canal or an enlargement of this present route would undoubtedly soon pay its own way in returns upon the investmont cost. ———— Observations by President Willard of the B. & O. Rallroad at the University of Pennsylvania referred to faults in the system of capitalism which has held so important a part in this coun- try's development. In order to correct faults, their existence must be made known, and if Experience 18 entitled to her reputation as a teacher, there is no man in the United States who knows more about the rallroad business than Daniel Willard. ———rate Steadfast purpose is a quality that benefits its possessor and his friends and neighbors as well. It is agreeable, in the midst of all kinds of problems, to know that Sir Thomas Lipton is still studying yacht building with a view to lifting the America’s Cup. A fine busi- ness man on his own account, Sir ‘Thomas 18 also one of the best of the “salesmen of good will.” — e Egg rolling on Easter Monday may be discontinued and give place to folk dances. Neither form of diversion will be entirely agrecable if, as now seems possible, umbrellas and raincoats have to figure in the pastime. ———————— It is the privilege of poets to refer constantly to Nature's beauty and beneficence. An effort toward service to humanity may seek to induce Iyrical forgetfulness of earthquakes, tornadoes and persistent drought. o Gambling is sald to be encouraged without restraint at Reno, Nev., on the theory, perhaps, that it will assist in assuaging sorrow that attends recollec- tions of broken homes. — e Even if there were any conceivable pleasure in devastation, there would be no need of warfare, with the forces of nature so often ready to destroy life and property. B There will be much speculation as to political prospects during the coming Summer. It will at least be cheaper than speculation in the stock market. ——oe—e In order to keep up with all the changes in parking rules a good police- man must be not only a vigilant official, but a hard student. ———— Changing the map of Europe is one of the enterprises constantly under- taken, yet never as yet in a manner Now that the land has been acquired and enough money has been appro- priated to permit a good start on the buildings, it s disappointing to learn that the priority schedule of public works, as adopted by the municipal au- thorities, will not permit the completion of “preliminary” plans and studies for the Institution until next September 30. After that date there must follow the draft of working plans, the submission of bids, the letting of contracts, with another year or more intervening be- fore the sanatorium will be built. ‘The Washington Tuberculosis Asso- clation has appointed a committee to call on the Commissicners with & re- quest that work on the sanatorium be expedited. The nature of this work deserves all possible speed, for delay might well be reckoned in terms of human lives. It is difficult to conceive cf any demand for the planning and construction of any ordinary school for well and healthy children that would place it ahead of the Tuberculosis San- atorium on any priority list, 5 ———— Maj. L'Enfant was a great man, but he was no prophet and could not an- ticipate the needs for parking space Washington, D. C., would eventually ex- perience. City bullding is always an uncertain enterprise which makes pres- ent perfection a transient condition in- volving a constant program of expensive readjustment. ———e—. Canals and Quakes. ‘The Managua disaster has revived discussion as to the feasibility of a trans-isthmian canal through Nicara- guan territory. General Brown, chief of engineers, has stated that the earth- quake will have no eflect so far as the Army is concerned on its pending repors as to the advisability of constructing such a canal. The canal, he says, has little to fear from an earthquake. Sev- eral shocks have been felt at Panama, but none has ever dented the canal locks there. He does not go so far as to say that a shock would not concelv- ably injure a canal, “but they would | have to be extraordinary.” In this connection it is recalled that when Congress was considering the question of undertaking canal construc- tion, the earthquake argument was used effectively against the Nicaragua route. A postage stamp of Nicaraguan issue was exhibited before the Senate Committee then discussing the measure which is sald to have had some in- fluence in turning the decision toward the Panama project. This stamp showed an active voleano in vigorous eruption. It is recognized that another canal is needed or will soon be urgently required | to accommodate the rapidly increasing is not enlarged. The Nicaragua route, ‘hich wes originally contemplated and was very nearly adopted for the initial American project, is strongly favored by some engineers. Whether the forth- coming report on the subject will ap- prove it is now & question, though Gen- eral Brown's remarks suggest that the immediate seismic disturbance at Mana- gua will not affect the recommenda- tions. . The Panama Canal cost about $378,- 000,000 and was ccmpleted in ten years. In the opinion of some engineers the Nicaragua Canal can be cut in the same time at about twice the cost of the Panama waterway. The Nicaragua should count six seconds with the eyes closed, six slow beats, and then try to ® conceive a sudden crumpling of the world in such a span. Without the act. ual shaking of the ground and the erashing of buildings, falling of walls Nicaragua route contend that the sav- that will beat ood the terrifylng roars that usually ing of miltage would compensate for the to & frazle, route is ofie hundred and seventy-szven miles long as against fifty at Panama. water traffic, if the Panama Canal itself i that gives universal satisfaction. ————— Much has changed in New York, but Tammany rule has been just about the same for a remarkable number of years. —_———————— Reorganization is the topic of pre- vailing interest, not omly in business, but in politics. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. April Rainbows. ‘The rainbow is prophetic Of Earth's hopeful kindliness. Calculations theoretic Contradict this, more or less; But we greet the April shower With the faith we've always shown. Every drop that finds the bower Holds a rainbow of its own. Every sunbeam shining brightly Brings a sign of promise new. ‘When the mist it touches lightly, It will make a rainbow, too. So we'll cease the dull repining And we'll sing our little song, For a billion rainbows shining Cannot possibly be wrong. Ill-Defined Discontent. “A group of Communists is walting to see you,” sald the secretary. “Exactly what do they desire?” ask- ed Senator Sorghum. “I'm not sure. That appears to be what they are hoping you will help them to find out.” Jud Tunkins says he has several friends who say they lost all they had in the market when it was only in an| evening’s pinochle game. | Home Censorship. Dear daughter hides her book away. To do so there is need. ‘The work's not proper, daughters say, For mother dear to read. Nothing New. “Does moontight make you senti- mental?” “No,” answered Miss Cayenne. “I have heard ebout all the different kinds of sentimental speech. There is noth- ing new under the sun and the same thing applies to the moon.” Inevitable Capture, Your guilt may linger all obscure If you commit some real crime; But the police will get you, sure, If you try parking overtime. “It is s0 easy to make promises,” said Hl Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “that many attempt to gain & livelihood by doing nothing else.” At the Race Track. I know it ought to make me fret. And yet I can't regret The wealth I get When good luck I at last have met, And stand in line to cash a bet! “I was so glad to see a real rain” sald Uncle Eben, “dat I jes’ natchelly reached foh a hoe instead of an um- brella.” R Banzai! From the New York Sun Newly discovered territory in the Antarctic has been named Banzare, I Land by the British and may be claimed | by Japan on a typographical error. | | —- — r———— A preliminary estimate has placed the cost of an enlargement of the Panama Canal at $100,000,000. Advocates of the The Rush to Reno. From the Albany Evening News. with divorce quicker than ever will have a .mld ' rush the Califomia gold rush > k3 THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Keeping out of the way of doctors is an excellent amusement for the cu- ricus mind. This relieves the individual pocket- book, and frees the doctors for more serious cases, for any one who finds himself able to be his own M. D. s not_very ill, of course. The man with the true curious mind, who is able, in a sense, to doc- tor himself, knows enough to stick to simple cases and simple remedies. He is a believer in the century-old maxim, “A man is either a fool or his own_doctor by the time he is thirty years of age. He feels, in discovering plain reme- dies which work in his own case, that he is helping the medical profession, since there will always be plenty of more serious work for them to do. ‘Thus, in keeping out of their way, he is their friend, helper and aid and, incidentally, their best booster, because he reserves them for times of trouble, when the experience and training which they alone possess must supple- ment his personal study of himself. - " Most of such & man’s methods re- volve around the old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Medical men know the value of this saying, but also they have a full knowl- edge of how difficult it is for the aver- age person to put it into effect. Therefore the person who makes & determined effort to care for himself may take a certain satisfaction, 8o long as eh uses common sense, in being a bit unusual. He must be willing at all times, in so far as he is able, to nip oncoming mala dies in the bud, ‘as they may arise. Where the average person falls down, in this respect, is in his ability, or what seems his inability, to take him- self firmly in hand, when the necessity arises. * ok oxx ‘We speak not so much of habits as of a human disinclination to slow down. Consider the common headache, or the beginning of a cold, or that feel- ing of illness which often manifests it- self in “blueness.” ‘There are several simple remedies on the market, available to any one, which may be taken in the case of a headache, and which most often will “work” with astonishing celerity, if one will give them half a chance. What they must have to help them is exactly what a medical expert would order. and what the individual must order himself to do, and that is to rest while the remedy gets in its effect. e o remedy which he now takes is wasted. 't does no good now; it is too late. * k% % We know one Washintonlan of a large managerial office who often retires at an enlf hour if for any reason he does wot feel “up to standard.” ‘This man, of many activities, whose energy during the day is amazing, will g0 to bed at 8 p.m. if he believes it necessary. He has learned the simple remedy of proper rest. Yet thousands of human beings have not learned it. They are like the foolish motorists Who are ready and willing to run the risk of a colli- sion in order to save two seconds, when all the time they have more time at their command than they know what to do, with. A proper rest, combined with the exercise of common sense and the use of easy home remedies, known to most people, will do more than any one thing to stop the commoner {lls. Almost every one has a headache at some time or other, or feels a cold coming on, or becomes “out of sorts” with himself and the world. ‘Why should he bother a busy medical man, when by the exercise of intelli- gence he can cure himself and leav doctor to devote his energies and skill to more serlous cases? * ok k% ‘Those who once come to this conclu- slon will find their activities along this line taking on all the interest of a good game of solitaire. It becomes a cdntest, with disease, on one hand, fighting it out with the in- dividual, on the other. Nature, the common mother, holds the stakes. She also, many believe, supplies the cure. However that may be, there is little gainsaying that this contest is an interesting one, and the individual soon becomes as absorbed in it as a spectator at a foot ball game. He begins to realize one of the fascinations of the medi profession to the genuine medical man. Doctoring, he realizes, is not just a dos- ing, and a dosing again, but is a con- test, in which skill and intelligence and watchful walting all play prominent ro les. Sometimes he begins to feel that walting is the one ingredient without which Nature would throw up her hands. Watchful waiting is the strange interlude in which both skill and in- telligence have an opportunity to play their parts. Every one who has ever been ill in a more t ordinary degree, or who has sat at the bedside of such a patient, has felt upon occasion a certain sense Rest is Nature's great medicine, ‘The animals know how to take fit. What does any oid dog do if it happens | to_get Tun over or become sick? | It retires under a porch, somewhere, or hides away in the woods until such | time &s the healing powers of Nature | get in their good work. | All domestic animals the moment | they become ill seck shelter and rest, | and plainly show their iliness to the werld before everything else by thelr lack of activity. Men alone of the animal kingdom seeks to override this desire of Nature | for rest. He in his wisdom often feels that rest is weakness. An engagement of some sort, he elaims, must be kept. The theater is awaiting him and the curtain will not | ~ome up unless he is there. l S0 he disregards the red flag of warn- | 'ng—let us say, a headache—and goes to the play. When he gets beck his | headache is worse, and the simple home of resentment at what seemed almost indifference on the part of the attend- ing_physician. His better instincts told him, however, that it was not indifference, but wait- ing, masterful waiting, watching for symptoms, watching for changes, eye and hand and mind co-operating to do all that the profession attempts to do and 5o often succeeds in doing. * * “The person ‘who belleves in the old saying, “A man is either a fool ar his own physician by the time he is thirty,” will find it expedient to know more than the average person about the workings of the human ‘This study lead him into curious and interesting reading, but will never give him the idea that he is in any sense a doctor, or taking the of one. He simply is using his God-given intelligence. that, the world would be a better place to live in, Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands RISH INDEPENDENT, Dublin.—| Claims for the reduction of the| duties in beer and spirits in the | forthcoming budget are to be pressed on the Free State government by the licensed trade, an Irish Independent representative was informed. | Martin O'Byrne, secretary to the Li- | censed Grocers’ and Vintners' Associa- | tion, said: “We are all for a reduction | of the duties, as we consider them un- | reasonable and impossible to pay in the present spending power of the com- munity. A National Delegate Confer- | ence will be held in the near future | to formulate a scheme for presentation | to the government.” So far, he added, | this conference will be confined to the retail trade, but it was likely that later on the brewing, distilling, malt- | ing and other associated industries would be included. *x xx * Panama Too Poor to Buy Farm Machinery. La Estrella de Panima, Panama. Modern, scientific agriculture has not as | yet reached this ccuntry. The ground is cultivated in much the same way as | in centuries ago, despite our proximity to other countries so far advanced in these respects, The greatest obstacle to the acquisition of farm machinery and intensive cultivation of an area which though politically small is very fertile and capable of a development scarcely yet concelved is the poverty | both of the government and of the country people. There is no money) with which to pay for improved ma- chinery. If the United States ald co-operate with us in tke matter of agriculture, as it has don> in the fields of sanitatis and medicine, another great benefaction wculd be conferred on us, no less important than the oth- ers. It would enable us to reach an industrial and commercial betterment having its benefits not only for us, but for the nation that lent assistance. The United States Government has al- ready established an experimenal sta- tion here, but results have been meager because of our inability to avail our- selves of the suggestions and instruc- tlons derived from expert researches. * oK oK K Bolivar Prophesied Trouble in South America. El Nuevo Diario, Caracas—Simon Bolivar, the great South American lib- erator, undoubledly was inspired to carry on in behalf of the several repub- lics established through his efforts, and he was a prophet, t00, inasmuch as he could see trouble ahead for them, even after they had won their independence. | In the While Gen. Bolivar was living in Ja- maica, an exile the land r- ward converted through his herolsm into the countries of Colombia and Ecuador, he wrote the following senti- ments in & letter to Arthur Hyslop, of Kingston: “The persistent revolution and unrest in South America proves that perfectly democratic institutions are not suited to our character, traditions and general education and attainment. We shall not have permanent and progressive repub- lics in South America until we have de- veloped the same political unanimity and stability that distinguishes our brethren in North America. Without these civic virtues, a republican form of government will be a disadvantage and a jeopardy to us. Most of us do not pear to have the qualities necessary for self-government, possibly because of the traits installed in each one of us under the domination of Spain. We have de- rived from her ideas of pride, ambition, avarice and individual preferment, the desire of revenge and personal glorifi- cation, and the sum of all these things leads to discontent and demoralization. Thus, mecre than a century ago, Gen. Bolivar expressed himself, and with what truth and sagacity, regerding the political expectations of Latin America! Though he fought to free us from the imperialism of Spain, he realized that 1t would be long before each new and in t nation would really be properly | the economic inefficiency of oth poverty and hunger, in exile, 100 years ago, correctly foretold what was to be expected politically from his fellow pa- triols of Spanish temperament. % x % | Soviet Official Protests Dumping Charge by Nations. Soviet Economic Review, Moscow.— ‘The following are a few excerpts from the closing speech of M. I Kalinin, president of the Central Executive Com- mittee of the U. S. §. R, before the third session of the C. E. C. in Moscow: “The foreign press is making a great clamor about ‘Soviet dumping,’ and claims that our goods are produced by forced labor. Our enemies attempt to present as forced labor ly our achievements in the field of planned distribution of labor, thou&h to be frank our achlevements in this field are as yet not very great. We are making only the first steps in the direction of an ef- fective distribution of our labor power, the full value of which will become ap- parent in the near future. “Are not our sales abroad balanced by our purchases? We have not im- ported & single ounce of gold. “And what are our exports? In the main we sell timber, furs, manga- nese, ore and grain, but the exportations of these are small compared with those of the pre-war ers. The kind of labor used to produce these materials is, too, less skilled than the labor necessary for the production of the articles we im- port, of which the chief are machinery and’ equipment. These are manufac- tures which require the maximum use of ski'led labor. “We are blamed for the present crisls in all capitalistic countries. Yet they all know, for instance, that we have not exported & single automobile, either of our own make or of those we im- ported. On the contrary, we bought more automobiles last year than in any previous year. Still,” the depression abroad is felt most acutely in the su- great deal of labor. And we are making these purchases from foreign industries which have suffered most in the present universal crises. Why, must Russia continue the scapegoat for tions?” x X k% English Captain Leaves Estate to German Veterans. Berliner Tageblatt—A most interest- ing and significant case, particularly in its relation to Germany, has just been decided by a London Court of Chancery. last year a retired 84-year-oid English merchant ship captain died and Jbequeathed his estate, valued at 140,000 marks (about $35,000), to the German government for the relief of wounded ‘World War vi 3 The man, Capt. Robinson, pointed out in his will that the rich and powerful English government were well able to care for all their own disabled veterans, but that Germany, with the onus of heavy internatlonal cbligations laid upon her, could render only a very in- adequate service in this respect. The Probate Court at London, when ac- quainted with the terms of the testa- ment, deposed that Capt. Robinson's estate could not be devoted to the alle- viation of those who recently were Eng- land’s enemies, and demanded that the funds be diverted to the care of Eng- lish veterans in need. The arguments pro and con the final ition of the estate were heard by Judge Meughan, who ruled that the provisions of Capt. Robinson’s will were perfectly in order, and that they must be adhered to as in- scribed upon the document. The judge added that such exhibitions of charity and friendliness do far more to bri about peace and understanding between the nations then wars and arbitration could ever accomplish. P Weaklings. From the Port Worth Record-Telegram. The lowest-down trick that des! self-governing. In the last year we have still seen and lly every South writing serlous ones, in American repul Bolivar, in pets those blow up under Prosj - If more people would do| then, | na-: Every time a Democratic or Repub- lican leader boards a train with plans to make one or more speeches in any part of the country outside of Washing- ton, D. C, the shout goes up that the national campaign is under way. As & matter of fact, the campaign to elect a Democratic President in 1932 started as soon as the Democrats could get thelr wind after what happened in 1928, and the campaign to re-elect President Hoover has been under way since before that. The latest speaking tour to be announced is that of Shouse, chatrman of the Democratic National Committee's Executive Committee. Mr. Shouse is to invade old_ Republican strongholds in the West—Iowa, where he is to speak at Des Moines April 7, and California, where he speaks in Los Angeles, and then in Washington, where Mr. Shouse will be heard in Seattle. * ok ok X ‘The chairman of the Democratic Ex- ecutive Commitiee is making a wide swing around the Great West. There is not the slightest doubt but what the Democrats will do their utmost to win over the West in the election of next year. They are looking for mn things in the East, where the Republican party is badly spiit over the prohibition tion and where unemployment has great in the industrial centers. In the East the Democrats are strongly united against national prohibition as it is now practiced. With the aid of Re- publican wets - and those voters dis- gruntled because of business conditions, they hope to carry some of these big Eastern industrial States next year. It is obvious that a wet Democratic candidate for, President, however, will not shine so 'strongly in the West, so the campaign is being directed and will be directed toward winning the West to the Democratic standard the es- on cal | BTOUNd témt the Democratic party is the Smoot-Hawley tariff act and the insistence upon the assertion that the tariff act has been detrimental to the farmers of the count as_well as to the industrial workers. ‘West~ erners will be told that the G. O. P. is the y of “privilege,” working only in interests of the wealthy and against the common people. * &k x % It was only recently that another prominent Democrat, Senator David I. Walsh of Massachusetts, returned to 8! took him to Bethlehem, Pa.; Natche: Miss., and Charleston, 8. C. Senator Walsh is & wet, but he is not one of those advocating at this time making the wet cause a party issue in the platform of the Democrats next year. It is obvious that ordinarily there is no particular reason for, a Democratic cempaign in the South, ‘particulariy in Mississippi and South Carolina. How- ever, the Democratic national organi- zaticn socner or later has to convince the ¢ry States of the South that a wet mocratic presidential nominee from the North or West is not & menace to the prohibition cause for which the States of the South now stand. x ok % % On_“Jefferson day,” April 11, the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, there will be Democratic meetings and speeches all over the land. One of the largest and most important of these meetings will be the dinner given by the National Democratic Club in_the Commodore Hotel in New York City. Gov. Pranklin D. Roosevelt of the Em- pire Stete and Senator Walsh of Mas- sachuetts are to be two of the principal speakers at that dinner. Gov. Roose: velt still continues the outstanding fig- ure in the race for the Democra nomination for President next year. ocoming Jefferson Massachusetts Democrats have fred E. Smith for the presidency, they Gov. Roosevelt in the fight next year, it is belleved. * % %X % The Republicans are not leaving the fleld entirely to Democratic spell binders. President Hoover hlmlel(,lmls to make eight or nine speeches within a com- paratively short time. While they will not be political speeches as such, never- theless they will give to the country the views of the Chief Executive on im- portant subjects and will be widely published. It was only a day or two ago that Senator Dickinson of Iowa went on the nation-wide hook-up of the Columbia Broadcasting Co. to dis- cuss “Why the Republican Party.” Sen- ator Dickinson said in effect that while the Democrats talked of Thomas Jeffer- son as the champion of human rights, the Republicans had Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln, he insisted, did more to direct the trend of the public mind toward in- dividual rights than any other American. He described the G. O. P. as the “party of accomplishment.” * x % tiny | Vermont is still ;2,. 1is its cute little habit of selecting 'likely to stay so. ‘who rwn & Democrat, the ure lrtfi iblican , elth Govern B O & e B aaress or 44 & presidential cletor, It is not without interest that both hairman Shouse of C of the Democratic Executive Committee and Senal Dickinson, in their speeches over the radlo, urged the voters of the country to look not to the more radical lead- purposes are rom those of the Republi- ‘more patriotic, certainly less But, he contended, this group is largely a group of objectors, dis- satisfied with things as the: frequendy lacking consiructive subsii- tute. His appeal was to have the vo- ters turn to the Democratic party for leadership, * X x % Senator Dickinson took & rap at tke Progressives, particularly Senator Nor- ris of Nebraska, for urging that the electoral college be abolished so that it would be easier to break away from political party ties. The Iowa tor declared that the country has always thrived under a two-party system and that it, along with the electoral col- lege, should be meintained. The chant of the Progressives, however, is that neither the G. O. P. nor the party of Thomas Jefferson has advanced any real constructive programs of legisla- tion to meet conditions as they exist, and that the Progressives alone are put- ting forward such & . At the same time, the Progressives say there “ nolll:: > 'wdl It M&nflm new ral party Y. fore, as though the fight next year will be confined to the two old parties, with the Progressives probably divided in their allegiance as they have been in the past. * ok k * ‘The senatorial election in Vermont on Tuesday probably is not particularly s'gnificsnt one way or the cther, How= ever, the Democrats made no ga‘ns to speak of in_that contest and the Republican, Senator-elect Warren R. Austin. won over his Democratic oppo- nent, Stephen Driscoll, by the usual two-to-one vote. The weather was responsible for a comparatively small vote in the election—much smaller thas primary a few weeks ago. The 10~ crat ran as & wet, out and out. Senator Austin said he would stand by the eighteenth amendment, although the Anti-Saloon League not favor him, but his Republican opponent in the pri~ mary, former Senator Partridge. Austin was _believed the league to have wet tendencies. re had been some talk about the “danger” of a remarkable Democratic gain in the senatorial elec- DE | tion. Whether this was put forward by Republicans either as a mat on which to fall in case the Democrats did make gains or to make it possible to say after the election that the Democrats had failed to make gains is a mere guess. The truth of the matter, however, is that despite conditions of Gq:nulmux an It has never elected formation of the that been for years strong supporters of Al-|qua other toT | such claims are justified by the fact while wheat ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘What do you need to know? Is there some point about your business or per~ sonal life that puzsles you? Is somet] you want to know without delay? Bubmit your question to Prederic A kin, director of our Washington Information Bureau. He is employed to help you. Address your iry to g Star Information au, ‘Washing- ton, D. C., and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. Q. How many automobiles were in use In the United States last year? The total registration of auto- mobiles in 1030 was 26,718,000. Of this total, 23,200, were motor cars and 3,518,000 motor trucks. The num- ber of motor busses in use was 95,000. Q. What is the Government's pay roll in the District of Columbia?—W. W. A. Its yearly pay roll within the District is estimated at $106,000,000. Q. Upon what date was Nathan Hale executed?—B. C. A. Nathan Hale was hanged as a spy on the morning of September 22, 1776. Q. How long ‘has the word “electric” been used figuratively, as an “electric thrill” or “electric flash”?—G. C. M. A. 'nw"otd “electricity” was first tric” in this 1793 by Coleridge In his “Songs of the Pixles,” in which he says, “The electric flash that from the melting eye darts the fond question or the soft reply.” In 1831 Carlyle in “Sartor Resartus,” said, “Wait a little till the entire nation is in an electric state.” Q. I was under the impression that Lent lasted 40 days. Why is it longer than that from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday?—O. D. G. A. The of Lent is 40 days of fasting or sacrifice in addition'to the Sundays occurring in the period, which are not counted. There are six Sun: days in the Lenten period of this yea) one in February and five in March. Q. What boat was the first to go through the Panama Canal?—W. H. Alex La Valley on January 7, 1914, Commercial traffic was inaugurated with the passage the steamer Anoon on August 15, 1914, Q. How many re ers has the sing- ing voice?—L. W. G. . The voice may be divided into the lower or chest register, the higher or head register, and the small or falsetto e, . In g, the voice changes in volume from one register into another. Q. In what part of the ocean does the oc&own live? Will it attack a man? —C. A. The octopus is found in tropical seas near coral reefs. Some forms spread their limbs 12 or 14 feet like great spiders and ht, under favorable circumstances, d under water per- sons whom they had seized until they arily, g octopus does not attain one-half thess dimensions and many have bodies no longer than an ordinary pear. Q. Into how many races is the human race now divided?—C. B. A. According to Dr. Hrdlicka of fl; !“J'nloed States National Museum fl\nflml of thess are: Whites—the editerraneans, the Alpines and the Nordics; yellow-browns—the M Malays and the Indians; :lxwh—cm, - Negritoes, Bushmen and rican Negroes. Some _authorities classify the American Indlan as & separate race. Q. Is honey a healthful food?—E. B. A. It is wholesome. It con‘ains both vitamins and mineral substances. Q. Is there a law in Virginia that for- bids a woman to become engaged to mo;a_"_h-{mmnmenmemr A. The idea that there may be such SEnvimaE S agy ordan, & charming and widow, who engaged herself to marry two men, Capt. Willlam Farrar and the Rev. Greville Pooley, the latter of whom sued her for breach suit was lost, bu council of the colony were so aroused over the affair that they issued & proclamation against a woman's engag- ing herself to more than one man at a time. Wilstach, an authority on Vir- ginia lore, says there is no known rec- ord that this edict has ever been re- to endure: variations tempera usually in about six months® time, l'hmfit:lnlpllnied to the coffee m quality in passing | prise, small group, of the school Q What proport of m_er(:r'ntmuflymw 85 per cent of the Lakes vessels over on January 1, lcan registry. Rejection of Wheat Buying Opens New Farm Discussion Announcement by the Federal Farm Board that purchases of wheat with the revolving fund provided for the g\’n'pon will be discontinued is followed by esti- rgates of the work of the board and predictions as to the future. Debenture and the equalization fee are suggested with views which uphold abandonment of all relief meastres. The world situation is blamed in some rters for urisatisfactory conditions, while there is much support for organ- may yet be won over to the sipport of ized red: ‘The thma‘hto"hn the administration policy has been successful in its pur- pose to meet an emergency is voiced by the Chicago Daily News, which adds that it was also intended “to give the farmers an opportunity to.help them- selves through organization and system- atic limitation of areas planted to certain crops of which the country in past years has grown embarrassing sur- pluses. ‘The Daily News asserts that “the heavy purchases by the board were of benefit to the farmers and to busi- ness, which needed the stimulation thus afforded”; that “while many have as- sailed the board for engaging in arbi- trary price fixing, no alternative policy that would have been less to ob- jection has emerged from contro- versy. . is led to believe,” according to the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat, “that the real purpose cf creating the Farm Board was, after all, merely to meet an eme: and not to bring permanent relief to wheat growers. The board members claim to have saved wheat growers ‘many millions of dol- lars and & large additional amount to growers of grains,' and doubtless that was selling as low as 65 and 70 cents in foreign markets our around 80 cents 1s or 1s not directly interested in wheat: the board could not go on indefinitely buying wheat, storing it and selling be- low cost. Furthermore, the board could not buy that wheat and unload sur- pluses on foreign markets without suf- fering from retalirtory acticn.” ERE “The board's pronouncement,” ac- cording to the Seattle Daily Times, “must be taken as an admission that while artificlal price fixing may bring tempo! relief, no permanent help can be had from that source until hand-in-hand with the policy goes a the output. So far no one has had the temerity to suggest compulsory limitation of acreage to in- dependent American farmers.” The Topeka Daily Capital says: “The farmer has not yet been fully converted ¢o co- operative marketing. but there are five farmers for it today where there was one two years ago. This is a part of the work done the Federal Farm Board and the farm marketing act since it went into operation less than two years ago.” . “Purchases of wheat by the Farm quest! be answered, but it has no bearing the situation from a political view- point. The fact remains it the wheat farmers were led by Republican poli- ticlans to expect imprcvement in the price situation from the Republican farm relief act. mummnmmm-g; cultural also. should heed M'mwm advises that “as fected and the subject of studied from all a ers reduce plantings, limit the supply and get higher the Farm Board any advantage ey might get by Sing m the gap from its 'hegh hnfimn" *x “No gesture like the debenture plan will serve for & moment,” maintains the Houston Chronicle, at the same time finding that “the weakness in the pres- ent farm plan is that it fails to counter= e power of ths board to con= to penalize overproduction.” Porte land Oregon Journal concludes that, “the Government having been no help and the Farm Board being just now & detriment, it will be up to Pacific Northwest wheat growers to see what they can do for themselves.” Doubts as to the efficacy of any Gov= emlmau :n&e:mroflmd supply and demand are e: the Journal, the St. Louls 11.\11:'. the Lynchburg News and the Charlotte News. “It is reasonably certain,” avers the Charleston (S. C.) Evening Post, “that the price of staple commodities is grad- ually being brought down to lower levels, by reason of improved methods of production, and to that condition the world will have to address itself. * ¢ * The export debenture pian, which was supported so stoutly by the farming interests until an artificlal weight. The high tariff on importation of wheat is com ted far.m-mmmbymmrmwany. The two tend toward an equilibrium, but both are unsound economically. The wheat market will have to take care of itself as other markets must.” EE Diversification is upheld by the Sioux Falls Daily Argus-Leader and the Chat- in o sugges- “syndicate farming.” The possibility of the revival of McNary- the only possible Youngstown Vindicator, Free Press, the Cleveland News, the Goshen Dally News-Times, the New Bedford Standard, the Charleston (W. Ha Temedies is suggested &um Bend Tribune, fi:’&mh gwld- St. Louls Post-Dispatch Va.) Daily Mail. the New York Sun, the | gre New Orleans Times-Picayune and the Hamilton (Ohio) Evening Journal. ® K X % x only recoff dflm the San Anton} the producer: Express®"is the