Evening Star Newspaper, July 26, 1931, Page 18

{THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. BUNDAY...c0.....July 26, 1831 e THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor st s A The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: )ltl} !'E lndul’elxln"lv{.nh :Vo. ork Offce: 3 ‘Building. e 14 Regent. BL.. London, England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. ing 3“!.! 45c per month §.hdary) cnd Sunday Star inday: NAtional Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. B:HY and Sune ily only Binday oty Daily and Sunday. 12.00: 1 mo., $1. Datly only . 00; 1 . 1! Binday only’ 838 1he: ‘Member of the Associated Press. Press is exclusively entitled e A or epusiication of all news patches' Sredited fo It oF not otterwiag’cre ; I this paper an feblished hereih. - All rights of publication of oetial “dispatches nerein are also reserved. — Hoover Economy. President Hoover in a letter to all ‘heads of executive departments and in- dependent establishments of the Gov- ernment bluntly says that estimates of expenditures for the next fiscal year must be slashed. He implies in the letter that if his warning is not fol- lowed out, the Bureau of the Budget, to which the estimates go before be- ing sent to the President for transmis- sion to Congress, will use the paring knife without mercy. The President in the past has warned Beveral times the Congress against in- creasing appropriations and enacting laws authorizing new projects which then must be estimated for by the Bureau of the Budget. Members of Congress have retorted with consider- able rancor that the fault for increased appropriations and expenditures for the Federal Government lies not with Con- gress, but with the heads of the execu- tive departments. The truth of the matter appears to be that both Congress and the execu- tive departments are responsible for the ever-increasing cost of national government to the American taxpayers. Congress, under the whip and spur of organized drives for this or that proj- ect, under the impelling demand from their constitutents for material improve- ments and more jobs, has yielded again and again and put through costly proj- ects and added new wrinkles to proj- ects already authorized. Therein lies the fault of Congress in this matter of mounting appropriations. In the detalls of appropriation, the Congress has cut down appropriations frequently below the estimates submitted to them. But had it not been for the “authorizations” made by the Congress, the estimates could not have been made so large. Able and experienced officials of the Government in the various executive departments and in the independent establishments see, beyond doubt, how the various services may be improved and added to, to®the benefit of the people. But improvements and addi- tions to the services mean more money. They must be paid for. The only way in which they can be obtained is by the expenditure of more of the taxpayers' money. The immediate reason for President Hoover's present demand for economy of the strictest kind lies in the fact that while the estimates for the next fiscal year are mounting higher, the revenues continue to fall off. At the close of the last fiscal year, June 30 the Treasury was faced with a deficit of more than $800,000,000. The Presi- dent has rightly taken the position that the onward march of expenditures must be halted. The President in repeated conferences with heads of the executive departments in recent weeks has gone over the situation. Nevertheless, in his letter now made public, the Presi- dent calls attention to the fact that the estimates as of July 1 are higher than those of June 1 and higher, too, than the estimates of expenditures actually made during the fiscal year which ended June 30, 1931. This seems in- credible, in view of the repeated de- mands for economy in the Government service. In his letter to the department heads and heads of the independent estab- lishments the President calls for a statement of appropriations available during the current and future fiscal years. And pending the receipt by the President of that statement he calls upon the Government officials to re- frain from actually obligating thie money available for expenditures ex- cept in cases where such postponement or eliminations will clearly be to thc detriment of the public welfare. I saving can be made in the present fis- cal year, by action of the executive branch, the President will demanc that they be made, it is clear. This Government has gone ahead with its increased expenditures unti the appropriation of four or five billior dollars a year has become the regularly accepted thing. The time has surely come for a halt on the increases, ar the President has rightly said both tc Congress and to his subordinate execu- tive officials. o Events have made the peculiar pipe habitually used by Charles G. Dawes appear appropriate to the time. Like the world for which contemplative re- flection hopes to secure peace, it is not in reality upside down. e Anschluss. ‘While last week’s Seven-Power Con- ference on the German economic sit- uation was in progress at London, arbitral proceedings of far-reaching in- fluence upon the future of Europen politics were in progress at The Hague. Before the tribunal of the World Court Germany and Austria are defending their right %5 establish their projected tariff union. The issue which the Per- manent Court for International Justice is called upon to decide is whether the central powers are at liberty, under the treaties of Versailles and St. Germain, to carry out their plans. It is denied by various signatories of those pacts that Germany and Austria can legally proceed to effectuate their enterprise. Czechoslovakia and France are taking the lead in establishing the point that the Teutonic states would violate the 3 treaties by concluding a customs liance. It is not so much the economic dis- advantages that would flow from a Ger- man-Austrian tariff union that its op- ponents fear. What they are really afraid of is that such a union would be the thin edge of a wedge that would definitely lead to “Anschluss,” or com- plete political union between the Berlin and Vienna governments. That is a prospect which the neighbors of Ger- many and Austria view with genuine alarm. An embargo was placed upon it at Versailles and St. Germain for the definite and avowed purpose of keeping the two Germanic countries politically th | impotent as long as possible. With the new atmosphere now pre- vailing in the Old World, due to recent steps for the rehabilitation of Germany, it may be doubted whether the oppo- nents either of tariff union or Anschluss 80c | will be able eternally to enforce their antagonism. There is manifest destiny in the desires of the German and Austrian peoples to get together and re- main together. One of these days it may Q‘Wn upon a Europe now reluctant to see things in that light that a merger between Austria’s six million in- habitants and Germany's sixty-odd millions would benefit not only those peoples themselves, but the rest of Eu- rope, already sorely oppressed by the territorial and political set-up which the all-wise statesmen of 1919 erected, but which current events are showing to be far from a perfect structure, ————————— Financial Statistics of Cities. ‘The Census Bureau's report for the year 1929 on the financial statistics of cities, which has just been made available, serves again to accentuate some of the peculiar facts in relation to Washington's unique position among the cities of the United States. Ranking fourteenth among the cities of the Nation in population, the assessed valuation of its general property is ex- ceeded by only eight of the cities, and all of these cities are in the group of over 500,000 in population, in which ‘Washington does not belong. Again, the figures on assessed valuation show Washington property valued for tax- ation purposes, above comparable prop- erty in such great industrial cities as 8t. Louls, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Milwaukee and approximating the valua- tion of such property in Los Angeles, Baltimore and Boston. The valuation of its taxable property exceeds by more than six hundred millions the comparable valuation of property of the next high- est city in its own population group. Yet, the holdings of Washington's ma- jor industry, the Federal Government, do not figure, as they are tax exempt, in the comparison of Washington's as- sessed valuation with such valuations of other large cities. ‘Washington's per capita general tax levy is shown by the census report to be $49.35, which compares with the average for the United States of $49.84. Its per capita general tax levy is greater than that of Baltimore ($38.27) and St. Louis ($40.05) and approaches that of Philadelphia ($51.56) and San Fran- cisco ($51.44), these cities being over 500,000 in population. In its own group of cities its per capita general tax levy is shown to be below the average ($51.65). But Washington, among all the cities, is the only one that lacks indebtedness, and is the only one that does not have to make tax levies for annual interest payments that range, in its own group, from Louisville's $1,- 281,000 to Cincinnati’s $5,776,000, and which constitute, for this group, a total of $33,984,000. The figures ¢n indebtedness prove once again the Bureau of Efficiency’s findings, in its most recent comparison of tax levies, that “most of the other cities are living beyond their income and running into debt in order to un- dertake extensive programs of public improvements.” The sum total of the Natlon's municipal indebtedness is stag- gering—$6,130,289,000, an increase in one year of $304,017,000. ‘Washington's claim has always been that in comparing tax burdens, that part of the tax burdens of other cities levied to retire and to meet the interest on bonded indebtedness should be de- ducted. Otherwise, we should be com- paring the tax burden of tax-free Washington, living within its means from year to year, with the tax burdens of other cities that have borrowed huge sums to launch public improvement programs. As Washington has no in- debtedness, it is unfair to label its tax burden inadequate in order to lift it to a figure representing the tax burden of debt-encumbered cities. So it is with that portion of total tax levy representing payments in State and county taxes. These, in comparisons with Washington, should be eliminated, as Washington does not pay county or State taxes and receives in return none of the benefits of participation in State and county governments. The Census Bureau's tables will be followed by others analyzing the various elements considered in arriving at the totals just announced. These, presum- ably, will be utilized in connection with the comparison of tax burdens which the House Fiscal Committee will un- doubtedly seek from its expert, Mr. George Lord. One disadvantage, of course, is that the Census Bureau i more than a year behind. Fairly ap- praised, Washington has no fear of the results that will be shown. ——r——————— ‘Taxicabs are making life inexpensive at present. In the past, railroads would have rate wars during which transpor- tation was almost given away. It in- variably happened that when the war was over, rates went up to_ a figure high enough to secure a current profit and cover past losses. A rate war is a merry war for the cash patron, but its pleasures are among those described as “fleeting.” = ———— The Great Discovery. It is not for love, ‘That mother cries ‘When comes the baby’s sneese. She has no love Nor bond that ties But only manganese. An announcement at the closing ses= slon of the annual clinic of the Ameri- can College of Physicians that “mother love” in rats can be completely de- stroyed by withholding manganese from their dlet, and that it can be restored by replacing the same substance, will naturally create intense interest in the world of scientific chemistry and medi- cine. But one must not overlook its effect upon the mothers, provided, of course, that all mothers, more or less, are the.same under the skin. For what THE SUNDAY huge joke it anl turns out to be—on the mothers! For hundreds of years, for thousands of years, mother love has been held up as the most sublime of human emotions. And now to find that it 1s not love at all, but only manga- nese! Experiments at Johns Hopkins showed that mother rats, exceptionally affece tionate creatures as concern their young, were affected by a month’s abstinence from manganese in diet, so that they turned away from their offspring. Their affections were restored with the man- ganese. When manganese was withheld from the diet of the young, their moth- ers somehow noticed it and refused them maternal attentions. What it all means must be left to the doctors and the chemists, Even they are not yet sure. But the possibilities, of course, for practical use of the discovery are enor- mous. A better and & happier world should result. When the darling chil- dren have refused to get out of bed until the last minute on 'school morn- ings, when they have broken their shoe~ strings, failed to tuck in their shirt- tails and come to breakfast with un- brushed hair and unwashed counte- nances, sent back to their rooms half & dozen times for various repairs and then refused to partake of cold eggs; when they have lost their caps, mis- placed their home work, forgotten their books and cannot find the nole that teacher sald must be signed—when they have done these things and at last have dashed madly off to school, poor mother will not have to fight the temptation to walk to the river and end it all. A visit to the medicine chest, a chocolate- coated pill of manganese, and when the darlings return for luncheon mother will be waiting, with open arms and » heart that is overflowing—with man- ganese. —_———— Desire for solitude is expressed by “Ma Kennedy,” whom Destiny has thrown permanently before the public gaze. Fame is frequently emphasized by the expression of some such long- ing, usually under circumstances which make its gratification manifestly im- possible. As a matter of fact, solitude is one of the experiences in life that the lady would least enjoy. ——— Paris hospitality is lavish with cham- pagne and sandwiches. While the imme- diate food supply has no bearing on the logic involved, it may serve a desirable purpose. It is axiomatic that men are most inclined to be agreeable en well fed. —_———— July days at his boyhood home have been thoroughly enjoyed by Calvin Cool- idge. One form of farm relief that may be relied on is the use of the good old country place for the pyrposes of a Summer vacation. ————ve— New York authorities are throwing so many restrictions around night clubs that it may yet be found necessary to run them during ordinary busi- ness hours and call them day clubs. ————— Too many distinctions in parking privileges may make it necessary for a police officer to carry a copy of the “Social Register” along with his mem- oranda of the traffic regulations. e Reno, Nev., continues to receive ex- traordinary attention in print, some of which, however, is likely to be classi- fied by advertising experts as “un- favorable publicity.” ———— Suggestions of sentiment inevitably arise in consideration of Europeans. ‘Wise diplomats agree, however, that it is time to avold sentiment and talk business. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. ‘Response. Oh, the world will be smiling instead of rude 1f, in passing on your way, You hold yourself to a gentle mood And toss it a big bouquet. ‘The words may seem prosy, But the sentiment goes; The world will seem rosy If you hand it a rose. Oh, the world will seem cruel and all unjust If the rose’s grace you hide And wield the briar with reckless thrust As you bid men stand aside. It’s a circumstance plain, Just as sure as you're bornl It will prick you sgain If you hand it a thorn. Artless Babble. “Why do you want to talk to these poor people?” sald the asylum attend- ant. “Are you an alienist?” “No. I am a composer of ragtime songs and I want to get some sugges- tions for new titles.” The Instinctive Bargainer. “What would you take for a Summer cold?” said the sufferer. “I dunno,” replied the man who never forgets business. “What'd you be willing to give?” Doggie’s Obligation. You pay his license to renew; For life you feed him free. A doggie is man's friend so true— At least he ought to be. Sharing a Common Fate. “Wasn't George Washington the father of his country?” “Yes. But there is a tendency on the part of the rising generation to be rather disrespectful to parents.” Running Time. “It only takes me twenty minutes to get to my office,” said Mr. Chuggins. “But you didn’t arrive until an hour aftsr you telephoned that you were leaving home.” “Yes. It took the other forty min- utes to get the car started.” Even There. Ah, humble enough is the dairy lunch, | cists, But Fancy may hover there, As noontide hastily bids you munch ‘Through the limited bill of fare. For the milk is as blue as her bright blue eye; Like her lips are the berries red And the glint of the sun on the custard ple. Is the glint of her golden head. “De man dat gits mad easy,” said Uncle Eben, “is liable to was'e 80 much energy on his indignation dat he ain't got enough lef’ to make out sny kin’ or an shgumenh® | _ . . . ” DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, Bishop of Washington, “This is Primrose day” was the an- swer given us when we inquired why the primrose was displayed everywhere in England on a certain day in April. The primrose was the flower that Dis- raell , and out of affection for her great prime minister England annually displays it. It is a day of remem- brance. All of us cherish in our lives certain days that mark the anniversaries of those events that have had a controlling influence upon our careers. days may be associated with certain - alities, personalities that have mightily affected habits as well. Eevery now and again, and more likely in the betake ourselves to scenes that were fa- miliar to us in early life. They may be wholly different from those with which we are now familiar—much more homely, much more simple, and yet with the poet we sing: “How dear to my heart are the scenes of my child- hood.” We are in a sad way when we lose that fine sentiment that prompts us to return to those ways and days wherein life was plastic and the affec- tions and unspoiled. Most of us keep in some secret place faded letters, bits of hair, a daguerreotype the lines of which are quite invisible, a book with an token that brings personali- life. He is utterly impove: has worth remembering. One of the finest aspects of what we have in mind is the readiness with which ye forget the unfortunate and unhappy experiences, the days that were shadowed by clouds. We have fre- quently remarked, memory is far more active in recalling happy events than those that are and depressing. At least we think that this is true of those who are of normal mind. ‘When we come to survey what we have really achieved, the measure of success we have attained, we are bound to trace it to certain events and cir- cumstances, en alities that left a lasting impression upon us. Even the men of genius bear , we | the testimony to the fact that somewhere along the way some one more discern- ing than themselves awoke in them ?:.mm and aptitudes of which they themselves were quite unconscious. One of the finest things we ever do in life is this sort of discovery and revelation to another of some latent quality or gift. We sometimes think, espacially in our later life, that we are moved to what we do very largely by current events and passing circumstances. We do not believe that this is generally true. We may adapt our habits of dress to the fashion of the hour, but these con< stant external changes do not neces- not only our thinking, but our | sar on, he repeatedly referred to the days of his boyhood and the humble circumstances that attended his youth. He was really boastful of the homely soil from whence he had sprung. We thought him the greater because of the handicaps that had attended his early way. Yes, days of remembrance. have their distinct value, and without them we lose much of impulse and inspiration to carry on. In our religlous experience we constantly refer to the events that marked the first expression of our reli- glous falth. We may have wandered far away from l:ur early convictions, but it is remarkable with what tenacit; hold to them in days when life 5 strained to the utmost and our courage at low ebb. Repeatedly I have seen strong men who had, in a sense, dis- | of splitting into starlike segments unaleu:n di avowed their religious faith yield again to the long-abandoned lnbltsy‘f:( m.:;er when a crisis was at hand. We some- times think we outgrow early impres- sions and that the memories of other days are altogether lost to us. Experi- ence and observation run counter to this view, and it is our deliberate convic- tion that the men and women who are the strongest, who wield the largest in- fluence in the sphere of their occupa- tion, are those. who turn again, ‘2:. quently and lovingly, to events and in- cidents and personalities associated with life's most plastic period—the period of youth. Reich Wholly Decapitalized; Britain Loses Gold Heavily BY WILLIAM HARD. Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. All the hens in the international istic member of ordinary international society. ‘That is why some bankers think that the Labor government of Great Britain political barnyard are clucking loudly | {n\xm know better how to turn the in the neighborhood of the German nest at this week end, but the news- paper correspondents are having a bad time trying to find the eggs. After a_month of heroic effort the Germans have fewer nest eggs, in the way of working capital, than they had Spring. The supreme test of their position is the going market value of their 1930 Young plan ration bonds. That is the daily actual clinching big fivelopmem of German jon, The Young plan bonds were sold in this country 1:-& year at 90. In the early part of this year they were still at 84. When the Hoover debt move was begun they were still above 70. ‘They are today below 60. ‘That is the true conclusive opinion of Wall Street regarding Germany's present financial health. Moreover, & new added to the hospital. That is Great Britain. ‘There is more talk today in quiet but really informed quarters about a new loan to Great Britain than about a new loan to Germany. ‘The daring Hoover debt move gave Germany during this current fiscal year some $400,000.000 of public capital which otherwise it would not have had. Simultaneously much more than that amount of private capital fled from Germany. Treasuries Try Cure. Governmental treasuries have been trying to cure the world, but have not 80 far succeeded in making private capi- tal incur sacrifices for the cure. Now private capital is taking gold out of Great Britain. ‘The gold supply of the Bank of Eng- land has fallen below the “minimum” established as the “dead-line of dan- ger” by Lord Cunliffe. This last week the Bank of England lost $75,000,000 of gold. It lost it largely to France, but also in considerable part to other European countries. Flocks of airplanes have carried gold from London to Paris. ‘Wall Street now contemplates the possibility of & reassuring loan to Lon- don. It imagines that a possible visit of J. P. Morgan to London at this week end may be attended by a tentative dis- cussion of such a loan. ‘The stability of Great Britain is un- questioned. Germany is thought po- litically internally precarious and there- fore financially externally dangerous. Great Britain is regarded as a self- righting boat which politically inter- nally will succumb to no weather what- soever, and: which financially externally will repay every penny placed upon it. Britain Close to Situation. Some bankers even take the view that the best way to finance Germany is to finance Great Britain and to let the British, who are much closer to the matter and who know much more about it, handle it. There is almost universal recognition now of the fact that the financing of Germany is a much more vital under- taking than was supposed at the time when President Hoover first made his debt move. At that time the idea was simply to save Germany for world pros- perity. Now the idea is that the salva- tion of Germany is necessary for the salvation of capitalism itself in Central Europe. Figures produced by the Central Bank of Germany have convinced the states- men at London and Paris and Washing- ton that Germany is a virtually decap- italized country. ‘Those figures show that of all income acquired by Germans in Germany only 4 per cent comes from returns on in- vestments. In this country the returns on investments are several times that percentage of the national income. Capital Astoundingly Little. In other words, we have much capital to put into investments and the Ger- mans have astoundingly little. Hence their enormous need of new foreign money. Hence also the anti-capitalistic char- acter of the overwhelming mass of their industrial population. We are rich in “small investors.” Germany has vir- tually none. Our “small investors” duce among us a multitudiness con- servatism. Germany's almost total lack of “small investors” produces in the German industrial regions a multi- tudinous radicalism. In the German Legislature more than one-third of the members are Socialists or Communists. At the other end of the legislative chamber from them are the so-called “Extreme Conservatives,” the so-called “Fascists.” These “Fas- ,” however, also “National Socialists.” They also even call themselves the “National Socialist Workers' party.” In order to attract workingmen ti demand the “gociali- zation,” the “nationalization,” the gov- ernmental ownership and operation, of all “high finance.” If you add together the Communists and h:,he Socialists and the “National & majority of the national legislators of Germany. They cannot be re-elected without eontinuous appeals to anti- capitalistic sentiment. Capitalization. o S e e Bl SRRl tient has been | rick than the altogether conservative Government of the United States. ‘The best observer who recently has returned here from Germany is Dorothy Parker, wife of the novelist Sinclair Lewis. Her writings have been a per- fect prediction of recent German out- comes. She has been visiting Wash- ingtom and she seems to think it pos- sible that there may be created in Ger- many a “capitalistic dictatorship.” Such a dictatorship would suppress the anti-capitalistic majority sentiment of Germany by force and would there. upon be able to promise safety to im- ported foreign capital. But such a dictatorship would neces- sarily have to include the conservative wing of the “National Socialists,” who are violently anti-French and who ve- hemently demand big armaments and the abolishment of reparations. If then Germany gets a radical gov- ernment, it moves against capitalism, and if it gets a reactionary govern- ment, it moves toward war. At present it has a middle govern- ment which cannot move at all without foreign help. Only Safe Government. It is acknowledged to deserve that help, as being the only sort of German government that can keep Germany | from becoming either excessively: So- cialist and rvolutionary on the one hand or excessively Nationalist and belliger- ent on the other. ‘The situation comes thereupon to its final phase. ‘Where can private investors be found so hardy and so adventurous as to im- peril their personal money on a long- term chance of saving an anti-capital- istic Germany to be an enduring pillar of the capitalistic system? London and Paris and Washington do not at pres- ent see them anywhere. The only remaining alternative is that the capitalistic governments them- selves should guarantee the proposed indispensable long-term loans to Ger- many. That is the ultimate move on the board on which the Hoover debt move was the mere opener. Conviction ac- cumulates that the rescue of Germany is wholly beyond private efforts. It requires the efforts of whole peoples as represented in governments that can spread and carry the risks. (Copsright, 1931.) o Survey Will Reveal U. S. Buyers’ Habits BY HARDEN COLFAX. For the first time definite first-hand information on regional differences in the buying habits of the American pub- lic is to be obtained by & Government authority, so that merchants will be able to gauge the market possibilities of the territory served by their city or town. The Department of Commerce an- nounces that it has decided upon an extensive program of surveys of mer- chandising practices and buying habits for' different sections of the country and for specific industries. A few rather isolated examples of differences in buying habits are known. The sub- ject has been studied in a general way. Up to the present, however, no private agency nor the Government itself has ever obtained exact data on buying habits, which might be valuable to busi- ness men in determining what kind of merchandise is likely to find favor or is losing popularity in their localities. Surveys of particular industries in particular regions, now is being under- taken by the domestic regional division of the department. The results will be included with—other material already compiled and the findings of the cen- sus of distribution in a revision of the department'’s “market data hand book.” The department already has issued a “commercial survey of New England,” considering the industrial and commer- cial structure of that region, a study of its retail trade and its consumer habits and an analysis of its foreign trade. It has brought out commercial sur- veys of the ~Southeast, the Pacific Southwest and of the Gulf Southwest. In the last named it presented facts concerning dry goods and the petroleum industry. A survey of the cotton indus- try of that section also is in prepara- e e Bl be s commer. future, en there a - cial survey of the Pacific Northwest (now in press) and three studies of fur- niture distribution in the Midcontinental area and Guit Southwest. An impressive illustration of what such a survey y show is furnished of petroleum in the Gulf Southwest. In addition to the figures of squantity and value production study shows how many of the largest cities of this region have been bullt Te banki indust as shown in 1 lo:'t-lry of effects on ing, the value of property, the ex- pansion of highways, and the enlarge- ment of educational systems. Subseguent studies along other com- o ries, -dry as_groceries, - goods will disclose other facts as to habits and merchandising and hardware, is | the , 1t is now announced, such PART TWO Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. Becretary Arthur M. Hyde of the De- partment of Agriculture is shi timely versatility this Summer in the publicity;{hat is being sent out from his department to help all the people of the country to live more comfortably. He advises mothers and others re- sponsible for care of the baby to give it sunbaths, but to avold excessive tan- ning. He ’dvluu how to discourage hungry toes He admits what is quite obvious that gon_ cats, hogs and poultry harbor eas. He discloses that it is easy to handle the bee sting if you know how. And, after explaining through one of women investigad light of lanterns, sald weather glass. ‘The mushroom, he says, is so sensi- tive to changes in the moisture of the air that it serves as a barometer. It grows in the woods, sandy places and on partly cleared land. As it develops the two outer coats of the puff ball con- taining the spores split into the mushroom or jack-o- he points out that the afore- is also the poor man's sef its, but remain united at the top of 'g:wbn.u chil The two coatings vary in composition and do not_absorb moisture in the same degree. The result is that in wet weather or when there is considerable molsture in the air the segments stand out from the plant. In dry weather inner layer con more than the outer and causes the u'genu to curve in sharply. Because of their habit group of fungl is known as the earth stars. ‘These puff-ball mushrooms are not poisonous. i * ok x % Secretary Hyde directs us to J. I.|American Union. Hambleton, expert on bee culture, for some Summer psychology on bee stings which, he says, are “painful but inter- esting.” When a bee prods its victim it tears itself from its sting, a suicidal act. The sting left in the wound has just started on its way, for the sting and the goim sack attached are equipped with muscles, which work it in deeper and deeper. ‘The sting is of two lancets, each provided wil sharp barbs pointing backward similar to ‘The reflex action of the muscles draws one lancet into the flesh where it is anchored by these barbs, and then the other lancet and 5o on alternately. At the same time the muscles are squeezing the poison sack so that the poison is constantly being pumped into the wound. Mr. Hambleton explains that most persons attempt to pull out the sting and that in so doing the pressure of their fingers squeezes the poison sack and empties it into the flesh. The sting should be scratched out, he ad- vises and demonstrates for interested observers by letting his finger get with a knife, but much more quickly than he could open a knife, by scratch- ing vigorously with his fingernail. So_there you have—another use for the fingernail. * ok ok Secretary Hyde frankly admits, what most of us know from painful experi- ence, t.h;t “it is no :':’u }ux '& dis- courage hungry mosqu: rom bitting human beings.” The different breeds of mosquitoes react differently to vari- ous repellants, and individuals experi- ence different results with the same re;’:eumu and the same breed of mos- toes. quitoes. Ofl of citronella is one of the most widely used mosquito repellants, the Government experts say, and that al- most any oily preparation on the skin will repel mosquitoes more or less. ‘We now have it officially from those |\vhn have made an intensive and pre- sumably exhaustive study of the pesky mosquitoes that there is no cure for mosquito bites. Uncle Sam officially ad- vises us all to take precautions against getting stung rather than to try to soothe the bite—in other words, to close the screen door before the mosquito steals in. If you are bitten one of the best methods of relief—the Govern- ment scientists say—is to rub the pain- ful and itchy puncture gehtly with a moist piece of toilet soap. Spraying with a kerosene pyrethrum mixture is also advocated as an insecti- cide and repellant. * * Over in the Bureau of Home Eco- nomics of the Department of Agricul- ture they have gotten far away from such agricultural problems as the best kind of seed to plant, from wheat sur- plus and the blight of the gypsy moth, and are delving deeply into ways to help the women on the farms and in city homes as well how to best culti- vate the Nation's best crop—its children. After an interesting if rather prosaic talk about how normal growth of bones depends not only on the mineral ocon- tent of the food the child eats, but also on the presence of vitamin D, and that when bones do not grow normally the condition is known as rickets, they shed a new light on the sun bath fad. They emphasize that only a part of the sunlight is effective—the ultra violet rays—and that less of these are to be found in the Winter sunlight. All sun- ning must be done very gradually, they say, especially with a very young child. The sunning should be done before 11 a.m. or after 3 p.m. 80 as to avoid the very hot part of the day. Excessive tanning should be avoided, Uncle Sam’s specialists insist, because it prevents the ultra violet rays from penetrating the skin and, therefore, makes the sun bath less effective. ———or—s. Chronic Hopers. From the Worcester Daily Telesram. The Boston Red Sox have adopted a 100-year plan for winning the pennant in the American League. s The Price of Victory. Prom the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. In the case of war, it might be said that the winner pays and pays and pays. —_—ate Harmonious. From the Duluth Herald. m‘cvf h-vmeve;- known a case oxh'e}!"c ic spoiled a jazz program. e gantnry. it has often had a beneficial trades. Attention is being paid to methods of sales promotion, advertising policies and types of credit extension in use in the leading cities and towns. The survey will bring out facts about cash sales, mail order sales, installment , and changes in style tastes. It also will show how much density of tion has to do with W habits. These habits, as a matter of fact, cor very closely with stand- ards of living. For example, there would be a difference in the types of clothing purchased in large commercial cities, mining communitfes and logging regions. Similarly, the climate and habits of different regions will determine to a certain extent the kinds of food, and even the kind of furniture, pur- Differences in buying habits may even be noted within various parts of same city. Hardware sales tained by tllm‘n department ;u;out the point. -grade tools, shown, sell mm’n an industrial portion of & city, as is to be expected, mm‘“l? w“rehu.d But mhmun:{:vy hile , while & of fittings and accessories is It is by the de) carry on these studies throughout the nine different industrial into which the country, as a whole, has been divided and in connec- tion with & number of indus- tries—ji furniture study, the preliminary gl ok worl aress, in EWE . | stung | pense with them 1n discusst and then quickly scratching it out—not | in o o i while o|will be American Standards of Living BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN, ‘The average New Yorker or Call- fornjan who talks about the cost of uvlnf means something entirely differ- ent from the average citizen of South Carolina, Alabama or Mississippi. Cost of living usually is interpreted to mean the amount of money which people pay to buy the articles which they consider they require for their support. What this sum is in different parts of the cou mgm is a changing stcry. i8 heard in political, economic and sociological discussions about the American standard of living in the United States as compared with the European or Asiatic standard of living. It is fi:eruly boasted to be a very much higher standard. On an average ‘l}r.:‘te:n“h hl.‘l‘ll;nlf But if some of the ,?ec y if some of the regions of the United States were to be:n- garded as separate countries, as much difference would be found in their standards of living in terms of money spent as between the American stand- ard and the European standard. As matters now are figured, the average for the entire country is taken as repre- senting the “American standard of living.” ‘This, probably, is fair enough. Nevertheless, every man, woman and ld in California spends $575.73 a year in making purchases at retail, and every New Yorker spends $575.12. This must be contrasted, to obtain a clear idea of the differences in the many American standards of living, with the $171.98 which every person in South Carolina spends in retail stores in a year, with the $198.19 spent by each Alabaman and the $205.92 spent by lweller in ippt. ‘The Californian, the greatest spender, it will be noted, spends almc three times as much as the South Carolinian, the poorest. Yet both are States of the When the retail expenditures in all States are added together it is found that the total amount of money spent over the counter is $50,033,850,792. This gives an average per capita ex- penditure of $407.53. This is well above the European standard of retail expen- diture but this average also is far above the standard in the three Southern m::mflnmd—lu per cent above, a_thorough survey of both retail and wholesale distribution in the United States, and has turned these as- o aiff parts of the coumr'y. ® e Public Well Served. It is shown that the country is well served with retail stores. There are 1,549,168 them and that means that, averaged for the entire country, there are 12.6 retail stores for every 1,000 in- habitants. Averages may be very de- ceptive although it is difficult to dis- broad national terms. There are many cities in the land where every door for many blocks opens into a re- tall establishment of some kind. There are other places where one must ride 100 miles to find any kind of a store. The big citles, naturally, are the best served in this matter. They have more retail stores, but also it must be remem- bered that the retailing is more strictly divided by commodities. There are re- tail stores dealing in nothing but books. There are others which specialize in meat, others which sell only bread, hats, rubber goods, flowers, notions, and so on. ‘To balance them are the great de- | partment stores in cities and the other type of department store, the rural general emporium, which purveys every- thing to the countryside from cream separators to common pins, from lum- ber wagons and threshers and binders to_shoestrings and store teeth. New York has 15.1 stores for every 1,000 population, but does not stand at the head of the list. Florida leads in this sort areas in Florida where small refafl es- tablishments, some selling nothing more than ephemeral souvenirs, have up. Not all operate all the year round yet are rounted. California has 15.1 stores per 1,000 people. Two communities which cannot be classified by ordinary explanations are Delaware and Oregon. Neither is an outstanding resort State, and neither has especially large cities. Yet Oregon {?‘2 15.3 stores per 1,000 and Delaware From these well served commiunities we may turn to those of the opposite class. Alabama stands at the bottom of the list, with only 8.1 stores per 1,000. Mississippi has only 8.6 retail stores and South Carolina only 8.7. Some Sections Demand More. Storekeeping may be a local habit and that may account for differences found. For example, there is no surface explanation of the fact that South Da- kota, a relatively sparsely settled com- munity, should have 13 stores per 1,000 inhabitants, while Tennessee has but 9. South Dakota is new country and Ten- nessee one of the older States. Each customer spends far more in the South oDn‘;o':m stores than in the Tennessee , however, per capita expenditures in the Northern State amounting to $378.36, while in Tennessee the per capita retail expenditure is but $248.36 —a very big difference. The much greater population of Tennessee makes that State’s total contribution to retail trade $649,857,000 while South Dakota adds but $262,148,000. Obviously, the South Dakotans have a much higher standard of living from the point of view of things bought at the store. Some vastly interesting spending characteristics may be discerned in comparing the big four of the States from the point of view of total retail buying. New York leads not only by high standing in per capita expendi- ture, but in total retail purchases, with a total of $7,239,632,000 for the State. Pennsylvania comes second in total re- tail trade with a figure of $4,039,555,000, but by no means second to New York in per capita purchases. Nearly a score of States show higher per capita ex- penditures than Pennsylvania. Her per capita figure is only $419.42. This Penn- sylvania per capita figure doubtless is low because of the large Quaker popu=- lation and the Pennsylvania Dutch. Although living well, the people are ex- tremely thrifty, keeping up the tradition of their most celebrated fellow citizen, the late Benjamin Franklin. Third in total retail expenditure comes Illinois, with a toal of $3,687,- 370,000 and a per capita figure of $483.23. This ranks her second to New York among the four largest States, but not second for the country by any means. Fourth comes Ohio, with & total retail trade of $3.056,748,000 and a x;:r uplf.lhflgure of $459.89. may noted that tl hout this discussion has referred ht;uusghm and their rank. Crowning all other figures are those for the National Capi- tal, classified separately from any State, as the District of Columbia. A per capita expenditure of $681.65 at retall stores is shown. This is more than $100 greater than the highest on the list of States, California, and more than $500 more than the lowest, South Carolina. Even with this high per capita figure, the number of stores per 1,000 is below the average, there being only 12.1, a total of 5917 doing an an- nual business of $331,873,000. Washington may _disappoint some people who come seeking panaceas for every ill of mankind, but it is the re- tail tradesman’s paradise, European governments may totter, but Uncle sr;l':s s:fi}sm):!u the pay roll which sus- luge volume of retail trade in the National Capital. Fifty Years Ago In The Star When Charles J. Guiteau stepped be- hind President Garfield at the Sixth street station, in this city, on the 2d of July, 1881, he fired two shots, one of s which entered the Guiteau’s Second President's back and inflicted the Bullet Is Found. 37 ‘nficted the eventually caused his death. The other shot missed its mark and for a time there was a mystery regarding its course. In The Star of July 19, 1881, the question regarding this second ball was answered: i “The whereabouts of the missin, bullet, the first fired by the Ilsllnn‘ Guiteau at the President, remained a mystery until yesterday, when Kristoph Plockechis, a Polish glazier, residing at 913 Third street northeast, appeared at the district attorney’s office and pro- duced it. It will be remembered that after it was definitely ascertained that this ball had gone in a southeasterly direction, passing through one of the doorways of the ladies’ room at the| depot, a thorough but unavailing search | was made for it and it was thought that it might have been imbedded in a piece of baggage in the baggage room at the southeast corner of the building. It now appears that at the time of the shooting Plockechis, the glazler, was in the main room of the depot with his kit—a box containing some panes of window glass, knives and putty—waiting an opportunity to get a $10 bill changed. He had loosened one strap of his kit and was in the act of loosening the other when he heard the reports of the pistol and three panes of his glass were shattered in the box. He immediately ran away from the building. Last Wednesday, while cleaning his box, he found the English Press Hits Conference Results BY A. G. GARDINER. A chorus of disappointment touched with anger issued X-om all sections of | the press this week at the meager re- | sults of the conference of powers im | London. “We are very well pleased.” said | Premier Ramsay MacDonald at the close | of the conference. | “Why are they well pleased?” ask | the Manchester Guardinn - S What Jes could they have done than they have done?” The London Times strikes the same note, voicing impatient dissatis- faction with a mountain which brought forth such a pathetically small mouse. It insists that if all the conference aimed at was the persuasion of bankers to leave in Germany such money as was already there, there was no neces- sity to call the conference. It also criticizes the government for its failure give a bold lead to the deliberations. " “Chancellor Bruening of Germany has come to London asking bread,” says the New Statesman. “He goes back to Berlin with a few biscuit crumbs.” Resentment against France as the chief author of the pitiful results of the conference is widespread and the opin- ion is expressed that if the only object was an appeal to bankers the presence of France was unnecessary, inasmuch as practically all the short-term money in Germany is American and English. It is only fair to say that the personal impression created by Premier Laval at the conference was excellent and his re- lations with Bruening were most cor- dial. No one doubts that there is a more reasonable and generous France than appears in the public attitude of the country and in the Parisian press. Evidence of this is given in the popular reception for the German ministers on their arrival in Paris last week end. Unfortunately the policy of France is dictated by the Quai d'Orsay, which learns nothing and forgets nothing, ex- bullet imbedded in a lump of putty, and, acting under the advice of friends, he yesterday took it to the district attorney and gave it up. He thinks that this was the first ball, but says the shots were so quickly fired that he was not certain. Plockechis speaks but little English and made his statement through an interpreter, Gotleib Prew. The bullet is & mate to those taken from Guiteau's pistol. The point is blunted and one side is flattened. Col. Corkhill says there ‘is no reason to doubt the story told by the glazier.” [ * * President Garfleld was making an apparent recovery from his wound and so satisfactory were the bulletins of the physicians that his complete con- o valescence was general- President’s 1y expected. Gov. Charles Condition. G. Foster of Ohio pro- the appointment of a_day of national thanksgiving for the President’s preservation. The Star of July 20, 1881, thus commented upon his condition: “The slight relapse which the Presi- dent suffered Monday evening was only transient and did not even check the favorable which have so regularly continued of late. The wound is doing well, and that is the main thing, as it governs the case, It seems to be decided that no experiments for the locality of the bullet ‘while President is correct. President usually causes an excitement 1| which is followed by an increase of has been shown on several cept, as one critic remarks, the art of m‘l:m‘ lgolg‘ into Paris. significant that this moment was chosen for renewed withdrawals of gold {from London, resulting in an increased bank rate. Even the London M Post, which has been the most fmflxfix apologist for Prance in the London press, no longer pretends that this is other than a deliberate act of policy. ~‘Unfortunately,” says the Post, “the handling of the problem of the German crisis is rendered more difficult by the fact that Prance has elected this par- ticular time to make a fresh inroad into the world's gold supplies. With her barns of precious metal pressed down to overflowing, she, within the space of less than a fortnight, has con- siderably over $100,000,000 in gold from this country, a withdrawal which even in war times can scarcely have been exceeded in so short a period.” In two years the gold holding of France has increased $1,000,000,000, and the Post points out that while Great Britain uses gold for the good of Europe as a whole, France manipulates it for her own purposes in ways which keep the situation uneasy and disturbed. This is a fact which “constitutes a poor return for the consideration which has been shown her by this country in the matter of lightening war debt.” Feeling aroused here by the mental my - of the French toward Ger- ence of her policy may be ave Sovietism established as a neighbor on the Rhine. (Copyright. 1931.) that it