Evening Star Newspaper, December 4, 1931, Page 8

A8 THE EVENR With Sunday Morning Edition. " WASHINGTON, D. C. PRIDAY.......December 4, 1081 THEODORE W. NOYES. ... Editor Rate by Carrier Within the City. ening Btar . 45¢ per month B Binday Sar s Bundaver " o soc per month | vening and Sundsy #ar | ehen dare) 65¢ per month | e Bunday St Sc per copy Gollection made at the end of each month telephone | Orders may be sent in by mall or NAtional $000. Rate by Mafi—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. and Sunday.. ...} yr.$1000. 1mo Bl =2 TG A y only . 1yr. $400: 1mo 86c All Other States and Canada. ily and Sunday. $12.00° 1 mo. inday only . 1900 1 mo $5.00: 1 mo.. Member of the Associated Press. ‘Tre Agsociated Press is exclusiv %o the upe for republication ol Foiches drediied To 1t ot not ot 5 Daper and. also ‘i P‘:glll‘:r h!lvr hts of publi-ation of special clspatcl in are also reserved. 1yr 1y, hes her | taxation and probably for some revision | 92 | pression }puhflr until his annual mescage is read — | governmental revenues, since it is obvi- Preparations for the Marchers. It is encouraging to note the com- plete lack of hysteria on the part of | public officials concerned with the dem- | opinion advanced by Secretary Mellon onstrations planned here on Monday | there are those in Congress who will in- | sist that the tax laws be revised so as and Chief of Rolice Glassford has|to raise all of the needed increased | revenue by means of setting at new | heights the rates imposed on the larger by the sclf-styled “hunger marchers shown commendable wisdom and com mon sense in making the extraordinary plans for adequate police protection | should the demonstration lead to at- | tempted violence on the part of either | the demonstrators or the spectators. These marchers, no matter whether they are Communists, Socialists, Re- publicans or Democrats, are presumed to be, first of all and s such they posses protection by the police the exercise of free speech and of as- sembly and of petition. Many of them are coming 8 long way to stage their show in Washington. They have a message to deliver or & petition to pre- sent or a cause to plead and the au- thorities are making every effort to al- | Jow them to fulfill the purposes of their | mission and to depart in peace the right to the right to | gations riding in trucks and automo- | biles will be met at designated entrances | P20 and women who in the past-have | to the city by police and escorted to quarters now being sought for them. Food and housing are to be provided by citizens here, and on Monday the peti- tioners will parade to the Capitol. Their delegates will be allowed to enter the Capitol Building and to present their | petition or deliver their speeches to those selected to receive them. ‘There have been a minimum of “Thou Bhalt Nots” and an extraordinary effort to leave the marchers undisturbed. ‘Whatever rules are laid down for them ‘would apply as well to a demonstration planned by the American Legion, the ‘Woman's Christian Temperance Union or any other body of American citizens. Whether the plans for fair play will be carried out depends upon the men snd women who are coming to Wash- ington for this demonstration. It is idle to belleve that their ‘“hunger march” represents any spontaneous sentiment that has chosen this form of expression. The affair has been care- fully plenned in sdvance and carried out at what obviously has been some expenditure of money. It shows the ‘work of some very modern and skillful organizers. Unlike the march of the Ppeasants of Essex, who followed Wat Tyler to London, or of the women of Versailles, there has been no swelling tide of recruits to join the ranks of the marchers as they near the Capital. Be- cause of the traditional methods of Communists, who have organized this affair, it is natural to anticipate their preference for the colorful clashes with the “Cossacks” that would fill the head- lines here and abroad. It would be sbsurd to discount such possibilities. But it is to be hoped that these men | Robinson indicated that he might not and women are coming to Washington | be against a limited sales tax which message peacefully. | would fall on sales of so-called luxuries to deliver their ‘They should by now be asstred of the fact that persons seeking to interfere | may with them will be taken care of by the police. They can best plead their cause and win the sympathy they seek by re- straining any of their violently inclined fellows, and by abiding by the regula- #ions laid down for them to follow oo The annual report of the director of public buildings and public parks calls attention to the rapid deterioration of the exterior of the Washington Monu- ment, citing the possibility of persons in its vicinity being struck by small | falling fragments. Guess it will have to take to cellophane, like everything else ——me— Senator Davis of Pennsylvania has begun to turn controversy into actuality. He has “anted-up” five thousand dol- | lars toward unemployment relief. Now | it is up to Gov. Pinchot either to “see” | or to “raise” him. All hope it may be & record-breaking “pot.” b It is & curious thing how often Chi- Mese regular troops in Manchuria fool | the Japanese into thinking that they are bandits. — gt Wanted; a Traffic Solomon. Washington s apparently not slone | YP¢-” e o in its diffictities with all-night parkers, 2Nd Brapple” game, he is not entirely New York has a parking problem of dts own, according to the Board of Trade of that city, which recently de- manded of Commissioner Mulrooney that he immediately clear the strects news that the procpects for an early ®f the trifie of one hundred and twenty- four thousand all-night parkers on the ground that the vehicles constitute a fire hazard expressed himself in agreement with the representatives of the civic organi- |to let the proposed internat: 3ation as to the desirability of enforcing | mission of inquiry be the Judge as to the parking regulation, but pointed out | whether Japanese forces zre being with- to them that from a practical stand- point it was almost an impossible task. | Motorists who have been tagged and fined, he said, supply themselves with tags and each night pin one on the steering wheel so that the police will not bother them, and other subterfuges are used by motor car operators to escape the regulation. Besides these tricks Commissioner Mulrooney c.ited the very obvious fact that there are not sufficient garages in the city to house the automobiles, and the large fees now charged in garages work hard- ahip on the owners of th® machines. ‘The commissioner’s stzl ient is al- most identical with that made by the N | ous that | values |In the great incomes in this country. American citizens | Efforts to take from the larger in- {about the neck of American business, 11929 incomes above $5,000,000 totaled As it is now understood, the dele-|MOre than $360,000,000 end in 1930 | although advocates of a general sales | tax urge the need of a measure that will | point out that a diminution in the pur- ; tion of wealth.” taxation that would be too great a drag |on business. At the same time he be- should fall in the main on those citizens | best |of framing the tariff bil will fall | first on the House Ways and Means | mittee will pass to a House of Repre- | { | The police commissioner | tions to the League of Nztion's Man- ficlals in regard to the demand of the Fine Arts Commission that Washington streets and parks be swept clear of stand- ing vehicles. Prom an esthetic standpoint and for the removal of a fire hazard it is desirable that the use of the streets be primarily for moving vehicles, but what is to be done with the cars of thousands of parkers after they are re- fused permission to park? It is quite evident that no trafic Solo- mon has yet put in his appearance to solve the problem. Until he does it is quite likely to remain unsolved. e The Problem of More Revenue. Within a week President Hoover's recommendations regarding the need of increased revenue to meet governmental expenditures will be before Congress. These recommendations, it is believed, | will call for an increase in Federal of the present tax structure to make it a better money raiser in times of de- The President’s decision re- rding tax legislation will not be made in the Congress. The Secretary of the Treasury, however, has told the country that it is & mistake to attempt to rely almost entirely upon the income tax for whon business falls off and; shrink, incomes shrink with them Notwithstanding the soundness of the incomes. During the two years of the business depression in the United States there has been a tremendous shrinkage At the same time there has been a great shrinkage in the earnings of in- dustrial corporations, taken as a whole. comes of the country and from corpora- tions the increased taxes required might Dot only prove ineffective, but also, in | all probability, would hang a new load | now struggling back from the depths of the depression. The business depression bas hit hard not only the worker in this country but the rich man. For example, in had shrunk to $122,000,000 plus. Many had incomes considered large today find themselves either destitute or with incomes barely large enough to mee: moderate living expenses. The Congress will be faeed with the task of bringing about tax revision that shall be just, as well as sclentifically designed to raise the money actually neeced. If there are to be increases in the income tax rates, ss undoubtedly will be the case, there must also be a broadening of the basis upon which the income tax structure is erected. There will be necessity to revise the personal exemptions permitted with a return more closely, to the exemptions al- lowed when the revenue laws of war days were in effect. At present the personal exemption s $3,500 for a| married man or the head of family, plus $400 for each minor or other de- pendent, and $1,500 for each single person. If the advice of Becretary Mellon is to be followed, however, the tax re- vision must go further than increasing the rates on big incomes and spreading the income tax over more incomes. Excise taxes of one kind or another seem imperative. There is substantial support in both houses of Congress for a general sales tax, and particularly in the Senate. The supposters of such a tax insist that it is not only effective, but rests so lightly on sales as a whole that it will not prove a severe burden to the people. A number of the Re- publicans have declared themselves in oppositicn and Senator Robinson of Arkansas, Democratic leader, in a re- cent statement took s stand against a general” sales tax. However, Senator or non-essentials only. prove the Such a measure ultimate sclution, be sure to raise the money required and cheses of non-essentials might prevent that result. The Democratic leader of the Senate in his statement on taxation declared against any system of taxation whose purpose primarily was & ‘“redistribu- He is opposed also to lieves that the burden of taxation able to carry it. The duty Committee, which will be dominated by the Democrats, and from that com- sentatives Democratically controlled. The country will await with interest the action of the Democratic House in this position of responsibility. - r——— A University of Kansas educator scores the methods of American enjoy- ment, declaring that we are drifting toward “the Roman, or hippodrome If he has in mind the “grunt wrong. ———— Peace—On Japan's Terms. Paris cebles bring the disccuraging scttlement of the Sino-Japanese con- fllct recede into the dim and distant future, as a result of Japanese objec- churian peace plan. Japan is unwiiling 2l com- drawn as rapidly as they ought to be. The Tokio government furtheimeore in- sists upon the right to suppress recur- rent banditry, Japan, of course, being the only authority empowered to say what is “banditry” and when its sup- pression by military force is warr-nied. There is opposition, too, to a projecied stipulation by M. Briand, precident of the League Councll, that if Japanese troops sally forth upon &n anti-bandit expedition, neutral observers shall ac- company them 3 STAR'W&&WMMI plan which Japan now threatens o quibble to death. Even if the scheme had been accepted as a whole at Tokio, actual conditions would not in all prob- abflity have undergone any change seri- ously jeopardizing Japan's stranglehold in Manchuria. The Paris pact, providing for withdrawal of Japanese troops within the South Manchurian railway eone, for cessation of military operations by both Japan and China, and for inde- pendent examination of the whole con- troversy, would not have altered by & jot or a tittle the grim fact which! Japan has accomplished. i That fact is that she is today in in-| vulnerably intrenched oocupation of, Manchuria. That fact is that she can be dislodged from the three great prov-| inces of Fengtien, Kirin and Heilung- kiang only by force, that is, war. That | fact is that since last September she has | through concerted military movements | possessed herself, in succession, of the | three caplitals and strategic centers of those respective provinces—Mukden, Kirin and Tsitsihar. That fact is that Japan has done all this, with & help- less League of Nations and a reluctant United States looking on, viewing with alarm and doing nothing. Yesterday Gen. Honjo, commander in chief of Japanese military forces in the occupied provinces, issued what amounts to a proclamation of | the annexation of Manchuria. It was addressed to foreign newspaper men at his headquarters in Mukden. It announced, with smug complacency, that Japan intends to establish and maintain for the benefit of all countries the principle of the open door in the new territory that has now fgllen into Japanese hands—Chinese territory, ter- ritory the size of France and Italy com- bined and territory containing 30,000,000 inhabitants. With disarming candor Gen. Honjo even informs the world why “Japanese boys” have taken Man- churia—"they are aware that Japan wants room to breathe’ Such is the result of less than three months of decisive war and irresistible diplomacy which Japan has conducted, not alone against defenseless China, but against a Western world which naively imagined it could stay the advance of infantry, artillery and bombing planes with parchment in the form of the League covenant, the nine- power treaty and the Kellogg pact. Paris’ skepticism about the virtue of | disarmament conferences with the Manchurian fiasco staring baffled na- | tions in the face is more than com- | prehensible. ez ot < An Italian man has been divorced from his Japanese wife after thirteen years of connubial bliss because he con- sistently preferred spaghetti and she rice. Could they not have compromised on string beans? —ate—— Fees of British election clerks and helpers are being reduced, according to foreign dispatches. Possibly this is be- cause they hold such affairs so much more often than in some other coun- tries, e A new town was named “Dictionary” because, its settlers pointed out, that is “the only place where peace, prosperity and happiness are always found.” How about “Political Platform”? e Oysters yield the best pearls at about four years of age. Men yleld the best ones when they are about fifteen times that. SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Joyous Abundance, Oh, libraries fair Are put up everywhere, And they add very much to the view. Their shelves will display An extensive array Of enlightening worksegld and new. The true student will wait Till the hour has grown late And read with enjoyment complete; The days as they fly Unobserved pass him by. He would much rather study than eat. So why should I fear Though fresh eggs may be dear, And the beefsteak & luxury rare? Why bother my soul ‘With the price pald for coal ‘When the library’s heated with care? I'll get me a book In a well lightdd nook Afar from all talk unrefined About things you eat. ‘With economy neat, I'll subsist upon food for the mind. Oratorical Purpose. “Your speeches have given me a great deal to think about,” said the admiring constituent. “That isn't their object at all,” pro- tested Senator Sorghum. “I don't want to persuade you to sit down and think. I want to stimulate you to get out and hustle for me and the public welfare.” Jud Tunkins says Puritanism isn't liable to hurt the country near as muth as Impuritanism The Coming of Christmas. Behold the man with wrinkled brow! Such circumstances try him. Himself he stinteth nobly now \ That he will pay, he hath & vow, For gifts his wife shall buy him. Vocally Overwhelmed, “You say that man has no con- science?” “Well,” replied Farmer Corntossel, “mebbe I oughtn't to say that. But if he has one, it can’t be much use to him. They say conscience is a still, small voice, an’ the way he talks would keep 1t drowned out all the time.” From Year to Year. Last year's coats And last year's shoes, Last year's votes And last year's views; Last year's songs And last year's cheers, Last year's wrongs And last year's tears. Fancy wove A promise strange. As we rove, - How slight the change! Still we hear, With hopetul glee, Of the year % That's yet to be. Under all these circumstances, it is painfully clear that the Manchurian crisis is back where it was deadlocked ten days ago before Paris hatched the “Den't put yoh trust in appearances,” R. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY, DEC THIS AND THAT ‘The tie-up began at the soup tion, m’npldly worse at the meats and turned into a perfect block at the cake counter. Every Tom, Dick and Harry in the cafeteria line had to make up his mind as he went along. It was a difficult task. It caused trouble. It is a difficult job at best, even when seated. Every one kgows how the aver- age person hems d haws over the chofce of what to eat for the noontime meal. An observer might think that a hu- man being had never seen a menu card before to watch him so perplexed over what to eat and how much. Here was the one big fault of the cafeteria system. Here was a long line of people, walking along, at the same time attempting to decide what to select for their lunch. And whst a time they were having of it! Breads and soup came first. 'The momentous question of whether to eat hard rolls or soft or to take muffins, after all, occupied thelr entire attention. ‘The man behind might be able to make up his mind easily enough, but the lady ahead of him was in & quan- dary. And because she was undecided be- tween hard rolls and soft rolls she stopped. Somehow it is easier to de- cide when one stops. This stopped the man who had made up his mind and the young fellow who was anxious to choose muffins but had not been able to make the muffin point as yet. It stopped the lady in the big hat, completely out of style, who wanted rolls coated with poppy seed. It held up, seel ly forever, the gentleman who wan no bread at all but only ice cream. * ook ok At the meats, of course, the traffic Jam became worse. The selection of a meat 18 always a moot question. It may be a far day from the heyday of the meat diet when no household thought it could exist on less than half a dozen different meats at a_meal, with perhaps & couple of potpies thrown in as entrees. Meat still is eaten in vast quantiti Thousands of people would prefer not eat at all unless they could have omething solld,” as they call it. Even turkey and chicken they prefer to re- gard as vegetable matter almost. Their preference is for real meat, and if it is a little on the rare side that is all the better. Here at the long cafeteria counter, people In front of one, people behind one, bulletin boards loaded down with food names before one, the anticipatory diner is up against it indeed as he sur- Veys the words, then looks down in the elaborate glass counter wherein the foods themselves repose in steaming trays. ‘This is food science, red hot and glis- tening, dished up for any ignoramus who has the price. One may not know or appreciate what science, as applied to food serving, does for mankind, but £0 lonig as one can Poim and hand over the money all is well, An observer slightly out of sympathy with eating might be inclined to think that few people really know what they want to eat when he happens to be in a line at the cafeteria and sees the plll:‘ hesitation of those on either side of him. * ok k% “For heaven's sake,” he feels {nclined | to yell, “select one thing or select an- other, but choose something!” | Surely the line would be reduced to | John F. Curry, boss of Tammany Hall, was in Washington this week, giv- ing the political situation, especially in Congress, a close-up. It was his first visit to the National Capital in the| capacity of the Tiger's keeper. Any- | body Who expected to find Curry a | hard-bofled Bowery type, with a half- chewed cigar rammed into the north- west corner of his mouth and talking in accents of little old “New Yoik,” was agreeably disappointed. The Tammany leader is far more like the chairman of the board of a great metropolitan bank—well groomed, soft spoken, calm and conservative. He is younger than he looks, his white hair ‘and military moustache creating the appearance of & man well past 60. Curry has just turned 58. He was born in Ireland, but came to America in infancy. It was mainly his dictum that decided the Tammany House delegation not to aspire to the majority leadership or to any other post that might subject the wigwam to the charge of responsibility for anything that may go wros on Capitol Hill. Mr. Curry's Ne‘l%ork braves are on the Franklin D. Roose- velt band wagon. They believe it is in irresistible progress. ‘They are bent upon seeing that nothing is done by them to impede it * K K x The American Legion, now a million and more strong, will be on the legisla- tive firing line during the coming Con- gress with a carefully formulated pro- gram. The legion will make the widows and orphans’ pensions the first order of business it would like transacted in veterans' behalf. World War widows and orphans now receive pensions only if the husband and father died of in- juries or illness that was service-con- nected. What's wanted is that the de- pendents be eligible for pensions no matter what caused the breadwinner's death. If they're put on that basl . they'll be on & level of equality with widows and orphans of Civil and Spanish-American War veterans. The legion is also asking for $42,707,500 to provide 9,585 new hospital beds. The World War service men oppose any slash in appropriations for the Army, National Guard, R. 0. T.C,,C. M. T. C. or the Organized Reserves. They also demand the construction of the treaty Navy. Another item on their wish-list is the creation in the Senate (as in the House) of a separate committee on war Vveterans’ affairs * oK ok Everybody on the House side rejoices to learn that Representative Clifton A. Woodrum, Democrat, of Virginia, has recovered from a somewhat devastating iliness in time to resume his duties in the approaching session. For a while during the Fall his condition made it uncertain whether he would be here when Jack Garner's gavel “Clff"” Woodrum during his nine year in Congress has been known as the sweet singer of the House. He is the possessor of a rich baritone volce and is master of musical ceremonies when- ever the Lower Branch succumbs to song. When the Seventy-first Congress passed out, on March 4th last, Repre- sentative Woodrum'’s sonorous voice led the House in “Auld Lang Syne,” “Home, Sweet Home" and other numbers, ok ok % Congress gets another general. In the incoming House will sit Maj. Gen, Charles H. Martin, U. 8. A, retired, of Portland, representing the third Oregon district. It is only the fourth time in history that a retired major general of the Regular Army has come to the hill. The others vho held seats in the Lower House were Andrew Jack- son and William Herry Harrison, each of whom later became President of the United States. Gen. Sickles, of New York ‘was in the House in 1890, Gen. Martin is well known in the Na- tlonal Capital. He was assistant chief of staff under Gen. Pershing after the World War, and from 1924 to October 11, 1927, the date of his retirement, commanded the Panama Canal Depart- ment. Martin owes his election to Congress to the fact that the voters of his district “drafted” him by writ- his name onto their ballots in the aries. He is a Democrat, and car- Ted # supposedly Republican. strong- old. |said Uncle Eben. “Ef yoh was jedgin’ "by ears you might expect de rabbit to stan’ still and kick an’ de mule run like lightnia'” A e William Warren Barbour, who be- mes Senator from New Jersey in lace of Dwight W. Morrow, mnn:’ the BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. ment at such & d. Why do we select one thing in prefer- ence td another? Here on the bulletins, with their little white movable letters, are vastly more foodstuffs than any man who ever lived could consume at one sitting. Even the Roman Emperor (for a day or two) who was 8 feet tall and who ate 30 pounds of meat for dinner and drank iufiflam of wine to wash it down could not eat the half of what is avail- able at the average cafeteria. Here are chops with gay papers around one end—“with pants on,” as one facetious eater asserts. Why should any one select chops in preference to turkey? ‘The pressure of the crowd has some- thing to do with it. One looks at chops, at turkey, at fish, at beef, at stew, at ham, at chicken. One thinks rapidly, “Chops, turkey, fish, beef, stew, ham, chicken.” One decides turkey, then revokes turkey, decides upon chicken. thinks chicken not enough, not really meat, revokes chicken, selzes upon ham, thinks ham too plebelan, revokes ham, wildly grasps at stew, thinks stew too everyday, as it were— Roars out wildly, “Chops!” ‘Then looks around triumphantly, as if every one in the line ought to ap- plaud or something. * % ¥ x ‘We have said that a man may get out of sympathy with eating. It is true. Appetite has little to do with.it. The envious may say, as the envious always say, that one is suffering from Indiges- tion or has eaten not wisely the day before or is finicky. Pinicky, of course, as every child knows, is the way one eats when it is not the way the reproving gernon, who- ever he or she may be, eats. It is possible, however, to be mildly out of sympathy with the whole matter of eating, as done in ctvilization, with- out being in any way a sufferer from anything. All you have to do is watch some- body eating corn on the cob. There are some people who shuttle the white of a fried egg sideways in their mouth as they are talking. ‘This sight is guaranteed to put all but the most adamant out of sympathy with the theory and practice of eating. Then, too, there is the philosophical lgpro-ch. Sometimes the most un- philosopher-like person will have an in- tensely phllosophical approach to eat- ing. The sight of people eating, either singly or in long rows, amuses him. It rouses within him depths of reflection to which Fe is at other times a stranger. Then he will see those who eat as Just so many bags to be filled, and he :lfl}‘ rightly regard this as an impossible ask. Three times & day in provincial dis- tricts people gather to fill up, and five or six times in more cosmopolitan areas. Mankind has made eating a-rite, but ;mtliemenm it remains basically phys- cal. No one is offended at that, but still the sight of another eating at times | may strike a man as intensely comical. The sight of a fat stranger solemnly attempting to open a red-hot baked potato will seni a philosopher off into peals of inner laughter, The solemn, rhythmical wagging of jaws is enough to make a monkey ugh if viewed properly and one is in the mood for it. Laughter goes well with meals. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Congress. The others are the two Freds, who have been at the head of the respective Naval Committees of the House and Senate—Britten of Illinols and Hale of Maine. Neither Britten nor Hale achieved the eminence in the ring which Senator Barbour attained. Hale never used his fists except at col- lege and in later life for keeping fit. Britten at one time was an amateur lightweight who might have been a Benny Leonard if he had not given up fighting for politics. Barbour only nar- rowly escaped a professional career under Queensbury rules. Jim Corbett sparred with him once and said he was the best amateur heavyweight he'd ever encountered. Jim Jeffries roughed around with Barbour and tried to en- gage him for regular workouts. Corbett declared that in a year's time he could take the burly Jerseyman and lick him into shape to knock out Jack Johnson. * K ox % When the American delegation lays its cards on the table at Geneva in Feb- ruary it'll tell the world that Uncle Sam has relatively little interest in military disarmament, because the United States Army is already down to the bone. This country, of course, relies upon its po- tential man power, 1. e., the forces it could raise in an emergency. A glimmer of what Gen. Douglas MacArthur, chief of staff, thinks we ought to have up our sleeve is contained in his annual report just issued. Claiming that we are running far behind in munitions re- serves, Gen. MacArthur reports that the Army's effort has been to maintain a reserve of shot and shell sufficient for a force of two fleld armies, or 1,000,000 men. Through lack of sufficient appro- priations, he says that the land defense establishment has fallen “far below this level in certain essential items.” * ok ok x Lieut. Col. Carey H. Brown, former engineer of the National Park and Planning Commisison at Washington, is a prominent delegate to the Presi- dent’s Home Bullding Conlerence. Col. Brown left the Army a couple of years 8go to become executive director of the Rochester, N. Y. Civic Improvement | th Assoclation and is making a notable record in the city by the shores of Lake Ontario. * % x A Washington Jawyer, who is generally addicted to the truth, narrates that a prisoner in the dock was recently warned by the prosecuting attorney that “anything you say will be held against you.” The culprit pondered & second or two, and then sighed: “Greta Garbo!” (Copyright, 1931.) Reparations Seen Root Of Financial Distress To the Editor of The Star: The splendid spirit displayed by the average American in these times of financial distress is most admirable. But while we are at this why not look int> one of the principal causes? The root of the whole matter may be sum- med up in one word—reparations. The four billlons of dollars that have been loaned to Germany by Americans through our bankers is jeopardized through the continuance of ‘the repar- ations, and unless these reparations are 1emoved these vast sums may be- come & total loss. Think how the pur- chasing power of these many Americans is being affected. And then think, too, of the goods that Germany is compelled through the reparaticns to give to Prance, and how these goods are com- peting with American manufacturers, and thus seriously affecting our labor market. Reference to the financial columns will show how disastrously these Ameri- can Investments have been affected upon the recent statement of the Prench premier that “we will demand payment of the unconditional annuities and we will not accede to priority being given to these private debts (owing to Ameri- cans) over our reparations.” Immediately upon this blunt an- nouncement of Laval these same four billions of dollars of American invest- ments fell about 20 per cent, although they were already being quoted in the market at a loss in xzmny instances of han 50 per cent. mu’l‘:;eyt fear hnl; been expressed that if the reparations are not voluntarily re- moved they will be through revolution. ird pugilist to batter his way into|end. an _prophesy where it will Argi o0 N JACKSON. MBER' 4, i Chest Contributions and District Suburbs. To the Bditor of The Star: Suburbanites will be delighted that jnow they may give to Washington's Community Chest and have their con- tributions, if they 80 desire, go to their own more te communities. But this is merely an approach to what should have been done from the very first; that is, to extend the oblig: tions toward the Community Chest and its benefits to the suburbs. These Maryland and Virginia districts add materially to the prosperity and well- being cf Washington, poverty-pinched though some of them are. Good busi- Dess, if less mercenary, should lmil‘ 2go have suggested a more liberal policy. 1t is understood that the Community Chest plans to create work for the un- employed in addition to relieving the needy in a more direct way. The idea of having workers step out of their jobs & certain length of time in order that those out of work may temporarily step in 15 in too many instances waste- ful and impractical. Actual wage- earners are therefore asked to com- mute this method into wage contribu~ tlons to those out of work, who thus remain out of work, unless the plan of the Community Chest to create work for them is successful, The policy of creating work by the use of contributors’ earnings is not to be dismissed with a merg word. A “prospect,” let us say, is solicited for $50. He gives $50 to the ‘Community Chest. The Community Chest prom- ises to use that $50 as far as possible in creating work. It, therefore, re- turns to the “prospect” and asks him if he cannot give an unemployed man some work. The ‘“prospect” is com- pelled to reply that he could have done 50 to the extent of at least $50, but as he ro longer has the $50, the Commu- nity Chest must itself do the employ- ing. In all fairness the Community Chest cannot, say to man, give us $50 cash, and then go another man and say to him, give us $50 worth of employment. In the case of the cash contribution, the contributor gives up $50 outright. He says “Good-by” to it. In the case of the other man, he gives $50 to the employe thus recruited for him and in return gets $50 worth of work done, which he keeps, so that he is out nothing and the ordinary course makes & profit on the transaction. In- stead of saying “Good-by” to his money, he merely says, “Till we meet again.” F To_create work requires capital. If the Community Chest is to set apart a fund for this capital, its administration should be well looked after, as a matter of good faith to the contributors, and by no means frittered agay in fruitless undertakings. A man éxpects a return upon his capital. If ti Community Chest does not require this return it will compete with other businesses in cither of two ways. By paying to its employes what would otherwise be re- garded as D‘Oi:" it will outbid other employers in the labor market, or else, | by paying normal wages, it will throw products on the market cheaper than other concerns. On the other hand, if in creating work 1t does business in a businesslike way, it will keep its capital intact and have a reasonable profit thereon to de- vote to direct charity, will become in A measure self-supporting and will thus |itself contribute concretely to the Dros- | perity of the community.” Contributors will have & lighter burden to bear and {Will retain more of their savings to {spend prosperously. The working, the machinery of char- ity is not yet perfect. Our conception of what it should be is improving. We used to give a sandwich out of hand. Then we gave the man a dime with which to buy a sandwich. Then we gave the dime to a “mission” which gave us a ticket to give to the man who returned the ticket to the mission for a sandwich which the mission had bought for a dime. Then we gave.the dime to a Community Chest, which gave it to the mission, which gave it to the merchant for a sandwich to give to the man. Now the idea is to give the Com- munity Chest a dime to pay the man a dime for doing something that will return at least a dime to the Com- munity Chest, if not more. 6 is writer'’s understariding ) that the Community Chest plans merely to do an employment agency work aside from direct charity. We have employ- ment agencies already, supported or self-supporting. The Community Chest is to “create work.” That itself is no small business. It is one with creating business, and all honor to those who nave conceived the idea. But again as to the matter of ex- tending the Community Chest to Wash- ington’s _environs—Washington is only a part of a greater metropolitan area. Its boundaries are not based on eco- nomic, business, soclal, charitable lines, A man is just as hungry and unem- ployed on the Maryland side as he is across the street on the Washington side. It is all one community. = To bound the Community Chest by a line that swerves neither to the right nor to the left to accommodate the needs of a common humanity offends common sense. EWART W. HOBBS. ———— 1931, Machinery Multiplies- For Doubtful World From the Dayton Daily News. Recent international exhibitions of all sorts of inventions have heightened the worries of those who fear that ma- chinery is making man an enervated button-pusher incapable of Yearing re- sponsibility. The introduction of an automatic tea-brewing device in Eng- land, where the concoction of this beverage has long been a hallowed tra- dition, adtnirably illustrates the danger- ous trend. Happlly, or still more unhappily, as one chooses to see it, there is another side to the picture. The threat of the machi at, displacing men, iney have made it im ble for such men to enjoy the benefits of machinery or be weakened by their influence. same paradox, incidentally, is reacting to some extent against the machines. Gandhi's sug- gestlon of a handicraft culture is taking root. Delaware, for instance, embarking on works to relieve unemployment, shelves a machine wherever it is possible for & number of men to take its nlace. Even Henry Ford, one of the stalwarts of the machine age, reverts to man- power in the operation of his 12,000- acre farm, simply to furnish jobs for a greater number of men. Human hands will husk the corn. There are 100,000 bushels of carrots on the Ford farm. would be required to #complish this and other harvest tasks. The same ccheme was followed in cultivation. Mr. Ford makes tractors, but the bulk of the work was done with hoes. In time he ho to solve the in the case of his own interests, by permitting employes to work on the farm four months through the Summer, coming in to the factory during cold weather, Yet for the present at least we have only the spectacle of arduous labor, which machines ht perform, lifted once more onto the human back. Thus far, and if the pessimistic prophets are correct it may be fortunately so, we lack the intelligence to expose the race universally to the button - pushing menace. Horny hands promise to be with us a long while, ————— e Statesmen Eat Fast. From the Sloux City Journal. Statesmen simply live too fast. Rep- Tesentative Garner of Texas and John , boss of Tammany, ate breakfast w'elh‘:tkhtf:‘ mel:ubel flat. They didn't even e e any attention to the waffies. e D ——————— Dirigibles in Danger. From the Hamilton (Ohio) Evening Journal We expect momentarily to read of & liceman who fired a couple of shots the air to halt a ht down a dirigtble. s fod oy ine is partially offset by the fact | & comprehensive program of public | | The Scranton Times Some 650 men have started to dig | these up. Ordinarily only a hundred- | odd men, utilizing modern machinery, problem of cylical emp®yment, at least | ANSWERS TO QUESTIO s 1 BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. Jo 4t s i den The answers published are omes that may interest many readers rather than the one who asks the question only. All questions should be accompanied by the writer's name and address and 2 cents in coin or stamps for reply. Send your question to The Evening Star In- formation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C Q. What was D. W. Griffith's busi- ness or profession before he entered the motion_picture field?>—C. C. A. He had been & newspaper reporter and had abandoned that profession in an effort to get a start as a dramatist. He played small parts to support him- self and began to write scenarios. In 1908 he joined Biograph as actor and director. Q. Did Gov. Roosevelt of New York ever run for the vice presidency?—@. C. A. He ran on the ticket with James ! Cox in 1920. Q. How much does & bear cub weigh when it is born?—R. A. W. A. At birth a bear cub weighs from 9 to 12 ounces, w] is about 1-200th to 1-250th of its er's weight. It is about 8 inches long, blind, and covered With a dark halr so thin that it is prac- tically naked. Q. Where was the mortarboard first | worn?—E. D. 8. A. It s believed to have originated at Oxford University about the middle of the fourteenth century. Q. What was the significance of a | yellow ticket in old Russia?—L. L. T. In Russia Jews and Jewesses were confined to the “Pale of Settlement.” If any Jewish woman was willing to be registered as a prostitute, she was given a “yellow ticket” and permitted free and unrestricted residence throughout the emptre. Q. What is relapsing fever?—Y.T.R. A. Relapsing fever is the name given to a_ specific infectious disease occa- slonally appearing as an epidemic in communities suffering from scarcity or famine. It is also known as famine fever, seven-day bilious relapsing fever and spirillum fever. Q. Why is goods called “rep”?—E. R. A. The name is said to have been adopted from the French reps, a word of unknown origin, and it has also been su&uaud that it is a corruption of of a certain kind Q. May a lawyer go from one county | to another to practice?—~H. R. W. A. A lavwyer may practice in any county in a State after being admitted | lothe bar of the State by regular pro- | cedure. Q. How fast 1s the poptation of the werld increasing?—E. W. W. A. The present population of the world is approximately 1,900,000,000. Estimates of world population before 1880 are not very trustworthy. Sir George Knibbs, however, considers that Michelot's estimate of 1,008,000,000 for 1845 is as well founded a guess as can be made. Accepting this estimate, it can be calculated that between 1845 and 1914 the average annual increase of the world population was about .7 per cent. It was, in other words, increas- ing at a rate which would double the population in less than 100 years. Q. Who invented chimneys?—E. McC. A. They have gradually developed and existed from a very early period. Chimneys in their very simplest form were first introduced into Eng about the year 1368, while in Venice it is earthaake o 1541 Toek s Srbier 00 e e A num] were overthrown there. Q. Is dueling permitted by Iaw4n any clvilized country?—T. A. A. Dueling formerly existed in prac- tically all the countries that have uni- versal military training. Immediately before and since the World War duels | have been forbidden by law in England, France, Germany and many other coun. tries, but they still exist in practice though carried on in secret. Q. Who said war's legitimate objesh | Is more perfect peace?—S. B. A. The expression is attributed te : Gen. William T. Sherman. Q. What is the Highest rate of in- terest paid by the United States Govern- ment on its bonds?—O. H. K. A. A rate of 415 per cent is the high- est now being pald on Government bonds. This is on war-time issues. New borrowings are at a lower rate. Q. Is the site of Jamestown, Va. still as the early colonists found it? N. D ‘A Part of the town site is now sub- merged under the waters of the James. Q. When a prisoner is released is he given transportation back home?—FP. L. A. The Prisoners’ Rellef Society says that in the case of a Federal or State prisoner transportation is furnished a relessed man to the point of conviction, He is given in addition a good sult of clothes and either $5 or $10, depending on circumstances and the State. It is sometimes possible for an arrangement to be made by the prison authorities in conjunction with friends of the prisoner to allow the transportation to be to the place of residence rather than place of conviction. Q. How long is Pennsylvania avenue, in Washington, D. C.2—J. V. A. From Rcck Creek on the north- west to the Anacostia River on the southeast Pennsylvania avenue is ap- proximately five miles in length. Q. When was cast-iron pipe first used for water pipe?—J. H. W. A. Cast-iron water pipe was experi- mented with at Versallles, France, as early as 1664, but owing to difficulties of production it could not be afforded by water works companies until 1738. It was introduced into England about this time. The early American cities used log pipe systems, but after a num- ber of breaks in the pipes Philadelphia ordered cast-iron e(rlpe from England. New York followed, and subsequently Baltimore. The superiority of the cast- | tron pipe created such a demand that ‘xlnto;m“dry was built at Millville, N. J., 1834. Q. What is the word which describes animals whose limbs are adapted to walking and running rather than climb- ing?—H. H. A. The limbs of the deer, dog, horse, etc., are cursorial. Y, What s sterling silver>—W. E. D. A. Sterling silver is defined as the alloy in the proportion of 925 parts of silver to 75 of copper, legally fixed as the standard of fineness of British silver coirage. - Q. How much was donated to the Community Chest -in’ Washington, D. C., last year?—H. D, A, $2,013,000. Q. Is there.n Iayer of air between ‘wnmi' and the Ige which freezes upon A. There is nob,; New Force 1 Regardless of opinions on the subject of - prohibition, - the country: views the questionnaire from Chairman John J. Raskob of the Democratic National Committee as an exhibition of debat- able strategy. As the questions were addressed to contributors to the party funds in 1928, the point is raised as to Wwhether other Democrats should be ig- nored in his action. As to his sugges- tion for referendum on prohibition, some contend that it is a wet move and others that it has a npeutral quality. Those who would elimindte the wet-dry battle from the next campaign view the Raskob move as unwise. “He probably will learn,” according to the Boston t, “what most of us knew before at the great Northern States, which furnished most of the money in 1928, are wet, espe- cially in the cities, and that, broadly speaking, the rural districts of the United States, particularly in the South, are more or less dry.” That paper adds that the canvass demonstrates “that the Democratic party bids fair to be split as badly over prohibition in its national convention as the Republican.” Quoting Chairman Raskob as “In favor of giving the people a chance to vote on the question whether they wish the eighteenth amendment retained, re- pealed or modified,” the Buffalo Eve- ning News concludes that “he goes now on reccrd as opposing any definite stand, but merely uring a referendum,” and that “in any case the discussion of prohibition as & governmental m is making prog- ress, and it is made only more compli- cated by attempts to regard it as an issue between " * ok % Referring to & similar plea from Sen- ator Wadsworth in the Republican party, the Chattanooga Times con- cludes: “Even the proverbial wayfarer must understand that neither the pro- posal of Senator Wadsworth nor it of Chalrman Raskob is for repeal or modification, but only that the people be given a chance to express themselves on these matters. And it is dimcult to understand how a party could commit a ‘fatal blunder’ or and divide its strength’ promising to let the people vote on prohibit question.” feels that the questionnaire “ought at least to afford a cross-section of public opinion as to the best method of procedure in han- dling the question.” “If it seems to start with certain ad- vantages in favor of the wets,” says the Baltimore Sun, “they are advanf that are not in any way rigged, but proceed from the nature of the case. It would certainly be ridiculous to say that a party seeking to assess public opinion as & means of winning .a presi- cential fight should ignare or piace any handicap upon the expression of judg- ment by very active men in very popu- lous States.” “Before prohibition,” recalls the Day- ton Daily News, “its advocates insisted that the people be frequently given | opportunity to Agv dry. Will the advo- cates now insist that the people have no opportunity to go some other way?" Commenting on those persons “who ap- parently oppose n}g official expression of opinion on prohibition b’i‘ethe peaple as & whole,” e Louisvi Courijer- Journal declares: “It is difficult to find 2 justification for such a position. If these dry leaders believe that the sense of the American people 1s still to keep prohibition, then what have they to fear from an open declaration by the people of such a sentiment? 1If, on the other hand, they belleve that a refer- endum would reveal that a majority of the American people have decided in favor of a change of the prohibition on untenable d by opposing a direct vote on e question?” * K ok X Observing that an Iowa branch of the Association Against Prohibition has been formed, the n Panta- graph advises that “honest and intelli- gent drys, of whom there are millions in the country, cannot ignore or ridi- cule the issue on the assumption that it does not exist.” The Milwaukee Senti- nel takes the position that Mr. Raskob’s questionnaire “indicates that he believes 4 laws, then do they not put themselves | Raskob Questionnaire Puts bate nto Dry De the anti-prohibition than the prohihition.. . Assuming, on the ofhier side of the question, that “those who go along with the Democratic, chairman really repre- sent the co; tive wing of the party,” the Rochester Times-Union believes that “the fight that is now being projected is between the Progressive Democral anxious to stress economic issues, an the Conservative Democrats, anxious to lay the emphasis on prohibitfon.” That paper is convinced that “the champions of things as they are in the economie world hope to profit by appealing to the city voters on a non-economic is- | sue.” The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel | concludes: “It's a fight to pucker the rrxlgw:’d:lnl.ny dxép?hnm.u observer, on nes. Bo les put up some good points.” 3 L “fien]l‘tor Robinson cratic leaders feel that the injection of this question into the party pljnuorm is Dot smart politics,” according to the Salt Lake Deseret News, while the Charleston (8. C.) Evening Post thinks the referendum “will not solve the problem of prohibition as an issue for and other Demo- slon run away with him, and considerin; spect_vie | the Demx s not g with sufficlently circum- W the best line of policy for ocrats to pursue next year.” * ok % % In discounting the questionnaire the | Abilene Reporter and the Le: inxtf};n Leader place emphasis on the proba- bility that supporters of the Democratic ticket in 1928 would still be wet, while the Omaha World-Herald contends that the Democratic party “has never made a practice of permitting the creators of its et?pllgn funds to write #s plat- forms,” and the San Francisco Chron- icle comments: “Mr. Raskob's attempt 1l the Democratic copvention in advance what to do by his appeal to the contributors to the frankly wet cam- paign fund of 1928 recalls the hysteri- cal charges of Democratic Spokesmen clen vt been g Ranlican pll Vi n - dic coq_hfi‘lb‘sfiom" Y campaign ‘e Davenport Democrat emphasize: the fact that “there are m:ng oth¢: ::une‘:non r‘whlch ‘;‘he pa}'t\y may take a iext year that will win it - fifl;p,;mll;fl.” millions it sald,” observes the Char- lotte Observer, “that the bulk of the Questionnaires went to those States in Which the Democrats claim the right to ndidates and write the Platforms of the party, but which fre- quently give their electoral votes to the ublican candidates. The five States asked to cast one-half the votes in the Raskob referendum have 144, or 30 per cent, of the Nation's 444 electoral votes, And yet the result of the Qquestionnaire Will be heralded as a true expression of 8 cross-section of the national Demo- cratic party.” r———. Koo Heard in China. From the Newark Evening News. Although the dove of peact - sec-;‘ly igvltslbl:mm mm?e. eK;so p):‘:o eard in Nankin, fareign affairs, ity iof ———— > No Battle! From the Rockford Reister-Republic. Noah Beery, we see by the news- papers, battled his way through a Call. fornia snowstorm to safety. An insig~ x;,liflfia?t exploit, we assume, compared th feats we have seen in the films. bt B Mousetrap Is Suspect. From the Columbus Ohio State Journal. If & man did bulld a better mouse-~ trap than his neighbor so thnu::u world started making a path to his- door, it is more than Mkel; would be suspected of boodem.n' B Ao R o Defends Chinese Bandif From the Toronto (Ontario) Dzily 3 These Chinese who are being de- feated are called bandits, but they, at };ut, are in their own country. oppasing vaders.