Evening Star Newspaper, May 6, 1932, Page 8

B W | som of the baby, he took $100,000 frem THE EVENING STAR | With Sanday Morning Edition. — s WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY...........May 6, 1932 THEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company Business Office: Lt 8t and Penncylvania Ave, New York Office: 110 East 42nd Bt ghicase Office” Lake Michisan Building. u ce ent ropean 14 Rer . London, England. Rate by Carrier Within the City. Evening Star .45 per month e Evening and Bunday Siar (when 4 Bunday 60c per month The Evenin nday Siar ‘when § +...88¢ per month The Sunday 8¢ S per cony | Collection made st the end of each month. | ders may be sent in by mail or telephone Ational 5000, and und Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. {ly and Sunday.....1yr.$10.00; 1 mo.. 88c ally only S unday only .l. . $8.00: 1 mo., 80c 1yr. $4.06 1 mo. 40c All Other States and Canada. 17r. 33300 mo.. 81 Cllyr. $8.00: 1mo. 7! Iy only 500 1 mo.. 50¢ nday only’ Member of the Associated Press. The Associated Press is exclusively ertitled o the use for republication of all news dis Patehes credited 1o it gr not otherwise cred ited in this prper and also tne local news publisied herein. All rizhts of publication of special dispatches herein are &lso reserved. - = Tampering With the Army. | It is earnestly and urgently to be de- sired that Congress will scrutinize with the utmost czre the proposal of the House Appropriations Committee to | make sweeping reductions in the War Department budget. The projected re- moval of two thousand officers from the active list, with incidental decreases | bringing Army expenditures for 1933 $58,789,000 below current appropria- tions and $24.380.000 below budget esti- mates. deal the land establishment far more serious blows than may appear upon the surface. President Hoover himself, on numer- ous occasions, has deprecated the wis- dom of further skeletonizing our al- ready highly skeletonic standing Army or crippling its manifold peace-time activities at home and abroad. The American delegation at Geneva is at this moment putting forth and defend- ing the thesis that the United States has rothing to offer the rest of the world in the field of Jand dirarmament because the forces we malntain are already barely adequate for our re- quirements. By no stretch of the im- agination, this Government has fre- quently pointed out, can the American Army be considered a menace to any other country in the world. It is, on its face, probably the most purely de- fensive military organization in exist- ence; and certainly it is incomparably the smallest maintained by any first- class power. i It is a particular pity that it should be planned to minimize the usefulness of the Citizens’ Military Training Camps system and the Organized Reserves. ‘These institutions were created by the national defense act following the Great War and had the special approval of Gen. Pershing. No man knows so well the evils of unpreparedness, which chronically assail this country when & great emergency requires it to resort to arms. The elements which sleep- Jessly and systematically oppose keeping the United States in a state of rea- sonable readiness for such emergencies have always made the Citizens’ Military Training Camps and the Organized Re- serves the special targets of attack and abuse, contending that they are “breed- ers of the war spirit.” If these effective agencies for providing the Nation with a trained nucleus at times of unex- pected national crisis are done away with, in part or in whole, a very distinct and a very dangerous disservice will be rendered the country. President Hoover's ringing appeal to Congress to balance the budget by “a definite and conclusive program™ merits prompt and comprehensive attention. But it will be easy for the friends of the Army to quote the Commander in Chief's own views as to the inadvisibility and inadmissibility of tampering with the United States Army. e Peace pacts signed in hospitals| should stand as reminders to the Asiatic Coast of the desirability of effacing hostilities. ——— Means Makes More News. Eventually somebody will write “The Btrange Story of Gaston B. Means,” and if it tells the full tale of the career of this extraordinary person it will be one of the most interesting biographies ever compiled. And no more interesting chapter will it contain than that just disclosed incident to the arrest of this protean personage in connection with an attempt to redeem the undbergh‘ baby from its kidnapers. Means has been in public notice for nearly twenty years. Shortly after the break of the Great War he became the confidential agent of the German am- bassador to this country and his name cropped up in the news every now and then in that connection. In 1915 he attracted attention by complaining to the then collector of the port of New York that British warships were being | supplied from American ports, and also | that an American steel company was building submarines for Great Britain and assembling them in Canada. It is said that he was dropped from the Ger- man service for informing this Govern- ment that Germany was fomenting a ot to involve the United States in war with Mexico. He later was accused of the murder of a woman in North Cerolina and was acquitted on trial After the war he became & special| But that leadership has crumbled | agent of the Department of Justice, and | the late William J. Burns, testifying | before the Senate investigating com- | mittee inquiring into the Department ! of Justice, declared that Means was “one of the best investigators I ever knew.” BSince then he has served two terms in the penitentiary at Atlanta for violation of the prohibition laws and for attempted bribery. His latest bid for notoriety, if it may be called that in such a case, was the publication of a book pertaining to the late President Harding over his name, but from the pen of a “ghost writer.” who has since denounced the work 2s a tissue of fabrications. Until this present enter- prise in the kidnaping case, Means' only recent appearance in the public eye has been a contact with the Maryland po- lice due to certain domestic disturb- a - llll!ld to find the child or to return benevolent woman of this city and Now he is in jall under bail in an equal amount, It may be strange beyond understanding that such a person was selected in so deli- cate a mission, but theré is a certain adage relating to the catching of thieves that may have induced his choice. There is little likelihood that this epi- sode will climax the remarkable career of Gasten Means, who is still in the prime of life and who, if his luck ho'ds, is quite likely soon to enjoy full libert, for further amazing enterprise. e Mr. Hoover Speaks His Mind. The shell which lanced in Congress yesterday from the White House was not only well aimed. but well timed. the money. | The devastating effect of the explosion was due to the sound quality of the ammunition. Congress had just passed a pleasant day, the House disposing of the Muscle | Shoals leasing bill and the Senate lis- tening with customary respect and in- terest to Senator Borah's views on sil- ver, reparations, disarmament and “timid"” leadership. The President and economy and taxes had for the time being been forgotten when, without warning, the attack began. If it caught the Democratic leaders in House and Senate unaware, they did their best for a quick muster of forces and wits in counter attack. And this counter zattack is as ‘eshng as the thing that brought it on. The counter attack was I-veled, of course, at the President. He was, in terms suitably dignified for the occa- sion, roundly denounced for the mes- sage. But why? The message for the most part was a mere recitation of what everybody who has been following the proceedings of Congress during the last six weeks already knows. Its most blistering indictment was contained in this accurate and condensed statement of recent history: The manner in which the House of Representatives rejected both the rev- enue program proposed by the Treas- ury and the program unanimously re- ported by the Committee on Ways and Means; the charcter of the tex meas- ures passed: the aclion of the House | which would increase gavernmental ex- penditures by $132,000.000 for road building; the action further to enlarge expenditures in non-service connected benefits for the Veterans' Bureau at the very time when the House was re- fusing to remedy abuses in these same services: the virtual destruction of both the national economy program pro- posed by the executive officials and the program of the special House Commit- tee on Economy; the failure of the House to give adequate authority for early reduction of Government bureaus and commissions; the passage of leg- islation by the House placing burdens of impossible execution upon the Fe eral Reserve system over the protest of the Federal Reserve Board: the threat of further legislation looking to un- controlled inflation—have all resulted in diminishing public confidence and offsetting the constructive, unified ef- forts of the Executive and the Congress undertaken earlier in the year for re- covery of unemployment and agricul- ture. Senator Robinson in the Senate and Representative Rainey in the House were quick to reply. What was the nature of the reply? From Senator Robinson, a complaint that it was easier to say that the budget ought to be balanced than to balance it; that it was easler to speak in general terms than to suggest specfic sources, for in- stance, of taxable revenue; that one of the chief difficulties now encoun- tered in Congress results from the lack of accurate administration estimates of revenue needs. And in the House Mr. Rainey criticized the President along the same general lines, the absence of definite recommendations and the fact that the deficit began to accumulate nearly three years ago and nothing was done about it. “s * * There has never been a crisis in which the opposition party in Con- gress have given such helpful support to an administration in the enactment of legislation,” sald Senator Robinson And that statement, as far as pledges for support from the Democratic lead- ers in Congress is concerned, is a true statement. If the intentions of Demo- cratic leadership meant anything. the President's message would never have been sent. But can the Democratic leaders, or, for that matter, the Republican leaders in Congress, quibble over the declara- tion of fact in the President’s message? Is it true, or is it not true, that Con- gress has taken the bit in its teeth and gone on an unprecedented and leader- less rampage? Do the Democratic leaders in Congress indorse the farce that has been made of economy and the farce that is being made of raising revenue, the clamor for veterans' votes st the expense of the Treasury, the | leg pulling and log rolling disguised as revenue-raising taxation, the sehemes for starting the printing presses to in- fizte the currency? Responsible Democratic leadership in the House and Senate have from the beginning of this session sought, with a few exceptions, to forget party lines and to work for the Nation. It was & Democratic Ways and Means Commit- tee of the House that framed and re- ported a revenue bill drawn up along lines suggested by the administration. It was a Democrat who brought the House Economy Committee to the White House in non-partisan confer- ence. It was Democratic leadership in both Houses that fought for passage of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation legislation, the Glass-Steagall legisia- tion and other measures designed to aid recovery. and everybody knows it. The Presi- dent's message is a challenge to Con- gress to restore it, and there can be no reply until it has been restored. vt Psychoanalysis might have been of considerable adv.ntage if it could have been employed long ago to disclose the mental operations of Gaston B. Means. AR T (IR S Washington as World Figure. Just off the press in the National Capital is a significant publication en titled “Tributes from Many Lagds,” issued #s a Washington Bicentennial contribution by the Americanization School Association of the District of Columbia. Its tastefully printed and pleturesquely illustrated pages are filled with expressions of regard for George ances. Now this extraordinary individual is once more in the tolls of the law, ac- cused of “larceny after trust.” Claiming | Washington by spokesmen, past and present, of fifty-one different countries throughout the world. The Americanization Association, rep- THE EVENI 'members yield to no native son or daughter of America in reverent admi- ration of him who was first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen. The sponsors of | these “Tributes From Many Lands” are | hopeful that their publication, a unique | contribution to the literature of the bi- centenary era will find, as it deserves, & wide recepiisn by the American pub~ | le everywhere, Glancing through this genially ceived brochure, cne is struck forti i by the fact that George Washinzton as vcnerated as a world figure more {th-n a full century ago wherever civ ized man was extant. On February 8 11200, by com: I parte, a funeral oretion in Gen. Was: |ing on’s honor was delivered in the | Hotel des Invalides at Paris—the “Tem- ple of Mars” in which the great soldier- temperor himself now lies entcmbed Excerpts from that eulogy are repr. Cuced. We find that Simon Bolivar, South America’s George Washington, ccla‘med the North American patriot- statesman in an official communication to the Colombian Senate on June 4. 1826. Englishmen, while the wounds of the lost American war were still smarting, did not shrink from gene lauda- tion of its hero. Between the covers of the Americanization Association's beoklet are an ode to Washington Lord Bvron, a panegyric on his virtues from the European Ma; and Lendon Review of March, 1800, and a n5 less fervent estimat> of his achicy {m'nts and character from the Annual | Register of Lendon, dated 1799 A i strictly up-to-date appreciation of the Father of his Country is the address !brondeast to the United States on February 22 of this year by President Masaryk of Crechoslovakia. The American people are drenched and deluged with Washingtoniana in this year of bicentenarian grace. Noth- ing 50 truly demonstrative of the esteem in which the founder of Amer- these They | has been vouchsafed us “Tributes From Many Lands. are entitled to take their place in the Nation's annals. as o Many Italian citizens believe that it is time to dispense with Mussolini. | The hint dropped in the ardor of senatorial interchange that this coun- try may need such a man will hnml!‘l be taken so seriously as to encourage new hopes in Il Duce, should problems of unemployment reach him in a per- | sonal way. 2 —_—a———— Cheaper money and more of it may | be regarded with hope unless produc- tion becomes 50 discouraged as to make | it necessary to follow the ancient Chi-! nese practice of going to market with coins strung on cords & yard or so in length. —r———— A little number like 13 used to hold superstitious respect as indicating bad luck. In transactions involving dollars nefariously handled. the leading un- lucky figure is now no less than 100,000. S, An important and hopeful word was contributed by th> late President War- ren G. Harding when he mentioned “normalcy” as an object to be sought by this Natlon and in fact by the entire world. R Prudence might suggest to Al Ca- pone that he demand being held in- communicado so that he can no longer come automaticelly under suspicion as a “master mind" whenever a sensa- tional crime is perpetrated. ) If disorderly impulses continue to develop in the United States Capitol, a place in either of the galleries may be more coveted than a ringside seat at less distinguished contentions. e I nd of Napolcon Bona-| ican freedom is held by all m-n'x'lndi which | &s if there were no truer maxim in the NG STAR, WAS THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. We see that James Truslow Adems, | the historian. is going to write & new Inarrative history of America in two | volumes. Evidently the suthor of “The Epic of America” learned so much about his native land that he feels the urge to write more. I Thus 1t always is with writing. What | the reader may get out of it is but a part of whet the writer gets out of it. | No matter how fine a book strikes a reader, he may feel sure that the author found it finbr. | ‘Matthew Josephson, who wrote that excellent biography, “Zola and His | Times," no doubt knows a great deal {more about Emile Zola than he put in his book. and could write another equally fat volume about him upon de- mand Every writer perpetuclly educates | himself by his writing; he is fortunate, in that Le can pass on some of his learning to others. in the form of print | Not every human beinz who knows | something or other has this cpportunity. * % % | Tne relationship of reader to writer— any reader to any writer—remains one ! of the most interesting relationships in | the whole range of mind impact on mind. | There is about it, first of all, none | of the necessity which, in so many other | of the relationships of life, leads on to ! compulsion With several historic exceptions, there | have been few books or writings of any | kind which have been forced upon reader | ©One is free to read or not. and if one reads, it is presumable that he rezds because he wants to read. He may read beczuse some one has recommended the book or article to him; he may read .h-v;msv‘ it is the fashion at the time. or he may read out of sheer curiosity, but |1t is safe to say that in each and every |case his main reason for reading is | simply this: | He wants to! * ok x % Thus a reader comes to a writer—any reader to any writer—without any bit- terness of compulsion in his mind, that |§harp taste which has been swaliowed by so many countless millions through- jout history, in all walks of life, but never went down willingly or antly. Reading Is free of it and therefore & certain nobility which some other ccupations lack. Even children resent | e which are “for their own | 7 are told. ds, he reads because he wants to—at least that is the presump- tion, and in an amazing number of it will be so. It will be found that mind calls to mind; that is, like minds call to like minds, It will be found that the vast major- ity of readers have a decent and whole- | some respect for such writers as they | read. This is another fine element in | their relationship. Not always in this world does acquaintanceship make for respect. Indeed, at times, especially during the past decade, it has. seemed pl world than that | contempt.” It is a harsh saying, it is true, and one which the world of men willingly “familiarity breeds | would not believe. -Actual living, how- | ever. often proves its truth and in the most amazing ways. Small irritations, | magnified by lack of real knowledge, re- sult in something dangerously bordering on contempt. * % x & Lack of actual physical contact, there- fore. may be regarded as one of the best features of the writer-reader relation- rhip. For that resson one may question tie naive desire on the part of so many readers to become personally acquainted | with famous autho While this desire is human, as we | sy, it may be submitted that it strikes | at the root of one of the best features of their mutual relationship, for it ! | ©Ohio, birthplace of the Anti-Saloon League of America, is holding next | Tuesday what amounts to & prohibition referendum. In both the Republican gubernatorial and senatorial primaries orys and wets are pitted against one | telligence solel HINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, . TRACEWELL. changes the point of contact from the mind to the body. ‘Whatever cne may think of the re- spoctive merits of mind and body. of intelligence and matter, as some put it. there can be litt e question that a cer- tain “stond-offisaness” is helpful and should never be viclated when there is no necessity for violation, In other words, since lack of physical acquaintanceship is one of the beiter ts in the reiationship of writer and reader—any writer and any reacer—he | is a foolish reader. indeed, who delib-! erately goes out of his way to meet A writer. All he gains thereby, if gain it may be celled, is the opportunity of disliking the fellow! For what happens is that the reletionship, formerly based on in- changes immediately | to a mixed rclationship, partly base on physical matters, such as tone of | voice, personal appearance, even the crease or lack of crease in trousers. * x % Now what has a crease, or its lack, in a pair of trousers, got to do w h‘ whether some one has studied a subject end knows more about it than he can put on paper? It has nothing to do with it, of course, but unfortunately some people will let such things influence them, after they have seen some one that they ought not | to have seen, but should have kept at a good distance for their own peace of mind We can recall hearing a lady tell #bout going to a lecture by m promi- nent German author. German writers | do not give as many lectures in Amer- | ica as English writers, and this one did not even know the language very well. Pretiously the lady had been one of the man’s most fervent admiress. She could scarcely wait from one book to another. To hear her talk about him a listener got the impression that he was a combination of Goethe, Shake- speare and Ernest Hemingway, all rolled into one. We sow her several days after the lecture. “Well, how did you like him?" we asked. “He was terrible” she said. with that peculiar inflection on the last word which is a strictly madern ac- complishment. “Why, he eouldn't even speak English!” “What did he say?" uldn't uncerstand a w v else could, eiths she replied. mourn- fully. And we could see that another idol had fallen. * Two other fine points in the rela- tionship of writer and reader zre, first, the generous idea, on the part of the latter, that the former actually knows & great deal, and, second, & sin- cere admiration for what he achieves. This belief in the special knowledge of the writer is more oiten correct than not. It comes about, as we attempted to show at the beginning of this article, in the case of Mr. Adams, because a writer must leave out, in the interest of good writing, many facts and fancies. Sometimes he finds it necessary, as in the case of Mr. Adams, to write again on the same subject to incorpo- | rate what he was forced to leave out | * ok x }l MAY 6, 1932. “The Man With the Hoe” To the Editor of The Star: A letter, published in The Star on the 29th of April, denounces Ford's “larm-factory” plan as faulty eco- nomically because it fails to make an cconomic slave of everybedy. Poor gic is prevalent these days and panaceas are numerous. But the surpassed in stupidity this attack upon fundamental freedom. Mr. Ford’s plan is not new, but it is a credit to Mr. Ford to support it. The factory workers of Beolgium and France have recently saved themselves mise’ y—whereas the less wise workers of America, England and Germany have found it—by maintaining small truck gardens to help out the family budget and, if neceseary, to prevent starvation. incollapsibly sound unemployment in- furance—for that is what Mr. Ford's plan really is—has found enemies among thote who conceive the average man’s sole function and primary pur- pose to be that of a consumer of goods, products and articles emitted by this gigantic econcmic machine, which at present has run amuck. How narrow @ mind has the fiend who thus en- visions man! How perfect & descrip- tion of such a man is Markham's ?Irul masterpiece “The Man With the 0e.” What is & farmer for? Is he made in order that he may slave all his life to grow all the soil will give him, so that he may buy sustenance for longer slavery? Is a factory worker created | that he may slave in a factory for | wages which enable him to consume vhat the farmer slaves to produce? Must such men’s sole ambition be to increase the mutual drudgery? And must each never change from the same monotonous drudgery because changes are inefficient? Must all men plice thelr reifance for livel::ood upon a sin- gle type of slavery? The man who denounces Ford's plan says “yes” to every question. If this is our sole solution let us have Communism. It will let us con- sume more, that we may slave more. Or, better yet, let us all jump off the top of the Washington Monument! Man is luckily, however, something more than a mere consumer. He is & creature that deserves a freedom, an independence, and a bit of color and tone in his life, Save us from those whose economic laws make us slaves of efficiency. When we see the victims of such flends, we ask, as Markham: “Who made him dead to rapture and despair? Whose breath blew out the light within this brain? How will the future reckon with this man?” And we will feel perhaps, as Mark- ham cid, that this, More filled with censure of the world's biind greed, More filled with signs and portents for the soul, More fraught with menace to the uni- verse.” JOHN M. COURT. . ——— | Discretionary Authority Essential in Reductions To the Editor of The Star: before. He is a specialist and necessarily | knows more on his specialty. or spe- | clalties, than the average person who has not made his particular investi- | gations or spent the same amount of time mulling over certain ideas. | ‘Admiration is given to writers by renders because the human mind, in! the abstract, is generous. It wants to admire, to think highly of. because such an_ attitude is a compliment both to writer and reader. “How do you do it?” a question often asked a writer, is a sincere tribute. As long as men write and men read it will sound plesant in the writing ear. WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. Dawes stunt in arguing the impropriety of undermining our already dangerously skeletonized military establishment. Gen. Pershing holds strong views on the American people’s incorrigible habit |of letting national defense go to pot | after their wars. That's been the un- | varying custom of the country from +the Revolution down to this day. Per- | shing considers it = pernicious and commander-in- another. Because of its ancient alle- kiance to the water wagon, the Buck- eye vote will be watched with more than passing interest. The Hoover habit. The delegates to the Natlonal Convention, having been hand-picked by Postmaster General Walter F. Brown, will be a Enormous sums have been spent in trying to recover the Lindbergh baby, with benefit only as reminders of the affection and sympathy of which hu- manity is capable. —— vt SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. The Friendly Flowers. Sometimes I'd like to stop awhile And interview the flowers ‘That greet us with a merry smile Among the Mayday bowers. We welcome them as comrades gay. And then we sadly note That on the topics of the day They haven't any vote. They are idealistic friends, So gentle and so true. Each one his loyalty extends, No matter what you do. But in this modern hour of stress When earnest words men quote, We must forget them more or less— They haven't any vote, Band Wagons. “The old band wagon isn't what it used to be,” sald Senator Sorghum. “Have the gangsters tried to get hold of it>” “Yes. At present you can't be sure whether it's going to serenade you or take you for a rid Jud Tunkins says a race horse never bets, even on himself; and maybe that's what folks mean when they talk about horse sense. Human Improvement. I'm glad that times have changed. 80, one day, To some Pacific Isle for rest and play. If T had ventured there long years ago, ‘The natives would have eaten me, I know. m Sentimentality. “You seem sad,” said the pilot. “Not exactly sad,” answered Miss Cayenne. “Only sentimental. Every time I get this far from earth, I begin to feel terribly homesick.” “A sad demeanor,” sald Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “is of assistance to " Versatility. My radio! My radio! You lend to life a happy glow. ‘When you're sublime, I like you thus; Also, when you're ridiculous. But when you tell of contests rough I'm grieved to hesr you “talking tough.” “Dese politicians,” said Uncle Eben, ledge of the identity of the Lind- | resentative of foreign-born citizens of | “is workin' de old elephant an’ donkey M-QMMI& them and negotiate contact the United States, offers the compilation so hard dat it seems time foh de Tan- as & token of the proud fact that its 8. P, O. A. to take nobody; save possibly an undertaker.”| plank is concerned. Assistant Secre- tary of the Navy David 8. Ingalls is running for the Republican guberna- torial nomination as a wet against bone-dry former Gov. Miles Cooper and Onio Secretary of State Clarence Brown, who is almost a dry. In the Republican senatorial primary Attorney General Gilbert Beetman, an outright advocate of repeal, is matched against L. J. Taber, master of the National Grange, who was put in the race by the Anti- Saloon League and has its solid sup- port. il s Acclaimed as an “unnamed presi- dential possibility,” Justice Benjamin' N. Cardozo, baby member of the United States Supreme Court, is the latest Democrat to be honorably mentioned for his party's consideration at Chi- cago in June. The suggestion was launched at a recent meeting of the Woman's National Democratic Club in Washington. It originates with a prominent Maryland Democrat, Mrs. Wilbur W. Hubbard of Chestertown. on the Eastern Shore. Mrs. Hubbard thinks that Justice Cardozo's detach- ment from the controversies of the hour, his militant liberalism, his bril- liant record at the bar and on the bench and the special appeal he would make to progressives in both parties single him out as uniquely worthy of presidential honors. * X % % Senator Prederick Hale, Republican, of Maine, now in the midst of his valiant fight for the treaty Navy, was accosted by a woman tourist in the Capitol one day this week. She was evidently a stranger on the Hill and didn’t know her way about. “Can you tell me the way to the House?” she asked. Mr, Hale gave the neces- sary directions, whereupon the woman said: “Oh, thank you. I do hope it's more interesting over there than it is in the Senate. Why, those fellows Jook to me as if they'd just been dug up!” * K % % There has just been an interesting. though accidental, little reunion at the German embassy in Washington. A visitor in the city is Dr. Wolff, dis- tinguished editor of Germany's leding medical publication—the Deutsche Medi- zinische Wochenschrift. He dropped in at the embassy to pay his respects to Ambassador Prittwitz, but without an- nouncing himself in advance. To Dr. Wolf’s astonishment, the young Ger- man doorman, immediately the caller crossed the threshold, ejaculated: “Good day, Herr Doktor.” to be recognized, the latter replied: “Well, evidently I was expected.” at- tndant, now standing at salute, said: “Oh no, Herr Doktor. Don't you re- member the corporal in your medical detachment in France?” Dr. Wolff re- called him at once, and then there was a pleasant period of war reminiscences fore the visitor was ushered upstairs. * % % % It's too bad Gen. Pershing isn't in the country to lead the drive against the posed ruthless siashing of the Army udget. The House Appropriations Com- mittee’s heavy cuts in the funds for Citizens' Military Training Camps and the Organized Reserves strike at the foundations of the national defense act, passed in 1920 under our World War leader's active on. The chances are that would not hesitate, if he had the L 1o 80 to Capitol Hill and » vigorous solid resubmission delegation at Chi- | cago, as far as the G. O. P. liquor | perilous chief of the A. E F. arrived in France this week for his annual tour of in- spection as chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission. x x x “Japan Speaks on the Sino-Japange: Crisis” is a book just written by K. K. Kawakami, Washington correspondent | of the Tokio Hochi Shimbun. It con- |tains an introduction by ‘Tsuyoshi | Inukai, prime minister of Japan, who | says: “Japan is not imperialistic. She is not actuated by land lust. She has not deliberately embarked upon a course of aggression. All that the Japanese desire in Manchuria is to live and toil peacefully and harmoniously with other peoples. Only when that privilege, to which we are fully entitled by treaty and by the great sacrifice we had made for China, was persistently denied us through 30 years' deliberate policy of obstruction and exclusion did we resort to an armed intervention, which seemed the only means to cut the Gordian knot. |This, I am sure, will be appreciated | when the world is in a position to look at the stirring events of these days | through the perspective of history.” Author Kawakami is married to an American woman. He ranks as Japan's foremost authority on affairs in the United States. . ! * % President Hoover isn't likely to ac- commodate Senator Tydings, Demo- cratic wet, of Maryland by disclosing his prohibition views—at least. not just now. The big chief is talking freely enough with White House callers about the burning issue, but not for publica- | tion, nor, as yet, with any clear indica- | tion of his 1932 stand is going to be. The best bet is that Mr. Hoover ‘Will succeed in bottling up his liquor | leanings until just before the zero hour of battle at Chicago next month. The two ‘Walters—Brown of the Post Office, and Newton, of the White House—will be | the custodians of the presidential pro- | hibition secret at the convention. | * K o % | If Gov. Roosevelt moves to Washing- ton next March, he’ll find a full-fledged uncle and first cousin waiting for him | here. The uncle is Col. Frederic A. ! Delano, prominent Capital lawyer, who is a brother of the Governor's mother. ‘Warren Delano Robbins, social arbiter of the White House and State Depart- ment. is the Governor’s cousin. Their mothers are sisters. Roosevelt's middle name, §s nearly everybody knows, is Delano. (Copyright, 1932.) ——— Capone Is Overrated And Deserves Sentence To the Editor of The Star: Reference is made in your editorial | column of May 3 to the shrewdness of one “Al Capone.” I have been dealing | with the underworld for 22 years and I have never known a man to be as much cverrated at Capone. His power is not one cne-hundredth part as great as many think and believe it is. He has | made money out of the bootleg busi- ness, has the nerve to take the chance, | had his choice and lost. He knows no more about the Lind- | bergh case than I do. I lived in Chi- cago 10 years and I still keep in touch ‘with Chicago. ‘The 1d is uno; (5% Unless a discretionary power of se- lection is granted heads of Federal de- partments, offices and services in drop- ping employes as the result of pending legislation, impairment of ency, great personal hardship. and eveh trag- | edy, may result; also some remarkable anomalies, Waiving the question whether, in dropping employes, it is wise or safe to take into account considerations other than demonstrated efficiency, what if the combined salaries of husband and wife, both in the Federal service, total no more than & moderate living? Pro- vided a woman has a husband who is regularly in receipt of a salary, what difference is there, in principle, whether the husband's employment is under the Federal Government or outside? Yet, under the terms of the legislation pro- posed in the pending pay-cut measure, in one case the woman faces dismissal and not in the other. What if, in group of employes from which a dis- missal is necessary, the person in best financial ecircumstances is unmarried, whose salary represents either pocket money or pin money, depending upon the sex of the recipient, and efficiency is practically equal? What if the per- son who must be dropped has a service of over 20 years, which, in the event of separation, will count for very little under the Federal retirement law, but who has had little chance to lay some- ‘hing by? Turning to the second class, what if the “superannuate” (and one may come within this category at as low an age as 62) is the most valuable employe in an entire muY or office, In full physi- cal ang mental vigor, and, in addition, equipped with a body of knowledge and experience of much value and to be at- tained only by years of service? Dis- carding such a person is akin to throw- ing away gold or silver ore after all the trouble of digging it from the ground; in short, sheer economic waste, incon- sistent with regard for economy and ef- ficiency in the Federal service. The Federal retirement law recognizes this, and makes provision for it. Surely there should be lodged in re- sponsible Government heads a discre- tionary authority in these matters, so that the best interests of the Nation may be safeguarded. GEORGE A. WARREN. r——— Declares for Home Stage Talent and Home Goods To the Editor of The Star: I think it is time some one protested against s> many foreign actors and actresses being brought into this coun- try. We have beauty and talent here in our own United- States which, if given an opportunity, would equal or perhaps excel the highly paid, over- estimated and unappreciative actors and actresses brought here from abroad and who return to their own ccuntry as soon as they have made a fortune ere, Do you think that Sweden, Germany or France would employ American tal- ent to the extent that we have? No, they would not, and it is ridiculous that the producers tclerate such nonsense as “I go home,"” which they have constant- ly heard from one foreign actress, un- known until she was brought over here and elevated and rated as & star. I will not go to see another picture in which a foreign actor or actress plays the leading role and I will be in- strumental in getting my many friends and acquaintances to support my pro- posal. Not only that; I will go a step farther; I will demand that all goods purchased, as nearly as possible, be made in America. How y of you true Americans will do the le? ALTA B. PARRISH. “Congressor” Proposed For U. S. Representatives To the Editor of The Star: People call a member of the United States Senate a Senator. Would it not be a good idea to call a member of Congress a Congressor (accent on the first and second syllables) ? Sometimes a newspaper calls a woman member of Congress a Congresswoman and other times it calls her a Congress- man. Congressor would be an appropriate name for a member of Congress, the same as Senator is for a member of the United States Senate. THOMAS CONNORS. Watervliet, N. Y. - R War and Taxes. Prom the Minneapolts Journal, ‘The i oul e us mdu of sprea s Ford’s Plan Approved by| wildest vagary of a rabbie rouser never ¢ This unassailable, fundamentally and | “There is no shape more terrible than | | ! SWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘When troublesome questions avail yourself of the service of partment. It costs you noth have only to send 2 cents for post on the personal letter y ill rec in reply. Any question on any of fact will be answered. Address lstter of inquiry to TMe Evening itar Information Bureau, Frederic J. Has- kin, Director, Washington, D. C. 1 Q. What proportion of the world’s telephone systems are connected with the United States?—S. N. B A. Americans can now talk with 92 per cent of the telephones in the world There_were 35,336,467 telephones in the entire” world on January 1. 1931. Of these, 20,201,576 were in the United States. Q. How sre the Philippines gov- erned’—R. 8. A. The Philippine Islands are a de- pendency of the United States, having been ceded by the treaty of Paris, 1898 following the Spanish-American War. The Philippines are governed by = Legislature consisting of an Upper and a Lower House. The Governor General, who is at the head of the islands, is ap- pointed by the President of the United States. All the cabinet heads, except the secretary of public instruction, are Filipinoe. Two resident commissioners to the United States are elected by the Legislature, Q. With what were Gideon's 300 fol- lowers armed?—D. E. A. Each was armed with a sword trumpet and earthen pitcher contain- ing & lamp. Q. What is it about an airplane which makes the roaring noise’—E. R A. The primary source of noise in an airplane is the propeller and the sec- ondary source is the engine. Q. How do the number of twins and triplets born in this country compare with the total birth rate?—C. M A. In 1928, in the birth registration area, there were 2208.784 births. Of these there were 25,619 cases of twin births, 285 of triple births and 1 quad- ruple birth. Q. How many people attended the Columbian Exposition in 1893?—T. J. L. A. The number of paid admissions during the 179 days which the Colum- bian Exposition was open to the public was 21,477.218. It must be remembered that many people attended more than once. Q. What is Whitby jet>—H. 8 A. Jet s a mineral which is found In compact masses so hard and solid as to be susceptible of being turned on a lathe and manufactured into orna- mental articles. It has_been worked for centuries at Whitby. England. The | fet industry is practically located in the | Whitby district. | Q. Was Alexander Hamilton ever[ offered a seat on the bench of the United States Supreme Courl?—H.i A G A. He declined the position of Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Q. How much was the post office business augmented at Santa Claus, Ind, at Christmas time?—A. K. A The Post Office Department says that during the Christmas holidays the | Santa Claus post office, in Indiana, | handled approximately 150000 pieces of mail. The receipts totaled $1.552.75. | This amount of business was an in-| crease of about 700 per cent over the business done the remainder of the year. Q will tim W. E. H. A. Adobe houses have stood for hundreds of years. The secret of lon- gevity is a dry stone foundation, be- | cause moisiure absorbed from the ground or from a defective roef is the arise, his de- ou adobe houses last & long E H chief cause of the crumbling of adobe walls. Q. Are the t per diem G th g expenses of & rvice employe paid oy th m 0.C. G A A per diem Pederal Government e itled to Government portation if he is properly ordered avel on official Government busi- nd the transportation order di- g his travel provides for the pay- of his expenses. long {5 the longest oil pipe line in the iited States?’—A. 8. A It rea from Oklahoma to Buffalo, N . a distance of approxi- mately 1.200 miles. This line connects with other lines running to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of four or five hundred miles more. Who built the fort at Chef Men- >—E. J. D. Gen. Jackson ordered the erec- of a battery at the confluence of Chef nt and Bayou in Louisiana in 1814. Two 'S d a battalion under Maj. Lacoste w re. A close redoubt surrounded with a fosse was erected according to a plan wn by Maj. Latour in compliance with Gen Jackson’s orders. This was referred to as Post Chef Menteur. Q. Do_the Japanese frame their prints?—W. McC. A. While, a few years ago, framed res were never seen in Japanese times are changing. and some Q How r paper ers at each end and cord at the top for hanging. Q. How many steam locomotives op- erate in the United States and how much does their coal cost?—J. C. F. A. In 1930 there were 57,807 steam locomotives gperating in the United States. The cost of locomotive fuel in 1930 totaled $290,208.661. Q. When is the new Shakespears Library in Washington open?—T. A. It is open Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Priday, from 9 until 4:30; Saturday from 9 until 1 It is closed on Sunday. For what use were Indian mounds built?>—S. F. D. A. Archelogical excavations of In- dian mounds have led to the conclusion seem to have been v of uses. Some of ces, others founda- while still The most used for sacrificial d other religious purposes. In many of the tribes the custom obtained of col- lecting the bones of the dead, cleaning them carefully and piling them in & common grave, over which a mound was erected. designed for them were burial tiens for edifi served as for tentlous were s, esses How many maple trees are tapped for sugar in the United States?—M. E B. A. In 1930 a total of approximately 14,500,000 trees were tapped; 2,590,000 pounds of maple sugar produced, and 3,980,000 gallons of maple sirup made. Q. Why does a bullet wabble?—C. A. The Department of War says that a bullet wabbles because no bullet has been made, or can be made, to be per- fectly balanced about the axis of spin. Further, in shooting a bullet from s rifle, there is always some deviation of {the axis of spin from the axis of the bore. Still further, the bullet is a gyro- scope and acts like one. Q. When was the University of Paris founded? -B. W. A. Tradition says that the University of Paris dates from 780, but authentic annals seem to commence about 1107. Dark Horse for Recent primary results in the Demo- cratic party, especially in New Eng- land and Pennsylvania, arouse new speculation as to the nomination, chief | Democrats Placed Among Possibilities sufficlent elther to veto the Roosevelt nomination or to dictate the nomina- tion of some one else.” The Asbury Park Press (independent Democratic) be- among which is the thought that a |lieves that the Bay State result “does dark horse may be chosen as the party | standard bearer. Much attention is given to Massachusetts, with i mafjority for Smith, while his large mi- nority vote in Pennsylvania is consid- ered impressive. “There will be a convention instead of a ratifying ceremony when the ! Democratic hosts meet «t Chicago,” says Akron Beacon Journal (in- dependent Republican), while the Jer- | sey City Journal (independent Repub- lican) remarks: “As to whether Smith | or Roosevelt would stand the better | chance of winning against Hoover, in | up as to give the Roosevelt opposition new spirit.” sald that Smith stuck a spoke in the wheels.” the event that no compromise man can be found, that is a problem for the wiseacres.” “Those who, while not opposed to Gov. Roosevelt, still are not con- vinced that he is the best man avail- able,” according to the Morgantown Dominion-News (independent), “will be | glad that the situation now so shapes | “The issue” in the opinion of the | Rochester Times-Union (independent), | “is not so much directly between Smith and Roosevelt, as whether the lcaders who do not want the New York Gov- emor nominated can prevent the | Roosevelt bandwagon getting under way. Tuesday's primaries were not de- | cisive as to this, but it can certainly be * x o x “Whatever happens at Chicago, Smith will never be nominated.” pro- claims the Lynchburg News (Demo- cratic), while the Milwaukee Journal (independent) states: “The question really is, Shall the Democrats bow to & minority representing whoever and whatever interests Mr, Smith and Mr. Raskob represent in this year of 1932? If they do, & disgusted public is likely to say, ‘Hoover is a washout, but what is offered that is better?' " ‘The situation is interpreted by the Birmingham Age-Herald (Democratic) with the statement: “ on the heels of the bad impression made by his ‘little man’ appeal, Roosevelt's utter fallure in Massachusetts and his ina- bility to make a decided showing in Pennsylvania must be interpreted as depriving him of a certain glamour which his earlier success gave him. H~ is still very much in the running, but he no longer seems to be the man of destiny. The outlook now is that, while | he will garner many more delegates. he will not go into the convention trailing clouds of glory. And that should sig- | nify that among other men, Young, Traylor, Baker, will be found the Dem- | ocratic leader for 1932." “When it is reflected that Smith has been defeated in New Hampshire, iu | Minnesota, in Maine, in Wisconsin, and in the single contested district in New York, all of which were swept by Roosevelt.,” says the Atlanta Journal (Democratic), “his success in the Bay State sinks into relative insignificance.” That paper concludes: “Gov. Roosevelt maintains his leadership in Democ- racy's national fleld and continues the | only candidate for the y's presi- dential nomination who more than a local or factional following. Lonz ago Smith was elimirated as a serious contender. None of the intrigues to ‘stop’ Roosevelt has found suppce® in | the party's ranks. Evidently he is the | man cf the hour and the Democrat for | America.” * E o % “The honors of the day must be con- | ceded to Mr. Smith, though his own prospect for getting the coveted nomli- nation is not materlally better,” thinks the Roanoke Times (Democratic) while ‘Times (independent Dem- that “the Smith group Mkely to be & lsgge sme, | (Democratic) not offer sufficient grounds for the fore- cast that Gov. Rocsevelt will not win the Democratic nomination.” The Ok- lahoma City Times (independent) holds that “the likelihood of Smith's nomina- | tion remains about as remote as ever.” Reviewing the conditions in various States, particularly the existence of fa- vorite sons, with the votes that they have gathered, the Omaha World-Her- ald (independent Democratic) says: “In the great Central States, in the West, in the border States and in the South party leaders want a candidate who is widely popular, who can win, and who can help them carry their own States. Roosevelt, who satisfies the progressive aspirations of the day, fits in with that description. He will come to the con- vention with a clear majority, if not on the first ballot. then on early succeed- ing ballots. The logic of the situation clearly indicates his nomination.’ Prospects of the selection of a com- promise candidate are emphasized by the Rock Island Argus (independent), the Milwaukee Sentinel (independent), the Haverhill Gazette (independent Re- publican) and the St. Louis Times (Re- publican), while the Scranton Times is convinced that “no candidate will Rave 2 controlling vote in advance of the convention proper.” The New Orleans Times - Picayune (Democratic) suggests: “Whether a deadlock and a long convention fight would advantage the party and better its chance of victory in November is & question to which millions of Demo- crats doubtless are giving present and ixious thought.” ‘The result changes the character of the Democratic campaign,” states the San Francisco Chronicle (independent Republican), while the Oakland Tribune (Republican) says that it “strengthens the belief that the Democratic conven- tion in Chicago is going to afford the delegates and the Nation many inter- esting moments."” % “It is inconceivable,” according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (independ- ent Democratic), “that any candidate can win in the early balloting In the convention if he is confronted by a se- rious contest. Such a contest confronts the Roosevelt candidacy, and its very existence, leaving aside any considera- tions of actual! votes alienated before the convention by the contestants, dims the possibility of final nomination. Thus there rises before the eyes of Garner supporters a new and inspiring prospect of victory. If Roosevelt cannot win early, the probabilities of his win- ning at all are greatly reduced. If Roosevelt cannot win, the man who | keeps him from winning will not be | permitted to win himself. If neither of the two avowed and active pre-conven- tion candidates can win, the field is open for strong men of the party who have not been active candidates. Of this list, the position of none is half as strong as that of John Nance Garner, Speaker of the House, whose national prestige has grown impressively in re- cent months.” “The net result,” in the judgment of the Houston Chronicle (Democratic), “is that the field for the Democratic nomination is left open. With Ohio, Indiana, Illinois Maryland, Virginia, Texas, Missouri. Oklahoma and possibly California backing candidates other than either Rocsevelt or Smith, thete 18 plenty of opportunity for Ritchie, Byrd, Young, Traylor, Garner or vari- ous other leaders yet to be the choice of the party. This gives all the more reason for the Texans backing the Garner candidacy to organize well for him, ‘They should be prepared to stay by him at the national convention through lh‘lhck and thin. And in the meantime the Texas conventions should speak for him with united voice.” ’\