Evening Star Newspaper, January 11, 1932, Page 8

" A-S THE EVENIN With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY January 11, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star N per Company 111y 8t "had Pennsrivants Ave u ‘ e Yk %x.‘flu Yean Bunidine Flrehean Oc 8. Sondon. “nheand. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Frenine Buar .. 45¢ per month nd Sunday » Fvenin (when 4 Sundays) 60c per month The Evening and Sunday Star (when days) ..........88¢ per month The Sunday S¢_per copy Collection made at the end of ench menth rders may be sent in by mail or telephone Ational 8000 Rate by Mail—Payable In Advance. Maryland and Virginia. aify and Sunday.... | yr. $10.00: 1 mo. g8 i 1y 131, $6.00: 1 mo.. S0c inday only Il 13r. $4.00; 1 mo.. 40c All Other States and Canada. ily and Sunday.. 1 yr.$12.00- 1 mo. $1.00 aily oniy o 13r. 3800 1 mo. e llxl’ only .... 1yr. $5.00. I mo.. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Preas is exclusively entitled to the use for republication of wll rews dis- atches credited {o it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the local rews ublished herein. All rights of publication of Ebecial dispatches hereln are also 1eserved _— e The Convention City. | The Democratic National Committee has decided to hold the party's national convention in the great metropolis of the Middle West, .Chicago. In addition to the large money bid made by that city for the honor of holding the con- vention there were other impelling rea- sons, Tilinois is the third most populous ! State in the Union. It is geographically the center of the great bulk of the population of the country, and it is bordered by States of great importance politically. In November, 1930, Illinois elected Senator Lewls, a Democrat, by | & huge plurality, more than 700,000 | votes. But in spite of this feat, the ma- jority of members of the House from | Ilinois then elected were Republicans; the delegation stands 15 to 12. It is by no means a certainty that the Demo- crats can carry the State in the presi- dential election this year. Those who supported the choice of Chicago as the city for the Democratic convention de- clared that the holding of the conven- tion there would aid greatly in the com- ing campaign, and would be an offset to any advantage which the Repub- licans might obtain from the G. O. P. national convention, which is to open in | Chicago on June 14, just about two weeks before the Democratic conven- tion. It has been apparent for some time | that the prohibition question, which in! part was responsible for the Democratic debacle in the Madison Square Garden convention in 1924, was to come up for consideration in the Democratic Na- tional Convention this year with re- newed force and vigor. With Chicago as the background, where sentiment | against prohibition is rampant, the mention of the prohibition question in the huge convention hall is likely to evoke a tremendous demonstration. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why some of the Democratic leaders, who believe that the campaign must hinge upon economic issues and not prohibition, epposed taking the conven- tion to the Windy City. It may be that Chairman John J. Raskob’s “home rule” referendum plank for the party platform may solve the difficulty of the Demo- cratic wet and dry factions, but that is #iill exceedingly doubtful. The National Committee shelved the issue temporarily by referring the Raskob plan to the Resolutions Committee of the National Convention. The nomination by the Democrats of & presidential candidate who supports the eighteenth amendment would be little short of a political miracle this year. The driest Democratic political leaders, when expressing their real convictions, admit that the party nom- inee will be an opponent of national prohibition. But these drys in the Democratic perty still maintain that the platform must remain undefiled by any promise of support for the liquor interests. And right there will come the rub, if the drys interpret, as many of them already do, the Raskob “home rule” referendum plank as a wet move. It looks more and more, however, as though & majority of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention will be favorable to a wet plank in the party platform, and certainly the atmosphere of Chicago is not likely to change their sentiments after they reach the convention eity. [ = Heavy rains have damaged the foundations and the rock base of a famous Rhineland fortress that was occupied by American troops for a while after the Armistice. Do we have Again it is sald of Lindbergh that he has arrived somewhere, “but his plans are a rigid secret.” It is won- dered if it be barely possible in these days that, did he once let them out, any world cataclysm would ensue? ———— No Part-Time Public Service. One of the several propositions ad- wanced in Congress for the relief of the Treasury by means of curtallment of | the compensation of Government em- ployes is that the working week be re- duced for the individual, with the pay Jowered in proportion. In other words, it is suggested that the Government go on a six-day, or perhaps a five-day basis of operations. This is quite the' most fantastic remedy that has been concelved. Is it expected that the clerks ‘would do as much work in the short- ened week as they are now doing in five and & half days? If 50, the author ©f the plan has a remarkably incorrect measurement of the capacity of the Federal servants. Government work is now kept cur- fent with difficulty. If the short week plan were adopted, it would fall seri- ously in arrears. A notlon prevails in some quarters that the average de- partmental employe is a slacker, doing only just enough work to “get by.” As & matter of fact there is not a more diligent, painstaking and industrious body of workers in this country than those who serve Uncle Sam. Though they get no overtime pay, many of them remain at thelr desks long after closing hours to clear them of documents re- | government after has accepted the present ministry's pro | . the latter Winfleld Scott. THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, JA G STAR !their work home at night in order to| meet schedules of official action. To slice time and pay in order to save expenses would merely mean the Iplllng up of work to be done later by | even an increased force when the pres- !ent depression passes. There is no economy in such procedure. If there is needless detail in the Federal offices, if the service of the Government costs too much because much of it is worth- less—which is not established as the case—the remedy is to cut the forces and lessen the requirements, to adopt & new scale of Government operations. Consolidation of some of the bureaus and perhaps even of some of the de- partments of the Federal organization would undoubtedly permit economies. The President has urged the adoption of meacurss to thisend. But until there is rore such reorganization there can be no curtailment of the personnel, and there should be no thought of shorten- ing the working week or reducing the pay scale, ——— M. Briand's Resignation. Nothing could be more unfortunate for the cause of European peace and reconciliation at this hour than the enforced retirement of Aristide Briaud on account of illness. His relinquish- ment of the French foreign minister- week when Premier Laval formally tenders the resignation of his entire | cabinet, incident to the recent death of | War Minister Andre Maginot There hes rot been a time in recent Eurcpean history when M. Briand could be l°ss spared than now. During his six years at the helm on the Qual d'Or- say, throughout the recurring changes in French cabinets, his has remained the steadying hand, the continuous and consistent influence in the direction of amity, especially with the great neigh- bor to the east. M. Briand did not al- ways find it easy to make the olive branch the symbol of French policy toward Germany, but if the relations between the republic and the Reich have been characterized since 1925 by at least something more than external cordial- ity, it is the Briand touch that is en- titled to the credit. Once again the Franco-German sit- uation is at a delicate, not to say a dangerous, point. Chancellor Bruen- ing’s fat-footed affirmation that Ger- many is at the end of her reparation rope and can pay no more annuities to her conqueror-creditors has evoked in Paris the reaction that might have been expected. When Premier Laval is reintrusted with a mancate to form a President Doumer forma resignation he is sure to be con- fronted in the chamber with a demand for a forcible protest against proposed German “violation of the treaty of Ver- sallles.” Possibly M. Briand's silver tongue would have inveighed vainly against anything savoring of reprisals against the Reich. But it would at least have pointed the way of consid- eration and cautlon, lest Europe's eco- nomic situation, already gravely awry, be aggravated to the point of catas- trophe by precipitate action against the German “defaulter.” With the Lausanne debt and Geneva disarmament ccnferences just over the horison, Aristide Briand's complete dis- appearance from French public life would amount to a world calamity. It is gratifying to know that, his physical condition permitting, he will accept an inactive post in the reconstituted Laval government and thus be able to throw his velvet glove into counsels that might be prone to rely exclusively on the iron hand. Do e The Swedish “match king” called to reassure President Hoover as to the general situation in Europe. It is hoped he is not in error, but possibly the pocket lighter is not yet prevalent in Sweden. —————————— ‘Will Rogers writes that the Equator runs right through his hotel bed room in Singapore. “Boy, take these sand- wiches over to that party in the North- ern Hemisphere.” Mussolini is a gallant as well as a forceful character. For a day he re- mains unobtrusive and permits Italy freely to celebrate the birthday of her admirable Queen. e It begins to look as though a far- seeing citizen might just bequeath his entire estate to the Government of the United States and be done with it. ——vate—— Democratic Cheer in History. Research into the records, promoted by the choice of Chicago as a meeting place this year by both Republicans and Democrats, has disclosed the fact that on only two previous occasions have the leading political parties in this country assembled in the same city in their National Conventions for the naming of their presidential tickets. In 1852 the Democrats and the Whigs met in Baltimore, the former nominat- ing Pranklin Pjerce for President and Plerce was elected. In 1884 the parties met again on the same ground in Chicago, the Democrats naming Grover Cleveland | and the Republicans James G. Blaine. Cleveland was elected. Thus it is that the choice of Chicago by the Democrats following the same selection by the Republicans, for the '1932 conventions, is hailed by enthu- "stasts of the former party as a token ,of victory in November. A bit of his- tory, however, may affect the judg- ment on this score. In 1852 the Whig | party was “shot to pieces” and, more- over, it picked about the most un- !promising candidate to be found. Its defeat was foreshadowed ere the weak | cheers that greeted the ticket in the | convention hall died away. In 1884 | Democratic victory was the result of Republican betrayal in New York State, where Roscoe Conkling’s friends knifed Blaine just enough to turn the electoral vote of that State over to Cleveland, ‘glving him the victory. | There is always, in retrospect, a fairly | clear reason for every political result. That reason does not spring from the place where the nominating convention is held. Democratic prospects for suc- cess in 1932 would be as bright as they are believed by the members of the party to be today if the convention were to be held in Philadelphia or Boston, 8t. Louls or San Francisco, if not Chi- ship is expscted to be announced this | The geographic factor is no longer—if it ever were—of moment in this equa- “tion. i However, it is likely that much will " be made of the coincidence of the con- ' ventions in Chicago. There will perhaps ! be much rustling of the pages of politi- 'cal history. Maybe the stories of the Itwo campaigns which were started in the same cities, in 1852 and 1884, will | be retold over and over again between | now and the time when the gavels fall |on the shore of Lake Michigan, After | that there will be no use in looking |back eighty and forty-elght years. There will be politics enough in 1932 to hold the attention of everybody. S e “Immoral and Imbecile Slush.” Many a radio listener will applaud Society in Boston Sunday, when he scored the “whiners and bleaters de- filing the air" with their “crooning” songs. In the course of his talk about the deplorable condition of the stage and other forms of public entertain- ment, the cardinal said: 1 desire to speak earnestly about a degenerate form of singing which is called crooning. No true American would practice this base art. I like to use my radio when weary. But I can't turn the dials without getting these whiners, crying vapid words to impos- sible tunes. If you will listen closely when you are unfortunate enough to get one of these, you will discern th~ basest appeals to sex emotions in the young. They are not true love songs thev profane the neme. They are rib2ld and revolting to true men. If you will have music, have good music, not this immoral and imbacile slush. Strong language, but not too strong | to express the protest that is felt by a large percentage of the people who rely upon the radio for much of their en- tertainment. Analysis of the “slush” that Cardinal O'Connell cites as an affront to decent taste reveals its de- moralizing character. As music it is atrocious. As amusement it is dis- gusting. ‘There are many radio listeners who promptly turn off the “air” when the | crooners start their whining. Much especially in those dedicated to the proclamation of the merits of goods for sale, is pretty poor stuff, but it is at | least decent, smd not unwholesome. The particular listener, who turns on the radio for real pleasure, or for in- struction and inspiration, finds his field narrowed materially by these features which he cannot tolerate. The combination of peor music. of doubtful moral quality, and the slith- | ering, sliding, lounge-lizard voice of the crooner is anathema to so many that the radio enterprise is just now under an undoubted handicap of unpopularity with enough people to cause the manu- facturers and the program promoters to be concerned about their ‘“‘unseen audiences.” If the snap-offs that mark the silencing of these debasing per- formers could be heard by the man- agers of this leading form of public entertainment they would probably quickly come to the conclusion that other features should be substituted for the whining insinuators of “sex appeal.” P — According to a question-and-answer column, the United States Military Acad- emy was the first school in the country to use class rings. According to Ha vard, Princeton was the first to use them in foot ball games. — ee— About how often is that credit pool to be cleaned out? ———— ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. A Pervasive Power. Dat old typewriter keep a-clickin’ away With somethin’ new to say, A-clickin’ every day. When I try to take my banjo, a-singin’ at my ease, Dat old machine keeps goin’ jes as lively as you please, A-keepin’ up a chatter 'Bout mos’ every kind o’ matter, Tell I has to stop de playin' so's to listen to de clatter. Clatterin’ in de kitchen foh to write de bill o’ fare, Clatterin’ in de office an’ a-clatterin’ everywhere, Dat ol' typewriter keeps a-clickin’' so fast I 'spects it’s gineter be de only noise we'll hear at last. I hopes wif all its clickin’ It will mebbe put a trick in All de fussin' dat brings up de cannon's roar, An’ de world may be politer ‘When we takes dat ol’ typewriter An’ jes’ turns it loose an’ lets it hab de floor. No Hurry. “When are you going to tell the people | just where you stand on this important question?” “Not till I have to,” replied Senator Sorghum. “I'm going to let everybody express opinions before I do, and then select the one that seems most popular.” Never Considers It Possible. “No man ever likes to think he is being flattered.” “Quite true,” replied Miss Cayenne. “And no man ever thinks #0.” Flirting With Fear. Some men will frame with gloom intense Forebodings of some future ill, Not based on fact or inference, But just because they want a thrill. “What is your favorite musical com- position?” + “Haven't picked it yet,” replied Mr. { Cumrox. “But I'll say right now it's going to be something my daughter doesn’t try to sing or play.” The Pessimist’s Viewpoint. “Father,” said the small boy, “what's an optimist?” “An optimist, my son, is a man who tries s0 hard to be cheerful that you feel sorry to see him overworking him- self.” Impractical. We should be silent, saving when We can inform our fellow men. It all observed this maxim neat, How oft would silence reign complete! “De man who prides hisse'f on sayin’ quiring attention and analysis and|cago. The Republican task of a suc-|what he thinks” said Uncle Eben, “is preparation for final disposition. \“furthermore, many Federal employes, the meeting were to be held in Cleve- on de sayin’ an’ not 'auf --‘-m-muwm\un Uand, o« Baltimore, Omaha or Detroit. thinkin' ’ And | cessful campaign would be as heavy if ! mightly liable to put too much speed power on de | the words of Cardinal O'Connell, in au | address to 3,000 men of the Holy Name | that remains of the regular programs, ' v | i | | | | | “I know you so well, I know what | you will reply, while this stranger may have something new to tell me." So cays a character in Dumas’ “For- ty-Five Guardsmen.” One doesn't know the stranger. Therefore he Is interesting. And to be feared. The older onme grows, the less in- clined he is to like new people. The sensible man fights against this feeling, while at the same time he recognizes it. The why of it intercsts him. A young man entering a business after {a time may come to be surprised at, and perhaps a little resentful of, the older man who does not “cotton” to him right away. He feels that the older man looks |upon him as something of an inter- loper, and evidently just puts up with him ‘because he has to, not particu- larly because he wants to. It is not until years later, when he, in’his turn, becomes an older man, that he even begins to understand how the oldster felt about him. his turn, and is called upon to wel- come a flow of youngsters, each full of life and hope, that he senses just what was going on in the minds of the old 1 fellows of his early days. £k It was not jealousy. It was not the fear that the youngsters were going to do_any usurping on a large scale, It simply was the disappearance of their youth in those old fellows, just as it is in the end of his own young days in him, he begins to realize ai last. Youth is eager, and therefore tol- erant. Despite the fine hymns which have been set up to the intcierance of youth, it is as nothing to the intol- erance of middle and old age. Not so me:h what may be termed middle age is at fault as the beginning of old age. That is nearer it, closer home. Then a man is about forced to admit to himself what he can do and, what s perhaps more important, what he cannot do. At least he knows his limits. While hope is never relinquished, he becomes a sort of modern stoic philosopher who does not permit hope unfulfilled to spoil his life. Hope never flies out the window, We know many capable men who still believe that they will produce great novels if they can but get around jto it. The curious thing is that there is no doubt in the minds of their friends that they could do it if they could get around to it. Evidently it is the getting around to it that is the difficult part. And it is just there that the man at the tail end of middle age, or at the initial years of what may be called old age (and that phrase doesn’t mean a hundred years by many, many years!), it is right there that such a man meets the difficulty of “getting around to it.” Habits have crystallized. Not only his own habits, especially of mind, but alto the habits of mind of others in re- gard to him. He knows what he has done—and so do they. Unless he lit- erally amrazes them as well as himself, Ihe cannot budge their opinion of him ‘an inch. Nor, unfortunately, can he { change his own opinion of himself very ! much. Hence a man tends to become static. A ok At this point the youngster, the stranger, appears on the scene. He is new, he is green, he is bubbling. The oldster is old, he is gray, he is con- servative. He may realize that the youngster has something to tell him which might prove interesting, but he does not want to hear it. Why does he BY FREDERIC With the tumult and the shouting over, the Democratic captains and kings depart, enthusiastically confident that the “victory campaign” of 1932 has been auspiciously launched. The National Committee steered successfully around the rock of discord. Prohibi- tion, instead of provoking a hullabaloo, provided an opportunity for harmony. with wet Chairman Raskob and dry Gov. Byrd of Virginia agreeing on reso- lutions which pass the booze buck to the Resolutions Committee at the con- vention. their party conclave in June, Democrats see yet another omen of the rising sun. It was in the year of 1884 that bolh parties last chose the Midwestern metropolis for their quadrennial con- claves, and five months later Grover Cleveland beat James G. Blaine for the presidency. It was in the famed Wig- wam at Chicago in 1892 that the Demo- crats again nominated Cleveland, who in the succeeding November over- whelmed a Republican President, Ben- jamin Harrison, seeking to perpetuate himself, even as Herbert Hoover now does. History, every Democratic mun and woman worthy of the name is con- vinced, is zbout to repeat itself, with the Chicago tradition running true to form. Roosevelt, sentiment was omnipresent during the Democrats’ two-day love feast in the Capital, but not over- whelmingly predominant. There was fairly general agreement even among the partisans cf other presidential can- didates that while the New York Gov- ernor may not be the most pre-emi- nently fitted man in the party, he is the most available, from a purely po- litical standpoint. And the fleshpots of victory are what the party is mostly thinking about. That impressively mon- umental majority by which he carried New York State in 1930 is the Roose- velt people’s strongest talking point, and it carries weight. With the filing of the Governor's name in the North Dakota primary, his pre-convention campaign will get into full stride. Only superoptimistic Rooseveltians expect to enter the convention with a two-thirds majority already in the bag. Ritchie, Baker—-and particularly Al Smith—are going to have a good deal to say about that. Xk Two class A ambassadorships—a colo- nfal governor generalship and the ministership to Greece—are & pretty useful cluster of patronage plums for an administration to command on the eve of a presidential campaign. The Athens post, just vacated by the trans- fer of Minister Skinner to Riga, will probably go to a foreign service career man. The embassies at London and Tokio, soon to be available through the resignations, respectively, of Gen. Dawes and Mr. Forbes, and the Governor's Palace in Porto Rico, now tenanted by Col. Theodore Roosevelt, are sure to be handed over to deserving Republicans. Although all three jcbs would have only a year and a quarter to run, if the enemy occupies the White House in March, 1933, there’ll be no lack of G. O. P. Barkises willin’ to enact the roles of sacrificial lambs, * K oK x President Hoover will have to pick men with tough hides for the London and Tokio ambassadorships if they are to enjoy the posts. Yankee stock in neither Great Britain nor Japan is any- thing to write home about at the pres- ent moment. Our attitude on war debts has not enhanced the popularity of the United States in John Bull's islands, while the Stimson note on Manchuria has set no Nipponese to shrieking “'Ban- zal!” in Uncle Sam's honor. Henry P. Fletcher, late chairman of the United States Tariff Commssion, long has rank- ed as a potential envoy to the Court of St. James. Senator Dave Reed was sup- posed to be casting a roving eye in the same direction, but the speech he's just delivered about the money Britain owes us takes him definitely out of the pic- ture. The gossip about London includes the names of Undersecretary of State Castle, former Ambassador Alanson B. Houghton and former G. O. P, National Chairman Willlam M. Butler. It also credits Walter E. Edge with a longing to cross the channel from Paris, while THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. It is only when he becomes older, in | WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS In the choice of Chicago for | not want to hear it? Often he asks himself this question if he happens to | be of the questioning type of mind, and | always his answer is: Because I am not interested. I have seen just ‘cnough and know just enough to be | practicatly sure that he will tell me nothing new, although he may think it is new, and that I will not be inter- ested in it, but will find the entire process somewhat tiresome. | Hence the elder adopts & policy of | reserve in regard to the stranger, | which becomes more fixed as the years | go by. The young man may not under- | stand it, but he will at last. In_ the | meantime it makes no difference. It is that feeling as much a&s any other | which holds back the experienced un- | Jess he happens to be of that peculiar ! brand of human beings which delights in poking its long nose into the affairs of youth. It cannot be gainsaid that | men and women of ths‘typc do some gocd in the world. Perhaps they are essential, but we do not think so, end | very few of mi ‘yzl)(ung people they at- | tempt to help think so. e ‘Joung man by a sort of sixth | sense knows that the actions, or lack | of actions, of the average older man are comehow right in the normal state of | things, and that he cannot escape from |it in his turn. It is this feeling, held by even the most frivolous of young- sters in business, which enables them | to discount the seeming discourtesy and | plain” indifference of those who are their elder in years. x ok ¥ ¥ The stranger, the newcomer, may Fave something new to tell, and one dcesn't want to hear it. That i5 the plan truth. The hypocrite will say it is not the truth, but it is. ~Assertion does not make truth; facts make truth. | But the facts may be behind assertion. | The old-timers do not want to hear something new. So the secret is out. | The gentleman who spoke at the be- ginning of Dumas’ “Forty-five Guards- | men” was a young man. He was vivid, | filled with the lure of life and the lure of the hopes of youth. He did not yet know how much he would be unable to |do. If youth could know that, there | would be no youth. Youth says, toler- |ant of what it does not know: ‘“Here | comes a stranger. Let me talk to him, | He will have something new to tell me.” EXperience says, | what it does not know: “Here comes a stranger. Let me walk along without recognizing him, because he might try | to tell me something he thinks is so but which I know fsn’t.”” Thus middle age and older age may be felicitated on taking a stand which refrains from breaking up the hopes of youth. Theirs is a larger tolerance. With a ruthless smile, they might destroy countless dreams, but they go ahead plodding. The; hesitate to meet the new and to listen to it, not because trey are really afraid of it, although perhaps some of that, too, but mostly because they know in advance that they probably will not be able to agree with | the “new” opinion which they are sure to receive. The era of their controversy, except for a few rare souls, is over. Indigna- tion is ended. Peace and quietness are desired. Hence the stranger, with his | eternal “something new.” is passively | disliked. And the old fellows cannot help from show\ng it, if by no more than by letting the youngsters alone. | Nor should the latter be surprised at it |'or in the least hurt ; nor need they expect to ever catch up with them. | The older they grow themselves the }rnnher away the others recede. And this, too, is life. WILLIAM WILE. Dawes ever turned in his London ere- dentials. * K kK | Scores of Democratic national leaders made the personal acquaintance of | John N. Garner for the first time at | 1ast week's party pow-wow m Washing- |ton They liked him from the word go. They found the Speaker filled with a deep sense of responsibility for a cred- itable Democratic record in the House | of Representatives at this critical hour. | The presidential bee is humming around the ruddy-faced Texan's sage old head | without turning it. While the Demo- | cratic braves were in town, Jack Gar- ner heard a brand-new slogan coined in his honor, “Garner Roses with Roosevelt and Garner.” New York and Texas, as the folks came to think about it, wouldn't make a half-bad 1932 | combination. EL® ok Foot ball is due for a new boom at West Point when Maj. Gen. William D. Connor, just appointed superintendent of the United States Military Academy, takes up his duties on the Hudson palisades. Gen. Connor, now com- mandant of the Army War College at Washington, is one of West Point’s legendary gridiron herces. The only ‘:r!icle of jewelry he sports is a battered old silver foot ball, about the size of a | peanut—trophy of Army's victory over | Navy during the last year Connor played on the West Point team. Gen. | Connor will take some first-hand | knowledge of Far Eastern military con- | ditions to West Point. From 1923 to 11926 he was commander of United | States Army forces in China, and ranks | as an expert on politico-military eondi- | tions fn that distressful quarter of the globe. CHET Current events would seem to estab- | lish that the Roosevelts must certainly | be given high place among our ruling families. Here's one of ’em, Franklin D., about to move heaven and earth 10 transfer from the Executive Mansion at Albany to the Executive Mansion at Washington. Then comes Theodore, his cousin twice or thrice removed, with orders to switch from the governor gen- eral’s palace at San Juan to the gov- ernor general's palace at Manila. Young | Teddy, let it be said in passing, is re- | ported to have found himself in Porto | Rico. His administration of affairs | down there is described by insiders as a really first class plece of work, ac- | complished under almost baffling cir- cumstances. The colonel has an even | finer opportunity in the Philippines. | He raised a worth while curtain for | himself at Manila by his attempt at the American Legion Convention in Detroit | last_year to avoid harsh Legion action | on Filipino immigration. | ADoK Dr. Mary Emma Woolley, woman- kind's delegate to the Geneva Confer- | ence, was asked by her friend Janet Richards, Washington current events specialist, what role she expects to play at the disarmament parley. “I shall be neither dumb nor garrulous,” the presi- dent of Mount Holyoke rejoined. (Copyright, 1832 —— e The Upper Pitch. | Prom the Toledo Blade. | High taxes are making it easier for | Americans to reach that squealing note in the national anthem. Poor Production. From the Lynchburg News. The pessimist points to the fact that 9,000 bills have been introduced during the present session of Congress, and the optimist to the fact that only six of them were passed. —r———— Off Again, On Again. From the Topeka Daily Capital Gandhi has a colorful life—first in jail, then an honored guest in & Klng': palace, and then, plump! in jail again! - Hard Bailcds. o From the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. “Tell me what yuliu eat” said Bru;et- Savarin “and I Wi u are ‘Kindly note that “Alfalfa Bill Murray likes his eggs intolerant of | tell you what you | po: NUARY 11, 1932 The Political Mill G. Gould Lincoln. The political pot, which has bsen | simmering for a long time, boiled over | auring the last week. In the first place, Gov. Albert C. Ritchie of Maryland sei i the pace for the Democratic presiden- tial candidates by announcing his own candidaey formally. This promptly brought *‘Jim” Reed of Missouri into the fleld, who admitted that he would be glad to have the support of the State delegation at the Democratic Na- tional Convention which is to be held June 27 in Chicago. It also brought from supporters of Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt who were in Washington to attend the Jackson day dinner and the subsequent meeting of the party'’s Na- tional Committee predictions thatRoose- velt's candidacy for the presidential nomination would be in the open within a few days, with the Democratic State Committee of North Dakota cracking | the wey for the Roosevelt bandwagon. * ook ox {great excitement because of the resig- nation, or pre-announcement of reslg nation, of Ambassadcr Charles . Dawes from his post at the court of St. James. Immediately Gen. Dawes' determination to quit public life was in- terpreted as the first step to enter it again via the White House. Gen. Dawes himself has said it was “all damn nonsense.” But that will not quiet the report that he is preparing to seek the Republican nomination for Pres- ident, not by a jugfull. It may be ex- pected that ‘he Dawes rumor will grow and expand with the lengthening days The truth of the matter, however, ap- peers to be that Gen. Dawes is not likely to become a candidate for Pres ident unless President Hoover should 53y, as his predecessor said on occasion: “I do not choos2 to run for President. * ok ok K If the President should utter any such phrase, there is every probability that Gen. Dawes’ friends would im- mediately put him forward for the pres- idential nomination. Some of them are already attempting to do so, includ- ing Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick, who was defeated in the senatorial race in 1920 in Illinois by the stupendous vote of 700,000 in a State which has usually gone Republican by many hundreds of thousands. In that particular cam- paign Mrs. McCormick, according to Illinois politicians, made so many po- litical mistakes that she could not pos- | cibly have hoped for victory. Just why | the G. O. P. should listen to her now, when she urges Mr. Hoover to .ake j himself out of the picture, as she did in her 1ewspaper before Gen. Dawas’ int:ntion to resign his ambassadorial | post was announced, it aot slear. If Gen. Dawes is to be a candidate for the presidential nomination he will have to come out and admit it. He might have had a good chance for the nomination in 1928 if he had not hung back behind his friend, former Gov. Frank O. Lowden of Illinols. He gave Gov. Lowden his chance and Gen. Dawes' friends, expecting Mr. Lowden to help tie up the convention if he could not actually be nominated, hoped for a swing to Gen. Dawes. The plan was too complicated. In the end, Gov. Lowden, in a huff, did not even permit his name to go before the Republican National Convenlion; Mr. Hoaver was ! nominated oi. the first ballot, and Gen. Rawes' friends were, to say the least, disappointed. * * If Gen. Dawes had any idea that President Hoover was going to declare himself out of the race, he might just as well have hung on to the office of Ambassador for a while. He could, when the announcement was made from the White House, have become a candi- date just as readily from his office in London as from his office in Chicago. As a matter of fact, it will not be long before the delegations to the Repub- lican National Convention are selected in some States, via the primary route. And if Mr. Hoover has any intention of asserting that he will not bs a candi- datd for re-election, he could not well ubgit off mueh longer. But no one z)d;y expects Mr. Hoover to declare he will not run, despite the fact that a number of people talk about it. Gen. Dawes, those say who are close to him, is retiring from his London post so that he may return to Chicago and look after his -own business, banking, which re- quires his attention. That sounds rea- sonable in these days. * K Kk K The Republicans up in New Hamp- shire received a s2vere sctback in the first congressional district whon their candidate for electicn to fill the Hale vacancy in the Housz was defeated by the Democrat, Rogers, by almost 3,000 majority. Former Gov. Bartlett, the Republican nominee, defended the Hoover administration. The Democrats attacked it. Good arguments in sup- port of the Hoover administration not only can be made, but were made. But arguments are not likely to convince a voting public which is down in the mouth because of hard times and lack of employment. The G. O. P. candi- date was turned down. It almost looks as though, no matter what the Demo- crats may do from now until election time, the same disgruntled attitude of the voters will assure them victory. They no longer appear to vote for any one or anything, but against some one and something. Therein lies the par- ticular danger of the Republicans this year. * % Senator Moses of New Hampshire is no trimmer. Immediately after the de- feat of Bartlett in the congressional race he announced that he was for the re- clection of President Hoover, that he would seek election as a delegate at large from New Hampshire to the Re- publican National Convention as a Hoo- ver delegate. Senator Moses himself is up for re-election this year. There has been talk in the past that Gov. Winant, the young and progressive Republican who smashed precedent and won for himself a second election as Governor of the White Mountain State, would an- nounce himself a candidate for the Re- publican senatorial nomination. But friends of Senator Moses believe now that this matter of the senatorial nomi- nation is straightening itself out satis- factorily and that Gov. Winant will re- strain his senatorial ambitions for a few more years. Winant, too, is expected to b2 a delegate to the Republican National Convention and is expected to run along with Senator Moses in the primary for this honor, without friction between the two. * K ok ok The anti-Roosevelt Democrats, mean- ing the supporters of all other possible Democratic candidates for the presi- dential nomination, are taking no little satisfaction from the fact that Chi- cago, after all, was picked as the city for the Democratic National Conven- tion, in spite of the fact that Roose- velt'’s adherents in Washington for the National Committee meeting on Sat- urday insisted they would not have the convention in either Chicago or Atlantic City. The Roosevelt group is being called “amateurish” and unable to cope with the keen minds in the anti-Roosevelt faction of the Demo- cratic party. But, whether the Roose- velt people were outmaneuvered or not in this matter of convention city pick- ing—and some of them claim they were not, but were perfectly willing to have the convention go to Chicago—it looks as though some of the Roosevelt supporters were inclined to do too much talking and have made it possi- ble for the antis to make it appear that Roosevelt has received a political black eye in this affair. * ok kK The bitterness with which the anti- Roosevelt Democrats discuss the candi- dacy of the New York Governor for the presidential nomination is remarkable. They are likening him to McAdoo in the 1924 pre-convention campaign and they hope to align many of the same forces against the New York Governor that opposed McAdoo and prevented his nomination eight years ago. But Gov. Roosevelt has a deal of sup- rt in many places that was denied to Mr, McAdoo. It still looks like a bet- ter-than-even bet Roosevelt will get £ namination 15 Juge o g & S | on the Republican side there was! ANSWERS TO | Readers of this newspaper are re- minced that this department does not uncertake to give advice on legal, medi- | {cal or financial matters. Any question of fact, however, will be answered by personal letter without cost to the | reader, save a 2-cent stamp for the | reply postage. Writers must give their | Jtull’ names and_addresses, and_state their questions clearly. Address all in- quiries to Tre Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin director, Washington, D. C. Q. What are the highest prices brought in the sale of thoroughbreds in | recent years>—W. H. D. | A. The Thoroughbred Record fur- | nishes the following: Tracery, $265,- 000; Rock Sand, $150,000; Friar Rock, $13000; Whiskaway, ' $125,000; Inch- cape, $115,000, and The Finn, $110,000. The famcus stallion Fair Play fetched | $100,000 at public auction in’the Bel- mont dispersal in 1925, when 20 years old. The record price for a yearlihg— | in fact, a world's record—was estab- | lished at Saratoga in 1928, when a colt by Whisk Broom II out of Payment, bred by Mrs. T. J. Regan of New York | and Lexington, was sold at public auc- | tion for $75,000. Q. What is the origin of the name Sylvesterabend, which the Germans | give to New Year eve-—V. C. | A. Sylvesterabend is named in honor 10of Pope Sylvester I, whose feast in the Roran Catholic Church is celebrated | 3111 slggc('mber 31. He died December . . | —_— | | Q What is the bonus for scoring | | game in progreasive contract?—T. K. | A. A game is made when one side bids and makes a trick score of 100 points or more in one hand. In addi- tion to the trick score the premium for | game is 300 points if not vulnerable | and 500 points if vulnerable. The side | having the higher score after four deals gets a bonus of 250. If both sides have exactly the same score, each | of the four players receives a bonus of | 25 points. Q. How does fare for airplane travel | in America compare with the price | abroad?—D. 8. A. The average fare on American | air transport lines is 7 cents a mile. Foreign rates vary with the different companies. The Winter rates are be- tween 6% cents and 9 cents a mile and Summer rates between 7 and 11 | | cents a mile. | Q. Can the old submarines be pur- | | chased?>—K. M. A. The Navy Department says that | old submarines may be purchased from the Navy Department provided they are urchased in competition. There is no law forgidding ownership of a subma- rines provided the person proves his | ability to operate it and complies with all the conditions. Q. Are there more people in our in- sane Ww. . R. A. There are. In 1930 there were | {415,042 patlents in mental hospitals, | 2n increase of 19,635 over 1929. Q. How many varieties of stamps a i there in the world?—A. B. e t A. There are approximately 65,000 varieties of stamps of the different countries of the world. Q. How many Presidents of the United States have been the sons of ministers of the Gospel?—C. McC. A. Four. President Cleveland's father was a Presbyterian minister, President Arthur's father was a Baptist minister, President Wilson's father was a Pres- byterian minister, and President | Hoover’s mother was a preacher in the Priends or Quaker Meeting. Q. What business were the Packards BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN. asylums than ever be!ore-—J.‘[ QUESTIONS in before entering the automobile busi~ ness?—N. 8. A. Two Packard brothers are manu- facturers of electric lights and electric supplies in Warren, Ohio. In 1899 they decided to go into the moter car busi- ness. Q. What does the expression “The goose hangs high” mean?—M. C. A. Tt is believed to be a corrupiion of “The goose honks high, as in falr weather.” The expression is used to indicate that the prospect is good. Q. When was the American Meroury founded? What was its circulation?— F. W. A. In 1924. In 1925 its circulation was 24,367. Q. How many portraits did Thomas Sully paint?—D. E. L. A. There are more than 2,000 listed portraits by this artist. In addition he ex>cuted many minjatures and about 500 subject paintings. 5 % li‘[tht is the area of Jerusalem?— A. Jerusalem is on a quadrangular plateau one-half mile square, sur- rounded on the three sides by steep valleys, The walls of modern Jerusalem inclose 210 acres. Q. When did the Vestris sink? What became of the mail she carried?—J. J. A. The steamship Vestris foundered at 1:25 p.m. November 12, 1928. The mail went down with the ship. Q Do the patents in the Patent Office contain the names of the manu- facturers of the articles>—C. W. A. They do not. Q. Was John Bunyan in prison when ke wrote “Piigrim's Progress"?—H. F. A. Before John Bunyan left prison he had begun his great book, “Pilgrim's Progress.” Bunjan's formal pardon is ‘dS::fd ?Epfggnbfl' lwg. The first e of “Pilgrim's ess” appea in February, 1678. pReAted Q. Are Chinese temples older than szptlé;‘i ones?—S. K. q nese temples are rarely vi old. Being built of wood, they hl’vl :3 ::gmttl;e lasting qualities of marble and Q. What products are yielded by a barrel of crude oil>—L. 8. % v . A. Tre Bureau of Mines says that the average yleld would be: Gasoline, 26 per cent; kerosene, 9 per cent; fuel and gas oil, 48 per cent; miscellaneous oils, 6 per cent; lubricating oils, 4 per cent: losses, 4 per cent; wax, coke ang asphalt, 3 per cent. 5 Q. Do civilized men still wear ear- | rings?—M. L. A. The custom of wearing earrin {15 ‘observed by the men In several Oric ental countries which are included as among the civilized nations. Certain types of East Indians wear earrings, as well as certain of the North African peoples. This form of adornment is also traditional among pirates. Fc%g!’le;u 1glv;z igmecfhlctx about the wheel at the Chica, ? hAr—TGh g B g0 World's o e Ferris wheel which oper: at the World's Fair in Chlcngpo Ivtl:g designed and built by George W. Ferris of Pittsburgh, Pa. It had a diameter of 250 feet, a circumference of 825 feet and a width of 30 feet. The ends rested upon two skeleton iron towers sup- ported upon concrete foundations. Two Wheels in combination formed the re- volving structure, which depended for strength upon the bicycle wheel prin- ciple. Iron rods 2'% inches in diameter were substituted for wires. It had 36 carriages, with a seating capacity of 40 each. The total weight with passengers was estimated at 1,200 tons. Finland's decisive vote against pro- hibition 1s viewed with mv.-m'.p by Americans on both sides of the liquor question. While the popular vote is only advisory, the understanding in this country 1s that the national legis- lators will act in accordance with the | expression of opinion at the polls. The | ease of action, as contrasted with the | constitutional ' requirements of _this country, is stressed in the comments. “Everybody in Finland is pleased ex- cept the smugglers, the moonshiners and the bootleggers,” according to the Buffalo Evening News, which suggests that in the United States “their nefari- ous traffic has grown to such propor- tions that it is now counted as the fourth industry in size in the country.” The Evening News believes that “open- minded citizens, with a sense of values, have come to regard prohibition, not as an asset, but as a heavy liability.” The Cincinnati Times-Star holds it is “in-| structive to American lawmakers” that the Finnish Parliament agreed that | “‘even if only 40 per cent of the voters favored repeal, the government would | modify the law on the ground that so| stron¥ a minority made the law un-| enforceable,” which is interpreted by the Times-Star as “facing the facts of human nature.” “The United States alone among the News, of one part of the country on another.” That paper declares that the “gesture now being made in the American Con- gress for a vote on the subject” is “political rather than social, for both sides seem to be determined to put cer- tain members on record before the con- | gressional elections.” Pointing to the| lack of enough support to change the | Constitution, the World-News con- cludes: “While experience indicates | that prohibition is only practicable | where there is a strong body of public sentiment back of it, the United States has not as yet been willing to recognize that fact by returning the matter to the States, and allowing each to decide for itself, with Federal protection from interference by its neighbors.” “That the Finns are in a hurry to get back to wet conditions,” in the opinion of the Charlotte Observer, “is indicated in call for Parliament to meet this month, to make the vote of the people operative. The surprise is in the haste of the people to have the laws changed.” Commenting that “Ameri- cans may envy the ease with which | other countries, having had enough of prohibition experiences, correct the er-| yor and adopt such other forras of reg- | ulation as they desire,” the Chicago Daily Tribune points out that this| country “remains as an example and admonition against the transfer of an enthusiasm into the most binding law the structure of the country knows.” The Goshen News-Times emphasizes that the change in Finland “will be a simple matter, for it may be accom- plished by a simple vote of the Diet.” Taking a different attitude on the subject, the Rochester Times-Union offers the explanation: *“As had been explained before the referendum was held, the agitation was strongly influ- treasury desperately needed the income from an excise tax, which was recom- mended by the wets as a much better method than to permit such wealth to leave the country through bootleg chan- nels. To that extent the prohibition issue has been disposed of on the strength of a more or less unrelated Democratic national convention runs so | long. And if the Democrats do not go to Roosevelt, to whom will they go? None of the “antis” are willing to leave | their own particular candidates so far. Baker is carrying too much League and debt cancellation weight. Smith is not so popular in New York as he used to be. White of Ohio is too dry. Ritchie of Maryland is too wet. Roosevelt, in the opinion of many of the Democratic lnvler-‘,xr;;,r‘;c “{"hmhn‘m than any other rat who sugges! for the npminstlon. W, X Americans Study | Referendum on Prohibition Finland’s consideration. If balancing the bud; should be made the final gcrlm-lon or social legislation, there would be no limit to the t; of law or license that might be legalized. Although Finland has decided to restore the sale of liquor, it does not follow that it is on the way |to more healthful or prosperous condi- Efinfl;:fl t‘l,::t account. Money spent for c beverages cannot buy f ] ges ly food and Conceding that “majority rule is the practical and best way humanity has found for government,” the Salt Lake Deseret News states: “While the ma- Jority vote of 3,500,000 people who have | given more than a decade of time to | the experiment is important, yet it must be considered, first, that the decision is not necessarily right; second, that the | conditions are not those which should greatly influence a nation of 123,000,000 with different social conditions. The majority can be wrong. They may have been wrong when they voted for pro- hibition in the first place. It is mani- festly still an experiment.” “Neither wets nor drys seem to be stating anything particularly signifi- cant about the result,” in the judgment of the New London Day, which declares further: “Some peculiar alcoholic mist or chemical gas surrounds the prohibi- tion question, absolutely incapacitating the mental processes of its friends and foes alike. More sophistry, distorted in- formation and stubborn disregard of perfectly apparent facts have been en- gendered by the prohibition law on both sides of the fence than by any other 3_1;:;%011 the modern world has dealt “Aside from the Moslems, with their murderous dirks,” remarks the Green Bay Press-Gazette, “America now stands alone in its adherence to prohibition. It has selected a high and haughty seat atop the loftiest of the Himalayas. Its attitude and altitude are austere and forbidding. Its position is cold and benumbing. It has become the hermit naticn of the world. We might be con- tent to think that ‘they are never alone that are accompanied with noble thoughts,” but such an innocent reverie is rudely shattered by the rat-a-tat-tat of machine guns, the rumble of beer trucks or the lurching of children be- sotted with gin. Year after year condi- tions have grown worse, steadily and persistently worse. Since the first slight improvement following the war, the n;:nd has been straight down into the pit.” e A New Weapon. From the Milwaukee Sentinel. The heads of a firm which manufac- tures rifles for the British army have watched tests of a new weapon. This arm, called a machine rifle, has greater potentialities for destruction than any comparable . weapon now in existence. It is claimed that 1,100 rounds a min- ute can be fired from the rifle. It is not much heavier than the ordinary service rifie and it is said to be very chen& It is easy to operate and hard enced by the argument that the Finnish | g5 3 More primitive machine guns, which could not fire nearly so many bullets 2 minute, made the World War what it was—an interminable struggle in the mud, with a higher killing rate than any other war. Men had to go behind earth ramparts to live even for a little while. Mobile warfare is impossible after the machine gunners dig in. The new weapons, particularly the new British machine rifle, promise a future war with a higher killing rate and even more digging in. Victory can- not be sharply defined in such a con- flict. Both sides will exhaust their man power and quit. On the optimistic side one may re- flect that men will refuse to fight wren the weapons become so deadly that the chances of coming out of battle alive are too heavily against them, The Brit- ish gun is & development in the direc- ted | tion of super-killing which make f