Evening Star Newspaper, September 30, 1931, Page 8

{THE EVENING With Sunday Morning WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY, Segfember 80, 1831 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Compan: . "flnur‘vfiu Ave, ake s STAR Edition. e on, \IAA o Fork O ¢ 42 Pt S L Lon Rate by Cegmier Within the City. 45¢ per month B 85 per month S per copy d'of each month. 1Dy mall oF telephons Rate by Mall—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia, 1yr.$10.00; 1 mo., $6.00! 1 mo., . $4.00; 1 mo., 40¢ ANl Other States and Canads. 1mo., uig 1mo., 1mo., B ‘Member of the Associated Press. d Press is exclysively ertitled ,THh Ave ot republication "of "all news di atehes credited fo it or not REg U ok moet rf o Jhe Tl g'fll:‘“flllnllth s herein are also reserved. e Coolidge “Does Not Choose.” Calvin Coolidge continues to run true fo form. His declaration that he has no intention of becoming a candidate for President next year and that he will support the renomination and re- election of Prestdent Hoover, contained in an article in the Saturday Evening Post, is typical of the former President. This public announcement by Mr. Coolidge of his declination to be con- sidered a receptive candidate for the Republican presidential nomination will probably definitely check attempts to put life into s Coolidge boom. The sound opinion of Republican leaders has been that President Hoover would be renominated next year and that Mr. Coolidge neither desired to get into the race for the nomination nor would he permit himself to be drafted. ‘There is no doubt, however, that Cal- vin Coolidge’s appeal for party solidar- ity in the coming national campaign will have its effect. Insurgent Repub- licans from some of the Western States are inclined to snift and to belittle the Coolidge statement. They assert that what the former President has said will have little effect, especially in their apart of the country. But they cannot be sure that they are right in this con- clusion. The people of the United States, including those of the West, came, over a period of years, to regard . Mr, Coolidge as having a remarkable grasp of public affairs and great com- mon sense. Mr. Coolidge, in his discussion of the Presidential race next year, has written with the utmost finality. He Jeaves not the slightest doubt in any mind that fully considers his words. Here and there will be found men who nsist he has not closed the door, that 1f the Republican National Convention should turn to him Mr. Coolidge would sccept. But it is entirely obvious that the Republican National Convention will not undertake to make Mr. Cool- fdge stultify himself by accepting momination after what he has said. The former President is entirely right in his judgment of the matter. President Hoover, who has conducted the administration of the Government with soundness, is entitied to renomi- nation by his party. Furthermore, the Republican party must go to the coun- try in the election next year on the record of the Hoover administration. It must be prepared to defend that record. How could it ask the suffrage of the country on the basis of ‘that record If it undertook to dismiss the head of the administration which made the record? The Republican party, in the face of the continued depression in this country, has a hard battle on its hands next year. This is no time for des- sensions within the party ranks. The G. O. P. has in the past made a reputation for closing up the ranks and fightihg shoulder to shoulder, even though there may have been bitter family strife before’ the national cam- paign actually began. Republican leaders who are looking to the future, like Mr. Coolidge, will rally around the sdministration and President Hoover. Now that the only potential “dark horse” on the Republican side of the fence has spoken, it would be interest- ing to hear from the titular head of the Democratic party, Alfred E. Smith ©of New York, regarding his pians for Dext year. r——— e Highly animated debate is expected in the next Congress. Statesmanship is at its best if it can attend to the disputation with decorous formality and leave the general public time and op- portunity to go on about its regular business. —————— Manchurian Independence Move Three distinet autonomy movements in Manchuria are reported, following immediately upon the conflict between Japanese and Chinese forces, which has been brought to an end through the agency of the League of Nations Assem- bly and the urgent recommendation of the United States. These movements, 4t would seem, are entirely spontaneous on the part of the Manchurians. Doubt- less some suspicion will be definitely expressed that the Japanese have fomented them. That possibility has siready been suggested, and it has been refuted emphatically by statements from ‘Tokyo. At the same time there is & belief in some minds that Russia, which has a large stake in Manchuria, is per- haps encouraging the Manchurians, in the hope of creating a confusion which might lead to an encroachment in the Quise of the protection of Soviet inter- sntering the Manchurian capital, in ncter required for the role of under the same title of marshal thal was held by his father, He has wavered between courses, and now, in his ab- sence at Peiping, where he is an invalid, his provinces are breaking away from China and from him. Japan has rights in Manchuria, ac- quired through treaties and contracts with China following her two success- I'tul wars, that with China in 1894-5 and that with Russia ten years later. Russia has certain rights also in con- nection with her rallroad partnership with China and the use of Manchurian territory for the short-cut rail line to Viadivostok. Over the line to the west, in Inner Mongolia, and especially be- yond that area in Outer Mongolia, the Russian influence is strong. It is be- lleved that the Soviet government in Outer Mongolia is sctually & Russian outpost. Thus the partition movement in Manchuria may involve forces quite beypnd those of the Nanking govern- ment. The outcome may be of far- reaching consequence to Asia and even to other parts of the world. Nobody who bas any knowledge of the char- acter and capacities of the people in Manchuria looks for the maintenance of truly indeperdent administrative units in the “three eastern provinces.” It China cannot hold them some other power or powers will probably do so. o ‘Who Owns the Gas Companies? ‘When you pay your gas bill at the end of the month, who gets the money? The hearings before the Public Util- ities Commission, now coming to & close, may have developed nothing that the Public Utilities Commission did not know s regards the ownership of the ‘Washington gas properties, established certain facts as a matter of record. One of these facts is the contention by counsel for the gas interests that the Central Public Service Corporation of Chicago does not own the gas com- panies here. If not, who does? The Westfield Trust of Illinols is the owner of the local gas properties, ac- cording to the arguments of counsel, and Mr. Albert E. Peirce is the sole owner of the beneficial interest in the Westfield Trust, Yet the Westfield Trust, owner of the local gas com- panies, is not able to pay bills ren- dered for such services as printing. A $200 bill for printing, according to testi- mony at the hearing last week, ren- dered the Westfield Trust by creditors, was paid by the Central Public Service Corporation, as werz other bills “for divers services, the reason being that | the Westfield Trust has no money to meet such bills. And throughout the enlightening testimony yesterday by George A. G. Wood, president of the Washington Gas Light Co., it was not the Westfleld Trust but the Central Public Service Corporation that was pictured as the arbitrary dictator of policies and personnel of the local gas company. ‘Who, or what, is the Westfield Trust? Some one hundred and nine thousand shares of the 130,000 shares of com- mon stock in the Washington Light Co. are owned by the Washing- ton and Suburban Companies—once known as the Seaboard Investment Trust. The Washington and Suburban Companies also owns the controlling stock in gas companies in Alexandria and Hyattsville and on Staten Island, New York. Six and a half million dollars’ worth of bonds in the Washington and Sub- urban Companies have been issued to bankers for sale to the public. These bonds pay interest at five and a half per cent, and part of your gas bill goes into that. Seventy thousand shares of $6 cumulative preferred stock in the Wash- ington and Suburban Companies are owned by the Southern Ofties Public Service Company, which is a subsidiary of the Central Public Service Corpora- tion of Chicago. Part of your gas bill goes to paying dividends on this pre- ferred stock. . Common stock in, the Washington and Suburban Companies is owned by the Westfleld Trust. A note of the Westfleld Trust, amounting to $13,- 725,000, is held by the Central Public Bervice Corporation, and, in addition, the Westfield Trust, which does mnot pay its own bills, has issued six million dollars in bonds to various bankers, these bonds being secured by the com- mon stock of the Washington and Sub- urban Companies, guaranteed by the Central Public Service Corporation, and are exchangeable for stock in the Cen- tral Public Service Corporation. Mr, Pelrce, a member of the board of directors of both the Georgetown Gas Co. and the Washington Gas Light Co., 1s the sole owner of the beneficial interest in the Westfield Trust. He is president of the Central Public Service Corporation and is president of the Central Public Service Co., which in turn owns the controlling interest in the Central Public Service Corporation. It would probably be considered un- lawful for the Public SBervice Corpora- tion to acquire control or ownership of the Washington gas companies, being a forelgn corporation. The La Follette anti-merger law forbids such ownership and control by s forelgn corporation. But the Westfield Trust is not a cor- poration. It may be perfectly legal for the Westfleld Trust to own the Wash- ington gas properties, and it may be perfectly reasonable for a concern that owns the gas companies and can bor- row thirteen million dollars from one corporation and borrow six million dol- lars from the public not to be able to meet & two-hundred-dollar printing bill. But it is passing strange and confusing to the man who pays his ges bill. The financial structure that he must help to support, through “his gas bills, will ex- act every penny that it can. It needs the money. ——o—t———— Prank irritation is naturally shown by Dr. Clarence Trus Wilson when so many persons are found ready to con- tradict his assurances that prohibition s & closed incident. s The Naval Budget. Friends of national defense have no cause for anxiety in President Hoover's proposed slash of $61,000,000 in the 1932-33 naval budget. The General Board, supported by the Secretary of the Navy, proposed a total expenditure for the ensuing fiscal year of $401,- 000,000, or $41,000000 more than is being spent during the Government's 2028, ¥is son, Chang Hsueh Liang, has current twelvemonth. 1If the White demonstrated the strength of chag- House recommendations are approved but they | ,|by Congress, we shall spend on the Navy in 1932-33 & total of $340,000,000 instead of the $360,000,000 the sea es- tablishment is costing in 1931-32. The Navy Department's contribution to the administration’s economy program will, therefoge, be a saving of some $20,000,- 000 over present expenditure. In making known his desires for naval retrenchment, the President con- veys the gratifying news that his plans call for no curtailment of construction already under way. It is, indeed, & modest enough program that Mr. Hoover intends going on with—the completion of seven modern 10,000-ton cruisers, authorized long ago; one air- craft carrier of 13,800 tons, and three submarines, two of 1,100 tons apiece and one of 1,500 tons, Following the White House announcement tHat the economy arrangements will not inter- fere with current construction, Secre- tary Adams made the far less pleasing statement that the authorized program for bullding eleven new destroyers is to be cut down to five vessels. As a de- stroyer costs about $3,000,000—the $20,- 000,000 to be sliced from the naval budget apparently is to be taken mainly from the destroyer construction account, which 1s to date our sole approach to the “treaty navy.” Presumably if the League of Nations’ one-year building holiday, to which the United States has assented in prin- ciple, comes into force, the President’s arrangements for proceeding with American naval construction now in hand will have to undergo some re- vislon. There was no reference to the holiday scheme in the statements which emanated from the White House yes- terday. Nor, regrettably, was there any intimation in that quarter that the United States is giving a scintilla of heed or thought to the question of utilizing our parity rights, as regards Great Britain, or our superiority rights, as regards Japan—rights which we won in the London treaty of 1930. Without # vigorous administration lead in that direction, hope of congressional action toward it must be looked upon as worse than slender. It is not a reassuring prospect in & world not inaptly described by Representative Britten, chairman of the House Naval Commit- tee, as “sitting on top of a volcano.” President Hoover thrusts bitterly at elements within the Navy Department which seek to “inspire” the country through the press with naval expansion sentiment, Reprehensible as such over- stepping of the regulations, if such there has been, may be, its purpose at least is conceived in a spirit of national needs. Outside of the Navy, unfettered by regu- Iations of any sort, is an organized, powerful minority which systematically assalls and distorts the United States Government’s plans for adequate pre- paredness at sea. Its lobbying activities in Congress long have been notorious. ‘While censure for extraneous inter- ference with the naval budget is being meted out, & share of it should go where it belongs, 3 ———————————— Trading on stock exchanges is likely to become a little slow when possibil- ities grow so complex that the specu- lator has to take time to think them over before making his bets. . ————— e ‘When Senator Reed says “This coun- try must face the music,” he uses big metaphor and does not refer to & con- dition that & listener might hcpe to meet by merely turning off the radio. — e No student of human nature has fully explained why conventions for transact- ing the most delicate and important publie business are so frequently held in hot weather, when people are most likely to become “temperamental.” - SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Same Old September. Same old September ‘With glints of Autumn gold; Bummer’s flerce ember Above us now grows cold. New thoughts and phrases, New frocks and frills, ‘The change oft amazes 4 As the years drift o'er the hills, Bame beauty gleaming Among the turning leaves, Same treasure beaming In the safely garnered sheaves. Cares we remember, Borrows draw near; But the same old September Always brings the same old cheer. Selfishness Admitted. “You are accused of mingling self- ish motives with your patriotism.” “I plead guilty,” said Senator Sor- ghum. “For the sake of my family and the prosperity of my friends and fellow citizens I want the country in which they live to be as enlightened and prosperous as possible.” Jud Tunkins says a certain amount of bad statuary is to be expected. The fact that & man is a hero doesn't necessarily make him an artist's model. Grand Transformation. A grand transformation on hill and shore Is shown by announcements that go on display; The Summer resort In the séason of yore To a Winter resort has been changed in a day. on Efficiency. “Efficlency consists in avolding the loss of time and energy on things that have no practical importance.” “And yet,” said Farmer Corntossel, “I can’t notice that the man who lets his whiskers grow to save fussin’ with a collar and necktie does any more work than the rest of us.” Another Kind. “Any horse thieves around here?” ‘Yes,” sald Cactus Joe. “But we don’t go after 'em the way we used to. Since we got & race track at Crimson Gulch the crooked bookmakers seem to have the boys tamed.” The Long Argument. The restless seasons as they range Still offer us excitement great. ‘The Summer base ball game will change Into a Winter-time debate. “Tain’ de elght hours’ work & man does in a day,” sald Uncle Eben, “dat | THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL, It a reader may believe the English novelists, the City of London has one institution which is unique. aehh the C]I'-l' mellz ntl:n.l x scarcely possible to pick up one of the recent English novels wR.hout running into the cats’ meat man. Londoners, as befits right-thinking people, are fond of cats. ‘They realize that this animal must be well fed to be its sleek, purring best. B0 a set of men have achleved a modest competence going around with meat for sale. * K ok X Need it be whispered that this is mostly horse meat? Many prepared dog and cat foods in the United States are made, under supervision of the Department of Agri- culture inspection, of horse meat. Cooked with rice, it comes out very nice, as far as the buman sense of smell goes. “Good enough for human use,” says the writing on one of the cans. ‘We have never sampled such foods, but can say that most of them smell very tasty indeed. Cats are very fond bf them. Evidently they like horse meat. P The London vender is never pre- sented in person, but almost always is spoken of merely in an off-stage way. Heartily the reader will wish that one of these richly human personages could be brought forward and intro- duced to him as big as life. Surely he would be an interesting addition to the gallery of Londo characters as spread out for reades since the days of Charles Dickens. The great Charles was the first to discover the drama and rich interest in the English common people of the English metropolis. Others had drawn a character here and there, mostly from the higher mid- dle classes. Sir Joseph Addison in his classical papers portrayed at second or third hand a few people from the masses. It remained for Dickens, however, to butid entire novels around them, to pic- ture them in misfitting clothes and make them talk at length with the ordinary, every-day speech of the com- mon people. EE The cats’ meat man must belong by right to the great lower strata. He must be a sort of cross between a scavenger and a butcher, but at the same time he must have in his mind and heart many good qualities. Else he would nct be enough inter- !-!'telf in his humble calling to continue at_it. Surely he must have a real fondness for the furry creatures he serves or he would not continue to walk the streets ho‘o:lheu behalf as well as for his own good. One fond of cats will like to think that the typical cats’ meat man is fond of them, too, although perhaps in a rough way. * ok x K London householders—and one speaks of the great mass of the people—must realize that the family pet ought to be fed properly on food of its own. It is all very well to talk of feeding the family cat on the scraps left over from the human meals, but there was never a cat born which preferred such provender. Cats are sensitive, and one may like to believe that they realize when their dinners are purchased especially for them and when they are not. BY FREDERIC Everybody except those who don't want to be convinced that Coolidge is out of the 1932 race is now certain that the calm and cautious Calvin has cleared the track for Hoover.- Stick- lers for unequivecal language remark that the Vermonter uses up three and a half Saturday Evening Post pages on “Party Loyalty and the Presidency” without uttering these 20 unmistakable and unambiguous words: *“Under no | circumstances whatever woulM I run for | President in 1932 as long as Herbert Hoover is in the field.” In this cynical connection a certain doubting Thomas recalls an old story about a stage hand who violated the fire-prevention rules by smoking behind the scenes. “Can’t you read plain English?” shrieked an irate stage manager, pointing to a “Smoking Prohibited” sign. “Sure I can,” the culprit replied, “but it doesn’t say ‘positively’ prohibited.” The moral the cynic draws is that Calvin doesn’t yet choose to afirm that he wouldn't take next year's nomination if the Re- publican convention thrust it upon him. whole business about Coolidge and 1932. Nobody in his right mind ever pictured the former President going: tomahawk- ing for Hoover's scalp. Nor does any one with knowledge of the practical mechanics of a G. O. P. convention imagine its proceeding to nominate “Cal” in leisurely, formal fashion. The only chance lay in a stampede to him. * x ¥ x Not even the oldest inhabitant of the White House under the Hoover regime can remember anything meAsuring up in explosive indignation to the Presi- dent’s wrath with big Navy agitators within the Navy Department. Such a depth charge as he planted under them yesterday, for using the press to tor- pedo the administration’s economy pro- gram, hasn’t reverberated through Washington for many a moon. Tech- nically, a naval officer or & depart- mental official who either advocates or opposes budgetary or legislative mat- ters, which are exclusively within the Executive prerogative, is without a leg to stand on. Under the regulations he is butting in Somebody, nevertheless, has to rise up now and then, and repel the offensive against national defense so sleeplessly waged by the pacifist or- ganization. Its lobby against naval ap- propriations is one of the deadliest Congress has ever known. It is skill- fully and ruthlessly conducted. It is well financed. A presidential blast against anti-preparedness propaganda would serve as useful & purpose as the barrage just let down on naval officers. After all they are the men whom Uncle Sam has educated, at vast expense, to hold watch and ward over our safety at sea. * x K K Senator Matthew M. Neely, Demo- crat, of West Virginia, who returns to Congress in December after a six-year sabbatical leave over which he had no control, has just been honored by hav- ing a Fairmont, W. Va, radio station named after his initials. Its call letters are WMMN. In honor of Senator Jim Davis of Pennsylvania, a station out in Illinois, where Moose hearts beat for him, has long been known as WJJD. Harrisburg, Pa., boasts of one with the ominous title of WCOD. Tokip, Japan, has the biggest radio station in the Far East. Its name is JOAK, * K K ¥ Mark Twain Was wrong. Men are trying to do something about the weather except complain about it. Dr. Charles F. Marvin, veteran chief of the United States Weather Bureau, has ust left for Locarno, Switzeriand, amed scene nlt:ehedpeue pact betu};g mnune.Wlnlmmm{o e International Meteorological Cemmis- sion, of which he is an executive mem- ber. The commission consists of the leading weather men of 25 or 30 differ- ent countries, who get together period- fcally to discuss their unreliable subject. One of the principal objects of “the commission is to set aside s day each year when, in all the countries repre- sented on it, simultaneous tests are made in the ul air for the of deriving weather data. Identical ob- servations are in captive balloons, free balloons and airplanes, as well as There's always been the rub in the | i Get them h en of course, they -u‘l"’f{ alme o But that means no‘hing. So will hu- man beings undc: like circumstances. * ok %k % ‘The people of the great City of Lon- don, therefore, must regard the house cat as a distinct animal personality, fit to have its own meat in Pr: Own Way. There is something pleasing in the picture of the cats' meat man pursuing his rounds, probably the same which his father trod, knowing where his steady customers are and going to them regularly. Of one thing we may be sure, and that is the cordial reception which the fellow gets from the cats. There can be little doubt that the cats’ meat man is waited for every day by all his real customers. Real customers—of Course, the cats. | No cat is indebted in the least for the human assistance which secures him his daily food. The small matter of money enters not into his calculations. Just what goes on behind those two upstanding ears no human being is given to know exactly, but he may feel sure that gratitude is not present there. Why should it? Gratitude is a fine flower of human mind and heart. It is not for the four-legged Ccreatures of earth, except for the dog, which to have some cannot be sure. pS o times seems to us gratitude in the dfi is only another form of his perpetu: fawning. * x k% Some one of London's very fine writers—and no city in the world has more—is going to rise on his writing legs some day and give the world a book in which a cats’ meat man will be | & principal character. We can see him now, compounded t | & bit of Sam Weller brought up to date and mixed well with old Peter Quince of Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night's Dream,” with a touch of something by Helltdhmg and flavored with Oliver Gold- smith. He will be a right racy fellow, able and willing to touch on the frallti of life, both human and animal. acquaintance with cats will be large, overflowing with the comradeship of the stomach, in which all living things | have part. It was Emile Zola of Paris who wrote the first epic of the human stomach | when he penned the gigantic novel the title of which is usually translated as “The Fat and the Thin,” since much | of the story resolves around the differ- ence in human beings when well padded and underpadded. M. Zola, however, was much_of an artist to give his book Such a pallid title. The French title can be cor- rectly translated “The Belly of Paris,” which was what Zola wrote it, since his story deals with the great markets of the French capital. The London cats’ meat man, sure to crop up some day in some exception- ally good novel, will know a great deal about alimentation and how it reacts on cats and men, and why certain foods are good for them and certain bad; and whether he is correct or not will not make the least difference in the world, for it will be the keenness of his ob- servations and their humanity which will matter and not his accuracy. Is that not true for most of us? Would we not all be the better off in many s if we gave over our talk about coyrectness and just went ahead and lived humanly and decently? WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS WILLIAM WILE. Uncle Andy Mellon, oldest member of the cabinet, finds himself under fire again from one of the youngest mem- bers of Congress, Representative Wright Patman, Democrat, of Texas. Patman has just turned 38. He announces his intention of renewing the attempt to impeach the Secretary of the Treasury for holding office illegally, because of alleged continued conpection with pri- vate business, Patman, who boasts in his congressional autobiography of hav- ing “lived in Texas all his life,” en- listed in the World War as a buck private and came out a machine gun officer. He's a lawyer, proud father of four children—*“all boys”—and was in the Lone Star Legislature before com- ing to Congress in 1929. He describes himself as a missionary Baptist, * k % X “Young Teddy” Roosevelt, Governor of Porto Rico, together with “Jack” MacNider, otherwise Col. Hanford Mac- Nider, American Minister to Canada, gets the lion’s share of the credit for | inducing the American Legion to take | the right bonus turning at Detroit. | Roosevelt was so busy on that job that | he was off the floor when the Resolu- | tions Committee’s report was unani- mously passed. This included a reso- lution proposed by California asking Congress to prohibit Filipinos from be- coming permanent residents of the | United States. When Roosevelt heard about it, including the fact that his Porto Rico delegation had voted for the resolution, he immediately sallled forth | to have it reconsidered. At the eleventh hour before the convention adjourned | T. R. arranged to have Col. Herrick, (repre.sentlng the Philippine Island | Leglonnaires, recognized in an attempt to rescind the resolution. Roosevelt seconded his motion, but it lacked the required two-thirds support. If “Young ‘Teddy” is sent to Manila as governor general, he’s at least pulled a good curtain-raiser for himself, * ok ok ok ‘Washington for the next two or three weeks—or longer—will have a new in- door. sport—wondering what the Inter- state Commerce is going to do about railroad freight rates. Stock gamblers are waiting for the decision with baited breath. They'd give a King's ransom for a reliable advance tip. Guesses— one's u'zood as -nec'}lxer (and as bad) —vary from prognostications that the roads will be turned down flat to proph- ecles that they'll get all or part of the desired 15 per cent boost for every- thing except farm produce and coal. * ok ok % ‘When Senator George H. Moses, Re- publican, of New Hampshire, who wants New England to form a congres- sional bloc against “yammering” sec- tions of the country outside the cul- ture belt, returns to Wi n he'll find he has a new landlord. Joe Tumulty, Woodrow Wilson's famous secretary, has bought the apartment house in which Moses long has been domiciled. The sage of Concord may yet rue the day he became an irre- concilable. (Copyright, 1931.) e A State Moratorium. From the Portland, Ores., Journal. Holding more than 5,000 leases and contracts on public lands, the State Land Department at Olympia, Wash., has declared a moratorium. “The present business depression has become so acute,” says Clark Savidge, State land commissiorier, “that it is ex- ceedingly difficult—in & large number of instances absolutely impossible—for people to meet their financial obliga- tions.” He adds: “The situation has become 80 very distressing that I have decided that the duty of the sovereign State to its individual citizens justifies my offering to &1d holdéts of leases and contracts of sale by suspending pay- ments where a showing that justifies it is made.” When Clark Savidge, an able and effective official, takes such action it examples the strain that the depres- sion is putting upon the country. And it is an example of the - /fulness that many persons in nml authority are anxious to extend to those methods. Resultant knowledge | in distress. mmummuumpuwu aroun’ de other sixteen.” The thoughtfulness of a great people invariably manifests i 11] wl when the Taney’s Dred Scott Decision Misquoted 'To the Editor of The Star: It is ble that af this late day The Star should resuscitate the ancient calumny against Chief Justice ‘Taney. In an article on the Chief Justice by James Waldo Fawcett, printed in ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. 'rl'h“% Star of September 24, appears the | bureau ol ” “It was he who wrote in 1857 the the it Dred Scott decision, * * ¢ One phase in his decision held that Negroes were ‘beings of an inferior or- der * * * and so far inferior that they had no rights which the white "?m'."'um 1;? t:t king ‘;;hnn from cking & its context and making it appear that the above: sentences express the opinion of Chief Justice Taney and of e Supreme Court has frequently been exmned. order that your readers may not be misled by the statements in Mr. Fawcett's article I quote the follo &leum extracts from the decision of ie Supreme Court in the case of Scott vs. Sandford, 19 How., 393: “It is difficult at this day to realize the state of public opinion in relation to that unfortunate race which prevailed in the civilized and enlightened por- tions of the world at the time of the Declaration of Independence and when the Constitution of the United States was framed and adopted. take “They had for more than a century before been regarded beings of an inferior order and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or t! relations, and so far inferior t they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect, and that the Negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit. He was bought and sold and treated as an ordinary article of mer- chandise and trafic whenever a profit could be made by it. This opinion was at that time fixed and universal in the civilized portion of the white race. It was regarded as an axiom in morals as well as in politics, which no one thought of disput Or Sup) to be open to dispute; and men in every grade and position in society daily and habitu- ally acted upon it in their private pur- suits, as well as in matters of public fis concern, without doubting for & moment the c tness of this opinion. “Any no_nation was this opinion more firmly fixed or more uniformly acted upon than by the English govern- ment and English le. They not only seided them on the coast of Africa and sold them or held them in slavery for their own use, but they took them as ordinary articles of merchandise to every country where they could make a profit on them and were far more ex- tensively engaged in this commerce than any other nation in the world. “The opinfon thus entertained and acted upon in England was naturally impressed upon the colonies they found- ed on this side of the Atlantic. And, accordingly, a Negro of the African race was regarded by them as an article of property and held and bought and sold as such in every one of the 13 Colonies which united in the Declaration of In- dependence and afterwards formed the Constitution of the United States. The slaves were more or less numerous in the different Colonies, as slave labor was found more or less profitable. But not one seems to have doubted the cor- mmnl. o(.th: prevailing opinion of the “We refer to these historical facts for the purpose of showing the fixed opin- ons concerning that race, upon which the statesmen of that day spoke and acted. It is necessary to do this, order to determine whether the general terms used in the Constitution of the United States, as to the rights of man and the rights of the people, were in- tended to include them, or to give to them or their posterity the benefit of any of its provisions.” It is perfectly clear from the opinion of the court that the statemens were not and were not intended to be expres- sions of the opinion of the court or of the Chief Justice. It should also be borne in mind when considering the personal character and personal opinions of the Chief Justice that long before this decision he not only had manumitted all the slaves he inherited, but made ample provision for their lugpon, and that as early as 1819 in a public argument, he said, “A hard necessity eompels us to endure the evil of slavery for a time, yet while it con- tinues it is a blot on our national cl cter. JAMES 8. EASBY-SMITH. Oct. 4 to Be Special Day For Friends of Animals To the Editor of The Star: Friends of animals will be glad to learn that the speechless creatures are to have a day in the Fall as well as a week in the Spring in their behalf. In 1928 October 4 was set aside as ‘World day for animals, when “all over the world J)eopls are thinking about animals and trying to help them, be- cause that day is dedicated to one whose name is pre-eminently asso- clated with the idea of friendship with animals—St. Francis of Assissl. The celebration is non-sectarian.” Church members of all faiths, teachers and other leaders in all lands are urged to use this day to help se- cure justice for those who cannot speak for themselves, I wish to thank Eleanor M. Hite for her letter in this paper on September 18 deploring the deliberate injuring and_poisoning of cats, and appealing | to Washington humane organizations to find and punish the offenders. this attempt, at least, be made. The tribute to the cat which the writer quotes from the Daily News of Med- ford, Oreg, is beautiful. Requoting just three sentences: “It (the cat) is not on earth of its own accord. It must play some part in the divine plan. You are merely carrying out a part of the cdlvlne plan when you are kind to a cat.” Animals are our true friends and faithful helpers. Why should not we employ a little sentiment in apprecia- tion of them and for their protection? Every time I see those grand old fire horses, Barney, Gene and Tom, once more proudly drawing their old engine in the Labor day parade, a thrill of gratitude to them goes through me and tears spring unbidden to my eyes, tears gt.‘ pride, howgver. for in this case man expressed appreciation and - sloned them for faithful service, sm. way, I happen to know the young gen- tleman for whom Barney is nam Just recently the bull fight barbarism has come to the front again. The best citizenry of our land protest vigorously against the entrance of this commer- cialized tormenting of enraged bulls and old, toil-worn horses, the latter as faithfu] as the fire veterans. Some time ago such performances were prevented by public spirit in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Utah, and the American Humane Society has just informed me that officials of So- corro, N. Mex., and Houston, Tex., have expressed determination to oppose any sort of thing recently scheduled for these places. The fight comes from a ccuntry of rather backward morals. It has no place in America. It discredits the name of true sport. It stirs up the human blood lust and indifference to suff 3 which lead to war and crime, wl professing Christians are trying to stem. Let this World Day for Animals strengthen us in the determination to keep the bull fight blot off our fair banner. VIRGINIA W. SARGENT. e A Stimulant. tre. " Fhood thciine and WA war make dul times for China, so Japan steps in with a little mix-up, just to ease it out of the deldrums. Poor Pay. Pry tte Montana Standard. | 4\ oo safes, which ne them a total of $350, would seem to have just grounds for complaint that labor is underpaid. nts, editors, | had.’ bles | ably. It de on | dle used w! or any subject. Write your plainly and briefly. Give full name and address ':;u r:rtmms 2 cents ?1‘1: coin ol; stamps urn_postage. e rep! is sent direct to the inquirer. The Evening Star Information Bureau, Pr!dgicc.!. Haskin, Director, Washing- Q. Have there been any left-handed tennis stars?—M. L. C. A. There have been a large number of high-class tennis players who hold the racket in their left hand. The former United States champion, John H. Doeg, plays left-handed. Q. What is the average cost of send- ing & letter?—C. T. ‘The average cost to the Govern- ment of handling each letter is 1.78 cents. Q. What kind of ink is used for tak- ?—A. H. fingerprints' . H. A. A tube of ordinary printer's ink is used. The other equipment consists of an inking slab, on which the ink is distributed; a roller, an inking plate, on ‘which the nn’erl are inked, and |- bly a card holder. The card h i of assistance in holding the fingerprint card in place to prevent blurring. Q. What lterary merit has the Bible?—A. A. A. The Bible, either in its early forms or in its latest revisions, is considered to be of the highest literary type of the age in which each was conserved or published. The conciseness and chron- ological clearness of the earlier books, the descriptive perfection, the Iyric quality of the psalms and poetical works and the perfection of the nar- ration of the New Testament would place the Bible, aside from its religious value, at the head of all literary pro- ductions of any period. Q. How did the Rhodes scholarships originate?—G. E. B. A. John Cecil Rhodes was a South African financler and statesman. He bequeathed the bulk of his great for- tune for the endowment of a large number of scholarships at Oxford Uni- versity, with the intention of bringing about the complete union of the Eng- Jish-speaking races for the peace, en- lighterment and uplift of mankind, He died in March, 1802. Q. What methods were used in the Civil War in the matter of supplying front-line fighting forces with arms, ammunition, etc, when they were needed? If an infantry soldier had his musket destroyed, for instance, how was he immediately resupplied?—N. T. C. A ad a sergeant or ordnance sergeant attached to it, and when a soldier lost his rifle or it was destroyed a new one was issued to him when it was I to the company commander. companies were in action ammunition was furnished in the same manner, and it was not usually customary to apply formally for a new rifle, because one could be picked up by the soldier without much difficulty. Q. How are turtle eggs hatched?— L. L. B. sand or with vegetation and left to hatch by the natur: al heat of their cov- in | ering and the sun. Q. Do the United States Cavalry A. They are generally covered with regulations prescribe posting as the anapests ‘_wfmodumu.m A. The nyh,nh-gthoh‘;:lu e nds upon the type - ther or not this riding is followed. e Q. When d where was first started’ 8. national ne per ?—J. 8. A. It was the National Intelligencer, established in Washington, D. C., Octo- ber 31, 1800. It was founded by Samuel Harrison th, who came to' Wash. ington from Philadelphia for this pur: ?cu at the suggestion of Thomas Je! erson. Q. How many le | there in the United Stal A. There is but o1 at Carville, La., and is lation hospital for with this disease. Q. Do more accidents happen with fatal results when two cars collide or when estrians are kllled?—OidP‘. 8. E" cent were by collision with automo- iles and 45.9 per cent by collision with pedestrians. Q. How long have dikes been used in Holland?—C. O. A. The dikes which protect the Neth- erlands and the German coasts of the Northern Sea go back to the old Ro- man times. Apparently even before the Romans appeared the Batavians at the mtlmlh of the Rhine ed - es. Pliny the Elder gives an inter- esting description of the artificial hills which were erectéd as places of refuge during the floods. Q. Are capers made from green elder- berries?—R. N. A. Capers are made from the flower buds of a shrub called capparis The Department of Agriculture says it knows of no method whereby elderber~ ries may be substituted for this pure pose. Q. What is the record for laying & track?—C. A. It is said that the 3 record, made April 29, 1869, in the con- struction of the Central Pacific—10 miles and 200 feet of track lald be- tween 7 am. and 7 pm., with a noon rest of one hour—has never been equaled. Q. Are there any figures on what chain® grocery stores spend in news- paper advertising in a year?—V. B. O, A. A survey made by the Bureau of Advertising of the American Nepspaper Publishers’ Associatiod shows that in speed In of grocery stores, $18 7000 in newspaper s advertising, an average of $570 per store. 2 Q. What is the street in London that is known as Booksellers’ Row?—A. W, A. Hollywell street was London's Booksellers’ Row, but the name has been transferred to Q. What was the verse which Cole- ridge wrote to illustrate the varieties of metrical feet?—T. Y. F. | _A. “Trochee trips from long to short; Iong to long in solemn sort Slow spondee stalks; Strong foot, ill able Ever to_come up with dactyl tri-sylls- ble Tambics march from short to m: With ::;p and & bound the t ong.” | From Great Britain's decision to suspend the guarantee of the standard value of the pound in’gold is belleved by many Americans to be of a temporary char- ' acter, and made inevitable by domestic financial conditions, l&reuvnud by the drain of the dole on British freas- ury. Similar action by Scandinavian tions made that co-operation among the nations will be required to restore monetary conditions. “The British government decided uation that needed decisive action,” says the New York Sun, recognizing that “observers of the temporary aban- donment of the gold standard are in nearly unanimous agreement as to the inevitability of the action.” The Sun also comments: “A revival of trade throughout the world might hasten re- turn to the gold standard. So might a revalorization of the pound, often urged upon Great Britain by many of her own economists. The national pride which in 1925 prompted & return to the ound of before 1914 is a natural one, gut indulging it has meant burdens which other European nations have not Optimism is voiced by the Chicago Daily News in the statement: “If the Bril proceed with their courageous alization movement—which has en- countered great resistance—and their proposed consolidation; if, further, the world takes recent object lessons to heart and brings about substantial re- duction of armaments and removal of ill-advised trade barriers, Great Britain is likely to return to the gold standard in due time with a minimum of hard- ships to capital and enterprise and of disturbance to the world's economic structure.” * ok ok k Recognizing “hopeful comment” from financial experts, the Philadelphia Eve- ning Bulletin remarks: “If the action is & part of the program of the new national ministry to rehabilitate the treasury, to rid it of its parasitical ex- cesses and to balance the budget, and temporary suspension is but a means of working out that problem, the ulti- mate effect will be for international benefit. The action of the British gov- ernment was made N by lack of confidence, inducing the withdrawel of capital. If the British financial house can and shall be set in order with promptness, that confidence can be re- gained and gold payments can be re- sumed. There is suggestion of a read- justment of the pound sterling with some measure of devalorization. But that may not be nec-ug." “We on this side of the water,” de- clares the Atlanta Journal, “are mind- ful that in the tr{ln"ynn whicl have followed the World War British honor and dumu never once have protested or faltered on international debts, and we salute today, with renewed confi- dence in its future, the empire whose word s its bond and whose tion is so goodly & part of our birthright.” ke inately these acts do not seem to bave caused additional alarm in other countries,” avers the San Fran- cisco Chronicle, adding: “On the con- trary, they are approved outside. The pound sterling falls lower because some ple cannot walt for their money. tocks drop in other countries use British holders are forced to sell to get money to use in the home land. But after some nervousness the financial world seems to think mllnd has bet~ tered her hold. “There is a feeling among financiers against further temporizing with a sit- | budget reforms, their industrial ration- | Effect of Action on Gold -Is Minimized by Americans able as in adversity. It can be counted on to carry on.” R “At least we can say that prospects | have not been darkened and that worse | conditions have been definitely avoided,” avers the Houston Chronicle, while the Lcuisville Courier-Journal holds countries increases interest in sugges- | | e |is diminished by the | of the gold standard.” The P phia Inquirer concludes that “the men ;gm h;;e now chiefly responsible gland’s destiny are plainly equal | the task.” The {out that “England went on a gold | standard and restored the to par when other countries, by the war, were repudial internal debts or scaling them down by the unit of currency far below the pre-war level” Possible good results are foreseen by the Rochester Times-Union, while the Morgantown Dominion-News is inclined to believe that “the prompt action te avert possible future collapse of Eng- land’s credit pesition and her monetary system should be applauded and should be encouraging.” The Omaha World- Herald, stating that “the world had been shivering in apprehension for weeks in the fear that just this would happen,” records that “now that it has come to pass there are signs not of relief but actually of buoyancy.” The Akron ks “there is a financiers, the reputed calamity of one is the life saver of the next.” e Rock Island Argus observes that “the effect of the new policy will be felt chiefly in England and apparently there is no cause for alarm elsewhere.” The Baltimore Sun asserts: “Dur- ing the war all sorts of arbitrary bar riers were placed in the way of the International movement of gold. And the persistence of some of these, to- gether with new banking and tariff are rangements, has served to knock the whole theory of gold as an international stabilizer into a cocked hat.” The ‘Topeka Capital advises that “it is well to remember that England’s suspension of the gold standard for the pound merely goes back to what existed prior to the doubtful expedient in 1925 of borrowing from New York to re-estab- lish the pound sterling.” The Wor- cester Telegram adds: “There is a con- sidefable body of authoritative economic thought in Britain which has contended all along that resumption of free gold payments in 1925 was a mistake. For a time these theorles are going to have & chance to prove their validity.” The Salt Lake Deseret News feels that “the 8?unt misfortune of England and TMANY may mean & more sound mon= etary system throughout the world for the future.” The Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator suggests that if the crisis bflng about concerted world action “it will have served a purpose.” ‘The Toronto Daily Star places upon the United States and France, because charges that Great Britain support the whole gold structure if those two great nations undermine it.” ———te— Believe It or Not.