Evening Star Newspaper, October 16, 1931, Page 8

. A-8 THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C FRIDAY........October 16, 1031 Edito: THEODORE W. NOYES. The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Offic ice: fice: Lake Mic] Hce e Rate by Carrier Within the City. The ‘E:\‘en:nl S|;r§..d. aii'r“"”""‘"‘ e UG vs) . o 006 DOF month (when 5 Sund The Sunday Star .. Collection made at the end Orders may be sent in by ma NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virgini: ally and Sunday. aily only Sunday only All Other States and Canada. 17yr.$12.00: 1 mo.. $1 ; 1 mo. 1yr. $8.00 1yr. $5.00: 1 mo. Daily only ... Sunday only Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of all news aj Patches credited to it er Rot othersise cred- ted in this paper end also the local news published berein. All rishts of publication of Special dispatches herein are also reserved. “Intranquillity” in Mexico. While American attention has been riveted on developments in the Far East and in Europe, that ancient cauldron of political unrest, Mexico, has been boiling up again. How menacing the situation had become is indicated by the recall of Plutarco Elias Calles, Mexico's “iron man.” to a position of dominance in the reorganized government of President Ortiz Rubio. The former President has just been made minister of war, with all the powers which that post traditionally carries in Mexico. In the turbulent circumstances now prevailing south of the Rio Grande these powers unmistakably are intended to clothe Senor Calles with authority to suppress ruthlessly anything savoring of an uprising against the government. The fact that four generals, who held civilian portfolios in President Rubio’s cabinet, will be the only ones not in- cluded in the new government seems to speak for itself. Plainly, they represent an element suspected of & readiness to convert political dissatisfaction with the existing regime into something border- ing on revolution. In proclaiming a reorganization of his cabinet President Rubio deplores the recent renewal of “intranquillity” in Mexico, especially in the capital, “owing to agitation of various kinds in the political realm.” Beneath these sonorous phrases lurks the conviction of the government that the hour for drastic preventive action has arrived. President Rubio indicates that the measures to which he has felt impelled to resort, including the recall of Plu- tarco Calles to a high post in the gov- ernment, “imply not only momentary settlement, but also & formula of & definite character rsting on a desire for public welfare.” Translated from Mexican into ver- nacular American, this is a stern warn- ing that the Rubio-Calles combination means business not for the day or this week, but until further notice. It sug- gests that those “intranquil” forces which have any plans running counter to the government’s program are headed for trouble. Trouble for revolutionists in Mexico generally ends before a wall and a firing squad. During Gen. Calles’ presidency, stabilizing recourses fre- quently took that form. In retiring from executive office in 1928 Calles announced that the rule of the “man on horseback” was over in Mexico. It was not long sfterwa:d, however, that his presidential successor found it necessary to draft Calles for service to suppress the revolt in Esco- bar, which threatened the life of the Portes Gil government. Calles accepted temporarily the war minister's portfolio for that purpose—the same office to which President Rublo has just re- summoned him. Three months ago the “iron man” came to his country's Tescue agamn, when he emerged from retire- ment to take over the presidency of the Bank of Mexico. The result was the promulgation of the “Calles monetary law,” which returned the country to & silver currency basis for financial re- construction purposes. The legend of accomplishment en- shrines the name of Plutarco Ellas Calles. Mexicans have supreme faith, based on experience, in his ability to tranquillize “intranquillity.” But whether the resultant state of pacification can long remain such without his con- tinuance in power is a question. A Yalles dictatorship may turn out to be dhe only way. e Tourists in Russia express Varying opinions of living cenditions. Soviet authorities insist that the only way to get a oirrect impression is to emplay'l an official guide. . r——— The Democratic National Commit- tee, when it announces expectation of 1,500,000 in subscriptions before the campeign opens, implies faith in & rapid return of prosperity. B Maj. Pratt's Recommendations. Two of the recommendations of Maj. Henry G. Pratt, superintendent of police, in his annual report to the Commission- ers should be given especially serious consideration by the District heads. They concern an increase in the num- ber of policemen and the addi.ion of eight radio cars to the cruising force. The Commissioners will undoubtedly stuc all the recommendations made by the yolice chief, but these two appear to be ¢ exceptional merit. The National Capital unquestionably needs an sddition to its police force. The demands of traffic are constantly sncreasing, new sections of dwellings wre being built, many of which are at present inadequately patrolled, and the situation has reached the point where this oft-repeated recommendation for an increase in the force should be heeded. In asking for a total of fifteen hundred | policemen—the present force comprises about thirteen hundred and ffty—and one hundred detectives, an increase of forty to the present department, Maj. Pratt is not unreasonable, and if the racommendation is granted all of Washington will benefit. Since the establishment of radio pa- trol cars, which followed the practice in almost every other large city, this mobile branch of the department has proved of great value. These small automobiles, each carrying two police- have roamed the city in search of law- breakers. Through a central station news of any matter requiring police attention is flashed, and excellent rec- ords have been made in reaching the scene before many minutes have passed. They have proved themselves superior to motorcycles for this type of work because of the presence of two officers in each car, It is obvious that with more police- men and more mobile forms of trans- portation for the crulsing section of the force the National Capital will be better armed for its fight against crime. ‘Washington, happily, does not have the lawlessness to contend with that is found in such cities as New York and Chicago, but, nevertheless, the Police De- partment here should be fully manned and equipped and kept up to the high standard that befits a community of this size and importance. - i Mr. Delano's Suggestion. A plan to relieve unemployment by literally mustering the “Army of the Unemployed” is suggested by Frederic A. Delano in an article appearing else- where in today's Star. Mr. Delano’s service as the chairman of the Dis- trict's committee organized to deal with unemployment in this city enables him to speak with authority on some of the schemes advanced and efforts that have been made to solve the problem, and his eminence as a citizen always en- titles him to a respectful audience. One of the most Interesting things about his plan is the conclusion, coming from such a source, that no less drastic and revolutionary method of dealing with widespread unemployment is going to achieve much success. The practical objections to Mr. Del- ano's plan are, of course, obvious. ‘In the first place, such a thing has never been seriously considered before. In the second place, the maintenanee of such an army as well as the nominal pay of recrults would impose a tre- mendous financial burden on the Gov- ernment that is now struggling to de- vise ways and means of balancing its budget. And even were the manifest difficulties of assembling and housing the Army of the Unemployed overcome, as grave a problem would ‘be raised in utilizing it properly and—later still—in disbanding it. But it is true that there is always a tendency to spend more effort on criticism and in marshaling objections to plans and suggestions than in get- ting down to bedrock and utilizing the germ of a good idea to work something out. And it is entirely logical to argue | that if, in time of war, the Nation| can muster a great army and train| it in methods of destruction, it should | be able, in time of peace, to muster another great army and train it in| methods of construction. And it is idle| to assume that an emergency of war can be more threatening than some of the emergencies presented in time of peace. ‘The Star does not believe that pres- ent conditions warrant any such step as Mr. Delano proposes. But no one can forecast with any real degree of accuracy what the future will bring Every Nation has its “war plans divi- sion” of the military establishment. Why not a “peace plans divisior government, with its “red plan “white plan” and its “blue plan” to b made effective when the emergency is declared? — e A Tariff Straw. History may one day record that a proposal adopted Friday at the Fourth Pan-American Commercial Con- ference paved the way to a saner view of tariffs as they affect international relations. A resolution, which received the all-important assent of the United States, recommended to the govern-! ments of the twenty-one Americas | that “they grant each other, as soon as conditions of their domestic economy may permit, the greatest tariff advan- tages and the reduction of domestic taxes on natural products, whether manufactured or not, of the soil or industry of the national territory of the others, either through multi-lateral conventions or special treaties.” Stripped of excess verbal baggage, this means that the United States is ready to consider revision of its tariff system. in so far as it relates to Latin America. It goes without saying that it does not bind the Colossus of the North to make tariff concessions. It only pledges the United States, when its own economic affairs justify such a review, to survey the possibilities of concessions. Even that is an advance, and a welcome one. It is & gesture which should go far to assure our sister republits to the south that the spirit of the square deal is abroad in the northern land. Nothing of the sort has ever before emanated from Washington. The rest, in due course, will be up to some future Con- gress, Senor Federico Llaverias of the Dominican Republic expressed the view that eventually found expression in the tariff resolution. Latin America, he said, “hopes that the United States will take the lead in economic disarmament with the same noble spirit in which it initiated naval disarmament,” adding that “such a step would fill the hearts of the peoples of the Americas with true and sincere pride for this country.” If our perennially relterated senti-| ments of brotherly love for our sister states in the New World are ever to be beaten from pious protestations into tangible actualities, the way leads no more surely than through a generous tariff attitude toward Latin American products. A liberal extension of the free list to the things South and Cen- tral America have to sell us would solidify Pan-American friendship in terms more durable and understandable than a thousand after-dinner glorifica- tions of Stmon Bolivar. ‘Having completed a very serviceable “Outline,” H. G. Wells offers the opin- fon that the next thing civilization will need is a lifeline. ) The Fashion Plate of Crime. Some interesting angles are develop- ing in the trial in Chicago of Alphonse Capone for income tax evasion—which seems to be about the most effective method of putting this delectable citizen behind bars for a period. Witnesses have testified that the gangster leader ‘has passed under numerous names, some Alphoze Capone, Snorty Capone, Scar- face Capone; then there are others, such as Al Brown and Alphonse Costa. Names have meant nothing to the ro- tund person who now sits in court smirking at judge, jury, witnesses and counsel. Names, it would seem, meant nothing to his followers. At one ses- sion of the court the clerk at & certain hotel managed to recall that about three years ago Capone and some ten or fif- teen, “maybe twenty.” of his friends went to the establishment and took rooms which became the headquarters and home of the organization, Capone's name on the register was “George Phil- lips,” and a portion of this group was listed as “Joseph Jacobs and family.” Judge Wilkerson became impatient with the hesitation of the witness and did some questioning on his own account, and the evidently embarrassed clerk finally said: I gon't know who paid for the rooms. Butisky came down and paid the bills. And those names on the register—I just made 'em up because I couldn’t get nobody in that crowd to sign. The same thread runs through the testimony, names at random, Capone in the background, his underlings sign- ing for him, paying his bills in cash, transacting the business for him under cover. But tradesmen who have just recently testified have had no difficulty in identifying him as the purchaser of furniture, clothing, articles of decora- tlon, china bowls, bronze elephants and lamps, $12,500 special-built motor cars, chests of silver, thirty diamond belt buckles at $275 each—these for souvenir gifts to favored friends—five- dollar silk undergarments. A review of the purchases brought to light in the course of the testimony discloses Brown-Phillips-Costa-Capone as a per- son of luxurious tastes, a veritable sybarite. Indeed it would seem that a check-up of his own personal wardrobe and accessories alone would reveal enough of an undeclared income to land him in jail as a tax-dodger. e One of Capone’s attorneys says a de- cision of the United States Supremec Court may be required to settle the case for his client. This means a serious situation for Washington, D. C., should Al decide to bring along & retinue of hair-trigger men. b—.— M. Laval will come prepared to answer the questions of representatives of the American press. Mr. Pell, who accom- panies him, is an interpreter and a dip- lomat, and will have to show extraordi- nary accomplishments in both capaci- ties. BB While students of history are express- ing fears that a fight in Asia may in- volve the world. Japan is doing what she can to reassure them with assertions that she can settle the affair single handed. e A number of Democrats, possibly as a matter of economy, think that the old Al Smith campaign badges and litera- ture might as well be used all over again, - When a Chinese town is bombed the inhabitants naturally wish for those ancestral days when warriors tried to frighten one another by merely setting off firecrackers. e Though willing to take the center of the stage, Tokio desires a world audi- ence that will not be likely to volunteer any demonstrations. It is Stalin’s hope to make the five- year plan sufficiently interesting to war- rant its carrying the line “to be con- tinued.” e Louisiana is hard at work trying to keep the supply of Governors within the limits of actual demand. Cemeee SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Political Pastry. Let's gather 'rcund the banquet board And make the hour of cheer One which will let no patriot hoard ‘The treasures men hold dear. And when they meet in joy complete For campzign funds to try, By force of habit they'll repeat— “Will some one pass the ple?” The pastry often is esteemed The finest course of all, Although delayed till votes have teemed At the election’s call. For simple fare they will declare Just as in days gone by, And ask, amid the viands rare— “Will some one pass the ple?” No Copy Cat. “Once in a while you are found devi- ating from the precise facts.” “To put it bluntly,” said Senator Sor- ghum, “I do not always tell the truth.’ “That is what I mean.” “I try to refrain from serious false- hood, but I insist on being a little orig- inal. I do not want posterity to think I have gong through life trying to give an imitation of George Washington.” Jud Tunkins says a man is not sure- to get along without being tricky. Conscicniious Enthusiasm, A “booster,” I am told to be. I cannot always thus agree. Since rivalries grow rather queer In a commercial atmosphere When traders hasten to compete For compliments in phrases neat, To “boost” what's bad too often would Imply a “knock” for something good. Confusing. “How do you like my collegiate friend?” “He's hard to follow,” answered Miss Cayenne. “In dancing?” “No, in conversation. He's very for- ward in“manners and very backward in mentality.” “He who thinks of the past only with regret,” said Hi Ho, the sage of China- town, “can never be happy, since every day is but a portion of the past in the making.” Holding His Nerve. The orator to talk awakes, He sees no way to quit it. He sometimes makes a few mistakes, ten or fifteen having been used by him in his various activities» A representa- tive of the Treasury has disclosed that the defendant had filed no income tax return under any of these designations. men and equipped with a recelving sst, Some of them are variants, such as But never dares admit it. “"Most any man will listen to advice, said Uncle Eben, “not bechuse he means to take it, but in case he is killin® time 1t keeps him fum gittin’ lonesome.” enough smart tinless he's smart enough | BY CHARLES E. TRACKWELL. Jack Frost's first appearance is real news for any one with appreciation of the common things of the everyday life, l;. is not statescraft; it is world- craft. It is not politics, but is part of the universal economy. Before man was, old Jack Frost was busy splitting rocks with his little ham- mers and cracking the soil and setting up his natural test tubes. Or should one say natural chemistry? Chemistry is the most natural thing in the world. Chemistry Js Nature, if anything is. And Jack Frost, as men have per- sonalized this pre-freezing factor, is one of Nature's busiest little agents. He takes the clods of dirt, if the gardener has been energetic enough to dig up his beds, and does things to them in the meliowing way. ‘The time for the gardener to take a hand in this interesting process is a little later, after several good frosts have hardened the ground. as possible, or feasible, whicl 1s about the same thing. Then lift the spadeful and carefully turn it over. Dump the soil back on the earth, but g0_to no pains to pulverize it. Permit it to remain in the clodlike form in which it comes to the spade. ‘This ‘permits Jack to get in his work on all sides at once. He splits 'em and cracks ’em and freezes 'em; he throws fissures into 'em and breaks down their molecules. So that when Spring comes around again the gardener won't know his earth, so much has Jack Frost done to it. * ok x In the old days. before the advent of central heating, Mr. Frost went around painting the most glorious pictures on window panes. In those days people heated their homes, or tried to think they did, with fireplaces and the like. (No doubt they turned on the gas oven, t0o.) The ladies sat in wing-backed chatrs, with wings on each side, not for orna-| ment, as the foolish suppose, but to keep off the drafts. Snugly seated in one of those big chairs, dainty feet (all women had dainty feet, then) on & stool of needle- point, the ladies managed to keep fairly comfortable. It was only when one went upstairs to g0 to bed, that the cold grabbed one by one’s dainty big toes, and made itself felt in general. But there was one big advantage the people had in those eras, and that was the artistic work of Jack Frost, himself. He could paint castles, and great for- ests and cliffs, and mountain and ! such scenes as no_child ever saw on land or sea, but only on windowpanes ‘The panes were not warm enough, then, to melt him away, but were icy. & fine canvas for Jack to dabble with his whites and his frosty blues. shot through and thrcugh with touches of deep red, as the morning sun rose high in the heavens. x x ox % The frost still succeeds in depositing its color on grass and leaves | “The exact combination of moisture must be present in the earth, together with the proper degres of tempera- ture, before frost settled down. T:o much water, however, will drive it away. One good way to combat it -‘ls said, is to sprinkle late in the ning before it is expected. It is a rem- edy, however, which only the adven- WASHINGT( Japanese resentment of American participation in the League of Nations efforts to prevent war between China and Japan is a distinct shock to the | United ‘States Government. Washing- | ton’s only explanation of it.is that the military party is bossing the show at Tokio and that the civilian authorities are powerless to resist it. President Hoover and Secretary Stimscn are con- vinced that if the influence of Premier | Wakatsuki and Foreign Secretary Shi- dehara could prevail a far less anti- American wind would be blowing in Japan. The militarists of Nippon have harbored a grudge against this country ever since the Washington Armament | Conterence of 10 years ago. It was at the instigation of the United States that Japan. on that occasion acqui- esced reluctantly in the abrogation of | the Anglo-Japanese alliance and in the evacuation of the Chinese province of | Shantung. These wounds had not yet ceased smarting when, a couple of yea later, Uncle Sam affronted Japanese racial pride by enacting the exclusion clause in our new immigration law, de- barring the Mikado's people from en- tering American territory. | * koK K On recurring occasions the Japanese government publicly proclaims that im- migration exclusion will rankle until ‘American sense of falr play” sets mat- ters right. Thus Japan signals that the incident is by no means a closed one. If the Tokio army and navy clique could have its way, the controversy undoubt- | edly would long since have been taken out of the hands of statesmen like Baron Shidehara and subjected to more | drastic settlement. Presumably the war party is utilizing the Manchurian mess as a means of fomenting anti-American sentiment, already nourished by the lbove-mentlone;l g‘rle:iar;ces. It can safely be foreshadowed that | events will march a long way before | Japan would seriously force the issue to the point of a conflict with the United States. The reason why the Japanese would think twice, and thrice, | and then seme, before going to war with | us is encompassed in one word. That | word is silk. Exportations of raw silk | are the Island Empire’s economic life blood. Once the traffic In silk were cut off, Japan would be face to face with industrial and financial ruin. Over- | whelmingly the lion's share of her silk | is sold to America. Already in the| throes of a business depression, which | was paralyzing Japanese commerce and | trade long before the slump hit these Iatitudes, the Tokio government would | not lightly let things drift into an armed clash with the United States.! The average Westerner, who has lived among the Japanese in latter-day times will tell you that they are far more fear- ful of an attack on Japan by America | than of any aggression against us by | them. * K KK Secretary Stimson's diplomatic serv- ice seems to be fated to have American | Ambassadors away from their jobs when | they're needed on them the most. It was just about & year ago that our envoy in Brazil was absent on leave from Rio de Janeiro when revolution swept the country. During the 1930 epidemic of revolutions in Latin Amer- ica one or two of our other diplomatic representatives were missing from their ts. Now, in the midst of the crisis moour relations with Japan, W. Cam- eron Forbes, American Ambassador to Tokio, finds himself in the United tes on a vacation. Nelson T. John- son, our accomplished Minister to China, was in the midst of his honeymoon in Pelping when the State Department ordered him to Nanking this week. Ambassador De- buchi intended to be on the Pacific, en route to a visit in Japan this Fall, but the Japanese government directed him to cancel his passage and remain in Washington until the Manchurian mess is out of the way. The State Department called Charles R. Crane, one-time American Minister to China, into conference this week. Mr. Crane has not been in the Far East recently, but his knowledge of conditions out there is thorolilh.nnd 1 to date. * In New York the weird rumor is in circulation that President Hoover will soon make an official visit to Europe the closer collaboration Insert the spade and dig d-wn as far | turous will attempt, The rest of us will rely on paper bags aw1i great swath- ings of cheesecloth, despite their gen- eral fraility, and the bad habit they have of flying away on the wings of the accompanying wind. Frost gives a nice crunchiness to sward, which is a word we like, and which every one interésted in good grass likes. It 18 just another word for lawn, but it has derivations which make it of unsurpassed interest to the garden sort of person. The old English had it ‘sweard,” meaning skin. The Dutch say “swoord” which is their way of saying “bacon rind.”’ The German schwarte means bark or rind. So when we speak of the sward we speak of the skin, the bark, or rind of the earth, the very outer surface, as it were, of all that immensity below into which no man has yet explored, upon which only speculation has touched. We read a very interesting article not long ago on the composition of the earth, in which all sorts of “rings” of various compositions were described, as best as modern science can figure them out. It was to be understood, however, that no claim was made that these l?g;;ul:(’i:)nsu“ere in any sense more hterestin, uesses V] | lie’down beneath T | . Is it not a bit strange, since man is | such. an adventuring animal, that he has been content all these thousands of | years to journey only about 2 miles deep, at the deepest, into the great ball upon which he lives? He has mostly stuck to the surface, and only in the last quarter of a century, through agency of the airplane, has’ made bold to leave that surface at all. All the time the earth has been be- neath his feet, and all he had to do was to keep on digging But what an “all” that is! The practical difficulties are 5o great as to have been insurmountable ( 0 o e (or should it be insurunderable?) to date. g‘x:' I:::dqy[\}; mines have scarcely scratcl e on, rind” b g rind” of the * ok ok oW ! Frost is the pictures rel r s t uresque prelude to freezing. The Jatter merely continues | the other process, many times more complete, but often enough invisible. Horticulturists say that it is not freezin which hurts plants so much as the sl ternate freezings and thawings, which heave up the roots and permit the icy alr to reach them and dry them, It is the touch of frost which changes | the leaves from dark green to the bright yellows and reds which have so de- lighted the children of men. When one is on an Autumn ramble and admires the great turning leaves he should re- call to himself that he is sharing in one of the oldest art enthusiasms of B! man ever attempted to paint, | with daubs of ochre, buffaloes and the like upon the i of his caves | he pointe ves of Fall and id: “Gl Which, beins , probably means “beautiful” ums are among the lim- r of outdoor flowers whic! answer to the call of frost by breaking forth their blossoms In due season fore it is too late. The red-barked dogwcod, and the barberries, and the poison vy, al color when frost begins to diy up their juices. Their splendid red is not ex- celled in the Autumn landscape. ven the oak leaves, glowing Fall's very colors. cann red of the poison vy leaf as it ciimbs with its mates the trunk of some great tree. OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLTAM WIiLE. with Old World statesmen. Nobody in | W ngton has so far thought it worth | w to ask the White House if there’s anything in the story. * oA ok ox “St. Wilson, Apostle and Martyr,” is! the title of the newest book on Wood- | row Wilson, which will shortly make its appearance in Paris and later in an American translation. The author is| Lucien Lehmann, a Frenchman, who | Tecently attained some distinction with a book called “The Only Way Out.” which _won an international literary prize. His work on Wilson is described as an appreciation of the World War President in the light of the years| which have elapsed since he passed | from the scene. M. Lehmann seeks, he | sa posterity upon the chief author of the League of Nations. EE T Washingtonians who were listening-in on the Columbus day broadcast of the Sons of Italy in New York on October 2 caught a d ful bit of impromptu from the sp platform. The pre- | siding officer had proposed three cheers for the King of Italy and for Mussolini. | Suddenly somebody was heard stage- | whispering into the chairman's ear, “What about the President of the| United States?” Whereupon the mas- | ter of ceremonies shouted, “And the President of the United States, too!” PR Observations in Washington: “Leg- less beggar at a Pennsylvania avenue| corner, counting his shekels and be- moaning to a customer that he'd backed | the wrong horse at Laurel. Signs in the windows of a busted firm of mort- gage bankers, whose principal partmer is doing time for misappropriating its funds, reading: “These premises, in- cluding burglarproof vaults, for rent.” PR Washington has a brand-new semi- monthly periodical devoted to radio Its name is Broadcasting—the News Magazine of the Fifth Estate. Founded and edited by Martin Codel, nationally known writer on the affairs of the wave lengths, Broadcasting makes its bow in these words: “Powerful medium for the conveyance of intelligence and en- | tertainment to the masses. Radlo Broadcasting has come to take its place as the Fifth Estate, alongside ‘the Lords | Spiritual, the Lords Temporal, the Commons and the Press’ to whom the redoubtable Edmund Burke alluded in one of his unpublished flights of ora-| (Copyright, 1931.) — e Propose West Indies Frcm the Louisville Courler-Journal. The shadow of the imperialism issue of 1900 loomed the other day when newspapers oh both sides of the At- lantic began to discuss the possibility. of Great Britain's transferring West Indian territory to the United States, in order to reduce its debt and interest payments, thus helping to balance its budget. A second proposal, perhaps more advantageous to the British Com- monwealth of Nations, is the scheme suggested in a letter to the London Times by Sir Harry Armstrong, former British consul general at New York, who would transfer the islands to Can- ada. The Dominion thus would help to pay the mother country’s debt and take over valuable property, while the stra-|= tegic maritime defenses of the empire would be preserved. The Windward Islands, the Leeward Islands and the Bahamas command the passages to the Guif of Mexico, the Caribbean and the Panama Canal From a naval point of view they are invaluable. From Porto Rico southward to the coast of Venezuela, in a semi- circle, the Leewards and the Wind- wards, from St. Kitts on the north to Trinidad, the asphalt island, on the south, form an impregnable sea wall Jamaica, on one side, and the B: hamas. on the other, control the Wind- ward Passage between Haiti and Cuba, | These crops- this to foreshadow the judgment of |tarm a | some time ago an 'h Be Traded to Canada| THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1931. THIS AND THAT Action on Farm Market Site Is Held Illegal To the Editor of The Star: It appears our District Commissioners are in a most awkward position regard- ing their action in reference to the Southwest Farmers' Market, site. Un- questionably the law as passed by the Congress directing purchase of. the land and organizing the market has been violated. ‘The Congress, at its last session, after many months devoted to hearings, ap- ‘There is no other agency in the world that can answer as many legitimate questions as our free Information Bu- reau in Washington, D. C. This highly organized institution has been built un and is under the personal direction of Frederic J. Haskin. By keeping in con- stant touch with Federal Bureaus and ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. |used from about 1150 to 1500. OlQ English or Anglo-Saxon was in use before 1150, Q. Can popcorn be used for & break- fast’ food?—W. C. fa A. Unsarted, ‘unbuttered popcoan may be served with sugar and cream, propriated $300,000 for the use of our |other educational enterprises it is in a | With salt and cream or with eream Commissioners to purchase two squares | position to pass on to you authoritative | 8lone. Or the parched unpopped kes- of land in Southwest Washington for a | information of the highest order. Sub- |N¢ls When ground like coffee make a Farmers' Market site, basing their ap- | mit | good b 3 your queries to the staff of experts | B! reakfast food for eatin; propriations on statements made in com- | whase Services are pt at your free dis. | cream and sugar or for mittee hearings by those interested in to be used in acquiring the land, level- ing, grading and in the developing of the market. It now eppears that the amount ap- propriated is not sufficient to execute the expressed will of Congress, not-~ withstanding statements made to the committee by those interested in the Southwest site. ‘The usual and proper procedure would be for the Commissioners to withhold all operations, as is customary, and is ainly done in securing public school sites, and return to Congress for addi- tional funds with the statement that the amount appropriated ($300,000) was not sufficient to follow out their will. Was this done?> It certainly was not. Instead, one of the land owners stepped In and agreed to permit the use of part of the land until such time as the Com- missioners can secure additional appro- priation, which offer was apparently ac- cepted, notwithstanding the act, which expressly states that no operation shall be commenced until full title to both squares is secured. It seems, therefore, that accepting use of the land would be clearly in direct opposition to the lr‘gislau?n and that“under the present circumstances it will be impossi secure clear title. e The entire transaction has been han- dled in rather a peculiar manner and without the advice of the corporation counsel, according to news reports, and which appears should have been se- cured. Cln l’hp final -‘A]nn!vsls it seems the ommissioners will have to aj 1 Congress for -additional. appropriation In just what light this will be received by our friends on the hill it will be rather difficult at this time to deter- mine. It is natural to suppose, however, that taxpayers, the ones who will be called upon to foot the bill, a great ma- jority of whom were opposed to the project in the first instance, will have something to say in the matter at the ST n the meantime it may be well i our officials to proceed with cauuon’g:f the matter. A. J. DRISCOLL, | | President Mid-City Citizens’ Association S ‘otton Is Usurped | As Arkansas Crop the Texarkans Gazet | _‘n is suggested by the Arkansas State | Chamber of Commerce that Arkansans, ey in d fto ting the most of their interes: cotton situation, have lost sight the large quantity of other agricul- | | ture products converted into revenue o | far this year. Final reports, for ex- | smple, indicate that the State during | the last three months, shipped the as- unding total of 5200 cars of peaches | from its orchards, 4,200 cars by rail and | the jquivalent of 1,000 cars by motor truck. Up to July 31, 368 cars of cantaloupes d been forwarded, as against only 245 cars for all of last year, 109 cars of cu- | bers, 704 cars of potatoes, 194 cars | of tomatoes and 173 cars of water- melons. Earlier in the year the State shipped 576 cars of strawberries, while an additional quantity moved in small ]zm%‘m(‘m,s by express and by truck, and least 125 cars of radishes also were moved. Here, says the chamber, is record of 7,449 cars of fruits and vege- tables already sold by Arkansas farmers and orchardists this season, not taking into account the grape crop, now moving, and the mamoth apple crop, to move later in the year, nor is the heavy shipment of raspberries from the Crow- ley Ridge section included. While cotton is the “big money” crop, the State is a producer of other com- modities worth millions of dollars. ear are so far ahead <t yeal as to be almost | beyond comparison. The United States Department of Agriculture recently | issued a report on crap conditions as of | August 31, and not even the most pro- nounced pessimist can find anything in | | the statistics for Arkansas to feel blue | about, says the chamber. ‘When one seeks to buy an Arkansas hog for fattening against slaughter later {1n the Fall at what the purchaser would reasonabl price, says the chamber, he quickly discovers that the muchly maligned porker has taken on the value of a blue ribbon winner. Buyers of live hogs invaded Arkansas quietly began picking them up for shipment to nearby States which, when feed became scarce during the drought last year, butchered their gs rather than have them starve. The result is that there is a shortage of hogs in States adjacent to Arkansas and buyers have been supplying the de- ficiency with Arkansas hogs. One buyer in the Clarendon area has shipped more than 1.200 hogs from the White River boitoms to Tennessee within the last three or four weeks. One plantation of those of last {owner in Lonoke county who sought to purchase a dozen hogs a few days ago reported after a trip through Eastern Arkansas in search of them that the farther he went the higher the price be- came, with farmers asking as much us 2 cents a pound over the St. Louls market quotations. Surely King Cotton no longer is ab- solutely monarch in Arkansas. e “Cheap Politics” Held Misnomer in Scandals From the Savannah Morning News. “Inexpensive” and “cheap” are by no means synonymous. A thing may be inexpensive and not be cheap at all— it may be invaluable, beyond value by usual material standards. And & “bar- gein” isn't always “cheap.” ‘Cheap” has two significances; one applies to price or cost and the other to quality. S6 “politics” has had two mean- ings. It was once a most respectable word. like “statesmanship”: later it ame to mean the practices of those who seek public favor in demagoguery and after being in office play the game for popular favor to retain office rather than serve along the lines of good gov- ernment business principles. ‘Politics” has so degenerated as an ssion that we almost universall. think of this last unfavorable flavor when the word is mentioned. And in this sense there issno such thing as “cheap politics,” “cheap” being used to indicate the low cost, the small expense, and “politics” used in its current, rather unfortunate sense. This sort of politics is always ex- pensive, high in cost, attended by waste | and extravagance and often by crooked- ness, corruption and graft. The meth- ods may be simple, trite, commonplace, silly—the effeet is expensive. There is no really “cheap” “politics” of the sort that we usually talk about in connec- tion with the practical .game dema- gogues play. United States, they would be lost to the British Empire as customers, due to the operation of the American tariff. In posal. There is no charge except two the ste. The act provided the money | cents in coin or stamps for return post- | age. Address The Evening Star, In- formation _Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Q. When did foot ball attain a form giv%enerll use in this country?—W. A. In 1894 the University Athletic Ciub of New York invited Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton and Yale to form & Rules Committee, and since that time the game has gradually changed until it attained the height of the game played today. Q. How much tobacco was ralsed in the United States last year?—A. J. A. There was a production of 1,510,- 308,000 pounds in 1930, and 2,110,300 acres of land were planted in tchacco, Q. What was the early name for Cal- cutta, India?—D. T. by Job Charnock in 1609, was known as Kalikuta, Q. What will keep yeast from working in a liquid?—J. T. A. The Bureau of Chemistry says that there is nothing that will destroy yeast entirely except boiling. A low temperature will keep the yeast from acting as rapidly, but will not stop it altogether, Q. Where are the battleships Arkan- sas and Wyoming?—A. I.. P. A. They are both at the Naval Acad- emy, in Annapolis, Md. Q. When was Greenwich Observatory founded?—T. N. A. A. It was established by-King Charles II in 1675. tronomer Royal, eight astronomers and a staff of com- puters. Q. When was the first lighthouse es- tabliched near New York City?—E. G. H. A. The earliest in that district was at Sandy Hook in 1764. Q. When was the first seaplane made? D. D A. The first seaplane, the Loon, was constructed by Glenn Curtiss and tried out by him in 1908. It was not unil 1911, however, that the pontocn attach- ment was perfected. Q. How did the rattlesnake flag orig- inate in our colonies?—R. MCF. A. It has been stated that its use grew out of a humorous suggestion made by a writer in Franklin'’s pa- per—the Pennsylvania Gazette—that, in return for the wrongs which Eng- land was forcing upon the colonists, & cargo of rattlesnakes should be sent to the mother country and “distributed in St. James Park, Spring Garden and other places of pleasure” Col. Gadsden, one of the Marine Commit- tee, presented to Congress on Febru- ary 8, 1776, “an elegant standard, such as is to be used by the com mander in chief of the American Nav: being a vellow flag with a represent tion of & rattlesnake coiled for attack. Q. To what time does middle Eng- lish belong and old English’>—T. H. A. Middle English is the language as First non-stop crossing of the Pa- cific Ocean by Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon. jr. gives those two airmen a conspicuous place in the his- tory of aviation. Their skill as well as their daring is the subject of much comment and it is predicted that, as a result of their success, the Pacific will take its place as an area of greater activity in world affairs. “The last frontier of iation has fallen and the last grand prize of the pilots has been won,”’ says the Pitts- burgh Post-Gazette, calling it “a dar- ing exploit,” and recognizing “another mark of the advance which aviation is making and one which the world will note.” The Oakland Tribune states that, “while there is a real enthusiasm over this feat and disposition to ac- cord the plucky flyers highest honors, the advances which have been made in aviation since the days when the Lone Eagle crossed the Atlantic had pre- pared a public until a Pacific flight was something confidently expected.” “Expertness apparently attended the adventure from first to last.” according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which makes the further comment on the achievement of the two men: “The plane kept to its course and got to Seattle with plenty of reserve fuel. The choice of Wenatchee as the end of the flight was deliberate and not the re- sult of loss of direction or a forced landing such as has terminated certain | other long-distance air journeys. * * * Pangborn and Herndon will deserve| whatever they may get out of their| great adventure. It was daringly con- ceived and skillfully executed. Others have flown farther.” But to these two now goes the palm for the longest air journey with only the unstable water as a landing fleld if fate should have forced them down.” TN | “It means that the Pacific Northwest is only two days or such a matter from China and Japan,” declares the Port- land Oregon Journal, remarking also that “it heralds the arrival of a new week e¢nd trip.” Tho Portland paper recalls that “the Wright brothers were in the air only 29 seconds in the first flight in a heavier-than-air machine,” and, reviewing other landmarks in avia- tion history, it concludes: “It is a long span from those flights to the 41 hours and 13 minutes in which Pangborn and Herndon flew from Samushiro Beach, Japan, to land at Wenatchee, Wash. It examples the powers of magical man. On the Old Oregon Trail the emigrants bound for Oregon made an average, in their covered wagons, of about 11! 41 hours and 13 minutes. It examples the courage of man. The difficulty and the perils of the flight challenged men to dare it. Whatever in the scheme of things appears as a defl to him is a call to man's daring to achieve it.” “This feat doubtless will stimulate interest in Pacific flying,” in the judg- ment of the Pasadena Star-News, mung out that “hitherto the Atlantic witnessed most of the adventurous air feats.” The Star-News is convinced that “California and the Southwest are ecially suited to air develop: ment,” and that “this region is des- tined to be a great world center of | aviation.” That paper also visions the development, with the statement as to future probabilities: *“The next few years doubtless will see remarkable de- velopmentss in flying over the Pacific Canadian hands the islands would re-|area. In truth, it is not unreasonable main an adjunct of the British Com- monwealth. ‘When Viscount Willingdon, now vice- | sooft as across the Atlantic. roy of India, was governor general of Canada, he advised extension of trade with the islands, after a trip to the West Indies, where he learned that the natives looked with favor upon coming under the government of the Dominion. The United States has no fear on account of British occupancy of these and the upper Bahamas guard the Flor- ida Channel. Aside from _their naval importance, however, the Indies gge rich sources of raw materfals .and markets for manu- factures, If 80 to the strategic islands. Doubtless Americans would rather have them in British ‘1_.1::& than in the pouu.u:l?ulgt any er European power. be transfererd to Canada, the feeling would not be altered greatly. to expect that commercial ajr trans- port across the Pacific may come as In that far future, which looms with such won- drous possibilities for this Pacific and transpacific region, embracing in its water-touched lands more than half of the entire human race—in that far fu- ture, air transport across the Pacific will unquestionably rise to first magni- tude and sus any other region on the face of t| ee:rt,‘lux' . * * . - “They Ka blazed a North Pacific they ?‘hl _the St. Louis Times, with e led comment: “We don't for & believe that it will soon become A. The first trading station, set up | The direction of the ob- | servatory is under the charge of the As- | who 1is sssisted by | Flyers’ Conquest of Pacific . Breaks Air’s Last Frontier 7% | water and serving like oatméml. . Q. Who was the first to progiose dav- light saving?—S. W. A. Benjamin Q. How much air is required o burn a gallon of fuel oll in an ofl-burning type of heater?—C. H. C. A. The Bureau of Mines says fnat |1t takes 1324 pounds of air. | Q. How long has the capital letter been used llu designate the Rrst person >—B. P. A. rinting ndicate the first person singular settled down to the capital 1. This is probably due to the fact that the small letter 1 lacks distinction and appeared utterly in- adequate when printed. Q. Has the mantle or cloak worn with British court dress any signifi- cance with regard to rank?—E. M, A. In formal court functions the ma- terial and trimming, such as bands of fur, etc., on mantles of royalty and the higher nobility is stflcllyr:[cfl' lated by law and custom with pect to the rank. . / Q. What is meant by s gadget?— E. T. R, A. Gadget is a slang term, the /mean- | ing of which is so broad that if seem- ingly can be applied almost Wwithout reservation. It is practically the equiv- alent of our expression, thing. ' Gadget may be applicd to any object! from & | can opener to a vanity case Q. Why do gasoline and have chains hanging down afd touch- ing the ground?—W. B. A. A chain is allowed drag on the ground to conduct to the ground static that accumulates whilg the truck is moving and thereby prevent ignition of the gasoline. 1 Q. Why was the disaster in San Francisco in 1906 spoken of as & fire instead of an eartnquake?— s introductfon of trucks quake. It When' fire of San Francisco was consumdd before the fire was under control. Q Was the Marquis of Quegnsberry who interested himself in boming the first marquis?>—C. B. T. A. John Sholto Douglas was the eighth Marquis of Queensberry and sat in the House of Lords from 1872 101880, Q How many people live in Valdez, Alaska’—D. B. H. i A Valdez is the shost northerly port in Alaska which is qpen during the Winter. It is also on {the great interior stage route. i Q. What portrait of Washington hp- pears on the current 2-cent stampe?— J.B.P. A This portralt of Washington v\p a 5 About 500 don bust. The Bicentennial issue ent stamps will bear a reproduction of the Gilbert Stuart portrait of Wash- ington, | engraved from a painting of the HOR popular_with tourists, but it 18 & begin- ning. One of these days the malls will follow one of the courses made this Summer, with stations at intervals, radio aids and other safeguards and guides. There was a time, as recent as 20 years ago, that night mail flights from Omaha to the Pacific over the Rocky Mountains could not have been. But now they are.” “The adventure.” as studied by the Columbia (S. C.) State, “was, perhaps, the most daring flight attempted since the flight of Lindbergh, alone and a novice in such a fleid and feat, across the Atlantic. The splendid and un- equaled courage of Lindbergh remains unchallenged. There are no more worlds to conquer, in a very significant sense. Until some solitary navigator rises into the air and flies without extraneous aid and without rest, either across some vaster stretch of sea. or dashes around the world in the stratosphere in a single flight, the achievement of Lindbergh's will not be matched or at least sur- passed. In the meanwhile, this superb air v ge across the Pacific, from Ja- pan to the United States, takes its place as the second .great achievement in human flight. We must always, how- ever, remember that the first Daedalian flight of the Frenchman Bleriot, across the Channel. will forever remain in & splendor all its own.” ive-Day Week Workers Estimated at 1,000,000 rom the Des Motnes Reg!ster. A survey made by the Department of Labor shows that 673 establishe ments, employing 200,000 workers, are now permanently on a five-day basis, These figures do not include the 420,000 building trades workers who also are on a five-day week. In fact, the total number of Americans now working en a permanent five-day basis has e ate® by the New York Labor Bu- reau at an even million. | The survey of the Deparfment of Labor shows that 44 per cent of the Natfon's automobilc “.orkers now have two days of leisure each week. Other observers of the five-day work week inc cent of the radio workf nt_of those engaged in dyeing and finishing textiles and 249 per cent of those employed in aircraft, The canvass, which included 37,857 establishments in 77 different | industries, showed that 2.4 per cent of these establishments and 5.6 per cent of all their employes were permanently on a five-day basis. We apparently need the five-day week, not only to insure the efficiency and well-being of the individual work- | er, but also to promote the consump- tion of economic goods. | The five-day week doubtless will be debated in Congress next Winter. The | Government, which now has 600,000 | employes, habitually has taken the lead lin reducing work periods. In 1840 President Van Buren proclaimed a 10- hour day for Federal workers. Thirty years later came the eight-hour day. The eight-hour day on Government contracts came in 1913 and recently the work week for stwl employes was | reduced to five and a half days. | The suggestion now is to reduce the | work week for Government employes to five days. The movement is spon- sored not only by Democratic leader: like Raskob, Smith and Robinson, but also by Republican spokesmen, like Senator Watson. The five-day seems like the ob- vious next step, but probably it will not be the last. Even as reactionary an economist as the late Lord Birken- head predicted in his bogk, “The World in 2030,” that a century hence the work week will be not longer than | two on three days. And nobody can be quite sure that even this radical prophecy may not be ful e trend, it should be emphasized, is not really a product of the depression, but is rather & ict of the forces that also produced the depression—a nate ural of the maching il i |