Evening Star Newspaper, October 18, 1931, Page 36

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. SUNDAY October 18, 1931 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: Pennsyivania Ave. k g i London: . “and Chicago Offiee Furopean Office: 14 Engla Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Frenine star .45¢ per month e Evening an ) “whea 4 Sunday .60c per month Erensy o TR Ran"s Bund ‘65c per montk Torfect e at the 51 egch mon, Solection ma 4 Orders may be sent in by mail ‘telephone NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Bally snf, Sundar.....13r. 91008 dme- ie Bindayonty (1550 34.00; 1 mo. 40c All Other States and Canada. Dally and Sunday...1yr., $12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 ily onl . yr., $8.00; 1 mo., 75¢ indey’ only 1350 3800 1 mo. 80¢ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusive/s satitled to the use for republication of ak. Lews ais- atches credited to it or not othe¥rise cred- ted in this paper and also the igcal news published herein. All rights of publicatio= of special dispatches herein are also reserved. ps A Socialistic Program. The Progressive conference, called by & handful of United States Senators last Spring, has drafted, through its Committee on Public Utilities, a far- reaching program—a program, indeed, which would revolutionize the attitude of the country toward public utilities. ‘The underlying theme of tirs program, which calls for much legisation, is a system of Government competition with privately owned and operatéd utilities. The Progressives lay down the premise | that “public control of all public busi-| ness is essential to self-government.” They insist that such control is now absent; that instead of the Govers- ment's controlling the utilities the utilities control the Government. The answer to such a situation, the Pro- gressives say, is te place in operation Government, owned and operated rail- roads, power companies and other public utility agencies. Through competition with the privately owned utilities the problem of control would be solsed. In all probability this program in the end would bring Government owRership and operation of all the public wtilities. It is idle to talk of “fair competition” between the Government and private citizens. Such competition results eventually in the Government's run- ning the private concerns out of busi- ness, if the Government enters into competition on a considerable scale. A Government intent upon making as good a record for itself as possible could mot afford to permit its own utility agencies not to compete success- fully with the privately owned utilities. Success in competition is a step toward elimination of the opposing competitor. Public utilities are clothed with a public interest which has coms to be more and more recognized in this coun- try. Supervision and control of public utilities by Government has been deemed necessary in the interest of the public. That is the system which the Progressives insist has not been ef- fective. Nevertheless, no people in the world are better served in matters of transportation, of communication and of light and power than the American people. The United States tried for the period of the World War Government opera- tion of one great public utility—the railroads. The country rejoiced when this period of Government operation was at an end. The Government, with its red-tape methods and its lack of initiative in instituting better and bet- ter service, did not shine in this fleld of endeavor. But of more moment to the American people is the danger of the establishment of/a huge political and governmental machine if the Gov- ernment takes over the railroads and other public utilities—a machine that would threaten the political as well as &ll other liberties of the whole people. Certain public utilities have been at fault in this country and the demand for greater regulation 1s justified. v dress Wednesdsy night, he may have gained in strength in the New York organization. After all, it was through the New York City organization that the former Governor got his start in politics. And the New York City or-| ganization is still streng, notwithstand- ing the pounding it has had at the hands of the Legislative Committee and the press. If Mr. Smith is to be a can- didate for the presidential nomination next year, he must have the backing of the organization, although at the same time such backing may cost him votes elsewhere. The situation is para- doxical. Of scarcely less interest is the fact that Mr. Smith in his address at Tam- many Hall attacked vigorously s proposed reforestation constitutional amendment which has been backed by Gov. Roosevelt. The former Governor did not mince words in talking about this amendment, and if reports are true, friends of Gov. Roosevelt are dis- gruntled, to say the least. The op- ponents of Roosevelt, who for one rea- son or another are anxious to prevent his nomination for President next year, on the other hand, are wondering if the hoped-for and much-predicted breach between Smith and Roosevelt has at last arrived in the open. The supporters of other candidates for the Democratic nomination for President believe that Smith, if he wished, can stop the nomination of Gov. Roosevelt. They are anxious that Smith should develop this wish. ——— Grand Jury Reports. Justice Proctor’s decision to expunge from the court records the recent grand jury report in the so-called Staples case is presumably backed by a weight of legal opinion and it is cer- tainly backed by sound, common sense. As he says, the grand jury's business is to indict, provided there is evidence to support an indictment. For indict- meat ‘& followed by trial and trial af- fords the opportunity, denied by other procedure, of defense in open court against accusers who must appear in open court. The grand jury has no business making reports, especially when such reports ridicule the funda- mental safeguards of our legal system by such phrases as denote a finding of guilt on the part of individuals there- after left without means or machinery to defend themselves. ‘There are two noted cases of special grand jury reports in Washington. One is the memorable McPherson case, when a grand jury found certain police officers guilty of acts of omission and commission in the investigation of a notorious affair. They were later ex- onerated by a special board of investi- gation, The other is the case in point, where the grand jury found officers guilty by name of ecriminal acts for which they could not be indicted Neither report had a place in the rec- ords of any court of justice. Justice Proctor suggests ‘that the cus- tom of making reports be stopped by the grand juries, as they should not fall into the attitude of regarding them- selves as “the general regulators of the public welfare.” That is probably the most direct method of preventing repe- titions of flagrant miscarriages of jus- tice resulting from past grand jury re- ports. For while it has becme accepted, in this jurisdiction at least, as proper for a grand jury to investigate and re- port on certain conditions, with sug- gestions for remedy, the latest paper emanating from this body indicates the extremes to which such extra-legal ac- tivities may be carried. There are THE SUNDA called, then go to the mearest hospital with full assurance that you will re- celve the best care that any human agency can guarantee.” That is the sort of answer that one expects from Washington's hospitals, and that is the sort of answer that The Star takes pride in here recording. ‘That guarantee, given and accepted in good faith, is all that is necessary. ———— A Plea for Harmony. Regardiess of the merits of the con- troversy between the District and Fed- eral Bicentennial Commissions or be- tween individual members of these bodies, harmony should be quickly re- stored, so that the task of staging a fitting celebration on the two-hun- dredth anniversary of the birth of George Washington, first President of the United States, can proceed along lines which will stimulate patriotism in every American. It is particularly un- fortunate that friction has arisen. Little enough time now remains to work | out, with thorough co-operation, the plans for making the year 1932 long remembered in history as a tribute to the Father of His Country, and in this short period there is no time for per- sonal controversy and none should oc- cur in any form or depree. ‘Washington the city, named after Washington the President, has a unique interest in the Bicentennial, Congress has recognized this fact by the appro- priation of one hundred thousand dol- lars to enable the National Capital properly to take its part in the elab- orate ceremonies. For this reason the District Bicentennial Commission has a useful and important work to per- form not only to enhance the pride of Washingtonians jn their city and their country, but to make this, the Capital of the Nation, the mecca for visitors from all parts of the country who come to worship at the shrine of the first President of the United States. By the same token, the National Commission, with its far-flung respon- sibilities in co-ordinating the activities of the forty-eight States and of the District of Columbia which will par- ticipate in the Bicentennial, has powers and obligations of supreme importance to make the event the Nation-wide celebration that it is intended to be. Friction of any sort should not be permitted to interfere with the com- pletion of a task that requires the best efforts of the most able men and women to make it a success. Certainly there is work for both the Federal and District Commissions to do, both separately and together, and all is to be gained or everything is to be lost according to the way in which it is done. ———————— The League of Nations is courteously disinclined to avoid any risk of Uncle S8am’s feeling slighted and on special occasions desires him at least to be mentioned as among those present. ————— ‘There is no lingering pique to pre- vent descendants of Lord Cornwallis from joining in the chorus when the Yorktown musicians strike up “Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot?” e Japan {s apparently ready for large problems and is willing to meet them simultaneously, both military or diplo- matic. - SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Conferences. ‘When folks would talk plain politics other agencies better equipped than are grand juries for the investigation® of conditions. And the grand jury has enough work as it is in the field that is reserved for its special cultivation. Expunging the grand jury report in the Staples case and removing any legal legs that it may heretofore have depended upon for its support should in nowise affect the investigation of that case now going forward by the Commissioners through their select committee of lawyers. In fairness to the accused, as well as to the public, it is necessary to know the facts in full As far as the accused are concerned Mainly their faults have been in financ- ing, with huge issues of securities sold to the public that were not warranted. Stock watering, however, has not been confined to the public utility corpora- tions. It has made itself manifest in business of all kinds. ‘The cure for this kind of offense is drastic regulation, drastically enforced. What the Progres- sives are proposing is, if carried through to its ultimate conclusion, state so- cialism. The jump from Government competition and operation in the utility fleld would unquestionably be followed by demands for the entry of the Gov- ernment into other, kinds of business. R Spain insists on expelling so many persons that progressive communities are likely to be disappointed when the census taker makes his next report. ——o—. His sinister picturesqueness vanishes ‘when Capone prepares an elaborate pro- test against paying taxes. The demen- stration lacks any element of originality. e Smith and Tammany. The speech delivered by Alfred E. Smith at the Tammany rally Wednes- day night has stirred politics, State and National, with a big ladle. His appear- ance with the Tammany leaders and his declarations in support of the Tammany candidates in the coming elections, in the face of the revelations by the Legis- lative Committee of the activities of Tammany officials in New York City, has done a great deal to align the for- mer Governor again with Tammany in the eves of the country. It was widely reported at the time that George Wash- ington Olvany retired from the leader- ship of Tammany thdt Gov. Smith was at odds with the organization because it had picked Jonn F. Curry, a district leader, to take Olvany’s place. The for- mer Geverner, it was said, believed that a man of a different caliber should be made leader. A great deal had beensald during the Smith campaign for the presidency in 1928 about the “new Tam- many.” The present investigation, how- ever, indicates that there is little new in Tammany, unless it be the size of the profits of the Tammany bosses. Gov. Smith's realignment with Tammany af this juncture makes any chance of his renomination for President even more remote when the Democratic National Convention meets next year. But while Gov. Smith may have lest nmsn’ly by his Tammany Hall’ad- the fat is in the fire and the harm has been done. In the truth lies their remedy and the truth should be made known. B ] Love of discipline evidently lingers in the Hohenrollern family when a grand- son of the former Kaiser says he en- Jjoys punching & time clock in an Ameri- can motor shop. In studying automobiles, Louls Ferdinand has already learned the value of obedience to an extent which will serve him well in case of encounter with a traffic officer. Amer- ica is a long way from Germany, but effacement of autocratic habits of thought is worth the trip. ———r—e— It is evidently difficult for Bishop Canaon to see why there should be so much agitation about a campaign con- tribution which, so far as praetical availability is concerned, has passed inte ancient history. ———r—e— Economy arranges to dispense with the Navy Band, which has won a high place in popular regard. It will be missed. No estimates have ventured to suggest that the eountry is suffering from an overpreduction of good musie B The Hospitals’ Responsibility. It is not believed that any of Wash- ington’s hospitals suffer from a lack of public eonfidenee and esteem. It is believed that every hospital is sub- Ject to the foibles of human judgment, and that hospitals, like any other in- stitution, make mistakes. And nothing 50 far stated by the hospital authorities serves to lewen the conviction that & little more reliance on the elements of tact, sympathy and human understand- ing; a little less reliance on rete and rule, would have prevented recent trage- dies that placed the hespita] autherities on the defensive. Not, one must un- derstand, the tragedies that lay in the death of twe children. No eme ean maintain that they could have been prevented. The tragedies lay, and still lie, in the picture of harassed parents transporting dying children from hes- pital to hespital. That sheuld not be. The Star asked, editorially, that the hospital authorities advise parents what to do in cases of emergency in order to prevent tragic and possibly fatal mis- understandings in the future. Thelr answer is, first, to eall & phy- sielan. But what is more important— “If for any reason one of these phy- siclans is not avalable or cannot be Down at the corner store, They didn't play the fancy tricks ‘We notice more and more. We didn't call for splendid speech Nor give the happy hand To one whose thought so deep would reach ‘We wouldn't understand. Down at the corner store we hear No argument by night. Far abler speakers persevere ‘With intellectual might. High hats and tailored coats they wear And dine across the seas. ‘We ask no lunch. The store can't spare The crackers and the cheese. Plain politics that once we knew Yields to the faney kind. Our meetings are no longer due ‘To aid the public mind. ‘The formal gathering must trace ‘The Nation's future plan. ‘The homely toiler now gives place To the white-collar man. Unwelcome Thought. “Don't you sometimes grow weary,” asked the sympathetic constituent, “and dream of retiring to private life?” “Did you say ‘dream’?” said Senator Sorghum. “Yes. Don't you dream of the old home and nothing to do but enjoy the sunshine and listen to the birds?” “That sort of an idea isn't & dream. It's & nightmare.” Jud Tunkins says he never yet founda weather prophet who knew how long it would be comfortable to wear a straw hat. Discretion Demanded. A boy, across his parent's knee, A proper spanking undergoes. Why intreduce the third degree And hit him with & rubber hose? Modern Conveniences. “So you put the jail on top of the City Hall.” “Yes,” answered Cactus Joe. be more economical.” “Will you put in an elevator?” “Not now. Crimson Guich hasn't progressed enough to expect any of them multi-millionaire prisoners who might object to climbin’ a few stairs.” “Itn “Contentment,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is & blessing, but some- thing for whieh indolence may be too easily mistaken.” Climate Dirge. We have cemplained all Summer long. We still complain just as ef ‘eld. By way of varying the song, Instead of “hot” we will say “eold.” “Good men is never sho™-nuff scarce,” sald Uncle Eben. “But when gunmen turns leese permisc’ous, you can’t blame de innocent an'.righteous foh bein' kind o' hard to find.” — e Why Not Sidetrack? Prom the Charlotte (N. €) ""‘acks PFrom the way railroad s lunging o T SRR t most of_f ) ol —PART TWO. ] BY THE RIGHT REV. JAMES Tezt: “The spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood upon their jeet.”—Revelations, xi.11. “The spirit of life” has been the world’s unending search. “‘Life whereof our souls are scant, More life and fuller that we want.” Well did the Great Preacher say of the abundant life, “The life full of completion haunts us all.” “We feel i the thing we ought to be beating be- neath the thing we are.” All through the ministry of Jesus he lay great stress upon life in all its fullness and richness. Repeatedly he told men that His supreme purpose was to give to life a finer, truer, nobler pu ‘While He, Himself, had not where to lay His head, and while He suffered at the hands of those to whom He came to minister, He again and again af- firmed His passion to restore life to fullness of service and to invest it with joy and satisfaction. l In the mysterious and fascinating Revelation of St. John the Divine the ! writer speaks of the restoration of life to those who had been long dead. In his lofty vision the seer seems to wit- ness the revival of those who had felt the paralyzing and destroying Wouch of death. It is a majestic and thrill- ing picture that he presents. Myste- rious as his vision is, it lays its appeal upon the human heaft. ‘The dignity and the beauty of life in all its fullness, in its realization of its highest ideals, is the desire of men the world over. No loftier view of man's ibilities has been given than that which proceeded from the Great Teacher and Master of men. He pre- sents a standard of living that finds no parallel the world over. In ‘the confusion and turmoil of the present world situation we are losing sight of life's real end and purpose. The standards by which we appraise life are low and mean. We are thinking too much in terms of efficiency, re- flrdln' man too much as & mere soul- less cog in some vast mechanism. Ma- terial things bulk so large in our vision that we appraise life by what THE SPIRIT OF LIFE E. FREEMAN, D. D, LL. D, Bishop of Washington. it represents in terms of capacity or in_terms of mere thsxm value. ‘The pressure that is upon us today is compelling us to seek new standards of valuation. Life is basic and its con- servation and security are indispensable to our weal as well as to our prosperity. Our youths are caught by the fictitious values that widely prevail. Even educa- tion and culture itself are considered in the light of what they may con- tribute to materia) well-being and prosperity. In our efforts to realize the ideals of some superman we seem to be forgetful of those deeper, finer values that grow out of a recognition of the soul. That was a fine phrase that the late war President struck off in his latest hour: “The world will not be saved materially unless it be redeemed spiritually.”. We doubt not that in his latest days as he restudied the values of life he saw the futility of the present trends of thinking and the failure to place a proper emphasis upon those deeper, truer values that have to do with the development and enrichment of men by compelling them to recognize the finer qualities of the soul. We can- not but believe that the very gravity of the present world situation is com- pelling men to think more seriously of these things. The head of one of our great corporations has recently affirmed that men are to be considered as of more value than machinery and that their well-being is a first concern as well as a first charge upon industry. The above text challenges us to recognize the true dignity of life. The call to man to stand upon his feet implies a recognition of his true stature | and worth in the sight of Alml(h(yl God. That a man is of more worth than a sheep was long ago affirmed by the prophet, but no one has so flncli’ taught the true worth of the dignity and purpose of life as did Jesus of Nazareth. In no one did He witness a situation beyond redemption. To rehabilitate, to restore broken lives and to invest them with a new sense of their possibilities, this was His high and holy aim. We sorely need His spirit in the world today. Gold and the Gold Standard Are to Be Discussed by Pre sident and Premier BY WILLIAM HARD. Gold and the gold standard will be one of the main topics of conversation between the American Government and the French government during the visit here of Prime Minister Laval of France, inning next Thursday evening. ance continties to withdraw gold from the United States in large sums. Part of the reason is revealed in the latest figures received here of the note circulation of the Bank of France France, like the United States, though in a less acute degree, is beginning to suffer from the hoarding of money, and thereupon is beginning to experience a money inflation. * k%% | The note circulation of the Bank of France has gone up $300.000.000 in a year. It went up $15,000.0000 in the| last week of record. The interpreta- tion given to that phenomenon here in governmental fiscal circles is that French depositors, like American deposi- tors, are taking money out of bank ac- counts and putting it into vaults and socks. In the United States the money in circulation has gone up alrost $1,000.- 000,000 in the last year and more than $40.000,000 in the last week of record In proportion as money gets withdrawn from the banks for hoarding and thus. although remaining technically in cir- culation, ccases to circulate, the banks are obliged to use their assets in such a way as to call new money into ex- istence. | This process is happening simul- taneously in both France and the United States. The world's two greatest gold | countries are at the same instant threat- | ened by dangers due to public lack of confidence in the business future. | o | The central idea of France in send- ing Prime Minister Laval here is that the Federal Reserve System of the United States on the one hand_ and the Bank of France on the other hand should more or less lean up against one another in order to support one another, and thereupon perhaps be able to help support the rest of the world. Already the Federal Reserve System and the Bank of France find themselves to be virutally partners in many impor- tant adventures. On November 1 there will be $125,- 000,000 of loaned credits repayble by the Bank of England to the Federal Re- serve Systan. On that same day a pre- cisely equal sum of money will be simi- larly_due by the Bank of England to the Bank of France, * X ok On November 6 the Reichsbank of Germany will owe $25,000.000 of loaned credits to the Federal Reserve System, | It will on that same day owe precisely that same amount of loaned credits to the Bank of Prance. These credit debts by the Bank of England and by the Reichsbank to the | Federal Reserve System and the Bank of France come due simultatneousely and in equal amounts and are thought by the French to require a common policy between the French and Amer- ican central banking authorities. At the same time the Bank of France and the Federal Reserve System have made credit advances (through the Bank for International Settlements at Basel, Switzerland) to the central banks | of Austria and of Hungary. French loans to Austria and to Hungary are invariably colored with political con- siderations and bargains. Our Federal Reserve System and our private banks strive to keep aloof from such bar- gains. It nevertheless becomes appar- ent that through our participation in advances of credit to the Austrian and Hungarian central banks we approach political matters on which a clear un- derstanding between ourselves and the French is imperative. * We and the French are partners again in a vast sum of money which will become due on August 28 of next year. That is the $400,000,000 due then from the British treasury, $200,000,000 of it to banking interest in France and $200,000,000 of it to banking interests in the United States. One of the most interesting features of all these debts is that they are wholly unlikely to be paid on the dates on which they are due. The chief point of agreement sought between France and the United States might be said to be the terms upon which renewals of the debts in question should be made.* *hxE Two other interesting debt dates of | next year may be mentioned. T July of next year the Germans will | be supposed to begin paying reparations again. Virtually nobody here thinks that they actually will. | In December of next year the ex-| allied governments of Europe are sup- to begin paying debts to the nited States Treasury again. Vir- tually everybody here thinks that the British government will be unable to resume paying, and that thereupon the French government, although presum- ably able to pay, will not be expected ek * K k¥ It will be argued that it would be unfair to let the British off and not at the same time let the French off. is argument is thnufiht likely to prevail. On the point of German reparations a certain exception must be made to the general rule that the Germans will not resume Dl{:ll It is o ible that they may pay the “unconditional” TR, G y e Frenc! ‘The m?eh will lose part of repa- rations, but will get part. Because of i | Paris, muost the part they lose and because of the argument to the effect that they should have equal treatment with the British they will stop paying us. That is the general expectation in Washington. * % % % I‘ So far, then, in the matters here con- sidered the French are on fairly eugal | terms with us. In the matter of the frozen credit loans to the Austrian Cen. tral Bank, to the Hungarian Central Bank. to the German Central Bank, to the Bank of England and to the British treasury they share equally with us the hardship of payment postponement. In the matter of reparations and of debts they lose some reparations and we lose | & corresponding amount of debts. In two other matters, however, they have clearly the advantage over us. * ok % % Early next vear the period expires during which the world's bankers have consented to allow their short-term credit advances in Germany to remain | there without withdrawal. The Ger- mans will then owe to American banks some six hundred million dollars. They will owe to French banks hardly any- thing. The Germans will be able to pay us little. We shall suffer a fur- ther imprisonment of large resources of ours in Germany. The French will suffer virtually nothing of the sort. The other matter advantageous to the French is that they have large as- sets in the United States which they can transfer into gold and recall to ‘We have few assets in France which we can similarly transfer into gold and recall to New York. * £k * In the last week of record we lost $218,000,000 of gold, largely to Paris This was happening while simultane- ously the hoarding of money within | the United States was still proceeding at a rapid rate. Both France and the United States are suffering from hoarding, but the United States is suffering from it much more than France. The United States is losing gold and France is not losing it at all, but gaining it. Our difficulty is thereupon a double one. For us the task of remaining on the gold standard depends upon our ability to rise above the combined shocks of currency with- drawals into private hoards at home and of gold withdrawals into PFrench pockets abroad. * If those two shocks should continue in their present combination and in their present strength for six weeks more, our Federal Reserve authorities would be extremely anxious about our situation. It is clear, then, that Prime Minister Laval will not be approaching President Hoover as a suppliant. France and the United States in the conversations be- ginning next Thursday evening will talk together on terms of at least equality in sustaining the world's gold standard burdens. (Copyright, 1931.) -1 | Drug Stores and Merchandizing BY HARDEN COLFAX. Conversion of the modern drug store | into a general merchandise shop is now recognized officially as an inevitable trend of American business methods that will make the old function of the apothecary less and less of a factor in the present-day establishment, which still is called a pharmacy. This, it was disclosed today, is in effect the first finding in a survey of drug stores of the United States which has been un- dertaken by the Department of Com- merce, with St. Louis as the “sample” clty for initial study. The prime purpose of the survey is to find out how the druggists can help eliminate some of the waste that causes our American distribution costs to be 50 high. Wroe Alderson of the De- partment of Commerce, who is one of those directing the inquiry, says the preliminary studies indicate that by a careful survey of the drug store as a merchandising rather than as a pro- fessional establishment. the druggists may be able to lop off some of the |- mbuz;: l?"l of us are now paying out of our nickels and dimes to the na habit of waste. e e The department’s investigators f¢ that a large burden—an unjustll;’:l:‘lg’ large one—is being carried by the mod- | ern’ drug store in this country in the form of overhead expenses, which are required by the maintenance of a pre- scription department. It is found also that the capacity of the average store to fill prescriptions is many times more than the present demam{ Moreover, in many cases, it is found these pre- ifi“em &o not. us‘hnw an adequate re- on the outlay for the - tion department. D) * ok ok % The druggist is, first of all, of & professional man who has 'i:“i::d’ himself to perform a most dificult task in the community. But in the mod- ern stheme of things, he must also be a good merchant. Even in Bupply- ing the public with the newly developed medicinal preparations, he must know how to conduct a merchandising es- tablishment. He sells nearly everything from tooth paste and thermometers to stationery and cigars, to say noth- ing of soft drinks and quick lunches. of these things, however, answer to the two types of néeds: The pre- scription, tollet goods and medicinal business on the one hand, and what may be termed, on the@ther, the things Capital Sidelights BY WILL P. KENNEDY. ‘With the National Capital enjoying and welcoming people from all parts of the country to Rock Creek Park, ad- mittedly the most magnificent tract of land for natural park purposes near any large city in the wnole United States, it is interesting to note that although legislation creating this park was introduced in Congress in 1866, it was not until 1892 that the measure secured the President’s approval. The Bicentennial celebration next year, bringing & great surge of people here from all the States, who will delight in the park facilities, will also be the fortieth anniversary of the park. In anticipation of the great throng| using the park who will need a con- venient outlet to the new Arlington Me- morial Bridge, past the Lincoln Memorial and on over the new memorial highway to Mount Vernon, work is being pushed rapidly on the connecting link between, known as the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, which will allow a flow of traffic from the park to the riverside drive and Hains Foint opposite the War College. Construction work is in progress be- tween Massachusetts avenue and P street, where a curbing is completed and the pavement is to be laid soon along the valley. The road is completed from the Zoo south to Massachusetts avenue. There is an open space be- tween P and K streets which is not de- veloped, but an agreement was reached this week whereby a bridge will be built across Rock Creek near K streetito carry the parkway over the creek. New pavement has been completed from K street past the gas works along the water front to connect Arlington Bridge, and a contract has been let to continue the paving of the ap- proaches and the bridge plaza. At the Massachusetts avenue entrance to the parkway on the south there is being put in s elaborate overpass sys- tem, including a bridge to carry traffic over the parkway itself. This eliminates the making of turns across the street in traffc. In addition to President n, many leaders in our national life helped to make this great park a reality. The late Senator Arthur Pue Gorman of Maryland, who worked his way up from & page in the Congvess, stressed the costly experience of Baltimore in its treatment of Jones Oreek. ‘“‘Washing- ton,” he said, “can now get a magnifi- cent park for what it cost Baltimore to wall up 1 mile of its creek.” Senator B. Gratz Brown of Missouri, grandson of the famous John Brown of Virginia and Kentucky, was one of the most eloquent early advocates of the measure, in the Thirty-ninth Con- gress. At the beginning of the Fifty- first_Congress Senator John J. Ing: of Kansas, a native of Middietown. Mass., and Senator Sherman sponsored a Rock Creek Park bill. which was passed in 1890. Three citizens appoint- ed by the President to the difficult task of selecting lands for the park prop- erty were Gen. H. V. Boynton, S. P. Langley and R. Ross Perry. With Gen. Thomas L. Casey, chief of Engincers: Col. Robert, Engineer Commissioner, they formed the commission for plat- ting the park. Capt. W. T. Rossell socn succeeded Col. Robert as Engineer Com- missioner and a member of the Rock | Creek Park Board. *x %% ‘The movement of the Association of | Oldest Inhabitants to raise funds for a new home or to have a museum hall in the new District of Columbia municipal group being erected on the north side of Pennsylvania avenue between Third |and Sixth streets, recalls the old vol- unteer fire companies in one of whose famous houses the association now holds its meetings. In the early days there were six efficient fire companies— the Columbian, the Columbia, the ‘Washington, the Franklin, the Phoenix and the Anacostia. In Georgetown there were three—the Vigilant, the Eagle and the Columbian. A later com- pany was the Union, in whose house, at Nineteenth and H streets the asso- clation now holds its monthly meet- i Ings and has on exhibition a rich col- ection of old reli souvenirs and trophies of early Washington. * k% % ‘The recent use by the President and Secretary of State of the telephone in transoceanic_and transcontinental ne- gotiations which resulted in the World War foreign debt moratorium, which revolutionized international diplomacy; the passing of many historic landmarks in the National Capital, and the serious condition of the electrical wizard. Thomas A. Edison—all prompt the writing of this “sidelight.” Washington has many historic spots which unfortunately must be wiped out by the forward march of “progress.” Many of these are of epochal business and industrial development. though most of them have their particular interest through connection with the life of the Government. Shortly after Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, more than 55 years 2go in an attic in Bostcn, with Thomas A. Watson as the only other person present at the birth of this de- vice, which has revolutionized modern life, Emile Berliner produced the first notable improvement on this original invention. Berliner's contribution to the marvelous chain of telephone develop- ment was the making of the transmit- ter. Working as a drygoods clerk du: ing the day time, he spent his evening hcurs studying and experimenting in a small room on the third floor of the house at 812 Sixth street northwest, Washington, D. C. Mr. Berliner’s invention has played a most_important part in the transaction of Government and privae business, not only in the National Capital, but throughout the entire United States, and the world at large, for more than half a century. It will be remembered that Alexander Graham Bell's invention was simply a telephone receiver. One talked into it and then received the reply from the same instrument. Berliner invented a transmitter that was more closely the fcrerunner of that used today. erliner received a patent on his in- vention, but two weeks later Thomas A. Edison invented a transmitter and the Western . Union Telegraph Co. claimed his was the prior invention. After Bell's supporters took up Berliner's patent the case became involved in the historic controversy between the Bell System and the Western Union, finally result- ing in a decision by the United States Supreme Court that Berliner, and not Edison, was the original inventor of the transmitter. we buy on the spur of the moment. The druggist has learned the value of selling through sight and touch. He caters to what may be called impulse buying. He knows that articles well displayed in his store can often sell themselves more readily and easily than a clerk could do by talking. Ther fore, the druggist finds himself na urally called upon to push pioneer merchandise and novelty goods. * K x X In this survey now being made the prescription department of the store will be studied fer its profit-pay- ing pessibilities and its relation to other parts of the store. Customers will be asked what pleases them and what they de not care for in the drug stores they usually patronize. * ok kK ‘The investigation has gone far enough already, Mr. Alderson says, to predict “quite confidently that the destiny of the American drug store lies for the most part in the field of merchandise. “There is,” he concludes, “no doubt, a plece for & number of strictly profes- sional establishments engaged only in filling prescriptions. Only a small pro- n of the 50,000 drug stores in the country can find an outlet in this direc- tion. Most will be forced to become merchants to a very increas- Ing degTee. copyriatt, 1991 U. S. Dollar Becomes World Standard BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘The American dollar in any form today is the soundest raoney ever known in_the history of the world. It is the only currency of a major nation which has stood successive on- slaughts on the gold stanzard. Even as the American Government stands as| the oldest government today, the | United States currency stands as the senior gold standard medium. Established in 1900, the American gold standard has stood firm against the flighty panic of 1907 here, the stress of the World War, the depression of 1920-21, the period of currency in- | flation aH over the world, and today is | supporting & richer currency than at any time in these 30 years. In that period, the’ sturdy English pound sterling twice has collapsed. After the World War, the Bank of ngland was_unable to continue gold | Nations never willingly go off the payments. The German mark, the |gold standard. They gn'm gxorcod off French franc, the Russian ruble, in when their central banks are unable short, every major currency v nt down |to meet demands for gold. If Ameri- the steep path of inflatio:, some 10| cans need any as-urance as to the sta- destruction. Once again, the British | bility of the American currency system, pound has been forced from the gold they may understand that today the standard, with some other European | United States is in a position io let perhaps, $3.75. But the 1900 dollar is worth its face value. The remarksble thing is that it is worth its face va.ue not only at its home Treasury but everywhere in the world. In spite of this extraordinary situa= tion, large numbers of Americans have begun hoarding money, especially what gold they cculd obtain, and at some European capitals there have been whisperings of an impending American collapse. Every one who reads news- pepers at all knows that America is fet popular in Europe. This unpopularity springs from envy of our firm solidity. It seems to the European nations, whose currencies have gone awry, too wonder=- ful to be true that the United States dollar could withstand every attack and |held firm through the vicissitudes of | war and depression as it has. countries following. Although France is being pointed | to as strong in her gold position with an unassailable franc, such an cstimate is less than fair. France has, indeed, stable unit, but it is a debased one. ‘The stable franc of today is not the franc of the days before the war. The old franc was worth 20 cents; the pres- ent one but 4 cents. Yet the American dollar is the came dollar that was set up in 1900 and has not varied a hair's breadth in value in all that time. The newspapers recently have printed | the story of an eccentric old woman, | Mrs. Ida E. Wood of New York, 93| vears of age, who was found to have been hoarding $400,000 in actual cash. | She had kept this money in hiding | from 30 to 50 years. No matter what form that cash is in, whether gold cer- tificates or greenbacks, she can, after all these years, take that money to the Treasury and get gold for it, dollar for dollar. She can deposit it in a bank and her bank book will be cred- ited with the full face amount. Reasons for Stability. ‘The American need but consider this for & moment to realize how splendid & currency he possesses. Had the woman been a German, & Frenchwoman, an Austr & Russian, or of almost any | g0 of the colossal sum of more than $2.000,000,000 in gold coin or bullion and still hold the gold standard high and unimpaired. Nearly $5,000,000,000 in gold is held in the United States, and most of it is in the Treasury and the Federal Re- serve banks. This gold is largely used as a reserve against Federal Reserve notes, one of the forms of circulating currency, and against other forms not specifically secured by gold. Under the law these Federal Reserve notes must at all times have not less than 40 per cent gold reserve behind them in aZ- dition to the ccmmercial paper ba ing which gives them complete cover- age. Richest Major Currency. Even at 40 per cent the Federal Re- serve currency remains the richest major currency in the world. Other currencies have but 30 or 35 per cent gold behind them even when on their firmest basis. Leaving this full 40 per cent behind these notes, the United States could export $2,000,000,000 of gold on demand. Further, there is another tremendous resource of gold. Approximately $1,700,- 000,000 of gold certificates are in cir- culation. Each one certifies that there is on deposit in the Treasury of the nationality other than American, the | United States 5 gold dollars or 20 paper money issued so long ago .which | gold dollars, or whatever the denomi- she presented today would be laughed | nation calls for. These certificates tell away. It would be useless, or greatly |the truth. The gold is there and may depreciated. There are doubtless many | not be touched for any other purpcse persons in America who had on hand |than the redemption of these gold cer- odd amounts of German or French | tificates. In case of need the Treasury money or even English money before | could quietly retire hundreds of millions the war. Upon presenting that now, of these from circulation. There still they would find most of it entirely would be the large volume of other worthless and all of it worth less than | kinds of sound currency, but for every its par value. It requires little imag- | gold certificate retired the amount of ination to visualize the reception one‘aflual gold which was held against it would receive upon presenting a 1900 would be released for export if de- Russian ruble to the state bank at Mos- | manded. cow today. A 1900 franc would indeed | So here we find $3.700,000,000 of po- be recognized, but the holder would not | tentially expertable gold in American get 20 cents for it; he would get but 4 | hands which could be parted with and cents. A British pound worth $4.86 in | still leave us a gold standard nation. 1900 would bring the day's quotation, | We still would have more than England. Fifty Years Ago“ In The Star Charles J. Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield, was arraigned Oc- 2 tober 14, 1881, before Arraignment jucge Walter 'S. Cox | of Guiteau. of the District Su- | preme Court. The | Star's report of that day says: | “At 11:15 o'clock, preceded by Marshal Henry and Deputy Willlams, and flanked by Bailiff Tall and a detective, the prisoner came into court and was | shown to & seat in front of the clerk's desk. He walked with a nervous step and his restless eyes seemed to indi- cate that he was somewhat frightened. He was attired in a black suit and striped calico shirt. He was hand- cuffed when brought in. Guiteau looked broken in health and uncared for in person. His hair is closely crop- ped, but his cheek and chin whiskers | are worn thick but not long. His dark clothes were rusty and shabby and his whole person presented a remarkably | neglected appearance. He stood merv- | ously before the bar, with his left wrist tightly clasped by his right hand, | and with eyes nearly closed, the lids | tremblirg constantly. “Col. Corkhill remarked: ‘May it please the court, the grand jury have indicted Charles J. Guiteau for the murder of James A. Garfield. and the | prisoner being in court I ask his ar- raignment.’ The court acquiesced and the prisoner was directed to stand. His handeuffs had in the meantime been removed. Mr, Frank Williams, the clerk, rising. said: ‘Is your name Charles J. Guiteau?” The prisoner: ‘It is.’ | “Mr. Williams proceeded to read the | indictment, the prisoner !\unflmg_up.‘ with his head most of the time inclined to the right shoulder, his eves half closed or wholly so, his hands crossed | as if they still wore the handcuffs. and | his general air that of sickly indiffer- ence. The reading occupled nearly half | an hour, and during all that time Gui- | League Prestige at Stake In Manchurian Issue BY A. G. GARDINER. LONDON, October 17.—Behind the tumult and the shouting of the ex- traordinary election campaign now in progress the deepest anxiety prevails in political circles here in regard to the momentous controversy between Geneva and Tokio. Apart from the gravity of the sit tion in Manchuria, it is realized that the prestige of the League of Nations and the prospects of the coming Dis- armament Conference are at stake. The fundamental issue is whether the pacific machinery for settling interna- tional disputes can prevail. As the London Times remarked, if it had been desired to dramatize the difference be- tween the methods of the old diplomacy and the new, an issue could hardly have been more effectively staged than in the struggle now being waged with bombs and machine guns in Manchuria and with arguments and discussions in Geneva. * %% E The League has never before had so formidable a conflict with one of its major members, and it is agreed that if it emerges victorious its authority will be enormously enhanced. The alterna- tive of failure will leave the League humiliated and the future stability of the world gravely imperiled. The most favorable fact in the situ- ation, from the English point of view, is the cordial co-operation of the United States in the efforts of the League to effect a pacific settlement. Secretary Stimson’s action is much the most strik- ing gesture of American readiness to support the League in a grave cmer- gency and removes the most serious difficulty to application of economic pressure, if that course unfortunately is found unavoidable. * x xox Great satisfaction is expressed in the English press at the decision of the League Council to override Tokio's ob- jection to the United States being in- vited to participate with the Council in consideration of the Manchurian dis- teau hardly once changed his bearing | pute, It is admitted that there is some and rarely opened his He did not | force in Foreign Minister Shidehara’s manifest the slightest degree of interest | areiment that mever before when a in the scene in which he was the chief | controversy arose between member states actor, and but for an occasional slight | of the League has the United States movement might be supposed to be asleep in a standing attitude. “Mr. Williams concluded reading the indictment and asked: ‘What say you to this indictment? Are you guilty or not guilty?” The prisoner took from his pocket a paper. Col. Corkhill: ‘En- ter your plea of guilty or not guilty.’, The prisoner: ‘Well, your honor, I en- ter a plea of guilty and desire to make a statement’ Judge Cox: ‘You can make it some other time.’ The prisoner took his seat. . “Col. Corkhill: ‘T now desire this case to be set for trial Monday morn- ing next, peremptorily.’ " A brief discussion ensued between Mr. Secoville, counsel for Guitedu, who pleaded for a longer period of prepara- tion, and Col. Corkhill, and Judge Cox finally ruled as follows: Tt is important to the interests of public justice that all cases of the gravity of this should be tried as speed- ily as is consistent, with a fair oppor- tunity to defendant to prepare for trial. I appreclate the necessity for time when evidence is to be brought from a distance, and the diligence already em- ployed by counsel is an evidence to me that there are witnesses at a distance that are necessary to be summoned and whose testimony will be important. I must consult somewhat, however, the other engagements of this court in fix- ing a date for the trial of this case, and I think the most convenient time for the court and the time which will sufficiently accommodate the prisoner will be the 7th of November, which is {‘Monday—three ‘weeks from next Mon- 8y, “I cannot ignore the additional fact that there is a preliminary question that will be raised—the question of the Jurisdiction of this court over the case and which rises on the face of the rec- ord. Until that question is decided there will be no trial, nor could there be a trial. If this question must be dis- cussed I want it discussed at once, or anyhow by the 30th of the pres- ent month, in order that it may be out of the way. In regard the application to allow the costs of witnesses, their attendance fees and mil I will examine the statutes and make such an order as I may be authorized to make, I have no dispo- sition not to exercise the full power with which I may be clothed to secire the attendance of all witnesses whose evidence may be material, and there- ?urr :m::ve'; the laws llle:‘m to do ; o regard. t will fix the & for the m-f the 7th day of next month.." been asked to take part, and that, while Japan is ready to welcome the United States joining the League, the departure | from practice in the present case is resented by Japan as an act of ques- | tionable friendliness toward that coun- | try. But the patient insistence of Lord | Reading, the British foreign minister, |on America's interest in the blem | and the practical necessity of the most | immediate means of communication be- | tween the League and the State De- partment carried the Council in favor of the innovation. e e While there is no disposition to ig- { nore Japan's cause for a grievance on | the ground of provocation in Man- churis, informed opinion here is em- phatic in regard to the unwarrantable character of the measures taken by the Japanese military. The Times con- demns the desire of the Tokio govern- ment to negotiate with China from the vantage ground of occupied territory as a procedure in strict accordance with the customs of the old diplomacy, but inconsistent with the principle of League diplomacy and with the obliga- tions which the members have assumed under its covenant. In the opinion of League experts here, the Council has allowed the situa- tion to develop unduly, and it is felt that decisive economic action would | have been justified at an earlier sta under the provisions of the nine-power treaty signed in Washington in 1922, Article seven of that treaty explicity forbids individual action by any signa- tory state, such as that taken by Japan in Manchuria, without the agreement and sanction of the other signatories. without complete sacrifice of its pres: tige, condone the act of flagrant in- subordination which defies not only the specific undertal of the treaty but e obligations of the covenant and the terms of the Kellogg pact. * K x ¥ If Japan had accepted the arbitra- tion of the League and then, in default of gaining satisfaction, had taken action, she would have had some de- fense; but the action of the army puts Japan out of court and places China indisputably in the position of the aggrieved party. If the League fails to secure respect for its own fundamental principles, a fatal blow will be,struck at this pacific ization of the world and China be tempted to turn to Russia for help which Geneva failed to give. {Copyright, 1931.) the