Evening Star Newspaper, May 24, 1931, Page 2

A—2 = NEW DRVE SEEN ~RODSEVELT MAY FORVETERAN D Proposals to Ask Face Valué i Governor of Porto Rico Con- of Certificates and Rebate of Interest. BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. In the midst of President Hoover's | intensive economy drive and in the teeth of a prospective $800,000,000 Treasury deficit next vear, indications | have come to official Washington that | another high-powered drive for veterans' | legislation is just over the horizon. If current reports are verified by events, forthcoming proposals will call for something like another $2,000,000,- 000. This would be in addition to the round $750,000,000 already distributed in loans to seme 1,900,000 applicants entitled to borrow on bonus certificates under the amendment to the adjusted compensation act, voted by the late Congress. The amendment authorized loans up to 50 per cent of the certificates held by service men, or a total of $1,711,500,000. ‘The new legislation said to bé in the offing would call for payment of the {ace-value balance, making a grand total bonus-certificate grant of $3,423,- 000,000. $2,000,000,000 Would Be Needed. Other mooted veterans' legislation involves the amount that would be con- cerned were Congress to wipe out in- terest charged on present loans, not only retroactively, but prospectively for the next 14 years. No estimate is possible at this time as to what these interest rebates, if ordered, would aggregate. There are loans totaling roughly $1,000,- 000,000 outstanding now, including those made prior to the recent bonus-certifi- cate legislation and those made subse- quently. In the best of conditions, any interest legislation would run into figures that would bring the gross sum of new Treasury requirements for veter- ans (inélusive of the distribution of the 50 per cent balance payable on certifi- 833“0&0 to, arid’probably over, $2,000,- “Impossible” to Resist. Members of Congress recently in ve -made confidential confessions that if veterans’ organiza- tions come forward with fresh demands, it will probably be found “impossible” to resist them. Both the House Senate are apparently filled with men who think it would be syicidal to op- pose these recurring requests for more and more Federal bounty for World ‘War soldiers and their dependents, The plea is that with a presidential and congressional campaign in sight, a Rep- resentative or Senator anxious for re: election ht just as well write “lame duck” after his name right now as to go on record against new veterans’ grants. The hour, denizens of 1 -out, is again one in which “Statesmen must Tise above nciple” and, in & spirit of political self-preser- vn:w'.&vde “the boys” what “the boys” as) 5 Veterans' leaders vigorously deny that iry ‘They resent the “grabbing” reput they have acquired. ' They say that Congress is the culprit, even though the former soldiers may be the beneficlaries. One of the outstanding figures in the high command of the Legion, George Malone of , was in Washington last week. This writer to his attention the circumstantial now in circulat Hoover's Commission on Wi Public Lands and Reclamation mh. “especially last Winter's bonus initiated in t:‘ihgflt:mmeof-ud; ut approving any of ing in Congress. . Even ition rovided for an expansion of the hospitalization program. Origin Will Be in Congress. “I am convinced that if there is any- thing in the wind of still farther- reach! financial character on veter- E I it ‘:fll be {mmg! that its origin is again in Congress. 1f a mem- ber of Congress goes to a constituent, either an individual or any organized body of constituents, and holds out the prospects of easy legitimate money I guess it's nothing but human nature running true to form if the offer is accepted with thanks. That is roughly Jjust about what happened last Winter. The Amerfcan Legion is growing in membership. National Comdr. O'Neill believes it will go over the 1,000,000 mark for the first time in 1831, But as we grow in membership and power we also grow in responsibility. I am confident that the Legion will continue to stand for only what is reasonable, | tuture. GET DAVIS' PUST; sidered for Philippines if | Incumbent Resigns. BY J. RUSSELL YOUNG. | Col. Theodore Roosevelt, Governor of | Porto Rico, is understopd to be under consideration for appointment as Gov- ernor General of the Philippines to| succeed Dwight F. Davis, who is said to | be contemplating resigning in the near Talk of Col. Roosevelt for the Philip- pine post yesterday is believed to have put an end to further speculation about the possibility that be might be Presi- dent Hoover’s running mate in 1932. Col. Roosevelt accompanied the Presi- dent yesterday on his week end Visfl.‘ to the Rapidan fishing camp. i The talk about Col. Roosevelt in con- ’ nection with the vice presidency in 1932 was heard for the first time im- mediately following President Hoover's visit to Porto Rico eight weeks ago. Gov. Roosevelt himself apeared to be as much surprised as President Hoover himself at the publicity -given to this rumor. He said s0 himself when asked about it. As for President Hoover's views, while he has never expressed himself for pub- lication, he is known to have made it clear to close friends that he had never considered Gov. Roosevelt in the light of a running mate. As a matter of fact, spokesmen for the President, among them being Secretary of War Hurley, one of his closest friends in| the administration, have since been quoted publicly to the effect that they saw mo reason why Vice President Curtis would not again be Mr. Hoo- ver’s running mate in 1932, Philippine Post Possible. However, whiie President Hoover may | not be interested in having Gov. Roose- | velt become the vice presidential can- didate next year, it is thought possible that he might favor him for Governor | General Davis’ post as the chief execu- tive of the Philippines. This belief is based almost solely upon Mr. Hoo- ver's outspoken pride in the manner in which. Col. Roosevelt has adminis- tered the. affairs of Porto Rico since he appointed him Governor of that insular possession more than -a year ago. The governcr generalship of the Philippines is necessarily classed as a more important post. While Mr. Hoo- ver may have reason to feel, since his observations of Gov. Roosevelt's suc- cess in Porto Rico, that the latter is qualified in every particular to fill Gov. Gen. Davis' shoes in the Philippines, there is the possibility that he might consider it more advisable to retain him in Porto Rico to further complete the job he is doing there. President Hoover .is understood to bave knowledge of Gov. Roosevelt's ambitions regarding the Philippines. The Governor may have acquainted him in & small way when the Presi- dent was his guest at the Governor's palace at San Juan. AL any rate, President Hoover has given no expres- slon to his view in the matter. When this subject was broached recently at the White House it was answered along the lines that the governor generalship of the. Philippines was not vacant and tending to retire any time soon. In some official quarters here it is , that Gov. that Mr. Davis’ prin- reason for wanting to retire and home is Mrs. Davis’ illness, prevented her joining him nila post. It is understood not especially anxious for 4 pine appointment when Mr. loover offered it to him following L. Stimson's resignation of the become Secretary of State. The is Mr. Davis, upon retirement as Secretary of War with the passing of the Coolldge administration, had ambi- tions to be made an Ambassador. These yearnings unquestionably were made known to Mr. Hoover, but he evidently had other ideas; and as a result the former Secretary of War was offered the Philippine post and he accepted. Philippines Well in Hand. From all accounts everything has been running well in the Philippines and Mr. Davis’ life and work there has evidently beer untroubled. The inde- pendence agitation is expected to be re- newed with greater vigor than ever be- fore within the next year and the ques- tion will come before Congress next Winter. Col. Roosevelt's father, while Presi- dent, was a strong opponent of Philip- pine independence, and a cousin, Nicholas Roosevelt, when named about a year ago by President Hoover to be vice governor of the island, had to be withdrawn because of such objection on the part of a group of Filipinos, headed by independence leaguers, the latter was later appointed Minister to Hungary. It was sald in behalf of President Hoover the other day, when it was learned that Gov. Rooseveit and Mrs. Roosevelt were to be among the week end guests at the President’s fishing camp, that there was no reason to at- tach any significance to this. It was explained that the governor was in| this country on a semi-personal and business visit, and was asked to e a guest at the camp to discuss further matters relating to Porto Rico. How ever, it is felt that there is a strong likelihood that the governor's future, | Just and the all-around interests of the country as a whole.” Only Heard From Minority. If Congress—as is almost certainly the case—is “impressed” by the politi- cal power of the veterans' vote, as represented by the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, i i r.'owerlgg1 before a demonstrable mi- nority. e 700,000 members of the Legion and the immensely smaller membership of the V. P. W. do not Jjointly exceed 2¥ per cent of the men who saw World War service. ized minorities notoriously wield infiy- ence in Washington because the uf- organized majorities do not take the trouble to make their vastly superior power felt. if the business men of the country, who outnumber organized veterans over- whelmingly and who mainly foot the Nation's tax bill, were to league them selves for a fight on veterans’ legisla- tion Congress would at least give the voice of the majority a hearing. To date, the politicians indicate, they have heard only from the minority, and mi- nority has ruled. (Copyright, 1931.) SNATCHING $500 BILL CHARGED TO SUSPECT Accuser Holds Torn Note Corner, He Tells Police, Who Arrest Man With Currency. John Brown, colored, of 325 Missourl avenue, had & $500 bill last night before ‘William Foster, also colored, paid a visit to his home, but now Brown has only a small corner of the bill, he told ?olkx mmwg.m:l Poster of snatching it from nd. Poster, who lives at 1129 Ninth street, is being held at the sixth precinct on 8 robbery charge. When arrested at , John Marshall place and Pennsylvania avenue, police said, he had a bill with the corner torn off, Organ- | It has been suggested that | as it might lie in the direction of the | Philippines, might be touched upon | during this' week end contact. | | Three Morning Papers in Mexico | City Suspend Publication. MEXICO CITY, May 23 (#).—Three) of Mexico City’s morning newspapers, ' El Universal, El Universal Grafico and | La Prensa, were closed by strikers to- | night. Red and black flags, the strike em-| blems, were hung over entrances and no one was allowed to enter The strike arose from differences in regard to renewal of collective labor contracts. Editorial and mechanical | staffs walked out. | during the coming fiscal THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 24, 1931—PART ONE.: Mellon Highlights I Holds Depression Has Made Government's- Financial Position Difficult. Here are some of the highlights of Secretary Mellon's radio speech last night over the National Radio Forum arranged by The Star: “The Government's financial position has changed from, one of great ease to one of increasing difficulty, due to the widespread business depression Which hes affiicted the world.” | “We shall close the current fiscal, year with a large deficit. We face the prospect of a deficit again next year, although we do not yet know just how great that deficit may be.” “The financial position in which the | Government now finds itself is not un- favorable for dealing with the present emergency.” “The situation in which we find our- selves * * * raises the question as to whether we have yet developed & suffi- cletnly well balanced system to provide the revenues on which the Govern- ment must be able to count from year to year.” “The surpluses which have arisen in the past and the deficit-which we face today are due in large measure to the fact that we rely for two-thirds of our tax revenue cn the income tax, which is subject to sweeping variations and depends on a variety of circumstances, but principally on the upward and downward swings of business.” “The Treasury has for some time been aware of the defects in our tax struc- ture; and while, in my opinion, we could not possibly have anticipated the extent to which revenues have fallen off, the Treasury has not faijed to call to the attention of Congress and the country the advisabllity of providing safeguards against the very conditions which have overtaken us.” HITS M. E. BISHOPS FOR CANNON STAND Georgia Pastor Says Right to Peti- tion Destroyed by Church Heads in Blocking Ouster. By the Associated Press " ATLANTA. May 23—The Constitu- tion, in a special dispatch from Sparta, | Ga,, says the Rev. Rembert G. Smith of | the Mcthodist Eplscopal Church Scuth: today issued a statement in which he| charged the College of Bishops had de- nied the right of petition to its mem- bers and permitted Bishop James Can- | non, jr., to express contempt for the United States Senate without reprimand. Bithop Cannon’s contempt for the Senate was expressed in an official meeting of the college, Mr, Smith sald. The statement reviewed the meeting of the college in Nashville on May 1, and asserted that “by refusing to' consider petitions for the resignation of Bishop Cannon” the bishops exceeded their au- thority and “removed the right of peti- | tion from the membership of the church.” “In the Methodist Episcopal Church South we have in the last few years wit- nessed political activity by some of our bishops which many ‘of our members have considered violative of their rights, and now they are told that the right of petition is no longer theirs, Mr. Smith | said. “Cannonism threatens to wreck the church The Methodist Episcopal | Church South cannot endure half ec-i clesiastical and half political.” | Mr. Smith recently filed suit for dam- ages against Bishop John M. Moore and | Bishop Edwin Mouzon of the church, | charging libel and slander. TAX REVISION VITAL, MELLON DECLARES, AS DEFICIT GROWS (Continued From First Page.) ago that it should not too greatly re- duce taxes. Commenting on the Treasury’s policy of debt retirement, Secretary Mellon pointzd out that on June 30, 1919, the total interest-bearing debt outstanding amounted to $25,235,000,000, on which the average interest rate was 4.18 per cent, and the annual interest charge $1,054,000,000. He sald that on June| 30, 1930, the interest-bearing debt stood at’ $15,922,000,000, a reduction of $9.- 313,000,000. Of this latter amount, $1,182,000,000 was retired since the be- ginning of the Hoover administration, and the average intcrest rate has béen reduced to 3.81 per cent. The saving in_annual interest charges from this reduction and refunding of the debt amounted, he said, to $448,000,000. Opposes Sinking Fund Tampering. Secretary Mellon took a strong stand against tampering with the sinking fund requirements of the law. These, he insisted, must be maintained in order to still further reduce the debt. He pointed out that during the present fiscal year the Treasury received from all foreign governments the sum of $239,565,000 in debts on account of principal and interest. In a 10-year period, Mr. Mellon said, | there have besn four continuing reduc- tions in taxes and one temporary re- duction for the 1929 returns. The Secretary said that he particu- larly wished the country not to think | that the Treasury views with com- placence the present situation. “Any Government deficit,” Mr. Mel- | lon said, “is a matter of grave concern.” “I would like to turn for a moment to another and happier problem of the Treasury, having to do with a subject of general interest throughout the country,” continued Mr. Mellon. He had reference to the Government's building program. Outlines Building Program. “In accordance with the program | carefully worked out by Congress,” he sald, “$135,245,000 will be expended year. One hundred and forty-seven projects are under contract throughout the country, and in the District of Columbia long- delayed plans for the City of Wash- ington are gradually taking form.” Mr. Mellon said that during the pres- ent celendar year the new Department of Commcrce Building will be com- pleted and work will be started on the Post Office Department, the Labor De- partment, the Department of Justice | and the Archives Building. He said that in carrying forward the develop- ment of Washington they were doing | mething of permanent value for the ountry. “Business depressions may come and go and the present one will be forgotten as time goes on. But the City of Wash- gton will remain, so let us go ahead h the building of it, and, in so doing, follow the example President Lincoln set when he insisted on carrying on the work on the great dome of the Capitol, even during the darkest days of the Civil War. “We at this moment arz engaged in another struggle, this time against cco- nomic forces. The trial is a severe one, but there can be no doubt abcut the outcome. We know that we shall emerge nct only with unshaken faith in our country's future, but with re- newed confidence in our capacity as a ¥ I'm Alec the Great, a model pup. I never bark or sneeze. From Monday on, you'll also find, My aim will be to please. P. 8. Look for me in Monday's Star. people to mect and overcome any ob- stacles that may seem tempcrarily to impede our progress.” ‘The full text of Secretary Mellon's address appears in the editorial section of The Star today. | Whistle. | the' bank. KANSAS BOY OF 16 | ORATORY WINNERl Girl Is Second, Spokane Boy Third and D. C. Con- testant Fourth. ___ (Continued From First Page.) tion of the young Kansan's name as ! victor was the signal for mad seram- bling on the dignified stage sas the other contenders for the honors he won rushed forward to grasp his hand in | congratulation. Earns Pianist Reputation. ‘The champlon is ambitious to become a musician and already has earned an enviable reputation in his State as a planist. At the Newton High School, where he is a student, he has been ac- tive in debates and dramatics. When asked last night the laconic question: “What made you win?” the champlon promptlv replied: “My coach.” ‘This coach is Mrs. Alma Moore, a teacher in_his school, who accompanied him to Washington for the contest finals. He added he was not nervous until “it was all over,” and admitted that winning the national champion- ship is “hard work, but it was worth it Prior to the :renlnl of the contest meeting itself, witnessed by 3.500 peo- ple, the Tech Symphony Orchestra of McKinley High School, under the di- rection of Dore Walten, the faculty leader, pll{:fl numerous selections. Robert Rayburn was the first of the contestants to take the stage in com- petition for the champlonship. Fol- lowing two adult speakers young Ray- burn matched poise and vocal vigor with his elders. Speaking on “The ‘Tests of the Constitution,” the Kansan traced national emergencies from the difficulties attendant upon the Constitu-"| tional Convention through the wars to | present-day political upheavals. Dis- cussing the future of the Constitution, he said its preservation rests with the people governed under it. Henry Clay Second Topie. ‘Washington's own 15-year-old Jimmy , Moore—the youngest and smallest ora- tor in the group launched into his dis- cusion of “Henry Clay—the Great Unionist,” as the second contestant to speak. Jimmy was expressive both in speech and gesture. His was a laudatory treatise on Ck a product of Kentucky, the boy orator's own native State, and thunderous ap- plause greeted his effort. 1 Jack Emmett of N2w York followed | young Moore. In his oration on “Per: sonalities of the Constitutional Conven- | tion,” the speaker employed th: first person, relating in the words of a hu- manized Independence Hall the story of the great constitutional conveniton as | witnessed by the historic Philadelphia | structure. ‘The use of the first person gave Em- mett's oration a personal touch unique in the history of the contest. Th2 speech was enthusiastically reccived, even though the timekesper's whistle sounded in the middle of the last sen- tence. He was loath to hault before| completing. Next came Miss Ever Louise Conner of Chicago, the only girl in the contest' finals. This 16-year-old girl gave a feeling discussion of “The Constitution, a Living Document. Miss Conner, whose feminine charm was accen‘uated by & black evening gown, met the same fate as her predecessor. She, too, was silenced by the whistle. Unruffed, how- ever, she stopped instantly and bowed smilingly with a poised “I thank you.” William J. Codd, Spokane entrant, followed with his speech on “Lincoln and the Constitution.” Codd's was a sincerely feeling oration on the Con- stitution savior, who, as he said, “po ed out his life’s blood on the altar of national security.” Privileges enjoyed today, Codd said, are traceable to the life's work of Lincoln, to whom “we owe a debt of gratitude ™ Again time proved fleeting and Codd also was stopped by the timing official’s Willlam J. Donchue, Herkimer, N. Y. was the sixth contestant to speak. Drama and vigor were combined in hi address on “Lincoln, the Savior of th Constitution.” The vitality of this ora- tion contrasted interestingly with the quiet sympathy in the Spokane en- trant's speech on the same subject. James H. Pelham of Birmingham concluded the prepared phase of the contest with his oration on “The Con- stitution, a Challenge to Citizenship.” Pelham's speech was laid in the present with a warning that the dangers beset- ting the Constitution be not foreign war lords’ power, but in the careless- ness of today's Americans. Popular ed- ucation, he sald, will produce respect for authority that makes citizens de- voted to their Constitution. First Ex Tempore Speaker. After a musical Interlude, Robert Rayburn delivered the first of the ex- temporaneous addresses, the supreme test_for the young orators. | “The Conflict Between J:fferson and | Hamilton" was young Rayburn's topic, | and he spoke with the same smoothness which characterized his prepared ora- tion. e historic differences b:tween the tw eat figures were described un- hesitatingly by the Kansas youth. Jimmy Moore was welcom-d by a new outburst of applause when he returned for his extemporaneous address on “Clay and the Bank of the United | States.” He displayed a wide basi knowledge of personalities, the strong points and the weaknesses of the | principals in the conflict between Clay | and others of his time with regard to | Jack Emmett followed Moore again to discuss “The Annapolis Trade Con- vention.” He pointed out clearly how this meeting, called merely to settle | trading differences, produced the later | constitutional convention at Phila-| dslphia. he Prescribed Methods of Amend- ing the Constitution” was the topic Miss Conner discussed extemporane- ously. Here was a real chance for an “o! examination,” and the Chicago| girl proved equal to the test. | William Codd followed, speaking on | “Lincoln and the Supreme Court” and citing the tests to which slavery put both the Cf ! tribunal. “Lincoln and Congress” was the topic young Willlam Donohue returned to dis: while James Pelham concluded | the contest with a specch on the Con- stitution’s provision for foreign rela- tions. If it was a play of knowledge which the extemporaneous spcech was to test, Pelnam was read: crowded a host of facts into his four- minute discussion. He stopped on the whistle blast and the fate of the on» girl and six boys was in the hands of the judges. Warning of Paternalism. In his warning against paternalism | in government and the centralization of | its authority, Senator Bingham declared that the very principles of government es laid down in the Constitution “are fundamentally those of individual free- dom as opposed to paternalism or so- clalism, and of representative govern- mext as opposed to pure democracy.” He inted out that the Constitution was “the result of the political thought and experience of the citizens of 13 nglish colonies, a fairly homogeneous p,” whost perience in search of ical, economic and religious liberty red a period of more than 150 years, “Ihe tessons which the framers of ‘he Constitut'on and thelr ancestors had learned,” the ESenator asserted, “mads them anxious to avoid tyranny and despoli-m of a sirong, central gov- rnment. At the sams time, in self- defe they were obliged to give the! central government sufficient power to provide for an army and a navy and for the dignified dealings with foreign' lands. In the days when the Consti- Al War President and the | & Oratory Contest Winner Re(;eives Cup John Hays Hammond presen*tng the trophy of the National Oratory Contest to Robert Rayburn, Newton, Kahs., schcolboy,” who won the contest Star; Mr. Hammond, Robert Ray at Constitution Hall last night. Left to right: Newbold Noyes, associate editor of The ‘burn and Senator Bingham. —Star Staff Photo. tution was written, one did not have| to argue about the importance of lib- erty and the dangers of bureaucracy. One did not have to explain the dis- comforts of tyranny and despotism. “Today, we are suffering from the curse of too much government and yet many good le are urging us to peop amend the Constitution so as to give| the central Government even more power. they see the immediate benefits of paternalism. They fail to appreciate its deadening quality.” Continuing, Senator Bingham cited the immigration of millions of Euro- peans who lack the same backgro.nd of law and the appreciation of local self- government which the colonials pos- sessed and who have the racial and istoric background which leads them to Jook to a paternal government for | guidance and support.” Willingness of Sacrifice, “There also are many citizens, de- scended from American colonial stock, who in recent years have been willin to sacrifice State rights and personal liberty for the sake of greater efficiency In government, larger contributions from the United States Treasury and the forcible securing of worthy ideals by law, rather than voluntarily by public opinion. This is particularly true of the officers of some of the women's or- ganizations who are actuated by un-| selfigh motives,” the Senator added. Continuing, he sald: “There has been a tremendous amount | of emotion tather than sound reason connected with much of the Jegislation which has earnestly been sought by well organized groups qf well meaning citi- zens. In many cases, our legislators have been carried away by emotional gleu and have created commissions and ureaus which have issued rules and regulations depriving us of our liberty in the name of efficiency and uni- formity.” In this connection, the Connecticut Senator pointed out that it is 'very difficult” to oppose legislation which will grent immediate relief. “It is difficult,” he explained, “be- cause the immediate end Is seen to be ood and few pcople care to bother about the ultimate result.” ‘Whenever the Constitution stands in the way of this type of legislation, Sen- ator Bingham declared there is a wide popular clamor for a change in the Con- stitution. He sald: “There is just as much danger today as fhere was then that strong central government will build up a powerful bureaucracy which will in turn deprive us of our liberties and interfere with our rational freedom of action. The framers of the Constituticn believed that indi- vidual liberty should be curtailed only in s0 far as public safety and order make necessary. Acting on this belief and under this fundamental principle, the United States has grown great and powerful. Agitation for Restriction. “Recently, however, there has been constant agitation to restrict individual liberty for reasons of morality and effi- ciency, and not because the public safety and order required it. Cuyriously enough, some of the most bitter critics of government are themselves constantly suggesting governmental action as. a cure for social and economic ills.” Pointing out that reprzsentative gov- ernment is one of the “underlying prin- ciples of the Constitution,” Senator Bingham explained that through this policy the people ci officials to re resent them “whose duty it is to give their time, their attention and their best though to the problems of gov- ernment” because they, themselves, have ittle time to devote to such mattars. “Nevertheless,” the Scnator contin- ued, “there is a constant tendency on the part of many of our public men to urge that we get away from repre- | sentative government and go over into the fleld of pure democracy.” The evils of pure democracy, he added, have | been pointed -out so often by political writers “from the days of Aristotle down to the present,” that further en- largement upon them is unnecessary. Referring again to the Constitution in his conclusion, Senator Bingham de- Constitution represents the wis- dom of a homogeneous, self-governing people who dearly prized personal lib- erty and who appreclated the dangers of too much government. Any inter- ference with the development of in- dividualism is ultimately disastrous. ch man should be free to make h: n mistakes, not because such mis- takes are few, but because their repres- slon by governmental commissions and bureaus involves also a repression of the possibilities of good progress. The world’s great inventions and improve- ments have been made by individual initiative and adopted reluctantly by Government bureaus and commissions. The Constitution favors individualism. It tries to leave the people ‘free to make their own mistakes, trusting that the suceessful experiment will be fol lowed and the unsuccessful one aban- doned’ The community profits from the errors made and learns wisdom thereby. “The present tendency toward pater- nalism in government will ultimately re- | strict the growth and development of the Nation, because it represents the wisdom of the present rather than the possibilities of the future. Centralized authority may give us immediate ad- vantages and enable us to avoid grave mistakes, but it is sure to retard growth and kill the chances for that future development which comes only as a re- sult of individual initiative and experi- mentation. “The principles of our Constitution are based on careful study of history, an appreciation of the strength and weakness of human nature, and sound reasoning. The dangers of emotional cppeal are avolded. On the other hand, the way to rational progress is favored. For the sake of our country's future and our own happiness, it is most im- nortant to understand ‘and appreciate the principles on which it is based. Mr. Leigh discussed briefly, in his introductory, the place of the spoken “Rising Sun” Prophesy The winning oration by Robert Ray- burn of Newton High School, Newton, Kans,, in the Eighth National Oratori- cal Contest last night, follows: “Picture with me that group of 55 statesmen gatheren together in Phila- delphia in the Summer of 1787. Con- sider how the responsibility of an in- |fant nation lay heavy on their hearts. Visualize their anxlety as the conven- tion drew near to a close. and then you will understand how the specter of failure haunted their souls as they painted on the back of Washington's chair. To them this picture was em- blematic of the destiny of the Consti- tution. It brought to their minds that Franklin, ‘Is it a rising or a setting sun?’ Truly did it challenge their abllity and their faith. Then, as Franklin, the master mind of the con- vention, affixed his | Constitution, he answered |‘It is a rising sun!’ “Has our Constitution stood the tests |and thus made Pranklin's answer one |of truth? . The reply comes from the | pages of history. | “The first great test was that of {infancy. . Could a nation so small and |80 immature as this one thrive in oppo- sition to the towering monarchies with |their trained diplomats, their power and their wealth? The answer to this ques- tion came with the inauguration of | Washington as President of the Union. |He, with his commanding personality, his military and political genius, and with the help of our two pioneer states- men, Jefferson and Hamilton, safely plloted the ship of stats through this first great trial. The Republic began to yleld a new citizenship and to take up its role as a self-sufficlent nation; by degrees its economic stability gwas secured; harmonious relations with other nations were gradually estab- lished; and the blessings of peace were assured for them and their posterity, Territorial Expansion. | “Then came the test of territorial ex- pansion. The lure of the frontier called | to the brave of the land and they began {to push across the continent to estab- |lish farms, villages, and cities beyond | the hand of the law. But the Constitu- tion again met the test, formed new | Territories, added new States to her jdominion end made provisions for the | development of their vast resour e question, sat gazing at that half-disk of a sun| famous question, voiced by Benjamin | signaiyre to the| Kansas Contestant Shows How Constitution Has Stood the Tests of Time, Bearing Out Franklin’s on Occasion of Signing. | So, again, our people kept faith with their Government and upheld its poli- | | cles with a patriotism most ardent and sincere. “Immediately following the joy of | this new victory, came the fear of de- | feat, for the storm clouds of civil strife | hung like a shroud over the American ! Nation and the Civil War, like a shut- tle, wove a scarlet threall of blood through the gray tissue of Ameri | society, and the Constitution was fa with the test of unity. Up from the ranks of the lowly came Abraham Lin- coln, who was to guide the Constitu- tion through this greatest trial of its long career. Because of his unwavering faith in American democracy, the strife ceased and the Constitution was again recognized as the supreme law of all the land. Vast Power Is Reward. “And now it comes to us today, un- stained with corruption or failure, It | has brought us from a struggling re- rublic of seabcard States to a vast ocean to ocean imperial power; it has carried us through every trial; it has met every test. Its present test is | power. With power comes temptation. | Temptation to forget the fundamental | principles cf justice and equality, upon which our Government was founded, and if we fail in this period of unrest to adhere to the fundamental law of our land, our Nation will suffer decline, desolation, decay; but with the allegi- ance of 120,000,000 souls, our Constitu- tion will triumphantly reign supreme and our Nation will be sustained on the | pinnacle of world leadership. The ink |on the parchment where the Constitu- | tion has been engrossed for years is | faded, but if it has been written in | letters of living light, this country will | march on through the ages, with the |sun high over its head 2nd the pure blood of an enlightened citizenship surging through its veins. “Shall cur Government crumble and | fall, our Constitution fail and the sun | forever set on American democracy? | This answer is yours! Democracy has | distributed her ‘bounties. May we be | willing to pay the price! = Let |and preserve the power that has been given us, end let us raise this document to the peak of esteem where it will live K::I forever as the Immortal Constitu- on.” Victor Exlemporaneously 'fvl'ells : Of Jefferson-Hamilton Conflict| ‘The extemporaneous speech by young Rayburn follor ' “In the efforts a a small body of men gathered together in Philadelphia 144 years ago was the crystallization of the dreams of centuries. In these men were | vested the hopes, the prayers and the | ambitions of the sturdy Colonists. Their |ideas were brought together and were clothed in effective language. “But those ideas had come from the |mills of human experience. After the |framers had originated the doeument — | word in world events as recorded in history. “Without words,” the contest-director general declared, “no institution has ever been created, and with a suffitient- |y intelligent use of words, there is no | institution which cannot be destroyed. Words are things of charm; words are | things of beauty; worcs are things of | power. | “We hear much in these later years of the strength of silent men. This worship of the Inarticulate, this doctrine of the dumb, has reached such propor- tions that we are almost ready to be- lieve that the dumb are the ultimate masters of the world. But when the dumb are world masters, it is a static hold sway. And, therefore, the world has a most persistent habit of refusing to remain static. Again and again the Springtime of the renaissance goes tinkling through the human spirit, re- kindling heart and mind. These rekindlings are brought on and con- trolled by men who are vocal s 1 3 Mr. Leigh declared that ‘words as the vehicles of ideas, words as the white-hot outpouring of powerful personality, have compelled and con- trolled action. For he who truly masters words can also master men!” Speakers Introduced. Mr. Leigh then presented Senator Bingham and after him, the first of the championship contending orators. The judges of last night's Oratorieal Contest were: Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana, Dr. Leo S. Rowe, director general of the Pan-American Union; Dr. Cloyd Heck Marvin, president of the George Washington University; Dr. Lucius Charles Clark, chancellor of American University, and Dr. W. Cole~ man Nevils, 8. J,, president of George- town University. Dr. Willlam Allen ‘Wilbur, provost of George Washington | University, gras official scrutator who | checked the orations to insure the proper crediting by contestants of the authors of all four-word, or longer, quotations in the speec Rear Admiral | Wiliam D, Leahy, U. S. N.,, and Maj. | Gen. Amos A. Fries, U. S. retired, | were the timing officials, | Cadets of Western High Schoo! served as ushers and les. the ! auditorium, o " and almost dead world over which they | | and had passed 1t on to the States for ratification, their work was not over. | Por upon these great statesmen, and others who had not been present at the | Constitutional Convention, rested the | responsibility of launching the new ship of state. | “Two of these pioneer statesmen, trail breakers of eternal liberty, were Jefferson and Hamilton. Both Of them | had been bitterly opposed to many of | the measures adopted in the Constitu- tion. But when this document was ac- cepted by the great convention, they plunged into the task of securing its | ratification. For they were both true | patriots. Faith of Jefferson. “Thomas Jefferson had not been | | present at the Constitutional Conven- |tion, and the common people accord- |ingly awaited his return from Pn? to see if their great leaders would favor | the ratification of the Constitution. | For Jefferson was the champion of the | masses. His faith in the common peo- | ple 1s said to have equaled almost that of the great Abraham Lincoln. ‘On the other hand, Alexander Ham- ilton was an aristocrat. He mistrusted end feared the pecple. It was his be- | lief that the Government should be in the hands of a few—the trained and | wealthy. “These differences, however, re- mained dormant during the period of ratification, and both statesmen worked fervently for the adoption of the Con- stitution. For they were both agreed that this last noble gesture must be crowned with success, or America would be forced to return to the rule | of a monarch. | “Then when the Constitution had been duly ratified by the required num- ber of States, and upon George Wash- ington rested the responsibility of | launching the new Government, he in- ]stmcllvely turned to these two men to take high positions at his side— Thomas Jefferson as first Secretary of State and Alexander Hamilton as first Secretary of the Treasury. Beginning of Real Conflict. “It was then that the real conflict between Jefferson and Hamilton began. For Jefferson believed in a strict con- struction of the Constitution, or that theory which gave the Government only those powers directly expressed in the Constitution. Alexander Ham- ilton believed in a liberal or loose con- struction of the Constitution. It was upon this theory that he based the great Federalist party, America’s first political group. It was also upon his interpretation of the Constitution that he formulated all his great financial policy. It has been said that Hamil- ancial genius, a mental rd—tha ything that Hamilton touched lived. touched the corpse of the national crégit. It sprang into us | | mobilize our forces to uphold, protect| SPEECH ON CLAY WINS APPLAUSE James A. Moore of Western High School Lauds His Doctrine of Union. James A. Moore of Western High School, The Star’s representative in the national oratorical contest last night, spoke on “Henry Clay—the Great Unionist.” Although “Jimmy” failed to place, his address was well received by the audience. The address follows: “In the courtyard of a small Illinois town, a great national figure is tellin his Views of government.® On & raiseq platform he stands—and with a pas- sonate oratory that thrills his audience, he expounds his doctrine of Union, first, last and always. “Among the eager faces turned up to his is one thatfairly glows with the radiated charni¥o{ his personality; the lean and homely young face of an awkward country boy, catching his first glimpse of his hero, fillng away in his active brain each passage in a brilliant- ly presented argument. He leaves the meeting aflame with the spirit of Union. Forty years later men called him its saviour, for the awkward coun- try boy was Abraham Lincoln; the great statesman who inspired his devo- tion to the Union was Henry Clay, Believed in Perfect Union. “We do not know what Clay said in that fateful speech, but we know that in his long public career he kept ever before him one guiding star—the fun- damental purpose set forth by the founding fathers in the very first line of the Constitution, “We, the people of the United States, in order to form & more perfect Union.’ Henry Clay ac- cepted those words literally. He be- lieved that the Constitution achieved that declared purpose; that it formed 2 binding and permanent Union. “Late in life he wrote a friend *if any one wishes to know the paramount interest of my publis life the preserva- ;lon of the Union wiil furnish him the ey. “The Union was preserved. Today all men agree that our Constitution gl:‘l;lnt& nothing less than indissoluble nion. most burning issue whioh ever inflamed 2 people was whether our Constitution had made us a confederacy or & nation. Political leaders who sought sectional support, misguided men who gave loy- alty first to their native States, these and thousands of of preached the doctrines of secession and nullification, and the fate of the Nation trembled in the balance. “Henry Clay had vision; a vision that enabled him to see beyond sections with a courage that made him declare himself for Union against any section and all sections. Coming from _the heart of Kentucky's Grass, as favored a land as God ever created, nevertheless he ylelded to his State not one small fragrant of the loyalty he felt he owed his Natiom. | Bigger than State or section, than any selfish group of citizens, | could see, in a day when men's visions | were clouded, that national salvation lay only in Union, anc, higher concept even than that, he knew that the Con- itution had created a Union, and on hat reck he built his faith. Faith Attested by Career. “His entire public career attests that { faith. His great ‘American system,' his campaign for the national bank, his many history-making compromises, all were parts of his one constant vor —the preservation and upbuilding of the Union. “Historians have denominated him | ‘the Founder of the American Senate, ‘the Benefactor of South America,’ ‘the Great Pacificator.’ Let us recognize the supreme conviction that mad= these titles fit him; his unwavering belief | that the Constitution of his country | was, above all elée, an instrument of inspirin, acher of iLinpculn‘hh broader, nflfllgf‘lufl!, “Henry | Clay—the Great, Uniopist'” " 'BLACK RAPS PROBERS " OF STATE PRIMARY anestions Authority of Inquiry on | Legislative Expenditures by Senate Agent. t By the Assoclated Press. BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 23.—United States Serator Hugo L. Black tonight issued a statement in which he ques- tioned authority 6f the Senate subcom- mittee investigating the last Alabama senatorial election to inquire into cam- paign expenditures of candidates to the Alabema Legislature. The Senator said in a prepared state- ment: “It is time to call attention to the fact that some who ar¢ connected with this contest are proceeding in a way that indicates the desire to give Federal authorities more and more pow- er in State elections. An ogent of the committee has made written inquiry as to the expenses of candidates for the State Legislature in Alabama’s Democratic primary. It is my belief that this is no business of the committee. “Followed to its conclusion, this and other actions of some of the commit- tec and the committee’s agents would mean Federal supervision and control of every election in Alabama from con- stable to Governor.” e TOWN IS WIPED OUT BY WIND-FANNED FIRE Ludlow, Calif., Destroyed as Hot Breeze From Desert Sweeps Flames On. By the Associated Press. LOS ANGELES, May 23 —The entire town of Ludlow, Calif,, with the excep- tion of two railway stations and a round house, was reported destroyed to- day by a fire fanned by a hot des:rt wind. Ludlow, with a population of 670, is without a water system. Water for all uses is hauled to the city. First word of the fire was received from O. W. Coyle, pilot of a Transconti~ nental and Western airmail plane, who sighted the column of smoke. He reported by radio telephone to the office of his company at the Orand Cen- tral Air Terminal tha: ins town was doomed. The pilot continued to circle over the town and 20 minutes later reported the business district a mass of flames and the fire roaring through garages ana gas stations, Attempts to communicate with Lud- low, Barstown and other towns of the desert district by long-distance tele- glhone brought a report of “wire trous e. ; life. terly oppased by Jefferson, for Constitution for a national bank. And Jefferson did not belleve in a theory of implied power. became President of the United States and had the anity cf annexing Lobhians 1 the. ui Territory, policy for the benefit of But there was a day when the Here again, however, he was bit~ ‘Thomas Jefferson could find no provision in the * However, when he later