Evening Star Newspaper, December 20, 1931, Page 27

EDITORIAL SECTION he Sundawy Star, WASHINGTON, D. ( Special Articles Part 2—8 l;agel WORLD-WIDE FIGHT WAGED TO DECIDE FATE OF GOLD SISO, i No Let-Up Seen in Paper Proponent Attacks on U. S. by Rumors and ) SUNDAY MORN IN( DECEMBER 20, 1931. fappy Christmastime TS OO S SWING TO RITCHIE GIVES IMPETUS TO 1932 FIGHT % Support of Hemphill, Prominent Penn- | svlvanian Sends Governor Off to Good Start. By Walter De La Mare. Press Campaigns. BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER. ARIS.—A dramatic financial strug. gle is now proceeding in Aall parts of the world for the main- tenance or overthrow of the gold standard. The moves and countermoves are obscure, but the re-| sults are obvious and affect ultimately every one: All buyers, all sellers, all debtors, all creditors, all persons with fixed incomes or with savings. The leader of the paper money countries, which now form a long and list. 15 Great Britain. The United States and France. Of the seven great powers in the world, three. Great Britam, Japan and Russia, now off gold. one. Germany, is Iy hit. another, Italy, is defending self thus far effectively. But for gen- eral defensive purposes the brunt falls on the United States and France. be- cause, of the $11,000,000,000 of gold in the world, these two hold more than half, the Uaited States $4,000,000,000 &and France $2,700,000,000 The struggle for the moment seems to center on Canada and South Africa, which are the only two British dominions that remain on gold, and n ¥olland, which has been adversely affected by Great Britain's and Japan's goIng off, but there are signs that those vho seem to want the whole world to adopt paper money are by no means done with attacking even the United States by rumors and press campaigns. Dispatch Widely Reproduced. - example, the following dispatch the New York correspondent of London Daily Telegraph has been idely reproduced on the Continent. York, Wednesday. Serious dis- cussions here as to the possible bene- fits that the United States might de- Tive by deserting the goid standard strengthen the rumors that are heard every side that high banking offi- 5 arc contemplating that step. ecent rise in the grain prices in 20 is attributed tn part to such on the ground that America's ent of gold would remove the er to world wide inflation of odity prices Creat Britain's evident reluctance to e the sterling until the present ies are settled and Japan's gold exports have influenced held that view. They point t America is facing a period of months in which the high price he dollar in relation to foreign cur- F from he w rade unless she takes a similar Fear Believed Motive. The British mctive in spreading such less reports is oelieved to be fe: unless the United States end France can be forced off gold. the dollar e franc is likely to replace the ng permanently as mecium of in- rational exchange. observers consider the Franco- | American agreement to defend the gold standard by far the most important re- sult of the Laval-Hoover conversations. is known that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Bank of nce are in contact daily. but there is g that a good deal more s being shown at present by paper money than b voring gold. Europcan publ re flocded with articles and re- on sperches advocating silver or <r both. well known Swedish calls on the London news- s for a conference of the paper | money countries and adds: “The paper standard countries, by forming a com- mon monetary system. would immensely trengthen their position in relation to | the gold standard countries. If later there should be negotiations with these countries with the view of re-establish- ing the gold standard generally, these paper countries would then be in a posi- tion to lay down their own terms. Leaders’ Opinions Obtained. The International Chamber of Com- merce has entered the debate. Its Parls neadquarters has obtained the formal ions of two leading financial minds Eurcpe—Sir Arthur Salter, British ormer head of the economic and finan- cial section of the League of Nations and Robert Masson president of the Credit Lyonnais Bank and onc of the directors of the International Chamber of Commerce. Sir Arthur's thesis briefly lows: There is no absolute shortage of rold. but maldistribution. France and the United States have too much. while | others have not enough. A good deal of the Franco-American gold is partly withdrawn from use and have fallen in the last two years 30 per cent. There are only three ways in which international debts can be paid: By exports of goods, from proceeds of loans or with gold. But tariffs block exports, political fears and agitations destroying confidence, prevent loans and debtors lack gold. Hopes for Return to Gold. A opposes silver and thinks Paper currency, unt of paper printed iited, is feasible, Trous, and hopes gold stand- is as fol- Sir for a gradual re ard ur 1. Re Testrictions s ce and credit > goid standard banks co-operate to round the 1929 level e political confidence so that inction normally umption of gold pay- tion of war debts and reparations What M. Masson says is this stable meisurement for value in ional trade is essential. Nothing as viceable as gold has yvet been found Conseque! countries” off gold will uitimately Teturn, the only question being at what level they will stabilize. The ideas of a maniged currency are ctive theoretically, but practically they are dangerous and probably un- workable. The alleged maldistribution of gold is not due some defect in the gold rd. but to political agit stroy confidence in the ming investors and prevent new loars where capital is most needed. No sys- tem can work well in the time of an acute cr.sis. The moment confidence is restored, capital will seek places of- fering high interest rates or rising prices and the economic balance will be re- established. It would help if ail new fore.gn loens were made international, that is to say, qucted In all leading centers. so that the bonds could be used as a medium of international exchan Meanwhile there is more free capital in the world seeking investment than ever before. This capital. when moved too sudde from place 1o place. can cause ve d sturbances. Banks should therefore co-operate to check undue speculation. private business should not abuse credit by overborrowing and g ernme should be careful not to scar capital away by unnccessary agita Copyright, 1931.) Sol (5 wd mta Visits China on New Year’s, Bringing Gay Spirit With Him BY SU-LEE CHANG. Santa Claus is just as warm of heart to folks far away as he is to us here in Wachington. After December 25 he t ~vels acrcss the Pacific Ocean and s bles: to millions of people in For Christmas in actual life 2mong the Chinese on January 1 i a bad vear ¢ have been bad years. But ry 1. as a will be a day of universal peace and happiness. All will be quiet on the Manchurian front. Warring mili- sts bury their hatchets. Peasants forget about taxation and bad crops. Politicians cease their senseless recrimi- nations. Merchants set aside their money worries. And even roving bands of bandits stop plundering. All China, rich and poor, young and old, join in ering thanks to the Heaven. Endless ings of firecrackers are set off every- where, not necessa ave a rousing start for the new to positively scare away the phantoms of civil war and depression rom the government, if there is one to speak of, come words of apology and promises of reform. The condition of the country is deplored and a rosy fu- ture pictured to the skeptical public The masses celebrate without the gov- ernment. Farmers Cease Work. Farmers put away their plows and rakes. There will be no plowing and weeding until next Spring. Barns are fastly locked, for stacks of hay must be kept, safe to keep the goats and cows fed. They count over the chicken yard and see if a few may be spared for the family One or two pigs are sold to the local butcher. After so much is set aside for buying fertilizer put away in caches underground. the vear is tolerably good, they buy heavy-lined cotton coats and put new 1 s on the falling shade. For Win- ter cold in China Cutting. stitching and sewing are heavier than usual for mothers. Every- body of the family should, if possible, have new dresses and new Fathers and sons clean the house and walk miles to get bamboo leaves and oak branches for decoration. Many kinds of cake are made and colored for neighbors and relatives. An expensive present is sent to the family doctor. Family doctors in China are always warmly remembered on festival days. Children are doubly hap Indeed, they are the happiest of all. Every January 1 is also a birthday to them. If little Johny happens to be born in December he will be two years old after the New Year feast. So is every- body a year older. What has been de- nied to them on account of age is now given Charlie may be permitted to wear a long gown and Mary to bob her hair. Respect, honor and privileges all come with the turning of the last leaf in the calendar. Girls Have Gay Time. Young maidens take great delight in New Year day. day of exuberant romance. In China girls do not have dates and dance. They stay home until they are called to the wedding altar. On and around January 1 mothers and aunts 1 ial, | nieces are doing. Girls paint the town red with excitement. In twos and threes, with shy but eager face. they parade the streets and watch the go- ings- These are the only days in the ye: be flirtatious without being despised. Some set their eves on the dashing Lochinvar of lonely dreams. Few would mingle with the crowd, make their debut and never return home Beggars prepare for their annual col- lection. There are more beggars in China than the almhouse can take care of. To them New Year is a busines: season. House by house they go an chant songs of blessing. They knock at the door until they are listened to. The coins thus collected are hung loosely from an oak branch which is called the “money tree.” Muttering gold prices | FEARS ADOPTION OF “DOLE” words to rhyme with the dangling and | tinkling of the “money-tree” they stroll slowly and beg earnestly. More money comes in. Some of them get enough to go away for a vacation after the first week in January. Feast Is Elaborate. The New Year feast is an elaborate affair. In variety and delicacy there is no equal in the West. It is mother's hardest task. Both head and heart are called to consultation on this once-a- year banquet. It must be plenteous, | tasty, healthy and conforming to rules. Planning and buying have to be done ahead of time. The mere number of necessary ingredients for seasoning the main dishes would baffle the memory of a culinary expest. But the ingenuity of | Chinese housewife with generations of the rest is| If | suits, | | Old and young drink and make merry. | eral months to middle age, line up in | Charcoal stoves | seniority, males on the right and fe- | problem there soon come in handy to warm up cold [ males on the left, for a family review. | Even amid a! dishes and to make boiling hot tea| Kneeling is not required. But th right on the table. Everybody is having | three times respectfully before the ven- | Salvationists | For it is to them a | keep | generations’ reunion. leir mouths shut and pretend to be holding a pair of tangerines with | January 1 rich background never fails to bring joy to the family circle with a luxurious menu of bird's nest soup, shark’s fins goose feet, sea-jelly, pigskin, fried grass- hoppers, snake meat. bamboo shoots, lotus seeds and many others. Includ- ing side dishes and appetizers in which Chinese are experts, a 15-course dinner is considered a moderate aflair for a moderate family for the last day of the yea The dining quarter is decorated with a riot of colors. Candles, and not in- N ENGLAND Christmastize.” It is odd that a statenent so matter-of-fact as this should have the effect of an incantation. I found it printea in a brief note on the program cf a Crristmas play acted some little time ago by children in South Australia And instantly, like a vivid and brilliant little scene in a peep-show, all that ccmes with Christmas in England. in- doors and out-of-doors, fountained into the Bells and firelight an candles n. waits and bissocn., and the bare Engl s and woodlands. hooded with it at the wind tre fires of M imentality, maybe nct. Winter and Cr T lishmen as closel together as Guy Fawkes and the Fifth of November, as Shrove Tuesday and pancakes, and not even Nature and the English cli- mate—however hard they usually try— can put them asunder it is Winter at ' tropical stars a tropical night formation of th recorded by Edm visit to frier Christmases ago. table hostess, havi tional plum-pud porri n a o Reference Lacking. ke Christin But, tt her ca all tha nere is not the faintest refer this in the Gospels. In trans have unwittingly transmuted WOULD PROVE DISASTROUS alvaticn Army Head Expresses View After Two Months® Tour in European BY EVANGELINE BOOTH, Commander in Chief of the Salvation Army in the ed States HAVE just returned f. montks’ trip in Norther tral Europe, during whi touched 10 countrics and score of the largest an. portant cities in the Old W Kings of Norway, Sweden s have boen so gracious 2s to cc me the honor of 1.ate which were much more than royal formalities. For w with President Doumer of X 1 had the privilege of exchanging tiews of many deeper aspects of the present seri- ous situation. Also I met a number of Gerrma state presidents and mayors, and was brought into contact with sources of au- thoritative information on serious ter upon idiences usual m, as economic and political crisis which today | agitates all classes in all nat various aspects of the brevailin ation 1 have brought back fa and comprehensive views, esp the position in England. The depression 1s. of course, the sin- gle subject of which peoble arc think ing. In Great Britain I should s that, generally speaking. the incustrial On g situ- in the front. A stream of fragrant candescent lights, maks the room cozy smoke rises from an antique incense and cheerful. best and oldest in the family cellar. All China goes wet. the life of a good time at home. In spite of late occasion and heavy eating, all strive to get up early on|around until gra: The new vear should be started right. A vegetable breakfast is served. Nobody eats. But everybody must sample the seven cishes of spin- ach, green pepper, green onions, bean sprouts, celery leaves, garlic blades. Seven is a lucky number in China. Vegctarfanisn is symbclical of chastity, forbearance and self-recti- fication. The saints of old taught that these ideals should be read into the mind before traveling on the rough road of the year. Brief ceremonies of respect begin the day's program. Two red chairs are placed in the east end of the ball room for grandpa and grandma. Behind them are ancestor tablets, books of family records and a picture of five A lacquer tray, green ignorant of what their daughters and leaves on and a dozen green olives, is The wine is always the | burner in the center. | seaweeds and | Children of two or three generations, ranging from sev- Y bow erable heads of the family. The grown- ups withdraw. The children hang ma distributes “lucky oney” to them. Servants come for lucky money.” tod. The usual round of New Year calls commences with exchange of grectings Drum corps lcad the village procession from the ancestral temple. Cheering crowds follow. Sword dances are held in morket cquares. Pageants parade the streets. There is gambling; there is drinking: there are petty quarrels and physical altercations: there is ex. cess cf amusement and dissipation. The serious-minded and quiet Chinese turn epicureans, but there is never public disorder. All feel the need of a rest. Byt vacation is coming to an end. Another celebration passes to memories. How- ever, it serves to increase faith in life and to brace them up for whatever the new year may bring. The children be. gin to talk about the next New Year, Countries. situation is deplorable. The svstem of | unemployment insurance. known as “the dole,” is severely criticized by mans British themselves, who point to obr ous abuses in its administration and also to the fact that an unearned ‘age works deterioration in the character of the recipient Since the war there ha generation that includes sands of young men and women who are without work. They spend some of the dole. 1 am sorry to say, in the publi houses, where crink undermines their morals. A man who rests in the assur- ance of himself and family being fairly well fed, housed and clothed, without | the smallest effort on his part, canudt but become degenerate, both morally and intellectually, and consequently he finds himself in the years of middle age utterly ignorant and incapable of seri- ously undertaking the task of self-sup- Port. In very numerous cases the effect on virility is most unfortunate. Prays U. S. Will Escape Dole. therefore, it is suggested to me m‘ah{h:m United States should adopt the dole I can only pray that we may never find ourselves under any such necessity With 48 Statcs all running separate schemes, the complications *would be formidable, and the political results must not be overlooked. Indeed, might they not be disastrous? To open the ; flood gates is so easy. But who is going to close them? ;i ognize that to this difficult it h:\S been another side. n economic emergency life 1t is the opinion of some in Britain—than whom | there is no group of social workers that | comes first. knows more intimately the necessities |of the poor—that the “dole” has re- léved the actual suffering of innumer- | able families, and probably saved Brit- ain from the threatening menace of social calamity. Surveys Conditions Among Poor. Naturally, because of this provision. conditions among the poorer classes are in many ways better than they used to be during the several depressions of the last half century, with the details of which I am personally familiar. May I add that, according to the widespread belief of many people who have a right to speak, it has been the work and teaching of the Salvation Army that has been perhaps the most powerful single factor in bringing about these the home secretary, J. R T former g . . Cl_vneew, a distinguished leader of the (Continued, on Fourth Page,. y Jerusalem—thougl Rachel Te w he into Latin, gers rema was. The rock-t There. t00, on a site p of Adonis occurred if neey general, 1 ries ago in the gloom of th (because there was no room in the inn) with BRUENIN r by Robert Lawson hants us most N raises other quest nfluences been? ons sion itself h There is scarcely snow or of frost in that is not vivid strangeness, from one to lepros scarlet to wake trange un- un upon new cted on the ceiling. or er twilight the first (c n Fourth Page.) G’S FATE HINGES UPON DECISIONS ABROAD He Also Will Be Held Responsible for Action by Germany at Reparations and Arms Conferences. BY JOHN ELLIOTT. ERLIN.—What we are now wit- nessing in Germany is the final attempt to preserve the existing order of society. The success or downfall of the parliamentary democratic political system, together with the economic system, in which capital labor aze more or less equal in_power. will be decided within the next three or six months. There only two rnatives to the pres system. One is an authoritatariar state in_which the big industrialists of the Rhincland will be dominant This is the regime that may be ex- pected to be ushered in if Adolf Hitler | ever becomes supreme. The other is a | system of state capitalism on the So- | viet Russian model. which will be in- | troduced if the Communists ever get control of power. |~ Chancellor Heinrich Bruening stands | as the champion of the existing order. His downfall will probably signify more | than a mere change of government. It | will mean the overthrow of a regime. The name that the Hitlerites have given to the state which they will rule— the Third Reich—is full of significance. For a state governed by the Nazis will bear 1o more resemblance to the pres- cnt parliamentary democracy than the “Second Reich” does to the empire of William II and Buelow. Bruening's hope of maintaining the staus quo is ;Iargely wrapped up in the success of | his latest emergency decree, which by |ordaining concurrent reductions in | prices, interest rates, rents, wages and | salaries almed to obtain an entirely }new price level throughout the country. Bruening's Last Chance. Bruening will have the last chance he has craved. The Socialist party, con- fronted with the alternative of swallow- ing more wage cuts for their workers, or seeing the Fascist government in nower, has plumped for Bruening. The | Slecring Committec of the Reichstag has rejected the motion to convene Parliament before the holid: There | will be no “Christmas crisis,” which | means that the chancellor is safe until | the end of February, when Parliament s due to reassemble, and perhaps until | Spring, when the presidential and Prus- | sian elections are scheduled to take place. ‘This gives Bruening breathing space in which to work out his grandiose economic schemes. He also will be re- sponsible for the decisions made by Germany at the reparations and dis- | armament conferences. For it must ! not to be forgotten that Bruening's fate | land therefore probably the fate of the 1 present order is dependent not so much on the decisions taken at home, but more on the actions of foreign govern- ments. Bruening will survive if he can point to achievements and gains for Germany in reparations and disarmament, but if ed diplomatically, even bril- 1t success for his emergency decree on't save him Has Made Many Mistakes. Concerning Bruening opinions differ radically, as they varied over Woodrow Wilson or any other outstanding figure in world history. Mistakes he has cer- tainly made—big errors of judgment which would be sufficient to ruin any lesser man. One has only to point in this connection to his rash decision in | the Summer of 1930 to dissolve the Reichstag. which was the beginning of | all his troubles, and to the hapless ad- | venture in the matter of the Austro- German customs union. Some think that Bruening also is really responsible for the Reichsbank's valiant but futile efforts to cover its notes at 40 per cent Jast Summer. and that if the government had used its in- fluence for a lower legal percentage carl the financial saster that struck the country in July might have been alleviated, if not altogether averted But when all deductions are made. | the verdict of history on Bruening will probably be the same as Napoleon's on | Goethe’s “Voila un Homme!" He is the strongest defender of the existing regime |that could have been found, and the | best man to represent Germany abroad |at the coming international conferen | The mention of Adolf Hitler sows dis- trust abroad, especially in France, where his name is regarded as synonymous | with the repudiation of treaties and written agreement. and the symbol of Germany's resumption of the policy of force in the place of conciliation in its foreign dealings. Bruening, on the other hand. has ac- quired a vast fund of confidence abroad, which can be a great asset to Germany in the pending negotiations. His ob- | vious sincerity, his courage in the teeth | of great obstacles and his endeavor to fulfill Germany's obligations to the limit |of her capacity by heaping unheard of sacrifices upon her people have had this result, that today Germany has the sympathies of most of the world on her side, whereas, in 1923, ai the time of the Ruhr invasion, Germany stood well nigh friendless, being having deliberately evaded her repara- tions obligalions. A BY MARK SULLIVAN. HE Democratic presidential sif aticn has passed definitely into a new phase. An outstanding sign of it is the action of a very important Democrat, John Hemphill of Pennsylvania, in indors Gov. Albert Ritchie of Maryland for the nomination. The incident has sign carce in its bearing on the Democratic situation as a whole, in the forward im- pulse it gives to Gov. Ritchie as a | candidate. and in its relation to man who thus speaks from the Per sylvania Democracy Mr Hemphill's importance lies elevation of his standing as a ma in the political record he has made in Pennsylvania. In 1930, as Democ candidate for Governor. he came nearer to carrying the great Republican State of Pennsylvania than any other Dem- ocrat since 1890. In a total v 2.091.222. Mr. Hemphill came 58 of winning. His ach not materially modified by the fact that his Republican opponent was Gif- ford Pinchot, which would account for the defection of some Republican votes Nor is Mr. Hemphill's near-victory materially modified by the fact that he was the beneficiary of 74.753 votes from a third and wet “Liberal” parw. In short, Mr. Hemphill, by the record he made in Pennsylvania in 1930, is 14 very important Democrat nationally Had he won the Penn: a Gover- norship he would have been recognized instantly as one of the biggest two or three Democrats in the country All the other Democratic victories in that Democratic vear—Massachuset Connecticut, Illinois—would have been led. Gov. Roosevelt of New York owes much of his availability for the residency to the fact that he carried n 1930 But for a Democrat w York for Governor is no Suppose Democ - 3 that ce 1890 and e in the Union? Every in the country would have been on iim. He would Bave bee the leading pot Democ pres Hemphill interesting might-have-beens in poli- and history. about which it is sometimes fascinating to reflect, Has Fine Record. Il is a comparatively th a fine personal record fcrbear: 1 the same Penns: He is grounded in th atesmanship as well a torical p pertr, and exactness and express himself Some twenty-four thousand m for Mr. Hemphill in the 1930 Pe; vania election for Governor might ace some political history in Nation. Part of the significance of the thrust- ing forward of Gov. Ritchie of Mary- land the Democratic presiden have the est serve the interests of t cratic pa the Na The point is. this indorsemen Penns;Ivania is no mere bit of po bypl it is no part of any Rodsevelt” movement. By this approval from so high a source in Pennsyl a and by some other recent events Gov Ritchie becomes, wittout any doubt, a najor candidate for the Democratic nces that strength to G begin with as a Democrat ional Democratic States’ rights, prets it he stands all of i the liqu States’ < cluding particul | public utilitie Admits Candidacy. Gov. Ritchie approaches the presi- | dential nomination in the manner of an older and more candid day. He says he wants the nomination. Then, since he feels that the leaders and voters who will make the choice are entitled to know his position on public questions, he deliberately v his views in 2 series of ¥ composed speeches, These speeches he delivers before au emees of Democrats and cthe ted poriions of the country Pittshurgh, ive impor- Ritchie's intellectual He knows doctrine and as he inter- v it. He stands b; for States' rights on n and he is also for other questions, in- y the regulation of been foliowed by demonst conservativ m those w tive and wet f ere has always been high poten- tia i s f Maryland doubt about his lead is a small toral 45 gets in Roosevelt. to & co able degree, is ceas the candidate of and in something 1. tion is beco South and Wi e North and E ke the same prop ing the candidate of the apparent will not opposed be allowéd to get the nom the bag” before the conventior The nomination will be held pense. and ultimately will be a meeting of minds on the pa leaders. Roosevelt Important “ose leaders get to candidate in n than any ree. ember. have regretted ever That . migk his greatest Roosevelt’s assets. 0. there is one other State both parties bid al uously as they bid f to New York. almost York, party leaders co Ohio. ~ Other things near equal. the De might reason that it their advantage t> n who gives promise of carr one who giv York. And i i ture a stren the person of of r Pouring Bottle of ‘Ink on Head of Judge in German Court ceived a jail sentence for contempt of court in Berlin the other day it was no trick of spiritualism, but a trick of the law. The defendant, or his legal ghost, had aroused the wrath of the court by emptying an ink bottle cn his honor's head because the Jatter had styled him an “alleged” man, with no intention of |insult but simply because the court | records showed plainly enough that he | was dead. |, Fortunately the culprit was a mem- {ber of the Federation of the Living | Dead, which has come to his aid. The | roster of this organization is made up | of persons who have been declared de- | ceased under court writ, either through | ‘lung absence from home or official re- | ports of their deaths in battle, accident, {or shipwreck. The federation assists | them in returning to life. It is comparatively easy to becom~ a dead man under German laws, but extremely difficult to be revived under those same laws. After a man has been unheard of for 10 years, any one who has a legal Interest in his being dead | (usually in connection with insurance lor an inheritance) may have him pro- Inounced so by regular court proceed- | bally judge with a “fait accompli.” | ings, as is, of course, the case in other countries too. If it can be proven that a man has disappeared in war or at sea, he may even be declared non- existent after three years. Court orders containing the declara- tion of death are printed in a federal - BERLIN.—When a dead man re- ! sometimes emba. rrassingly—dead. 1f Re should turn up, he has a hard time con- vineing the court that he im't his owa shadow, and if he insists upon using his old name he runs the chance of ba- ing hocked for misrepresenting his 1den- tity, since all the time he was being thought of as a seccor tel in the Angel Chorus, or something like that. All scrts of complications ally arise when a dead man comes back to life. Property has changed hands, wives have remarried and borne new children. insurance has been collected upon. As a consequence, it takes the strongest _evidence imaginable to froce | the courts to revise pronouncements of death Among the many devices resorted to by living corpses to obtain recognition | as living members of society, a favorite s to refuse the payment of taxes. The Boards of Assessment will then apply for an order to make the taxee swear the oath of manifestation. This is in- varibly objected to on the ground that a dead man can neither be assesse ror made to take an oa Some courts are in the habit cf overruling such ob- Jections. The oath is then sworn and the court’s certificate is introduced as evidence in another suit for nullifica- tion of the declaration of death. It would be so much simpler just being born all over again and present the (Copyright, 1931.) Enterprise Frowned Upon. From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. Jersey court denies a murderer the gazette, and actions of denial may be | privilege of collecting life insurance on suspected of | instituted only within four weeks there- | after. nains From that time on the victim totally, | wit permanently —and. his victim. Isn't this an interference h governmental encouragement of private initiativc?