Evening Star Newspaper, October 11, 1931, Page 30

THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Editios. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY, .October 11, 1831 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Edito The Ennhu.sur Nmpeaw Company s nnsy| s _Ave. 42nd 8t. X nl:“llg\ gnufi&n. 2 .&!fll .. London, Englan Rate by Carrier Within the City. 45c per month “s0c per montn -.85¢ per month J.;'5c ver copy of each month. Orders inay by mail or telephons NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday. 0 Bindas"ony All Other States and Canada. lly and Sunday...] yr.$12.00: 1 mo., $L y only . yr.. $8.00: 1 ll;‘dl’ “only . 1yr. lg.m, 1 Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news ais- fi" hes credited o it or not otherwise cred- d also the local news o hemtne A‘l“fllh publicati 4 t 0. To.. 40¢ Loans and Armaments. Pre ‘gent Hoover, it can safely be as- sumed,’ meant. to address a far wider audience than the governments and peo- ples of Latin America the other day ‘when he reaffirmed before the Pan-Amer- ican Commercial Conference the doctrine that foreign loans should be contracted only when‘the procesds are destined to find their way into reproductive chan- nels. Loans made for the non-produc- tive purpose of balancing military and naval budgets were decried by Mr. Hoover not only as inherently wrong, but provocative of just such economic crises as the one under which the whole world is now bending. The President risked the view that had nations heeded the loan policy which he first advocated before a Pan-American Commercial Conference in Washington in 1927 much of the international chaos now visible on every hand might have been averted. Perhaps even revolutions south of the Isthmus of Panama might have beer. avoided if military autocrats had not had so much borrowed foreign capi- tal at their disposal. There was no mention of Europe or Furopean conditions in Mr. Hoover's homily on the subject of foreign loans. Yet they could hardly have been out of his mind, with the imminent re- opening of moratorium and co-related questions which Wwill ensue upon the arrival of Premier Laval and the re- assembling of Congress. One of the inhibitions which many Americans hold against any remission of war debts springs from the belief that the money thus saved would promptly find its way into increased armaments “over there.” The President may well have had this possibility in mind when, at the time he proclaimed the intergovernmental moratorium last June, he said: “I do not approve in any remote sense the cancellation of the debts due us.” It is notorious that although the funding settlements which we have granted to our European debtors involved in virtually every case substantial reduc- tions in both principal and interest, European armament budgets have since then steadily and heavily mounted. A remitted debt is another form of making a country a loan. Mr. Hoover said in June that “the American peo- ple have no desire to attempt to ex- tract any sum beyond the capacity of any debtor to pay.” That statement connotas a continued readiness on the part of the United States to weigh every factor justifying generous con- sideration of the countries which owe us huge sums of borrowed money. These countries will be reminded afresh by the President’s statement to the Pan-American business leaders that one of the fundamental conditions un- derlying any further revision downwards of European war debts to the American TTreasury is that the fresh “loans” thus granted will not be diverted to “war purposes, or even,” Mr. Hoover amplifies, “that type of public works which does not bring some direct or tndirect production return.” It is a timely utterance. It should clarify a good many of the situations the United States and Europe will presently have to face and surmount. o ‘The French people have earned repu- tations in both extremes of money man- agement. The world has been taught to regard them as patient and frugal in' domestic economy and audaciously bril- liant in high finance. | — A theory was once advanced that Lhe‘ Japanese could not become highly ac-| complished aviators. The Chinese are compelled to regard that idea simply as another exploded fallacy. e Renaming Lettered Streets. Read, Ross, Taft. But it is interesting to seek a complete muster of them. Have you tried it? Ames—Bell or Ball —Crane—Dent, Doak, Dean—Eads, or what have you?—FPish, Frick, Fisk— George, Gates, Grant—Hale, Hay, Hayes —Ives; there ought to be others under I—Jay, if there is to be a “J" street— Kent, King—Lee—May, Mann— Nye, not the Senator, but Bill—Olds,#Oaks— Pierce, Polk, Pos, Paine—Quarles, Quay (well, if not Quay or Quarles, try something else)—Root, Rush, Read, Ross—Smith (that, at least, would re- cetve a majority of votes)—Thom, Thorpe, Thaw—Ur of the Chaldees, tentative only!— Vail — Wall, White, Walsh—X, that has already been elim: inated—Yale, to balance Harvard and Princeton, and Z. which can be put with X, There are otaers, of course, and bio- graphical dictionaries should be care- fully scanned to bring order out of the chaos of the assortment suggested above. | o Frozen Real Estate Credits. It would be a mistake to regard the President’s discussion with real estate men and bankers of plans for the for- ;| mation of a central mortgage redis- count bank, providing & free flow of credit for those anxious to finance or refinance homes, as a part of the pro- gram pf emergency measures designed to lessen the effects of the depression. For the system to be set up under these plans could not be built overnight. Its perfaction would require months. if not years. It would represent an entirely new wheel in the banking machinery of the Nation. But the depression has served to em- phasize the effects of the lack of the proposed system. It has been estimated that frozen credits in real estate rep- resent investments of more than a bil- lion and a half dollars. The time is, of course, ripe for finding practical methods to establish the agency pro- posed by the President and his advisers from among the real estate men and bankers. And with a great proportion of the wealth of the country tied up in real estgte and no machinery in the American financial structure for lique- fying money so invested, or for provid- ing a flow of capital from one section of the country to another for real es- tate investment, the argument for a remedy is unanswerable. Under the general plan discussed with the President the Federal Govern- ment would establish a central resi- dential mortgage bank with regional discount banks. Under these regional branches there would be established, in turn, local mortgage banks chartered under an act of Congress. The regional banks would purchase first-mortgage loans from its members—the local banks—and issue debentures secured by these mortgages as well as their own capital and surplus. The central bank would supervise the whole system. It would establish regulations for proce- dure and appraisal, and “it should be the policy of the entire system to re- quire conservative appraisal methods and amortization payments beginning immediately when the loan is made, so that through the following of sound practices the percentage of value that may be lent with sajety can be in- creased, and after the mortgage has been reduced to the allowable per cent it would be available for rediscount, thus eliminating, in many cases, the hazards of junior finaneing.” There is, as may be expected, differ- ence of opinion as to the set-up of this new credit machinery. The real estate men and the representatives of the well established building and loan so- cleties may be at odds over the details. But there seems to be general sentiment in favor of the principle, and when the conference meets again in Decem- ber, an agreement along definite lines is expected. This is marking real prog- ress toward solution of a problem that has been encountered by hundreds of thousands of home owners. ——e— American conversational powers are said to be diminishing. Such result is in some degree inevitable, with auto- matic signals being everywhere installed to curtail stimulating colloquy with the crossing policeman. [ Possibly Hindenburg does not care much whether he is formally given the title “dictator” so long as it is under- "stood that he may proceed without in- terference to do the real dictating. ————— Perhaps one reason Senator Borah is inclined to show consideration toward { Russia is that she was always at least | willing to promise to pay debts, whether THE SUNDAY STAR, W doing to take thelr' minas off their economic trqubles,. While they are proceeding on the sensible theory that wage-producing work is best of all, they are also acting on the principle that jobs without pay are better than idleness. So nowadsys men and women whom the newly-created industries are not yet able to absorb are busy, under the guidance of the Town Development Council, in improving the outward ap- pearance of Brinmawr. A deserted coal- pit has been transformed into an attractive garden. Other places, instead of being permitted to remain demoraliz- ing signs of desolation, are yielding to beauty-parlor treatrnent. All Brinmawr is a brighter and & better place to live in. “You see, it's like this,” said one of the town's unpaid workers on the clean- up campaign. “We are doing this to keep ourselves fit for work when it comes, and to prevent ourselves from rotting.” There may be the germ of an idea in the Brinmawr progrgm for President Hoover's Committee on Un- employment Relief, — e |® Relapse into hysteria of the autopsy surgeon in the Collings case emphasizes the extraordinary strain to which swift advances of sclence subject the medical practitioner who feels consclentiously compelled to keep up with them. When “psychoanalysis” is better recognized as an exact branch of sclence, it might be well to extend its ministrations to every physician who, as fime goes on and reputation increases, is subjected more and more to merciless nerve strain. e According to a picturesque ancestral custom, preliminaries are already under way for a favorite son contest. In so important a proceeding as a presidential campaign, even a passing compliment is worth striving for. e Experts declare that business is not poor; that on the contrary it has more ready wealth and prospective resources than some of the big managers know exactly how to keep in reliable action. LOST BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES ARTS E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, # Bishop of W ashington. In the early days of the World War one of the leaders in English life made the declaration that for a generation past the people of his country had lost their sense of the beautiful, that the crowding things of commerce and in- dustry had for the while rendered the production of the fine things of art, music and literature commonplace and | rich unworthy. His observation may have been in the nature of a hypercriticism, but it was certainly worthy of consid- eration. 4 In the hurry and bustle of our over- active life we frequently relegate those things that stand for beauty and re- finement to an in icuous and in- different place. Talking some years ago with one of the leaders of finance, he made the observation that the com- plexity of our modern life and the swiftness of the pace we were traveling rendered periods of reflection difficult, if not impossible. We ventured to re- mind him that it was only out of periods of study and reflection that the things we cherish most emerge. He allowed that this was true but ex- pressed doubts concerning any imme- diate renaissance in the realm of art, music and letters. We are “practically minded,” we think in terms of utility, and our whole :‘t is permeated with a lust for gain ind a passion for pleasure. There is no doubt about it, we have been trying to dis) e with those elements that make for beauty and serenity of char- acter. Every now and again in the course of history some new effort has been made to silence and render in- operative those deeper vearnings of the | soul that ery out for satisfaction.| Cromwell, in his mistaken zeal, would break down the carved work with axes and hammers and efface the priceless | frescoes that adorned the cathedrals and houses of worship. To his mind, this was doing God service. Today a grenl temple, one of the monumental | uildings of the world, is being razed | to the ground to satisfy the sion of | those who would if they could destroy the spirit of reverence and worship. The story of those ages that have | produced the great works of art, of | Son music and architecture, is the most fas- cinating and compelling in all history. Then men turned aside, gave of them- | selves and their genius that the things of beauty might find expression. They made sacrifices, they toiled laboriously that city and hamlet might be adorned and enriched with the choice gifts that :-2& ;n!nd conceived and the hand exe- Walking through one of the at private galleries in this co\mtn""we were shown by its proud possessor the treasures he. had gathered from places near and remote. Repeatedly, as he displayed some excelling work of art, he made the sad observation that it represented what we regard today as a “lost art.” We ventured to giggest to him that religion had been the-in- spiration of the arts, that the Raphaels, the Angelos and the Da Vincis had had the fires of their genius kindled at the shrine of their devotions. We of America have disclosed rare capaci- ties for producing the things that con- tribute to life's ease and convenience: the superficial adornment with which we deck our buildings we are really thinking in terms of the beautiful. The best of us is being carried along in the swift currents of modern life. We are all too frequently the victims of con- ditions over which we can exercise no control. Now and again some more heroic soul steps out from the- ranks, resists the flowing tide and makes fresh Even Christ Himself took His disciples away from town and village for periods of protracted rest and reflection .that they might the better be enabled to carry their mission to the people. Thoreau refused to be entangled with material things; he would not be em- barrassed by an excess of accumula- tions: he would not have his serenity impaired by indulgence in the passing fancles of the hour. The Christian religion has a greet and indispensable contribution to make | to the life of our age. It seeks to revive in us those finer expressions of the things that are lovely and true and of good report, to awaken those dor- mant aspirations that can find their only satisfaction and peace in that divine order and beauty which the of God alone has the er to bestow. Let us be reminded of those words of Augustine: “Lord, Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rust in Thee.” v ‘The usual word for money in France is the one meaning “silver.” In figuring the metals, France has not allowed a What President and French~Premier little thing like & lexicon to interfere with valuations. i e —r—e—————— Roosevelt's New York managers will, of course, promote him as one who is unjustly menaced by threats that a power trust will endeavor to distribute political as well as mechanical power, b ————— 1t is reported that Capone has been glaring at his lawyers. This seems a mistake. A man of Capone's power and reputation should be careful not to make his attorneys nervous. o Beer barons are not fastidious finan- clers. They are willing to recognize gold, silver, papgr or lead as currency in their transactions. ——— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Road. I know & Road, & Winding Road; Here a human stream has flowed Through joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, On current swift through many years. Youth in ‘its buoyancy we see In hurrying quest of thoughtless glee That pauses not before the shrine Where patriots would their heads in- cline In silent, reverent prayers for aid, As an adventure bold was made Far from the haunts of pleasure light In quest of Liberty and Right. Here rices the commerce from afar On wagon stout, or graceful car; Here in its traffic you will find ‘The treasure vast, or guiding mind; And where the humble inn would care For man and beast with honest fare. Lights shine like stars midst colors gay And bid men for assistance stay That they securely may pursue Their rapid courses till they view ‘The city that in Splendor gleams, In bright fulfillment of the dreams ‘That for our brave forefathers glowed And led them through the Winding Road. Among the figures, one most fair Again seems stoutly riding there, Seeking the Duty to be done, The Glorious Youthful Washington Who followed in the gallant train That stood with Braddock at Duquesne. Here with uncovered head I stand As mighty memories take command she did so or not. — e Even the members of the chorus that sings “We want beer!” will hardly go so i far as to demand Government owner- ship of breweries in order to prevent bootleggers from holding out taxes. An.interesting letter to the Editor of | poy "o SRRSO UL ) The Star, printed recently on this PEE, tnat he will be expected to know some Tenews the suggestion for substituting gia4ictics about arms cuts as well as monosyllabic proper names for the streets now designated by the letters of the alphabet and bases the sukgestion on the greater dignity and interest that would attach to the new system of no- menclature. It is, indeed, a worthwhile suggestion and deserves serious consideration. The greatest obstacle lies in the fact that it does mean a change, with all the diffi- culties that changes in habit and cus- tom imply. A street is A street and F street is F street, and the letters have, through ancient association, acquired a certain individuality that treficends mere alphabetical designation. But no one can argue with the fact that there is a lack of dignity in A, B and C streets; that there is a confusion in sounds of the letters that is worse con- founded by such silly attempts at clarity as “Tea" street for “T” street, “Pea” street for “P" street and “Eye” street for “I” strest, not to mention the vul- garity of “Eff” for “F" street. And there is value in the thought that, hav- ing already utilized proper names for the designation of streets beyond W, the system be applied consistently and, re- taining the value of alphabetical order, monosyllabic names as well as bisyllables and trisyllables be chosen. How would we fare in choosing the Samas? The Star's correspondent sug- gests that ane need not go beyond the signers of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, the Presidents, the Supreme Court, the cabinet ani the ambassadors %o obtain a suitable list. He mentions & few obvious names—Blaine, Grant, Hayes, Hughes, Lee, Paine, Polk, Rush, b | about debt modifications. | ————— e | How the Welsh Do It. | In the heart of Wales is a small ; village named Brinmawr, which must Of blessings on mankind bestowed By heroes of the Winding Road. Leader. “Are you a leader of the people?” said the always anxious inquirer. “In a sense of the phrase,” replied Senator Sorghum, “I am.” “Which way are you leading?” “My dear sir, it is the duty of a good drum major to keep out in front of the band and wait from higher authority for instructions about the line of march.” . Jud Tunkins says the Maryland oyster gets a heap of attention by mak- 'have been the place from which the |iNg ltself sscarce for a while, which women's college town of Bryn 3 outside of Philadelphia, took its name. i Brinmawr, affected like every other | part of Great Britain by depression and unemployment, has struck out on original lines to cope with its plight. The | example 1t has set may suggest some | ideas to similarly afficted communities {in the United States. It is a stirring !type of self-help and denotes that the dole has not corrupted the spirit of all of John Bull's idle hands. shows it's best to be & little uncommon. Maryland fried chicken doesn't get near as much attention because it's good all the year 'round. Ultimatum, “Mind this!” remarked the racketeer, “My innocence, I claim, is clear. ~ And should you hint t it is not, Perhaps I'll put you on the spot.” Where Learning Ceases. “Men can always learn by experi- Brinmawr is particularly hard hit by unemployment because the war virtually ruined its vital industries of coal and iron. is broken, the town, under the leader- | you'll need more margin to buy further terested in the instant relief of Ger- ship of the Society of Friends, has gone systematically about the business of creating other local industries. The plan is now beginning to show substan- 3 Prime Minister Laval has e tial effects. Four or five years ago |SUArd his utterances as carefully as he|(, our Government the ides, Torn |OTiEL poverty and idleness were encountered on every hand. Miners and iron molders who looked upon themselves as unfit for any other class of labor have dis- covered that they can make furniture, weave Welsh tweed, manufacture boots, and fabricate stockings. In all those lines today Brinmawr is doing a fairly thriving trade. ‘The invention of mew employments is not all that these enterprising brethren of David Lioyd .George are ence.” “Not always,” said Mr. Dustin Stax, “What are you going to do when your Although its economic backbone | checkbook is flat and your broker says|between Prime experience?” “Man would Be happier,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “if he could guards money and jewels.” ) Town Tenderfoot. I found a five-and-ten-cent store. Its paths confused me more and more. “It’s tough,” I sald while gathering loot, “To be & five-and-tenderfoot!” “A heap of patient industry is liable to go to waste,” said Uncle Eben, "wh-} a man gits out wif a dog an’ a gun an’ spends all day tryin’ o rabbit on de spob” Are Likely to Discuss at Rapidan Caml-) BY WILLIAM HARD. Foreign affairs press upon Washing- ton at this week end in a most bewilder- ing confusion. The President started it all"with his statement of last Wed- | nesday morning to the effect that he | intended to discuss with Prime Minister Laval of Prance “the question of such further arrangeménts as are impera- tive during the period of the depréssion in respect of intergovernmental debts.” Since then almost everybody here seems | internatiorally engaged in talking about | debts, reparations, moratoriums, dis- armament, consultative pacts, security pacts, implementations of the Kellogg- Briand peace pact, and suggested solu- | tions even of the problem of the “Polish corridor.” It is perhaps the first time that any problem so strictly European as the “Polish corridor” has ever been the | subject of official and unofficial con- versations in Washington. The Ameri- can national village on the Potomac | talks today like the capital of the world. | It talks also, however, in such circles | and spirals and at such tangents that the actual prospective foreign policies of the country begin to wear the ap- | pearance of a cubist puzzle. The en- suing dispatch is an effort to find a track through the puzzle to a few plain | answers. * ok oxox In Paris a fortnight ago this writer | was authoritatively informed that Prime | Minister Laval's primary purpose in | coming to the United States was to dis- | cuss economic and financial co-opera- | tion between the United States and France. This information is substan. | tiated by the voyages now being made to the United States in great haste by Charles Farnler and Robert Lacour- | Gayet, high officers of the Bank of France. They will be greeted with both | enthusiasm and trepidation in New York City. Prance has many hundreds of millions of dollars of gold and other assets in this country. Federal Reserve Board | officials in Washington are concerned | when they think of possible sudden withdrawals of that gold and of those assets from New York Cfty to Paris. | They remember the large continuous withdrawals of French gold from Lon- don to Paris in the period immediately | preceding the British lapse from the | gold standard. They are extremely | eager to know what France intends to | do with her tagged gold here now. * ok k¥ Five years ago we forgave France a large part of her debt to the United States Treasury because she was then 50 poor. Now we fear that an abrupt | transfer overseas by her oN her vast riches here might dislocate our interna- tional business situation. We can thus perceive that there will be a certain irony in the conferences which will take place between President Hoover and Prime Minister Laval on “the question of such further arrangements as are mperative during the period of the de- | pression in respect of intergovernmental | debts.” Prime Minister Laval cares little about discussing those debts. It is President Hoover who wants to discuss them. Prime Minister Laval knows the reason why President Hoover wants to discuss them. That is the very reason why Prime Minister Laval is indisposed to discuss them. The reason is German reparations and American existing loans and eredits to Germany. * ok % ‘The PFrench say: “We have been too wise to lend much money to Germany. The Americans have foolishly lent Ger- many a lot. The Americans want their interest. We French want our repa tions. The Americans want to reduce German reparations to us in order that the Germans may be able better to pay their interest to them. Good for them! International public debt holidays are very beneficial to New York City. In what respect, however, are they bene- ficial to Paris? No! We must settle the political ¢ifferences between France and Germany before international pub- lic debt holidays are useful to us. Let us therefore talk with the Americans and induce them to help us to persuade Germany to be, as we look at it, R}lucllly reasonable and peaceful. en let France and the United States together ce Germany back into economic health.” * ok k% ‘The reconciliation of this French view with the American view is the central task of the coming colloquies Minister Laval and ‘Washington is in- President Hoover. many. Paris is interested in the relief of Germany after Germany has made political agreements which free France fear. stance,. that the whole problem of the relations between France and Germany could be solved if a solution could be found of the problem of the “Polish corridor.” Hence there have been con- versations between American public men and German public men regarding that thin, short strip of territory between Poland proper and the Baltic Sea. These conversations have led to the surmise that the United States might intervene in the “Polish corridor” ques- tion and would express an opinion as to ‘hether the “corridor” should remain iwarranted. The clear fact that emerges out of the situation is simply this: ‘Through having a direct interest now in the reduction of the burdens upon Germany, the Government at Wash- ington has an indirect conversational interest in better relations between Germany and France and in the details of every device whereby those better relations may be furthered. * % ‘The administration realizes that the Senate would never accept any exten- sion of the present international public debt holiday if it were accompanied by any litical entanglements of the United States in BEurope. Senator Borah has within a day made his atti- tude on this point even more explicit than it was before. His views may be faithfully paraphrased as follows: “The Europeans should settle their | political differences wholly among them- selves. They should reduce German reparations down to a sum represent- ing only the ‘direct damage' done by the Germans to the allies. They should reduce armaments by 50 per cent. Then we should make an appropriate reduc- tion of the sums owed by the allied governments to us. All these reductions should be permanent. Temporary poll-l ponements will not suffice. The post- poned payments will merely accumulate into future unsupportable super-pay ments. What is needed is a perm: nent reduction all around. The Euro- peans, however, must take the lead in Jjustifying the reductions. They must reduce their political differences and their German reparations and. their armaments. Then, and then only, shall we have warrant for reducing their debts to us.” * x ox % It can be stated that on the point of Europe’s primary responsibility for itself this policy of Senator Borah's is not basically different from the policy in- timated to newspaper correspondents several times lately by high o&gllls in close touch with the White House. Those officials have let it be known that President Hoover has frequently felt that further concessions on our part to the Europeans in the matter of debts | would do no good to Europe until Bu- rope’s political and military conditions had been improved by Europe’s own exertions, * ko % It can be fairly safely guessed, ac- cordingly. that President Hoover will in effect say to Prime Minister Laval: “What political and military reade justments can be made in Europe in return for additional American leniency in the collection of the debts owed to our Treasury?” And it can be fairly safely guessed also that Prime Minister Laval will in effect reply: “Just a minute! You want more trade in Europe. You want disarma- ment in Europe. Those things cannot be successfully achieved until there is political peace in Europe. Are you pre- pared to undertake to consult with us :E:agver Europe is threatened with It ought to take several days at the Rapidan or elsewhere for each of the statesmen to answer the question of the other, + (Copyright, 1931.) ——.——s St. Lawrence Waterway Plan to Be Discussed BY HARDEN COLFAX. Another and very important step to- ward shortening the distance between Canadian and American wheat fields and the markets of the Old World was taken last week when, after long dis- cussion and uncertainty, Canada for- mally agreed to negotiate a treaty with the United States for the development of the St. Lawrence Waterway. When completed, this will permit ocean-going ships to pass from the Atlantjc to the Great Lakes. This announcement, following soon after the news that the first shipment of wheat from Alberta and Saskatche: wan had gone to Europe via the Hud- son Bay route, emphasized the impor- tance of shortening the distance be- tween the wheat fields of this® conti- portation charges and giving the Ame ican and Canadian farmers a better re- turn on their products. * oMk ¥ ‘The new Canadian Minister, Maj. W. D. Herridge, who took up his residence in the Canadian legation in Washing- ton last week, notified the State De- partment that the Dominion govern- ment is ready to begin negotiations for a shipway along the St. Lawrence through diplomatic channels rather “joint had the negotiations. Canada, however, pre- fers diplomatic_channels. Because of the great interest of the State of New York in the question of improving water communication be- tween the Great Lakes and the, Atlan- tie, ident has assured Gov. Roosevelt/ that the rights of his State will be safeguarded. 5 * % X ¥ Even if the railroads should ‘win in mmtmmhmmmmt ‘wheat farmer can save - rates, the on his charges ASHINGTON, D. C, OCTOBER 11, 1931—PART TWO. Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY, “How small this world is” was im- pressed upon Minority Leader “Jack” Garner, who will be Speaker if the Democrats gain control of the House in the incoming Congress, while obey- ing President Hoover's summons to the recent White House conference with congressional leaders for banking relief. Mr. Garner was enjoying a nice long airplane ride from his home in Uvalde, Tex. in an Army plane tendered by the President. He found his pilot “a nice, soclable boy who seemed to know something about Texas &nd the Uvalde Valley,” 50 when they made their over- top Mr. Garner, who been P liam Olds of Kelly Field, and that as & lad he had lived in the Uvalde Valley and knew the Garners. Then the Congressman asked him his name. “You don't by any chance happen to | we sometimes wonder whether beyond | be related to my.old frfend, one of the best friends I ever had, ‘Billy’ Olds, do you?” was his next query, and he was amazed to find that this was a grandson of his old personal and politi- cal friend, whom heghad succeeded as judge on the circuit Bench, In telling friends about the Capitol of this interesting renewal of family ties Representative Garner commented: “And I gave the last six shooter I ever | search for the subtler and deeper things | owned to ‘Billy’ Olds when h?. was | that satisfy the yearnings of the soul.|leaving Texas to settle in Arizona.’ * x K % TH® old squabble as to whether nightshirts or pajamas are preferable for sleeping attire for men—and Con- gressmen—has bobbed up again to be the subject of cloak-rcom jon when Congress reconvenes. N itis- fled with gphe “draw” declared last year following a notable debate on the subject by experts at a public health convention here, and fresh from some success as an exponent of the old-fash- joned nightshirt in his home district in Western Massachusetts, Rep. Allen T. Treadway, on his visit here last week to attend the President's White House conference, varied the heavy argument over banking relief and restoration of public confidence by some light obser- vation about the advantages of wearing nightshirts. At a veteran hotel man, born in the business at a famous old stagecoach inn, and having been a most gracious “mine host” to many of the most notable men of his time, Repre- sentative Treadway sets himself up as something of an authority—not so much on the question of healthfulness of nightshirts as against pajamas, as on the comfort of that old-fashioned garment and its popularity with men whose brains have made the country great and who must perforce “unlax” and sleep with the maximum of release fettering garments. Mr. Treadway harks back to the old graceful lines of the Greek and Roman togas, and does not recall that he ever saw a ‘picture of an angel wearing pa- Jamas, but he has seen countless works of art displaying their grace and beauty in the long-flowing robes most similar to_the but-abbreviated nightshirts. Even for those who prefer the pa- jamas, and who will wear them even if Priend Treadway declares them less comfortable, the Massachusetts Repre- sentative has a suggestion—that they ought to be made with elastic in the bottom of the pants legs, either cross- wise as Uncle Sam and Abe Lincoln used to have a strap under their instep, or around the bottom to bind the ankles, just as the modern golf trousers bind the wearers below the knee. Mr. Treadway is awaiting all debaters on this subject when he returns for the opening of Congress. A A ‘The reported improvement in the condition of Representative Percy Quin of Mississippi, who has been seriously ill with a heart attack for some weeks, |is good news for his many friends in Congress, where Mr. Quin is one of the ‘most _picturesque characters. When- ever Percy Quin is going to speak there is a rush to the House chamber to hear him—not because he has a melodious voice or is a finished orator with mov- ing eloquence, but because of his ner- vous earnestness and his plain, blunt { way of saying things that other mem- bers would skid away from, and be- :'lluu of his peculiar style of gesticula- jon. Representative Quin, born on a farm, is the son of a Baptist minister. He worked his way through college, wash- ed his own clothes and later went into the laundry business. Through hard work and frugality he has earned a fortune and is rated among the near- millionaires in Congress. He has never gotten away from the humble ways dur- ing his 10 years in the House and has won Nation-wide celebrity on account of his old corncob pipe and the fact that he brought his dinner pail with him to the House chamber. to Europe when this St. Lawrence ship- way has been completed. In one of his statements concerning his plan for a moratorium on Ger- many's international debts last Sum- mer President Hoover spoke of the ef- fect & more stable financial condition !in Central Europe would have on the market abroad for American wheat. Agreement with this was voiced by the chairman of the Federal Farm Board and several Senators from Western States. At the hearing before the Interstate Commerce Commission on the petition of the railroads for an increase in freight rates, it has been brought out by those in opposition that the spread between the price at which wheat is sold at Chicago and what the Western tarmer receives is largely taken up by rail freight rates. This factor of costs on grain, particularly that destined for points abroad, is involved in the ques- tion of the shipway planned from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic. It is es- timated that wheat could be carried from Duluth to Chicago through the proposed St. Lawrence shipway to Liv- erpool for 8 to 11 cents a bushel, as |compared with the cheapest present combination of rates of from 17 to 18 cents. * x xx ‘The plan calls for deepening the St. Lawrence River, so that ships draw! uy to 25 feet can navigate it. No ships of more than 14 feet draft can go through the existing canals. ‘The route from the interior of the United States and the Northwest prov- inces of Canada to the leading North European ports is 600 miles shorter by the St. Lawrence route than by way of New York City. It is belleved the new shipway will reduce transportgtion costs for wheat by from 8 to 10 cents a bushel from Duluth to Hamburg or Liv- erpool. In addition to the navigation advantages, the St. Lawrencg project contemplates the development of vast power resources. The present Canadian administration ix fully committed to the idea of .con- structing the shipway. Opposition in the Dominion has heretofore ly been centered around the fear of river cities in the Province of Quebec that they would suffer and cease to be terminal gol"-& Opposition in the United States as come from those who favor a canal can route,” but this opposition is be- lieved to be decreasing, owing to the in- terest in the development of power re- S0l of the St. Lawrence. * ok ok % Among the points of advantage of such a route, it is claimed, be not. a shorter distance to be covered, only ““; but the avoidance of transshipment.|in During the present decade falling ocean rates have helped the seaboard and rising rail rates have hindered the in- terior. This St. Lawrence route would tend to even up things. The big bulk of freighters on the Great Lakes brin| NEW USES FOR RUBBER BY FREDERIC ]J. HASKIN. Major depressions almost invariably are followed by tremendous expansions in the use of new materials, the found- ing of new branches of industry and the wide distribution of novel ipment. Rubber seems to be one of the com- modities on the verge of such a post- depression development. The world may be entering a sort of rubber age. “g:' mm not :vml w:’ut nor 3 n ‘more y depressed than rubber. Ia spite otu&e fact that scarcely a decade ago rubker cost the American manufacturer more than $1 a pound In its crude form, it has de- clined to & tenth of that, and still keeps coming in quantities which are not being absorbed through usual channels. For two years there has been steady and growing overproduction of this curi- ous substance, and greatly increased supplies are in sight. Prior to 1910 rubber was not used in any great tonnage quantities. A ton of rubber will put a lot of ercs.rs on the [ ends of pencils, make a lot of hot-water bottles and garden hose. The bicycle tire, even, did not absorb any very sub- stantial tonnage. With the advent of the automobile, particularly the mass- produced American automobile, a differ- ent complexion was given the matter. Previously most of the rubber used had been wild rubber, gathered by the natives of Brazil and the Dutch and British East Indles. When a steady demand for pneumatic tires developed with increasing automobile production, plantations of rubber were set out. Prices rose steadily. The chief burden fell on Americans as the chief auto- mobile users. America, since the auto- motive age, has used more rubber than all of the rest of the world combined. The British and Dutch producers engineered a rubber trust just after the World War and hoisted the price arti- | ficially. American tire manufacturers estimated that the scheme, at a single stroke, added $500,000,000 to the cost of tires to American automobile users. Creates Rubber Supply. America replied with characteristic vigor. In addition to governmental | representations against the restriction, American manufacturers went into the rubber producing business themselves. Not an ounce of rubber is grown in the continental United $tates. The climate does not permit it. But, in the face of what was regarded as a hold- up, foreign lands were acquired or leased and tremend operations, un- der American owne; ), were launched. pine Islands and the fertile valley of the Amazon. Liberia was exploited and the PHilip- | prise. factors, combined, have depressed the of rubber to figures which have proved ruinous to thousands of planters m'lgnf”h"fi iy world-wide depression has di< lmnd hed the dem{ e m:lr :::;mbu; even many of se own: have been laid up, so there has been Gemand and Jarver- supply ‘Bave had lemand - and larger supply have their inevitable effect. The solution is larger consumption through new found uses. More rubber 18 in sight each year from now on and ways must be found to use it. The en- tire industry, including growers of the crude and rubber manufacturers, the first, group interested in selling raw ma- terial and the second in employing skill in new manufactures, is looking for new outlets. ‘The fresh use which most consistently captures the imagihation is for the rail- ways. The idea of equipping railroad trains with pneumatic rubber tires or even with solid rubber tires is an en- thralling one. The modern Pullman car is a triumph of smooth riding, but in comparison with a train operated on Ppneumatic tires over smooth steel rails would feel like a lJow-backed car on the rocky road to Dublin. ‘The idea is not chimerical, not a mad inventor's dream. The Prench Michelin Co., one of the oldest rubber companies in the world, has actually developed a tire-equipped railroad car and of its operating results are favorable. Provide Travel de Luxe, Trains so equipped would lack the clash and clatter of steel on steel, the thundering over frogs and the harsh bumping. They would flit along smooth= ly and almost silently. A sleeping car could well deserve its name under such conditions. The railroads of the United States | have declared that they are constantly losing ground because of the competi- tion of other modes of transportation. A change to rubber-tired rolling stock might mean their economic salvation. It requires little imagination to visualize the gigantic industry which would spring into life almost over night if this innovation were adopted. Thous ands upon thousands of workers would have to be employed to manufacture the special tired car wheels. The ine< creased consumption of rubber is almost beyond calculation and producers and manufacturers would be snatched from depression to a crest of prosperity. A great many associated industrial activie ties would cluster about the new entere In 1925 a type of crepe rubber was invented for use as the soles of tennis The counter stroke worked, the arti- | and -other shoes. A small quantity of ficial price restriction was removed | rubber is consumed in shoe manufac= and a free market reappegred. Rubber |ture as compared with that used in began coming out in increasing quanti- ties and the price went steadily down. Pr_i&es of tires went down, too. N _years are required to bri planted ibber trees into bearing a‘fig while it will be a few years yet be- fore the new American piantations will | produce in commercial quantities, the threat of the added supply is lurking in the path of the price trend. These tires and yet.this new type of sole in- creased consumption of rubber by 7,000 tons. Experimentation is going on with sponge rubber; in fact, much of it now is used. Among the new uses which have been developed are for upholstery, ‘With rubber at a low price, it is pose sible to upholster furniture with this ylelding and long-wearing substance. Fifty Years Ago In The Star ‘Two weeks after the death of Presi- dent Garfleld a grand jury of the Dis- | o trict of Columbia be- | Indictment g2n on the 3d of Oc-| of Guiteau. tober, 1881, considera- tion of the case against Charles J. Guiteau, his assassin. The jury concluded its proceedings on following day. The Star of October 4, 1881, prints the following report: “The grand jury resumed its session this morning and the examination of the case of Charles J. Guiteau for the murder of James A. @arfield, President of the United States, by shooting him | on the 2d of July last. Dr. Lamb pro- duced a diagram of the wound and testified to the autopsy, and Mr. E. L. Du Barry testified as to the shooting. In the evidence taken yesterday was cone of the confessions of the assassin as given to the United States attorney and taken in shorthand by Special As- | sistant United States Attorney Bailey. | This completed the examination by the grand jury, and they at once voted on | the question, “Shall Charles J. Guiteau | be presented for .murder?” and that was decided in the affirmative by a unanimous vote. About 1 o'clock today the grapd jury took & recess, and the foremar, Mr. Caleb Churchman, pro- ceeded to the district attorney's office and placed in Col. Corkhill's hands the following presentment: “‘In the Supreme Court of the Dis- trict of Columbia, holding a criminal term (June term), 1881, District of Co- lumbia, County of Washington, to wit: We, the grand jurors of the United States for the District aforesaid, upon an oath to present Charles J. Guiteau for the murder of James A. Garfield, President of the United States, wounding him with a bullet fired from & pistol in the hands of him, the said Charles J. Guiteau, at the Baltimore & Potomac Depot, on or about the 2d day of July, AD. 1881, on the evidence of J. K. Barnes, George W. Adams, Pat- rick Kearney, Sarah E. V. White, Robert A. Parker, Edward A. Bailey, D. S. Lamb, Jacob P. Smith, L. Du Barry and G. W, McElfresh. »* * % ‘The Star of October 5, 1881, prints a further account :3! the preparation of Insanity to e indictment, and w&\flufin: Be Defense. e “tne hrother-in- law of the assassin, Guiteau, arrived here yesterday from Chicago, accom- panied by his wife, and in the after- noon had a long interview with Dis- trict Attorney Corkhill. He stated, after this interview, that he desired either Mr. Merrick or Col. Totten to Tariff Issue Splits British Electorate BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, October 10.—The fears of those who opposed an appeal to the country in the midst of the financial crisis have been aggravated by the event itself. The election campaign has come in the worst ible shaj and the public is bewildered by confusion of motives. All of Premier Ramsay MacDonald's attempts ta preserve the solidarity of the national government's appeal to the nation for a doctor's mandate to deal with the emgergency have broken down on the Conservative party's insistence to force the tariff issue to the front. Instead of a united manifesto, defining the issue of the election. from Mac- Donald, Sir Herbert Samuel and Stanley Baldwin, the leaders of ths three parties represented in the govern= ment, each has issued a separate mani- festo giving his own interpretation of government policy in regard to tariffs. Baldwin stands for a general tariff, not excluding food taxes. Samuel une willingly is prepared to consider certain tariff expedients, excluding food taxes. MacDonald tends to gloss over the whole tariff question and concentrates on the vital necessity of a national government to preserve the stability of the pound. * k% % The rupture over the tariff question has shifted the battleground of the election from the financial peril of the country to the subject of protection and has shattered the Liberals, whose 6,000,000 votes hold the balance of ths scales between the Conservatives and Labor. ' One section under Lord Grey indorses the attitude of the Liberals in the government, another under Sir John Simon definitely favors tariffs, and a third under David Lloyd George repudiates the national government and declares for unadulterated free trade, ‘This ranges Lloyd George practically on the side of Labor and strengthens the ion that the last phase of his adventurous career may find him in that camp. Lloyd George has cut off the supplies from his famous fund to the Liberals, except to his own candidates, which, as the London Times remarks, practi- cally confines the fund to the members of his own family. In spite of this, two of the most powerful Liberal newspapers, the London News-Chronicle and the Manchester Guardian, range themselves with Lloyd George in opposition to the government on the ground of the ine violability of free trade. * ok x ‘The situation is further perplexed by the determination of the Conservative lcaucus to put Protectionist candidates in the field against even Liberal mem- assist him. He said that if he did not | bers of the governinent, including Sir think the unfortunate man was insane | Herbert Samuel himself. If this is per- he would not defend him at all. If he|sisted in, the last pretense of solidarity is not insane or cannot be clearly made [ in the national government disappears ing | Still he would be to appear so, he ought to be hai governed largely by he advice of his associate counsel and could not say definitely what {:eas would be offered. A hereditary taint of insanity and aets previous to the assassination would sustain such a de- fense. And he thought both positions could be sustained. Guiteau's family have really known nothing of him or his actions for quite three years, ex- cept what has been learned from the newspapers since the assassination, and ifethe accounts of him and his vagaries during the time his family have lost! sight of him are reliable, he is clearly | an_irresponsible betng. He (Scoville) would not be ready for trial at once, for he would be obliged to rake the country over for witnesses, and doubt- less many, of the most important ones will, if possible, evade process. Guiteau had been in the Oneida Community for six years and was at one time con- fined as a lunatic. The defense will not necessarily be a costly ene, for the Government will be bound to compel | the aticidance of such witnesses as are shown to be material and to pay for it. Quite & number of lawyers, and | some of them it ones, have written offering to assist in the de- fense, but he has not yet accepted any | of them. ‘Was] o e’ u lawyers. defense embrace & down thelr grain and other agricultural | a most products from our own great Western and the’ Canadian irie bring back coal and miscellaneous man- ufactured goods. Less ce to be covered and the elimination of shij) would undoubtedly saving. (Copyright, 1981.) ces and | treatment. nt. fensé is the non-responsibility of this unfortunate man for_ the w'uyel crime trans- effect lm t | taries, had nged. | and the country will have the spectacle of Liberal and Conservative candidates, nominally supporting the government, fighting each other and giving the seat to Labor. Raising of the tariff issue in aggres- sive form has improved the prospects of Labor, which is practically solid in Dg ition to the government. The ablest colleagues of MacDonald in the Labor party are in the government with him, but the organization is bitterly hostile and it is questionable whether he will have a dozen Labor men re- turned to support him. Without a sub- stantial party following, his position as head of the government in a Parlia- ment overwhelmingly Conservative will be difficult and probably untenable for long. / Saying this, I have assumed that the national government will be re~ . and, but for the pro; of the tariff issue, certain, e * k% % The sober minds of the country are mb’:fi% &m“wi::' the l".h"urge e: e growing pretensions of the Trade Union Council to dominate . It is notorious that cause of the final crash was the feel- of MacDonald and Philip Snowden that the tyranny of the council, com- posed of irresponsible trade union secre= bécome an intolerable bure to titutional gov= S e present nd itens to be the battle- ground of the future, A proposal act- Werk that fatite Labor govermmment e re vernment - el pa every le mind realizes that to nmmmz.mfbm the present crisis would be a fatal blow to British credit in the world. But while they anticipate the den and a menace