Evening Star Newspaper, January 27, 1932, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. WEDN®~ AY..January 27, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor b Bieht et nd: Ghicago Of ;14 ‘Englas European 8., Lond Rate by Carrier Within the Citgs The Evening Btar...... 45¢ per month The Bvening an Sunday Star (when 4 Bundaye) 80c per month a 85c per month The Sunday Star .. 0 .5c per copy Collection made at the end of ‘each month ers may be sent in by mail or telephone ord NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Miaryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunda 1yr., $10.00: 1 mo., 85¢ Dally only 1yr. 43,00 § mo., 20 Sunday only 1yr, $4.00; 1mo, 40c All Other States and Canada. {ly and Sunday...1yr.$13.00: } mo. 81,00 el W 8 bt aily only . T, Eoo‘ mo., §:m:ny only . 1yr., 3 00; 1 mo., 50c Member of the Associated Press. The Assoclated Press is exclusively eutitled to the use for republication of all news dis- atches credited to ted in this pal hi ublication of 0 reserved. Washington's Petition. Citizens of Washington, deprived of the traditional American right of self- government and sclf-taxation, resort to the only method of expression remain- ing to them and in formal petition to Congress plead for careful consideration and equitable disposition of matters directly affecting their welfare. Elsewhere in the columns of today's Btar appears the text of this petition and of the supporting argument. The petition includes the platform of prin- ciples laid down and adhered to by the Citizens' Joint Committee on Fiscal Relations Between the United States and the District of Columbia in 1915, in 1919 and in 1920, and modified by the District's new organic act of 1922, which follows: We ¢ first, that the United Btates should contribute largely to the maintenance and upbuilding of the National Capital: second, that this contribution should be a fixed and definite proportion; third, that this proportion should be sixty-forty—sixty by the District taxpayers and forty by the United States. Recalling that Congress has refused proposals to amend existing substantive law, but has followed since the fiscal year 1925 the annual temporary prac- tice of providing a lump sum appropria- tion in wholesale exception to the fixed ratio law, the petition urges that the House bill to repeal the fixed ratio and the tax bills accompanying it be de- feated, and prays for opportunity to show, through the presentation of facts and reasoning, that District taxpayers are reasonably taxed at pres- | ent, and that without clear demon- stration of the absolute necessity to meet urgent municipal needs there should be no increase in the local tax burden As long as the lump-sum payment represents appropriation practice tem- porarily on zppropriation bills, the pe- titioners plead “that Congress should (1) increase substantially, both on general and specific grounds, the basic Jump-sum payment; (2) exclude great national and semi-national ~projects from the District bill and finance them on some other supply bill, so wording the items thus excluded as to set forth the exact method of financing in rela- tion to the amounts of contribution by Nation and Capital that is thought to be just, or (3) provide for a local as well as a national maximum of contribution, on the assumption that it is the impo. tent local partner who alone needs this protection, or (4) by referendum or otherwise permit the local taxpayers to have some effective say In regard to the amount of local taxes and the purposes for which the tax money Is to be ex- pended.” The power of exclusive control over the District, conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, carries with it a sacred obligation for the wise, consid- erate and just exercise of that power. The District’s petition to Congress does not extend beyond a plea for wis- dom, consideration and justice at the| hands of its rulers. RS RES People are funny. When they have 10 live In the country they try to sur- round themselves with city conven- ; | jences. When they live in the city they | go the limit in obtaining a touch of rural life, running the gamut between | a window-box geranium and a pent house “estate,” according to individual means. And when designers plan thei yachts, the main thought seems to be the utmost possible prevention of any idea that they are afloat. Z o Many a father would be proud to have his son voted a “perfect man.” But possibly not by the co-eds of a big college. S SRR A Reiterated Stand. In reaffirming its thorough approval and earnest desire for enactment of the safety-responsibility bill of the Ameri- can Automobile Associavion, now before both houses of Congress, the Traffic Committee of the Washington Board of Trade is emphasizing to the legislators on Capitol Hill the need for such a law in Washington. So little controversy exists over the principles of the safety- responsibility bill, under which one- fourth of the motorists of the United States and one-third of those in Can-| now operating, that it is diffi- | =aa are it to understand why the bill did not pass the Seventy-first Congress and why it should be again necessary for the various civic organizations to re- iterate their approval in order to prod the Congress into action. whe careful driver need never know that such a law is on the statute books. He will never feel the effects of it. It is only the reckless who come within its provisions. It is entirely supple- mental to traific regulations, is easy %o administer and promotes safety on he streets. Why, then, should Congress nesitate to enact such a desirable meas- wre for the District? Eighteen State Legislatures and four Legislatures of Canada have passed the law and more States and Provinces are virtually certain to join the rising tide of approval of its principles. Maryland was the last State to put it into effect, and according to recent reports it is operating satisfactorily. Certainly the District Committees of the House and Benete or individual Senators and Rep- Tesentatives cen want no more testi- mony of given them. At hearings conducted last year before the two committees motor vehicle commissioners from the various States told the legislators of the excel- lent work performed by this statute in sweeping the streets and highways clean of that dread menace, the reck- less-insolvent motor car driver. They came to Washington because they were interested in seeing this model law, which had worked so well for them, in effect in the Netional Capital. The safety-responsibility law is one of the most important pleces of legisla- tion affecting the District. The city is united in approval of it. Congress should delay no longer. - Baker and the League. Newton D. Baker is reported to have “barred” the League of Nations as an issue in the coming national campaign. It was already “barred” as an issue as between the two great political par- ties, for neither one will espouse the cause of the League. Mr. Baker's sonally held the view that the United States should eventually go into the League. Under these circumstances, should the Democratic party nominate Mr. Baker for President this year, the League of Nations would necessarily ibecome an issue. And that is one thing the Demécratic party is not aim- | ing to have as an issue between it and the G. O. P. It follows, therefore, that | unless Mr. Baker recants, unless he de- | clare his personal belief to be that the United States should not go into the League, he will in all probability not be nominated for President by the Democratic party this year. Those who hold Mr. Baker's declara- tion that the League of Nations should not be an issue in the coming cam- paign, while he at the same time praises the League and insists that some day the United States will be- come a member of the League makes him available for nomination for Presi- dent by the Democrats, do not appear to have considered the situation. It is on a parallel, for example, with the situation that would be created if Al- fred E. Smith should declare himself | personally for the repeal of the eight- eenth amendment and at the same time say that prohibition was barred as an issue in the national campaign if he became the party nominee for President. Mr. Baker's statement that the ques- tion of America’s joining the League of Nations is at present not a matter in the field of practical politics is obviously true. But let Mr. Baker be- come & presidential nominee this year and there will be an entirely different situation, The League of Nations as an important issue will be dragged out and dusted off by the Republican party and burnished up until it shines as it did in the days of 1920 and, to a lesser degree, in the days of 1924. Mr. Baker also is quoted as saying that he would not take the United States into the League of Nations until & majority of the people favored such action. The obvious comment in connection With this statement is that he could not do so. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that Mr. Baker's statement locks like a bid for the Democratic nomination for President. It is true he said in his interview with the press that he is not a candidate. But he did not close the door finally to becoming a candidate. And his declaration that there should be no attempt to make the League a political issue in the coming campaign | must be interpreted as meaning that if he becomes a candidate and a pres- | dential nominee, his fondness for the League shall not be held up against him. If Mr. Baker is nominated for Presi- dent by the Democrats he must run, however, as a pro-leaguer, unless he specifically declares against the entry of the United States into the League of Nations. He has been far too prom- inently identified with the League cause to permit his evading this issue, even if he desired to do so. ———— Gen. Willilam Mitchell, U. 8. A, re- | tired, keeps right on living up to his role of Pollyanna. From gloomy gen- eralities, he now specifically prophesies inevitable war between this country and Japan. In fact, he already has the re- | spective campaigns for both sides pretty | well worked out. ——— | The “Literary” Depression. For some time past it has been evi- | dent to the book-publishing business and the book-selling industry that | something is wrong. The general de- pression, which began a little more than two years ago, accounted for some |of the misfortunes suffered by this | trade, but that there were other causes, not attributable to the lessening of in- | comes, was belleved by many engaged in this branch of American enterprise. Reluctantly they oame to the con- clusion that a scientific research was | necessary to reach the causes of the | slump, Some fifteen months ago a | group of publishers, representing the | largest output of books in America, | formed an assoclation for investigation !md engaged the services of an econ- omist of note. The report of that | survey has just been completed and is | about to be spread broadcast, for the ! information of the trade and the read- | ing public, which is to say the book- | | buying public. | According to an advance statement of the case, the research lays the blame directly upon the publishers for most of the ills suffered by the literary in- ' dustry. The book business, it is stated in the report, is managed chiefly by “economic illiterates and incurable ro- | mantics.” The simple fact is that too many books are being printed—that is to sey, too many books for which there is no demand commensurate with the cost of production and distribution. The average publishing house receives new books on the sale of about ten “titles.” In new fiction, while nine | books in ten sell more than 1,000 coples | in their first year, only five in ten sell more than 4,000 copies, only two in | ten more than 10,000 and only one in | ten more than 20,000. In non-fiction there are even greater risks, only six | in ten selling more than 1,000, two in ten more than 3,000 and one in ten over 6,000 The publisher frames his policy of selection, it would seem, upon the chance of finding & “best seller” to balance his losses from mediocre works. 1uwori.ht.hl.nhnur-dyhun. statement also declared that he per-, | seventy-five per cent of its income from ring. Selection of “titles” is the crux of the matter. The investigator gives the fol- lowing summary of the reasons most frequently advanced for the selection of specific books: myn need this book to balance our Some day the author of this book will write a best seller. This author isn't so good, but his best friend is a comer and our net will get him for us. You ought to see the pictures! Our asales manager read the first two pages of the manuscript and he liked it. ‘There is & scene in this story where— This is & fine book and we'll publish it even if we don't sell two coples. Everybody's playing t office” and we have to have a small book of official rules by an expert. Here we are without a single book on Russia on our new list. The investigator finds that many books fail because they are badly writ- ten, as well as badly chosen. He finds that there is a “sales resistance” on the part of the younger generation of readers, just out of school, where they have developed = resentment against books in general. He finds that the publishers do not profit by experience, neglecting to ascertain why books fail and to avoid the repetition of errors of judgment in subsequent publications, He attributes some of the troubles of the trade to the lack of co- operation on the part of the publishers with the book sellers, who in turn “know virtually nothing about their customers.” Book clubs have not demonstrably hurt the publishers. While they are not helping appreciably to widen book dis- tribution, they have probably reached the limits of their economic and oper- ating development. Where lies the remedy? Revision of the publishing lists, in all probability. Demonstration and the exercise of sounder judgment in the selection of manuscripts. The elimination of the trash that pours forth in ceaseless stream from the book presses, to abase the public taste and to lessen the field for the books that are worth while. Application of sound business principles to the production of a commodity that the public requires and will appreciate the more highly as the standard of quality is raised. Of the making of books there is no end, but of the makers of books who lack discrimina- tion there is assuredly a definite and lamentable end. B Every Washingtonian knows the exact dimensions of the 1932 Community Chest. If that lid shuts down too easily, it will be just too bad—bad in three ways: for those who gave, for those who did not give, and for those who will fail to receive. ————t————— Bootleggers and speakeasy proprietors would be assessed a twenty-five per cent tax on their gross receipts, according to & plan submitted to the House Ways 2nd Means Committee. If that would not be turning fiction into fact, what would? ————— There are sald to be no fewer than seventy-three lawyers now involved in the Ella Wendel estate rumpus. And lalmost every one may be regarded as the leader of a platoon of well drilled “heirs.” B A rumor from Rome is to the effect that Victor Emmanuel II may have his title raised to that of “Emperor.” Is he not sufficiently snubbed now, with his title of just plain “King"? ———— Philologists are struck with the great similarity in the appearance and orthog- raphy of the name “Huey” and the ejaculation “Hooey — e The hat-checking privilege in Gotham is something. But the marriage-license- issuing privilege appears to have been a veritable gold mine. ———— Perhaps it is & good thing that they do not keep official averages in the League of Nations. e It is hoped, but considerably doubted, that Catalonia enjoyed her one-day republic. -t SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Fireside Hero. ©Oh, father’s a wonderful man! When he comes home at night All the children delight So mighty a creature to scan. They believe he is lofty and great, Quite fit to be king Or any old thing That holds 2 high place in the state. Of course when he’s striving downtown He may scratch, kick and bite And avoid a fair fight, Or be but a blustering clown; And his fellows may scoff his plan. But nature is kind And at home he will find He is always a wonderful man. Considerate Discipline. “You permit that patient to smoke in moderation?” “Yes,” replied the genial physician. “It would be a shame to compel a man who gives his friends such good cigars as he does to cut it out entirely.” Breaking the Earth. “That man ought to give up this game,” said the golf expert. “What do you think he ought to do?” “Gardening. He uses a golf club ex- actly as if 1§ were a hoe.” The Common Experience. However tollsome be your lot, And irksome to endure, Some one will hint that you have got A regular sinecure. No Chance to Be Cheap. “Why do you delay proposing to that gir1?” “I'm saving up to buy an engagement “Something especially expensive?” “It'll have to be. I can’t fool her. Her father runs a jewelry store.” Process of Elimination. “Do you consider these articles hu- morous?” asked the editor, severely. “They must be,” replied Mr. Penwig- gle. “Everybody I have read them to says they can't be taken seriously.” “Mos’ likely,” sald Uncle Eben, “de man dat goes around lookin’ foh sym- pathy is simply spoilin’ his credit against de time when he gits de cour- Ppinchot still CDNESDAY, BY CHARLES E, TRACEWELL. Every one, high and low, 15 attracted by the reports of excavations of ancient cities. An immense interest attaches to them. This was most strikingly shown by the discoveries in the tomb of King ‘Tut, as the ancient Egyptian ruler came to be called, with our typical modern nenchalance. Subsequent excavations in various parts of the world, however, have dem- onstrated that this wide public interest was no flash in the pan. Hln&fl‘.‘one does not have to be a sclentist in- terested in such things. Every one is interested in human beings, and the oldest ruins which have been discovered speak unmistakably of them. There is no stone upturned which does not tell eloquent tales of men and women. ‘This is a glorious sort of gossip. We txry into the lives of people who lived housands of years ago; we find that they were strangely like unto ourselves. ‘They had curiously wrought jars of cos- metics, and dolls, and ormamental combs. In all things they were much as we are, hence our natural interest goes out to them, over the years, as if, indeed, those years had never intervened. * ok K ¥ These discoveries show the reader that time is still the unknown quantity it always has been. Learnedly we talk of centuries, as if we really understood them, but down in our hearts we know that their passage remains a mystery. Thousands of years mean little more to most people, no matter how learnedly they talk about them, than do huge numbers. With what an alr men talk of millions and billions of dollars, when very few of them ever saw a thousand- dollar billl Modern financial figures are astro- nomical, and hence mean'ngless to most of us groundlings, who may be Jjust one jump ahead of the poor house. Sometimes one may wonder honestly if the men who handle them actually understand them. Perhaps they do so by considering them as units, thus re- ducing unrealizable figures to sums more easily grasped. It is much the same with the years. Who is there who has not given him- self the mental jim-jams, as it were, by attempting to read of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, with its names and dates, its Emperors, now in power, Now gone; its transfers of the cessant wars and slayings of human beings. What causes the most trouble in the attempt of the mind to grasp all this welter of names, places and dates is the realization, although perhaps not even conscious, that the foundation of all this was a solid substratum of changing The life of the individual is so short, and the term of the race so long, evi- dently, that a merciful Heaven prevents us from grasping the full evidences of the same. The young man feels that he can never die, and the old one ceases to speculate about it. The passage of time is nothing at all, in the beginning, and ceases to be of much concern in the end. The young man feels as if his col- lege years would never end, the oldster goes back to them, and perhaps talks of niothing else. Only in the period which mankind | has agreed to call “middle age” does a man sometimes catch & fleeting idea, as it were, of the real passage of time. Perhaps the only thought he brings _ There is manifestly a better feeling in and about the White House than has been in evidence in recent weeks There is less tension and apprehension over the financial outlook. There is strong expectation the Reconstruction Pinance Corporation, launched in the nick of time, is going to mark the be- ginning of a pronounced betterment in business. _Administration spokesmen, in the light of bitter experience, are now shy about counting the chickens before they are hatched, but privately they are prophesying fine results from tation program, of which the new finance agency, Federal Land Bank bank plans are the major elements. If business now moves on the upgrade the President is in position to claim credit. Furthermore, the belief per- sists that as and if stocks and bonds rise the Hoover political stock will enjoy a sympathetic rise, too. If, and it ‘i still & big if, things get mani- festly better during 1932, Mr. Hoover may vet be publicized as the man who saved the Nation. There is one big hurdle yet to be taken, and that is where and how to raise new tax reve- nues and balance the budget. How that is to be successfully surmounted is still an open question. * ok ok % Reports forecasting the resignation of Sir Eric Drummond as secretary gen- eral of the League of Nations were fully confirmed by cables this week from Geneva. His retirement from that post in the near future appears a certain eventuality. But there is no apparent basis for a concurrent report that Sir Eric was quitting the League post as a prelude to an assignment as British Ambassador to the United States, replacing the Hon. Sir Roland Lindsay, P. C, G. C. M. G, K. C. B, C. V. O. The latter, so far as appears, is destined to carry on for King George at Washington for many moons. Exixix The New York betting comnmissioners have started their presidential book. A 2-to-1 wager that the next President will be a Democrat has been recorded. With respect to the Democratic nomi- nation, the quoted odds are as follows: 212 to 1 that Smith will not receive the nomination, 3 to 1 that Roosevelt will not be nominated, 4 to 1 against Ritchie, 5 to 1 against Baker, 7 to 1 against Garner and 10 to 1 against Owen D. Young. On the Republican side the odds are 4 to 1 that Hoover will be the nominee, 10 to 1 that Dawes will not be the nominee, 15 to 1 against Hiram Johnson and 20 to 1 against Calvin Coolidge. Apparently the bet- ting fraternity have taken Mr. Cool- idge’s disclaimer of presidential desires at its face value. * K K % ‘Washington's own series of events incident to Nation-wide observance of the George Washington bicentenary will start with elaborate exercises on Febru- ary 22—an address by the President be- fore a joint session of Congress, cere- monies on the east front of the Capitol and at the Washington Monument and a colonial ball in eighteenth century setting—and will conclude with a Hal- loween carnival on October 31, featuring a parade and open-air dancing on Con- stitution avenue, according to the offi- clal program just published. The local cammittee estimntes that between 6,000,- 000 and 8,000,000 visitors will be drawn to the Capital during the nine-month fod of the celebration. On top of t, no less than 165 conventions, large and small, are booked for Washington. In that t of the matter Mr. Hoover ;flnll‘bo al '1:: oonduc&.hl; nwtn re-:;ec; campalgn from ront porch of the White * k ¥ X Gifford Pinchot of Pennsylvania ap- pears not to be downhearted by the political cts. The Hoover grip on the Republican nomination and the lifelessness of any concerted third party movement seems not to have dampened the Pinchot crusading zeal. He is trav- eling about the country speechifying in the presidential manner and enun- ciating the Pinchot version of progres- sive doctrines and formulas. He speaks in Minneapolis this week, pleading for the farmer. At the moment the Penn- sylvania Governor is championing the five-billion-dollar prosperity bond issue idea. The Bull Moose party is as nearly extinct as the American buffalo, but earries on in the Roose- He 3 gambling with the public taste. mbmmlm'fll’hgm" veltian style, denouncing the malefac- L) - \ seat of government, its changes, its in- | millions upon millions of human beings. | from it is that time, as a thing, does not exist at all. i * * Italy, Egypt and other countries in which archeological expeditions are be- ing carried on have done the wise thing in putting these glorified diggers under governmental control. Thelr endeavors are of too much concern to the entire people to permit them to become per- sonal to any one group. It is a st e fascination, this, which these discoveries hold for 50 many men and women who, at first glance, one might not think interested in more than the latest jazz tune on the radio. They might not be interested in the remote or present causes of the expedi- tion or the scientifis results to be ob- tained, but they know about lpsticks and pomade, about drinking and eating vessels and about clothes. Buch matters are of dally interest, in some cases almost hourly talk. It is, therefore, of surpassing interest to them to be able to realize that ancient peo- ples, instead of being mere curiosities out of history books, were real *flesh- and-blood human beings. This realization comes as & surprise to many, as they read of the latest digging, which has brought to light a succession of old cities, one on top of the other, each totally forgotten by the ones which came after. Nk So many people lived and loved, so many peoYle are gone. What became of them? All they left behind them, which now comes to light, are a few dishes, and monuments, and walls. We are reasonably sure that the plans of their dwellings are so and so. Perhaps one of their great sages, as he sat at his window one moonlight night, thought to himself as did a great American philosopher: “I am sometimes discontented with my house because it lies on a dusty road, and with its sills and cellar al- most in the water of a meadow. “But when I creep out intc the Night or Morning and see what majestic and wha@ tender beauties dally wrap me in th bosom, I see how indifferent it is w).:\e I eat and sleep. his very street the moon will trans- ferm, She is the apologist of apologists and hides every meanness in a silver- | edged darkness.” There is a flavor of what we call modernity to this which puts its form of expression beyond the ability of any man who lived so many thousands of years ago. He might have given the his sentence forms would not have been | the same. 1t is easy enough to see that he was right. Contemplating these ancient ruins, whether on the scene or only by means of the imagination, the while the eyes look at black symbols on white | paper, one realizes full well that where | he slcpt and where he ate actually were | matters indifferent to him | How impossible it is, except for a few, | to hold the same thought while they | breathe! There is only a certain type | of person to whom any place he hangs his hat is home. | Yet something of this philosophy must take hold of every one, and the | fact that it does. no doubt, is what | helps to account for the universal in- terest in discoveries of ancient places. He who sits and reads about them | realizes that rocks and stones are not |all that are here, but that here are hopes and dreams, ended forever—and | yet_ eternally alive! There can be few greater mysteries than this WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS | tors of great wealth, and ready to s in the White House if the call comes. % ok The Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, just appointed, is facing plenty of grief. The most cursory in- | spection reveals the prospect that the | next Senate will be Democratic almost |to a certainty. The Democrats already | have forty-seven of the ninety-six mem- bers, just two short of & majority. In the election this year the seats of eight- | een Republican ~Senators and fifteen the Hoover stabilization and rehabili- | Democrats are to be filled. Of the fif-| | teen Democratic seats to be filled all |save four are from the South. The aid, closed bank aid and home loan |only Democratic seats about which there | |is the least vestige of doubt are those now filled by Hawes of Missouri, Wag- ner of New York, McGill of Kansas and | Bulkley of Ohio. A Hoover landslide, of which there is as yet no sign, might | “redeem” the Missouri and Kansas | seats. Wagner and Bulkley look to be safe under the most adverse contingen- cies. On the other hand, of the eighteen Republican seats in contest this year there are not more than half a dozen which are considered truly safe. It is pretty well conceded that the Demo- crats will elect their candidate in New Jersey, and Democratic hopes in In- diana and Illinois and Connecticut are high. * o ok x ‘The magnificent landscaping of Capi- tol Hill and its approaches on the side facing the Union Station Plaza is now nearing completion. The basins for the series of terraced pools and fountains are now in place, masking the electric car line underpass and the subterranean senatorial garage. The dreams of David Lynn, Capitol architect, and his asso- ciates, and the Fine Arts Commission and the congressional sponsors of the beautification plans are now at last being realized. In its finished state there will be probably nothing quite like the Capitol Hill vista, outside of India, where the celebrated Taj Mahal, rated the world's most beautiful edifice, hasa similar setting. Yf all goes well, the last sod of turf will have been laid, the pools will be filled and the fountains playing by the time the Easter inrush of Washington visitors arrive. (Copyright, 1932.) e Kirk Munroe Letters Wanted for Life Story To the Editor of The Star In connection with a forthcoming biography of my husband, the late Kirk Munroe, I would like to use your col- umns to ask a few questions of your readers. A generation ago Kirk Munroe was the loved author of thousands of chil- dren, now men and women in the prime of life. He knew and corresponded with a great many of his readers. many of whom wrote for his picture and autograph. Did any of you who may see this let- ter know or receive letters from Kirk Munroe? If so, and you have kept them, will you be helpful enough to loan them to the writer for a short time? Great care will be taken of them and of any photographs or other data which you may be able to supply. This life will be a story of adventure, for nearly every adventure in Kirk Munroe's stirring tales was lived either in whole or in part by the author. MABEL STEARNS MUNROE, Coconut Grove, Fla. Defends Sullivan’s Impeachment Article To the Editor of The Star: In The Star of Monday Harriot T. Cooke questions the accuracy of Mark Sullivan’s statement in your Sunday paper that a President had been im- peached, stating that this term is synonymous with conviction. . According to Funk & Wagnalls' Dis~ tionary, the word “impeach” means charge with crime or misdemeanor in office; to a public official be- fore a competent tribunal on A charge of malfeasance in office.” The impeach- ment, then, is the charge, or indict- ment, brought by the House, irrespec- tive of the result of the trial by the Senate. Hence, President Johnson Was , though not convicted, and, therefore, Mr. Sullivan's statement Was ebsolutely correct. B. world the same ideas, substantially, but | bod. | streets? C. Transportation Problem Outlined To the Editor of The Star: Read your editorial, January 7, com- menting on report of Interstate Com- merce Commission examiner proposing hway transport regulations. called your attention about a year ago to our local transportation situa- tion, especially as to its likeness to rajlroad vs. bus, truck problem. I now quote some proposed provisions from Interstate Commerce Commission report, which I feel are applicable to District of Columbia _transpartation situation, hoping you will study same and accord a ]ocl{ situation as favor- able an editorial as you did when you considered provisions as & national problem. Interstate Commerce Commission re- port says: 1. Contract carriers should have minimum rate fixed, to be not less than the mileage cost of haul, regardless of extra pay for extra services. 2. Employes of—trucks, busses-—should compare, as to pay qualifications, to employes of railroads. 3. An investigation should determine value of highway to trucks, busses and they should pay accordingly. 4.No permit should issue for bus,; truck until public utility was shown. 5. All busses and trucks should have full financial responsibility. Quoting from testimony at recent taxicab hearing, also from case now court—test case on installation of taxi- meters: Mr. Bachman— Cost of operation for light-weight cabs, less driver and administration— per mile—4.95 cents. Testimony of City Cab official in court, his cabs (light weight) cost per mile, administration included (less driver), | —6 cents. Mr. Bachman— Digest of operators’ reports show: | Average haul—2 miles. Average run-off—over 2 miles. Mr. Bachman— Minimum wage for driver (average run of 100 miles per day) to compare | with city street car and bus pay— per mile—5 cents. From ebove figures; cost of operation: Passenger hauled 2 miles . i Run-off—over 2 miles.. Driver's pay—4 miles . 12¢} . 20c | Cost for 2 miles . 44c Cost for 1 mile . . 22¢ Rates fixed by Public Utility Commis- sion, 25 cents first 2 miles, 15 cents| mile thereaiter. No. 3 and No. 4 of Interstate Com- merce Commission report have had no consideration as yet in District of Co- | lumbia. No. 5. Insurance is favored by every- y. The point of this letter is that above facts and figures are open to all, in fact known by everybody. Still, when the Public Utility Commission starts to reg- ulate taxi service on a sound economic basis, everybody—meaning large portion of citizens’ associations, peoples counsel, citizens associations, public utility corporation representatives and some others rush to court to oppose the Public Utility Commission. | Certainly ‘2]l the figures produced at | taxi hearing and in court show that somebody is being exploited because taxi service is now being offered at less than cost. W. L. DAVIS. Wants Drivers Bonded As Public Protection To the Editor of The Star: I witnessed a most distressing accl- dent the other evening. 1 was walking down the street with my wife and son when a car streaked past us at terrific speed. My wife remarked, “That car must be going at least 35 miles an hour.” Suddenly the car put on brakes and came to a sudden swp.l My wife exclaimed, “It looks as if some one had fallen out of the car.” I rushed up and found & young | woman under the front wheel. She was | screaming with pain, and I helped to | shove the wheel off her leg. A| cab was near, and out of the| crowd a young lady stepped, Wwho knew her and took her to Emergency Hospital. Pive feet back of the car I found her shoe, which I gave to an offi- cer. This shows that she was struck and carried some distance before the car could be stopped. I feel strongly that there should be a law enacted whereby all drivers of automobiles should be bonded. In ac- cidents of this kind the insurance com- panies should be responsible to in- jured parties for damages. The driver of this car apparently is a man of small means, vet he can injure this beautiful young woman, perhaps cause her death, and it will be “just too bad.” He will get off scot free, and the next victim may be your wife or mine, or my child or yours, and this slaughter keeps up ad lib. 1 hope you will advocate and help to push such legislation as will compel irresponsible motorists to be bonded, that such unfortunates as the victim of this act of recklessness may have some compensation for such unwar- ranted injuries. In this connection T call your atten- tion to the motor cycles which are per- mitted to tear through the streets at 40 and 50 miles an hour and get by with it. Will The Star not lend its aid to find some way of curbing these reck- less drivers and of making the streets | of our city safe for our children and | for those pedestrians who travel on our ALBERT J. OSGOOD. Curb on Use of Loans Under New Act Urged To the Editor of The Star: The recent act of Congress establish- ing the Reconstruction Finance Corpo- ration seems to contain all of the necessary provisions of an enabling act, but it absolutely overlooks any pro- visions guaranteeing that funds bor- rowed from the corporation will ulti- mately be used for the purpose for which they are borrowed. If loans made to banks, railroads, industry and farmers represent merely an exchange of frozen assets and mere promises for ready cash, and if this ready cash is not used for the right purpose the loaning of it is going to do the country more harm than good. It would seem to me that the mere assumption on the part of Congress that the money is going to be properly used is not enough. They should exa a record of performance from borrow- s;;_ymgutsetaa peednany ford failure to Ppredetermine: rogram which has been made a plnp:!grme basis for granting the loan. The time was when a person or cor- poration could be depended upon to| o< use the proceeds of a loan for exsetly the purpose for which it was obtained. The situation now is so bad that people are seeking to fortify themselves with | cash for fear conditions will get worse instead of better. It the Reconstruction Finance Cor- poration functions exactly in accord- ance with the spirit of the law it is capable of pulling this country out of the hole. If it goes only so far as the letter of the law it will leave a lot to be desired. ROBT. F. JONES. It's No Court Game. From the New Orleans Times-Picayune. So Dwight T. Davis has been replaced as Governor General of the Philippines by Theodore Roosevelt the Second. Thus does the inherited “big stick” re- place the tennis racket in insular diplomacy. Hammer Prosperity. Prom the Columbus Ohio State Jourssl. ‘We dare say that the forthcoming political campaign is geing to bring prosperity back for the hammer manu- facturers. -t They Won't Balance. From the Nashville Banner. A good many politiclans are now en- gaged in an intensive study of the per- plexing problem of how a man may carry water on one shoulder and beer on the other. In|with 250 to ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. This is a special department devoted to the handling of inquiries. You have at your disposal an extensive organiza- tion in Washington to serve you in any capacity that relates to information. Write your question, your name and our address clearly and inclose 2 cents, stamps or coin, for reply. Send to The Evening Star Information Bureau, Pnd‘!;icc"' Haskin, director, Washing- ton, D. C. Q. How many copies of the World | Almanac are sold annually?—M. W. A. About 300,000. Q. Has the letter postage of Canada been increased’—H. T. H. A. It has been changed from 2 to 3 cents. When letters are sent bearing cnly 2 cents, another 2 cents must be | collected, 1 cent for postage and 1 cent | penalty. Q. Is electricity widely used in Porto Rico?—C. R. A. Porto Rico consumed, it is esti- mated, 80,000,000 kilowatt hours of | electric power in 1930. Ninety-seven per cent of all communities of more | than 1,000 inhabitants are served by | power lines and 50 per cent of those | 1,000 inhabitants are | reached. Thirty-seven per cent of all| homes, or about 42,000 out of 155,000, | consume electricity. Q. What causes hair to turn gray? Does fright ever cause it?—G. 5. B A. Loss of pigment causes hair to turn gray. Extremeiy severc shocks have been known to cause a ioss of pig- ment in the hair. Q. Was Queen Victoria of England related to Willlam the Conqueror?— T. 8. A. She was a direct descendant. Q. Please expl the expression, “The exception proves the zuie."—M. A A. This familiar saying $8 based on the fact that so frequently dogs some condition prevail that the few oécasions when it does not emphasize the fre- | quency of its occurrence. Q. What is abaca’—H. D. A It is Manila hemp. Q. Is there a collectior: of the verses of the late Robert Morrill Adams?— D. W. A. Bob Adams, author »f “Rude Rural Rhymes” - ume called “The Old-Tiiner.” Q. Why are persimmons astringent?— AM 'A. They are astringent when green because of tannin contalned in the ruit. Q. Did Ebenezer D. Bassett, the first colored man to represent the United States abroad, hold any other public positions?—U.'S. G. A. Aside from his position as Min- ister to Haiti, he was consul general for Haitl for 10 years at New York and also charge d'affaires of Haiti at Wash- ington. Q. What was the first territory ac- quired by the United States?—P. T. A. The Louisiana Purchase. It was purchased from France in 1803 and comprised the Mississippi River's west side dralnage basin, except that part held by Spain. It extended from Can- ada to the Gulf of Mexico and in- cluded the areas now occupied by Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, the Da- kotas, Montana, most of Minnesota and portions of Colorado and Wyoming. The United States took formal posses- sion of the Louisiana Purchase regions on March 10, 1804, and Congress di- vided into two parts—the Territory of Orleans (later the State of Louisiana), and the Te ory of Louisiana | Ocean between the region | vessels | round ball or | attempts Q. What is tin>—W. F. A. Tin is a white malleable metallic element, Sn. It is found in nature probably only in combination princi- pally s tin oxide and cassiterite. Q. Is there a time limit, after which the large-size currency will be of no value?—A. J. A. There is no time limit. Q. Who was Johnny Appl what did he do?—M. EopEesdand A. The real name of Johnn; - sced was Jonathan Chapman, wi o fifl}e'd from 1775 to 1845 or 1847. Chapman built 8 home on the banks of the Ohio near Plttsburgh Landing, planting an orchard and starting a nursery. He provided many settlers in the neig borhood with apple seeds and them also to those who were trave farther west. In 1836 he started out’ with several pounds of apple sceds down the Ohlo and visited numero settlements, distributing the seeds an planting nurseries. Q. When were the fir: upon which Rom; lex to the state?—M. A A. In 215 BC treasury of Ri Private indiv! occasions t large sums and in 214 BC. the > was almost empty. als came to the rescue. This was, 50 far as is known, the first time that, in a financial crisis, money was, in this wi lent to the treasury. Q. Why were the given this name?—T. A. This is the name given to the belt of calms in the North Atlantic of westerly winds of the higher tudes and the region of trade winds of the torrid zone. Authorities differ in regard to the origin of the name, some claiming that it was derived from the fact that with a cargo of horses were often so delayed on account of the calms that the animals perished from lack of water. Q. Please describe an Indian tomae hawk.—G. F. B. A. This is an ancient weapon uni- versally used by Indians in war before they were taught the use of iron and steel, since which hatchets have been substituted for them. This instrument still retains its use and importance in public transactions and, like the pipe, is often very significa! ‘This weapon is formed much like a hatchet having & long stem or handle; the head is & b of solid wood, well enough calculated to knock men’s brains out. On the o e of the stem the head termina a point where the edge would which point is set & little hooking or coming toward the stem, and near the center, where the u: horse latitudes C. !stem or handle pierces the head, ane other point projects forward of a con= siderable length, which serves for thrusting as with a spear or pike pole. Q. In race parlance what is meant by the “Daily Double? '—L. F. A. In the “Dai o pick the second and thir of tickets sold is holders of ticket. bination, or if n ning_combinatic the pool is di tickets that second race those that n third but from a pa ared on the amo! various combina odds of ind Q. Who wrote tI the lines, “W. weather and se: chaice? o) A. James Whitc ble” the bettor nners of both ‘The pool ded among the he winning com- s been sold, then d among holders of Mrs. Caraway Cal led ];(:atier In Advancement of Women The election of Mrs. Hattie Caraway to fill out the unexpired term of her late husband in the Senate arouses in- terest throughout the country because she is the first woman to serve in this august body, except for Mrs. Felton's one-day appointment a number of years ago. “Arkansas claims the distinction of | being the first State to elect a woman United States Senator,” says the Rock- ford Register-Republic, as it notes that her election “is & tribute not only to herself but to the esteem in which Ar kansas voters held her talented hus- | band.” | The State plainly showed to Mrs. Caraway its desire to have her occupy this important place. As the Worcester Evening Gazette states: “Mrs. Caraway hurled her opponents gloriously. In many precincts they received no votes | at all; in her own home city, Jonesboro, they received only two votes. The elec- | tion shows that she held an enthu- | siastic following. Nor did she return | from Washington to campaign in per- | son.” The Abilene Daily Reporter quotes her victory as having been in the proportion of “14,121 as against 436 and 925, respectively, for her two masculine opponents.” * kX | “Her election is the most notable vic- tory for the feminine side of the elec- torate since it was granted the fran- chise” declares the Hartford Daily Times. So, also, concedes the Provi- dence Journal, as it remarks that “the triumph of Mrs. Caraway, the first| elected Senator of her sex, marks an- other milestone in the progress of | women.” Referring to the history of woman’s fight for equal rights, = the | Journal continues: “We think of wom- an suffrage as a development of recent date, but the crusade in behalf of it | has been intermittent for centuries. | * » « In Italy, where the universities were open to women in the fourteenth | and fifteenth centuries, we find some | women of that period demanding | equality of rights. Only seven years | after Christopher Columbus discovered | America English women signed a pe- tition asking for the voting privilege. Mistress Margaret Brent demanded, in 1647, a ‘place and voyce’ in the Mary- jand’ Legislature. Some wWoman prop- erty owners voted, indeed, in early Virginia, and under the Old Province Charter in Massachusetts from 1691 to 1780, a similar privilege existed’ The Cleveland News, too, thinks that “leaders of the feminist movement may find a proper source of pride in the occasion which marked the first time history that a woman has been elected to the Senate.” “Of course the entrance of women | into the United States Senate was in-| evitable,” remarks the Altoona Mirror, but this paper considers it “rather sur- prising, however, that the first woman Senatot should come from & Southean | State, for it has been pretty generally | believed that the conservative South did | not look with favor upon the intrusion of women into the political arena.” The Port Huron Times-Herald, discuss- ing the personality of Mrs. Caraway, is interested because she “is not at all the sort of woman we should have ex- pected to be our first active Senator of her sex. She is not at all of the politi-| cian type.” HLAE S That she is well informed, however, is widely sgreed. Says the Roanoke Times on this point: “The new Senator from Arkansas is much better qualified to hold the place than others of her sex who have been named to public office, for she obtained valuable experience in the years she assisted her husband, be- coming a close observer of congressional politics.” Similar is the tribute paid by the Manchester Union, as it de- clares: “Although Mrs. Caraway’s vic- tory may be interpreted as a tribute of respect to her late husband, no one doubts her ability to fill the high office to which she has been chosen. For years she was closely associated with her husband as counselor and assist- ant, and she is not unacquainted with the problems that must come under her consideration. She has already | made a good im by her caution and come cedure. thinks “it experi; iave_the man Senal Mrs. d as well qualified of mere man his sister as he is to d 8 ing the trai service by says the Pasade phere of aph pictures W with as wonder! cess, the lief that excellent Senator, will not be simply k deus Caraway's w new Sen: leading Spokane Caraway's receif ery, which is is to keep down try to get along and look to the futu Of this, the paper says: “We rather think that Senator Caraway has the remedy. It isn't a quick cure, but it has saved the patient before ” ———— Plea for Lower Rents In Depression Voiced To the Editor of The Star I would like to ask a question in The Evening Star which I hope some- nses, and everybody | body may answer satisfactorily Why is it that in this time of de- pression, when so many have had deep cuts in their salaries, the rents in our city are permitted to remain so high? Budgets which have been worked out by experts show us that one should not pay for rent per month more than he_earns per week. If, then, & man has plannea the family budget according to this system, what is he to do when his salary has been cut 20 per cent and his land- lord refuses to reduce the rent? The apartment house owners seem to be making a specialty of the two and three room, kitchenette and dinette apartments and when they do provide five and six room apartments they are held at a prohibitive figure. Cannot some companv bulld apart- ment housés with five-rcoms-and-bath suites, where people of refinement would care to live, for the rental sum of '$75? It is being done in other cities. Why not here? B. PALMER. ————— Comparative. Trom the Danbury Evening News. If it wasn't for the militarists the pacifists could be happy: if i wasn't for the pacifists the militarists could be happy; if both militarists and pacl- fists went and jumped into the lake the rest of us could be happy. Or happier. r——— Should—Or Would? From the Dayton Daily News Some Canadian papers are debating whether or not farmers should wear spats, indicating that the farmers down this way are not the only ones who are getting cold feet. Miss Plenty of Dough. Prom the Hamilton (Ontario) Bpectator. ‘The gunmen who robbed a safe of a Toronto bread company of $5,000 over- looked another parcel of money—and lot of other dough alsewhere in the buiiding.