Evening Star Newspaper, January 28, 1932, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY .January 28, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Ofce 11th St. and Pennsylvania A New York Office Chicaro Office Etropean Office Rate by Carrier Within the City. Tne evewiag Star 45¢ per month The Evening and Sunday Siar 60c per montn S 5¢ per mor ay Star 5S¢ per cof ) made at the end of each monih e sent .n by mail or telephone Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily &nd Sunday.... 1yr.$i0.00: 1 mo. 85c Daily onl 1vr. $6.00. 1 mo. 50c Buncay oaly v All Other States and Canada. and Sunday. $12.00° 1 mo. ouly ai]y s . 58.00; 1 mo.. $4.00; 1 mo.. 40c | a particularly dificult problem in :he‘lnx faithfully the requirements imposed Farley, “Wender Box Tom,” as he has ! the approach to the bridge with the that he drew his surplus funds, over sideration, both for che sake of the and beyond his salary, from certain tin ' traffic and for the protection of the boxes at home that suggest the unfafling work itself, It was an admirable ex- provision of a Fortunatus purse. | ample of adaptation to necessity. The Governor has prodded Sherift { The fact that the work was com- Tom to reply by next Monday to the | pleted ahead of schedule, in the face of charges. Ttat would scem to indicate, these difficulties, attests to the excel- a desire to get rid of the cose as|lence cf the planning and the execu- | quickly as possible. But whether ittion. And throughout the perlod the comes before him at once or later it!public appreciation of the ccre that had ! will bs an ewkward matter to handie. | becn taken for both accommodation and If the G-vernor removes the sheriff he 'security was freely expressed, The incurs the hatred of Tammany. If h2!ysers of the bridge came to take a keen “bsolves him of the ch-rges he incurs personal inter tre distrust of the anti-T-mmany e'e- | yas manifest from day to day. A sense men's, His immediate prob'em, {from 2 of partnorship In the enterprise was t:ietly political point of view, is m“:dc eloped, so that there was no impa- me2surement of the effect upon hif|tience with the necessary checking of | candidacy end, if nominated, his presi-'the traffic. When the last barrier was' denial chances, of his ac !or the other. { e fon one Way removed yesterday and the motor cars swept across the finished structure on the eastern section, which was the final unit to be completed, there was a sense Anti-Deflation, Not Inflation. matter of the charges against Sheriff to maintain slender lines and to male | come to be called since his disclosure | view of forming these lines with con- | t in the progress that| Fewer and better biographies is the order of the publishing day. | This is & welcome eflect of the de- | pression, all of them bad, If the flood of inferior biographical {writing whicn submerged the reading land several years ago is ended, there 1 will be but few to lament. The art of biography is too fine to suffer from the mishandling of writers who dove in—there is no other word for it—at the high tide of publication. Culling a magnitude of facts, and |adding to them such conversational i mattcr as any one could invent, such writers splashed end swam far beyond | their depth | In the exhilaration of the moment they carriea many of their readers i with them, all except a few who re- !Iused to be lured so far from the shore of common sense, Kok K Depressions work in many ways, not | BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. i‘mh’ld, the mind of another hul ing. & EREE Mental adventure! That, and that alone, is the essence | of both biography and novel. | However exciting the physical ad- | ventures of men may be, the motivat- ing power is the mind which thinks. It is to this supreme power in life that all words point. The life story of Jesus of Nazareth is an epic of intelligence, concentrated | and consecrated. | So much is this so that St. John began his gospel, and most properly one may think, with the supreme reali- | zation that the word was all in all. * ook | Words are the symbols of mental adventuring. As a man thinks so is he, and as he ‘;?nan (and perhaps writes) 80 is his ife. True biographies are mental adven- Sunday only AR mes Secretary Mellen's rejection of the | proposal by Senator Walsh of Massa- Member of the Associated Press. of complete satisfaction in an achieve- ment which had at first seemed im- Jacrhe turn of the tide has come At | tures, even as the lives they detall were ast. d| blication of all ne therwise cred for 1 dited s p hey cre news | m“gll Japan's Demands on China. Last-minute acceptance by China ! of Japan's demands has relieved th tension felt at Shanghai and prebably has prevented an armed clash, the effects of which might conceivably | have immediately caused a grave in-| ternational complication. That the ger is not altogether past, | how- ever, appears from a dispatch received this morning to the effect that Japan | has imposed edditional demands, re- | sponse to which has not been forth- coming As this situation develops the ques-! tion arises whether the entire interna- | tional picture has been revealed. Japan has been quite frank throughout the | Manchurian incident, which appea at this moment to have been “closed,” | s concerned, and, as- | antee of the open door | for freedom of trade, the other | Japan is In possession gaged in the government there | of Chinese-Man- | organizations. 1If that| the case there w be whatever the feelings at Is respecting ers as well, ent of the agency or at other capii ich treat may w ities ed. tution of & veritable threats against China tenance of & boy- goods by a organization s another matter. At the moment n has been relieved through the nce at the very last hour of the recently imposed by Tokio ng government. Those s had been enlarged shortly be- fore the expiration of the period speci- fied by insistence upon punishment of the Chinese who attacked some Jap- anese monks Jar 18, upon a pay- ment of indemnity for the attack and an expression of apology; also that the Chinese authorities put an end to anti- Japanese Mcial s | it might be said that the present Amer- awal of the Chinese troops, num- bering some 17,000, located near Shang- hal. Those demands were likewise accepted Then these the conclusion of “negotiations” came additional demands, all Japanese goods scized du the bovcott be d released and also that Chinese merchants who had been imprisoned by societies be freed tion is quite clearly con- that Japan is forcing an issue, h these successively severe re- quirements. If that the case the tmplication is inevitzble that Japan fs secking to force a cause of conflict. It is to be hoped that this is not the case. For if it is Japan's purpose to press her demands upon China to the point at which surrender is no longer possible ghort of complete abdication of authority, it would seem to be assured that the real objective of this present campaign of pressure is to force a conflict. The powers represented at Shanghai in the maintenance of tke International Setilement will naturally not agree to such a program. There is arother fac- tor In the case. An additional area of ‘hinese authority ex in that styled the “French Concession.” ion arises whether France is e-heartedly in sympathy with the powers which control the “Settlement™” in their resistance—thus far merely diplomatic—of Japan's acts of aggres- sion on the mainland of China. In the answer to that question may lie the answer to the larger and graver ques- tion of whether Japan, not content with the seizure of Manchuria, to which the powers have In effect reluctantly as- sented as an accomplished fact with some measure of justification, is now bent upcn conquest in China Pproper, with some arrangement secretly made in advance which will divide the | ¢ rs and, if successful, di- zones of influence. close upon i panese to When the tide of one's affairs seems to be at the Jowest possible ebb, there remains always this bedrock consola- tion: “At any rate, I am not a partici- pant in a marathon dance.” —or—— chusetts for issuance of an additional one billion dollars in national bank notes emphcsizes the edministration’s oppasition to currency inflation as a method of fighting the depression. Mr. Mellon points out that if there was a shortage of currency, or if the legal au- thority for currency expansion was in- adequate, there might be reason to in- crease the naticnal bank circulation, but conditiens now warrant no such step, even as an emergency measure. The administration has been careful, since the formulation of its reconstruc- tion program, to avoid any semblance of inflationary methods. But as the Nation has suffered all the character- istic accompaniments of deflation— falling prices, reduction of money yield in taxes, recuction of profits to business men and traders—there has been a no- ticeable tendency to interpret the Gov- ernment’s relief plans as an effort to fight fire with fire; in other words, to cure deflation by inflation. As inflation 1s probably the most grave of the two evils, inflationary poicies, or even hints of such policies, are something to view with alarm. Senator Watson 1s quoted as believing that “a little inflation would do the country good,” and the Baltimore Sun is quick to point out that “a little inflation” 13 a dangerous thing, for the simple but sound reason that one’s icea of “littie” is an uncertain quantity at best, and “infiation,” as suc ky ihing possible, Next must come & similar work in the | | replacement of the old bridge at Cal- | vert street, which has been under pub- lic condemnation for many years. In that case also the presence of street | cars will cause a complication. But | that work can be done without the ne- | cessity of providing for the vehicular trafic, which can be diverted to the | Taft Bridge without serious derange- ment or delay. The public hope is that |dttle time will be lost in the making {of provision for this undertaking and for its execution in the same efficient manner as that of the construction at | the Klingle Valley, which gives to the District a viaduct that is both com- | | modious and sound and attractive. e e Another good scheme Uncle Sam has | not tried out yet is the surreptitious | | removal by means of chewing gum of pennies from the cups of all blind beg- gars. But then, some already over- worked and underpaid Federal employes would have to chew the gum to the proper consistency and make the daily rounds. i ———— A former British “Tommy” who served with the colors twenty-eight vears and who was recommended for a medal thirty-three years ago, has just | received the decoration. But doubtless this third of a century record will fall if | 'our own War Department authorities From now on, as we read the signs of the times, there will be fewer and better biographies, because all are get- ting common sense now, readers and writers alike. A reader may be reason- | ably sure from now on when he picks up the blography of an eminent man, ancient or modern, that he is going to | get the real man, not some one’s fanci- iul iuea of a real man There is much to commend in this. Blographies formerly were satisfying at least. Not exciting particularly, but true to human nature; not particularly imbuea with “thriil” perbaps, but rea- sonably sure of presenting such a man as actually lived. EEEE The late Albert Beveridge knew a thing or two about writing biographies, ‘The advent of Lytton Strachey (now, unfortunately, also the late) ald ot force any one to change the world's well considered cstimate of the writ- ings of the former. However the accent may be placed in such forms of writing, to better suit a new age, the best work of the old remains sure in its perennial place. It is so with fiction, that vast field wherein s0 many capable and earnest men and women have labored A novel by Flelding is utterly differ- ent from one by Hemingway, but nho one with common scnse would deprecate the former because it is not like the latter. * ox ok x It is impossible to peruse the world's great biographies (and autobiographies) without realizing that here is something beyond time and place. As much as any writings, biographies of the major type are lasung. above the ephemeral changes of fashion. All that men ask of them is that they pre- sent a man in his environment. Such a_presentation is always inter- esting, always filled with vigor and imme- | | requiring real courage. to fool with under anj itions. Undersecretary of tr=> Treasury Mills gives the view of the administration | wheni he explains that “credit expan- I sion must be looked upon &s constiuc- tive and desirable rather than infla- ticnary and dangerous.” The whole | effort now being exerted is to prevent | further deflation and to restore the cconomic machinery to an even bal- ance. In the process of this restoration, it is as important to guard against (‘I-‘ fecting the counterbalance by tharow- ing it off &s far n one direction as it has been in the other. Walter Lippmann { in the New York Herald-Tribune, witha | characteristic ability for succinct ex- | pression, writes that whether the Fed- | eral program is “to be called inflation {or anti-deflation is mere verbiage. If it has to be described with catch words, g0 at the job in the proper spirit. A Already the “high-hat” atmosphere of the National Capital is “getting to” Senator Long of Louislana. When he | received those naval officers in his | barefooted. When he recently received newspaper men at his hotel here he | added_slippers. ———— Mrs. Gann, in urging the re-election | of Mr. Hoover out in Nebraska, asks her hearers “not to change captains |during a storm.” Storm? This is | more like the Sargasso Sea and the | “doldrums” combined. Smse L Committee of Inquiry charges that its nameseke “does not know New York.” No? Well, he is certainly learning, and at a rather remarkable rate. ————— | ican policy Is to reduce production costs |and governmental costs in orcer to | make it profitable for borrowers to bor- | row and safe for lenders to lend. * * * It is a policy designed to justify the | expansion of credit to solvent producers ’m‘.d has nothing whatever to do with | inflation by the printing press.” | 1 they stood alone, the Govern- ment's newly created Reconstruction| . ience has gravely annou Finance Corporation and its other sravely nced that 3 the pretzel is, after all, a proper article elief p!mlr; 1:; eit:::g:d Of&fl““;‘r"‘:‘u;“m‘r’v of food for school children. Now the coul 2 i ° |little darlings will probably | tactics, and such steps would be dan- o RIOZELYARD! OUL nc | gerous in the extreme. But the Federal by some. | Government’s program is being applied | at a time when industry and commerce | are beginning to settle to a new level, | much lower than the peak of prosperity | level, but a level, nevertheless. The | natural processes of readjustment are | getting to work, independent of the | Government's program, which is to | facilitate and to expedite, but not to force, these processes. The most im- portant phase of the Government pro- | gram is yet to come. That part lies |in balancing the budget. An unbal- anced budget, with expenditures ex- | ceeding income, represents inflation of itself. Real application of the term “anti- deflation” as opposed to “inflation” de- | pends upon the Government's ability | to balance its budget by a process of | higher taxation and drastically curbed | expenditure. In a campaign year such & thing is. of course, doubly difficult. | The difficulty is increased by the ab- sence of -flag-waving and trumpet- | blowing that otherwise would serve to lighten the tatk and make the road | more smooth. 1t is a thankless job, A judge is suing a Texas newspaper | for a total of $15,000 because it called | him a “Republican.” That is, indeed, a {harsh word in Texas. In older days | the user of this epithet probably would | never have lived to be sued. A SRS . e “Street Car Line Merger in Sight,” ran a recent headline. They must have finished that gigantic two hundred-inch world-record telescopic lens ahead of time. —— e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON, Modern Eloquence. Be wise, my son, but do not turn From ways well worn to look For something that you didn't learn In your old copy book. The world will cheer with one accord If stoutly you contend That virtue is its own reward, Triumphant in the end. Do not explore through statesmen's lore For economic truths, But pass out freely, o'er and o'er, The precepts of our youths. Recite them loudly, one by one, And learn them all by heart, They'll make a hit. Be wise, my son, But do not be too smart. ST Too Severe a Test. “He says I am the only girl he ever loved,” said the sentimental miss. “Well,” answered Miss “perhaps he means it. Laval may pay a visit to Mussolini soon, it is announced. It is not thought }maz he will pass over to Il Duce any | travel literature. Don't insist —————— The New Klingle Bridge. | Seldom, if ever, has a public work been executed in the District of Columbia | with greater saticfaction on the part 0(‘ the community than that of the con- struction cf the new bridge across the Klingle Valley at Connecticut avenue, which wes formally finished yesterday,' after approximately six months, The! remark.” Ethics, “Is it quite safe to tell her a secret?” | said one woman, “Yes,” answered the other, “if it doesn’t concern yourself. She may re- peat it, but she will never tell who told hes | home State he wore pajamas, but was | A dissenting member of the Seabury | Cayenne, | on knowing whether you are the only | girl to whom he has made the sams Another Year of Probing. | chief problem involved in this construc- New York's Legislature has voted, \'.ion was that of maintaining traffic dur- with & strict party division in both | ing the progress of the work of spanning houses, an extension of & year to the | the valley. The stream of traffic at this lfe of the Legislative Investigating Point is exceptionally heavy at all hours. | Committee that for several months! The street cars using the bridge could has been prying into the administration \not be displaced without the construc- of Greater New York. An appropria- i tion of an expensive temporary trestle. tion of about a quarter of a million |The vehicular traffic could not be di-! 2 verted without the use of fer distant ng detours, which would cause serious con- and gestion there. | pa Vaes. The Republicans want The manner in which this problem e inquirv to continue. The Demo- Was solved reflects credit upon the Dis- crats do not. trict authorities and the contracting Extension of the life of the committee | company. The new bridge was built in means that throughout the coming cam- | three sections, the old bridge being used paign Judge Seabury will continue to|meanwhile for the accommodation of | dig up facts about the manner in which | both the traffic and the street rallway. the big city is run, facts that will per- | S0 well was the Work co-crdinated that haps provide material for the Repub- l at no time was there any serious delay lican party in the State. If the Gov-|in the handling of the great and con- ernor of New York is the candidate of | tinuous stream of travel. At no time the Democratic party for the presi- | was there any danger of accident. The ceny e may be embarrassed by them. drivers of vehicles accommodated them- .m*v. ~ to pay the expenses of this| will likewise be voted promptly, with a rigid division along ollars a 4 this time he s confraated with selves to the restricted travel ways, obey-" No Quarrel. The lion and the lamb lay down In peace, because you see They ne'er wrote books on animals And therefore could agree. Nobody Protesting. “Was that decision a case of ‘square deal’?” asked cne belligerent politician. “No,” answered the cther. “It was & case of don't dare squeal.” Not Complaining. “Of gourse you know that work of art is rot genuine.” “Yes,” answered Mr. Cumrox, e'll have to get rid of it. But we've had a good time fooling 5o many people, our- selves included, that I don't know but we've had our money’s worth out of it.” “I don't put in much time” said Uncle Eben, “complainin’ 'bout lost opportunities. Some opportunities is & good deal like hoss racgs—no good If you don't guess right.” light, always capable of exerting an in- fluence beyond the mere grouping of words. This influence is & mysterious thing. | Let us examine it for a moment. De- | cause the told life story of a human be- ing is essentially a story, a biography | is much like a novel. or & fiction. The | two have a great deal in common. Out of the word groups, in paragraphs and chapters, emerges a sense of This_sense of life is b yond the words. The words, as gath- ered for the readers’ edification. merely help him to reconstruct, in his own Excerpts From Newsp RANS-PACIFIC, Tokio.—Compe- tition among Japanese articles in foreign markets is hurting de- velopment of the maraet. Jap- anese rubber shoes and canvas shoes have been in good demand heavily in British India. Last year 10,000,000 shoes, worth 6,700,000 rupees, were im- | ported into British India from Japan. Due to the compstition ameng Japanese makers and falling market prices Indian merchants in Calcutta have suffered se- vere losses recently. This has caused the Calcutta Traders’ Guild to boycott Japanese goods, according to a report | Teceived by the Osaka city office. * X ¥ X Advises China to Set Her House in Order. North-China Daily News, Shanghai (letter to editor).—There as a tremen- | dous lot of sentimental nonsense bzing | written about the dispute between China | and Japan and it is as well to face the | tacts. It is quite true that Japan obtained the 1915 treaty from China ‘“under | duress” and it may be placed to her credit that this treaty did not provide | for the abSolute annexation of Man- | churia. But it may be pointed out that | every treaty ceding territory that has | ever been made has been obtained “un- { der duress” and for the powers to ll(t‘ up their hands in holy horror now is | absolute poppycock. What about Alsace | and Lor taken by Germany and | retaken by France, South Africa and many other colonial possessions taken by force of arms by Britain, the Philip- | pines and Cuba by America, etc.? | In the past the great powers have complacently allowed the annexation of territory ept in cases where their own Interests have been vitally afleci- ed, as, for instance, in the Near Eas and it is rather late in the day for ! League of Nations to adopt a sanct monious and canting pose over the pres- ent_dispute. The fact of the matter is that Japan necded Manchuria, to protect herself | against Russia and as an outlet for her surplus population and, being powerful encugh, she took it. The powers have thwarted her twice, after the Chino- Japanese war and at the Washington Conference, not out of compassion for China, but solely in their own interests, and it is about time she was left alone. She has made herself into a first-class power in the shortest possible time, has successfully waged two_wars and par- ticipated in the Great %.. ~ (on the win- ning side) at vast cost in money and lives and is entitled to some reward for er sacrifices. S Manchuria was undeveloped, un- populated, lying idle and contributing | nothing to ths benefit of the world at| large, and as scon as China y\'akcs up to the fact that it is a valuabie posses- sion, due eniirely to some one else’s | efforts, she wants it back, exactly in| the sam> way as she is demanding the retroccssion of the Shanghei Settle- ments, although she has done nothing towards their development. The nations that count cannot go on nursing China indefinitely while she is herself busy with civil war and in- ternal political struggles. Let her set her own house in order, consolidate her government just as Japan did and then, when she is & first-class power, take back the outlying bits of territory that have been fliched from her as other nations have had to do. China proper is quite big enough to keep her busy for a few years without her bothering her- self about outlying dependencies and foreign settlements which are being de- veloped ard administered very efficient- 1y at present. * x % | Excessive Figures Not A'l Due to Monetary Ratio. Imparcial, articles and foodstuffs are eontinuing to increase in price, and though there is some excuse for this tendency due to an unfavorable ratio of rfionetary exchange between this country and im- | porting countries, this situation hardly can account for all the excessive foreign commodities. It that the importers are not getting t! unreasonable profit; it is the dealers and shop-keepers in our own land, who in many instances are making as much as 100 per cent profit over their invoiced prices. Trade can- Montevidro. — Imnorted | & | adventures in the same realm. | but thinking makes it so, some one has | well seid. This does not mean that | one can change ill to good or good to | 1l solely by the power of thought, but simply that thinking good or thinking | 111 tends that w | "'Life 15 & road along which life moves. | Life is like the modern machine which | l]ays down its own road as it go°s over | it and draws it up again behind jt. | Xk | | Real blography. as we see it, makes | clear to the discerning, reacing mind | what the mind it tells about did to | make its own roadbed. Striking incidents are superficial, The great illuminations which came to men | along the roadway of life were seldom heralded by flashes apprehended by others. They W inner manifesta- tions. Their outward manifestations were to core later. ‘The conversion of Paul on the road to Damascus, the light which came to Jean-Jacques Rousseau— these were unknown to any others at the time. The biographer who manages some- | how to bring these simple facts home to the reader gives the world true biography, and such biography presents, not a version of life to lpg;al to the superficial, but the real thing itself, needing no red fire and blare of trum- pets to make itself known and felt, Ean & of genius will take the place of hard work. It will not do—and this is apparent to the good reader, whether he could | write a biography or not—it will not do to imagine that a liking for a character fits one to become his blographer. Nor will the placing of any amount of worcs on paper and the calling the result & “biography” make it such if the mental adventure of that man, that character, has not inspired the would- be biographer with a great and endur- ing enegy to search out the true facts in the case. Truth, almighty mistress of man- kind! Venus gives man life, but only truth can set him free. The search for the truth is at once the most sublime and the most difficult of mental ad- ventures. It constitutes perhaps the greatest mental adventure. Men worth writing biographies about always strove for the truth ty the best | of their ability, and those writers suc- ceed best who bring this truth to the | surface of words. Highlights on the Wide World apers of Other Lands | lished for these transactions if business is ever to regain its health. * ok ok % Corsica Determined To Wipe Out Outlaw Band. Berliner Tageblatt.—A whole army corps, comprising 1,000 gendarmes with | tanks, machine-guns and a pack of bloodhounds trained for hunting down men, has started out in Corsica to rid the island of its banditti. The foree will begin its campaign against the mountain thickets of Collo de Verde, where the aristocracy of the outlaw tribe are mostly congregated. At their head is the boyish chieftain, Josef Bartoli, from Palneca, who for two | vears, with the 2id of his horde, has derived a most lucrativ business from the managers of various enterprises, and from visitors to the island. Just two days before this ex- pedition started out Bartcli, however | was shot by a wood merchant whom he attempted to rob. He was carried off by his companions, who have sworn revenge on the lumber dealer, Simon- | etti, and the police as well, with all the fury of a Corsican oath. The police and all the law-abiding element of th: island have taken up the gauntlet, and are determined now, once and for all, to sweep all these bloodthirsty degener- ates of the outlaw scourge into the| Mediterranean. —— Few Left to Receive Vatican’s Highest Honor | From the Boston Evening Trenseript Bestowal by Pope Pius of the Supreme Order of Christ up.n both hing vicwt Emmanuel and the Crown Prince Hum- | bert calls to mind the diminishing splendors of the royal caste in the realms of Christendom. This order, the most exalt>d which the Holy See can grant, is virtually reserved for reigning sovereigns and their most potent and distinguished ~statesmen. Those who hold it are the formal successors of the Knights Templars. It was founded in Portugal in 1318. with an equal right on the part of the Pope and the King of Portugal to nominate knights. It had practically become extinct, but was revived by Pius IX in 1878. In tl year Europe was preponderantly on a monarchical basis.” But to what a cor- poral's guard the list of kings and of kings' chancellors or viziers has now been reduced! If Lhe original rule were obscrved, that mnone but rulers and Roman Catholi’s mav rec-ive th * honor, the membership hereafter would be restricted to the reignng prin end heirs apparent of Bolmuo T Leichienstein, Monaco and Luxem- bourg. Of Catholic s:vereigns reigr.ng ver countries of importance, the Kings of Italy and Belgium are the only cnes left. In this regard, their feelings must strongly resemble those of the last one or two survivors of our Grand Army posts. Which one of them will be the “last man"? However, there is no need that the exalted papal Order of Christ (it exists no longer in Portugal, the country of its birth) shall perish with the Catholic majesty, for the order has already thrown off the restrictions of royalty and of Catholicism. Prince von Bismarck, & Protestant, was made & member of the order, and there are non- royal knights. Yet in the world at large knighthood surely is no longer in flower. The Golden Fleece is gome. England, to be sure, maintains the high prestige of the Garter, but the Bath is for Tom, Dick and Harry. Republicsn Germany no longer exalts the Iron Cross. The Holv S is_tha surviving | nghold of chis . Tut how much one wonders, would fhis paps] nonor, or any other royak or chivaric panoply, do the dwarfish Victor Em- manuel or his more ornamental heir should the spirit of revolution, now so sternly held in check, break out like a Spanish or a Russian cyclone in Italy? o Gandhi Swap Proposed. From the Worcester Daily Teleram. There has been talk of Great Britain giving us some of her islands in return for reductions in her war debt owed to us, but apparently no such deal is to be not flourish under such injustices, and more equitable baxis must be estab- made. But how ing Gand- H'for our promibias proslem? There is nothing either good or il | In biography, as in fiction, no amount | infamous ' |12nd_for the Republican 1 The Political Mill By G. Gould Lincoln. It will be increasingly difficult for (?rmer Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New ok to remain entirely silent regard- ing the Democratic presidential nomi- nation race as the days pass. If there were no presidential preferential pri- maries i States where Smith sentiment still is strong, the former Governor might be in a better position to retain his Sphinxlize attitude. But in Mas- sachusetts an¢ several other States his 1 friends would ke to enter his name in the primaries. If he consents, then he is an avowed cardidate. If he refuses, then it will be said he is not a cihdi- date. As a matter of fact, there are a great many Democrats today who insist that Gov. Smith has wno intention of becoming a candidate, dezpite the pres- sure which is being brougnt upon him in some quarters to gt into the race, and despite the anxiety of some of the anti-Roosevelt Democrats to use him as a battering ram to breach the Roosevelt presidential walls. * kK K The Smith supporters in Massachu- setts, if they cannot get Gov. Smith to permit the use of his name in the pri- maries, may undertake to e'ect and send uninstructed delegates who will bz for Smith for President. But despite such tactics, it sppears that there must be a showcown before long, with Gov. Smith clarifying his own position with regard to the nomination. Furthermore, it is believed in Wachngton that there will have to be some ciarification of Gov. Smith’s attitude toward the can- didacy of his old friend, Gov. Franklin D. Rooscvelt. The recent incident Gov. Roosevelt that he expected to have long on the occasion of Mr. Smith’s ex- some of the Democratic leaders Washington, as well as in New York | the Smith offi for visiting Albany, scemed a direct slap at Roosevelt. * x kX Certainly Mr. Smith has indication up to date that he app.oves the candidacy of Roocevelt. On the other hand, there have been other i cidents beyond that already mentic which have seemed to indicate a de- cided hostility to Rocosevelt. Of one thing there seems no doubt at all Chairman John J. Raskob of the Dem- cratic National Committce, whom Mr. given no | in 1928, does not desire the nomina- | tion of Roosevelt, believing, it is sa by those who should know what they | are talking about, that other potential candidates are better qualified for the presidency. And yet, despite the oppo- will emerge as a Rocsevelt supporter. Some go s0 far as to say that the Smith-Rcosevelt performance is merely staged in order to bring to Roosevelt support of the anti-Smith Democrat'c faction in the South and the West These wiseacres hold that if Roosevelt were known as a “Smith candidate for the presidential nomination it would militate against Roosevelt's chances for the nomination. Should they be correct, the game has bezn well played. But it does not seem sible. And, further, it looks as though opponents of Rooseve!t have moved in every possibl» way to bring a break between Smith and R-osevelt. ook o Newton D. Baker has gone to Mexico for a rest after n7 behind him 2 ement which h=s boen intarpreted pretty generally as a bid for tha pres dential nor fon of the Democratic party. The Baker people, and t are a lot of them who wish earnest] see the nomination of the Ohioan, & sert that he has effectively League of Nations issue by ment. If he has, the Republicar fuse to admit it ey see the League issue raising its head effectively if the Democrats nominate Baker. There was some puzzlement in New Ycrk news- paper circles over the manner in which the Baker statement on the League vas released. In an interview With news- paper correspondents just before he sailed Mr. Baker said nothing about the League statement. But soon afier Mr. Baker had left New York the New York World-Telegram, which has been boost- ing Baler for President, made the state- | ment public, and it was then given to | other newspapers and press associations for release. It seems to have Reen pre- pared on the solicitation, therefore, of Baker supporters for the presidential | nomination. This adds to the signifi- | cance of the move, it is believed. te- re- XA XK ‘The Baker Lecgue statement, how- ever, must be coupled with a remark made by the former Secretary of War to a group of newspaper men before he sailed. He was asked if he was a candidate for the presidential nomina- tion. After a fencing reply, Mr. Baker became direct. He said “no.” he was not a candidate for the nomination While Mr. Baker may have helped himself with those Democrats and in- dependent voters who are opposed to American entry into the League of Na- tions by his statement, on the other hand he may have lost friends among : the League s in this country, who still urge strongly that the United States become a member of the League. iyl The North D.kcta situation, from a Republican point of view, is decidedly mixed. There are three groups, the Non-Partis'n Leaguers, the regular Re- publicans and the so-called Progrescive group, a newer affair, The Non-Partisan Leaguers group, with which Senator Nve is affiliated, Fas decided for a list of uninstructed delegates to the Re- publican nctional convention, though holding_itself in readiness to support Hiram Johnson of California or William E. Borah of Idaho should they become active candidates. The regular Re- publican outfit, when it holds its co: vention is expected to indorse t Hoover administration. Whether it w undertake to enter the President’s name in the presidential preferential primary remains to be seen. Certainly it will seek to elect. delegates to the national convention favorable to the renomina- tion of the President. The Progressive group so-called, has come out for for- mer enator Joseph I. France of Mar: presidenti nomination. France’s nam~ has be>n entered in the prim:ry. If there is no entry but France in the Republican primary, it is believed in some quarters that the reguler Republicans will entcr President Hoover's name in the same primary. | * X oKk X ‘The Vermont Democrats, in State Committee, have come out strongly for the nomination of Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt for President. This was not 1ast | unexpected. Indeed, there will be many other State committees and State con- ventions indorsing the Roosevelt can- didacy before long. The work for Roosevelt in the last year has been in- tensive, to say the least. Now that he comes into the open as a candidate this work probably will increase. —————— Help for Hoover. From the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. . Assuming that President Hoover s prettv busy. a lot of people scem willing to sav» him the troub'e of sclestinT a new justice of the United States Su- preme Court, ———— Aroused Wrong Way. Prom the Miami Dally News. Secretary Mellon says that taxes are needed to arouse credit, but so often they don’t arouse anything but the tax- payers. ——————————— "Bomb Raises: Problem. From the Charleston (W. Va.) Daily Mail. Just why any one should want to send & bomb to the of Italy is way hmndhummmggndon. to the national convention & group of | pi | i Gov. Smith as a guest in Albany before | pritice. | restive. * The curt anncuncement from | for the President t s in New York that the | back of courts | formex Governor had no plins whatever | Smith picked to handle his campaign | o sition of Raskob to Roosevelt and the frequency of vibration of anv cavaller manner in_which Mr. Smith's| having a definite pitch can be accu- friends, if not Mr. Smith himself, treat | rately measured by means of & micro- | the Roosevelt boom for President, there | phone and en oscillograph. are those who Insist Smith eventually | - i mands upon tf | ernmznt ere | Josses of 101793 and | bl Piliteal Stovdavds: ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. Thousands of Government experts are working constantly for the benefit of all citizens of the United States. They will work directly for you if you will call for the fruits of their labors through cur Washington bureau. State your inquiry briefly, write clearly and, in- closing a 2-cent stamp for a personal letter in reply, address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Q. What are the chief advantages of |the biplane and the monoplane?— |A. c. o "A. The Army Air Corps says that a | bLiplane is stronger than a monoplane because the two wings permit truss con- struction for combat, or where the plane gets sudden strain a biplane is better; also it permits the use of shorter wings to get the same lift. A mono- plane has the advantage of getting full efficlency out of the wing, and permits greater visibility. The monoplane’s disadvantages are that it is designed for one particular purpose, such siraight flying or long distance. Q. What makes & magnet pick up & | n?—S. G. A. The cause of magnetic phenomena has not yet been entirely explained. Re- cent investigaticns, particularly since the discovery ‘of the quantum theory, have traced magneti~ phenomena back to the atom 2nd to the clectron. How- ever, many funcamental problems are still unsolved. Q. Can the President of the United | States be summoned as & witness in a growing out of a statement made by |lawsuit?—W. W. A The precedent ls against such a Thomas Jeffegson when Pres- ident was summcned Richmond to pect>d visit to his daughter, hes made ! testify as a witness at'\the trial for in| treason of Aaron Burr. He failed to return toe summons, explaining that o be subject to the 1d leave the state without a head. This has since been regarded as a ruling precedent. Q. Can any visitor to Washington see the original copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution? -D. 8. A A. The documents are in a specially structed, cese on the second floor of 1ibrery of Congress, and any vis- may see them without any for- mality. e Q. Who was Louls Pasteur?—T. Y. A. He was a Frer his_investigations It was for him that the process of pas teurization was named. Q. How is the frequency of vibration of sounds measured?--H. E. A. The Bureau of Standards ys the sound Many sounds, such as a clap of thunder or the purring of a cat, will be complex sounds, consisting of mixtures of sound of different pitches. Such sounds can be recorded on the oscillograph and analyzed into their simple components, whose frequency can be determined. Q Were Abraham Lincoln’s parents from the South?—T. } A. T were Virginians, @, How old do cows Lve to be?—R A. Cattle will live to the age of 15 vears if not slaughtered before that timy Unless special cricumstances exist, & cow will have o fulness by the age of 1 Q Were the French spoliation claims ever paid?—P. R. D. A. French spoliation claims were de- United States Gov- by American merchants for ships and cargoes between 1800 at the hands of French whose chief excuse for the recations was that the United S had violated 13 the treaty of 1778. By September 30, 1800, and by as | vention of April 30, 1803, Prance re- leased the United States from certain treaty obligations, and in return was released from paying the merchants’ claims. Between 1800 and 1885 about 50 bills to reimburse the claimants or their descendants came before Con= gress. Appropriations were twice voted, but were vetoed. In 1885 redress was obtained when the adjudication of the claims was given to the Court of Claims, and decisions were reached awarding some $4,800,000 to the petitioners. Q. How long did it take the Chinese to build the Wall of China?—M. McG. A. The Great Wall of China was | Tl(‘)Js%Y guun between the years 230 and Q. When did the fire take place at Castle Garden?—C. R. A. The fire occurred at Castle Garden, New York, on May 23, 1870. The entire building was completely de- }slroyed. therefore all records within | the building were lost. 5 Q. What is meant by the driftless area in Wisconsin?—W, M. A. The driftless area (several hun- ‘drcd square miles in extent in Wis~ | consin and adjacent portions of Min- | nesota, Iowa, and Illinois) has never | itself undergone glacial action of any | kind. Just why this area should have | escaped the glacial action that went on | all around it is by no means clear and | has never been absolutely explained. Q. How did the city of Sheboygan | get its name?—J. B. i | . A. It is from a Chippewa Indian word | jibaigan, meaning a clay object, such | as a pipe stem. | —— Q. What countries are the leading | producers of silver?—D. M. | ., A. The three leading countries are Mexico, United States and Canada, in the order named. Q. Where is the language called Africaans spoken?—E. D. L. | vA. It is spoken by the Boers in the I Union of South Africa. Q. At what temperature should cream be whipped?—N. L. |~ A. It should not be over 45 degrees F, Q. Of what nationality was Mata Hari, the German spy?—D. D. A. While a fiction was created about her birth in India, she, in reality was |a Dutch girl, Marguerite Gertrude | Zelle, born August 7, 1876, at Leeu- warden, in ¥riia. She married Capt. Rudolph MacLeod. ~After some years of wretched married life, she was de= serted and trained herself as a dancer. Her astonishing popularity followed. Eventually she came under suspicion as a German spy during the World War. She was arrested, convicted and shot. Q. How . much _do the American claims q ; 28ainst Russia amount to? A. The approximate total of Ameri- can claims against Russia, as of July 1, 1927, might be summarized as fol- lows: Principal and interest of debt to the United States Government, 272,000,000; principal of debts pri- vatelysheld in the United States, $86,~ 000,000; claims g out of confisca- tion and destruction of property of American nationals in Russia, $300,- 000,000; total, $658,000,000. Q. Why does the black tie or neck scarf go with the uniforms of British and American sailors?—A. L. S. A. It originated with the British navy. It is a mark of pe:petual mourn- ing for Lord Nelson and has been used by British tars since Nelson fell at Trafalgar. Q. Where are the centers of popu- lation and the geographical center of the United States?—E. T. A. According to the Census of 1930, the center of population in the United states is 2.9 miles northeast of Linton, reene County, Ind. The exact geo- graphical center of the United States is 18 miles north of Smith's Center, Smith County, Kans. Blamed for Hawaiian Crimes With news columns reporting charges and counter-charges as to where the blame ifes for the recent disturbances Hawzli, mcluding a number of at- ks on women, a flogging and a mu; the editorial opinion of the United s shows & majority view that the situation should he subjected to vig- orous investigation. It is generzlly held that the local political conditions in the islands are responsible for the al- leged failure of law enforcement, and a demand is expressed for a clean-up ol this situation, though there are sug- gestions that American cities show sim- flar faults and that judgment should be suspended until further information is obtained as to general conditions on the_islands. “When courts fail, the people are prone to take matters into their own hands,” suggests the Oklahoma City Oklahoman, pointing out that *“the facts in themselves convict Hawaiian courts of inadequacy at least.” while “had_the law been enforced vigorously and had real protection been given the people. mob iaw would not have dis- graced the paradise of the Pacific.” Referring to the attack on the wife of a naval officer and the subsequent murder of one of the alleged attackers. the New York Herald Tribune holds that “Hawail seems to have been quick to recognize the tragedy as a symptom of a condition, and to know that what the conditign requires Is exposure and cure " The papet emphasizes “the sure instinct of those citizens of Hawaii who see the whole horrible affair for what it really is—the result of thelr own civic slackness and of the machine pol- itics. easy corruption and carelessness which are its inevitable products.” * ¥ X X The Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, pointing out that “the unwillingness of the police force to assist in prosecution and gathering evidence has been noted,” feels that “Congress may well investigate,” while the Ogden Standard Examiner hclds that such an investi- gation “will help to impress the au- thorities in Honolulu thit they are under severe criticism and their loose methods cannot longer be tolerated.” The Milwaukee Sentinel, inz a change in the laws of the islands will be necessary, demands enforcement of the law, with the conclusion that “the police departmeni of Honoiulu undoubtedly is corrupt and inefficient.” and that “a bad police department should not be permitted to disrupt an entire government, which has func- tioned very satisfactorily.” Ill-feeling known to exist inspires the bellef on the part of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that there should be & | “thorough inquiry with a view to de-‘ termining not only the responsibility for recent outrages, but also the meas- ures needed to prevent disorders in the future.” The Star-Telegram continues “In this inquiry, one important ‘side | issue’ question should not be overlooked. That question concerns the fitness of the Hawaiian population for the degree | of autonemy it now enjoys. It may be advisahl: nd-ed imperative, to t=ongthen the governmental machinery | Ac dencndenty. The elec- | tive system mey c to be modified, | end more 2uthority vected in, or re- tumed to, the Wor Department at Washington and its representatives in the islands. Democracy is a boon cnlv if and when its beneficiaries are ready for that form of government. Order, safety and decency are fundamental requisites, and the miere form of gov- ernment is a secondary consideration. Commenting on the Hawalian Gov- ernor’s statement that one of the per- sons involved in the assault case which attracted public attention was freed from prison on another case because while doubt- | there ere “extenuating stances,” replies: circum- e Appleton Post-Crescent | strengthens the American conviction re always are extenuat- | frozen asseta. | ing circumstances, or they can be picked out of the passing breezes by an executive bent on pleasing some inter- ceding friend of the accused. The reatest deterrent to crime will always the same. It lies in the cer- 2 of punishment of the guilty, not in the savagery of that punishment.” | i “Obviously there is a bad condition in Hawaii and one that the authorities ticre should proceed promptly to cor- rect,” asserts the Haverhill Gazette, while the Gary Post-Tribune feels that “the Hawatian difficulty is a complex affalr, the outcome of many different factors.” The Houston Chronicle re- “It seems that those Hawaiians who have been called to jury duty in the trial of various attack cases have | shown peculiar apathy in convicting assailants. As & result of a hung jury the native-blood Hawaiian who sup- posedly participated in the outrage of | Ala Moana went scot free. That un- | fortunate development roused the blood | of the Navy to boiling point. Until | the police of Honolulu and the officials | of Hawaii, from the Governor on down, take stern steps to run down, prose- cute and convict criminals and degen- erades of the islands serious cutbreaks can be expected.” | _“It is to be noted,” says the Jersey | city Journal, *as possible proof that | all"in Honolulu 13 not hopeless, so far | as the administration of justice is con= ‘nmed. that the young naval officer uestion is said to have expressed a sh to be tried before a Honolulu jury rather than by & jury of naval officers, He shows no fear that justice is un- 2ttainable before a Honolulu jury. This is a good time to go a little slowly in deciding upon a sure cure for what may possibly be the matter with Hono- lulu. Furthermore, before judging our Hawaiian citizens too harshly, main- landers might well give further thought to making their own cities safe for womankind.” Calling for suspended judgment as to the disclosures, the Danbury Eve- ning News ccmments: “We believe that, while every decent and humane person deplores th» revent terr’bie happenings in Hawal, with so many | miles lying between us and the scone of those horrors, with so much that it is difficult for us to understand hap- | pening in those more or less mysterious islands, we should refuse to issue snap judgmenis with regard to matters on which, at best, we bave insufficient and perhaps not unbiased information.” —— Scoffing Must Be Great. From the Hamllton (Ontario) Specator, “Babe” Ruth's scoff at the $70,000-a- year contract which he sent back to his employers unsigned is beyond the shadow of a doubt one of the greatest scoffs on record. — e The Nth Degree. From the Glendale News-Press. A California university offers a | course for prospective policemen. What degree it will confer is not stated, but it won't be the well known third. r———— = Might Use Plan Annually. From the Salt Lake City Descret News. Among the Isrdelites cach seventh year was sabbatical, and all debts were canceled. The European nations are apparently about to re-establish the custom. One of Frozen Assets, Prom the Worcester Dally Telegram. Europe has been suffering from an espacially cold Winter, which only that pe is one of our