Evening Star Newspaper, June 24, 1931, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1931. e e R N R O NI TR S W e e P e e e e ettt ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEBDNESDAY.....June 24, 1931 THEODORE W. NOYES. ... Editor. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Evening Star._...........45¢ per month and_Sin Star indays) .60c per month d Sundey Star 58 . B¢ per month | bc_per co{y’ i month. | or telephone ! The Sund: finda A Collection made st ¢ Orders may be semt 1n by I Rational 5000: Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Bildas oty All Other States and Canada. Bally and sunday...i 75 812.00: 1mo., § Daily only . .00: Bunday only 808 1men Member of the Assoclated Press. The Associated Press s exclusively entitled fo the use for republication of all news dis- stches credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and siso the local rews published herein. Al rights of publicatton of special dispatches herein are also reserved. 1.00 i3 = e - Waiting for France. At no period during the moresor less piping times of peace since the bugles blew for the armistice on the Western front has the world waited for an offi- cial announcement with greater anxiety than it stands by for today's decision In Paris. Unless the United States’ project has undergone change since it was promul- gated last Saturday, its success or fail- ure now hinges upon the French. If they demur, debate or deflect, the scheme is almost certainly doomed to defeat. Mr. Hoover and Secretary Stim- son have indicated that universal ac- eeptance by all countries at interest— prompt and unqualified acceptance—is of the irreducible essence of the scheme. Put forth to meet a grave emergency, it ealls for a minimum alike of delay and of quibbling. No more refreshing commentary on the President’s program has been forth- soming than that from a quarter in which partisanship might possibly have been looked for, if not justified. It is Sena- tor Pat Harrison, Democrat, genial but irrepressible baiter of all things Repub- lcan, who says: Times like these are like times of war, and a political truce should be de- clared. So far as my own feelings are concerned the public interest will best be served by declaring an armistice on politics, so these issues may be solved | by American statesmen rather than by | American politiclans. | ‘The conditions are not quite analogous, but Senator Harriscn’s words are not altogether inapplicable to the delicate situation which has arisen in conse- | quence of the French attitude—so del- icate that at the eleventh hour last night Secretary Stimson decided to post- pone his intended elucidation of the war- debt holiday over a countrywide radio network. France has an unanswerable ease for demanding that haste be made slowly in any enterprise avowedly de- signed to rehabilitate Germany. No nation whose frontier does not lie athwart the Rhine or which has not been invaded by German armies twice within forty-five years has a right to hector the French people for refusing to accept off-hand a proposition which advantages the ancient foe $425,000,000 and disadvantages France $100,000,000 in the same year. America’s hope—the hope of the rest of the world—is that the French will measure against even that colossal factor the greater good in revived con- fidence, improved trade, tranquilized international relations and discouraged demagoguery that will flow from the plan to give Germany a twelvemonth's hreathing space. France's friends in the United States, and their name is leglon, are trustful that the statesman- ship of Doumer, Laval and Briand this critical day in Paris will rise to the | level so aptly suggested by Senator Har- rison and decree “an armistice on poli- ties.” The world waits confidently forj such a demonstraticn of French world- mindedness. & s A correspondent of a question-and- answer department is informed that a “squinting modifier” is a misplaced word, phrase or clause giving an am- biguous meaning. At first glance, how-| ever, one would be apt to take this as meaning & brejudiced proponent of a change in the Volstead act. Gang Film and Mail-Order Gun. A lad of sixteen fatally wounded an- other of twelve in Montclair, N. J., the other day in the course of a re-enact- ment of a motion picture which he had seen. This was a “gang” film of the type that of late has been fre- truthfully, the career of the tmfmhmtwhmmmof and crooks and bandits. The pictures themselves may feebly point the moral of evil living. The juvenile mind, how- ever, does not grasp the vital truth of penalty, It gets only the glamour of bravado and danger and daredevil en- terprise. Gunplay is common to these films. In a few States boards of cen- sors ban the actual showing of weapons in use, but the picture, even when so excised, nevertheless glorifies the gun and the young beholder is tainted and tempted. Parents should make sure that their, children are not exposed to the perni- | clous influerce of crime exploiting pic- tures and that they do not avail them- selves of the ready opportunities for personal armament. This New Jersey case is surely a demonstration of the need of greater care than is now ex- ' _ercised in these matters. e —e——— Rate Plea Studied. The plea of the rallroads for an in-, crease of fifteen per cent in freight rates is to be considered not alone by the Interstate Commerce Commission, but also by the State railway and public utility commissions, meeting in jolnt conferences. The representatives of the State railway commissions are to begin their meetings on July 7, in the coun- try's four rate groups, under a call is- sued by the president of the National As- soclation of Railroad and Utility Com- missions. Under the law, consideration of rate changes may be made a co-op- erative matter, with the Interstate Commerce Commission and the State commissions both playing their part. Another step toward the ultimate de- cision on the railroads’ application for rate increases is the order of the Inter- state Commerce Commission calling on the railroads for much additional’ in- formation regarding their application. This information, representatives of the railroads assert, is already well in hand and should be presented to the Inter- state Commerce Commission within & comparatively short time. The rall- roads have strongly urged that their plea for rate increases be considered as an emergency plea and be given as prompt consideration as possible. The disposition on the part of the commis- sion is to comply with the request for early consideration. But very properly the commission wishes to be fully in- formed before it acts. The Interstate Commerce Commis- sion has received letters both apbrov- ing and disapproving the application of the railroads for freight rate in- creases. The major part of the let- ters are in protest against increases. The burden of the protests, for the most part, is that railroad freight rates, particularly on heavy articles and commodities, are already too high, and that to impose added charges would be a severe blow to industry, which is struggling to get itself out of the pres- ent depression. But not all the ship- pers are oppcsed to the suggested in- crease in rates, some of them asserting that it would be sound policy at this time to aid the railroads, which have been falling off rapidly in the matter of net revenue in the last year. The Interstate Commerce Commission and the State commissions have a real problem before them. The railroads, if the strict letter of the law is followed, appear to be entitled to an increase in | freight rates, provided such an increase | would really make their business more | profitable. Under the law, the figure fixed for net return on the investments | in the roads is §.75 per cent. The net earnings of the roads, it has been esti- mated, have dropped es low as 2.17 per cent in recent months. But the commission must take a broad view of the matter under existing conditions in this country. An increase in rates misht materially and disastrously affect ., wWistries, and thereby prave s blow to the roads themselves which the increase would be designed to aid. The answer to the rallroads’ problem, after all, is a revival of business and industry. If business is able to make the hoped‘ for turn in the road at a comparatively early date, the fortunes of the car- riers will improve, too. e That tourist party which, clad in tin breeches, intended to keep out snow, started to ascend Mt. Rainier now have some faint idea of the state of comfort enjoyed by King Arthur's and subsequent knights-errant on a cold day. That obtained on & hot one can be left to the imagination. —_— e, Prince Peter Pan. Probably because he continues res- olutely to turn his back on the joys and blessings of matrimony, Edward, Prince of Wales, is envisioned by most of the world as still a very young man. Head- lines over English cable dispatches, narrating that the heir to the British throne was thirty-seven years old en June 23, are sure to have taken many i f quently shown on the screen. The boys went to a “den” they had built in the back yard of the home of one of them. The older boy, on arriving, reached into a secluded ccrner and pulled out something which he put in his pocket. At the moment of dramatic climax he drew the object from his pocket and there was an explosion and the smaller boy fell and died shortly after. The boy who did the shooting told-the police that he had obtained the pistol from a mail order house last month. He had been arrested for us- ing it in target practice with other bays ‘but had been dismissed with a reprimand by the police recorder. He had told his father that he had thrown ; the gun away, when in fact he had hid it first in his room and later at the " hut. Here is a clear illustration of the evil both of the highly suggestive mo- tien picture showing gang life and of the easily obtained deadly weapon. ‘This lad had no difficulty getting his gun ‘despite the federal law prohlbn-: ing the sale by mall cf weapons capable of being concealed on the person. Any- body, it would seem, can get a pistol by this means at a very small expense and slight delay. In this case the boy had been already warned against using the gun. The police recorder merely “reprimanded” him. He was not re- quired to surrender the gun. It still remained in his possession. He hid| the weapon and lied to his father. ‘There was gross negligence in this mat- ter on the part of police and parent. ‘This sort of thing is happening all the time in this country. Children i | by surprise. The royal records at Windsor may emblazon the fact that Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, etc, was born in 1894. To millions of admirers the globe round he is Prince Peter Pan, who, in their estimation at any rate, simply does not grow up. They cannot—at least they are loath to—reslize that he is well advanced into man's estate and on the verge of becoming what George Bernard Shaw ealls “fortyish.” ‘The boyish-faced prince, it is some- times said, i3 destined to be “the last King of England.” Democracy 1is described as being so Irresistibly on the march in John Bull's islands and in the “dominions beyond the seas” that the throne is marked for disappearance with the reign of the present Prince of ‘Wales. His stranglehold on the people's affections, especially among the masses, seems to be a guarantee that no intervening political upheaval will be permitted to cheat him out of his ancestral heritage. H The prince is no royal idler. He does not spend nearly as much of his time falling off his horse as American’ news- paper readers may think. He does not resent being dubbed. Britain's official ambassador of trade and international good will. Modern and democratic to | his finger-tips, Prince Peter Pan is at his best when spreading the glory of Britain in those foreign par' : whence London and Liverpool, Birming.:- and | Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle would fain consign their argosies full of wares turned out by “the shopkeeper of the ! world.” The heir-apparent’s recent ex- " utes. 'an average of nearly thirty knots, & T In the distressful times which have come upon Great Britain, and which she is so bravely “muddling through,” as Britannis puts it, it is impossible to magnify the value of an asset like the Prince of Wales. His smile, his bon- homie, his modesty, his charm, perhaps even his inconquerable bachelordom, are worth their weight in Bank of England gold. Over here, where we have bagked in the sunshine of his per- sonality, we wish Prince Peter Pan many more years of invincible youth and useful lving. Speed in Transportation. Indicative of the world demand for spe:d In transportation are the ex- periments now being earried on in Germany to develop a new type of rail- way car which provides its own power by means of a propeller and a twelve- cylinder airplane motor. Recently, this stream-line creation, bullt more or less in the shape of an airplane fusclage, burned over the track between Hamburg and Spandau, a suburb of Berlin, in an hour and thirty-six minutes. The dis- tance is slightly more than one hun- dred and sixty miles, with a high speed attained of one hundred and forty- | g three miles an hour and an average speed of one hundred and six miles an hour. The car beat the plane time between these two points by four min- It carries fifty passengers and g:ts four miles to a gallon of gasoline. Speed in the alr, speed on land and speed afloat is the motto of this fast- traveling generation. Transatlantic ships have made their appearance in the past few years which boll through the ocean from Europe to America at speed which the passenger from one continent to another in slightly over four days. Rallroad schedules have likewise been made faster and the crack trains in America are keeping up with them. Alrplane transport lines are de- manding more speed from the manufac- turers and the air traveler of today cuts through the sky at speeds upto one hun- dred and fifty miles an hour. Unquestionably, the alrplane has pointed the way for more speed in all forms of transportation. The confirmed flying traveler can see no reason for spending five hours on a train when he can cover the distance in two hours by plane and consequently the railroads must quicken their service to secure his patronage. The same thing, to a cer- tain extent, applies to a slow boat and & fast boat, although the question of expense enters into it. No person, probably, to whom time is money would spend seven days on the ocean when he could just as well make the crossing in four and one-half days. And so it appears that developments in speed of transportation will come rapidly in the future. The public wants it and what the public wants it generally gets. —_———— A survey is said to have demonstrated that small farms are more profitable than mrge ones. Many a farmer would revamp this statement to the effect that small ones do not put one so deeply “in the red" as do large ones. ————— ‘The reactian of most people to these bare-handed bee-catching contests is that even in cold weather they would not care much about entering one. ———— ‘The name of the device used to test the alcoholic content of beer is “ebul- liometer.” Many can rémember when the title was simple “fourth schooner.” r——— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Cat. I should not like to be a cat And doze the hours away, ‘Too indolent to scare a rat Or join the casual fray. Although I know It is & luxury to dream And wait till some one brings the cream, To purr and yawn in bliss complete And keep one's fur entirely neat; Never to know the flerce unrest That ends the disappointed quest. To feel the casual caress By hands of generous idleness And find each day that slips away Secure, like every other day, And yet, You bet, In spite of the allurements that Buch slumbrous lives display, I should not like to be a cat And doze the hours away. A Sincere Admirer, “Do you understand the sclentist to whose lectures you apparengly listen with so much attention?” “No,” replied Senator Sorghum. “I am interested in him as a man who can make ‘em applaud things they can- not hope to understand. I often feel called upon to attempt the same thing in my own business.” Jud Tunkins says your so-called “good loser” is usually no more than a man who has sense enough to keep his mouth shut. Literary Intentions. For books man spends his hard-earned pelf, In mood sincere and solemn. The books repose upon the shelf. He refds the sporting column. Tribute to an Unknown Genius. “Who started the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy?” “I don't know,” replied Miss Cay- f enne. “But whoever started it knew his -business. most wonderful press agent stuff in the history of the drama.” Incredulity. “Thers are books in the running brooks,” sald the man who was after trout. “Yes,” replied ‘Farmer “That's another of them old fisherman storfes.” 3 Geographical Modesty. An Eskimo lady exclaimed, with a smile, “I do not pretend to the latest in style, But you'll have to admit that up here in the cold I never wear bathing suits you eould call bold.” 3 “De father dat bets money on a hoss { t ! |and thrice more hearty than he might BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. “What's the matter?” inquires & reader. “You haven't written an article about Alexandre Dumas for more than & year.” Sure enough! ‘This is an oversight which shall be remedied at once, for our allegiance to river of French romance is abated. Only recently that Indefatigable as enthusiast, R. 8. Garnett, who last year gave the world “Aboard the Emma,” one of the lost books, turned out a sequel, “The Memoirs of Gari- baldl,” as edited Dumas. one wills it or not, it is im- possible to t away from the figure and books of the whole-souled man who delighted the world with “The Three M rs,” “The Count of Monte Cristo,” etc. * ok ok ok A host of Dumas imitations, too, have poured from the press during re- cent years. Two Frenchmen collab- orated on four delightful romances, in which D~ an and Cyrano de {ouxht together. itable imi- enough, are ._As a matter of fact, the typical Dumas novel is easy to do, after a fashion. But to the devotee there will remain something lagking, and what can that be but the spirit of Alexandre Dumas himself? You may imitate the letter of an artist, but scarce can get into his soul, and do every stroke as from the fountain head. There will be small details, utterly without name, which nevertheless put the student on the right track, and show him before 100 pages are done m you are only doing a clever imita- after all. R Yes, & genulne reader of Dumas is a student of Dumas, just as a real bird lover is a student of birds. ‘He who becomes interested in any- thing enough wants to know more than he does about the subject of his en- thustasm. This is to be a student with gest. Here is no driven schoolboy, with or without his shining morning face, but one who honors the title. “Student” is a glorious name, but too often men and women besmirch it with their mental attitudes. They per- mit the task end of it to obscure the goal end of it. The feeling that one is getting a lesson, rather than that one is inter- ested and happy, far too often over- shadows the attainment of knowledge— and delight. tations, which, surpri far from bad. * Xk x No doubt some of this inimical feel- | ing is due to the thrusting of human beings by other human beings into sub- Jjects for. which they have no natural aptitude. There are men and women, for in- stance—and these men and women were once boys and girls—who honestly do not love, admire or respect the novel form of writing. To all such there can be no praise | of Dumas, or any cther fiction. We have talked with these persons and know that they are not to blame. None of us can know everything, nor | love everything; at some point or other each one of us is seriously stunted in admiration. Then there will be some genuine en- | thusiasts for the novel, who, lacking | certain chords in the heart and mind, | fail to appreciate the rush, the color, Jong admir the inherent qualities of the romances of Alexandre Dumas. * % K * Some men have an uneasy feeling that what they admired in boyhoo they should give over in manhood, lest some unthinking fool call them juvenile still, Fortunately the world of ‘men has too Alexandre Dumas for any one to suffer this uneasy feeling. The good tendency of the modern mind, in every natfon, is to pay respect to the achievement of intentions, whatever those intentions may have been. Dumas set out to write a certain type of fiction, and he wrote it well. “And how,” as the young people say. He has pever been outdistanced in the type of romance which he created. When it comes to swashbuckling, ro- mantic action, yethvmul ml;uud with genlality, umor and a sense of honor, no writer in. world’s history has excelled him. Scott is lifeless, almost dull, in com- parison, while excelling him in many points, The comparatively few biog- raphies of Dumas have uniformly ob- ing | scured the fact that he was a dramatist of no mean abllity, that had life been different with him he might have made & name for 1f next to that of Moliere. ok ok K Perhaps it was because he was essen- tially a dramatist that he mansged to glve his written storles what we can only call a certain lifelike quality, Offhand, this might seem pcor praise, since most novelists write of life; to say that their work is lifelike might be con- strued as no praise at all. And in a sense the romances of Alex- andre Dumas are very unlike life, in that they picture situations as most men and women never experience them. But let us see. The quality we call “lifelike” is more than a ready, de- tailed account of living, else there could be no question as to the first place of storles such as those written by the leading realists of the nations. Such realism leads only as such real- ism, if the reader will permit us to put it that way. There is another realism, and this is the realism of desire, of the heart's ease, of that mighty long- ing for adventure which the world reaching for the moon, in children, and perhaps madness, in adults. * * ‘When a fictionist creates this atmos- phere to the satisfaction of a body of critical readers, who have had a de- cent experience of cther types of fic- tion, we may say in all truth that he is lifelike. If his characters go on adventures which the ordinary man will never en- ter, and would not be able to handle cor- rectly if he did, this is saying nothing more than that they are lifelike in their situations and surroundings. ‘The average reader is not such a fool that he cannot understand perfectly how a man of spirit and honor ought to act in a given situation. When his man comes through, whether it be in Dumas or in the New ‘Testament, he experiences a glow of mind and heart which is at cnce a per- sonal satisfaction and one of the glories of the human race. It is becauss we can feel so, upon moments of exaltation, that the world yet has hope of eradicating evil, of over- coming the plain enemies of society, of ousting the fakers and crooks. It is because the novels of Alexandre | Dumas, filled with the very heartbeat of life, create this sense of high ad- venture, and its resultant mood of exal- tation, that the rcading world still holds them dear. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. At no period since he entered the| White House has Herbert Hoover had | Trubee was definitely predestined by | more copious evidence of popular ap- education and paternal endowment for | proval than that with which he has| been deluged in connection with his | war-debt plan. By mail, by long-dis- | tance telephone, and particularly by telegraph, the country's plaudits have rained in upon Lim all week. “Bravo!" | epitomizes the tone and terms which Vox Popult is expressing itself, coupled with assurances of restored business confidence. All shades of po- litical opinion and every section of country are represented in the chorus of acclaim. To judge by what the President is hearing, Congress should be virtually a unit in passing the neces- sary moratorium legislation in Decem- ber. Mr. Hoover is visibly gratified by the volume of national support thus €videnced. He is thinking and talkin about nothing else except the debt holl day. Even influential Republican_ pol! ticlans who've been at the White House | this week with pressing rish-pump party business found the sident so utterly d in his epochal 'scheme for world economic recovery that they couldn't get a G. O. P. word in edge- wise, * k x * Secretary Stimson’s “vacation” plans in Europe will probably be knocked into a cocked hat by present-hour interna- tional developments. He still hopes to make the trip, only his visions of restful holidays far from the madding throng of premiers, foreign secretaries, finance ministers and American Ambas- sadors have vanished into thin air. ‘There wfll'hbe time Mlflnwcohl. SH{;; son takes ship for Europe ve broad outlines of the moratorium fixed up, but he faces 2 whole Summer and Fall fore the proposition will become what dlflmu call a fait accompli. So the soldier-statesman who manages our for- eign affairs is on the threshold of a working leave of absence. That the welcome awaiting the premier of the Hoover cabinet in Europe be twice | | have anticipated a month ago is a fair certainty. ‘It will be open arms all the way—even in Paris, it's hoped. * Kk X ymond Benjamin of California, who Pas come. 13 pe known a8 Prest: dent Hoover's U-boat, apparently 1is|&T! now actively on the job. At least, he arrived in Indiana a couple of weeks like an advance agent, just ahead of the tial party. Benjamin came to Washington in December, 1930, to undergo an intensive apprenticeship, many thought, for the Republican Na- tional chairmanship. He does not make his office at G. O. P. headquarters in the Barr Building, but camps out in quarters exactly midway between tbere and the White House. The understand- ing is that he gets his orders, if any, 0. 1600 l’enmy,l;‘muhz eul It turned out to be the [mOVements Corntossel. 50 credi are’ playing “gang” in every city as ploits as his country’s foremost com- race” sald Uncle Eben, “has a hard ih."'h'l’"‘ @ result of their attendance at ple- h%shciu ‘that illustrate, ‘V or less 3 mercial traveler—in South America— came up to the high standards he has ERE Rl same Al young |Walsh of Montana as a of detailed official exchanges be-|po of service in the Empire State Assembly. a career in the public service. * * % x Speaking of 1932, one of the very latest things under the Democratic sun is the emergence of Senator Thomas J. possible running-mate for Gov. Roosevelt. Such a combination ests natural advan- tages—East and West, wet and dry, Protestant and Catholic, virile youth and dignified age, and all the rest of it. Walsh is said to have conferred with Roosevelt recently, for what purpose or with what results is not of record. * K ok ok Dr. C. C. Wu, retiring Minister of China, is leaving Washington tomor- row. He will sail- for China via Gibral- tar from New York on July 3. In the| interval Dr. and Mrs. Wu will visit Ventnor, near Atlantic City, where he was once & public schoolboy. Their regret ‘at leaving the United States, after an official tour of duty which be- gan in 1929, is tempered by their joy in rejoining their children in China. Two younger children, who have been at school in Washington, are going back to the East with their parents. On the night of June 30 Dr. Wu will broad- cast from New York a coast-to-coast valedictory to America over the Colum- bia network. It will take the form of a question-and-answer interview con- ducted by this ribe and range around the general theme “Why I'm Returning to China.” * % x % Rear . H. States Navy, retired, on his way home from England, repaired last month w the United States at the annual ing of the Kipling Soclety. He has sent hack enthusiastic accounts of the session, which included a report that the author of “Barrack Room Ballads” and “Plain Tales From the Hills” is not losing vogue in thi with the passing yea: Admiral Chandler, who is America’s acknowledged author- ity -on Kiplingiana, wrote Capital friends that “my three-quarters of an hour with the great Rudyard and Mrs. Kipling alone would have repaid me for the trip.” Kipling, now a somewhat hm_gentleman approaching 70, lives quietly in Sussex, denymg himself to visitors except on rare occasions, * K K K Senator Jim Davis is to the front with a brand-new story. A middle-aged woman (who turned out to be hard of hearing) stood up in a public meeting, when the speaker asked any woman in the audience to rise who agreed with'the theory that it was a wife's duty to “mother her husband.” She said she'd misunderstood the proposition. She thought the speaker had said “smother your husband.” gton, is whither resent meet- (Copyright, 1931.) Queen Victoria’s Faith a Model for Hard Times To the Editor of The Star: Good News and Optimism Are Needed for Business To the Editor of The Star: There has been an epidemic of “let- editor” aroused over recently published letters severely criticizing Dl! Julius Klein, As- sistant Secretary of Commerce, for his D. radio talks and published statements. While I have no desire to condone any d | one’s errors, it is well to remember that those who casion: Dr. :{,‘d never defeat. ows confidence in the ability of the United States to overcome its troubles no matter how serious temporarily, The country needs more men having the confidence and opti- mism and forward-looking fearlessness possessed by Dr. Klein. These panic - stricken, unreasoning, perpetual pessimists are worse than any Communists we have so far to con- tend with. Their influence is destruc- tive rather than constructive. They un- dermine the morale of the people. They breed fear rather than the fighting IID‘II{}E. that is needed to overcome diffi- @ ) I have the utmost sympathy for the man who is unemployed and has tramped the streets for weeks or months looking for work. He cannot be blamed for be- coming discouraged. His criticism of the ::élhunzmomer of '.hing? vlhlcl: mfllll Widespread unemploymen ly Justified. !-lne.fltob-bly has no idea where the fault ly lies, It is natural that he should look to the Government for assistance in time of need, without re- gard to the sometimes questioned right of the Government to spend the tax- payers’ money for the support of those few who are in want. I am thoroughly convinced that with four out of every five business concerns suffering a loss of business the fault lies largely within their own organizations and in their methods of doing business. Fools, cowards : nd lagy people follow the line of least resistance and blame others for their woes. A look into a mirror will show the cause of most of one's troubles. ‘Those business men who continue to sit back and do nothing but bewail con- ditions and cut operating expenses by wage and personnel reductions are only perpetuating the very conditions they want others to correct. Good business is walting today, as it always has, for the really progressive man to “come and get it"—and more and more of them are getting back their nerve and good busi- ness along with it. A large department store here in ‘Washington recently carried, I believe, a full-page advertisement, and in large black type announced the fact that they {had increased the number of their em- ployes by 10 per cent to handle their increased business this Spring. The newspaper that carried the advertise- ment overlooked that important piece of encouraging news, which was of interest to every person in Washington, and es- pecially to all those who are unem- ployed, since it indicated improving conditions and imminent prospects for :;ler“o:n leflmn&t;ymht.m If the h:ewl- ould sf ying up the dis- couraging news ge}"‘and all %topontnn to its importance, and would give ap- propriate space and attentlon to bright side of the picture, they would wield tremendous influence in restoring public confidence and. consequently, in speeding up the return to prosperous conditions. | Dr. Klein and Merle Thorpe, editor | of Nation’s Business, published by the | United States Chamber of Commerce, are fighting a hard battle to replace the | unreascning fear in millions of people ) With confidence properly tempered with caution. We don't need rose-tinted spectacles. | If we'll just wipe the dirt from our regu- lar glasses, we'll see that things aren't half so0 dark as we thought. Come on! Let's go! DELL C. HILL. ———— Favors Northwest Sites For War-Navy Buildings | To ‘the Editor of The Star: I _was much interested in reading in The Star recently that Chairman Wecod of ¢he House Appropriation Com- mittee and Representative Ross Collins, Democrat, of Mississippi, thought that the Northwest section for the Army and Navy Buildings was entirely too expen- sive. They wanted to change the site to_the Southwest section. These public men have been mis- informed, and it is rather strange that men in their positions would come out publicly and make a statement which is not correct. Are they attempting to spend the $800,000 which the Public Building Commission has seen fit to save for the public Treasury? This reminds me of the man who was walk- ing backward to go forward. Another fuestion: Why is this in- terest in the Scuthwest section so keen after this question has been decided by the duly authorized bodies, who were properly selected and who unanimously decided on the Northwest section? Is it to nd more of the people’s money instead of saving it? Are these men aware of the fact that the 1929-1930 assessment for the property in the Narthwest section only amounts to $2,162,000 and that of the Southwes| section amounts to $3,046,- 000? On the site which they are se- lecting, according to the assessment, it will ccst $800,000 more. They coniinually quote the figures of 8 to 10 million dollars for the cost of the real estate in the Northwest section, How do they arrive at these figures when the assessed valuation is about $2,000,000? Surely it is not the intention of these very prominent rep- resentatives to make the people pay over 500 per cent of the valuation. It is time that we are sticking to facts and not to fiction. As a native of Washington, as a taxpayer and as & man who desires to see Washington beautified, I wish to m‘w debt of gratitude to do anything in this world oc- %‘flu‘i"&‘ ee&‘x‘u“uunu “Booster” ly & feat. He | ledge my members of the Public Commission who by their good ment and foresight have selec t] only desirable and available site to complete the vista from the Capitol to the Mall. WASHINGTON. Visitor S?ys River Has Stench and Health Peril To the Editor of The Star: All claim Washington to be most beautiful. It is, in some sections, where wealth exists and is improving in some parts of Pennsylvania avenue. But come to the point of the Potomae River {ront. In my estimation, it is the most insanitary and unsightly section this community or any section I have visited. We have only one wharf on the river front worth looking at, and tahat is the fish wharf. All the rest are nothing but a lot of junk, and the fa- | cilities are even worse. I was motoring around Potomac Park on the evening of June 21 and the tide was_loy, the air was s nt and it smelled like a sewer near; but when we near the rose garden the e was mtrlnu'. mrm m & square away we sme! Nt i “3!‘ around g‘ and in | Touls Times, T BY FREDERI offer applies strictly to The bureau cannot give legal, medical and financial matters. It does not attempt to settle domestie troubles, or undertake ex- haustive research on any subject. Write your question plnm‘ and briefly, Give full name and and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return postage, The reply is sent direct to the inquirer. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, director, Washington, D. C. veen “mace by the bradeipin 'ang n elphia and Washington teams in the lzmerk:.ln 50 far this season?—W. S. A. The total number of runs and hits %l h!d)une };ols l;hllollows: Runs— n, ; illadelphia, 277. :!’“‘—. Washington, 574; Philadelphia, information. advice on Q. Why 1is the newspaper Pravda being published in four cities simul- taneously by the Communists?—E. F. . This is the official organ of the Communist party and appears in Len- , Kharkov, Rostoff and Moscow as part of a drive to weld the nation into one political unit. The matrices are sent by airplane each morning from Moscow to the thres other citles. Q. Please name some men who are cosxve!:rnFm with the Einstein theory. A. Among the well known authori- | tles on the subject are Dayton C. Miller, Robert Millikan, A. A. Michel- son, Henry N. Russell, Sir J. J. Thom- son, Dr. Paul Heyl and Prof. J. H.| Jeans, | Q. How long had Oscar Wilde been | in prison when he wrote the “Ballad | of Reading Gaol"?—E. R. A. Wilde did not plan or write this | masterplece until after his release. | Q. Where is Mary Mannering, whu‘ played in “Janice Mer!d.lth”?—l.‘T. w. A. Mary Mannering is now Mrs. F. W. Wadsworth, and lives in Detroit, Q. Is_ventriloquism of ancient ori- | gt L L A. Traces of the art are found in Egyptian and Hebrew archeology. Eurycles of Athens was the most cele- | brated of Gresk ventriloquists, It is not improbable that the priests of anclent times were masters of this art and that to it may be ascribed such | miracles as the speaking statues of | Egyptians, the Greek oracles and the | stone in the River Pactolus, the sound | of which put robbers to fiight. Q. How many suicides occur in the | United States yearly?—W. D. . the basis of -eurrent statistics, the annual loss of life by suicide in Continental United States may be con- servatively estimated at between 18,000 and 20,000. Q. How many buildings for the Chi- cago World's Fair in 1933 are under construction?—M. K. A. Three of the buildings already stand—the Administration Building, a reproduction of old Fort Dearborn, and a large Travel and Transport Hall which is nearing completion. Within the next year it is expected that three more of the Century of Progress structures will rise—a temple of science, an electrical building and a Mayan temple which is to be a reproduction of the mysterious Nunnery adrangle built at Uxmal, Yucatan. Q. What is Louis David the subject of the Jacques canvas which has been C J. HASKIN. acquired the Metropolitan Museum c(m—x.,l. . “The Death of Socrates,” painf in 1785 and exhibited in lhep‘Pll’llw Salon in 1787, is the David work now on exhibition. It is one of the four paintings classed as the artist's masters Ppleces and shows the Greek philosopher about to drink poison in a well sur- rounded by his disciples. Sir Joshua Reynolds, who saw the painting at Paris, described it as the greatest effort of art since the Sistine Chapel and the Stanze of Raphael. In 1812 Napoleon tri‘d to purchase it, but was not successful, Q. Who was Polyxena?—M. R. A. In classic myth a daughter of Priam and Hecuba. The carly poets say little about her, but according to later legends she is the heroine of a tragic love affair with Achilles, the Greek hero. Q. What is the origin of the “racket”?—A. J. D. i A. The word “racket” with the meaning of confused, clattering noise, has an imitative origin etymologically, By extension this came to mean a social bustle of some kind, with a meaning similar to the word “spree.” Finally by the uncertain processes which such words often take it came to have a slang meaning of a scheme, dodge or trick. This meaning developed into the idea of a gigantic illega] enterprise, such as the present “prohibition racket.” Q. What is the cost, date of erection and dimension of the Arch at Vel Forge, Pa.?—L. M. L. g | A The so-called National Arch at | Valley Forge was authorized by an act of Congress June 25, 1910. - One hun- dred thousand dollars was appropriated, and it was stipulated that the Arch must be completed by November, 1913, It is 60 feet 9 inches high, 50 feet wide and 19 feet thick. The archway itself 15 21 feet wide and 32 feet 9 tnches igh. Q. For whom is Shelby, Ohlo, _Q For ¥, Ohlo, named? A. “Shelby, Ohio, was named for Is Shelby, a former Governor of Kenmnkylf according to Gannstt's “Origin of Place ames.” Q. How many acres are there in the inclosure of the Indianapolis Speedway l’l:! B;:.I;QBE?:‘J. B. s Indianapolis Motor Speedway Co. says that the area inside the fence of the Indianapolis Speedway around the track is 320 acres and outside 113 acres, totaling 433 acres. % When was indium discovered?—C. . A. It was first discovered in 1863 by two German chemists, Reich and Rich- ter. The element was found in a sam- | ple of zinc ore by means of the spectro- | scope. The indigo blue line of its spec- | frum gave its na me. Q. Where is Francis buried?—R. K TP A. In the cemetery at Frederick, Md. in'the Dnlien Biaten s sumptien ‘;:35&.;3:’.' kS lggs\sr:h:“perl ocs:.g‘ con- sumption was 99.37 pounds. Q. How long did it take to river from Louisville before the steamboat?- A. Before boat such months, 80 by to New Orleans '—A. L. T. the advent of the steam- & trip took from three to four |Henry Ford’s Farm Science Is Applauded and Deplored Henry Ford's experiment in tryin to find a way to profitable mass pro- duction of farm products, through the placing of thousands of acres under cultivation and operating the project by scientific methods, is generally viewed by the public as a worthy effort | to solve an outstanding problem, but doubts are e: d as to even Mr. 'Xpresse Ford's ability to overcome the obstacles | to profit from the soil. Some see in the experiment’the possibility of chain farming on a scale that will eliminate the small landowner and reduce farm workers to the status of European peasants. ‘“‘More power to Mr. Ford's reforming and constructive arm!” exclaims the Boston Transcript, which finds that “how to get profit with less labor seems to the ordinary farmer a great secret,” and expresses the hope that Mr. Ford “wil] lay bare the secret,” in view of the generally accepted theory that “a nation's prosperity begins with the prosperity of the farmer.” The Daven- port Democrat advises that “farms of millionaires, as a rule, are considered their playgrounds and their hobbies— | places to show and to entertain their friends, regardless of the cost—but with Mr. Ford it is different.” The Democrat concludes: “Mr. Ford is him- self devoting much of his time and| mind to the work. He believes the solution of the farmer’s problem lies in increased efficiency and the discov- ery of new markets for farm products. He hopes to solve these problems. If Aoy ot wan can accomplish t&h ghl- gantic task, he appears to the ‘chosen’ one. Success to him!” “Well, if Mr. Ford can get alcohol from cantaloupes, and his compatriot, Mr. Edison, can get rubber from weeds. perhaps the time is not far off when we shall see that old parable reversed and get blood out of a turnip,” says the Roehester Times-Union. The New York Evening Post comments: ‘“The consumption of farm products is limit- ed by individual capacities which no advertising can increase. Perhaps this problem can be solved by the discovery of new uses for farm products. In fact, we should not be at all surprised if Mr. Ford found ways in which the products of the soil could be turned into material for automobiles, with compressed carrots or dehydrated squash going into the chassis.” * %% “Twenty years .’ the St. 4 “his :l,eolhod would ha found wider field for improvements than now. In that time a million farmers have improved their methods. Tractors have helped. Roads have aided. Sclence has contributed through the radio, the telephone, lights, gas and housing, There is yet, however, vast room for advancement. * * * Im- ‘mediately we shall hear that he cannot anticipate weather. We are not so sure of that. A water supply may be At all events, the in | from it the com] but gentleman farming seems impossible to the welcome to try to solve it, and every- body hopes that chinch bugs, ll’lzy worms and corn borers will not multi- | Ply on his farm as rapidly as new cars | multiply in his factories. If he can find new uses for agricultural by-prod- | ucts, he will, indeed, have opened new dcors of progress for farmers. But in- creased efficiency in wheat production, i{t‘)r i'{lshnce, is certainly not the solu- | eral vears ago," saceording to. “the Allentown Call, “made a study of large farming enterprises, some of the largest in the country, in fact. This survey showed that, with prevailing prices for commodities, even wholesale farming with the best of machinery, the best managcment and a minimum of labor, it was difficult to make profits and to pay labor even the low wages that are commcn to the farm, a wage level far below that which Mr. Ford 5o optimistically sets out to establish for an ancient industry.” * x % “Now let the farmers adopt the Ford prescription and get rich,” argues the San Francisco Chronicle. “They will need the riches if they ccntinue the treatment. The spending feature of the Ford method is not altogether new. In fact, it has been tried for a long time —by people who could afford’it. Wil- liam M. Evarts, once United States Senator from New York, had a farm in Vermont, to which he was wont to in- vite friends for little vacations. Ar- riving one day with a party, he showed his hospitality with: ‘Weli, gentlemen, what will you have to drink, milk er champagne? It makes no difference to me, as the.cost is about the same.’ But the aversge farmer would have diffi- culty keeping off the sheriff at that rate. If Ford's method is to come into general use there seems to be no way except for Henry to take over the farms £nd hire all the farmers. Mr. Ford's surplus s not the kind that is worrying the farmers.” The Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mafl, reviewing the last generation or so, re- calls that “farming on a large scale was found to be wasteful and not profit- able,” pointing out that “there are great farms and plantations in the South- west, to operate which large capital is as necessary as in mass production in industry,” though they “employ cheap | Mexican labor, labor not available in qther regions.” In conclusion, the Mafl asks: “How will the small farmer fare in competition with these great farms, provided they ccme back again? Will the smsll farmer disappear, as have the heads of small industries? Are the days of the great old plantations to come back again?” “One of the most important elements in American life, the small rural land- owner, will lose his financial independ- ence and will be pushed a step nearer to the status of the European peasant,” in the judgment of the Worcester Eve- ning Gazette. The Janesville Gazette hopes that Mr. Ford “tires of his farm experiment,” contending that “chain farming is to destroy the usage of agri~ cylture as a way of living and take ed elements of home and f The Green Bay Press-Ga- zette feels that “efficiency is a desirable thing to attzin, but is not the sum total of life” “Th:t paper states: “The farmer, by becoming an employe and Wage earner. may €arn more money ard | than a small farm would produce, but bl “filgl'; fliciont farming is “It appears effici°nt farming ” declares the St. Louls Globe-Democrat. “At present 100 men [ at $5 a dlyw(o{eln eight- he would lose the independence, the in- dividuzl initiative, and th2t supremé satisfacti-n in the possession of & pro- ducing unit compl<te in itself, which have been, more than anything else in this country, the foundation of our in- dividual liberty and the bulwark of American democracy. 4 Warming Up. From the Charleston (8.C.) Evening Post. m&mn itler has reiired into loctious silence, “.“intbtr::fi"m’n Just trying to think of another ons,