Evening Star Newspaper, February 8, 1932, Page 8

" A8 THE EVENING STAR] ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WARJHINGTON, D. C. MONDAY....... February 8, 1032 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: e T "#"".".‘1"3:#!'51 Rate by Carrier Within the City. The Kvenin -ai'lun'an ‘Star i indays) . The Sunday Star ... Collection made at the e ‘mon each ay be sent in by mall or telephone 5000, ders Ational Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Ffi! lnii' Sunday. 1 ;; . tlg 00 } m:. 15¢ only . Ay : 1 mo. 80c dndas only i 4080 i mes e All Other States and Canada. fly and Sunday.. ¢ yr. 31200 4mo.§ aily only .. 1yr. $8.00: 1mo. nday only IIlllll1yr. $5.00: 1mol Member of the Associated Press. The Assocjated Press i exclysively e fo the use for republication of al tehes credited fo it er not otherwire - e in this paper and also the local rews published herein_ All rights of publication of special dispatches herein are also reserved. P — - - The Brown Derby in the Ring. Alfred E. Smith's hat is in the ring. Democratic politiclans—and Repub- licans also—are wondering just how far into the ring the former Governor of New York's statement has carricd that hat. His announcement still leaves something to the imagination. It is pot as clear as the statement of Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Demo- crats in North Dakota, wken he ac- cepted their invitation to enter his name in the State presidential prefer- ential primary, nor as clear as the dec- laration of Gov. Albert C. Ritchie of Maryland at a recent dinner in Balti- more, when he frankly said that he would like to be President. Mr. Smith has said: 1f the Democratic National Conven- tion after careful consideration should decide that it wants me to lead, I will make the fight; but I will not make a preconvention campaign for dele- gates. It sounds as though the former New York Governor was dabbling his toes in the water to test its temperature be- fore making the plunge into the sea of presidential politics again. In Demo- eratic quarters opposed to the nomina- tion of Gov. Roosevelt for President it is still argued that Mr. Smith is ot particularly desirous of having the nomination himself; that his candi- dacy is designed.to “stop” Roosevelt. ' There was no reason on earth why Mr. Smith should not have announced his candidacy for the presidential nom- ination if he desired to do so. Nor was | there any reason why he should an-| pounce that he would make no pre- convention campaign, except perhaps & desire to give other candidates a chance to clean up in the presidential primary States, which would not seem to be good tactics if the former Gov- ernor actually wants the nomination— unless, indeed, he feared the primaries would go against him. The actual effect of Mr. Smith's statement will be to put him into the race for the presidential nomination. In some Btates his friends already are plan- ning to send delegations ready to vote for Mr. Bmith. The opinion is ex- pressed that the entry of Smith into the campaigr™is a greater blow to the candidacy of Roosevelt than it is to any other aspirant for the presidential nom- ination; that it paves the way to a deadlocked convention, with Roosevelt on one side and Smith and the “favor- ite son” candidates allied against the New York Governor on the other side. In such circumstances, with & two-thirds vole necessary to nominate a presi- dential candidate, the chances for a compromise candidate, a dark horse candidate, appear to have increased. While the entry of Smith into the presidential race may have the effect of losing to Roosevelt a considerable number of delegates upon whom the Roosevelt camp was counting, it never- theless will solidify the opposition to Bmith back of the New York Governor. There are many Democrats in this country today who are opposed to the renomination of Mr. Smith. There are many Democrats who have no de- sire to have Smith take the position in their party which was formerly held by the late Willlam Jennings Bryan, who, with a strong following in the party won the presidential nomination three times and each time went down to de- feat. If Smith and his friends are de- termined upon a last-ditch fight to re- nominate him for President, the Demo- eratic National Convention is likely to prove s battleground indeed. If they are merely determined to give Smith the veto power in the conven- tion to block the aspirations of Gov. Roosevelt, another situation may be presented. But whatever they plan, it Jooks as though the coming national convention would be as hard fought as those of 1912 and of 1924. Anything may happen. All of which has not hurt the feelings of the Republicans. ———r—t————— 1,00 e ‘The new conciliatory attitude of both Jepan and China makes that part of the | Pacific wherein our “Red” and “Blun"i fleets are engaged in mock combat a good deal less lke the well known “bull pen.” 8 ———t———— One out of every four homes in Ger- many now has a radio. This makes it easier for her national leaders to ap- prise the common people of their pitiabie condition. e ————————— A Killer at Large. The possibility that a madman is at Jarge in the District, equipped with & motor car and armed, shooting indis- criminately at victims, creates a feel- ing of horror that has never before been felt in this community. Several persons have been wounded and one has been slain, presumably by the same person. In none of the cases has there been any evidence of motive other than the wanton infliction of suffering and even of death. The objects of the at- tacks have not been robbed or other- wise molested than by the firing of shots. Suspicion that the fiend is a former tnmate of St. Elizabeth Hospital, a man with & criminal record, is now enter- tained. His appearance is known. If he is the one who is running amok through the District his capture is lkely eventually to be effected. The occasion calls for the utmost ce #hd sgeivity on the part of the 5 TURK EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1932, It is quite possible that in a mnd-!tlans were not uniformly favorable of possible suspects some innocent taken into custody. ver, than the con- inuance of this career of crime that, hypothesis of a murderous aniac is correct, may at any hour death of peaceable persons who have the misfortune to-fall within the orbit of the slayer. — cate—————— Japan's Latest Proposal. While the Japanese forces continue their efforts to reduce the Woosung forts, at the mouth of the Whangpoo River, with the evident purpose of clearing the way for the landing of forces, the danger of fighting within the International Settlement at Shang- hai, which would precipitate a definite conflict between the forces of the in- tervening powers and perhaps both Japanese and Chinese, is appreciably lessened. Apparently Japan is not dis- posed to create such a situation. This grants {yme for the formulation of fur- ther representations by the powers to the end of stabilizing conditions at the great Eastern port of China and per- haps of effecting a definite adjustment without further warfare. A new condition develops with the announcement that Japanese diplo- matic representatives have been in- structed “to seek favorable opportuni- ties” to broach a scheme of demilitari- zation of zones surrounding the prin- cipal commercial centers of China, which would amount to an interna- tional receivership. The project is that Shanghai, Canton, Hankow, Tsingtao and Tientsin be set apart from Chinese authority, with a neutral zone fifteen miles in diameter established at each place, within which no Chinese troops will be permitted and with an inter- national control by foreign forces and extraterritorial rights for all neutral occupants. This is to be a provisional | arrangement, pending the establish- ment of a responsible Chinese govern- ment. Manchuria is, according to the outline given, to be excluded from the plan, being regarded by Tokio as Ja- pan's “frontier,” with Japan taking care of all international rights there. Of the five cities named in the Jap- anese proposal only two, Shanghai and Tientsin, now have extraterritorial ar- rangements. The inclusion of Tsingtao in Japan's plan is significant. That citv lies within the area formerly oc- cupied by Germany, and, after the out- break of the Great War, by Japan. The latter power withdrew only after the Washington Conference of 1921-2. It may be Japan's desire to create a per- | manent international settlement there. Tsingtao is an important strategic point, with an excellent harbor. Hankow, ly- ing inland, is a significant inclusion in the program outlined by Tokio. An ex- traterritorial organization there would create an “island” of internationalism in the heart of China. If Canton were included in the scheme China would be deprived of ports over which it has full control. The Chinese government is at present inchoate. There is actually no central authority at this time. Nanking administration has virtually collapsed. Such national power as ex- ists has passed to the soldiery under the command, it would seem, of Chiang Kai Shek, until recently chairman of the executive central council, or, in effect, president of the republic. It is quite within the probabilities that if he fails to stem the Japanese attack at SBhang- hai another of the “war lords,” pos- sibly Feng, the “Christian General,"” will usurp his role. He is now. some- where near Nanking. Wu Pei Fu is also in the offing, having emerged from his retirement in a Buddhist monastery, where he has been nursingghis political wounds since 1928. Japan's proposal at least offers the basis of some sort of international in- tervention without directly affecting the immediate issues of the contest between that power and China. It is to be as- sumed that if the powers seriously con- sider the plan, it would appear clear that Japan expects to hav~ a part in the international organiw. .>ns con- trolling the five centers. That factor might concelvably militate against the adoption of the program. And finally it is to be borne in mind that any such method of adjustment and stabilization would have to be put into effect against the will of China. But if it were seri- ously and definitely undertaken, Chin opposition would in all likelihood be ineffective in prevention. — e A great collection of bugs brought | home from South America by a scientist is to be divided between Harvard and the University of Michigan. Probably in a few years the progeny of those housed at the Cambridge college mu- | seum will not be speaking to those whose ancestors are on display out in Ann Arbor. ———————— The Senate’s Tribute. In confirming by a virtually unani- mous vote the nomination of Andrew W. Mellon to be Ambassador to Great Britain ths Senate on Friday paid a deserved tribute to a man who has been serving the country faithfully and ably for nearly eleven years as Secretary of the Treasury and who now goes to the highest diplomatic post for further service. The action of the Senate in thus, without discussion and within two hours of the receipt of the nomi- nation, placing its approval upon the President’s selection was more than a compliment to & veteran public offictal. It was a recognition of the value of his services during & most trying period of reconstruction of the Federal finances. Mr. Mellon entered the cabinet of President Harding reluctantly. It was his first public commission. He depre- cated his selection, for in his modesty he did not regard himself as qualified for the post of chief financial officer of the Government. The country im- mediately recognized the fitness of the President-elect’s choice. Hz quielly went about the task of restoring the financial structure of the Government and by his wise measures of adminis- tration and his sound recommenda- tions of fiscal legislation he made rapid progress toward the balancing of the budget, which had been set awry by the war. It is not to be said that another man might not have done as much toward the sound reconstruction of the finances of the country as did Mr. Mellon. It is, however, to be said that his finan- clal ability, his command of the confi- dence of the country and his steadfast. conservative conduct of the Treasury effected a remarkable recovery. Condi- The co-called | throughout his period of service. The country was suffering from a severe reaction during the first few years of his term. The “boom” days that fol- lowed were helpful, but at no time did Mr. Mellon permit himself to be be- guiled into reliance upon those extraor- dinary conditions. Repeated reductions of tax rates were accompanied by a remarkably speedy reduction of the debt. Had a different policy been pursued the debt would have remained at a tremendous height while the Treasury was being gorged with funds in temptation to even larger programs of public works and improve- ments and developments than were adopted by Congress. Mr. Mellon ad- vocated an equalization policy, and, with few exceptions, his recommenda- tions were followed, greatly to the | country’s benefit. During this period the Secretary of the Treasury was repeatedly attacked by partisans and personal enemies. dm- perturbably he faced these criticisms without argument or direct rejoinder save when called upon for testimony to his own integrity, which was given fully and freely and was at all times supported completely by corroboration. His critics made him a mark of their venom for purely political reasons or for the sake of gaining publicity for themselves. Even in the last weeks of his service in the Treasury this practice was renewed, with a clamor that caused only disgust for the self- exploitation of his accuser. Had his selection for ambassadorial service been delayed for just a little while, the House of Representatives would undoubtedly have met this onset with a crushing vote, voicing the confidence of the peo- ple’s representatives in their chief fiscal officer. The action of the Senate in thus promptly and, but for a single vote, unanimously approving the nomination of Mr. Mellon stands as an eloquent and emphatic expression of the grati- tude of the country for his services, be- yond valuation, rendered during more than a decade of difficult years. r—————— ‘There is a movement on foot for the erection of a monument here to Robert Ingersoll, noted atheist. In fact, a bill has been introduced in Congress to that effect. It is wondered if the pro- cedure, in case it passes, shall be in the manner of Moscow, and just which Washington chur¢h may be torn down to accommodate fhe new structure. —— e Former Gov. Long's latest is that Mr. Hoover, “for the miserable party he represents, is about as good a Presi- dent as any.” This dictum was made just folbwing his introduction to the Chief Executive. The Louisianan's tact | seems to be on a par with his state- craft. — e It has just come out that Il Duce has become a corporal in the Italian national militia. Speaking of famous corporals, who remembers Raymond Hitchcock’s popular song with the re- frain, “Git up, Napoleon! It looks like rain”? ——.— Free trade has died at last in Eng- land. Oh, John! Who ever thought to see you in the ranks of the “ten-per- centers”? ———— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Argument. Somebody said, “This world is wrong; There’s no excuse for smile or song. The blossoms on the bush or tree Are all as false as false can be, Since, like some unsubstantial friend, Each brings his kindness to an end, And scenes however bright and gay 'Neath chilling drifts must sleep some day.” And some one cried, “This world's all . right. The snows will vanish in a night; The clouds that hang across the blue Are bound to melt. They always do. And blossoms, though they will not stay, Return to cheer us on the way, Old friends, whom time can ne'er re- move, Whose love with absence doth improve.” Eternal Echoes. “Do you think that your speeches‘ will echo down the corridors of time?” “I don't know about that,” replled} Senator Sorghum, “but I'm sure some| of my comic anecdotes will continue to| do so.” Cause for Rejoicing. “I wonder why we always feel more cheerful when the early Spring draws | near.” “I don't know,” replied Mr. Sirius Barker, “unless it's because by that time our holiday cigars ate ‘all smoked and our Christmas neckties are worn out.” The New Member of Congress. “When applause has been extended For an election won, Is my greatect trouble ended, Or has it just begun?” Rebellion. “You dare to criticize my gowns!" ex- | claimed Mrs. Flimgilt. “Well,” replied her husband resolute- ly, “after hearing you refer to your pet bulldog as & perfect beauty, I'm in- clined to rely on my own judgment.” Vanished Prestige. “Three-finger Sam doesn’t seem to popular stnce he went into the movies.” “No,” answered Cactus Joe. “Sam was regarded with awe as our leadin’ bad man till a party of his friends went to see him at the studio and overheard the way he let a stage di- rector talk to him The Way of Wisdom. “I'm mighty wise,” said Uncle Zeke. | “My manner may be kind an’ meek, But let me tell you, jes’ the same, I'm onto every little game That people, thinkin’ they are smart, Put up. I know ‘em all by heart. So jes' you wait. Before I'm through I'll show them chaps a thing or two." Locked in a little room upstairs He has & lot of mining shares; Confederate bills; a golden brick, On which the verdigris is thick, And other trophies of his trip. And still he lets the old phrase slip: “I'm mighty wise. I will allow I wasn't then. But I am now!” “De man dat never made a mistake,” said Uncle Eben, “is ginerally found sittin’' around lettin' other people do most of de real work.” THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. d there in the morning mail is a kind invitation to come and take a “real hike” over the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains! Well, that must be respectfully, but firmly, declined. The first thing you know, some hardy person will want you to go bobsledding. The tips of the Blue Ridge are about the last places in the world you would select for a walk. Your hat is off to any one who will do it. Their will power must be something tremendous. Think of the huge amount it must take to push a human being to the foot of a Blue Ridge Mountain, for no other purpose in the world except to walk up over it and down again! If a bear were after you, or some- | thing, there would be a good reason for getting to the top of the mountain. It is true that the mountains of the Blue Ridge chain are not such giants, as such things go. but when one stands at the foot, and looks up, they look big_enough. To walk over one afoot (with no bear after you) is a feat any one can take pride in. One may imagine those purposeful hikers, who know where they want to walk and walk fit. We bet that they talk about each walk for months afterward. And why not, one may ask? It is something to hike over a mountain, and skin your knees, and get poison ivy and all out of breath. * ok kX ‘The Blue Ridge Mountains somehow leave a bad taste in your mouth. Ever since you were a child. Can’t think of Blue Ridge Mountains without grimace of distaste. There is, of course, no outward reason why anybody shculd take such a dis- like to one of the great natural con- structions of the United States. One must know antecedents to get at the root of the trouble. You were a finicky child, or what was called such As you look back upon that period. you see plainly that what was called “finicky” was merely honesty. If you did not like a smell, you said so0. If cabbage, in the process of cook- ing. did not smell as a vegetable should, according to your juvenile notions, you said so. * ok ok ok For a child to have notions about the rightness or wrongness of a thing was thought to be mysterious in those days. Children should be seen, not heard. If they had opinions they had better keep them to themselves under the penalty of being branded “finicky.” If the hotel at which the family stayed at the Summer resort had musty | sheets and you dared say they were musty, somehow the blame got trans- ferred to you. The musty sheets got off scot free. If the milk had garlic in it the cows were not to blame, but you were to blame. You'were finicky and that set- tled it. Well, one bright Summer day in the long ago, when one never stopped to | realize that heating houses took money, or that flower seed must be planted to have .flowers, the family decided on a trial visit to a place up in the moun- tains. Yes, in the same vicinity the hike over the Blue Ridge is to be. 3 ket \ Here you are, jogging along in the train, cver the battle grounds, on to | the mountains. You see the cows in the meadows, the waving flelds of grain. It is hot and is getting hotter. Lunch time occurs simultaneously with the arrival of the caravan at the country station, but the horse and car- WASHINGTON With two prominent Democratic members of the House in their graves, Percy Quin, chairman of the Commit- tee on Military Affairs, and Samuel Rutherford of Georgia, and a third, Chairman Cellier of the Ways and Means Committee prostrated in the hospital, all within the space of a week, all the victims of overtaxed heart strain, Speaker Garner has decided to slow down the rapid legislative pace | at which the House has been traveling | under Democratic pilotage since the opening of the session in December. Those who prophesied, and there were many such, that on account of the close party division in the House and the breakdown of party lines in the Senate, the present session of Congress would be chaos productive of no con- crete accomplishments, have been ut- terly confounded by the events, and the session is still young. The emer- gency financial measures enacted were not simple. They entailed days and nights of unremitting toil and many far-reaching decisions and agreements. The House has already passed 2 tariff revision bill, revision of the adminis- trative provisions, and has completed hearings on a tax revision bill of vital | consequences, has tackled Muscle Shoals again, battled over the question of wage reductions for Federal employes, and made prodigious strides on the regular appropriations bills, besides dis- patching a big deficiency appropriation bill. Most days there have been as many as twenty committee hearings in simultaneous progress, often with aft- ernoon sessions as well as morning sit- tings. There have been many Satur- day sessions of Congress. All in all it has been a grueling grind. e Col. Frank Knox joins the Hoover hall of fame, where George W. Wicker- sham, Jullus H. Barnes, Col. Arth Woods, Walter S. Gifford and mai other captains of industry are already enshrined—men drafted to the unpaid public service as key men in the Pres- ident’s multifarious programs for aid and uplift, business and social; men who are here today and gone tomorrow. Col. Knox has been summoned to head Mr. Hoover's latest creation, a con- certed campaign through a co-ordi- nated committee to bring the hoarded billion and a quarter dollars of Gov- ernment gold and bank notes out of hiding and back into the ordinary channels of business and trade. The President is banking heavily on thc beneficent effects of such a campaign. Col. Knox is a New Hampshire editor and publisher who has made good in | a big way. For some years he was gen- eral manager of the Hearst publica- tions. He has cut that connection and is now owner and publisher of the Chicago Daily News. FiE e ‘The invitations are out for the annual banquet and celebration of the White House Correspondents’ _ Association, which will be staged on Saturday ev ning, March 5, at the Willard Hatel. President Hoover and the Vice Presi- {dent, the cabinet and a galaxy of con- gressional dignitaries will attend, but wiih the express covenant that speech- making will be neither solicited nor per- mitted. The evening is to be devoted exclusively to the business of entertain- ment and refreshment. A prospective attendance of six hundred wil tax the capacity of the banquet hall. Paul R. Mallca of the United Press is president of the association and will share the spotlight with Mr. Hoover at the head | table.” George E. Durno of the Interna- tional News Service is the impresario and director general of the entertain- ment. * X X X Dolly Gann's recent Midwest stump- ing tour and visit back home was highly successful. Press Association wires throughout the country carried the news that she was “suggested” for Governor of Kansas. The suggestion came from an old schoolmate in Kansas, who remembered both Dolly and brother Charlie in the little red school house days. Her good wisher suggested that her nomination for the and fall down | | riage is waiting, and somehow it would | be merely finicky to stop for lunch | when the horses and carriage are lwlsdmng to take you up the mountain- side. It 15 a two-hour drive. Today, no doubt, a model T does it in almost no | time at all, but in those days it took | a full two hours. | The last thing you remember is a { big girl in a white dress and a huge | straw hat. She had glorious pink | cheeks and hair which nowadays | would be called platinum but was called | “towhead” then. Memory, queer thing! Not once in all those years had you ! ever thought of that girl until this very minute, when you put yourself in memory back at the little mountain | rallroad station. | "And then somehow she put herself back at the side of the road, in her white dress, her big straw hat, | l}:m- pink cheeks and her almost white air. You try hard to recall—was it the | driver she was waving at? It wasn't | you certainly. You were 9, and she | was 19, and tesides you were finicky. *x % x Well, up the mountains and up the mountains you went. And up the mountains and up the mountains. Just when you thought dinner would surely be at hand, you discovered that an- other hour's drive was before you all. So up the ‘'mountain and up the mountain you went. You went mount- ing and mounting. Would yous never get there? Evidently not. You wanted |to know what had become of the | famous mountain bree:>. You evi- | dently were some kind of sap for want- |ing to know that. When you got to the top of the mountain you could sit on the hotel glam (the world was very Italian in those days) and feel the breeze to your heart's content. But on the side of the mountain there was no ibr(‘eze. The breeze hadn't come up | vet. It had no horses and driver, and | it wasn't a bit finicky. It was there at | the top, and to the top you were going. You didn't say anything, but now | and then thought of the big girl with the towhead. You didn't say any- thing, for somehow girls seemed to be not exactly the topic for conversation. Somehow—well, everything seemed to | be somehow, going 'round the moun- tain, * K % % Two hours, all told, two hours of ‘El{mplng up to the top of the moun- ain. And tris, then, was the top? “Well, what of it?” your childich mind asked, but not out loud. “Where is the breeze?” you asked, quite loud. Everybody heard you. Even the driver heard you. “She ain't come up yit,” said the driver. He was an Authority on Moun- tain Breezes. She wasn't up yet. Evidently hadn't hitched up her horses, or something. It was the hottest place you had ever been in all your nine years, but you didn't say so, because then you would have been finicky, and the breege, somehow, forgiven for not coming up the mountain. | _You went to lock at the bear's den, | the great triumph of the place. And it was only an old hole. You had a bet- ter bear’s den back home, in the great clifls across from Henderson Castle (there is a park there now). So this was the best the mountains could do? A bear’s den—and no bears! And that is why, politely but firmly, you refuse to come and take a “real hike” over the top of the Blue Ridge | Mountains. Thanks, awfully! OBSERVATIONS | | governorship would be *“progressive,” and that if she were to be nominated he belleved she could be elected. Mrs. Gann, however, is reported to be entirely content to remain in Washington as official vice presidential hostess. The Republican National Committee has decreed that convention delegates shall be selected on the basis of con- gressional reapportionment. California and Michigan thereby made sizable gains in delegate strength at Chicago. 1 The Democratic National Committee has decreed that convention delegates shall be selected on the basis of the existing congressional districts. Massa- chusetts has 16 congressional districts at present. Under reapportionment she has 15 districts. The Bay State secre- tary of State is in a dilemma—how to hold a presidential primary when Re- publican districts and Democratic dis- tricts are diverse. General Counsel James Francis Burke of the Republican National Committee has proffered ad- vice. He suggests that the Democrass discard their own plan and adopt the 15-district plan so far as Massachu- setts is concerned. That suggestion is tossed out the window by the Demo- crats. It seems likely that the upshot will be a Bay State primary for both parties on the basis of the 16 existing districts and then leave it to the 32 Republican district delegates so selected to draw lots when they get to Chicago Io& ldhe 30 seats to which they are en- titled. e Participation by the United States to the extent of one million dollars in the Chicago World's Fair Centennial Celebration to be held next year was duly authorized by Congress last week. As was natural, Senator J. Ham Lewis of Illinois was active in piloting this bill through the upper branch. In a colloquy with Senator Borah in this connection the ever courtly mannered Chicagoan took occasion to observe that it had been *“quite some time” since he had previously served, in the Senate, o which Borah remarked dryly, “To the loss of this body.” Borah's retort provokes the speculation as to whether he paid the Hon. J. Ham Lewis & high compliment cr was gently ironical of the Senate. on Mr. Borah's own estimate “of this body.” e Seven tea-tasting experts designated by Secretary of Agriculture Hyde from diverse sections of the United States | assembled in New York last week to participate in the annual tea-tasting party. They are to determine the st2ndards to be maintained on tea im- ports for the coming 12 months. They sipped teas from Japan first, for a |couple of days, at the rate. of 100 samples a day, then, turning to Formosa, teas from India and Java and Ceylon and after that a host of various teas from China. It is all very.sexjous and important business. The Government | experts assert that the present rigid | standardizaion of tea imports has re- |sulted in giving to the tea-drinking public in America higher average grad |of tea than are enjoyed elsewhere on | the globe. (Copyright. { L e—e— Mexico Spares No Cost To Finish Road Project From the San Antonio Evening News. Though facing a reduced budget for 1932, Mexico's department of commu- nications announces that it will spare no expense to finish No. 1 project as early as possible. That enterprise is the Nuevo Laredo-City of Mexico road —part of the Pan-American Highway. The pavement has been carried south | to Montemorelos and northward from the capital as far as Ixmiquilpan. | However, the unimproved gap crosses |muzh mountain country and is now | impassable for the ordinary motorist; 50 the traveler is advised to detour at | Monterey. | As weather conditions are now favor- able to pushing road construction in Mexico, the authorities hope to com- plete the project in 1932. By center- ing their resources in the pan-Ameri- can route, the Mexican road builder: | show appreciation of its value f¢ | ternational communication, as (. developing the coungry. 1932) with | That depends | The Political Mill i; G. Gould Lincoln. This week may see a proposal for a new amendment to the Constitution well .on itg'way to the States for rati- | fication. It will have nothing whatever {to do_ with prohibition, however. It is the old Norris “lame duck” amend- ment, so-called, to do away with the present short sessions of Congre:s in which Senators and Represenatives who have been defeated for re-elect'on at the polls continue to legislate for the people. The Norris amendment has passed the Senate many times. The House has before it for consideration a resolution offered by the late Repre- sentative Rutherford of Georgia, who | died suddenly Thursday, as a substi- tute for the Norris resolution. It dif- fers in no material respect, however, from the Senate resolution. With slight differences in dates, the two resolutions, Norris and ‘Rutherford, provide for the meeting of the newly elected Congress in the Jlnunr{ fcllowing Election day, and for the inauguration of a newly clected President of the United States also in January following his election. The House put through a resolution in the last Congress with the so-called Longworth amendment, which would have provided for bringing the second regular session of the Congress to a close on a specified date. The reso- lution died in conference between ?l?\‘ Senate and House. This time the Democratic leaders have placed no limit on the second session of the Congress, and it looks as though the proposed amendment would soon go to the States for ratification. * o ok One of the busiest and most impor- tant committees of the House, the Ways and Means Committee, has completed its hearings finally on the tax revision bill and tomorrow will tackle the job of drafting this measure. The Ways and Means Committee has made a record for activity since the session opened last December, putting through the Hoover moratorium resolution, the Democratic tariff bill and completing the hearings on the $1,000,000,000 tax bill, so called because the Democratic leadership has about decided that it is essential to raise an additional billion dollars of revenue in order to balance the budget and do away with the Treasury deficit by July 1, 1934. The leaders do not believe that it will be possible for the Ways and Means Com- mittee to have the tax bill ready to report to the House until about March 1 Since it has been determined that the new taxes shall not be retroactive, the need for haste is not so great. In- creased rates for income taxes and surtaxes, much larger estate taxes and a new gift tax are all expected to be {included in the bill. Beyond thosc features the committee is still groping for solid ground. Three hundred wit- nesses. representing many industries, have appeared before the committee and all of these industries have pro- tested against further taxation. It is about time, hov s ntatives of American industry to real- that the important thing is for the | Government to balance its budget, to stabilize Government finance and to make it impossible for a destruction of confidence in the bonas and other se- curities of the United States Govern- ment. 1f that confidence is destroyed, the very keystone of the arch of credit and values in this country will have been shaken loose. The industries would find themselves in a period of economic chaos. That is the reason that the House Ways and Means Com- mittee and the Hoover administration is so anxious to raise the needed addi- tional revenue. The Ways and Means Committee will consider tapping new sources of income, including electric power and light, household gas, oil im- ports, and a manufacturers’ sales tax It appears to have set its face against a sales tax on necessities, however. * k ok x Up in North Dakota the regular Re- publicans would like very much to retirc from the Senate, if they can, Senator Gerald P. Nye, who belongs to the old Non-Partisan League group, the Pro- gressive wing of the Republican party. But the present outlook is that Senater | Nye will be renominated and re-elected to the Senate. The present Governor of North Dakota, George F. Shafer, be- longs to the regular Republican outfit. He has been urged to run for the sena- torial nomination against Senator Nye when the primaries come round next Summer. But the latest reports re- ceived in Washington rather indicate that Gov. Shafer, if he wants to come to the Senate, will wait for a mors propitious year. Senator Nye has u stronghold on the Progressive group in his State. He has made a record for himself since he has been in the Senate and has been in the limelight to a greater extent than any other Senator from his State since the days of Mc- Cumber, who was chairman of the Sen- ate Finance Committee and one of the authors of the Fordney-McCumber tariff act, put through when the Re- publicans tock charge after the late President Harding came into office. Senator McCumber belonged to the regular Republican group in his State | and was for many years a Senator from North Dakota. Senator McCumber when he went out of office was ap- pointed a member of the International Joint Commissicn. This North Dakota political situation this year has plenty of interest for the rest of the country. It is in North| Dakota, for example, that Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York made his first formal announcement of his candidacy | for the Democratic presidential nomina- tion. He and “Alfalfa Bill” Murray, Governor of Oklahoma, entered in| the presidential primary. It is in North Dakota, too, that former Senator Joscph 1. France, a Republican opposing the renomination of President Hoover, has elected to make his throw for delegates and for the choice of the voters in the presidential primary. Senator Nye headed the Senate In-| vestigating Committee which looked into the campaign expenditures of sena- torial candidates in 1930. His commit- | tee caused a good deal of grief to not a few aspirants for senatorial seats, among them Mrs. Ruth Hanna McCormick of Illiflois, former Senator “Joe” Grundy of Pennsylvania, not to mention ‘Grocer” Norris of Nebraska, who was put forward by opponents of Senator George W. Norris, but who quit the race at the last moment. Bishop James Cannon, jr., who headed the anti-Smith campaign in Virginia and other parts of the South in 1928, has no kindly recollections of the Senate Investigat- ing Committee, either. In other words, there appear to be plenty of individuals who would like to see Chairman Nye of the Investigating Committee left at home after the primary and election | this_year. But an open fight by any of these persons might react consicer- |ably in favor of the youthful Senator | from North Dakocta. | e r———— : Deplores “Racket” of Record-Breaking To the Editor of The Star: | . There should be something done about the racket in vogue at the present time known as record-breaking. To be | sure, they do no physical harm to any | one ' save themselves; nevertheless, a self-respecting public’ should withhold its support from such degrading prac- tices. Every record-breaker is a potential neck-breaker, who invariably is willing { lumbus Fountain ANSWERS TO QU STIONS BY FREDERIC ). HASKIN. Many readers send in questions signed only with initials asking that the answers appear in the newspaper. ‘The space is limited and would not ac- commodate a fraction of such requests. The answers published are ones that may Interest many readers, rather than the one who asks the question only. All questions should be accompanied by the writer's name and address and 2 cents in coin or stamps for reply. Send your question to The Evening Star In- formation Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Q. What is the world's speed record for taking stenographic dictation? M. C. A. The record was made by Charles Lee Swem, who wrote at the rate of 282 words a minute, with a 99.29 per cent accuracy. Q. What flowers are used in Southern Spain_at Christmas time?>—C. K. A. Scarlet geranium and heliotrope answer in Southern Spain the purpose of Christmas holly and mistletoe. | Q. How many doctors were there in the Medical Corps of the United States Army during the World War?—O. H A. At one time there were 30,591 commissioned doctors in the Medical Corps. Q. Who said, “Every tub must stand on its own bottom"?—E. H. F. A, The phrase is accredited to Dean Swift in his “Tale of a Tub." gl | Q. What is a ‘‘dance macabre"? —H. N. #A. The Dance of Death. | Q. In the wars with the Indians did the latter ever besiege any of the fron- tier forts any considerable length of time?—S. E. C. A. Rarely. The longest siege ever maintained by Indians was that of Pontiac at Fort Detroit. The siege was opened May 9, 1763, and continued until the garrison was relieved by a schooner from Niagira on September 3. Q. Who made the first bronze eques- trian_statue?—S. D. A. Donatello’s statue of Gattemelata was the first attempted since the days of antiquity. Q. Please give a definition of a lim- erick. . G. A. A limerick is a nonsense poem of five lines, of which lines one, two and five form one rhyme and lines three and four another. Q. What buildings in Washington, D. C., are made oi Georgia marble? ». A. Among them are the Library of Congress. Pan-American Building, Mcunt Vernon Methodist Church, Co- in front of Union Station and tbe Lincoln statue in the Lincoln 'Memorial. Q. What is the origin pression, gone to the devil? i W, A. The Devil was originally the name of a noted public house located at No. 2 Fleet stréet, near the Temple Bar, in London. When the lawyers in the neighborhood went to dinner they were accustomed to hang out a sign on their doors “Gone to the Devil,” so that those who wanted them might know where to find them. Q. When was the first electric dis tributing station established?—J. P. H. A. The Pear] street station in New York City, the forerunner of the great central stations of today, was placed in service in 1882 and from that day onward other citles rapidly installed electricity. Q. How many barber shops are there n the United States?—F. M. W. of the ex- A W. A. Market data says that there are ‘ about 100,000, | Q How many foreigners were de ported last year’—F. 8 A. I the fiscal year ending July 1 1931, 18,142 allens were deported fror the United States: 6205 were deporte on account of illegal entry; 2,835 f overstayed permits; 2719 for crimina and immoral reasons; 952 mental anc physical defectives. The rest were de ported for miscellaneous reasons a: are not separately listed Q. Should Dean Inge's name rhym with sing or with hinge?—D. B A. It rhymes with sing. Q. What s the highest price tha has been paid for a rare coin’—D. ¥ A. Two pattern United States § Koid pleces. 7, w rold ¥ te sale in 1909 for $10,000 eac Collectors say this is the highest price known to have been paid for any c: Q. Whaere is Helsingiors>—R. R A. Helsingfors is the Swedish nam | of the capital city of tire Finnish R | public, which is called in Fir "‘Hrl.nnkfi " Pinland was a gran duchy under the Russian Empire unt | the World War, when it becathe an ir dependent republic. The City of He sinki is located at the southern end of the peninsula which constitutes tr Republic of Finland, on the north sid of and across the Gulf of Finland fror Leningrad, Russia. Q. Who wrote “Of making of mar books there is no end”"?—S. T. A. This is found in Ecclesiastes chapter 12. While the authorship o this book of the Bible was long at tributed to Solomon, scholars have not ° agreed upon this point. In fact, th modern point of wlew is that the boo is a compilation of the writings of sev eral men Q. How do earthworms multiply? F. B A. Earthworms multiply by produc ing eggs, which are laid in capsules ir the ground. The young become full grown in four or five months. Q. How do divorces in the Unite States, in Nevada particularly, compar with the number of marriages?—N B A. Tn 1929 there were 163 divorce per 1,000 marriages in the country a: a whole. In Nevada there were 442 divorces per 1,000 marriages. Q How many patents and copy rights were granted in 19317—J. K A. In 1931 there were 51,766 patent granted by the United States Patent Office and 463 copyrights grantec by the copyright office of the Librar of Congress. Q. What is the difference between potential energy and kinetic energy?- R. C. G. A. Energy is the capacity for per | forming work. It may be either po tential, as in the case of a body of | water stored in a reservoir capable of | doing work by means of a water wheel or actual, sometimes called kinetic which 1s the energy of & moving body. Potential energy may also exist a stored heat, as stored mechanical en | ergy, as in fuel, or as electrical energy the measure of these energies being th amount of wofk that they are capab: of performing. Actual energy of a mov ing body is the work which it is ca | pable of performing against a retard ing resistance before being brought t | rest and is equal to the work whish must be done upon it to bring it from | a state of rest to its actual velccity. | Q. Has Canada ever been a part of the United States?—H. T. ' A. It never has. Author of “Alice” Honored As Birth Centenary Planned Observance of the 100th anniversary of the birth ef the author of “Alice in Wonderland,” which is to take place in this country, is preceded by tributes to the dual personality of Charles Lut- widge Dodgson, who adopted the pen name of Lewis Carroll. This Oxford student sought fame as a profound mathematician, but achieved it in the | realm of imagination. The approach- ing American observance at Columbia University is to be made notable by the attendance of the original Alice, now Mrs. Reginald Hargreaves, daugh- ter of an Oxford dean. “Alice is the immortal queen of utter nonsense,” says the Columbia (8. C.) State, “and that gives her a finer and more unshakable title to immortality and the throne than any possessed by the other queens that have held scep- ters in any realms of gold or in our hearts.” The State'also offers com- parisons indicating the place of author and character in the world of imagina- ticn: “Lewis Carroll is as deathless as Shakespeare, and will always be more beloved, and Alice is already surer of her crown than Cordelia or Juliet. Life has become so serious that only nonsense can make any appeal to us. Why all the silly toff about finance and high politics and the ‘quantum’ and the vapid speculations about atomies and ergs and elektrons and the misty future? It is to laugh. For us, we would rather have been the author of the ‘Walrus and the Car- penter’ than of any other poem * * * save, perhaps, ‘Lycidas’ * * * and that, when you deeply ponder it, has almost as much nonsense in it as anything in Alice in her ‘Wonderland’ the either side of the looking-glass. The Einsteins and Millikans and Ed- dingtons and Plancks will change their theories of the future a thousamd times before we are done with the present. But for us who delight in the quiet and tender devotion to ‘Alice’ and nonsense we are in the midst of an eternal sent—all in the golden afternoon. % % * “The child that lurks in the mind and heart of adult man and woman- hood still hails with delight the quaint utterances and fantasies created by Lewis Carroll, inspired by little Alice Liddell,” declares the Schenectady Ga- zette, with recollections of the story of the creation of an immortal character: “Although written primarily for chil- dren, ice in Wonderland’ is equally enjoyed by adults and is included in literature courses of advanced educa- tional institutions. The characters cre- ated by its author have their places in literature, as firmly fixed as those cre- ated by Shakespeare, Scott or Dickens. “Both ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and his later book, ‘Through the Looking-Glass’ were dramatized in London, the first | production occurring the day after | Christmas, 1866, at the Prince of Wales' Theater. The real inspiration for the hooks was received one summer day when Dodgson took Alice and her two sisters for a picnic up the river. | He was clever with pen and pencil drawings and one of his ideals of heaven was a place where he might draw as well as see beautiful things. | It was his whimsical writing for chil- | dren, rather than his learned mathe- matical treatises, that gave Dodgson, | or Carroll, his literary standing and his friends among literary men and | women.” “England ‘thanks God for imagina- to stake his very life to gain his prize— even the dancing “dervishes” who lately danced themselves to uncon- sciousness. This humble member of John Public recently saw a mction picture news reel wherein a group of record-breaking sled-riders were.. catapulted to their deaths, or, at best, serious tn“xry. As he saw this spectacle the mmx&’t came Now you experience the i1l the Roman public got while viewing tion and laughter,” quotes the New Orleans Tribune, giving attention w‘ British tributes to the author of “Alice” and to Edward Lear, author of the “Nonsense Books.” The Tribune joins in appreciation of the writers with the statement: “‘Imagination and laughter’ somehow does not quite seem to cover the service which Carroll and Lear performed for serious-minded the | mortals. Gilbert Chesterton does bet- or on | | can’t be a peace | be nonsense- | murred. | word itself is a Carroll's narrative is no more deliberately logica or {llogical than the course of a dream Events occur and personages appear and disappear haphazard. A vacation in the haphazard, says Chesterton, s | the ideal rest-cure for.the Anglo-Saxor: | who for centuries has wearied himsel! | by reasoning things out.” | * ok X K “Seldom has the history of literature | produced a dual personality as curiously brilliant as that of Charles Lutwidge | Dodgson,” thinks the Keokuk Dally Gate City, referring to the writer as “eminent mathematician and author of a series of incomparable essays in in- tellectual nonsense.” The Lowell Eve- ning Leader remarks that “for him there wa idently something ironical in the development that he became fa- mous the world over, not for his re- searches in the field of pure mathe- matics, but for this most captivating bit of pure nonsense.” Observing that “a world more be- wildering and paradoxical than either that of Wonderland or the Looking Glass has been celebrating the anni- versary,” the Chicago Daily News con- cludes that today “nonsense is no less abundant, but vastly more dangerous.” The Daily News finds an application to the Oriental situation with the state- ment: “One’s mind, following the train of thought suggested by Japan's present_behavior, reverts to an incident in which Alice and the Red Queen were again the actors. A conversation occurs concerning the resemblance cr non- resemblance of hills and valleys. Para- phrase by substituting war and peace, and how apt it is in application to cur- rent happenings in the real world: ‘I though I'd try and find my way to the scene of that war,’ said Alice. ‘When | you say “war"”,’ the Queen interrrupted, ‘T could show you wars in comparison vith which you'd call that a peace’ “No, I shouldn't’ said Alice; ‘a war u know. That would ‘The Red Queen de- “You may call it nonsense if you like,’ she said, ‘but I've heard non- sense compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary. By which remark it may be judged the Red Queen had been educated in a school of the samurai, not far from Tokio. A rerearding of the adventures of Alice in the light of things as they are may result in placing Lewls Carroll, cele- brated as a writer of nonsense, among the prophets whom an undiscerning world refused to heed.” —r———— l-dvemures as ‘dream’ them | Favors “Readjustment” To Describe Present To the Editor of The Star: It seems to the writer that we should be about finished with this obnoxious “depression”; first, because the “joykiller,” and sec- ondly, because it is an actual misnomer in describing present-ddy conditions. Notwithstanding a better sword—one that fits the situation—writers con- tinue to write, and publishers continue to publish that word “depression,” in- stead of employing one that is more correct and which is expressive of the period through which we are passing —*“readjustment.” ‘This old country of ours has suc- cessfully weathered every readjustment period of the past, just like we will weather the present one. Our form of government is the proven best ever conceived under God’s sun, and al- though there is much suffering among our people today, we as a Nation are in beflzf.xondmen than ever before in our almost 156 years' history. word ot B S us thereto, and when rentals ufl-u,“.?.' of readjusted, we will be at the end this ual period, and conditions will gladiatorial fights. Ne, Mr. Editor, the |ter when he says that Carroll, i par- | again matter with present-day civilization. J. SWEENE in- _depression is not the -werst -thing the ; tieular, showed his countrymen how to take a vacation from their minds. g!u 1 let! er didn't so much ‘imagine’ Alice and A