Evening Star Newspaper, January 20, 1932, Page 8

A8 ' THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON, D. (., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 1932. THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Editien. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDNESDAY . . .January 20, 1032 !’HIODO;.E W. NOYES. .. .Editor ‘empany The Evening Star Newspaper C Business Office 1 and Pennsylval York Office: 110 B 0 &réu Lake Michigi uropean Ofiice’ 14 Regent England. Rate by Carrier Within the Ci Evening Star 45¢ per month and Bunday Biar ) 60c per month s Ave 42nd 8t ap Bulldine .. London, . 5 jundar; Buniday 8ia ndays) . 65c per mon‘h el copy lection m; at the end of each month 'ders may be sent in by mail or telephone [Ational 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. {ly and Sunday 1 mo.. 85¢ Fn! only junday only 1mo.. 50c All Other States and Canada E imo 40c {ly and Sunday...] yr.$12.00: 1 mo ily only 1yr. $8.00: 1mo. nday only £500; 1 mo.. Member of the Associated Press. 1y Fed 1n this paper and also the published herein. All rights of publicat! specinl €ispatches herein are also reserved —_— Dawes' New Job. The selections of Gen. Charles G. Dawes to be president of the $2,000,000,- 000 Reconstruction Finance Corporation and of Eugene Meyer as chairman of the board of the corporation are’ cal- culated to give the uimost confidence, in the efficacy of this plan for ’ vitalizing American industry and com- merce. The country has faith in Gen. | Dawes and Mr. Meyer. The former’s career has been such as to give him an intimate grasp of the problem lying before him. Gen. Dawes served years ago as controller of the currency and later became an important figure in banking circles in Chicago. During the ‘World War he held an important post in the Army as general purchasing agent of the A. E. F. He was first director of the Federal budget and author of the Dawes plan for payment of German reparations. His more recent public offices have been Vice President of the Uniied States and American Ambassador to Great Britain. Mr, Meyer is chairman of the Federal Reserve Board and has other important posts in the banking and financial structure of the Federal Government. With such directing heads, corporation will be well launched. Much is hoped from the creation of the Reconstruction Corporation. The law authorizing the establishment of the corporation is still in the making, although the bill has passed both houses | of Congress and is in the conference stage. As soon as the differences between the two houses have been ironed out, the meesure will be sent to the President for his approval, probably by the end of the week. With the vigor and punch that have characterized Gen. Dawes in the con- duct of his various jobs, the new head of the Reconstruction Corporation yes- terday made the comment: “I do not consider this a talking job. When we are beginning on important work, it is not the time to talk about it and when we have accomplished the job it is not mecessary. That's common sense.” It 1is indeed sense—though perhaps not so common as Gen. Dawes says. In a measure, the Reconstruction Pinance Corporation is designed to put the strength of the Government back of business and industry in this coun- try. It will provide a new avenue of credit to meet the present emergency, when it is necessary to break the ice Jam of frozen confidence as well as of frogen credits. It is not proposed that the Government shall give its blessing to wildeat schemes, of either finance or business, But it is the plan to get be- | hind the proper function of industry in this country. ' A great deal may be accomplished if the holders of the wealth of this coun- try, a considerable part of which is in comparatively few hands, will their own industrial and commercial children. There has been too great an inclination on the part of men of wealth, responsible for the Initiation and building up of big industrial con- cerns, to run to cover instead of giving strong backing to the very concerns which they and their wealth created. o There is at least one comfort left for the old-fashioned music lover: A violin cannot be played through a derby hat. - New York Is “Broke.” New York City is in financial straits. It cannot meet its bills out of funds in hand and must go to the banks for help. Yesterday a loan of $12,500,000 for eleven days, with interest at the rate of six per cent, was arranged to eke out a fund of some $34,000,000 re- quired by Saturday to prevent insol- vency. This is the highest rate ever paid by the city, and will entail an in- terest payment of something like $22,600 for the accommodation. Another loan will undoubtedly be necessary before Pebruary 1, and will probably be as ex- pensive. For the fact is that the city's credit is not as sound as it should be to command funds from private sources. Indeed, a feeling something akin to panic prevails in the country's greatest center of population. Budget curtail- ment is, of course, necessary. But bud- get cuts can be made only by special dispensation of the Btate Legislature, inasmuch as the approved estimates for the ensuing fiscal year have already been submitted and can be reopened only by vote. New York is not only the largest city in the country, but it is the most ex- pensively administered. Its budgets have grown enormously, and likewise its debts. In 1900 the budgets for all the boroughs combined totaled over $92,000,- 000, and for 1931 they aggregated $62( 800,000. The debt limit was $800,000,000 in 1914, and more than a billion greater in 1931, In 1910 the assessed valuations the new | reached the figure of six and a half bil- | lions, and nearly three times as much in 1931, The taxy levy of 1910 was $131,000,000, and $513,000,000 in 1931. ‘These are enormous figures. So are the population figures. In 1900, to | widespread from 1910 to 1931, while the assessed | valuations trebled and likewlse the tax levy. Leaving out altogther the question of administrative extravagance &nd { graft, it has been evident for & long time that New York was really living beyond its means. It adopted new projects costing immense sums of money and borrowed to the limit to pay for them. It advanced salarles and drew upon a steadily narrowing exchequer to meet the additional cost without regard for the consequences. ‘What wonder, then, that when the time came for the city to borrow to avold financial catastrophe it found its credit at the banks so low that it had to pay “through the nose” for the accom- modation? Pride in having the biggest city, the biggest populstion, the biggest bud- gets and the biggest tax rolls have had much to do with the piling up of this misfortune, which has really little or nothing to do with the general depres- 7 from which the country is suffer- ing. That is the plain fact. And alsa it is a generfilly recognized fact that municipal government in New York reeks with graft and that a strictly business administration, with all the “wma:der boxes” and the other measures of private enrichment at the expense i the taxpayers eliminated, would ield rich results in efficiency and economy, without any curtailment of the programs of worthy public works. ——— A Vicious, Unsound Plan. The soundest arguments so far ad- vanced for slashing PFederal pay are based on reasoning that follows this general line of thought: The budget must be cut. Extravagant spending must stop. States, municipalities and industrial concerns have reduced sal- aries. Common labor is being paid $1 a day on the Eastern Shore of Mary- land A farmer who is having a hard time making both ends meet on his 160 ol i jaundiced eye the rural mail carrier who “works three hours a day” and re- celves $2,100 a year. Letters to mem- bers of Congress are demanding that the salaries of Federal servants be cut to lighten the load on the backs-of the taxpayers. The soundest arguments so far ad- vanced for creating the two-bilijon- dcliar Reconstruction Finance Corpora- tion, now ebout to go to work, sre |based on reasoning that follows this | general line of thought: One of the chief causes of the present business depression is lack of confidence. Lack ability of tound securities, tying up money. Liquidate some of this frozen paper, put the Government on record as standing squarely behind good securities because of its faith in the future of the Nation, and the cash will be furnished with which to meet emergent demands, confidence will be restored and such confidence will act to “bring hoarded money out of safe deposit boxes and out of stockings and to start the stream of liquidation that will ultimately relieve our present diffi- culties.” It is, of course, impossible to find any degree of consistency between these two lines of thought. Either the pro- posal to cut salaries to relieve the stringencies of the depression or the theory underlying the creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation is all wrong. Both cannot be right. For it is a commonly accepted fact that nothing could be done by the Federal Government at this time more surely destined to blast confidence, in- crease hoarding and blight hopes for an immediate turning point in the downward swing of depression than to put into effect a widespread reduction in Pederal salgries. It would signal reductions -elsewhere. It would be the straw to break the camel's back for those courageous employers who have stretched every effort to maintain salary levels. It would be interpreted as notifying the country at back { large that the Federal Government is | | sett.ng the pace in a move wages, the vicious results of which have ! to cut | been generally and repeatedly deplorcd by none other than the leading figures of this administration. Those who believe that a reduction in Federal pay would call only for perscnal sacrifices on the part of the Federal employes directly affected, or | would merely serve to reduce Federal l2chndl(ul’es by $100,000,000 or $200,- 1000,000—whatever it may be—are not | 10oking beyond the ends of their noses They could as well assert that taxes are borne only by those against whom they are levied and that nobody but | the actual taxpayer feels the resuit of | higher taxes, | The fact is that for every hundred | thousand men and women on the Gov- ernment pay rolls who would be di- rectly affected by a salary reduction |'there would be hundreds of thousands of others—including the farmer who | jealously regards the postman — indi- i rectly affected. Cut the Federal pay roll ten per cent, and the billion dol- | 1ars or so spent by these Federal em- { ployes every year will be cut ten per| cent, and the workers in comme:ce and industry, whose livelthood depends upon | that ten per cent, will be thrown out of work, along with others who will be forced out by fear and loss of confi- dence on the part of their employers. Is the Federal Government to set |up & two-billion-dollar corporation to restore confidence, and then knock confidence into a cocked hat by start- ing the salary-slash ball rolling? Is the farmer who owns 160 aeres of land and envies the postman going to be able to pay his taxes any quicker when the postman’s salary is cut ten per cent? These questions must be answered specifically and definitely before the Congress can in prepriety or consist- ency inaugurate & salary-slashing | program. e e If ever a name was expressive of speed, it is that of Uncle S8am's newest and, thus far, secret model of military plane. Just “XPF." Plus-Fours for Tommy Atkins. | scres of land in Indiena regards with | of ccnfidence has affected the market- | red coats had been easy marks for the Boer riflemen, who, themselves vir- tually {nvisible because of their soil- colored clothing, could pick off the in- vading soldiery at long range. Lord Roberts and Gen. Kitchener proposed the adoption of khaki as a protective measure. There was a loud outery at home. One of the cherished traditions of the British Army was being at- tacked. Lyocurgus, according to Plu- tarch, had said: “There thou behcldest the walls of Sparta, and every man a brick.” This had become the slogan of British military efficiency and reliabil- ity. Every man was indeed a brick. a red one, visible as far as a modern rifie would reach. But the bricks became dun-colored, the hue of the earth of the veldt, and then the British forces began to gain ground and the war eventually was won by khaki. That started the fashion for all the nations, | and. while fancy dress uniforms were retained for rade occasions, the “working clothes” of the troops under every banner were made of the unlove- ly but decidedly practical material that Lord Roberts and his great aide de- vised. Gen. Fawcus proposes to dress Brit- ish soldiers in plus-four golfing knick- { erbockers and open-necked tunics, with gaiters of either soft leather or canvas. Sir Harold believes that this garb will be more hygienic as well as more effi- cient. If his plan is adopted the British army will ook like golfers—he is him- self an ardent wielder of the niblick— and perhaps as well something like the “Turcos” of the French Moroccan forces. ! Indeed, the once popular zouave uni- | form would be restored. The resuit of | this recommendation will be watched | with intcrest by army men in all coun- |tries. Uncle Sam’s enlisted men may not at once be put into knickers, but it would not be surprising to find them | | thus togged if the example is set in | England. For it is quite well assured [that if the plan is accepted there it | will be for the best of reasons, inasmuch | as there is nothing more definitely es- tablished there than military garb, and it Is changed only because of command- ing considerations. e | Like the good five-cent cigar men- | |tioned by the late Vice President Mar- lehall, another small but important | thing needed by this country is an ade- |quate string for a low shoe. In our |vouth the latter usually had five eye- llets Today the number is six. But |the string manufacturers do not ap- | pear to know about this change. r——— Great Britain, a news dispatch states, | imperted nearly $100,0:0 worth of | American mechanical toys just bofore Christmas last year. Such an item a few years ago, before the elimination of an almost universal model of an inex- | pensive automoblle, would have called forth 100,000 “wheczes.” | = ——— | Washington enjoyed two ‘“casting” cemonstrations last week. Qne was held | at the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool | The other went on, and s still In prog- ress, at Community Chest headquarters. —r———— A member of the British Parliament | suegests that John Bull pay off some of i his indebtedness to Uncle Sam by build- |ing ships for the latter's navy. Fine! | Throw in a few thousand saflors, too, | John. ! — ———— | Prince Nicholas of Rumania has | hopped the fast express for Paris, ac- | companied by his former wife. Many | will think that both Paris and Bucharest share equally in good fortune. r———— Maybe Elsle Janis’ new husband will rot look so tickled when he catches his | bride doing a first-class imitation of | him. ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Superior Wisdom. There's a pleasant occupation Which is free from all regrets. | IUs the one that shows a netion How to pay its biggest debts. You just start your thought propeller, Like #n airship through the blue, | And instruct some other feller ; As to what he ought to do. ‘Whatsoever the ambition | That inspires him, day by day, You can take a high position And the critic's skill display. Though you seek a cyclone cellar, ‘When your own faults they review. You can always tell some feller What he really ought to do. Varieties of Opinion, “It is impcssible to pleas> everybody." | es,” replied Senator S8orghum. “But | the situation has its advantages. In the present state of taings, it is impossible to say anything, however extraordinary, without getting applause from some- body.” | ! Experience is a great teacher, but it tak-s a lifetime to get the entire course of instruction. Comparison. Great theories are like a Joad Of chemicals, we find, Which very frequently explode When carelessly combined. Specialists in Veracity. “I like people who speak the truth.” “So do 1" replied Miss Cayenne; “al- though I confess I am annoyed by those Wwho can't recognize it unless it is some- thing disagreeable.” Modern Skill. “What a pity we have no artists who can paint like the old masters,” said the sincere lover of pictures. “But,” replied Mr. Cumrox, who had just acquired a spurious signature, “the great trouble is that we have!” The Old-Time Simplicity. Qur ancestors were dignified. They moved sbout with stately pride And spoke in slow and measured tones. Why not? They had no telephones. ‘They traveled forth in simple styl ‘Their horses plodded mile by mile, Through dusty rcads or muddy lanes, Why not? They had no railway trains. g0 to the earliest date included in the comparisons just made, there were If a proposal advanced by Lieut. Gen. Sir Harold Fawcus, director general of 3437414 people In Greater New York.|the Royal Army Medical Service, is In 1930 the Pederal census count was|adopted, the British military uniform Our ancestors were prim and slow. A quiet pace they sought to go. “They shunned the shock of a surprise— Th'y couldn't well do otherwise. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Unusually warm weather this year has turned many a garden-minded | person to digging industriously in the | soll. | How could a gardener help it? | The air had the feel of Bpring, the, temperature was as_warm, and even some of the typical Spring flowers and | ehrubs were in bloom | 1t required real resistance to say to| one's self. “No, (his is not Spring, and I will not go into the yard.” | Most men and women with the hearts of gardeners, although of the strict amateur variety, made it their business to make an inspection tour, at | the very leest. If they resisted the lure of the rake and the call of the spade, they wan- dered around the yard on the lookout | for blossoms. * ¥ % The ever-faithful Japanese quince, whose apple-blossom flowers normally do not show until April, this January appeared in scores of instances. A auince had to be a well matured specimen, of course, to bloom at this time. The ouestion has been asked whether this blooming will finish the flowering for this year. Not having had any experience with such early blooming, in our amateur horticultural years, we eannot answer like an expert, but our guess is that it finishes the blooming of the Japanese quince for 1932. The same may &e said of other things which have bloomed freely. For such shrubs as have not blossomed freely there is a chance that they will bloom again at the regular time. The true Bridal Wreath shrub, in some instances. bloomed for a few inches from the tips of the branches. Unless continued warmth, at intervals. causes the re- mainder to blossom, there is every pos sibility that the entire branch might bloom sgain at the regulir blossoming time. T The weather makes one want to get | out in the yard and rake the grass, and | sow seed and attend to the many odd jobs which everv gardener finds to do in March in usual years. Just what would happen if one were | to take the gardening bit in one’s teeth and do all these chores at this time, is a lively question for speculation among those interested in such matters. Certainly the hardy gardener who “made” his garden now would secure a tremendous jump on the season, if the weather should continue as open. What would happen if later we should have come old-fashioned Winter is distinctly another matter. Take the lawn, for instance. Sup- pose the front ydrd has turned brow instead of remaining nice and green, as most lawns have done, Here is an individual problem, since the same grass was luxuriant and thick all last Summer and only assumed its present ugly appearance late in the Fall. While it is an individual prob- | Jem, it has been duplicated in many | | yards ! Is the grass dead? The gardener Lopes mot. It is, rather, a seasonal | variety, something like certain of the | grasses of the Fer South. Kecping an | ever-green lawn is something of a prob- | lem there, owing to the tendency of | some varieties of grass to turn an ugly color at certain times of the year. | * kK ¥ ! Whether such grass is through or not | makes little difference; the real prob- lem comes in keeping it green ail the >TON OBSERVATIONS Drafting of Gen. Dawes to head the Hoover Reconstruction Finance Cor-| poration, the two-billion-dollar “steel beam” with which Congress &t the President’s behest is reinforcing the | country’s credit structure, is the sensa- | tion of the hour. Not since the eventful | day when the White House simultane- | ously announced the resignation of Chier Justice Taft and the nomination of Charles Evans Hughes as his suc- cessor has the Capital and the country been so taken by surprise. And, as in that case, the President's present action | is accorded spontaneous and wellnigh universal acclaim. In upsetting the ad- vance prognostications which slated Bernard M. Baruch, Wall Street Demo- | crat and plutocrat extraordinary, as the head of the Finance Corporation; in relegating to second place in the Finance Corporation set-up Gov. Eugene Meyer of the Pederal Reserve Board, whom many well informed observer: were quietly certain was Mr. Hoover's chofce for the chairmanship, and in canceling the assignment of Gen. Dawes to the headship of the American | delegation to the Geneva Disarmament | Confercnce less than 24 hours before Dawes was_scheduled to embark for Europe the President acted in character- | istic fashion. Mr. Hoover is known to | feel that at the present juncture of| affairs financial destinies of wellpigh | incalcu'2ble consequences rest in the | hands of this huge Federal finance | agency. Its success is the uppermost | consideration, to which all else should be subordinated. And so reaching the unpremediated decision that ~Gen. Dawes was the psychological choice for the finance post, the President did not hesitate to revise his plans. * ok k¥ Barney Baruch was reputed to be Mr. Hoover's constant adviser during the early stages of the formulation of the Pinance Corporation plans. His friends were sure he was in line for the chair- | manship. He confided in them that the | post had not been tended him. He in- timated that no subordinate role in the | corporation would have an appeal. It is now being assumed, therefore, that Baruch will not have a_place on the board of directors. Gov. Eugene Meyer, who with Secretary Meilon and Under- secretary of Treasury Mills are the ad- ministration’s financial triumvirate, goes in as chairman of the Finance Corporation Board, as per schedule, but with a highly important reservation Gov. Meyer and his friends had as- sumed that chairmanship of the board meant the head of the organization. All| save Mr. Hoover entertained a similar | assumption. The bill creating the cor- | poration has no mention of a “presi- | dent.” No suggestion of such an official | was ever heard of until the White | use announcement Tuesday giving | Gen. Dawes this place. So Gov. Meyer's | astonishment may well be imagined, *ix i “Sce America Pirst” was taken to heart very literally by Richard L. Riedel, the tall and ever smiling young man who despite his years is already a veteran in the Senate service, and in the capacity of liaison officer between the press gallery and Senate Chamber | is known as “Richard” to every Sen- stor and every newspaper correspondent. | When Congress adjourned last March, | Richard set out with his widowed mothcr for an auto tour of the con- tinent. He arrived back in Washington on the very day Congress reconvened in December. In the meantime he had traveled & total of 10,000 milcs, had visited every State in the Union, two states in_ Mexico and portions of Canada. He had inspected 13 national parks and h°d been entertained by Senators Wheeler and Walsh in Mon- tana, Dill in Washington, Johnson in Californjia and Oddie in Nevada. Publication of a ccmmemorative edi- tion of the writings of George Wash- ington complete in 256 handsome vol- umes, undertaken by the Washington Bicentenary Commijssion, is proving to be a herculean labor—and prospective- ly a lifetime task. The initial volumes have alrcady issued from the Govern- ment presses, but distribution is to be postponed until the work is completed. Members of Congress are to receive sets with the compliments of the commis- 30,446, just mbout twice as great|will undergo a more radical chonge ik s at the beginning of the century. even than that which was made mcr:\ “Some men can't get much done," said But while the populetion merely|than thirty years ago, when the famous | Uncle Eben, “becguse dey puts in de doubled in thirty years the budgets red coats of her majesty’s troops were ' second half of de week feelin’ remorse- mearly sextupled. The population in- sbandened. That change came about ful about de way dey loafed de fust ereased by about forty-three per cent during the war in South Africa. The half.” » sicn as a souvenir of the Bicentenary. Public libraries are to be permitted to subscribe at the rate of $50 per set, a figure just one-half of the estimated production cost. Unless there be & change of plan, any remaining sets will be sold to the public at cosl—on the | many first-rate horticulturists still ad- | elst in his neighborhood. | one to rake the lawn or do the neces- | | as Washington has enjoyed is to pre- (000. The nub of the difficulty respect- | as issued. shifts in memberships in the | diplomats. time. While & lawn will not be as flourishing a color in Winter as in Summer, there is no reason why it should not have some color. The thing to do with a brown lawn, then, is to tackle it as early as feasible and to try every expedient which ex- perience and the literature of the sub- ject suggests. Liming should be done in February, in the average year, and perhaps in this one. While a school opposed to the use of agricultural lime has grown up during the last 10 years, vocate its use. If one will stick to the mixtures of grass seed varieties which they recommend. they will discover that lime is good, after all. Many city and surburban lawns are sour, owing to shade and the Inimical influence of an excess of earth worms. Lime will do something to oppose these conditions. Good bone meal also helps. After the lime is put on, toward the first of March a good fertilizer should be used and shortly thereafter the Jawn reseeded. This does not mean that the space should be raked so vigor- ously that the old grass roots are de- stroyed. The object s to get new grass growing with the old. It necd scarcely be £aid that the best (usually the most expensive) mixture is the only one worth using, as the cost of the seed is, after all, the cheapest thing about a good lawn. o Tt would make a most interesting experiment if some redoubtable person would try making a lawn at this hour instead of waiting until the usual time. At the worst, perhaps no materials would be lost, not even the seed, but a dormant period would intervene Resebushes might be pruned. shrubs and hedges set out. annual seeds planted. Surely it would be taking a great chance, but if the weather stayed as it was the planter would have a blooming garden months before any one Also perhaps he would have an exhausted one when | the gardens of others would still be in ! their prime. : One would not seriously advise any | sary pruning or planting at this time, therefore. It was only the warmth of the air and the “feel” of the unseasonably high temperatures which put one in the maood for such things. Common :ense speaks against the temptation to “rush the season,” and common sense is still a great thing, in gardening as elsewhere. The plain fact is that it is too early. About the only things that might be planted at this time, providing the tem- erature does nct go to freezing, are he California privet and dprmant roses, if the dealers can furnish them. The hecge material, properly planted and watered, would nct be hurt by sub- sequent freezes, even if the roots froze. If the weather should chance to remain varm, it would secure a tremendous head stari” on the season. One good thing that can be done by the garden-minded during such weather | i | | I pare the vegetable patch. Hard clay solls can be dug up and left in clods to weather, or they can be mixed with lime and coal ashes This lightening will put them in fine shape for early Spring planting. In fact, the mild weather has made this pre-treatment of soll extremely advis. able, and it may he applied t» future flower beds and borders, as well as to the vegetable garden. basis of first come first served. Orig- inally the commission planned to print | 5,000 sets, but has reduced the order to 3,000 at a totel cost of roundly $300,- ing distribution is that if the volumes are passed out to members of Congress years to come will break the continuity of the set. Lame ducks will be clamor- ing for the subsequent volumes, while their successors in Congress will be clamoring for the prior volumes. Sim- ilar hazards attach to public sale. Who can tell whether the purchaser of vol- ume 1 will live long encugh and have money enough to buy volume 25 when that distant date arrives? * ok x % Cross-word puzzle fans usuvally as- sert that as a release from boredom and as a time-killing device this hobby is unequaled. It is a striking com- mentary, therefore, on feminine re- actions 'to senatorial dullness and ponderosity that one of the newcomers to the greatest debating society in the world, and the first woman ever to be- come a bona fide member thereof— Mrs. Hattie Caraway of Arkansas—is observed to keep a cross-word puzzle handy on her desk in the Senate| chamber. When patience nears the breaking point Mrs. Caraway takes puzzle and pencil and is seen to ab- sorb herself in its intricacies. * ok The transfer from Turkey to Tokio of American Ambassador Joseph C. Grew marks another milestone in the long and distinguished career of one of the country's foremost professiopal Cameron Forbes’ successor as Ambassador to Japan entered our foreign service in 1904 at the age of 24. Mr. Grew has held the Turkish post since 1927 and established warm Iriendship with Mustapha Kemal by many gracious courtesies, not the least of which was in initiating Turkey's Mussolini in the mysteries of the American game of draw poker. Upon the arrival of the Grews in Tokio the Japanese Emperor will be charmed to discover that Mrs. Grew is able to con- verse with him in the Emperor's own tongue, for Mrs. Grew spent her girl- hood in Japan, her father occupying a professional post in one of the perial universities, and she acquired a speaking knowledge of the Japanese language which it is said she still re- tains. Bhe was Alice de Vermandois Perry of a prominent Boston family. One of the proudest boasts of the Hoover administration, the tremendous expansion of the Airmail Service, was rudely challenged by Carter Glass, ris- ing in the Senate Monday to protest Government extravagance. “We are literally wasting mijllions of dollars of the taxpayers' money in the air,” the Virginia statesman observed, and, con- tinuing in sarcastic vein, he added— “We are subsidizing airmail and yet I have never received a letter by airmail that could not have been written three weeks after I got it. Any business man who is in a hurry has access to the telegraph, and if he does not consider that adequate he has access to the long-distance telephone.” (Copyright, 1932.) r—e—— More About the Weather. Prom the Danbury Evening News Another chap who doesn't like this Winter is the dealer in skid chains. - e Minus B i | ig Pay. From the Des Molnes Tribune. If the railroads are as poor as they claim to be, maybe that man who rose from a $70-a-month clerk to a rallwai Honor president of after all. isn't so much better v — Tariff’'s Possible Fate. From the Woi ter Evening Gazette The Democrats have taken the reci- | procity clause out of their tariff bill, and | the Republicans in Congress, with the help of the President, probably will take the other clauses out of it. et Pay Slash Something Else. Prom the Oklghoma City Daily Oklahoman. Congressmen increased their salaries 831 per cent without the formality of * a roll call, but they cannot even get 8 roll call on the question of reducing their salaries. | to Monthly Payment Plan Urged for Home Loans To the Editor of The Star: There has been considerable rhetoric and glluring phraseology written and much silver-tongued oratory about home building, home ownership and methods for financing such undertak- ings. To me home ownership is one of the most important assets of any fomily. Books can be written in ex- planation of this statement showing the effect on ourselves and our children and on society as a whole. The question of financing such homes is what many wish to solve. No doubt quite a number can be helped by the methods of financing which have so far been suggested. However, 1 believe the vast majority of prospective final home owners, and by final home owners ' I mean those who will complete their contracts, can best be given the much needed assistance through a different financing arrangement. Most loans made at present are for, short periods of time and naturally must be renewed or paid in full. cost of renewals in commissions is large and an added cost to the pur- chase of the home. One source of such loans is from private parties, insur- ance companies and trust companies. Another source of loans is from building and loan associaticns; these loans being amortized are repaid at so much each month including interest for the dura-! tion of the loan without any renewal charges. Loans made in this manner are usually for not to exceed 50 and in a few cases as high as 60 per cent of the cash value and in many cases will not be made on houses over 10 years old, which means that very many desirable and deserving prospective home owners are actually prohibited by present finencial methods. Then there are those who have been paying on their homes for some years and through illness or unemployment or boith or for business rcasons actual- 1y need money, but, although the prop- erty is worth more than is needed and the security perfectly good, but because it is 12 to 16 years old or some other trumped-up reason are unable to Gh- | tain a loan sufficient for their needs. ~The plan I suggest is this: A corpora- tion be formed that will make loans on homes, either new or old, up to 75 per cent of their marketable value, such loans to be amortized on a 10 to 20 year basis, which will include the payment of real property taxes. In making such loans, however, the prop- erty value alone should be only one of the factors considered. The ability of the borrower to keep up payments, his character and habits, and anything else that will tend to show whethe he will, under normal conditions, com- plete his contract, should certainly be considered. If information obtained is favorable, then the loan would be made and the borrower would at once begin his monthly peyments. This would apply uchases of either old or new homes and to persons who have already pur- chased their homes and wish to re- finance them or obtain money for ; other legitimate uses, such as paying bills or to use in business. As an in- stance, I know a party who purchased a very desirable ‘home in 1922 for, $6,500. The down payment was small, due to continued illness in the family of five. A benk held the first mortgage of $2.500 at 6 per cent, payable semi- annually, and the seller took a second mortgage for the balance. This party has been paying on this home from that time to this and has reduced the second mortgage to about $1,300. This ! last year two of his family have had major operations and one very little work. The head of the family has a fairly 1100(] sition and, in order to pay up his doctor bills and a few other debts, including taxes, he has tried to obtain a sufficient loan to pay off the two mortgeges and pay these debts. He went to the bank that holds the first trust. Their reply was that at this time they did not care to in- crease the mortgage. He went to in- surance companies and their reply was the place was too old. He went to building and loan associations, which required a de?oxit of $25 with the re- turn of $20 if the loan was not made. These offered a sum of money, but not ' enough to even pay off the two mortgages, and returned his deposit less their fee for looking over the prop- erty. This party has so far been un- able to get this needed help, although he been paying for 10 years on his home and no doubt would carry his contract to completion. Why can a person such as the above not obtain a loan? That is the reason T suggest a plan as above. Beginning with the first month after obtaining the loan, on an amortized plan, the borrower begins his monthly payments and the reduction of the loan. There will be a fair return on the invest- ment, interest being at 6 per cent, and there will be more than ample protec- tion. Let something constructive be begun without delay. E. C. FARWELL. Tobacco Tax and Trust Held Robbing Farmers To the Editor of The Star: The farmers in the tobacco-produc- ing sactions of North Carolina are in a deplorable conditicn due to the fact that the average price paid them the past two years by the tobacco trust for their crops has been below the cest of production. Most of the farmers are irretrievably in debt, are losing their farms, and haven't the ready mcney to buy such necessary staple things as sugar and coffee. On the other hand the tobacco manu- facturers have prospered in spite of the depression. During the past year the American Tobacco Co. earned con- siderably over 8 per cent on its out- standing stock; and for the year ended December 31 last the Reynolds Tobacco Co. earned $36,396,817, after deducting taxes, depreciation, and all charges, compared with $34,256,664 for 1930. This prosperity of the tobacco com- panies is readily explained by the fact that they paid the tobacco grcwers of North Carclina $26,000,000 less for their tobaceo in 1831 than in 1930, and even in the latter year the farmer hardly came out even. The statement has been authorita- tively made that for the.tobacco in $6 worth of cigarettes the distribution of this sum is as follows: United States Government ta ‘Tcbacco Manufacti I Farmers 45 Is there any justice in that, and can any industry stand for long such a tax? ‘There is a limit to the price the man facturer can charge the public for cig- arettes without cutting down the con- sumpticn, so to insure themselves a profit in view of this tax they agree among themselves on the lowest pos- sible average price they will pay for Lhe crop, with the result that the farmer 15 robbed both by the Government and the manufacturer. If the Federal Government is to in- sist upon this particularly confiscatory tax there should be some legislation whereby a certain percentage of it may be returned directly to the farmer, as he appears to be without remedy or redress for the robbery that is practiced upon him. While it is a matter for the Btate, in view of the fact that he is utterly unable under present conditions to pay the taxes on his farm, so much of his land as is actually under culti- vation should be exempt fwn"{ taxation for a period of years to enable him to eatch up, for otherwise his situation is hcpeless, -ttt Furthermore, notwithstanding the fact that the tobacco trust was sup- posed to have .heen dissolved hy. the decree of the Federal Supreme Court, there is no competition ameng the to- bacco companies in purchasing the farmers’ crop. They get around this decree by agreeing among themselves peforehand just what they will pay . $3.00 for the crop. This is in flagrant vio- b lation_of the Federal anti-trust laws, as well as the common law, and could be easily broken up if there was an honest, intelligent and vigerous ‘prose- cution of them. ALEXANDER SIDNEY LANIER, World’s Barber Bill, Prom the Duluth Herald, No matter what the werld's barber bill aggregates it isn't too much, The ! ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERI Few Americans realize how their Government does for them. Read. ers of The Evening Star can draw on all Government activities through our free information service. The wcrld's greatest libraries, laboratories and ex- perimental stations are at their com- mand. Ask any question of fact and it will be answered free by mail direct to you. Inclose 2-cent stamp for reply postage, and address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, ! Director, Washington, D. C. Q. What are the measurements for a ping-pong table? D. A. The official ping-pong tables are 5 by © feet. The net is about 6 inches high, although there is no rule cover- ing this. Q. How many hairs are there to the ;qu;re inch upon a woman's head?— A. A woman with black hair has about 600 hairs per square inch on the itop of her head, while a blond has about 760 per square inch, and a brown- baired person about 630 hairs per square inch. Q. Do Federal employes pay income tax?>—B. D. N. A. The salaries of Federal officers and employes are subject to the income tax, except the salaries of Pederal judges and the President of the United States. . Is silk animal or vegetable mat- ter?—R. N. 8. A. 8ilk is purely an animal product, 1 since it is a secretion from silkworms, or the larvae of silkmoths, from which they spin their cocoons. Q. What is “cold light">—G. H. M. A. Bioluminescence is often spoken of as cold light. This does n:t mean that no heat is produced, but only that very little appears as compared with the ordinary methods of illumination, which depend on the incandesence of carbon particles in flames or of wires through which a current is Hmlng The light is no different physically from any other kind of light—it will affect a photographic plate, can induce chemical reactions, and can be polarized. There ere no infra-red or ultra-violet radia- tions and no penetrating radiations are produced. Hence, the luminous effi- clency—that is, the percentage of the radiant energy which is visible—is very high; nearly 100 per cent. Q. What is Roman meal? For what is it used?—A. K. W. A. Roman meal is made of whole wheat and rye, coarsely ground, to which is added wheat bran and spe- cially prepared flaxseed. Roman meal is intended for old people, and is re- garded as a laxative food. Q. What was Josh Billings’ real name?—I. W. A. Henry W. Shaw. He was n in 1318 and died in 1885. For years he published an annual known as Josh Billings’ Parmers’ Allminax. Q. How is a person’s intelligence quotient figured?—A. J. A. The intelligence quotient, or I. Q., of a person is determined by multi- plying the mental age by 100 and divid- ing by the actual cgc. Thus tre intelli- gence quotient of a normal persan is 100. A person with an I. Q. below 80 is rated as subnormal, while one with an I. Q. above 120 is rated as gifted. Q. Are there more naturalized or un- naturalized foreigners in this country? P. K. A. There are many more- who are naturalized or have applied for citizen- ship. There are almost 8,000,000 nat- uralized, more than 2,000,000 who have “first papers,” about 3,800,000 who are 2liens, and about 500,000 whose status is not known. C J. HASKIN. Q. How many gold Oarnegle medals have been distributed since the date of the medal's inauguration-—F. . | A. Nineteen gold medals have beert awarded by the commission since the establishment of the fund. Q. Why does the early evening stax” flicker and change color-—M. J. A. Venus is the brilliant planet ‘ee, visible 1 the evening in the oowa- western sky. The twinkling and changes of color of a star are caused by the un- | steadiness of the atmosphere of the earth, through which the star is seen, and are not real in the sense that the i st?r itself is changing in brightness and | color. | Q. Why are colored children more susceptible to rickets than white chil- dren?—M. C. | A. The Negro children in American cities are especially susceptible to rickets | because the pigments of their skin par- | tially insul2te them against the sun's | rays. Due to this fact, they derive less | benefit from the sun than do the fair- | skinneg children. The ciets of the Negro children in American cities are notoriously lacking in those foods which carry vitamin D. Q. Is there a cable to carry telephone conversations from New York to Lon- don?=—L. W. A. All transatlantic telephone com- munications cross the ocean by wire- less. Experimental tests involving tele- phone cables are being made. Q. Why does a dress made | cleth have an odor?—H. H. B. A. Any odor which may be present in metal cloth is probably due to some | lacquer or other material used in orig- | inal manufacture to protect the metal threads from tarnishing. If this lac- quer is removed, the metal, of course, tarnishes readily. . What profession did Eugene O'Neill follow before he became a suc- cesstul playwright>—M. G A. He worked for some time as & reporter on the New London (Cocnn.) Telegraph before 1914, when he settled down to the steady business of play writing. Q. Which of the countries leads in number of airplanes?—J. B. A. The United States has twice the number of civil planes of all the other gent powers combined. The United ates has 10,235 planes. France, with 4,168 planes, has the greatest number of fighting airplanes, both active and reserve, among these powers. Q. In what battle of the Civil War did the Union troops sustain the most casualties?—F. R. L. A. At Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1868, when 3,070 men were killed and 14,497 | wounded. | Q. When and by whom was the Holi= ness Church founded?—M. S. | _A. About 1880 three clergymen, Raw | Hardin Wallace. Rev. James Singesy | both of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Henry Ashcroft of the Free Methe odist Church, conducted a tour of the southern part of California, preaching repentance and remission of sin or justification by faith of the sinner, and for bellevers ~sanctificati’n or heart purity, which also might be received by faith, subsequent to regeneration or Justification, and which could be ad= vanced into personal holiness. Numer= ous bands of adherents were formed undér the name of Holiness Band, the members of which, however, retained their membership with the churches of | which they were already members, There were also many new cquverts. By 1896 the movement had grown large and property had been acquired, so that | incorporation was necessary and was effected under the laws of California. of metal Harmony at Jackson Dinner - Harmony at the Jackson day dinner of Democrats at the National Capital is considered by many who comment ! upon the affair as an asset of the organ- ization. Success in Congressional elec- tions is believed to have furnished mate: iial for forceful utterances, but a desire is expressed lor clearer statements of wn2 party attitude on current issues. The Jackson day event, in the opinion of the Fort Worith Star-Telegram (in- dependent Democrat) “is a labor of love, a ritualistic cercmony and battery service station actiyity, wherein the | ideals of Democracy are recharg:d in divers and sundry individualistic ways.” Demanding something more in the form of “a diagnosis of conditions and prescription for their cure,” vhe Star- Telegram feels that the: dinner “didn’t offer a single practical remedy for the correction of prezent ‘rattles’ in govern- | ment, industry or economics.” “It was a good deal of a love feast,” says the Charlesion (S. C.) Evening Post (Democratic), “with ihe three former nominees of the party making speeches which aroused no controversy.” The Evening Post declares that “the Democrats are drifting to victory and are likely to win without much more ihan a passive attitude,” but that “jt will make a great difference after they have been called to power who is at the head of the party and the leader of the Nation; for there are big problems to deal with and a big man is needed to handle them.” That paper holds that “the party ought to be able to give the country a government that would throw into the shadow the drab Harding- Coolidge-Hoover dynasty and recall the hrilliance of the Wilson era.” * ¥ “It was an old-fashioned exereise in kicking the elephant all over the lot, and i was executed with great gustn,” avers the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot (inde- pendent Demorrat) while the Dayton Daily News (in-ep-ndent Democrat) remarking that “the appreciation of the Jacksonians the grotesque humor of the pligt o r nolitical opponents was just Am vican,” feels that “they also talked c-h.rly of the work of re- construction lying ahead.” The Colum- bus Ohio Si2tz Journal (Republican) comments: “Each of the main orators cbviously was sincere. The state of the Nation avparently has driven much of th2 hallyhoo out of politics, and has substituted more serious effort. Perhaps this is one of the blessings of the depression.” “It is doubtful,” in the judgment of the Chattancoga Times (independent Democrat) “if there has ever been & greater exhibition of harmony in the Democratic camp. If the party suc- ceeds in keeping the peace within itself and in' maintaining it throughout the convention to be held in Chicago be- ginning next June 27, it will enter the lest lap of the campaign under en- couraging conditions, provided it does not load itself down with an impossible candidate and a lot of socialistic schemes.” “The spirit of conciliation between opposing fact'ons dominated the din- rer,” states the Roanoke World-News (Demoeratic) with the conelysion: “That solid front is not going to be broken if those at the helm can pre- vent it, and the promise to drop an; indjvidual pet schemes for the sake of solldity of purpose and unity of objec- tive guarantees that the party will go into its national convention eonfident of launching a victorious eampaign which will return it to power after 12 years in the slough of defeat.” Observing “an obyious effort to be fair and not claim all the damage done y the depression as due to Republic- ons” the Lowell Evening Leader (Re- publican) assnmes that “this must in a way be due to an exvectation of com- ing victory and a consequert sobering cf the arguments, because Democracy must pick up a rechot situatiop and deal with it sicessfully.” The Okla- homa Citv O"'r1oman (independent) 2. “If the deliverances of the eve- ning prove to be wkat they were de- Counted Democratic Asset country may prepare itself to hear furl- ous attacks upon the Ho-ver adminis- tration accompanied by a dearth of anaceas for existing ills. The admin- stration is going to ke held to a strict | aceountability for the stat= of the Union, whether that unhappy state Fas been | brought abcut by administratin in- eptitudes or natural causes.” % % = Observing that the speakers “shied off” when it came to important sub- jects, the Balfimore Sun (independent Demacratic) offers the advice: economic welfare is closely involved | with the econcmic welfare of the rest of the wcrld. Since the Democratic party lost one hictoric campaign by taking a stand for international co-op- eration, it is not surprising that its | spokesmen are cautious fu taeir efer- | ence to our foreign relationships. But | such caution is nct in keeping with our | situation in the world today. One of the first neecs of the country is a re- | consideration of the old taboos which | have o long stood in the way cf a ra- tional adjustment of the debt and rep- arations problems now standing in the way of world recovery. Before th: Dem- ocratic party formally enters the ap- proaching campaign it ought to address itself seriously to this need and under- take to find a formula for meeting it. | If this is done, and if the outline of Rolicies sketched at tte Jackson day dinner is elaborated so es to indicate more specifically what it intends to do with the tariff, with prohibition and with respect to'the Nation's fiscal and economic crisis, the confidence in evi- dence at the Washington meeting will be justified.” “It was manifest that the Roosevelt sentiment prevailed over all else,” ob= serves the Charlotte Observer (inde- pendent Democratic), with the incie dental comment that, as to Andrew Jackson, “the affair ran to an end with the fameus Democrat absolutely un- honored.” On the subject of candi- dates, Yhe Minneapolis Journal (inde- pendent Republican) emphasizes the part played by Alfred E. Smith with the statement: “Forthright and dynam- éc, 'llkz that President of a century ago, Al' Smith put the punch into th> din- ner program. What does it all mean? Was the Smith appearance a ca'cu- lated move to head off the speeding career of Gov. Roosevelt? Is Mr. Smith himself a party to such a move? Did he speak as a prospective candidate for President? The Smith speech certainly had a candidate ring. It had the sound of & campaign utterance. There was Dothing impersonal about it. It of- fered a program for the party, but i suggestions were the offering of a m Who spoke with authority as the flag bearer of the party last time, and who mnyn ”aoncalvnbly carry the banner | “The pretense that Jeffersonian and Jacksonian principles can stop depres- slons and unemployment is hokum,” maintains the San Jose Mercury Her- 8ld (Repulcan) while the Chicago Daily News (independent) advises that the Democrats cannot win the presi- Idx!l?‘z:"m%:t';:lt.ckw the administration, ar & con: o o structive platform e World Peace Blocked. rn;;n the Toledo Blad 0w are we ever going to have per- manent_universal peace-as long. oa A nation here and there demonstrates every few years that it needs a licking? ——— The Felon of Long Ago. From the Ashland Daily Independent. Back home in, the old times, when crime was less in the public mind, a felon signified something a carpenter had on his thumb. r———— Disarmament in a Nutshell. From the Altoona Mirror. Secretary Stimson says the success of the Geneva Disarmament Conference depends upon the United States. Yes, signed to be—a definite forecast of the Democratic campalgn of 1932—the unless we disarm we will not be able to get anybody into & fight with us.