Evening Star Newspaper, July 14, 1931, Page 8

- AL g THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUBSDAY.........July 14, 1931] DORE W. NOYES....Editor lith 8t and Peansylv: New York Office: 110 Ea: ghies e Tate Michig uropean”Offce: 14 Regent Englan ier Within the City. 45c per month v nd St Building. Lo a ndon, Rate by Ca undays) ... and Sunday The Evenin ndays) 'hfl.“ d‘ ‘\:. Sc per inday or leciion made at the end of each monih. llo?’. sent in by mail or ielephone Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. fly and Sunday.... 1yr.$10.00; 1 mo., iy only | unday enly 2 *i806: 1 29 =1.00= 1 ::-. 40c All Other States and Canada. flv and Sunday...ls: atly only . mday only ‘Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news dis- atches credited 1o it or Ot ollerwise crea- ted in this and also the local rews Dublished herein. All 1ignts of publication ot special dispatches herein are aiso reserved. -— e The Prompt Taxpayer Loses. “The first batch of reassessments under the amended Borland law having been ecompleted after several months of stren- uous activity In the assessor’s office, the taxpayers of the District are given an opportunity to survey the results. The most interesting of these, so far, is that the chief beneficiaries under the new | act are the citizens who for one reason or another failed to pay their assess- ments, These, having recelved one tax Eill, which they ignored, are receiving another which is less, In a varying de- gree, than the first. Obviously the; have made money by Tefusing to pay their taxes in the first place. As for the good citizens who met their tax assessments promptly, they are not receiving the refunds to which the new assessments entitle them. The District authorities and Congress were 50 occupied In getting through the amended Borland law that nothing was ! done to provide the money for reim- bursement of those who, under the pro- visions of the new law, were over- charged. The result is that the Dis- trict is contenting itself for the time being in sending new bills to and col- lecting money from those who are in- | debted to the municipality. Those to whom the municipality is indebted must | whistle for their money until Congress chooses to make the appropriation cov- ering the reductions to which they are | entitled. | The new Borland act provides for | the reassessment, on the new basis laid | down, of all property asgessed for street | work in the last three years from the | date of the President's signature of | the act, February 20, 1931. The reas- sessment of this property has been ar | enormous undertaking. So far the work has been completed and approved by the Commissioners on only one job and many months will elapse before the assessment work can be made current. And all this work is being done in the face of the fact that while many of the court objections to the old method of assessment have been eliminated, the front-foot Tule of assessment still pre- vails and the courts have cast grave doubt on whether this method, as ap- | plied in the District, is valid. i It is doubtful, moreover, whether the | mere fact that assessments have been reduced by so many doliars and cents under the new Borland law will serve | to bring about cheerful and unprotest- 4ng compliance with its provisions by the taxpayers. It remains that “bene- fits” that are supposed to accrue to sbutting property from the widening or paving of streets are arbitrarily meas- ured by the fyont foot without weigh- ing the various factors that decide whether a street improvement job s, in fact, & benefit or & liability to the owner of abutting property. The new law may have the effect of reducing assessments to such an extent that the | average property owner will find it cheaper to pay than to undertake the expense of litigation. That fact re- mains to be demonstrated. i In the meantime the District authori- ties, it 1s presumed, will be as insistent upon congressional appropriations for refunding overpayments of taxes, un- der the new law, as they were to obtain | One of the disadvantages of political life is the necessity of vigilance day and night. For the true statesman there 12 no such thing as & Summer vacation. ———————— An Impossible Situation. A Kansas farmer, so Vice President Curtis is informed, is compelled to sell his wheat on the farm at 25 cents a bushel. Even with the price of wheat as low as 51% cents on the Chicago Exchange, there must be something radically wrong if a Kansas farmer has to sell his crop at such a figure, This is less than half the price the wheat brings in the big markets of the country. It may be an isolated case. The wheat may not have been up to standard, or the farmer may Nave been forced by his creditors to sell imme- diately for whatever figme he could obtain. On the other hand, it looks as though there were still something de- cidedly wrong with a marketing system which brings about such a condition, Other farmers in Kansas have been re- ported as selling their wheat for 3§ eents & bushel. Who is getting the spread between the 25 cents a bushel which the farmer receives and the 5155 cents the ‘wheat is selling for in Chicago? Rail- road rates and insurance and com- missions eat up the difference between 60¢ per month | v toe much wheat. Farm Board to annpunce that it will sell none of its wheat holdings, pur- chased in an effort last year to, sta- bilize the price of wheat for the Amer- ican farmer. The Feceral Farm Board has done imuch for the farmers, including the farmers of wheai. It has helped to bulid up the great farm co-operatives, loaning them money, and In so doing to m: it possible for the farmers themselves, or thelr immediate repre- sentatives, to sell. thelr crops in the markets of the country. But in the case of wheat the Farm Board has been put up against an impoasible problem. Impossible because there is In the end, the law of supply and demand must prevail. Until the world production of wheat is | reduced to & point where it meets con- sumption, there is no final solution of the problem. It is quite true that there are people in the world, miilions of them, icould well eat more wheat it they could get it. But the same kind of argument tion of automoblles, of silk shiris or whatnot. Millions of persons without jautomobiles and without jwould be glad to have them. But who {is to pay for the wheat or the, auto- mobiles or the silk shirts which these {men and women lack today? Too much wheat still stands as the root of the |evil 50 far as the farmer is concerned. Yet the American wheat farmer con- tinues to butt his head against the wall of overproduction. The Farm Board has done its best to make the farmer understand the problem and is doing its best to ald the farmer. | | | L e e | Canadian-Australian Tariffs, “To divert to each other trade now being done with countries outside the | British Empire” is the euphonicus but not ambiguous purpose of a commercial |treaty just effected between Britaln's two great daughter nations cf Canada |and Australia. It was proclaimed with an appropriate flourish of trumpets in the Dominicn House of Commons at | Ottawa yesterday by Prime Minister Bennett. The agreement guarantees the {bulk of commodities exported from {Canada a substantial tariff preference In Australia. In return, the Canadians extend preferential rates to specified Australian goods. The interempire pact thus completed iis the second major tariff reform step |initiated by the Bennett government, which was swept into power in Canada last year primarily on tariff issues. The first step was the promulgation of re- taliatory duties against American prod- ucts entering the Canadian market, In direct consequence of the new Hawley- Smoot rates imposed on Canadian goods crossing the border into the United States. There is little room to doubt that the Canadian-Australian treaty is prin- cipally aimed at American trade. No other country “outside the British Em- pire” comes seriously into ccnsideration. The Australians object to the 1930 | American tariff law almost as strenu- {ously as the Canadians do. Having & common grievance, the vast continent |"down under” sees entire fitness in making common cause with Uncle | Sam’'s best customer and North Amer- {ican neighbor. It would be idle to underestimate the imporiance of their arrangements to buy more of each other's manufactures and less of those stamped “Made in U. 8. A" One item in the agreement tells its own eloquent story. Canada is to have an increased advantage on motor car chassis unassembled. The former rate was 22'; per cent against Canada. Under the new arrangement the Australians will assess a duty of only 15 per cent, while the general tariff of 32'; per cent—a differential against us of 17'; per cent—will apply to chassis from the United States. Canada shipped $3,000,000 worth of chassis unassembled to Australia last year. From this country there was ex- ported $16,500,000 worth. The United States Tariff Commission has just made public, in answer to charges of ineffective operation of the flexible provision of the revenue act, figures showing that 1evisionary action on twenty-two commodity rates—out ot the 2.200-0odd in the law—has been taken since the Hawley-Smoot meas- ure was enacted. Rate decreases, eventually decreed by presidential order, | | | were recommended on such items as maple sugar, pigskin leather, wool felt hats, pipe organs, gelatin, olive oil in package and bentwood furniture. When President Hoover signed the 1930 tariff bill he pledged that its acknowledged inequalities could and would be rectified by its flexible machin- ery. 1f more potentially damaging deals abroad, like the Canadian-Australian commercial treaty, are to be warded off betimes, it would seem as if Chair- man Fletcher and his fellow tariff commissioners would be well advised to step on the flexible gas during the next year with somewhat more vigor than hitherto. e —— Details remain to be discussed in con- nection with war debts. It is perhaps not desirable to terminate a pleasant and Interesting conversation in & man- ner that might in the slightest degree seem to suggest abruptness. The Census Bureau Dismissals. While there will be sympathy for the Gensus Office clerks who have been dismissed for violation of a rule for- bidding them to leave their desks dur- ing working hours without permission, for it is a serious matter in such times as these to lose position, it must be said that they have only themselves to blame for their misfortune. The rule of the bureau is explicit. The penaity for its violation is definite. The reason for the rule against smoking is sound. Those who have persisted in taking the two prices, not to mention shrewd buying. His inability to ask a price successfully for his products, particu- larly wheat, has been the weakness of the American farmer always. It is to get around just such a condition and place the farmers in a more strategic position that the Federal Farm Board was created. And now friends of the farmer in Congress are taking pot shots at the board. Knock down the board and who benefits? Not the farmer, but the grain trade which has lived + off the farmer for years. Vice President Curtis, aroused over the report of the sale of wheat at 25 cents ‘& bushel on a farm In his coun- ' &%, 48 appealing again to the Federal national count and defiated when the dan doln’ nufin'?” “time off” for indulgence in occasional whiffs or for exercise have simply suf- fered the inevitable fate of the breaker of rules, It is urged by the Cemsus Bureau officials that these dismissals have not been incident to the curtailment of the force due to the slowing down of the work of the decennial count. Yet it is obvious that there must be reductions during the year and the selection of the victims of this necessity cannot but be influenced by considerations such as rule breaking and failure of disci- pline. In other words, in a large estab- lishment such as the Census Office, decennially inflated by the need of the industrious dat he'd rather be in trouble rounding him, * who | might be advanced for the overproduc- i slik shirts | THE._EVENIN count is over, the “casualties” are h! some extent controlled by the behavior of the individuals, ©On: hundred per cent perfect per- formance is not to be expected in any large group of workers. It is hopeless to ook for ideal bzhavior on their past. Personal variations from the norm of conduct are tolerated te a certaln degree, but when the breaking of rules becomes general or largely prevalent aomething must be done to prevent de moralization. If two or taree unauthor- ized walks and smokes & day are tol- erated, half a dozen may be, or a score, | The habit grows with permission. Per- haps this disciplinary measure just | taken in the Census Office was drastic, but evidently it was necessary,to pre- vent the complete breakdown of morale. 1t may be assumed that there will be no moré teouble on the score of needless ! lapses from duty. A The Monument Beacon. ‘With a fund of $15,000 available for the lighting of the Washington Monu- ment to meke the shaft visible to night- flying aviators, the Director of Public Buildirgs and Public Parks is proceed- ing with plans for this work. Two great searchlights are to be obtained | at once, to be 80 placed as to illuminate { the four sides of the 55-foot tip. Mean- {while a study is being made of the | proper method of {lluminating the shaft |itself, the great five-hundred-foot stretch of masonry. This is not as simple a matter as would seem at first thought. Batteries of ‘lights must be 50 placed as to sweep the Monument evenly from bottom to top. They must be at sufficient distance from the shaft to place it within the range of full power cf fllumination. The equipment cannot be moved back and forth, for 'it 18 heavy, and, furthermore, must be served with current from established lines. It is undesirable to have the apparatus housed in unsightly struc- tures, and now an effort is beirg made to design “containers” that can be used as rest benches during the day. ’ When night flying began in this vicinity the Washington Monument was the terror of pilots. The comparatively feeble light thrown upon the upper part | of the shaft from one of the hotels did not make it sufficlently visib’e to be surely avoided. Red lights were re- cently placed in the windows of the tip, but these, while visible at close range, were not surely identifiable from the heights at which planes were usually flown toward the city. While the ex- perienced pilot knows his landmarks thoroughly, a fixed red light is not an assured guide. It is confidently expected that there will be a great increase in night flying between Washington and other cities. Already the day service makes the “lane” between Washington and Newark, for example, quite the busiest in the world. There must be no high dangers | near this airport, and the illumination of the Washington Monument—which incidentally will make the shaft a glory by night as by day—will eliminate the most serious peril to flying in darkness. ——— New and impromptu holidays are con- stantly being added to those regularly scheduled for the year. The triumphal conclusion of a brilliant aviation feat calls for more of & celebration even than the Pourth of July.! — vt France has acquired the reputation of being the most artistic of nations; also one of the most businesslike. Paris never allows its Latin quarter to become | confused with its Bourse. r——— It is always a question whether a popular philosopher should be read for entertainment or instruction. Many a good German citizen is now regretting that he took his Nietsche too seriously. ——— News dispatches from Niagara Falls indicate that gangsters now not only take them for automobile rides, but also for boat rides. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Superabundance. When your troubles you're relating In a tone that's all severe, You will find nobody waiting Your remarks to overhear. You may think them worth attending, As you seek to make them known, But your friends no heed are lending; They have troubles of their own. If your moods are acrobatic Or you hit & comic style Or develop thoughts erratic, ‘They may greet you with a smile. But it's all a different .matter 1f you seek to heave a sigh. The demand for hard-luck chatter Never equals the supply. Honesty the Best Polities, “Did you ever buy votes?” “No,” replied Senator Sorghum. “I always thought that an effort to buy 2 man's vote was as good & reason as you could possibly get into his mind for voting against you.” Jud Tunkins says a man who never lets friendship interfere with business is pretty sure to let business interfere with friendship. Questions of Financing. The Dove of Peace, 5o much admired, When danger threatens, is retired. The bird for whose good will we beg 1s the Goose that lays the Golden Egg. Always Obliging. “Don't you use a great many canned vegetables?” asked the new guest, diffi- dently. “Yes,” replied Farmer Corntossel, “just as a matter of accommodation. The Summer boarders need the tin cans to carry fishin’ worms in.” Unchanging Custom. Some day we'll button up our coats And cover up our tender throats With care. We'll méind our shoes and gloves anew In dread of all exposure to The air. No more we'll fear the thunderstorm; No more we'll talk of waves so warm; And yet 'We'll sing the song we've oft rehearsed -And vow the climate is the worst We've met! “Loafin’,” said Uncle Eben, “is sum- fin' to be discouraged. But whut is you g'ineter do wil de man dat is so - G STAR, WASHING D. C, TUESDAY, THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Some of the plants we mean to set out every year, but never do, are lilies, cannas and holiyhocks. ‘What are better for the home garden than these? But we find ourselves going slong year after year without planting them. Most people have some such favorite trio which they solemnly swear to them- selves each Spring that thev will grow, but which Summer catches them with- out. One gardener will take an oath with himself that he will have plenty of iris next season, but he does not put it out. Many pine for gladioli, but instead of planting the bulbs in the Spring. wait for Autumn to make the same old" resolve. ‘Well, this is not as bad as it sounds. Part of the garden ever must be in the mind. To have all of it on the earth would not do at all. Just how much of gardening must remain mental is a personal problem which no one can solve for you. ‘We are not sure but that one of the very finest rewards of amateur garden- ing lles in anticipation of flowers never realized. Are not these the most beai- tiful of all? Recently we wrote about the “gar- den hiatus,” speaking solely from our own experience and that of other strict amateurs. We weie not surprised when we were notified by many readers that there was mot the slightest bit of floral hiatus in their own garden, and that we should come around :nd see for ourself. * One lady noted some 65 different flowers in her garden. We have no doubt that we would have been enter- tained and instructed by a sight of that flowering garden. But In ours not even the fait) nnias had come Into much bloom, yet, so we stayed away. We always have a bigger garden in ur head than any place else. As & young- ster we never ate one-fourth as much ice cream as we thought we should ‘There never hi n a President of e United States who did not dream ter things for his country than he e able to do. ‘To travel hopefully, as Stevenson put it. is enough, perhaps. In the matter of gardens it can make not the slight- est difference whether one has one or a hundred things in bloom at any one time, if one is determined to take the whole matter in a philosophical frame of mind. , * ok % ‘This is the time of year, for instance, when thousands of amateurs who started out so energetically in March to rake the grass, and to sow seed, and to play smash In general, begin to tire at last of this unwonted activity, and to slacken up on account of the heat, The heat is just as good an excuse as any. and perhaps better than most. The truth is that city heat is city heat —even in the suburbs—and that the sun of Summer is the sun of Summer. Without the cooling breezes which give mountain and shore resorts their prestige during the Heated term, the city and environs are not precisely the most comfortable places in the world in_the hot sun. We admire the man or woman who can garden before breakfast. That is the coolest time of the day, the one best suited, from the standpoint of temperature, for physical labor. Yet to many home lovers it is also the most distasteful time to be in the garden. The grass is 50 wet that one's shoes become dripping. and plants have a disagreeable habit of shaking their a cum'ated dew down the back of one's neck. If one is so incautious as to kneel down, as a gardener often does, without thinking, one finds clothing soaked through. All in all, it is not the best time of the day for ordinary gardening, unless the gardener happens to be exactly the person suited to the time. If he is, there is no better, and God bless him. * o ok The evening hours are good, after the sun_goes down, but here again the mood :f contemplation stops many a gar- ener. Before breakfast many a gardener re- gards himself as too ciean and dry to 80 pawing around in the garden. After supper he is too pleased with the world .nldl himself ’l.o nndahl:lke i, & man not ppy after a dinner, he probably never will be. 'Im comes the time for “just setting,” the honest mountaineers call it. With a reasonably good dinner under his belt, the happy gardener is content wl let the flowers take care of them- selves. He is interested in the blooming of the nicotine and the valerian plants. Here, at least, he has scored a victory over procastination. About five years ago he vowed to him- self {hat he would plant some Nicotiana: Bpring he finally and Valerianus. got around to them. ‘They have been in the ground now for several months, the one an annual and the other a perennial. Both are supposed to smell sweetly, but these have not proved overpowering, as yet. There is a curlous fact about *he yalerian, or garden heliotrops. Cats are tremendously fond of the roots, it is said. no squeamish person squirm because the same basic acid is in valerian which is in perspiration. | Cats are not finicky, and are very close |to nature, and have some curious tastes, as has nature herself. | * x % % | The repeated rains of the season to date have enabled most gardeners to | dispense with the use of the hose, which is good for both gardeners and garden, especially the graas. Many new lengths of garden hose, bought in fear of a likelihcod of a | repetition of last year's drought, have | remained in the basement, playing a | waiting role. No doubt there will be plenty of time yet for them to function, but many are beginning to hope that the nicely-spaced rainfalls will continue | to pour their blessings on the land. | _ After all, sprinkling the grass and flower beds an exercise which loses | its charm for many a gardener after | the tenth year. Some to wilt by |the seventh or eighth. e new home |owner takes to lawn sprinkling with a | gusto, but loses some of his verve when he discovers that ordinarily his water- |ing of the grass is doing more harm than good. |, He manages to keep up his interest for a few more years by the simple expedient of experimentation. * He tries all sorts of sprinkling devices and listens to the advice of all the “old hands,” vho solemnly assure him that he is bringing the roots to the surface” by his practice of light sprinklings each evening. So he tries long sprinklings, or even the unpoetic practite of removing the nozle and permitiing the water to flow | forth in a stream. It is at this juncture that he attem, to purchase all the | sprinklers on the market. he ha, he discovers that most of them have the same faul hey sprinkle too plentifully jon the edges and not enough in the middle. All this time there remains in the | back of his head the knowledge that he has failed once more to plant lilies, | or cannas, or hollyhocks, his old favor- | ites. Lilies are temperamental things, | after all, he tells himself; but next year, | surely, he will get a dozen or s0 of the | Regals. And some of those big pink |cannas. And have a bed of hollyhocks 100 feet long. Higlllights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands HE EVENING PROST, Welling- ton.—That the people of New |offense, from the land and people that | Zealand were living in a fool's paradise because they were not making any adequate attempts to study earthquakes and their causes was the opinion expressed to a gather- ing of the Justices of the Peace Asso- ciation by Prof. J. A. Bartrum, head of the School of Geology at the Auckland University College. New Zealand, he said, was known to be liable to earth- quakes of varying intensity, and there Was no reason to suppose that the is- lands had vet reached a stable stage. On an average, there were 70 earth- quakes a year strong enough to be felt by humans. The government was pay- ing Iittle attention to the study of seis- mology. and he urged that that state of affairs should be remedied. Fre- quently, he explained, strange noises of a very low wave length gave warning of a severe earthquake. These nolses might be heard by some people and might be inaudible to others. They were caused by a series of small earth Jars, brought sbout by the breaking of uneven conditions between planes of rock, which would eventually slip and cause a big earthquake. *oxox % Holland Rainmaker Will Visit Venezuela. El Nuevo Diario, Caracas.—Mynheer Veraat, the official rainmaker of the Holland government, has anncunced that he expects to make & trip to Ven- ezuela in the near future to see what can be done about the prevailing drought which has done so much dam- age to stock and crops. It is said that Mynheer Veraat has produced rain whenever necessary in the lowlands by sprinkling clouds with granular ice at the height of two or three thousand meters. The method never fails in Hol- land, and if equally successful in Ven- ezuela be a heavenly benefaction. * ok ok ok King Alfonso Lost Elevem Pounds in Single Week. A @& C, Madrid—One high in the couficils of the monarchy, and himself a noble, has written for us somethin of the tragic happenings of the fina hours of the reign of Alfonso, before his family and himself were exiled from the stately palace of their royal prede- cessors. We are told that the King be- came so worn and anxious as the result of affairs leading up to and immediately following the fateful elections of April 12 that he lost in the space of a single week 1o less than 11 pounds in weight, due to inability either to eat or sleep. The King never showed any sign of fear or disappointment, however, but preserved an outward calm up to the end and steadily refused to discuss eco- nomic developments even with his inti- mate friends. He thought, according to our informant, that hostility to his rule was but a temporary manifestation, confined to certain quarters, and that this localized unfriendliness would pass away, as had similar disaffections on many previous occasions. It ‘was not until midnight of th 14th, however, that Dr. and Dr. Sal- vador 5 to the m 1 , were instructed to tell the that he must leave Spain his family within the u'g. to Dr. Pascual, ‘The message from leader, Dr. Naranon, was “to tell the Bourbons th must be no .delay in their 8] .” When asked, however, by one of his intimates if he were not afraid to precede his family into exile, the IK% npg‘llnd. -“By no na:nni' Iorl.x nm leaving them among Spaniards!” such contrast is seen the indifference of the people for the King and the affec- tion of the King for the people. The Prince of the Asturias, when in- formed on that final night that he must give up his pretensions to the Spanish throne, asked atedly of those sur- it l!ll]‘ true that ‘we &Fe Dever o return?” could not M:onu.lnd“ | believe himself banished, and for no ;:;:1 always been so gentle and kind to T * k% x 7 | France Prepares Offensive | Against Prohibition. La Nazione, Florence.—France is pre- paring a grand international offensive against prohibition. A convention is to be called in Paris of all the producers and exporters of wine, to which also the distillers of cognac also will send dele- gates. The purpose of the convention is to decide upon measures to combat the growing spread of prohibition propa- ganda which threatens now to add even | France to the coterle of dry nations. As the raising of grapes and the making of wine has for centuries been almost the chief occupation of France, viniculture and all its allied interests see & grave menace, not only to them- selves, but for the commercial life of the entire nation if modern notions about drinking maintain or increase their present acceptance, Representatives of 22 other nations, in some of which the traffic in intoxi- cants is now legally dead, have been invited to attend the conference, among them some eminent physicans, who will present the benefits of a moderate in- dulgence in slcoholic beverages. It has been pointed out in France that the moderate consumption of wine has rarely been prejudicial to any impor- nt element of the citizenry, whereas f the entire industry must be dis- carded, due to the trend of modern idio- syncrasies, much additional hardship and poverty will result. Export trade in wines has declined steadily in recent years, not only to North and South America, but to European countries as well, most of which now have vast sur- pluses which they cannot dispose of either abroad or at home. The spread of prohibition theories in recent years is deemed responsible and not any radical change in the habits of the nations. How to refute the argu- ments of the anti-alcoholic groups is the chief problem to be considered at the conference, and the data and de- cisions evolved will be dMffused by means of literature, radio and the cinemato- raph everywhere such publicity is al- fv- . Films showing the grape-grow- ing and winemaking industries in all their romance and innocence will be exhibited in America, if possible, in the hope of converting even the extremists. * oo Microphene Placed im Hall Of National-Socialists. Cologne Gazette.—A grand furor has been occasioned in Leipzig by the dis- covery on the part of National-Socialist officials that the police had installed a radiographic microphone in the hall where one of their meetings was to be held. Secret wires were found leading from the speakers’ table to a room in an adjoining bullding, said to be rented by three persons known as prominent members of the National Flag party. It has not been disclosed whether these individuals were the instigators of the by the Cheap 'for Pets. Prom the Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Msil. The vfl; of lions has so d'rv%e'd that alme any one can no - chase a real king of beas! Distinguishments Difficult. From the Akron Beacon Journal. P it big_job is to eistinguish be- m-m ‘!‘:u "ho are above crims those Who are merely above the \ A . to overhear what t; tal Certal 4 what was said by the Nn‘m‘;“! possibly by chance JULY 14, 1931 NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM 1 G. M. JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. By Henry Walcott Boynton. Illustrated. New York: The Century Co. Few, nowadays, read Fenimore Cooper. Why? I wonder. For competent critics maintain that the h. narrative gift of this novelist stan beside the best today. Way- telling the story, his knack of spinning a lusty yarn, has not anywhere, yet, met suc- cessful challenge. Even high professionals of the mod- ern eritical cult, dedicated to support of the novel as a pure art-form— like painting, sculpture, architecture— wherein life, that wild ass of the desert, is made to p out in an ordered se- iquence, in a balanced proportion of movement, in a rounded unity of effects —even these concede to Renimore Coop- er a good and durable gift of telling the story. What can the trouble be that .read- ers pass this man by to accept in ardor & lesser talent for their entertalnment? To be sure, fashions in books change no less than in bonnets, in literature as well as in lingerie. Following this ca- priclous Dame Vogue, the public has veered away from many of the iters of an earller day. Away from H thorne even extent, away from and Poe, from the later Howells Twain and from innumer- able other writers, lighter in the body of their work. than are these highlights of American literature. Is it not likely, in the case of Cooper, that his themes have run away into & remote and practically inaccessible past? Yet, not far enough away to remove them complétely into the glamorous domain of myth and legend? dian and the clipper ship. These were the material upon which this forth- right artificer wrought. In his work- ing day, more than a hundred years ago, both were of an appreciable prox- imity, of an alluring and picturesque nearness. The noble red man, em- bodied largely in the Five Natlons of interior New York and roundabout, was then nearby in legend ss well as in dimming reality. The clipper ship was then the marvel of the seas, the sole agent of high emprise. Steam and giant liners have ousted the salling ships. The Indian, confined to pre- scribed quarters, is that anomalous thing, “ward of the Nation.” Both are dead. The age that produced them is & fading memory. Today is a day of miracle. More marvels come to light in évery 24 hours than could be turned into story and entertainment in as many years. Here is a present completely engrossed in itself. And no wonder. No wonder that even a near past gets scant re- sponse from the current day. As well ask a refider to go back into Greece or Rome or Egypt for & passing hour with reat writers as to offer Fenimore er'’s outmoded “Deerslayer” or “Leatherstocking Tales” or “The Pilot” or any other of the 30 novels, or there- about, produced by this American writer of a century ago. And yet, up around Cooperstown on Otsego Lake, where the family estate was created and cherished, there are still emanations and subtle outcomings toward one from this man. Especially if his own roots are in the Empire State. Then, the present dims, a lit- tle. Fleeting visions made 80 real, so vivid, so adventurous by one who, no master of literary art. maybe, nevertheless re - creats 6ld scenes in a vitality that obtrudes the forests, the native red man in his own ways of life, and sets these in hazy visions under the rushing civilization | now quartered in that locality and throughout this whole country. Listen to Herman Melville: “A mem- ory so very dear not only to Ameri- can literature. but to the American Na- tion. * * * His works are among the very first ‘I remember, as in my boy- hood producing a vivid and awakening power upon my mind. * * * He was & great, robust-souled man, all whose merits are not yet fully appreciated. But a grateful posterity will take the best care of Fenimore Cooper.” * x % % Henry Walcott Boynton contributes richly to the fulfillment of Melville's forecast of a new day for this romancer of pioneer sea adventure. Others are turning this also. But for a com- plete survey that escapes an effect of overweight, that discriminates so know- | . ingly between essentials of personality and a world of relatively unimportant details, this book, it seems to me, is of the very spirit of the man with whom it has so deep and understanding a concern. Henry Walcott Boynton here con- tributes richly to the fulfillment of Mel- ville's forecast of a new day for this romancer of pioneer and sea adventure. Others are turning this way also. But here is, first, a complete survey of Penimore Cooper in a new accounting of the influences, material and spiritual, that went into the making of the man and the writer. This biographer has had the advantage of material not ac- cessible until now for any rounded study of the subject. And that fact has given opportunity for the larger outlook, the truer discrimination, the better understanding that reduces hith- erto puszling contradictions of ,charac- ter and action to believable and ac- ceptable behaviors of human nature under the varled stresses of life and temperament. Following the regulation time se- quence of biography,. Mr. Boynton, by 2 highly competent system of pressure and release, as circumstance and per- sonality dictate, turns out in the end of his work a man, rather than the story of a man. Quite impartial in his literary appraisal, the writer estimates Cooper, primarily as a man of action rather than as one of the meditative habit necessary, or so it is assumed, for the genius of any creative art. A thrifty man who became the gentle- man owner of a huge estate. A tra eler who became diplomat and, finally, an expatriate for a time, out of not only in in its political expedients. A tem- tuous man of arrogant speech and h-handed ways. A family man who loved his wife and children, never get- writer, in , throug| influence of his wife, but, nevertheless, a writer who, under eclipse for & riod, is likely to come out into the fi:ht of a wider acceptance by the vigorous adventure that he offers to many who are dazed by the amazing sleight-o'-hand of these dervish days of spinning round and round. A very full and finished study. Be- sides, and rather more to the reading point, a most entertaining re-crea- tion that, page by page, demonstrates the body and soul of an active and powerful man doing his unique and characteristic part in a sizable world of hundred years ago and more. Mr. Boynton's “Cooper,” so full and informed, so sound of interpretation, so sincere of intent, is designed pri- marily, it seems to me, for students of American literature as such, in its be- fll;mlnn And that is, clearly, a most portant line of pursuit for any one to follow who is interested in the source and develo] t of the native theme and talent. A rare study, this one, to meet exactly that end. It has, how- 5:8?. another mission, maybe an accl- 5 1 tudy com! to attention will ree except that of their own Nation are in ; | isolation. icuiny opject of studer” Sees Plenty of Beauty. 1] Prom the Akron Beacon Journal. That artist who says there come of that day| ] sorts | came from Europe.” The Times con- ing | of American nationalists cannot fail to- is no and beauty in it should wait and :ment. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Any reader can P'. the answer o any question by writing to our Infor- mation Bureau in Washington, C. This offer applies strictly to ini tion. The bureau cannet give advice on legal, medical and financial matters. It does not attempt to settle domestic troublés, or undertake exhaustive re- search on any subject. Write your question xhh‘y and byjefly. = Give full name address and inclose 2 cents in coiln 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. Q. When is the cupedition going to uplora'!(he “lost world in Venezuela”?— . McK. . A. The expedition is known as the Pacarima - Venezuela Expedition, Inc., and is sponsored by the American Mu- seum of Natural History, New York; the American Geographical Soclety, New York City, and the New York Bo- tanical Society. The object is to ex- plore the territory at the headwaters of the Orinoco River. The ex) ition expects to leave about the middle of August and to be away five or six months. D. forma- Q. What was the title of the famous M‘:mr%[ W‘;lllsn by Richard Harding Q. Is National Music week quite gen- erally observed?—F. D. W. A. There are now more than 2,000 cities and towns which take part an- nually. This is true even in the pres ent year, when both the national and the local committees were hampered by very limited funds. = | Q. Has the effort to check the pro- duction of oil throughout the world ' been effective?—T. R. E. | A. In 1929 the amount produced was | 1,484,041,000 barrels. In 1930 the ' amount was 1,418725,000 barrels, Q. Based on the 1930 census of 122,- 775,046, what is the population of the United ' States supposed to be now?— B . D. A. The Bureau of the Census of the | United States estimates the population of the United States as of July 1, 1931, | to be 124,089,651, which represents an increase of not quite 2,000,000 since the census of 1930, which was taken as of April 1 of that year. ? Q. Did Gen., Pickett lead his in the famous charge at Gettysburg which bears his e?—J. P. L. A. In “Pickett and His Men” ig the | statement, “Pickett led, mounted on | his spirited charger” his men in the famous Pickett c e at Gettysburg. | Q. Do Congressmen have s on the rallroads?—W. W. e A. United States Senators and Rep- resentatives are not granted passes on railroads. The Government allows them mileage for each session of Con- | gress. Q. When was the last vellow fever epidemic in New Orleans?’—G. A. A. Before the Civil War there were almost annual epidemics of yellow fever, but since 1860 health conditions have gradually improved and the last y:lolg' fever epidemic appeared in Q. What is the origin of the expres- -g'pna‘w be put on the black lhl;"p—fl. A. Tt is probably a variation of “to| be placed on the black book.” Am: hurst in his “Terrae Filius or the Se- | cret History of the University of Ox- ford” in 1726 speaks of the proctor’s black book in which were recorded the names of the students in disgrace or meriting punishment. Q. Did James Hocking make s eross- zm}x‘m walk vithout sleep or rest?— A. ‘James H. Hocking made many walks without rest or sleep and once walked 67 miles in 1919 without rest. Q. Why do floors creak?>—A. W. A. Squeaking floors are often not properly secured at the joists. or mot properly supported. Sometimes finish- ing nails may be driven in to make them more secure and to overcome this trouble. If the boards are of uneven thickness, the floor often creaks. Q. What is a star route in the postal service’—P, R. A. It is a post route on which the mails are ried under a formal con- tract awarded to the lowest bidder tendering sufficient guaranties for faith- ful performance in accordance with the terms of the advertisement. and requiring due celerity, certainty and security in the performance of the service, Q. How will the new bridge over ’B‘In Francisco Bay be financed?—L. 'A. The estimated cost of the mew San Prancisco Bay Bridge has been covered by a bond issue of $35,000,000. Q. Are there white and yellow Dar- win tulips?—P, V. A A. Originally. the Darwin tulips con- tained no whites and no yellows, but at the present time both colors are in the group. Q. Is former President Porfirlo Diaz of Mexico living?—F. D. A. He resigned the presidency on May 4. 1911, after the agrarian revolt of 1910 and went to Europe. He died in Paris on July 2, 1915, at the age of 85, having seen destroved most of the stability he had brought to Mexico. Q From what is this quotation taken—"and sitting orderly smote the gray sea water with their oars’?—c. A It 1 from H Q. How many s in the Amer- ican and National Leagues can pitch either right or left handed?—S. C. A. There are no pitchers in these leagues who can do so with factlity. Q. What is the record for one hour of bicycle riding?—J. V. A. It is 76 miles and 503 yards. This record was made by L. Vanderstuyft in Paris on September 29, 1928. Q. Why was William Jennings Bryan entitled to burial in Arlingtcn National Cemetery?—A. V. 8. A. He served in the Spanish-Amer- ican War, and was, therefore, entitied to burial in a national cemetery. Q. How much honey should be used in cooking when it takes the place of sugar?—F. A, A. Honey may be substituted for sugar cup for cup in making cakes or other confections. When honey is sub- stituted -for sugar, cne-fourth of the liquid of the mixture should be omitted. must be used in_the proportion :‘ one-fourth teaspconful per cup of oney. What proportion of the dentists Q in_the United States are women? H. B. Atout 3 per cent. Al Stil_'s U. S. to Premier Ramsay MacDonald's praise | of the United States as “the greatest | nation,” taken together with his re- | marks before the House of Commons | commending Britain as leader in the | movement to reduce armaments, has | stirred wide debate in America both as to this country's responsibilities and MacDonald’s war cost figures. As to the premier’s tribute to Amer- ica, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat re- marks: “Mr. MacDonald said some- thing else that pleases us, and that likewise we feel to be true. He said that this greatest nation has been built up ‘by patient labor. by courage and self respect’ * * * There en- tered into and constantly promoted this developmewnt certain fundamental principles of political, social and eco- nomic being that were established in |its beginning, and that have been maintained and applied with more or less success ever since. They have, furthermore, been moved and usually governed by certain lofty ideals that have not only set their own standards of living and accomplishment, but have exerted a potent influence upon the development of other nations of the world.” Materially we have wonderful ad- antages,” says the Hartford Times, ‘and when the eagle spreads its wings, | it has reason for pride. It has more | reason for gratitude. The ocean has | been =& deliverance to us from the striving complications and inveterate differences which afflict the nations of the Old World in their relations with one another. Nature gave us a vast country to enjoy and own, with almost as much privilege in Mexico and Can- ada as on our own soil. Time has not yet run long enough to give the United tates the trials due to older environ- ment, or to increase of population be- yond the easy ability of the land to support. And most of all, we should remember that what of human re- source we have had in its fundamentals cludes: “We doubt if any nation at this time has a greater premier, 2 more admirable leader than MacDonald.” “The claim that the United States is the greatest Nation,” according to the Buffalo Evening News, “can be sup- ported, not by any arguments of racial, geographical, imperialistic or even ac- cidental superiority, but because it em- bodies conceptions of governmental organizaticn which, under the tests of trial, have produced the best results in the promotion of human welfare snd the general progress of mankind.” The Charleston Evening Post finds it “a striking thing” that “at a celebration | in London of the anniversary of the day on which the Declaraticn of Indepen ence of the American Colonies sdopted, with its indictment of the | British King and his government, the | chief of the British government should | give utterance to so sweeping a tribute to the Nation which sprang into being from the declaration. It would surprise | George Washington,” continues that paper, “it would amuse and delight Benjamin Franklin, but to the man from Butte to Keokuk it will seem to be just the right stuff.” Advising that “responsibiiity goes with | power,” and that “much will be de-| manded of him who has received much,” the New York Times adds: “Even the stoutest and most assertive day to lift up their eyes and see writ- ten on the sky our new destiny to co- operate with the rest of the world. We cannot escape world problems if we would. To maintain ourselves in pro- vincial aloofness is no longer possible. ‘Those who refuse to breathe sny air danger of suffocating in their proud The great appeal today, as Prime Minister MacDonald said, is for natiops of good will to join in good works. There need be no question of entgngling alliances. No formal treaty is necessary. Without anything except a_tacit understanding, America can, as Mr. Ma¢ said, keep step with Great Britain and the nations of. the continent in the great causes of liberty and peace and spiritual enfranchise- Premier MacDonald’s Praise Responsibilities message,” as interpreted by the Akron Beacon Journal, “for a republic that is taking the lead in lifting the low Yortunes of old world nations out of the pit. What a fine wreath he wove for the memory of the founding fathers and their successors in present-day administration! * * * While Ameri- cans are hearing these fine rhapsodies to the ‘eternal verities, they should not fail to attend the counsel which they had from George Washington. If )llllell;:l" ’.U\;lhn: today h:.h ‘would Bh al progress the republic which he instituted and warned has made in lfemnl itself involved in Euro- pean politics, quarrels and interests.” Considering Premier MacDonald'’s condemnation of armaments, the Port- land Oregon Journal asks: “If busi- ness and industry are to be injured by heavy taxes, a t part of which s lo:’ axmamec dwl;yhno(. if it is ecessa suspend debt payments also reduce the expenditures for arma- ments?” The Providence Bulletin links the MacDonald plea with President Hoover’s speech before the International Chamber of Commerce and sees “two leading statesmen of two great world powers talking the same language.” -The New Orleans Times-Picayune finds satisfaction in the fact that. “If the race for military superiority must go on the powers which compel it are notified in effect that they may expect to find the pace at once more rapid and more costly than they like;” that, “the sacri- fices of armament, as the British spokesmen point out, ‘cannot be on m_;gldes“" e n Francisco Express empha- sizes the compromise plan be(orepmr Preparatory Commission by which the Old World nations would “limit their defense forces by budget and leave the United States free to fix its own land and air armaments.” That T Te- marks that “the Navy’s total tonnage already is fixed hy the Washington and London treaties which give the United States and British fleets parity.” The Express feels that the premier’s remarks “plainly were directed to other Old World powers, some of whose arrays are practically at war strength.” ] Du Pont Disapproves Of Statue of Himself From the Ann Arbor Daily News. Pierre S. du Pont has disapproved of a plan to erect a monument in his honor at Wilmington, Del., where his industries have been the dominating factor in municipal growth and prog- Tess. “The project does not have my con- Sent nor approval, and I shall oppose its carrying out in every way possible.” he sald in a letter to a sculptor. “I trust that you will proceed no further in the matter.” ‘The statue, for which provision was made by an “unidentified donor,” was intended to recognize du Pont’s “pub- lic benefactions.” But presumably the proposal will be forgotten, for the time being at least, since du Pont should have something to say about it. Mr. du Pont has, in effect, delivered & rebuff to flatterers. It would be ex- ceedingly bad taste to erect a statue to a living man. Appreclation in some form is perfectly in_ order, but a cold marble shaft would be a doubtful com- pliment. After his death, there might be some excuse for reviving the idea. Still, it is difficult to see that = statue has ever done a dead man, or any one else, any good. Small Boys Wonder. Prom the Detroit Pres Press. Scotland Yard is now considering a lan for training women as detectives y & small boy ht his maternal parent a pretty good detective without need for training. Life Is:Like Traffic. Prom the Fort Worth Btar-Telegram. Life is like street traffic. When you make & 'en flash. everybody goes along When you have to " There was gratitude in the premier's you. announce yourself i the red, the whols procession stops. ol