Evening Star Newspaper, June 4, 1931, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. THURSDAY, JUNE = 1931. “ A8 : c, : ~ ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. THE EVENING STAR + With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY........June 4, 1931 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor ¥he Evening Star Newspaper Company us ; 11eh st AR Fenmsivanta Ave . “and” Penns; ; New York Office: 110 East 420d, & guicao 8 Wke Nichlkar’ Bundine. uropean Ofice, 14, Regent AL, Londo, Ensland. Rate by Carrler Within the City. e Evening Star. 45¢ per month ¢ Evening and & P o ey o0c per month vhen s Bundays) "g5c per month e Bunday Star e ger copy Gorlection made at thie erd '6f ‘each month. Ofders may be sent in by mail or telepnone National 8000, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. on 135 300 1 mos finday only " 13 $4.00; 1 mo., 40¢ All Other States and Canada. ily and Sunda ¥r.,$12.00: 1 mo., §' ally only ... 1yr., $8.00; 1mo., inday only . 1yr., $5.00; 1 mo. Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively entitled o the use for republication of all news dis- atches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the local news published herein. All rizhts of publication of bpecial dispatches herein are also reserved. = 1.00 8¢ 50c TIs This the Turn at Last? TFor a long time Wall Street has been walting for a “turn” in the stock mar- ket that would indicate that the bottom of the depression had been reached and the return to prosperity was at hand. At least on half a dozen occasions there have been reacticns of recovery that have sent stock prices up several points, only to be checked and followed by plunges to lower levels. Quite recently, after a period of comparative stability and even of slight gain, the market has been in a severe slump, marked by some of the lowest points of quotaticn re- corded in years. Yesterday a change came suddenly, with so many evidences of real recovery that at the close of the day's business the “Street” cheered the record of transactions as an indi- cation that the turn for the long upward pull had at last occurred. This may be a fallacicus hope. There | have been so many checks and disap- | pointments since the great break came In October, 1929, that the “public” is not readily reassured. It will take weeks of stabllity or steady upward move- ments to induce large volume buying of securities, whether for investment or for speculation. Undoubtedly the “Street” is full of bargains if prices are at the lowest point and if recovery is certain to come. Lack of faith in ulti- mate recovery of the country’s pros- perity and of the real value of securi- ties is a desperate pessimism that can- not be cured by ordinary measures of reassurance. Several factors contributed to yester- day’s recovery in the stock market, com- 1ng together by coincidence to impinge upon a technically weak position of the “short interests.” The market was| heavily oversold. Commitments by bears had proceeded to the point at which the demand for stocks actually exceed- ed the immediate supply. There would probably have been a reaction to some extent if the other factors had not de- veloped. One of these elements of re- covery was the wholly unexpected an- nouncement that the Government had withdrawn further opposition to the Standard Ofl-Vacuum Oil merger. An- other was the almost simultaneous ac- tion of large banks in the East in reducing the margins on brokers’ loans. Declaration of the Rock Island dividend on common stock, whereas an omission had been expected, helped. Authorita- tive reports that refinancing arrange- ments had been completed on early bond maturities of the St. Louis-San Francisco Raflroad contributed to strength in rall groups. Strength developed in the cotton markets with an improvement of prices. Most defi- nitely, however, was the tone of the market strengthened by further evi- dence that a half-billion-dollar buying pool had been formed and was at work. A factor not to be ignored in the summary of causes of this change is the $800,~ 000,000 bond issue announced by Sec- retary Mellon a few days ago at 33 per cent, the lowest rate ever known for a large loan, this offering being regarded as the Secretary’s expectation that the interest rate would soon rise with industrial recovery and increased demands for loans. If this is indeed the turn of the tide, it will mark a fairly normal recovery in proportion to the depth and period of the depression. The economic his- tory of this country has produced a certain rhythm of such changes, and the length of time elapsing from high point to low point and back to normal s predictable with reasonable accuracy. It is in recognition of this rhythm of action and reaction that the wisest of the Wall Street prophets have for some time been forecasting & return of “pros- perity” by about the first of September. e No 1909 model automobile has any- thing on Clara Bow in the way of fre- quent “breakdown: Making the Dirt Fly. The phrase, “making the dirt fly,” expressive of vigorous enterprise in the prosecution of a public work, has lit. erally applied to the several steps of the great program of Government con- struction in this city for a number of months. Dirt has been flying in volumes, physically, as old structures have been razed to make room for the new housings for the Federal service units of administration. Several sites have been cleared. Two have been bull on, the structures for the Com- merce Department and the Internal Revenue Bureau having been completed. The site for the Archives Building has been fully prepared and is ready for the excavators, That for the Justice Department is nearing readiness, only & few more of the old structures re- maining for demolition. The Labor Department site is in process of prepa- ration, and will shortly be available for foundation work. The ground for the extension of that structure, which will provide housing for the Interstate Com- merce Commission and also an audi- torlum for Government use, is about to be cleared, and a contract is soon to be let for the clearing of the north- eastern corner of the same section of the triangle where the new Post Office Department will rise. In addition clearance is soon to be made of the land lying behind the present District Building and former Southern Railway office, to become the great central plaza of the structure that will rise Department. And finally the space north of the Commerce Building has been cleared of its theater and other structures to become a park. All this has indeed kept the dirt fly- ing, and will keep it fiying for weeks"to come. But there is to be more of this work, to complete the job of clearing away all the private constructions on the south side of Pennsylvania avenue, between the Capitol and the Treasury. The truncated site immediately west of the old Center Market space, where the Coast Guard building is to rise, is to be cleared. And the areas east of that, to the end of the “triangle,” will be swept of their present occupants. The square between Pennsylvania avenue agd Tenth, Eleventh and C streets will also be cleared free of buildings at once, though not required for the continua- tion of the Iaternal Revenue structure until the old Post Office, replaced by its successor on the west, is razed, per- haps two years hence. These razing works will be pressed as speedily as the legal processes of acquiring title and possession are effected, and the entire space will thus be smoothed and made ready for the builders or for park treatment. The decision thus to complete the demolition work in the triangle, re- gardless of the urgency of the construc- tion program, is prompted by a desire to get the unsightly relics cf the old | Washington out of view for the Bicen- | tennial year, when it is expected a great throng of people will visit the Capital. Pennsylvania avenue will not be in its finest form, for construction works will be in progress, but the snags and wrecks and shabby souvenirs of the past will have disappeared, and every- thing in sight will be trim and neat or will present evidence.of the great Cap- ital making enterprise that is so soon to be completed. e Secretary Stimson in Europe. Europe being the seething caldron of political complexities that it is today, bulances, hurrying in response to calls, shriek for right of way. The fire en- gines and rescue squad apparatus bel- low and scream for room. Motor car drivers toot and hoot with little cause. From busses come screams of warning. There is not a minute of calm or rest for the ears and nerves during the working day. Even in the residential districts needless nolse resounds con- tinually, if not from the streets, then from radio loud speakers turned on full and left going througnout the day. This din is unnecessary. There is no need of all the bangs and crarhes and screams and howls that arise to belabor the ears and rasp the nervous system. Much of this noiss is just a matter of habit and is largely a matter of indif- ference to the feelings and sensitive- ness of others. The street car motor- man, of course, cannot control his trucks or the rails over which he passes, but he can lessen the banging of his gong to the point of absolute need to give warning to heedless pedestrians. The fire engine and ambulance drivers can reduce their siren screams to the point of requirement to announce ap- proach to a congested point. The pri- vate motor drivers and bus drivers can correspondingly subdue their demonstra- tions of speed. 1t is really relative, after all. If every- body is making a lot of noise the necessary blasts of horn and scream of siren to tell the wecrld that an emergency vehicle is on the way must be pitched at the loudest point and made continuous. If there were less noise in the streets a fire engine or an ambulance could get right of way with much less demonstration. Police vehicles are particularly ob- noxious noise makers. There is noth- ing more clamorous than a police car in a hurry through the downtown streets. Even a motor cycle policeman manages to make a din that puts him for a few seconds out in front in public notice. In very few instances is there any warrant for such tremendous speed no visit of an American Secretary of State can be divested of importance, however private and personal he seeks to make his journey. Announcement that Mr. Stimson will spend the Sum- mer abroad and, in the course of his sojourn, go to Rome, Paris, Berlin and London, in the order named, is there- fore a plece of international political news of the first magnitude. Speculation will naturally run rife, both here and in Europe, as to the real motive and purpose of Col. Stimson’s travels. That he will not confine him- self to meteorological pleasantries in Italy, France, Germany and Great Brit- ain may be taken for granted. The ac- complished American Secretary of State is too much immersed in his job, too conscious of the peculiarly heavy re- sponsibilities it nowadays involves, to eschew shop talk when he sits at the same mahogany with Premier Mus- solini and Signor Grandi, with Presi- dent Doumer and Foreign Minister Briand, with Chancellor Bruening and Dr. Curtius and with Prime Minister MacDonald and Foreign Secretary Hen- derson. There is no single question now per- plexing European statesmanship with which the United States is not directly or indirectly connected. With that problem which President Hoover last month, before the International Cham- ber of Commerce, starred as the world's paramount issue — disarmament — this country by that utterance becomes conspicuously associated. Early com- ment on Col. Stimson’s European plans suggests that his chief mission is to re- assure Old World governments and statesmen that the United States is burningly and yearningly anxious for the success of the 1932 Geneva Con- ference. Latterly have come sugges- tions that the conference might be in- definitely postponed, because of revived European _animosities anent such de- velopments as the proposed German- Austrian customs union. Delay in patching up Franco-Italian naval limi- tation differences is assigned as another reason why Mother Europe is not yet ready to call her wrangling daughters in counsel for arms-stacking purposes. ‘The Secretary of State is not the type of person, nor, of course, is it his pre- rogative, to advise Europe what to do amid its encircling gloom, political, military and economic. Recent events at Geneva demonstrated that European countries look upon ways and means for meeting their financial and indus- trial emergencies as matters of more urgency than armament questions. That the Old World believes the New World, and especially the United States, has certain “obligations” and “duties” in the domain of transatlantic reconstruction is well known. Europe holds that and such hideous noise. Corrective attention to the running gear of the street cars and to the tracks and switches over which they pass would certainly lessen the volume of needless sound that now makes Washington such & terribly clamorous clty. Strict orders to policemen, fire- men, ambulance drivers to keep their hoots down to actual necessity would help everybody, themselves included. Let there be action to this end! Let there be peace in Washington! —_— e There is no better indication of the high plane which field sports have at- tained in this country in these days of growing conservation, unselfishness and sportsmanship than the fact that a minister of the gospel, active pastor of a thriving congregation, has been elected president of the Izaak Walton League of America. JEE, Wall Street was named originally after a wall and, if the present depres- sion keeps up much longer and if New Yorkers do not show a less pessimistic spirit, it may have to be re-established, this time as a Wailing Wall. ——————— A Lynchburg, Va., cop dissuades a disrobed reveler from taking a head- first plunge into an unfilled concrete !pool. When tank meets tank under such circumstances, there is only one outcome. — e Construction of a vestry house for 1770, is to be started at once, it is an- nounced. Even in pre-Revolutionary times this country must have had com- missions. —ae—. Apparently Chicago is convinced that there cannot possibly be such a thing as a rich but honest police captain. ——oe—s. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Consumption of Time. Have you met him—the fellow -who stops to explain Everything that you have on your mind? He will take up s topic again and in agal With intentions most earnest and kind No effort seems more than he's will- ing to make, In a purpose surpassingly strong, To talk, for your own and your family'’s sake, And keep you from getting in wrong. squander them all In an effort to show you at last lowered American tariffs, curtailed debts owing to the United States Treasury, and a generally more “generous” at- titude toward the plight in which Europe finds itself would work wonders. Rome, Paris, Berlin and London will hang anxiously on Secretary Stimson's every word, to find out whether he radiates any gleam of encouragement along these lines. Herbert Hoover’s official adviser on international relations goes globe-trot- ting on the threshold of another American presidential campaign. It would be illogical for either of the great parties to dodge foreign affairs in their respective 1932 platforms. The mere fact that President Hoover on recurring occasions—as only last week at Valley Forge—termed America's economic situation a phase of “world depression” makes it almost inevitable that the Republican party, which will renominate him, will take a categorical stand on that all-predominating issue. Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, an elder G. O. P. statesman, addressing Columbia University at New York on Tuesday, | said that “we dare not sit indefinitely by in contemplative inaction” while the forces of unrest gather momentum throughout the globe. Perhaps Col. Stimson is charged with one of those fact-finding missions of which the Chief Engineer is so fond, with a view to ascertaining just what, if anything, mighty Uncle Sam can do to grapple with the crisis now holding the world in its grip. It is wondered what will next be in- stalled on the many lots that have been accommodating miniature go'f courses. ‘Washington’s Needless Noises. ‘Washington is afflicted with an acute attack of noisemania. Its streets are clangorous from the earliest hours of light until’ the darkness falls. Street cars clash along their rails and smash How a glorious future you yet may install, And avoid all mistakes of the past. ©Oh, you're late to your breakfast and late to your bed, And maybe you're missing your train— And you don't understand half. the things that are sald By the fellow who stops to explain! Sacrifice of Serenity. “A candidate cannot afford to miss meeting the public during a cam- paign.” “No,” replied Senator Sorghum. “There are times when a great man has to climb down off his pedestal and take the stump.” Jud Tunkins says sometimes a man who looks you square in the eye has a frank and honest nature and some- times he's a mesmerist, The Pace. Our statesmen, generals and kings, Like actors, day and night Are striving to make good the things ‘That their press agents write. Devastating Rejoinder. “I would lay the world at your feet!” exclaimed the impassioned lover. “Really,” replied Miss Cayenne, “it's very good of you to suggest it, but you needn’t trouble yourself. It's there al- ready.” Literal. Come, friend, with me; I tell you true, I have a bone To pick with you. ‘The shad his charm Does now renew— I have a bone To pick with you. “When yer own plans gces wrong,” sald Uncle Eben, “it's bad luck. When annuddah man's plans goes wrong, he eat of the Commesce Qver awiiches and crosslogs, The ame acfer done knowed beftenf .. ... Pohick Parish, Va., fully planned in! ‘The moments are precious — he'll | Proj THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. How many of us are inarticulate? Despite the fact that the majority of human beings in these United States know how to read and write, most of them may be said, in all honesty and truth, to be almost voiceless. Unable to speak their real thoughts, we mean, to send forth their honest convictions, their deepest feelings. A hundred things conspire to achieve this. We are held back by an anciently implanted fear to show our emotions or by a genuine non-desire to “show off.” We sometimes envy those hnzgy persons who are unrepressed, as e psychologists put it, and yet again we are glad we are not as they are. In any event, we are inarticulate, and know it. The older we grow the more we realize that we might perhaps be a great deal happier in this world if we possessed the ability to express our- selves as the characters in books do. * K oKk Many a man of today v the need of prayer does n indulge in it. He is less happy than Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote his prayers at Vailima and who spoke them before the assembled family. Sometimes it happens otherwise— that the more a man writes the less he is inclined to speak out in meeting, as it were. Some of the most close-mouthed persons are writers. These you will never find speaking their inmost thoughts, not because they aim to be mysterious, as the careless might think, but mostly because they know better than most the sacredness of the inner thought, and perhaps are held back from a foolish timidity in revealing it, except on paper, where they believe they are impersonal. * K ok X Thus the rool of the frailty of being inarticulate, in the best sense, lies in a failure to correlate the inner and the outer lives. Future generations, if they do mnot become totally crude, will perhaps order things better, for they will have it in their power to be freed of the older repressions and at the same time to hold fast to the best of the ancient emotions. If the inner life of every man could be held fast to his outer life, without sense of fear or shame or any other matter, such as too often has been in- bred to no good end, there would be fewer men and women who! did not possess the proper words at the right moments. And there would be fewer who would refrain from expressing them at the right time, for, after all, these far outnumber the men and women who know the right words to say, the proper deeds to do, but who are held back by the pull of their ancestry and training from expressing their emotions in public. 5 senses dare to * % ww There are few people, among the decenter elements, who do not know what ought to be sald and done, in any given situation. It is & part of their heritage. too. hm:w few, however, rise to the occa- sion! ‘The unexpected happening, contain- ing in it elements of grace, strikes their hearts and minds as forcibly as any, | but they remain mute. Not so much as by the bat of an evelid do they let on to others that they have been moved. ‘To show emotions is against their tradition, too. * K K x Hence the actor, who displays them on the stage, and the writer, who puts them into a book, are looked up to by the great mass of the people. It is not alone for vicarlous experi- ences that the huge number of readers of fiction turn to the novel. What they desire there, even more, is the expression of inmost thoughts’'and ex- Pperiences. Perhaps that is the reason that the totally plotless story, as such things g0, can be quite as satisfactory, to good reader, as the most charted, the most _intricately plotted, story in the long history of novel writing. Such works give readers, for the time of the “reading, & genuine sense of being articulate, in the best sense—that is, of being able to say what should be said, at the time when expression is called for. L ‘There are few persons, indeed, who have not had the experience of think- ing the bright remark, th: proper words, some hours after the occasion. Every one can do that. It is com- mon knowledge, however, that one might as well not have thought of them at all, if one is not able to think up the bright reply at the very time it W“h‘l dgmnndett at is the good, then, of know! w&mtfiouxl‘;fir to bel sald, in any nwmh situation, one lacks the cour: of &LITt:‘ment? = ere are many kinds of courages, in the experlences of living; the courage of proper expression, at the time de- manded, in the tone or spirit demanded, is one of them, and one which not ali of us even begin to live up to. * k% % There 1is great good, however, in knowing what ought to be said and done, in any given situation, even if 3:54;5 not able to put it into words or It is simply that such knowledge, even if unexpressed, enables the holder to appreciate, not only the great works of art, including music and literature, but to know righteousness and justice and honesty and kindness. This is why. it is better to know, and yet be inarticulate, than not to know, and to be verbose, merely. Far better is it for & man to know what to say, and not say it, than to say the wrong thing at the wrong time. * ¥ %% Another phase of inarticulateness is the physical inability of so many vocal chords” to give sentences the proper sound. The great Stevenson, most un-Vie- torian of all Victorian writers, speaks of being able to read certain poems of ‘Walt Whitman so as to be able to bring tears to the eyes of listeners. The late Enrico Caruso, it was said, possessed the ability to so read a bill of fare that intense emotion was aroused in the minds and hearts of his hearers. ‘The child is blessed who is born with this gift; and his parents are extremely sensible if they induce him to learn it, if he is not born with it. For some of it can be learned, and every person ougkt to possess the knowledge. Contact with other human beings is the fate of all, and no one should be handicapped by the common fear, seen on every side, of speaking in public. | Every boy should be taught to talk as | easily on his feet before an audience as | he can at home with his family. Every man should be completely articulate. Highlights on the Wide Woi'ld Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands L PROGRESO, San Juan.—There are six times as many people killed in Porto Rico in motor accidents, based cn the number of cars in the island, as there are in the United States. ment was made in a letter to Col. Rod- rigues de Riminez Lutz, chief of the in- sular police, to Dr. Luls Sanchez Mo- rales, president of the Insular Scnate. The motor death rate in the United States is 1.2 per thousand automotive vehicles, while in Porto Rico it is 6.12 per thousand motors. Last year 97 were killed here in automobile accidents. Comparisons like this give impressive understandng of the danger accompany- ing one of the man’s most useful inven- tions when properly employed. Our people should certainly congratulate themselves upon their immunity, at least from the perils to which the cit- izens of large American municipalites are exposed from the constant menace of congested traffic. For the chance of mortal injury from motor cars even in our rural districts is five times greater than in most of the American States. Even in New York City, where accidents are many and fatalities high, the dan- gers seem to be less than on our roads. LR Venezuela Continues Public Work Construction. El Nuevo Diario, Caracas.—While all the rest of the world ‘s struggling to keep its proletariat employed, or at least sustained in the necessities of life, Ven- ezuela is continuing its vast publc work construction upon the same scale as n years of universal prosperity. The Sen- ate and Deputies voted last week to ap- priate an additional 2.642,000 bol- ivars ($528,400), t6 be used on further road and other public improvements. Congress also announced its intention to :h”mnu for a similar sum, as soon as g&mprhuon is exhausted. A part of money will be used to de- velop public parks and recreational cen- ters within the federal district, and es- pecially in Caracas. * X & ¥ Many Germans Live in Foreign Lands. Cologne Gazette.—Herr Prof. Wilhelm ‘Winckler, a member of the Reichstag, has compiled for the bureau of statistics of the government & tabulation showing the total number of Germans in the world. This figure is reported as 94,- 500,000, of whom 62,500,000 are living within the territories of the Fatherland. Seven million persons of German birth are living in the United States and Canada, and about 4,000,000 in Mexico and South America. Austria has within her borders 6,300,000 persons born in Germany, and as yet not denationalized. Switzerland. has_ mearly 3,000,060, Czechoslovakia 3,500,000 Fran 1,700,000. Many of this last group, of course, find themselves in the French territory more or less involuntarily. They did not move away from the Reich, but the Reich has moved away from them in the realignment of the frontier after m‘pm‘ ‘at Versailles. * Urge Special Train To Carry Legislators to Quake. Dally Telegraph, Napier.—It is hoped before any discussions are entered upon in the Parliament with the object of viding rellef and r-~~nstruction in 5:: earthquake area tho. .ie govern- ment .will arrange for a special train, and all the members of the legislative body to view the devastated region. They will then be far better qualified to decide upon the action and assistane ce necessary, for no words or ures are able to depict the condi- of the towns and the predicaments the people. o ® X X Prisoners Ask Road Construction Work. El Dictamen, Vera Cruz—A petition has been sent to Gov. Bartolome Vargas of the state of Hidalgo, signed by prisoners in the jail at Pachuca, in which they ask to be given work on the roads now in process of construction throughout the state. In their petition the prisoners declare that they do not wish to be supported in_ idleness and confinement, but would much prefer to be given the opportunity to work, both for the ‘benefit of their physical heal senviceable for the This state- | | state. They would like, besides, to re- | ceive some remuneration for their la- bors, though not expecting nearly so much as those laborers not expiating offenses, who are also engaged in road making. The prisoners promise that they will make no effort to escape while engaged in this outdoor employment, and do not ask that fellow prisoners in custody for serious crimes, or who are considered dangerous, be considered eligible for these concessions. * X K ¥ U. S. Mailbag System Obviates Loss by Fire. Irish Independent, Dublin—In view of the development of airmail services, I understand, writes the London corre- spondent of the Irish Independent, that the post office is considering the intro- duction of fireproof airmail bags as & safeguard against fire. Such bags are now used by the United States in air- mail services. They are made of pure asbestos and lined inside ahd out by high-grade canvas. The sides and bot- tom are steel riveted, and there is a triple device to prevent flames from en- tering the bag through the neck. The U. S. A. experiments have shown that the use of these bags practically obviates any loss through fire. * kX% University Women Marry After Graduation. Neues Wiener Tagblatt, Vienna.— The statistics of that famous Ameri- can institution for women, Barnard College, become increasingly interesting exery year. Once the academically- trained young lady was considered an almost irreclaimable spinster. In the year 1900, for instance, & class was graduated from Barnard College of which to date only 9 per cent of its personnel has married. Of the class of 1915, however, 30.1 per cent has elected to enter into matrimony, sur- rendering the freedom of a career for a quiet domestic routine. In 1930, the trend toward the altar was still more pronounced, no less than 46.9 per cent promptly becoming brides within less than a year of completing their studies. ‘About 292 per cent of all the mar- rled graauates, taken collectively, nevertheless do follow & career, either incidentally or by devoting their whole time to it. In fact, there is a certain feeling in America that women who have completed courses of study in higher institutions should not be re- citrant to their larger opportunities for good. They are sometimes called “deserters” because upon the comple- tion of their professional training they either fail to pursue their intended ac- tivities with enthusiasm, or give up the calling altogether, 'in order to become a happy “hausfrau” in the comparative c€ | obscurity of private life. Spread of Atheism. From the Salt Lake City Deseret News. A dark picture is displayed concern- ing the spreading of atheism in Europe and Asia, by papers in Germany and elsewhere. It appears that various agencies in Russia and Czechoslovakia are urging atheistic principles on all who will listen in the latter country and Germany, and they predict that there will be 20,000,000 atheists in Europe within four years. Preparations are be- ing made to launch the campaign in France, Italy, Hungary, and even in England. Figures recently published show there are now 2,000,000 atheists recorded in Russia, comprising membership in 40,- 000 groups under the name of the “Mili~ tant Godless Alliance.” Lectures are being delivered in Russia and Germany against religion, and even the Socialists in the latter country are taking up the work. Much literature along similar is listributed. group should be so anxious in mankind the hope of a future life. Even if one individual does not him- self believe in a spiritual existence after death, it can do no harm to others hold such beliefs. Furthermore, religion tends to make men better citi- zens. It tends to make thm better hus- bands, fathers, neighbors. It makes them more honest, more likaly to follow h principles, ;nd. for earthly reasons s 1o the. The Political Mill By G. Gould Lincoln. ‘The Democrats are viewing with con- siderable elation the possibility of the entry of Gov. Gifford Pinchot into the race for the Republican presidential nomination next year, What they hope and expect is that the Pennsylvania Governor may make trouble for Presi- dent Hoover, or at least create the impression that President Hoover is distinctly unpopular. Buf these Demo- jcrats, like the anti-Hoover group of lusions about the ability of Gov. Pinchot to win the presidential nomi- & Ination. They do not believe that Gov. Pinchot or any one else can wrest the Republican nomination from President Hoover if he is a candidate to succeed himself. On the other hand, it is quite true that the Democrats have con- vinced themselves that the present ad- ministration is widely = unpopular throughout the country and for that reason they would, they say, prefer the renomination of President Hoover by the Republicans to the substitution of another Republican candidate for Mr. Hoover. Some of them have gone so far as to _say that their real fear is that the Republican National Conven- tion may stampede to Calvin Coolidge. Mr. Coolidge, they admit, as a candi- date for President next year might prove strong before the people. * koK x The chances are, however, that the former President will not permit him- self to be drafted by the Republican National Convention. Of course, there are a number of Coolidge admirers and a number of men in thc Republican party who made a lot of money in busi- ness during the boom times when Mr. Coolidge was President who would wel- come his re-entry into the presidential race. Mr. Coolidge, however, cannot be successfully criticized for a lack of com- mon sense or political acumen. It is probably as obvious to him as it is to others that if the depression does not pass and there is a great deal of un- employment and hard times continue next year, the Republican nomination is likely to be a hazardous affair, to say the least, and that if times really improve there will, in all probability, be no stopping the renomination and re- election of President Hoover. The for- mer President is not likely to deceive himself or permit others to deceive him. After he had issued his famous “I do not choose to run” statement while he was still in the White House, a mem- ber of the House who was much grieved at Mr. Coolidge’s declination to be con- sidered for the candidacy called at the ‘White House and expressed great regret at Mr. Coolidge’s decision. Mr. Coolidze replied that if he should be a candidate and be re-elected “within two years he would be one of the most unpopular Presidents” the country had had. Per- haps Mr. Coolidge at that time was looking forward to the possibility of a business depression, since business has always had its ups and downs, or per- haps he felt that no man could remain in the White House for 10 years con- tinuously and retain his popularity with the people. * ok x Rumors are going the rounds, how- ever, that there is a plot afoot to tie up the Republican National Convention, through the candidacy of Pinchot, Norris, Borah, Jchnson, and then bring about the ncminction of Calvin Cool- idge. There is some indication, how- ever, that this so-called plot originated in the active mind of a leading Demo- crat and was broached in a bon mot that the Democrats would win the next election if “President Hoover did not issue an ‘I do nct choose to run’ state- ment and Calvin Colidge did not, for his part, issue a ‘choose to run’ state- ment.” " The Coolidge suggestion has been kicking around, however, for a long time. The opponents of President Hoover among the Republican Pro- gressives would not welcome a substitu- tion of Mr. Coolidge for Mr. Hoover on the Republican national ticket next year. Not at all, according to their own statements. * * x ‘The Republican presidential prefer- ential primaries next year, held in a widely scattered number of States, in- cluding Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, the Dakotas, Nebraska, etc., are likely to tell the tale pretty well of what is to happen in the Republican National Convention. It may be that a State here or there may be carried by a favorite son candidate eagainst President Hoover in these primaries. It may be that a Progressive Republi- can may pick up the delegates in a number of the Northwestern States, but that fact is not likely to prevent the renomination c¢f Mr. Hoover, or in any degree to tie up the national con- vention. It will be remembered that ‘Wisconsin, for example, sent a Norris instructed delegation to the last Re- publican National Convention, that Frank O. Lowden of Illinois had many delegates, too, and that Indiana in- structed fcr Senator Watson, and Kan- sas- for Vice President Curtis, but, despite all these opposing delegations, Mr. Hoover was nominated without de- lay. It is true that conditions may be vastly changed when the convention meets next year, but there does not seem to be much doubt that the Presi- dent will go into the conventicn with a greater number of delegates pledged to him than th:re were‘m 1928. i ‘The report comes from Philadelphia that “Bill” Vare, boss of the Republican machine in that city, has been sup- planted by Sheriff Thomas Wilbur Cunningham at the annual reorganiza- tion meeting of the Republican City Committee. Vare was not present. He was at Atlantic City. Notwithstanding his absence and the action of the com- mittee with regard to Cunningham, it is by no means sure that Vare is en- tirely out of the political picture. He has shown himself in the past the most resourceful of the lot, and he is likely to continue a power behind the throne. The Philadelphia City Committee tcok a shot at Gov. Pinchot and his presi- dential aspirations, adopting a resolu- tion calling the Governor a party wrecker with only two ambitions, one to punish Philadelphia, which has never supported him, and the other to sup- plant President Hoover in the White House. ‘The bill, which now seems likely to pass the Massachusetts State Legisla- ture, redistricting the State to meet the requirements of the new apportionment of the National House, will eliminate one of tvy veteran members of Con- gress from the Bay State. The bill combines, in effect, the districts which have been represented and are still rep- resented in the present Congress by Representative Frederick W. Dallinger and Representative Robert Luce, the eighth and thirteenth districts respec- tively. Both are Republicans. Dal- linger first came to the House about 116 years ago and Luce 12 years ago. Both have been prominent in the House. Dallinger sought nomination to the Senate, but lost to former Senator Gil- lett, whose term expired last March. He was subsequently elected to the House and re-elected. There seems to be an impression that Mr, Luce will be the Republitan nominee from the new congressional district and that Mr. Dallinger will be eliminated. Both are “dry” members of the House from Mas- sachusetts, and the drys have charged that the redistricting bill was rigged so as to lessen their representation in the Massachusetts House delegation. Those o spenton, it if & sedistricting bl tion thal a is not put through and Massachusetts elects 15 members of the House at large ilities are that refere: he]dml:w!.l“ of num’?t. ’ninwm are ive of se L majorities have won by large in those ‘The redistricting bill passed the Massa- chusetts Senate by a narrow margin day before yesterday. If it passes the House then it goes to Gov. Ely for his signature. It is regarded as & compro- measure an) may get by and be- come a law. Neither nor. Republicans @ea him if | tests. Republican Progressives, have no_il- | Fred Democrats ‘ashin offer applies strictl: ‘The bureau cannot give advice on legal, medical and financial matters. It does not attempt to settle domestic troubles, or undertake exhaustive research on any subject. Write your question plainly and briefly. Give full name and ad- dress arid incloss 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage. The reply is sent direct to the inquirer. Address ‘The Evening Star Information Bureau, director, Wash- leric_ J. ington, D. C. Is Kay Johnson, the motion pic- ture actress, the daughter of an archi- tect?—M. 8. A. Kay Johnson's father, Thomas Robert Johnson, designed the Wool- worth Tower. Q. What does the word “domnei” mean?—J. B. C. A. The complication of opinions and ideas, of affections and habits, which prompted the chevalier to devote him- self to the service of a lady and by which he strove to prove to her his love, and to merit hers in return, was expressed in the language of the Trou- badours by a single word, by the word “domnel,” a derivation of “donna,” which may be regarded as an altera- tion of tie Latin “domina, lady; mis- ress. Q How does the election of a French President differ from ours?—H. 8. A. In France the President is chosen by the National Assembly from one of its own number. Q. How long have cows been domes- ticated and their milk used for human consumption?—G. B. R. ows were domesticated so long ago ‘that all records of past peoples in- | clude them. Q. Do many people in ica weer glasses?—O. R. D. A. The Pan-American Sanitary Bu- reau says: “Educated South American people use glasses freely, though the proportion of users is probably not as high as in the United States.” . Is the Camp Fire Girls an organ- ization of wide mmmcatlons?—?.‘f.‘?. A It members in every State of the Union and in 17 foreign countries. Q. For how long a time did a vestal virgin serve in the temple?—G. C. A. The vows entailed a promise to ;:T:n priestesss of the hearth for 30 Q. How fast do bees proc ? S M™ produce honey? A. A good hive of bees in a good location can produce a pound of honey in three-quarters of an hour, or about 20 or 22 pounds a day. Q. At what age do wisdom teeth appear>—R. W. G. A. There is no stated age at which they appear. They may be cut any time between the ages of 16 and 40. es:;. H?W llrgeml gE}d would be nec- ssary for a nine-] it ?7— s ole golf course? A. A 70-acre fleld is usually required for a nine-hole golf course. Never less than 65 acres should be used. Q. What is meant by the Council of Pr;mlsers and Council of Ambassadors? A. The uncil of Premiers under the peace tréaty of Versailles met at San Remo in France, April 18, 1920, when the prime ministers of Great Britain, Prance and Italy met to de- | termine differences among the allie: and to decide the way lngwhlch ‘Gerf many should fulfill her obligations under the Versailles treaty. The Coun- cil of Ambassadors was a special council called under the League of Nations to decide certain boundary disputes which arose particularly with respect to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Germany and Austria. Q. How long are coral reefs?—H. R. A. Of the three types of coral reefs, fringing reefs which are connected with the shores upon which they are built vary from one-fourth to one-half mile in width and an indeterminate length. Barrier reefs may be of extreme length South Anter- | D. and of varying distances from the coast. For example, the Great Barrier Reef of Northeastern Australia is over 900 nautical miles in length, and the lagoon which separates it from the coast varles in width from 20 to 70 miles. The third type of coral reefs, atolls, or coral islands, may be anywhere from less than a mile to 40 miles in diameter Q.- When a piece of glass is plunged in water, then removed, why does the water run together in drops, leaving part of the surface dry?—W. H. C. A. Glass is generally more or lest completely cquered with a greasy film. When water drains from it, most of the surface (where the grease film is) will become dry, but at the spots that are wetted some water will be held. The water remaining on the glass is pulled morz or less into drops by the surface tension. This formation of drops is the most delicate test for freedom from surface grease. By most careful clean- ing, it is possible to remove the grease so_completely that when water drains from the surface only a thin uniform layer of water will remain. This will quickly evaporate if the air is dry. Q. What is the origin of the Pomer- anian dog?—D. C. H. | A. The most generally accepted theory | concerning the ofigin of the Pomera- nian is that it descended from dogs of the northland. General appearance in- dicates the use of Samoyede, Eskimo and Chow Chow blood in the breed's foundation and development. It is thought that individuals of these breeds were introduced into the Province of Pomerania, Germany, by ssttlers from the north, and that from such animals the German Spitz was evolved. The Spitz is said to be the source from which the Pomeranian is directly de- scended. Whether or not such theories are correct, it is well known that credit for the present-type Pomeranian lies largely with German and English fan- clers. The Spitz was a much larger and heavier dog than the Pomeranian, but careful selection and considerable in- breeding were instrumental in reducing the size and fixing the present minia- ture type. Q. How much linen material is used in the United States?>—F. C. R. A. Linen fabrics valued at $20,000,- 000 to $40,000.000 are imported and consumed in this country yearly. There are no woven linen fabrics produced in the United States besides crash for towels. There are no spinning mills in America to spin fine linen yarns. Q. Where in the Bible is the follow- ing quotation found: “Cieanliness is next to godliness”?—L. A. A. It is not found in the Bible, but is in a sermon preached by Charles (Vivisesley, one of the founders of Metho- m. Q. How did the name Bronx origi- nate?>—E. L. B. | A. Bronx and Bronx County, N. Y., were named for Jonas or Jacob Bronck, | an early settler. | Q. What kind of weather prevailed upon the day that the Cherokee Strip was opened?—L. G. K. A. The date was September 16, 1893, The season had been hot and dry, but :inet opening day was cool and very usty. Q. What was the power of the tele- scope through which Galileo found four satellites of Jupiter’—A. R. A. This telescope, constructed by Galileo, magnified 32 times. | Q Wasn't the Fronch field marshal, MacMzhon, an Irishman?—H. G. A. MacMahon was of Irish descent. Q How many graduates of West ;ouél gere killed in the World War?— ‘A Of the 3,081 grad 2 ve 3 e o graduates who served, | Q. Did Mark Tw | of his own death?- predict the time th?—M. 5. W. A. Mark Twain had remarked about | 8 year before his death that he came in ‘with Halley's comet in 1835 and that | he expected to go cut with it the next year, 1910. This rather pathetic prophecy came true to the exact day, since the comet appeared in the sky during the night before the day he died. Public, Like Su preme Court, Divided on Citizenship Qath People of the country are divided on the question of the naturalization of Prof. Douglas C. MacIntosh of the Yale Divinity School and of Miss Marie A. Bland, Canadian war nurse, both of whom objected to pledging them- selves to bear arms. By a bare ma- Jority, with Chief Justice Hughes on the minority side and in harmony with the so-called “liberal” group in the court, the decision was against the two applicants. The questicn is largely academic, because the woman would be unlikely to be drafted and the age of the man, it is believed, takes him out of the soldier class. Minority sup- port comes from those who welcome thoughtful additions to the citizen- ship, while upholders of the court ma- Jority see no reason for privileged citi- Zzenship, especially by naturalization. It is noted that the position of the Chief Justice is that Congress did not require the pledge that has been en- forced by Government officials. Considering the practical effect of the views held by these two persons who have failed to gain citizenship, the Houston Chronicle states: “Pre- sumably the man or woman who re- fuses to bear arms in any event is quite willing for State or Nation to perish while he or she remains true to some preconceived principle. Just why, then, such a person should seek or claim to stand on an equal footing as a unit of the Nation with persons who will respond when they are called on to defend the Nation is not very clear. Nevertheless, the tribe of those who hold to such a view is small, and its members, as we well know, have rendered great service to humanity, and therefore to the Nation in which they happen to reside. Those two facts make it practicable for us to allow them to go their way unmolested, although they are given a distinctly privileged position in the national life.” * ok K % “The controversy aside, it may be wondered how any man knows whether or not he would respond to the duty of bearing arms,” suggests the Oak- land Tribune, pointing out that “the records will show many who were loud and vallant in their assertions of atriotism to have shirked when the gle sounded, while others who could not imagine themselves carrying arms were among the first to enlist.” ‘The Altoona Mirror declares, “While we are hoping there never will be an- other war, we are probably sensible enough to realize that our country and its institutions must be defended.” The Jersey City Journal advises: “Well, Dr. MacIntosh, the country is sorry to lose you. You would have been a good citizen. And, Miss Bland, the country is sorry to lose you. You, too, would have. been a good citizen. But this is a country where the law is the law.” “It is an_established American pol- icy,” according to the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, “to respect the right of conscientious objection in those with whom it is a religious conviction, at- tested by membership in a denomina- fi: which ln;l;lw-n{u mwggg on war. those outside the me citizen- the Nation be inclined to be more n cannot claim the van- Memnfl.nt of cif P: logic in the of qualifica- tions for citizenship is recognized by ell the delegation chosen in a State- it. They wice contest ncxt year, it appears. This |« may bring Gov. Ely, a Democrat, o :“-n the bill,.although it does not meet -the demapds of the Democrats, the Schenectady Gazette, while the An Arbor Daily News insists upon llnkln: the benefits and responsibilities of cit- izenship, a position which is taken also by the New Orleans Times-Picayune, The San Antonio Express comments: “The war-declaring authority remains with the Congress and the arms-bearing duty remains with the citizens. Neither they nor their National Government (are yet willing to delegate that au- thority or pass along the determination of the nature and scope of that duty to individual objectors or to organized extreme pacifism under any of the many titles it has assumed in this country, despite the tragic lesson of American unpreparedness in 1917.” “Dr. MacIntosh asked that the Con- stitution of the United States be modi- fied,” asserts the Chicago Tribune, Wwhile the Boston Transcript and the Toledo Blade aver that “the United States does not bargain with those of alien birth who want to become citi~ zens,” and the Flint Daily Journal takes exception to “the oath of alle- giance with mental reservations.” The Oshkosh Northwestern sees no reason for “a ufarnta or superior status.” The New York Sun maintains, “There ought not to be two classes of citizens.” * K ok % “The minority opinion of four dis- tinguished members of the highest court should have weight with Con- gress,” advises the Topeka Daily Cap- ital, with the conclusion as to the per- sons concerned in the decision, “They are recognized as among the most de- sirable kinds of citizens in other re- spects, and it is a humiliation to the country that such persons are barred.” ‘The Asbury Park Press contends, “Common sense, rather than techni- calities, would have dictated that both be admitied to citizenship, even though they refuse to recite pledges that con- flict with their philosophy or religion.” “After a study.of this opinion,” says the Rochester Times-Union, “we are convinced Mr. Hughes' course is the wiser one. The majority opinion will not alter the flow of immigrants. It will not make good soldiers of men who do not want to go to war. We shall not in any sense be much, if any, better off for it. It has committed us to a rigid policy on the oath of arms. We think it would have been more in keeping with the sentiment of the country if the Supreme Court had in- voked Chief Justice White's famous ‘rule of reason’ instead.” ‘The two applicants “are of the higher type of citizenship which the Nation needs,” in the judgment of the Greensboro News, while the Memphis Commercial Appeal is convinced that “many laymen will believe that the decision in those cases should have been particular and not general.” The Baltimore Sun finds in the case and in other cases under the Bureau of Naturalization “particular examples to document the general charges brought against bureaucratic administration.” The Youngstown Vindicator declares: “Calm consideration would seem to lead to the conclusion that the final word on the subject has not id. When two such men as Justice and Justice Holmes take the view that the country is making a mistake in ergg cluding applicants from citizenship who are so devoted to principle that they would rather renounce something they desire very gra-tly than s pozsibility that thaw mayv s t to do whet v 18'p' then we mav b~ su=s #=at ths is still alive and no. buntll it i setiled xight”