Evening Star Newspaper, April 3, 1931, Page 8

'THE EVENING STAR | . With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY.......... &pril 3, 1931 Editor THEODORE W. NOYES. The l;mlu’!';:: m;« Company 5 ivania Ave. 2 Olice 14 "Regent” 8. Londons a : 3 Eneiand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Evening Sta: 45¢ per month vening and nal 0. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, ily und Sundi 1yr., $10.00: 1 mo. 1yr. All Other States and Canada. | iy sad Sunday...1 yr,. $12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 | -nl only . yr. & nday only . 1.0 mo.. is¢| 1 $5.00:+1 mo.. 50c Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associated Press is exclusivelv ertitled to the use for republicaiion of all news di: atches credited to it or not otherwiss cred- his d also the local nrw} of pubiication of e also reserved Announcement of the selection of former Senator George Wharton Pep- per of Pennsylvania as counsel for Dr. George Otis Smith and the stat>ment of the Attorney General relating to the | role to be assumed by the Department | of Justice in forthcoming legal procexd- | ings to test the validity of Dr. Smith's | appointment serve to clarify in some degree & muddled situation. Mr. Pep- | per, having declined the Senate’s oer | to represent the Senate, is unde: ing the defense of Dr. Emith “as a public service,” assuring him of skilled coun- sl without placing upon him the finan- clal burden that such defense might otherwise entafl. The Department of Justice, appearing as friend of the court, intends to “support the validity of the appointment as vigorously as they know how, and glve to the case the thorough attention which its impor- tance deserves.” The unprecedented nature of this case | leads to the rather ambiguous line-up | of the litigants. Dr. Smith, as an in-| dividual, 18 not involved. The fight is | between the Senate, on the one hand, and the President, supported by hxs; Attorney General, on the other. Yet| the only method by which the proceed- ings to test the issue could be instituted was for an officlal of the Department of Justice—in this case United States Attorney Leo Rover—to ‘allow the use of his name” as the Department of Justice words it, as relator, thus raising the propriety of another official of the Department of Justice—possibly the Bolicitor General—serving as “attorney of record” for the defendant. There was, in addition, the technical question, the substantiality of which is admittedly open to doubt, as to the “statutory au- | thority” for the Attorney General to appear for a Federal official in such litigation. ‘The Department of Justice has chosen the safest way out by taking no chances concerning the propriety or the legality of its course. Dr. Smitb's| counsel of record will be Mr. Pepper, ‘who does not represent either the Presi- dent or the Department of Justice, though his efforts, of course, will neces- - sarily be directed to upholding the validity of the President’s course in re- fusing to remove Dr. Smith, backed by the opinion of the Attorney General. | As friend of the court the Department | of Justice will present points on the law and will by indirection substantiate the right of Dr. Smith to hold office at the | request of the President, acting on the | legal opinion of the Attorney General. The procedure satisfactorily avoids | the appearance of internecine strife within the ranks of the Government's legal officers, ome of whom must in effect challenge, others of whom must | defend, the Attorney General's opinion, | upon which Dr. Smith occuples his office and draws his pay. i —————— Prisons have made earnest efforts to exert reform influences. There are, un- fortunately, numerous instances in| which convicts became worsz the longer | they were held in restraint. The task | of making men behave is the most dif- fleult that confronts humanity outside 2s well as inside of penitentiaries. | e Hitlerism Checked. ! National Socialism, the official name | of the Hitler movement in G-rmany. received a significant, and porhaps a | decisive, setback on Wednesday of this | week, The Parliam'nt of the Federal Btate of Thuringia, one of the two| scattering porticns of the Reich In which the Hitlerites had succeeded in | obtaining executive cffice, on a vote of | confidence custed the cabinet official in | question, Herr Wilhelm Frick., minister of the interior and of education. The | news of his fall is hailed throughout | Germany by the republican parties as an event of the first political magni- tude. They look upon it as signifying the end of the subversive Brown Shirt menace. | “Nazi” control of the Thuringian portfolio lasted a little more than a| year. It was an era of radicalism run! riot, supplying the rest of Germany | with graphic indication of what Hitler- | ite domination of the Reich, were such a calamity ever to overtake the nation, would mean. A characteristic exhibi- tion of Herr Frick's power was the ap- | pointment of a professor of ethnology to the celebrated University of Jena. | No sooner had this flery flow:r of Ger- man Fascism taken the rostrum than he began to preach a doctrine of Nordic supremacy that led to violence in the institution before the cours: was dis- continued. A quaint touch of Hitlerite culture in Thuringia was the official suppresion of jazz music as “decadent Africanism unworthy of a place in Ger- manie culture.” It takes more than one Thuringian swallow to make a German Summer. But there seems to be little question but that Hitler has met with an im- portant rebuff and one that will re- verberate throughout the Reich. Since last Spring the Thuringian National Socialists have been in a more or less amiable political partnership with the German People's party. The Hit- lJerites’ strength in the Diet entitled them to the moset important cabinet post they have so far possessed in the "Unlvd State: is ready to give up extra- | justice capable of fully safeguarding | p-ars to be raaking satisfactory progress i =e good. ple's party, which, patience having, ceased to be a virtue, found offieial bed-fellowship with the Brown Shirts no longer bearable. This week, mak- ing common cause with the middle parties, the Socialists and the Com- munists, the People’s party group in the Diet contrived to bring the de- spised minister of the interior and of education to book. Coming close on the heels of the edict by President Hindenburg suspend- ing Germany's bill of rights, Hitler’s campaign of villification of the repub- lie has now been brought up with a jerk. The Fascist chieftain has ordered his party to observe the edict, with its " | embargo on anti-republicanism agita- tion, while the National Socialists test the constitutionality of the President’s decree in the courts. There is yet an- other symptom suggesting that the Hit- Jerites are singing in a more minor key than that in which they customarily pitch their reactionary yawps. The so- called Hitlerite “shock troops” in East- ern Germany, numbering 28,000 men, are in revolt because Hitler deposed their late and popular leader. The lat- ter is in rebellicus mood and threatens to take his cohorts with him into the political field against Hitler unless the dethroned lieutenant is replaced. Yes- terday the insurgent forces seized pos- session of party headquarters in Berlin and took over Hitler's metropolitan newspaper organ “Der Angriff.” Only one National Socialist remains in cabinet office in Germany, the min- ister of culture for Brunswick, in which state the Hitlerites at recent communal clections signally failed to make ex- pected gains. The week's events in Thuringia certainly encourage the hope that this Icne outpost of Fascist power also may be doomed to disappear. A violent erupticn lke Hitlerism must keep on erupting if it is to be anything but a flash in the political pan. Checks llke it has just suffered are fatal. e o Extraterritoriality in China. Extraterritoriality in China, an issue for the United States ever since Caleb Cushing, high commissioner for Presi- dent John Tyler, in 1844 incorporated a clause providing for it in a Sino- American treaty, s once again conspicu- ously to the fore. At Nanking negotia- tions looking to its abrogation are in | progress between the Nationalist gov- ernment and the diplomatic representa- tives of Great Britaln and Japan. Probably more or less formal exchanges on the same subject are proceeding be- tween the United Stats and China, but they do not appear to have reached the active—and acrimonious—state of the dealings which Nanking i= conducting with London and Tokio. These, ac- cording to Nanking dispatches, are ap- proaching a deadlock. C. T. Wang, Chinese foreign minister, categorically refuses to discuss abolition of extraterritoriality with Japan on the basis of gradual relinquishment. He inststs upon immediate and total abo- lition of the “unequal treaties.” At the end of 1929 Nationalist China pro- claimed to its people that extraterri- torial rights were unilaterally—by China herself—done away with and no longer existed. The powers insisted that these rights were not abolished. China re- torted that the unilateral denunciation of the “uncqual treaties” was me; gesture. During 1930 both the United States and Great Eritain gave assurances of readiness to modify the treaties plece- meal throughout China as regional con- ditions permitted. Toward the end of last year China urged the powers once more to hasten the demobilization of their extraicrritorial judicial ma- chinery within the Natlonalist domain. Pending negotiations with the British and Japanese were initiated with a view to carrying cut Nanking's desires. - Washington's att'tude toward the comprehersitle desire of the ‘“new China” to breome mistress in her own vast house remains unchangsd. The territoriality when China is able to maintain in its stead a local system of American rights and property under the law. ‘The Nank ng central government ap- in suppression of civil war and subver- sive Moscow-engineered Communist ac- tivisles. These developments are all to They foreshadow the hour when it will be feasible to hand over the adminisiration’ of justice in China to the Chinise. et If it could be made possible to sus- pend remarits periaining to politics dur- ing an entire Summer, as has been ggested, there would be little left to ten to oter the radio, excepting the music and the comedy dialect. For the sake of giving variety to the entertain- ment, the Nation's oratory will insist on belng hreard. — - A large sstate is evidence of a suc- cessful life The eventual distribution shows that the man who created wealth is not always able to evolve plans to insure its administration according to his own preferences. The Diorning Buying Habit. Under “he new dispensation, which closes the G rnment offices at twelve and one o'clock every Saturday in the year, instead of only during the Sum- mer season, an additional stress is laid upon the shops and stores of Washing- ton in the afternoon on that day. The employes of the Government, released from duty early in the day, take advan- tage of the opportunity thus afforded to do thelr “shopping,” and during the past few weeks, covering this new schedule of departmental activity, they have made Saturday afternoon their particular time of attending to their purchasing of materials and wares. This change of rhythm makes it de- sirable for those who are not employed in the departmental service and who usually do their buying on Saturday to g0 to the shops in the morning rather than the afternoon. If they will do this they will avcid congestion in the stores and will receive better attention and obtain more satisfactory results. It is to the advantage of both the non-Gov- ernment buying publie and those who are engaged for the morning in the Government offices thus to separate thelr visitations t the merchandise marts. Indeed any morning of the week I shop workers. Washingtonians have al- ways been given good service in the stores of the Capital and they can im- prove that service by the use of the earlier hours of the day for their buying | errands. Joe Engel's Girl Pitcher. Yesterday at Chattanooga a new chapter was written in the history of American base ball. A girl pitcher went into the box for the minor league team that has fts habitat in the Tennessee city and in the course of her compara- tively brief appearance she fanned two of the greatest hitters in the game, the eminent George Herman Ruth and the equally eminent Lou Gehrig. Then she walked Tony Lazzeri and, her arm tiring, she called it a day and quit. Now Miss “Jackie” Mitchell, seventeen- year-old phenomenon, holds the spot- light in the national sport. Old-time fans are beginning to wonder whether a new era is not dawning in the game, the era of femininity. True, there have been woman base ball players, some of them practically professional, but no- body has ever taken them very seri- ously. This Mitchell girl seems to be in a class by herself. She is regularly enrolled as one of Manager Joe Engel's pennant-seeking team and it is under- stood that she is to be given her regular turn in the box during the season. If che is not a crocus player, as the late John Linney used to call the Spring wonders who faded with the first breath of warm weather, “Jackie” will be the sensation of the year. And this is not the less likely because of the possibility that Messrs. Ruth and Gehrig yesterday at Chattanooga were, after ! all, only gallant gentlemen who wanted to give a nice girl a boost. e e s The Fastest Boat. The success of Kaye Don with the speedboat Miss England II yesterday at Buenos Aires, establishing a new record speed of 103.49 miles an hour, gives the title for aquatic supremacy to England. Recently Gar Wood scored a pace of 102.56 miles and it seemed likely that he would hold the lead for some time, for there was no assurance that the British boat, which had not been put to a high test since the tragedy in which Sir Henry Segrave lost his life, would make the grade. However, Don sent the boat over the measured course in the phenomenal time that now stands s the highest speed ever attained by man on the water. It is quite certain that Gar Wood will now go after the record again. He has never been daunted. | Indeed, it is understood that he is about | to build a new craft. These indirect competitions are mnot in themselves | spectacular, though they are decisive assuming that the timing is accurate and dependable. The real test of speed will come in a direct rivalry between the competitors. A race between Miss Eng- land II and Gar Wood's latest Miss America will indeed be & spectacle worth watching. ———— Cherry blossom time will bring many thousands of visitors to Washington, D. C. The percentage that will remain in permanent residence is not easily calculated, but is unquestionably large. The Japanese gift to this Nation’s Cap- ital has resulted in a happy combination of keauty and publicity. —r————————— Chairman Shouse is in readiness to 80 on a speaking tour on behalf of the Democratic National Committee. It is the era of good-will salesmanship the world over. A competent salesman en- deavors to get his samples unpacked and on display as early as possible. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Inevitable Conflict. ‘To prophesy I don't pretend, As there draws nigh A patient, friend. I only say— I know I'm right— ‘That we some day Shall have a fight. We cannot hope For long repose. Improvements grope Through words and blows. Before we see All things done right, ‘There's bound to be Some sort of fight. Disputes will change The human race. Woerlds clashing range 'Way out in space. Don't be annoyed By needless fright. You can't avoid Some sort of fight. Holding Out. “You avold the vein of humor you once cultivated in your speeches.” “Comedians are valuable these days,” answered Senator Sorghum. “I don't interd to try to be funny for any such slight consideration as a Government salary.” Jud Tunkins says he wishes that over- shoes grew on rubber trees so that he could raise something that would be as ugeful as the cherry blossoms are orna- mental. The Egg. In youth I rolled an Easter egg. But now—I can't deny it— An opportunity I beg To take it home and fry it. Though ylelding gentleness explains A welcome kind of action, 1t is the hard-boiled egg that gains The best of each transaction. Cubist. “I should like to paint your portrait.” “But you are a cubist,” protested Miss Cayenne, “What makes you think so?” “You have made all my friends whose portraits you painted look like block- heads.” “He who speaks words of kindness, seid Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “may not necessarily be a friend. He may be only a diplomat.” Cherry Blossoms. Though cherry blossoms are not sent To bld farewell to Wintry gloom, The memory and the s2ntiment preferable for the non - departme:.tal purchasers to the afternoon, especially country. Success went to their heads. They utilized their rank in the govern- ment to heap abuse in particular upon thelr cabinet colieagues of the Peo- the later hours of the shopping day. Morning shopping 13 an excellent habit to form. It is better for those who buy, better for the shops and better for the THIS AND THAT The evaluation of current literature is one of the most difficult of mental endeavors. Those who are able to winnow the wheat from the chaff are not many, and their difficulties have been added to by the tremendous in- crease in the number of new books published every year. It is vastlv to the credit of reviewers if, at the end of a 10-year period, they are able to look upon a certain number of sclections which time has verified as being of lasting worth. Surely it is not easy, as any reader knows; for every reader is, at heart, a critic. He must be. It is impossible for him to read books without passing judg- ment upon them, even though his criticisms are known only to himself, It is for this reason that backgrounds are necessary. They say that the best way to learn to write is to write, and there can be little doubt that the best way to learn to read is to read. One means something more, of course. than reading with the lips. There ai thousands of elementary school children who can read beautifully, as teachers and parents know, but they lack that vaster experience with books which only time will give them. * x % % This is where background, as such, comes in. The question of background is comprehended most easily in rela- tion to the novel. Fiction is life, and life is something we all participate in. Therefors we are, at heart, judges of fiction. Perhaps what all do not real- ize 15 the vast importance of the back- ground. Why are some novels more “lifelike,” as we say? Surely it 1s larg:ly because they manage to give us a living, mov- ing background. When we are reading we are conscious of something living, | utterly aside from the characters them- selves. Some attempt to explain this by speaking of description. narration, etc.; but these are only words, after all; what counts in th novel is background, next to the essential movement and character building. As one reads & good story, especially one which the world has long agreed to call a classic—"Don Quixote” is such— he finds himself entering into the life of the characters, not alone because of what they do and say, but because they are & part of a land, & town, & country- side. It is this vivid background, at once a reality and a theory, which makes an altogether gigantic impression upon & reader, although it may be done so deftly that at the time he is reading he is never aware of it Such writers as Anthony Trollope, | for instanc>, could achieve the back- ground in memorable fashion. It will do no good to lump him off as “srcon:l; rate,” merely, and give sophistication | as an excuse. il One has but to read over again his | half dozen novels in the Cathedral se- | ries to see what is meant by back- ground as an essential part of the mod- ern novel. The same thing may be faid of Dickens, even if some profess to regard him as not of the first rank. It may be said of Thackeray, even of | Alexandre Dumas 3 These writers, to mention but a few, | and they of the distinctly elder school.“ make the reader feel that he has been living in a real place. The streets somehow are there, the very houses, sidewalks, picket fences are there. The reader is not so much impressed with the “psychology” of the characters, perhaps, as with the fact that they are Teal human beings, making due allow- ance for the exaggeration permissible Yo every writer, livirg their lives in such places as all of us do live in most of our lives. * * Who is there, reading any one of BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. scores of noveis poured presses in such profusion these who has not been struck with a certain thin quality? At first blush the reader may be inclined to believe that this is due to a lack of ability. A closer inspection will convince him, we believe, that this is not the reason for a certain mea- gerness. There is no lack of ability evinced. In fact, ability is the one thing, above every other quality, which many such novels show. Hundreds of the newer writers can write with vigor, aplomb and technical and_artistic skill. It is not lack of ability which causes their backgrounds to fall to be impressive, or to be almost negligible, but rather a distinct and almost snobbish reluctance on the part of such writers to do this part | of a novel. Sophistication is at bottom responsi- ble. This canker in intellectual proc- esses has’ prevented—there is no other word for it—many a fine modern nov- elist from achleving greatness which will be lasting. We find many clever, intriguing, interesting works of fiction, but, they are as quickly forgotten as read. The attempt to be clever, to impress readers, and particularly critics, with the writer's powers at subtle delinea- tion of character, especially “modern” character, leads some of these writers to a thinness which is best realized in retrospect. It will be discovered that the very characters upon which they have put so much_work, and from which they perhaps hoped to secure literary im- mortality, are easily forgotten by their readers, often when the same book- people impress readers at the time of reading as being very Iifelike. * * x The elder writers—and among them we must include such men as Conrad and Moore and Zola, for three—hap- pily were unhampered by this com- pletely modern idea, that there is some- thing superlative in the ability to “wisecrack,” to impress others with one’'s powers at drawing bright and witty pictures. ‘There is, in other words, in the best work of the “old-timers,” a complete lack of this belief in the desirability of smiles. They dare to be serious. Now this being serious is & tribute to any reader, and most readers, even the readers of today, will be glad to receive it at the hands of writers. It implies that the reader has a bit of common sense in his make-up and can take seriously, as meant, the higher endeavors of the writer. The novelist who puts all of himself | into his books will know well that life is often serious and will not forever be attempting to polish his work down |to a fine point, in order to impress some critic, often a fellow novelist. He will be willing to pile up several pages of descriptive writing, devoted to no mote thrilling a thing than & range of foothills (as one good modern has done in a hugely successful recent work), in order that he may put his en and women, as he has conceived m, in their proper places in the world. This gives them background, in the true and only proper sense, and makes them stand out, as all real back- grounds do, whether in books, gardens art. Or’l'hh is the background of life, solid, satisfying, real in a very true sense, against which the lights and shadows of living come into being. Suns glit- ter, clouds roll, happiness enters, sor- row departs, against a glorious curtain of memory. And when the book is shut the reader does not forget it, be- cause he has been given something to remember it by. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. ‘This the second Eastertide which finds on‘l; thin queues of tourist patriots at the White House waiting .to shake hands with the President. Soon after he took office two years ago, Mr. Hocver came down like a ton of bricks on the age-old presidential habit of letting the multitude file by and grab the Executive | paw. It was a hard blow for the bus companies, which m-lk% a pg;:iw:hfizi uling le, especially sci i e . Rioniday time, to Washington | and holding out as an inducement an | o] unity to say how-do-you-do to ! head of the Nation. Nowadays hardly more than a dozen wayfaring taxpayers a day appear at the Executive offices for handshaking purposes. There has to be a reason for them to gain| access to the President—a personal‘ letter of introduction or other creden- | tials commanding respect. Another rule | adopted since the advent of the Hoover | regime provides that members of Con-! gress anxious for constituents to meet the President must present them in| person. Form jetters don't go. The| result has been a marked diminution in | such callers. * A A% Like 50 many forelgn diplomats who | later are accredited to Washington as| envoys of their governments, M. Paul| May. the new Ambassador of Belgium, | served an apprenticeship in the United States, He was an attache of the Belgian legation in 1908. Since thf‘n‘ M. May has had a distinguished career | in his country’s foreign service. He| was Minister to Sweden for several | years and, when 2d to succeed Prince de Ligne ashington Jast year, was on duty as Belgian Ambas- sador to Brazil. A cultured man of the world, with a penchant for art treasures, M. May speaks Englich flu- ently, has many friendships in the| local ‘diplomatic corps dating from his | various stations abroad and announces that he already feels himself quite at home on the Potomac. King Albert's| spokesman at Washington 1s a slim, dapper, polished personality still on the sunny side of 60. His family, consist- ing of Mme. May and three daughters, who range in age between 12 and 20, are still in Belglum, but will join the Ambassador here before Summertime. ¥ ey A score or more of distinguished of- ficers of the Ammy and Navy will par- ticipate in the “science dinner” of the | American Institute of New York City | next week. “It is amazing,” says the dinner announcement, “how little the average citizen knows of what we do in the Regular Army in peace times. In the program prepared for the ‘science dinner’ the speakers for the Army will present briefly the most re- cent achievements of the service in radio, in aeronautics, in structural en- gineering and in many other fields which affect civilian life to a degree which the public does not compre- hend.” The Navy, the American In- stitute says, “intends to utilize the op- portunity to demonstrate to the coun- try at large the work that its personnel is doing in the interest of industrial and economic progress. While it will not_be possible within the confines of a dinner program to present a com- plete record of naval research accom- plishments, the Navy has selected as its speakers men thoroughly qualified to present the high lights of recent activity in the service.” A A Representative Ruth Bryan Owen, Democrat, of Florida 1is enjoying a working holiday at Washington during the early days of the congressional re- cess. She's completing a text book on public speaking. Once upon a time the vivacious daughter of the Boy Orator of the Platte taught public speaking at the University of Miami. Recent matrimonial rumors concerning another Ruth conspicuous in the public eye resulted in the coupling of Mrs. Owen's name with alleged marriage Are worth more, even, than the bloom. “Dar ain’ no denyin’,” sald Uncle Eben, “dat de mule is a mean animal if you'll notice de way he turns his back on & friend” designs. The lady from the Everglades pleads not guilty. ok Just whom was President Hoover titing at this week when he said there’d be no increase in taxes for 1931 if Con- gress had the courage to resist deman tution. ds ' scandals. Long may it stand! from “group and sectional interests"? In recent times the “groups” and “in- terests” that have must successfully and lavishly tapped the public till are the veterans' organizations and the farm relief brigade. There are already plenty of signs that from the same quarters the next Congress will be in receipt of requests for fresh cuts of Treasury ple. With another national | eiection” in the offing, it decidedly re- mains to b2 seen how deaf an ear House and Senate cen be persuaded to turn| when the “group” and “sectional” Oliver Twists turn up at Washington | clamoring for more. ok ok o Mayor “Ed” Roberts of Reno, Nev., who has been inviting the world, would- be divorcees and others, to come to the sagebrush in mass formation and avail itself of the new wide-open laws now in vogue there, is well known in Wash- ington. He was a_Republican member of the House of Representatives from 1911 to 1919 and a popular figure on Capitol Hill during war days. It was while Roberts was in Congress that Walter Johnson, Washington's base ball idol, met, wooed and won the Nevadan's beautiful daughter, Hazel, who passed away last Stmmer. Mr. winding up a second four-year term as mayor of Reno. Once upon & time he aspired to a seat in the United States Senate, * 9 Daniel C. Roper, former commissioner of internal revenue, who was recently named presidént of the Board of Edu- cation of the District of Columblia, is cn~ Democrat who grabbed a job dur- ing the Hoover administration, anyhow. Roper’s friends hasten to explain that Hoover didn’t have anything to do with it. The post is within the gift of the justices of the District Supreme Court. " e North Carolina Democrat and one- time pillar in the McAdoo church has long taken a lively interest in educa- tional matters. He's a trustee, as well as an alumnus, of the munificently endowed Duke University at Durham, which plans to be the greatest school in Dixie some day, if not one of the greatest in America and the world. Since he left public office in the Wil- son administration Roper has practiced law in Washington. (Copyright. 1931.) Apportionment Law Now Being Enforced From the San Francisco Chronicle. After all the threats to upset the permanent reapportionment law, Con- gress adjourned without doing any damage in that direction. The law stands as passed at the extra session and seats in the next House to be elected will be distributed according to the report on the census table sub- mitted to Congress by President Hoo- ver last November. To a week of the closing of the re- cent session, States which will lose seats under the permanent reappor- tionment law were airing their grief in Washington and appealing for & new bill to save some of their Con- gressmen from joining the army of the unemployed. At times it looked as if a strong enough combination might be formed among disgruntled elements to get reapportionment into another jam. But it is all over now. When Con- gress adjourned on March 4 without altering, repealing or superseding the permanent reapportionment act, that law beceme effective. It now works au- tomatically. The notices will go onut from the clerk of the House this month and in 1932 the States will elect under the new apportionment. Cali- fornia will have the nine additional Representatives the State is entitled to by the census and under the Consti- If some States lose, that is just too bad, but their loss, like Cali- fornia’s increase, is due to the cold fact of population. A great deal has been gained by the permanent reapportionment law, which vitalizes the section of the Constitu« tion providing for representative gov- ernment. As long as the law stands there will be no more reunnoiuox:mznt from _the. days, Roberts is | Maryland Clings to Its Antiquated Blue Laws here in Montgomery County, what shall be said of the Ym Wi of ent administration, i‘::‘ the of the Circuit Court at Rockville in the notorious Duffin case, in which an al- leged criminal, facing trial, was liberated because of the religious beliefs of the complaining witness? Do the people of Maryland realize that under this archaic provision in the bill of rights, so called. of ‘the Maryland constitution no one who does not subscribe to a belief in & personal Deity who metes out punish- ment to the immortal soul in a future life may testify as a witness in a Mary- land court? Had the defendant Duffin been charged with rape and murder in- stead of chicken stealing, would the court nevertheless have ruled out the sole complaining witness and set the de- fendant free? How many American citizens could, in the “free” State of Maryland, defend themselves against unfounded charges or suits in a Maryland court without prejudice under such a ruling? And if a witness may exempt, himsel{ from tes- tifying simply by asserting a disbelief in this particular brand of theology, is the administration of justice in such a state of “freedom” from the salutary provisions of the Oonstitution of the United States of America, which guar- antees to all the equal protection of the law, deserving of anything short of scorn and contumely? ALDEN A. POTTER. Bethesda, Md., April 1, 1931, Whipping Post 7Urged As Crime Deterrent To the Editor of The Star: ‘The whipping post for our entire country will stop crime and reckless driving. Capital punishment and life im- prisonment increase crime, and I am absolutely against both, but I am heartily in favor of the whipping post, such as is now in use in the State of Delaware. Depression and unemployment will continue in America until the Dyer anti-lynching bill is put through Con- gress and becomes a Federal law in reality, so as to put a stop to the mobbing, Iynching and burning of American citizens. SHERMAN S. FURR. - ————— Railroad and Truck. #rom the Springfield (Mass.) Union. Farmers have been benefite® greatly by the construction of the modern im- proved trunk-line highways that tran- sect practically every region of the United States. They will derive further advantages from the building of sec- ondary and spur roads, proposed as the next broad development of the good roads movement. It is natural, there- fore, that farmers should view with concern any step or attempt to place restrictions on the use of the highways or curtailing the revenue applied to the buflding and maintenance of roads. A writer In the National Grange Monthly expresses alarm over proposals of railroad executives interpreted by him as a plan to force freight traffic back to the railroad tracks from the highways over which it is moving. The Grange as a body has taken a militant attitude in that regard. It is obvious that the dispatch of milk and other farm products by truck directly from the farmer’s deor is a marked advan- tage in various ways. In this way, it is said, an advantage In rates is se- cured while gaving time and labor in transferring products to and from rail- way cars and facilitating the delivery of perishable products. However, the question of highway- borne freight covers a much broader fleld than this, involving a wide range of manufactured as well as farm roducts and also having to do with ’he moving of furniture and factory equipment from place to place. Hence the farmer does not stand alone as a special beneficiary of good ex- penditures. And while the farmer, manufacturer, merchant and every jother class has an interest in good highways, all have an interest as well | in keeping the railroads efficlent and | solvent, for these have not ceased to be valuable as carriers and must remain Indispensable. To say that interstate bus and truck traffic should not go unregulated or that the use of the highways should be further taxed to pay for improve- {ments is not to hold a brigf for the ! reilroad companies as against'the farm- | ers, for these questions relate to a large and complex problem. So far as higher taxes on trucks and busses are con- cerned, it is far from clear that these would act as a barrier to motor-borne traffic unless they should take the form of a toll charge. Indeed, if such rev- enue were utilized as further funds for ;rond development they might encourag | rather than retard the use of the high. | ways as freight carriers. The justice 'and public policy involved in proposals for additional motor taxes, as for fur- ther expansion of Federal aid to road building, call for consideration on broad grounds. It is a falr question whether much of the freight now passing over the highways should not, on economic grounds, be transported by rail instead. ‘It is pertinent to consider where the { turning of more and more traffic into the highways will lead to eventually, where it will leave the railroads and | As the use of motor trucks avoids much | rehandling of freight, an argument is afforded for the use of the highways |in preference to the railroads. In this ; connection the trial use in England of a new road-and-rail vehicle called the ! rorailer is interesting. By an ingenious combination of pneumatic tires and jroad wheels the loaded vehicle may be transferred speedily from highway to irallway and back again, as desired. ‘What will come out of these experi- ments is uncertain, and whether the large-scale adoption of this idea is a thing to be desired is also subject to debate. For the present it is clear tit an ex parte treatment of such problems, from the viewpoint of the farmer or any other special class, is apt to be mislead- {ing. There is too much agitation and | too’ much legislation proceeding from such narrow conceptions, and adminis- trative policy is in danger of being swerved at times from its true course by such influences. R A Preliminary. From the Little Roci Arkansas Democrat. The Democrats had better shoot their qualifying round somewhere else before they go into the finals of that conven- tion. ——— More Coming! From the Oakland Tribune. And now that the income taxes are paid there is nothing to do but set out the “welcome” mat for the city and county collectors. — r————— Chances and Crowds. From the New Castle News. There are more opportunities in a great city, but you have to lick more men in order to get at them. ————— Oh, Oh! From the Newark Evening News. It probably would be exaggerating the importance of the incident to allude to the slapping of Sinclair Lewis’ face by Theodore Dreiser as an American Tragedy in Main Street. R Plutocratic Groans. From the Boston Evening Transcript. Thoee low moans come from the noble 500 of us who had incomes of a million or more last year and have just figured our income tax. what it will mean in public taxation.! ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J]. HASKIN. Annapolis are declining to exempt us [ YOU reau, J. rector, Washington, D. C. cents in coin or stamps for return post- age. Q. Wém; will the Kentucky Derby be Tul 1y t will be run on May 16 this year. Q. How can the age of & fish be de- termined?—M. H. A. There are two ways to tell the age of a fish, but both are technical and the test can be made only in a labora~ tory. It may be determined by micro- scopic examination of the scales, and second, by microscopic examination of the bone in the ear of the fish. The latter test is more technical and can be made only by one experienced in work of this kind. Q. What kind of wood is deal?—S8. R. ‘A. Deal is fir or pine. Q. _Was the nal Liberty Bell at the Panama Pacific Exposition held at San Prancisco in 1915, and did it re- main there the entire year?—S. P. D. . The original Liberty Bell was ex- hibited for the entire duration of the Panama Pacific International Exposi- tion held in San Francisco in 1915. Q What are bioassays?—W. W. A. They are tests of the potency of drugs conducted upon intact living ani- mals or upon surviving isolated tissues. Q. How many school children took part in the essay contest last year in the safety campaign?—D. H. A. Between 650,000 and 700,000 pupils participated In the safety essay contest last year. Q. When did California to duce ofl?>—C. H. e A.'It began producing oil as early as 1887, but it Was not until 1912 that it became & factor among product States. California now proguces 24 w‘r cent of the total ofl pre Q. How does the po?uh&lon of our mg réow compare with that of 1910? A. In 1910 there were 70,430 prisoners in Federal and State prisons. In 1920 there were 124,823 prisoners in these institutions. Q. Are people ever killed by hafl- stones?—E, N. A. Such events are not uncommon. In one hailstorm in India 250 persons lost their lives. Q. Was Washington considered s good horseman?—C. W. A. He is said to have been s marvel- ous horseman. He was a big man— weighed probably 230 pounds—so rode & horse bullt to carry him. One writer says have seen some highly accom- plished riders, but not one of them ap- proached Washington. He was perfect in this respect.” Q. How old is the Carnegle Hero Fund?—H. 8. A. The Carnegie Hero FPund was cre- ated by Andrew Carnegle in April, 1904. lle&mvld- rewards, which consist of medals and money grants, to persons injuring themselves or to relatives of those losing their lives in an effort to save their fellow men. Q. When was the umbrella invent- ed?—H. 8. A. The umbrella is a development of the movable canopy used in the Orient from ancient in ceremonial pro- c for persons of rank. It was in- troduced into England from Italy, early in the eighteenth century. Q. Who were the men chosen by H. G. Wells as the great lights in his- A. When asked by Bruce Barton to half dozen men in really deserve to be called greal iddha, Asoka, Aristotle, Bacon and Ab; Incoln. o Q. How large is the Salton s oL Sea? A. The Salton Sea is a lake in the Colorado Desert, in Southeastern Call= fornia. Under ordinary conditions it is a salt marsh covered in places by shal- low lakes about 30 miles long, 12 miles wide and 280 feet below sea level. At times of freshets, the lakes expand into & water body covering approximatel: 50.000 acres.” Water from the irrigaf ing ditches of the Imperial Valley keeps the level of the lake fairly constant and unless this is diverted it will continue to maintain its previous area despite heavy losses from evaporation. - races slightly above sea level on the sides of the basin indicate that there was formerly present a lake called “Lake Cahuilla,” which was 12 miles long and 30 miles wide. Q. At what age do most of the deaths by drowning occur?—H. W. 8. A. Drowning resulted in the death of 8,474 persons in 1928. Over one-third of the deaths occurred in the age group |10 to 24, and 56.3 per cent were of per- |sons under 25 years of age. Seventy- hree per cent of the deaths from drowning occurred during the five- month period beginning with May and ending with September, Q. Which is the oldest novel world>—R. G. i A. “Gengi Monagatari,” by the Japa- nese woman writer Murasaki no Shi- kibu, 15 considered the oldest in the world. It was completed in 1004 and is one of the classics of Japan, Q. Are all the provinces of Canada “wet"? Is the liquor business under government control?—F. M. L. A. Eight of the nine provinces in | Canada sell liquor under one form or |another of government control. The Province of Prince Edward Island is the only one that is dry. department Dulding srected o Wetns el in - ington?—D. R. i A. It was built, 1799-1801, on the site - g‘! the mun':d State th-:d War 3 was_occuj Stal Navy Dtplrtmmz i Q. At what temperature should ice cream be to get the most dishes out of & certain amount of ice cream?—F. H. A. For practical purposes the best temperature is 5 degrees t. When colder, it is too hard to serve, while at higher temperature there is a shrinkage. Q. What makes an electric light bulb give light?>—G. N. T. . A. In an electric light bulb the heat- ing of the filament because of its re- sistance to passage of current causes the filament to give off light. Q. How large is the Prench forest | Belleau Wood?—M. B. A. About 300 acres. Q. Please give a brief history of the submarine Hundley.—M. J. S A. The Confederate submarine Hund- ley was a true diving craft with bal- last tanks, diving planes, and driven by hand power. Each of her five trial trips met with serious accidents and loss of some of her crew. Gen. Beaure- Harbor “with = a B T e but the Hundley went down her | vietim, i Q. What letter of the aiphabet i used most often?—N. D. - A. The letter “E” 1nQI.;‘mrv fast does » snall travel?— | ATt that a mall travels one foot in two and one-half or minutes. European opposition to the proposed customs union of Germany and Austria is studied in this country as evidence existed before the World War, but there | is strong tendency to feel that, in the | absence of political union, the move is logical and should lead to the extersion .alufllch III'C‘ ements. + would be indifferent to their. republics’ | political union,” thinks the San. An- | tonfo Express, adding that “if undis- . turbed by outsiders, the two countries doubtless will cling to their respective standards and remain content with a customs agreement along purely eco- }nomic lines.” The Port Huron Times Herald remarks: “The trouble seems to i be that Germany and Austria got to- gether and made the agreement too eas- ily. There wasn't enough diplomacy jand objection and refusals and ulti- | matums and com) , seem like anything else than a consj | acy against the rest of Europe. t seems to be needed more than anything else over there iz confidence in one's ! national neighbors.” “The outcry in nations that were allled against Germany during the war,” according to the Toronto (Ontario) Daily | Btar, “is natural but overdone. France is at present engaged in an effort to | toms union as the best mearts of meet- | ing present economic conditions. Un- der such a union, no customs duties would be collected on goods passing proposed Austro-German customs urion, therefore, may be sald to be the first practical step toward the larger pro- posal.” That paper also feels that “the unbiased observer probably will be dis- posed to think that ultimately and in- evitably a customs union and a political’ union between Germany and Austria will be consummated. Nor does it neces- sarily follow that such a development would be inimical to the interests of humanity.” | * ok x x “Germany seems to have pushed Aristide Briand out of the spotlight,” says the Seattle Daily Times, “and to have done 80 by means placed in its hands by that advocate of a united continent. Briand said, ‘Let's form a United States of Europe. Germany said, ‘All right, let's begin’' and did begin by announcing an economic union with Austria and inviting other nations to join the movement. * * * The new union may hasten the formation of the United States of Europe or it may so upset the equilibrfum as to retard or make impossible the consummation of that ideal. No one is wise enough to foretell the outcome.” hich would Proft sremenduay by Fe which woul men 01~ lowing their lead,” advises the L!lt - land Plain Dealer, while the Newark Evening News holds that “the Austro- German accord holds promise of a be- ginning” in the task of “unifying Eu- rope,” and that “it has possibilities or | of & possible step toward conditions that | mises to make it form the whole of Europe into a cus- | through Germany and Austria. The | German and Austrian Right To Trade Pact Made Issue harder to break down. | upon the breadth of vision of statesmen.” The Lowell | suggests th;‘tch“n it affects countries w] are parties to the pact, it is wbh that its importance p:ll}' hnvxet n afl:fium:h!ed." “It may rue that the way is be- ing paved for more nr-nuhln: devel- bpments along the line of the economic reorganization of Europe,” remarks the Rochester Times-Union, while e ing that “it is possible that the French or the Italians will vigorously oppose the new arrangement, and even compel its abandonment.” Believing that “Eu- rope's hope lies in averting & commer- clal war,” the Champaign News-Ga- zette is convinced that “the erisis at present is as acute as that which ex- isted prior to 1914.” The Indianapolis Star states that, “while Austria is only a pitiful remnant of the old Austro- Hungarian Empire, its absorption in a greater Germany would revive all of the o e i ication of the German-. protocol,” thinks the Boston 'HIA“‘M.E “makes it apparent that the agreement | provides for a good deal more than | identity of tariffs between the two countries. The collection of import | duties is to be in the charge of each country and by each country’s officials, | but the total sum of customs is to be to apportioned between them g "6 % cortin Tusion of the g - cer on o - ministrations.” S B “It appears that German: - tria are showing more lens{ m&n‘;}h‘e | rest of Europe.” argues the Madison Wisconsin State Journal, while the Flint Datly Journal calls it “a bold step, but a natural one,” and the Birming. ham News sees the nucleus of “a pan- European policy, economically unas- sailable.” The Houston Chronicle con- tends that if the two countries “are to be left any fundamental sovereignty, surely they must be left the ivilege of making economic agreement and th]e‘ l{ll'lukl; Sentinel finds it “dif- cult to see how a tariff agreement which would give impetus to the n': vival of Austrian trade, would violate the spirit of Austrian pledges.” “Unnatural barriers between the trade of Germany and Austria will retard European prosperity and rtoneu avers the Atlanta Journal, and the New York l:vean, Post feels sure that “op- position to the union is very much on the defensive.” The Chicago Tribune says that “the fatal theory of the peace in Central Europe has been that one generation, smarting from their wounds, can bind the future by repressive meas- “This movement,' ccord Rock Island Argus, “will lfll\?‘llpu,mg: agitation for debt cancellation, and the United States will be affected. Many believe that a crisis exists in Europe which is as acute as tha becoming one of the irresistible develop- | c°ded ments along the road to progress to which other nations will have to adjust themselves.” The Salt Lake Deseret News contends that “the independence of Austria, which is stipulated and safe- guarded by the treaty of Versailles, im- plies that she has unquestionable right to make such trade agreement as she has now entered into with Germany. ‘The fact of the matter is that these two nations have acted while others have been waiting and debating.” Claims of both sides wouldlbe “dis- counted” by the Hamiiton (Ontario) Spectator, which concludes: “The agree- ment, if it goes through, puts Germany often only a question of time until the big lum“ in 't‘!) roar.” “The matic question.” as inter- preted by the St. s Globe-Demo- iir-l';t:uh whether“m'o lan o] any or all of trea - lations of Versailles and St. Qil'mty m:. The answer would be an affirmative it the arguments of the Conservative part of Canada at the time the Taft reci- procity was pending are accepted as valid. Then it was insisted an under- standing for a reduction of dutles on a few articles of interc! would sub- in.as W position w&: respect to Daed States = g“n:y!um- lege of 1. taf ‘The voters accepted this theory.” . r