Evening Star Newspaper, February 9, 1932, Page 8

A—S8 | o —————————————————————————————————————————— P ———————— THE EVENING STA ‘With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. February 9, 1832 THEODORE W. NOYES. ...Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Rate by Carrier Within the City. ... .45¢ per month ar ~"60c per month ar llection made at the Orders may be sent in NAtional 5000, Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. {ly and Sunday.....1sr. $10.00: 1 mo. 85¢ Uiy 1 E:“Jm” . .. $6.00: 1 mo.. 50c junday only . $4.00; 1 mo.! 40¢ All Other States and Canada. ly and Sunday...1yr.$12.00: 1 mo.. $1.00 aily only .. yr. $8.00: 1 mo., inday only 11111111 yrl $5.00: 1mo.. Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press it exclusively entitled to the tse for republication of all news dis- patches credited to it or not otherwise cred. ited in this peper and also the local news published herein. All ht. publication of special dispatches here: Iso reserved. P — Merger Is Not to Be Bought. A few days ago the point was made in these columns that while changing conditions may have added merit to the proposal that the street car lines be relieved of the cost, or part of it, of crossing policemen’s salaries and of paving between the tracks, these ques- tions were important enough to be con- sidered alone. There is no reason to make them a part of the merger agree- ment The District Commissioners now have come forward with figures to show just what this relief would mean. The transfer of the cost of three-fourths of the expense of paving between tracks would saddle an extra burden of $350,- 000 a year on the taxpayers. Leaving aside other threats of increased taxes, this additional burden alone would re- quire an increase in the tax rate, ac- cording to the Commissioners. The question, then, is this: Why should the people of the District, bur- dened as they are elready with taxes, “buy” this merger of the street car lines and bus companies at the cost of ar- other tax rate increase? Why should they buy the merger et any cost? Why should the admittedly sound principle of merger always be wrapped up in other issues that not only confound it and confuse it with other things, but contain threats, or what are interpreted as threats, to the few remaining rights of the taxpayers? The provision of policemen at street crossings was made at a time when strect cars accounted for the greater part of the traffic problem. Colliding street cars brought home the necessity of having men specially detailed to watch out for their movements at street intersections. Today the street cars form a relatively small proportion of the traffic at intersections. The cost of paving between the tracks was charged to the street car lines when their exclusive right to the use of this portion of the streets was more plainly marked than is now the case. Today the street cars must gauge their speed and movements to the flow of other traffic that, in some sections of the city, at least, occupies as much of the street car tracks as the street cars. But threshing out these new prob- lems in an manner that would be equi- table to the public, as well as to the street cars, should not be approached by giving the car lines the blanket relief they seek through tying up that relief in a merger bill. The taxicabs and the busses, common carrlers that use the public streets for profit, should share a greater part of the burden of street maintenance and traffic direction than they do at present. There should be some effort to find out what propor- tion of the extraordinary costs should be shouldered by these new rivals in the fleld of public transportation, If it is unfair to the street car lines to have to bear certain burdens alone, it is as unfair that the burden should be lifted at the expense of the general tax- payers. S e e It is explained that it is a rather dif- ficult matter to become a golf profes- sional. But almost anything, or noth- ing at all, leads to attainment of the same status in lawn tennis circles. . A North Dakota grave digger dug himself so deep in a grave that he could not get out. Public speakers sometimes get into the same troubles with sen- tences. ‘Where the Law Fails. ‘Whenever a gangster in this country meets his almost inevitable fate of as- sassination at the hands of his rivals or those whom he has “double crossed” his obituary includes a review of his criminal career that discloses a record of persistent Jawlessness, unchecked until the guns of his enemies have * barked his requiem. The other night in New York Vincent Coll, one of the youngest and most desperate of that city's bandits, was trapped in a tele- phone booth in a drug store and slain by a fusillade from a machine gun, held at close range by an as yet unidentified avenger. Coll's bodyguard, supposedly on duty for his protection while he was telephoning, slid out of the place while the shooting was going on and has not been found. Coll is now the subject of the following summary of a career of disorder and lawbreaking which began ‘when he was ten years old: 1920, disorderly, committed to a mis- sion; 1920, juvenile delinquency, com- mitted to a protectory; May 10, 1924, juvenile delinquency, probation; No- Vember 7, 1924, revolver, sent to a houre of refuge, then trensferred to the Elmira Reformatory; June 28, 1928, un- lawful entry, discharged; December 13, 1928, assault and robbery, discharged; December 19, 1928, suspicion of a fel- ony, dismissed; December 26, 1928, vio- lation of parole, Elmira; March 3, 1830, homicide mg r‘ev‘glver chnrgg‘ c on homicide charge, jum hn'g:g July 3, 1931; April 22, 1930, bery, discharged; June 2, 1930, rob. Yoot bery, discharged; June 5, 1930, felonious lurzult. discharged; November 9, 1930, and pistol charge, discharged; | December 13, 1930, robbery, discharged; October 4, 1931, homifide—Harlem baby killing—tried and acquitted; De- cember 28, 1931, robbery, held for trial, on bail; January 11, 1932, conspiracy, discharged. As far as the law was concerned, Coll had a charmed life. Case after case was made against him and, save for his earlier delinquencies, he was appar- ently immuyne. He got bail as fast as ‘e v atfesied and generally Mcured s0c | ¢ | self of the privilege of bail to continue jaccept the presidential nomination, to ped | 7 g on that day it froze and traffic 'hl.s discharge. down upon one of his foes in Harlem and opened a broadside and an infant was killed a great hue and cry was raised and he was taken, indicted and tried, and for lack of evidence—one witness who testified positively to his identity broke down and confessed per- jury—he was acquitted. But for the effective stroke of private vengeance which wiped him out he would still be defying the law and making mockery of the courts. ‘There is something decidedly wrong with the judicial processes which per- mit the continuance of such a career over a period of a little more than eleven years. Protectory and mission and refuge failed to correct him. He was an incorrigible. The law never | reached him effectively. No record 1s available to list the number of his kill- ings. He kept on and on, and but for his betraya! by a faithless follower he would be Keeping on now, a desperado, an incurable menace. “Legs” Diamond was another of this | sort, forever slipping out of the coils of the law, flouting it with the assist- ance of shrewd counsel, availing him- his eer as & desperado. Finally he, | too, “got his,” not from the law, but from his personal enemies. What is wrong with the administra- tion of justice in this country that such cases can repeatedly occur? e — When Is a Candidate? Alfred E. Smith makes a distinction between candidacy for the presiden- tial nomination and willingness to ac- cept the nomination. In an interview in New York he insists he is not a can- didate despite his statement declaring that if the Democratic National Con- { vention should tender him the nomina- tion he would accept.. He says that he is not a candidate because he is not out working for delegates, is spending no money and has no headquarters. The former Governor of New York is draw- ing a line between candidacy and will- ingness to accept nomination, which is likely to be a little too fine for the American voters to see or to accept. It is impossible to be a candidate in one breath and not a candidate in another. The verdict of the press generally and the Democratic adkerents of Mr. Smith in many States has already been ren- dered. He is a candidate, they hold; no matter what the purpose of his entry into the field of candidates may be, he is regarded as a candidate, re- ceptive if you will, and not active, but nevertheless a candidate. Mr. Smith’s call on Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York and a forty-five minute conversation between the two men has given the pclitical gossips something new to think about, however. The announcement of Mr. Smith's) willingness to accept the presidential | nomination was interpreted widely as a hard blow at the candidacy of Gov. | Roosevelt for the presidential nomina- tion. Furthermore, it was widely her- | alded not long ago that after Gov. Roosevelt had said that he expected a visit from Mr. Smith in Albany, a state- | ment had come from Smith's offices in New York to the effect that Mr. Smith had no intention whatever of visiting Albany. Perhaps, afier all, Mr. Smith is going to gather in a bunch of delegates to the national convention—through the good offices of his friends—and then turn them over to his friend, Gov. Roosevelt. If that is Mr. Smith's pur- pose, however, it is not what some of his close friends in the anti-Roosevelt camp believe, While Mr. Smith was declaring with vigor in New York that he is not a candidate for the presidéntial nomina- tion his friends in New Hampshire, Massachusctts, New York and other States were falling over themselves in their efforts to come forward for elec- tion as Smith delegates to the national convention. For the sake of argu- ‘ment, suppose that Calvin Coolidge in the Winter of 1928 had sald he was willing to accept the presidential nomi- nation if the Republican National Con- vention should tender it to him. Would Mr. Coolidge have been a candidate? Probably nothing on earth could have prevented his renomination. If Mr. Coolidge had sald at the same time that he was not a candidate, what would the country have said? As-it was, without any such statement from Mr. Coolidge but with a declaration on the contrary that he did not “choose to run” for President thousands of voters continued to believe that Mr. Coolidge was still a candidate for re- nomination. It looks as though Mr. Smith would have to issue another statement, saying that he would not make the people believe he is not a candidate. o According to economists, Japan, like the American investor of recent years, will run out of money before she runs out of ambition. ——r————————— The Snows of Yesteryear. ‘The mildness of the present Winter in this part of the country is cause of wondering comment. Are the seasons changing? Is something happening to the world to cause it to experience a permanent shift of climatic conditions? Here it is well along in February with- out any severe temperature in Wash- ington and, but for a couple of brief flurries, without snow. No wonder that a visitor to the Capital frcm - Saskatch- ewan, here for the first time to attend a convention, has expressed surprise when told that this city has often seen Snow. Nor is Washington exceptional in this matter. It is noted from Albany that the Hudson River has established a record of navigation unequaled for ninety years. Not since 1843, when the records of the United States engineers began—and perhaps, it is added in the dispatch, since Hendrik Hudson's day— has that river remained so long un- locked by Winter. Nineteen years ago the river was navigable until February was blocked. Local memories go back readily to skating on the Potomac during Jan- uary. It has been a long time, how- ever, since the skates have cut the surface of this river. Even the basin on the river bank, long ago known as Babcock Lake, now Twining Lake or the Tidal Basin, which was once the scene of merry Winter exercises, has been free from “bearing ice” for a long time. Now and then the ice in the re- flecting pool east of the Lincoln Me- morial forms o & sufficient thickness to 1 ‘When his gang swept | | sional investigation of the Carnegie | somewhere in the equation. Or perhaps | hundred miles - from Tokio, has just J——— permit its use by skaters, but for only a few hours at a time. Gone are the days of Winter carni- vals on Pennsylvania avenue, With gaily caparisoned horses drawing smart sleighs, bright with rugs and Winter garments, making the most of the snow that packed firmly on the stones of the old pavement. They were an almost regular institution. When the Avenue was paved with asphalt the snows melted more quickly and sleighing be- came rare. When Winter street clean- ing methods were adopted the snow was removed as fast as it fell—if plans did not go awry—and the sleighs went into the limbo of the antiquities. What has become of them? It has for a long period been re- marked that Washington’s Januaries have been mild for the first two weeks, or perhaps three. The ‘January thaw,” the period was called. But here it is in the second week of Feb- ruary, and the “thaw” continues. Have the poles slipped? Is the weather all awry? Will some “goosebone” philos- opher offer an explanation, or perhaps a more sophisticated researcher of scientific bent? N The Skating Championship. ‘The United States has swept all other nations aside in its triumphant progress to the skating championships of the Winter Olympic games now being staged at Lake Placid, N. Y. In winning the four major events of the competition, at five hundred meters, fifteen hundred meters, five thousand meters and the ten thousand meters final, America has demonstrated un- disputed superiority on the ice. To two young American boys must go the entire crecit. Irving Jaffee, who learned to skate at an indoor rink near his home in New York City, broke through a fleld of the fastest and most skillful skaters of many nations to annex two of the events. Jack Shea, Dartmouth sophomore, completed the overwhelming victory for his country by winning the other two. It now remains for the American bobsled team to show its mettle in the contests which start today on the fast Mount van Hoevenberg course, which has already accounted for serious in- juries to four of the German racers. Inspiration aplenty has been given them by the valiant deeds of their colleagues in the skating championships. R In one day's newspaper one reads of the deaths of two members of Congress irom a condition of overwork that af- flicts the entire legislative body. Next day he learns that plans for a congres- Foundation, of all things, are a-foot. It is a confusing world. = —————— There are many, many forms of so- cial entertainment in vogue in America Just now. However, there seems to be too great a proportion of the sort of parties to get away from which guests jump rapidly through windows. — e It appears as though the well known “five-five-three ratio” had been lost it was not to go into effect until after the next rumpus? ——————— Yakegatake, & volcano a little over a erupted violently. At least they cannot blame that on the Chinese. oo SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Jabez. Oh, Jabez Jones, he never does a thing to make things right. He simply views the world's events from morning until night, And even when the stars above, like dis- tant lanterns burn, He'll sometimes catch a comet that's performin’ out of turn. He isn’'t much at plowin’. He is with a hoe. He lets the other people plant the crops an’ make 'em grow. He isn't even cheerful, with a story or a song. His one accomplishment is tellin’ folks where they are wrong. clumsy He'll meet you when your hopes are risin’ confident an’ great An’ tell you why you're jes' too soon, or why you're jes' too late; He'll take your calculations an’ he'll speedily explain Jes’ how you'll miss the answer you were sure that you'd attain. Oh, Jabez, we will miss you when it comes your turn to go. The man who writes your epitaph will hesitate, I know, In tryin’ to express your praise in language smooth an’ stropg For fear you'll rise right up an’ say he's gettin’ it all wrong! An Early Discovery. “Your epigrams and adages show great wisdom,” said the friend. “Yes,” answered Senator Sorghum. can't deny that I regard them as some- thing very wise indeed. There is nothing like them for popularizing a public career.” Having Fun. “Yes,” remarked Farmer Corntossel, “my boy Josh gets a good deal o' fun out of automobiling.” “But he doesn’t own a machine.” “Of course not. He's one o' county constables.” the The Natural-Born Leader. Your conscience has a task that’s light. You need not study long; If you agree with me, you're right, And !l‘you don’t, you're wrong. A Convenience. enjoy poetry?” answered Miss Cayenne. “It is a great conversational convenience. It enables people to quote instead of being stupidly original.” Drawing the Line, “Women should have the same privi- leges and responsibilities as men.” “Maybe. But you'll never get many of them to pay alimony.” A Dead Letter. A law’s oft passed, as it appears, By men of honored erudition, But to be passed in later years ‘Without a sign of recognition. “Some men,” said Uncle Eben, “plames women foh gossipin’ an’ den turns around an’ listens to all de neigh-« borhood mews deir wives kin git to- gether.” & THIS AN D THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. Who is there who has not read in a bock some icant passage which he could never find again? Just how such hide themselves is some! tery. A reader comes across a few lines which, for some reason or other, mean a great deal to him. Or he thinks they mean a great deal to him. After all, it does not make so much difference. ‘The main thing is that words have stirred thoughts. “No use to mark that,” he says to himself. “I wiL.I not’(m;get that.” * manage to of a mys- Some time later, going back to the volume, he attempts to put his fingers on the exact quotaticn. He recalls its very place, almost; it was down at the bottom of a right-hand page. He is sure of that. It is about two-thirds over in the book. He will have no trouble at all in locating the words of his choice. They are somewhat hazy in his mind, though. ‘That is one of the reasons he wants to find them again, He recalls the thought, no doubt, but | the exact felicity which so struck him as he read—that is gone. * ok ok X Slowly he turns over the pages. Any second now—it is as close as that—he will get the slight electric thrill which accompanies finding some- thing that a human being seeks. One looks for a hat. There is not much of thrill in that, perhaps; but if the thing sought happens to be a $5 bill, and it comes to light on the floor— well, that is better! Men go into jungles to hunt for birds and animals, or for ancient ruins, or, perhzps, treasure of gold. It is all the same in the intellectual joy of accom- | plishment. Men in business and the | arts get the same happiness out of their | successes. It is the old thrill of look- | ing for something—and finding it. S The curicus thing about the search for a lost passage in a book is that the | thing scems so absurdly easy and yet | so often is unsuccessful. The field is restricted, relatively speaking. At first glance, a man who has not had the experience might think failure altogether impossible. Are there not a certain number of words—100,000, say? And so many chapters—10, perhaps? | Can any printing press introduce new | words while the book is in one's h‘nd.’; Can even the writer cause new words | to flourish, without printing a new edi- | tion? And, especially, could he cause cer- tain sentences to disappear. as if they had never been? It would seem impossible. L i And yet every reader has sought for certain words and failed to find them. Just what happens? | The words must still be there. Obvi- | ously, they had no way of getting out. | Was the reader mistaken? | Well, he may be, at that, Sometimes one forgets just what book he read a certain austere reflec- tion in. This may occur when two writ- ers handle somewhat similar topics, and even make similar statements, per- haps. No wonder a reader becomes confused. | In the main, however, the inability The memory stands out ‘The only trouble is to * X X ¥ The first line of attack, that of dip- ping around, down at the bottoms of certain pages, fails miserably. ‘There is nothing to do but bring up the heavy artillery, and read the whole book again, with the thought sought' uppermost, so that one will recognize it when one sees it. The campaign appears perfect. It cannot get away this time! But there are several ways it can escape. While the reader is holding the thought securely in his mind, maybe even a bit of the exact wording, the inherent interest of the work gets in_its old-time effect, The book interested the reader once. it can do it again, and it does. No matter how tenaciously he holds to the idea of finding the lost passage, the bigger interest of the book as a book ceuses him to forget the passage at times. And, without doubt, just when he should remember! * % ok % ‘The second reason a lost passage can- not be brought to light 1’; that, ob- viously, it may not strike one at all a second time. The human mind is a queer instru- ment, and queerest, one may think, in dealing with its own, which are thoughts. Thoughts are more elusive than soap bubbles in a wind. They come, they glitter, they disappear. A reader brings more to a book than is commonly believed. He brings him- self. The book is not all that is there. From some aspects it is not the most important thing there. What the reader does to the book is just as im- too plain. find it again! portant as what the book does to him. | Sometimes in reading the processes of thought form up one way, another time another way, so that the difference between the two readings is amazing, although the words are exactly the same. * o ox % The third reason a sought passage may not be found lies in the fact that sometimes a book may so educate a reader that by the time he finishes it his whole thought processes on the sub- ject are changed. He has revised them, himself, with the author’s help. The result is, when he goes back to the book a second time, he does not see the author's thoughts in exactly the same light he did the first time. A ‘good book is like a symphony, some passages will strike one as glorious, at the first hearing, which a second reveals as commonplace, whereas this movement, this chapter, which sounds only blurry, at the second hearing develops into the most ex- quisite music of the afternoon. The plain fact is, as every reader knows, that sometimes an interesting ‘“quotation” will elude one and never be found again. Perhaps it is just as well. It is good to know, in small affairs, that our searching is not al- ways fruitful. that we cannot always be successful. Failure is just as inherent in the scheme of things as success. The great book of common sense teaches one that. Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newspapers of Other Lands Germany goes bankrupt, Eng- land must follow her not long | after!” Such was the sensational | warning of Gen. Smuts recently | in Cape Town upon his return from | London. Gen. Smuts, one of the au-| thors of the Versailles treaty, declared further that the original stipulations of that conference can no longer be ad- hered to nor insisted upon. He is frank- ly of the opinion that all the debts and reparations of the world, internationally | incurred and owed, must be erased off the books. Gen. Smuts claims that the creditor nations are playing 2 “dangerous farce,” | and contributing to a general social un- rest by demanding payments that are | no longer either just or possible. Pres- | ent economic theories are all wrong. | Insolvent nations are the first that are | asked to pay the debts of the solvent. | Exporting nations defeat their own ends and interests by raising high | tariffs against importations. The stabili- | zation of currency sought by many gov- | ernments to restore confidence in their | finances has resulted only in departure from a gold standard and further de- | preciation in their exchequers. New | ententes and “customs unions” are en- | tered into, to endure scarcely overnight, | so futile are they in improving the re- | spective circumstances of their pro- | moters. That normal times and human wel- fare may exist again upon the earth, a | radical reform in all existing treaties and obligations is necessary, and the| first of these requirements, in’ the opin- | ion of Gen. Smuts, at least, is the can- | cellation of all internationai obligations, | and particularly those due under the | provisions of the Versailles treaty to | the other fountries from Germany and Austria. BERUNER TAGEBLATT, — “If x k% Instructed to Give Wrong Report of Protests. La Macedoine, Geneva.—It is report- ed from Belgrade that new and noisy demonstrations on the part of univer- sity students have occurred in that city. Detachments of the gendarmerie have been stationed at strategic points to disperse the demonstrators, whose ac- tions have been termed “audacious” and “intolerable” by the dictatorial authori- ties, who have so far not been accus- tomed to scenes of this sort and are not inclined to recognize the gestures of protest against their adopted measures. ‘To dispel suspicions which might have gained some credence that the manifestation was really Republican, that is to say, “anti-government,” in character, the newspapers of Belgrade were all instructed to report that the demonstration was probably directed against Italy or some other European nation not wholly in sympathy with| Serbian policies and lities. * x % * China Abuses Education for Politics. Manchuria Daily News, Dairen.—1Is China a state? This riddle now lies before the world to solve. ‘The powers seem to look upon her as a_state according to the interna- tional decorum. However, when one of the chief Chinese warlords (of the northeast). who was supposed to represent part of the sovereignty of the Northeast. openly broke the international good faith, and when his trusted army readiiy ran loose and turned hunghudze, then what claim could China have to be = state? Education, in its very aim and nature makes up the most sacred and lofty work of a state. China has been abusing education for a political purpose, inserting in the school text books chapters preaching how to undermine imperialism and to otherthrow Japan. To cut such a caper violates the spirit of education and also the international good faith. At present, South Manchuria has fall- en into practically a eless condi- tion. However, the districts under Jap- anese control, a few surgical tions being dispense free. The Chinese inhabitants in these districts find themselves far better off than when un(ler th:h"nld warlords. = Urges Reduction In Governmental Honolulu Advertiser.—Walter F. Frear, | publish this chairman of the Citizens’ Committee on_Public Expenditure Decreases and recently emphasized spots | discussion and prayer the immediate necessity for reduction of expenses in all government depart- ments. Commenting on the economy pro- gram for the schools, adopted by the commissioners, Judge Frear said: “Even in good times the government ought to operate as economically as possible. It should not make appro- priations without regard to how much the government requires, and then go head and spend the money, but should figure out how much the government can get along with and give reasonably efficient service, and then raise only those revenues necessary to meet the expenses. “When a period of depression comes along we all know that it is necessary to cut to the bone, if need be, in order to avoid increasing taxes and also to relieve taxpayers as much as possible, because there is =0 much loss to those people who bear the burden.” * X K x Salvation Army Members Must Stand Apart. The War Cry, London.—If & man or woman by going to view a film depict- ing a “moral conception of life” (writes a correspondent) has reason to say that he is much wiser and better spir- itually, morally and mentally for going, do the Salvation Army's rules bar him from being a recipient of that knowl- edge? If so, he or she has either to gnter into the category of the hypo- crite, made so by the regulations, by going to see the film in secret, or he or ste becomes foolish in not welcom- ing the means of education. The army’s position is clear enough. We are a people set apart for special service to God and humanity, following the lines so securely laid down by the founder of the movement, a man whose divine inspiration and insight are be- coming more and more apparent as the years progress. He saw the necessity for Salvationists to be a rate people, clean cut from worldly pleas- ures and practices and devoted to the task of winning men and women to God. Today it is as imperative as ever that we shoyld stand apart, even in circumstances when the issue is not quite as clear as in other cases, making such sacrifices as are necessary in order to maintain our position. No one is forced into Salvation soldiership. It is a willing, joyful service in which we are as much expected to observe the whole rules as is a foot baller expected to pay scrupulous attention to the rules governing his game. Devout Christianity Of Chiang Revealed To the Editor of The Star: «About a week ago Mr. Haskin's ‘Answers to Questions” column con- tained a question in regard to the re- ligion of the President of China. Mr. Haskin in reply cited Chiany Kai-Shek, although noting that he was no longer President of China. He stated that Chiang Kai-Shek had married a Christian Chinese woman and that there were so many Christians in his cabinet that he was generally ranked as a Christian. All of this is entirely correct, but Mr. Haskin did not state that in October, 1930, Chiang Kai-Shek was baptized into the Methodist Church. I remember reading the announcement of this in The Star. The Star also printed, about the time the Manchurian situation-began to be acute, a message from President Chiang Kai-Shek to the Christian people of the world to the effect that in Christianity lay the only kope for world peace. Moreover I am informed by a former resident of China, who keeps in close touch with Chinese affairs, especially religious affairs, that not long before his resignation the President called a meeting at his home of missionaries and Christian leaders for the uurpmehz as to Christian duty in the existing condi- tions. . And when he was asked what | d they could do to help he replied: “Try to help the Chinese people to keep con- trol of themselves.” ‘This seems the that at one time CI intensely opposed to ity. You may consider it worth while correction—or perhaps I shou'd say “enlargement”—of Mr. Has- kin's reply. ith the collaboral ‘Washington, D. C.: The Brookings Institution. When the bulk of general thinking and concern comes to focus at some vital point in the affairs of men and nations, then is the time of all others, so both professional and layman agree, for a resurvey, even for & new study, of the eritical hour and area involved. For, with the passage of time, world matters shift their points of stress, of emphasis. Proportions, therefore, change accordingly. Old significances fall to the rear. New ones step to the front, momentous and demanding. Fresh in. terpretations must meet the changed order. * X k% Clearly, Japan of all peoples consti- tutes at this moment the world’s imme- diate problem. At war with China, it avows on!, an intent of peace, of righteous jhborliness with that coun- try. Tec & World Council, protesting, admon . offering accommodations nd solutiors, Japan gives suave agree- ment and compliance. But each day the war is pushed toward its own war- like conclusion. The press makes diarial reports of military moods and maneu- vers in the Far East. Reports also the perturbation, distress and confusion of a world itself ovar the hard fact that theories of peace, spiritually founded, are but scraps of paper in the eyes of an age that cour.s economics and finance as its first #nd most imperative concern. i % x ‘War is but a 10vyering from old roots and stems of cemse and circumstance. An evil bloom, *~ be sure, yet there is an old saying that men do not gather figs of thistles. Nor do they gather peace and brotherly love from emu- lation, overreaching, jealousy, dislike and hatred. War has had many foun- dations—religion, policies of govern- iment, lust of power and possessions, sharp inequalities that separate the afuent and powerful few from the im- poverished and helpless many. Other causes, t0o, but each war has risen from its own surrounding conditions working for relief, righteous or otherwise, in its purpose and progress. ‘The world today is almost wholly of economic texture and design. The mak- ing of things with the wide distributing of things, this the supreme preoccupa- tion of the age itself. Widely separated populations have been brought close to- | gether by the marvels of modern com- munication. Modes and manners and tastes have promptly commingled with- in the vast neighborhood of man. In- dustry has widened swiftly to meet the new issue. Natural resources have been tapped anew for fresh and greater out- put. Scientific chemistry is rivaling na- ture itself in astounding synthetic per- formances of common usefulness. Other forms of applied science are working 1 wonders in the plain business of every- | day life. Industry in values and variety has multiplied within a few years be- yond easy appraisal and appreciation. | And transportation has had to keep step with this amazing expansion. The making of things, the distributing of things, this the true essence of modern times. And this is, broadly speaking, economics. Almost. Not quite. Money is also a component, a fundamental in the great process. Production, distribu- tion, money. Economics in skeleton. * x x = Back to Japan waging a war, clearly economic in source and objective. A few islands, little islands, packed with | humanity. Outlet imperative. Nati .1 resources a prime necessity, for the ere- ation of industry to keep the man- | power productive in the way of a great | commerce to be developed. And, right across the way, Manchuria beckoning with natural wealth. Treaties and dip- lomatic _agreements are man-made things, frail as their sponsors and cre- ators. And just over there is Man- churia, bursting with God-given largess, | yet lying neglected and unused. |~ And, so, the trouble began, * ok ox o But how little we, the average, know of this immediate economic drive at the vitals of Japan, sending the islands out to gather, where they might build, from seemingly abandoned areas, vast and promising. A vision of a great com- merce no doubt arose, a dream of col- onies—somewhere?—to take the over- flow of population that so presses Japan, | to take the surplus of trade as well, a part of it. Here is & book for immediate study ! of the economic and financial status of Japan at the present time. Issuing from a source of dependable authority and from specific authorship of thor- ough information and expert treatment, “Japan: An Economic and Fnancial Ap- praisal,” becomes for the student of current history a text book of excep- tionally high quality. First, it is simple. That is, it is the relatively simple pro- jection of a subject essentially com- plex and puzzling to the commonalty. But these authors have wisely made the effort to subordinate the more intricate | phases of finance in their desire to meet the need of general intelligence in the study of a subject that is daily becom- ing & part of public elementary educa- tion. So, in not too abstruse a manner, Mr. Kunichi Ko, chief of the depart- ment of economic research of Japan, has collaborated with Mr. Harold Moul- ton in making both clear and authentic this outlook upon the subject in hand. An orderly survey. And that, too, con- tributes to the general clarity of the whole. Beyond a short, but most in- teresting, historical sketch of the islands, these authors outline the eco- nomic development of the country. The industries, built upon natural resousces, are briefly named and described. The transportation facilities—railways, ocean traffic, public roads and airways—are pictured. Varlous industries, domestic trade bodies and financial organization are summed. The system of public finance—local, colonial, national—is de- fined. The debts accruing from these scparate divisions are analyzed and made clear. Foreign trade plays an important role in this study. So does the subject of “international financial relations.” The third division of the investigation and report is both im- portant and interesting, an illuminating part of the whole. For it combines all that has gone before into a single body of related parts, into & competent inte- gration of the whole. It gives besides an interpretation of this whole in rela- tion to its true significance in the eco- nomic and financial life of Japan. Taken part by part, this interpretation explains the limits of agriculture for Japan, the necessitous rise of industrial- ism and the effect of this upon the so- cial structure of the country, upon the growing pressure of tre population, upon the possibilities of emigration. Be- yond this point, this point of clear and finely evaluated investigation, the study turns to the current day and to the immediate future of the erstwhile “Hermit Kingdom.” * X X X Here is a summary of the industrial potentialities of Japan, for today and tomorrow. Its lines of itest certainf of the latest safety devices which have th | various natfons since our own S-4 went um{nm: from both domestic and inter- of view. Credit organi- zatio~ are weighed dn their contribu- tion ic “he money flow of the nation. significant in Kai-Shek was | tion ton. | you. departments, the libraries, s | museums, gal and public buildings ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. This newspaper puts at your disposal a corps of trained researchers in Wash- ington who will answer questions for They have access to the Gov- and to the numerous associations which maintain he rs in the Nation's Capital. If they can be of assistance to you, write your question plainly, and send with 2 cents in coin or stamps to ‘The Evening Star Information Bureau, Prederic J. Haskin, Director, Wash- ington, D. C. Q. Is Ash Wednesday a holiday in South American countries?—H. M. A. It 5. The Monday and Tuesday which precede Ash Wednesday are also holidays, known as carnival days. South American countries observe many more holidays than this country does. Q. Where does burlap come frcm? —L. T. A. The Department of Commerce says that a small area in Eastern India, comprising less than 2 per cent of the country’s total cultivated land, furnishes the world’s entire commercial supply of jute. The exports of the fiber and its_manufactures during 1930 brought to India approximately $163,000,000. The United States is an important market, in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1931, having taken more than 100,000,000 pounds of the raw fiber, 10,000,000 burlap bags, and almost 1,000,000,000 yards of burlap cloth. Q. In eating soup should the spoon be drawn toward one or away?—O. W. B. A. A soup spoon is dipped into the surface of the soup and moved toward the farther edge of the plate. Q. Where is there a statue of Seward, | who was Secretary of State in Lincoln’s cabinet?—A. F. E. A. Art in Our Country lists a statue of W. H. Seward as being in Seattle, Wash. It is the work of R. E. Brooks. Q. Why is a ship referred to as “she"?—B. B. 8. A. In some of the older languages, such as Latin and Old German, from which modern languages have been derived, all inanimate objects were given masculine or feminine gender. | In this way, the moon was feminine and the sun masculine, and, among | other things, ships and other vehicles were generally spoken of in the feminine gender. Modern languages have adopted this same idea. Q What was the Fashoda Incident? —J. N. B. Al A. In 1898 a Prench force, under Maj. Marchand, declined to withdraw from Fashoda, on the White Nile, as demanded by Gen. Kitchener. Later the French government agreed to with- draw the force and a convention was | signed as to possessions and spheres of influence of the respective governments | in Central Africa. France renounced any claim to the Nile Valley. ! Q. How much radium is there at the | present time?—F. G. C. A. About 600 grams of radium (ap- proximately 20 ounces) have been pro- | duced in the world. | Q. When did the Pullman Co. dis- criminste in the prices of upper and lower berths?—J. E. S. A. On February 1, 1911, the Pullman Co. filed a tariff with the Interstate Commerce Commission reducing the | price of an upper berth 20 per cent. | This made the cost of an upper berth 80 per cent of the cost of the lower. | On May 1, 1820, the Pullman Co. was | granted permission by the Interstate {Commerce Commission to increase the rate on all accommodations 20 per cent. | T. On May 1, 1930, the Pullman Co. re- ! duced the rate for a section, when oc- | cupied by one person, to the rate for the lower berth plus one-half of the rate of the upper berth. Q. What does the phrase “the im- mediate jewel” mean?—L. C. A. It may be construed as mesning “most precious possession.” Q. What is a Martello tower?—P. K. A. A round masonry tower designed to form a part of coast defense is called a Martello tower, being so named for its inventor. The original Martello tower was situated in the Gulf of San Piorenzo, Corsica. These became popu- lar about 1800, but their use has in most cases been discontinued long ago, as they were found to be of little prac- tical value. Q Who first had the idea of colers graduated on a music scale?—D. N. A. The Bureau of Standards says that graduction of colors on a musical scale was first sugested by Sir Isaac Newton and has been followed by & multitude of others. Q. Who first trained wild animals of different kinds to perform together?— M. L V. A. Karl Hagenbeck was the first showman to train large carnivorous animals of different species to perform together. He zlso introduced a new way of confining animals in outdoo: menageries. In his zoological girden at Stellingzn, a suburb of Hamburg, there were no gratings nor wires about the space occupicd by groups of large mammals, broad moats of water being employed to confine them. Q What is the National Safety Council>—G. B. R. A. The National Safety Council is a co-operative. non-profit-making insti- tuticn, which was founded in 1913, to serve as a clearing house of informa- tion relating to the prevention of ace cidents. It is supported by 4,322 mem- bers, who include manufacturers en- gaged in ell industries, public utility concerns, insurance companies, na- tionzl, Stzte and local trade, technical end professional bodies and public of- ficials, motor clubs, educators and others interested in the conservation of lives and limbs and property. Q. How can I estimate what it costs to use a certain electrical device?—B. S. A. The cost per hour for running any electrical device depends entirely | upon the amount of electrical power that particular article draws, local elec- tric rates and the type and make of the instrument. Most electric appli- ances have the rating in watts marked |on them. The cost in cents per hour, while in use, for any particular appli- ance would be the rating in watts mul- tiplied by the rate (cost) per kilowatt cur and this product divided by 1,000. Q. How much territory do England and France have on this side of the Atlantic>—R. E. D. A. England’s possessions embrace the mainland colonies of British Honduras in Central America and British Guiana in South America and about 400 islands, an area of about 110,000 square miles n all. PFrance has French Guiana, the Guadalupe Islands, Martinique, St. Pierre and Miquelon and a number of smaller islands, her total area being ap- proximately 33.000 square miles. Q. What does the stock market ex- pression “selling against the box” mean?—G. Y. A. It means short selling by a person who has the securities he sells, but does not make actual deliverv at the time of sale. The “box” refes to his safety deposit box or strong box. Q. Is there any copper in oysters?— C. A Nearly all oysters from European waters have a coppery taste and con- tain copper. Submarine Disaster Raises Doubt as to Value of Craft The sinking of the British submarine M-2, with the loss of all on board, 7 officers and 53 men, has aroused ; much criticism of the continued use of this form of naval craft, both be- cause of the toll it has taken in time of peace and its barbarous tactics in | war periods. Suggesting that “the submarine ques- tion may be raised in the conference on armaments” the South Bend Tribune indorses the contention “that submarines make war more bar- barous,” though conceding that “so far no marked progress has been made by the anti-submarine campaigners.”| The Tribune quotes the argument of civilian critics that “the losses of life in peace time make submersible ves- sels indefensible.” The Asbury Park Press argues that “so heavy has been the cost in lives at submarine ma- | neuvers that their value hardly com- | peusates for the danger involved.” The | Toledo Blade contends: “In war time it is a_skulking, cowardly, hit-skip enemy. In peace time it is the most dangerous and deadly arm of the Navy in grills and maneuvers.” | “Those who have hoped for the abolition of the submarine by interna- tional agreement,” advises the Spring- | field (Mass.) Union, “have reason to regret, without national prejudice, that it is the British who have suffered and the French, either through luck or superior technic in construction, who | have escaped. Such disasters as the | British have suffered might not have been borne as stoically by the French public and might have made the French government more willing to take a step for which both the British and American governments have at times indicated their readiness.” * x ox x “Man has devised the undersea craft in which he dares to travel, but none has yet been made foolproof,” suggests | the Houston Chronicle, with the com- | ment that “it is a pity that the lives | of brave men must be sacrificed, not for the advancement of science, but to | perfect instruments of destruction.” As to the latest tragedy, the Chronicle says: “The disaster will probably | arouse more vigorous agitation in Eng- land for the elimination of submarines | as weapons of international defense. | Here in America we have had our share of such naval tragedies, France has not | escaped, nor Germany. In fact, every naval force in the world which has experimented extensively with undersea craft has had comrades listed among the missing. Brave men have gone down into the depths of the sea and never returned.” “The elements still are man's master, even though he has surrounded himself | with all the safeguards he can think of,” avers the Columbus Ohio State Journal, cbserving that “it will be almost an insurmountable difficulty to make any submarine safe.” The Port Huron Times Herald finds that “the high 'rate of disaster and fatality in peace-time operation is something to give us pause,” and refers to “catas- trophies which startle the world.” That paper adds: “And this one is espe- cially disturbing in view of the fact that the boat was equipped with some designed and put into use by the down ;lt.h all on board oflm(:npe Cod nearly five ago. Our helplessness in nl:’e ‘lm’o‘ m dlnsmm is what makes it mos g us.” “One of the unanswered challenges science” is seen by the Atlanta Jour- nal, which presents the question: “Why cannot submarines bc provided with some sort of signal to mark the position the water?” The Jcurnal continue: ubmarine discsters in the past years have taken about 725 lives. Brit- ish submarines have lost heaviest, with a total of 222 casualties, not counting the toll of the M-2, while other nation- alities have suffered as_foilows: anese, 134; America, Itahah, 81, and Russian. 75. In many cases prompt rescue werk and a means of communication would have saved the day.” Giving similar attention to the his- tory of such craft, the New Castle News says: “The M-2 began her life as the K-19. The K class of submarine has had an unlucky history. The K-1, K-4 and K17 were sunk in war time colli- sions. The K-13 sank in ancther acci= dent and the K-5 sank in the channel with the loss of 57 men. The M-1, sis- ter ship of the M-2, went down with the loss of 69 lives. A strange fate seems to be following the ships of the M-2's class.” arious theories about the M-2 are dismissed by the New London Day with the conclusion: “None of them will be of much use in guarding against futude disasters until the real facts are learned.” e Citizens Are Blamed For Organized Crime To the Editor of The Star: Generally speaking, a community gets exactly the kind of law enforcement it wants. Crime waves and organized crime flourisk: in cities that enjoy the reputation of winking at speakeasies and gambling dens. In short, the peo- ple themselves foster and support the breeding places of crime and then blame the police when such places spawn the ruthless gangster killer, who preys on the commurity when he is |not delivering liquor or dealing in & game. The existence of such places would be impossible if the community refused | to tolerate and support them. Permit me to quote from a lecture given the recruit school of the Washington police | force by Lieut. Harvey G. Callahan: “In every unsclved crime in our city there is somewhere a person who holds the key to the mystery—some one who 25 knowledge which if placed in the hands of the police would result in a clearing up of the case and bringing the criminal to justice. * * * These people |are not necessarily criminals them- | selves or in any way connected with the crime; they simply say, ‘Let the po- lice find out—they are paid for jt.” * * ¢ If our smug and complacent average citizen, who has his own bootlegger and | who likes to drop into a gambling house | which he has heen assured is ‘pro- tected by the police,’ would but stop to consider it is his money which helps the underworld to exist, and in recog- nizing this would withdraw his support, the so-called crime wave would be of short duration.” No one respects & stool pigeon, but it is a far cry from that wretched crea- ture to a community of outraged citi- zens who are willing to forego their small personal vices in order to stamp out the breeding places of crime, so that they and their families can feel reasonably secure in their persons and property either al home or abroad. It is up to the people of Washington. We have wealth and property here to be coveted. We have been free from bank failures and are in better economic condition than the average community, Gangsters from other cities will aug- ment the forces of crime if they know the | that we, as a community, patronize the t, inclusive authority, and underworld and tolerate its product. A police force ten times as large as our present one would be of no avail if the community does not lend its every sup- the hand and head of intel'i- readers of momen- port. If rou, personally, think there is no caue for alarm 24 the papers, ROBERT F. JONES,