Evening Star Newspaper, May 17, 1932, Page 8

A—S — e e = '“l THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. TUBSDAY.........May 17, 1032 THEEODORE W. NOYES....Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company 116 8t "abd Peonsvivania Ave. e Yotk Shfce: 110 East dand 8 cago Office: Lake “ltmltsuflfllnl. opean Office: 14 Regent A, Londol glan Rate by Carrier Within the City. ening Star 45e per month e Ran 4 Bundars) e ot 60c per month The Evening and Surday Biaf unday Sunday Star Collection made 4 Qrders may be gent in by mail or telephoue NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virgipia. {ly and Sunday. Eg only .. ay only Member of the Associated Press. ‘The Associnted Press is exclusively ertitled to the use for republication of all news dis- Y'm’" credited to it or not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the local news published “herein. All rights of publication of Epecial dispatches herein are also reserved. _— A Patriotic Program. Alfred E. Smith, titular head of the Democratic party, in & radio address delivered last night to the people of the country, cast politics aside and laid down a program in the interests of the American people, In many of his pro- posals the former Governor of New York was entirely sound. Some of them, however, may send cold shivers up and down the backs of members of Congress, both Democrats and Repub- licans, members who are calculating how many votes they can obtain from organized minorities of the people. For example, Mr. Smith shoots boldly at the proposal to pay in full the sol- diers’ bonus at this time, and follows up that attack by assailing the pay- ment of large sums to hundreds of thousands of war veterans whose dis- abilities resulted from other than war service. Mr. Smith, Mme President Hoover, demanded that partisan politics be eliminated from the consideration of vital relief measures before Congress. Indeed, many of his demands upon Congress are in line with recommen- dations made by the Chief Executive. The titular heads of the two major political parties are united in urging that the Government's budget be promptly balanced to maintain the credit and financial stability of the country. They both demand rigid governmental economy and the reor- ganization of the Federal departments. Mr. Smith insists that such reorgani- gation is a function of the executive branch of the Government, not the legislative, and that the President should be empowered by Congress to bring about reorganization. Both are sligned against the further payment of the soldiers’ bonus at this time and in favor of cuts in the payments made to veterans under the many amendments to the veterans’ relief legislation which have been put through Congress to ob- tain special benefits for men who did not receive their injuries in war service. ‘There are differences in the programs of Mr. Smith and Mr. Hoover, as well as simillarities. Mr. Smith reiterated his demand for & huge public works program to be financed by a bond issue, a program which has been so far re- gisted by President Hoover. Mr. Smith s out in favor of legalization of and & tax on beer. If President Hoover has any such plan in mind, it has not been revealed. And Mr. Smith renews his recommendation that the payment of war debts to this country be suspended for twenty-five years, with & chance for the debtor nations to reduce their in- debtedness in the ratio of their pur- chases of goods from the United States during the moratorium period. Presi- dent Hoover has taken a stand against debt cancellation. ‘With a boldness for which Mr. Smith has always been known during his long political career, the Democratic leader calls upon the Congress to repeal the legisiation by which it tied President Hoover's hands and prevented him from acting promptly in connection with the war debts to this country at the close of the present moratorium. Such legis- lation, Mr. Smith declares, “leaves the country without & spokesmsn at & critical time.” He has, indeed, outlined & course devold of partisan politics, & course which may never be followed by the Democrats in Congress, but which does credit to the far-sightedness of Mr. Bmith as well as to his patriotism. ‘The former New York Governor dealt with the pending Federal tax bill with- out gloves. “I believe,” he said, “In the general manufacturers’ sales tax to meet the emergency. I think it was & mis- take for Congress to turn it down.” In 8 few brief sentences Mr. Smith sketch- ed the real effect of such a tax on a man with $1,000 to spend during a year, | showing that at most the tax would cost him no more than $8, & sum which any man could spare to his country in s crisis. And following up the tax problem, Mr. Smith, asserting that all his life he had stood by the man of | limited means, denounced the slogan “In erder to make up the deficit—soak the rich.” “That,” he continued, | “means soak capital, and you cannot soak capital without soaking labor at| the same time.” If Mr. Smith were in the White House today many of the Democ: its in Congress would be in for | » sound drubbing at the hands of the Chief Executivz, R Delegates who convene in hot weather are paturally expected to become inter- ested in iced beverages, even to the polnt of sentimental noe, e stockholders’ meeting has been ordered and in all probability will be held. If any action is taken on anything, the Public Utili- ties Commission will have been openly defled, as it has been defled before, and the battle will be on. ‘The consumer’s interest in this battle is indicated in some of the revelations concerning the devious and involved proceedings that have marked the own- ership and management of the gas company since it passed from local con- trol. Senator Capper's recent reference to the “milking” that has been in progress is based on statements of fact concerning payment of large fees to “experts” who were sent here by the out-of-town ownership to make effi- clency investigations; to the attempt by these out-of-town interests to seil the local gas companies its own pipe line and to the difficulties faced by the resident president of the gas companies to make effective a reduction of rates in keeping with the profits from the| sale of gas. The legal questions that are soon to find thcir way into court for attempted settlement are confused anA complicated, but the basic question for settlement relates to the extent to tures as may be recommended by it and approved by the Commission of Fine Arts and by the Park and Planning possible future development. The law as it Is enacted makes the island the national memorial and not such adorn- ments or accessories as may hereafter be installed. ‘Thus Roosevelt Island becomes part of the park system of the Capitel. It will be accessible to the public for drives and walks. It will be as attractive as Rock Creek Park in its natural features. While no specific present plan so pro- vides, it is to be believed that ultimately the park area, of which this will be & unit, will extend to and include the Vir- ginia aoproaches to the Key Bridge, eliminating the now disfiguring condi- tions there prevalent. Rocsevelt Island should not long be neighbored by un- loveliness, and to this end plans now | Inchoate should be developed for the earliest consideration and action per- mitted by the state of national finances to clear and permanently preserve as park the space that now flanks this memorial islet and the epproaches to Arlington. e Machinery is regarded as having made it necessary to provide more hours of lcisure for all workers. The Utopian idealist will wonder whether this extra spare time will be devoted to sincere which those Who enjoy & monopoly in study among all peoples which will in- such an essential commodity as gas may | Sure & genuinely sesponsible democracy. go in utilizing that monopoly for the sup- = ST port of huge financial structures, with | When Mr. Garner mentions the possi- rates based on the needs of that struc- | DIty of too many statements, he calls ture for revenue and mot on the value | Attention to the fact that he is one of of goods and services rendered. A test | the few eminent figures in public affalrs of the law that in theory would pre- vent the very conditions that now are recognized in connection with the own- ership and control of the gas company is needed as never before, and if that law is found to be as full of legal loop- holes as it appears to be, it is the duty of Congress to remedy its defects, ————r——————— Religious War in India. News that seventy-two persons have been killed and at least eight hundred and fifty wounded in a Hindu-Moslem battle in Bombay during the past three days throws the searchlight upon the real seat of trouble in India. Mr. Gandhi and his independence demands are a relatively sporadic and isolated factor—the British insist it has always been a very much overadvertised factor —compared to other aspects of the| complex problems presented by Occi- dental domination of the vast realm of | the rajahs. ‘What is fundamental, because it goes to the roots of every political, economic and cultural issue at stake in India, is the ancient and irreconcilable feud be- tween its dominant sects. Hindu is Hindu and Moslem is Moslem, and never the twain shall meet, Kiplin who knows his India, might well have written. They typify a gulf quite as unbridgeable as the barrack-room balla- dist's “East” and “West.” Basically responsible for failure of round table conferences and other re- courses invoked from time to time to settle or compromise the Indian con- troversy is the refusal of the Moslem minority to accept any form of govern- ment which would set up the Hindus as its masters. In innumerable directions the 68,000,000 Moslems of Moham- medan faith differ from the 216.000,- 000 Hindus who comprise the bulk of the Indian population. Not only in religion, but in language, racial customs, social habits, political aspirations and virtually every mode of life, Moslem and Hindu are as far apart as if they dwelt in separate hemi- spheres. Alongside these distinctions there prevails between the two sects an ancient antipathy and caste hatred which through the centuries have de- fled eradication. The Hindu and the Moslem are the ofl and water of eth- nology. They will not mix. When they do, it is to kill, as the Bombay casualty list just discloses. Britons who defend the thesis that racial and religious animosities are primarily what makes the continuance of Anglo-Saxon rule the sheer salva- tion of India have plenty of statistical material on their side. It is said that there are no fewer than forty-five dif- ferent races in the country, speaking one hundred and seventy languages, and 2400 castes and tribes. Each in- dividual caste and tribe adheres tena- clously to its religious beliefs and social rules, many of them with fanaticism. ‘They willingly fight and die for them, especially if rival sects offer molestation. The week's sanguinary events at Bombay are the external expression of the unending wer between the races in India. It will be proof that the age of miracles hes returned if some day the world awakes to read that Mos- lem and Hindu, Sikh and Jain, Bud- dhist and Parsee, Mohammedan and Christian have agreed to live together as common citizens of & common India. Bearch for gangsters is to be eon- ducted without restraint. At s terrible sacrifice of public pride the Lindbergh misfortune has at last concentrated de- cent opinion definitely on one point of policy. ——————————— Roosevelt Island. Without amendment the House yes- terday passed Senate Bill 290, “to es- tablish & memorial to Theodore Roose- velt in the National Capital” This measure, which thus virtually becomes a law by the sction of the House, au- to be criticized by party assoclates for| not talking out loud enough. ——— Militaristic suggestions indicate that many Russians are beginning to wonder whether the life of the soldier is not, after all, preferable to that of the toiler, even with the inspiration of Communis- tic hopes. e r—————— America should not develop an in- ferfority complex because of its crime wave, Far-distant nations have called attention to the fact that gangsters speak all languages. —~———— Even Chinese philosophy can hardly be expected to summon sufficient calm to develop great sympathy for the po- litical tragedies of her small but ag- gressive meighbor to the East. ———— Nobody has undertaken to disclose ~hat profit he expects to derive from the immense amount of publicity he succeeds in getting at other people’s ex- pense. — e ———— Feminine fashions have turned away from silk. “King Cotton” used to be mentioned from time to time. Just now the applause is for “Queen Cotton.” et The New York stock market has had unlimited advertising. Some clever method of utilizing it for the benefit of the brokers may yet be discovered. —— e —————— Debaters should by this time become aware that the suspense may be even worse than the actual taxation. —_———————— SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Convention Time. Clear the way for ‘lection day With patriotic pride. We'll meet our troubles in this way And vote them all aside. Each little care we have to bear, The frritating knocks, We'll pack 'em all with tender care In yonder ballot box. Perhaps the score we will deplore If it should give us pain. We'll do as we have done before And bravely vote again. Applause Always Due. “I have one friend,” said Senator Sorghum, “who is always sure to win the plaudits of the'crowd.” “To what party does he belong?” “He isn't & fellow statesman. He's a circus clown.” Jud Tunkins says he tries not to feel superior to any of his fellow men, but when he reads about gang operations, he simply can't help it. §f Classic Revival The Greeks are sounding Fashion’s call In all the modern fuss. The Greeks had nothing on at all And they've nothing much on us. 0ld Familiar Melodies. “Don’t you love the old familiar melo- dies?” “I'm growing tired of them,” answer- ed Miss Cayenne. “I can't help wishing more of the radio composers would do something original.” “No man can escape blame,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown. “The best & man can do is to deserve as little of 1t 88 possible.” Easy Answer, “Dear friends, we must economize. What 15 the very quickest way?” The statesman cries with flashing eyes, | “Reduce the other fellow's pay!” | “A man dat’s allus thinkin' ‘bout his- self,” sald Uncle Eben, “Is sooner |later gineter spread de notion dat he hm' got so very much on his mind.” - thorizes the acceptance on behalf of the United States from the Roosevelt Memorial Association of the island in Farmer Votes. | From the Pasadens Star-News partles will the Potomac River “hitherto varlously | = Lo, 'o (he great political r tarmer | known s Barbadoes, Analostan and| gtiive Masons Island, together with lccrellum‘ thereto.” - It provides further that here- | that after it shall be “known as Roosevelt nce of power in oppa campe that the farm- g 5 | the national political contest this year Island and shall be maintained and|It is because of the independent voting in the |t The Coming Gas Company Battle. administered as a national park for the There is natural curiosity here as blic.” to the identity of the next president | e o :"‘.’,:313{"2.’,“.:“.,,“}’..{’3. on of the local gas company, Who MAY be | \o0ry srom the sssurance which it af- m’w“‘:;’x"""’““' fords that & cherished bit of local meeting scenery will be permanently preserved. planned for tomorrow. But chief in- It is & departure from the usual mode terest in this meeting i over the Part| .o ereging memorials to notable per- that it will play in bringing to grips For the purpose of serving as mmmm\gnfu:'o: e T R & Roosevelt Islan ve mission in & legal battle of major Pro- | new name—and no sculpture will adorn portions—a battle in advance of which |yt 8o far as the legislation goes both nda; have bo::nmeuvefin‘ 107 | there will be no immediate reminder position for more & year. of the strenuous President of the first If orders of the Public Utilities Com- | decade of the twentieth century in more mission meant anything more than a|durable materials than the growths of signal for precipitating a court battle, | nature, which he so greatly loved and the meeting tomorrow could accomplish' for the preservation of which he was & wmm e been doughty advocate. The act provides as controlling oy that the Roosevelt Memorial Associa- of vast groups, like the American farmer, | the American laboring man and various other elements of the Nation's popula- tion, that all political parties are placed on their good behavior. When parties must give strict accounting of their stewardship to the people, well knowing that sovereign voters will be duly inde- pendent in their voting, the sense of party responsibility is quickened into keenness. e Proved His Quality. Prom fhe Boston Evening Transcript. The mam who begged a meal and then gave the waltress a tip knew how Children still eat “between meals.” In the days when you and I were young, Billee, there was much hue and cry against the consumption of edibles by kids except at the regular meal times. No doubt the same clamor goes up today, in official quarters, but one may notice the boys and girls on the way home from school, their mouths cram- med with candy and ice cream. Ice cream cones seem to be a 10- to-1 favorite. But in the old days, past recall, ex- cept in memory, ice cream soda itself was the novelty. Cones were unknown. A kid who could garner a nickel | would Jaunch out immediately for the corner drug store, where the finest and most watery sodas were to be imbibed. The modern ideal, in soda water manufacture, seems to be a very thick sirup, the thicker the better, but in those old days the youngsters de- manded them “watery,” and got them that way, too. _ We still think they had the right idea. Many an oldster, who remembers his childhood days with the peculiar vividness which is not the portion of all old-timers, still wishes he could get one of those old-time ‘‘nickel sodas,” with plenty of liquid. ‘There was no whipped cream in those days, but plenty of bubbles. Maybe they really used soda then; at any rate, the entirc top of the glass was filled with a white bubbly mixture, partly colored with chocolate, which had a taste all its own. We say chocolate soda advisedly; the writer here, who has been an avid con- sumer since childhood, cannot recall ever having purchased more than half a dozen sodas of any other flavor. You see, it was this way: In youth, 5 cents was 5 cents, and when one sat down at the counter and tried to think of what to buy. one immediately thought of chocolate soda, then of va- nilla soda, then of how much better the cholocate soda would be, then of how gocd the vanilla was, after all; then of the unquestioned superiority of chocolate, then of the fact that a nickel was only a nickel, after all, and that 5 cents was a lot of any boy's money— “Chocolate sody, with ‘nella cream in ¥ What else could the order have been? And today, when the boys of that day and age have come into the delectable land of change jingling in their trousers pockets, they still begrudge a dime, or | 15 cents, or 20 cents, alas, spent for anything but a “chawklut” soda. We will bet that every man alive over 30 years of age orders chocolate, not | only because he prefers it, but also be- cause it is the classic soda of youth. But sodas were not all that those boys of yesteryear took between meals. Heavens, no! Consider the limeade, that delectable drink of the palest green, with crushed ice floating on the top. If there ever was 8 beverage liked by youngsters, especially boys, and particularly after a hot set of tennls, the limeade was exactly the thing. The sourer it was the better it tasted. One might have ordered more simple sirup put in, one supposes, but at that time and age one did not; one delighted in the sharp stab of sour pain which smote the tongue and throat, and which caused the fervid brow to wrinkle in a k!.nGd, of lgolnbedmd;‘l}‘ht nger ale, which one might suppose to be a strictly modern drink, was well known to those boys. It was possible to purchase a huge bottle for a nickel, as we recall, and the contents carried a flery reproach to the inner man, or boy, which was never answered. To many a small boy of that era gin ger ale was slightly under the home ban; it tasted better when purchased in secret and drunk in secret; ordinarily it graced an impromptu banquet in the deq of the Seven Wonders, or some such Jjuvenile organization, whose purpose was to sweep the seven seas of pirates or the like. Dates were another confection much liked by the boys. But the lern reader, famillar with neat packets of these Oriental fruits, must not sup- that the boys were at :hn ;om germs; they purchased thes l!l old store on tge corner, outside the mmnunmewmgmm- shadow, wrapped around & wooden stake or spike. Evidently there were nol as many germs in the air, or something, for 1t is not on record that the dates, after removal from the outside layers on the stick, were ever washed, or put through any other sort of sterilizing process. The boys thought they were great, and no doubt they were. ~The same old man sold popcorn and hot roasted chestnuts in season. These latter stewed and steamed enticingly on cold Winter days; but some of us were forbidden to eat them, because they did mot agree with us, and we had enough sense to know that they did not, so chestnuts are merely a memory now. The popcorn was another matter. What tasted better, then or since, than a fine bag of popcorn, olled by hot but- ter seeping through, delicious with the smell of corn and salt? It was a dish fit for a king, let alone for a small boy, and those youngsters made the most of it, because popcorn was generally regarded by them as a sort of nut, and there was nothing the average kid liked then better than wal- nuts, and pecans, and butternuts, and almonds, and hickory nuts, and even lichee nuts. Brave was the boy who walked into the den of Sam Lee, laundryman, to purchase a few lichee nuts. Sometimes Sam would not sell them, but gave them to his favorite boys. The truth was that Sam Lee was an entirely harmless soul, but the legend had gone around the neighborhood that for ways that were dark and for tricks that were vain the heathen Chinee was peculiar, as Bret Harte put it, once and forever. He had not written in vain. ‘There was always some boy, more dar- ing than rest, who worked up & friendship with Lee, and came forth smiling, bearing a handful curfous lichees, with their queer skins and queerer taste. This same Sam Lee, at the proper time, sold the finest fire crackers to be purchased any place, each cracker lovingly made, tied with such fine silk thread, a real work of art. He had Chinese bombs, too, cra- dled in wicker, which exploded with a delightfully dull, sonorous sound. As for candy, he was a poor boy, in- deed, who couldn't scrape up & few pennies for a fistful, especially on the way home from school. Then it was the delight of the juvenile school popu- lation to stand ex| ntly in front of the glass counter in the little store on the corner, in complete befuddlement at such an array of enticing delicacies, ‘There were jawbreakers and lcorice drops and sticks, caramels and choco- late cigars, candy bananas and small disks of chocolate peppered with small white beads; there were cinnamon drops, and butter daisies, and jelly beans, and chewing gum sticks, and long rolls of parafin, which did duty as gum. The amount of time spent on the delicate task of cdeciding what to do with 2 cents was immense; the old whitebeard behind the counter, who knew his customers, them, but stood with indicative hand, pointing first to one, then to another, while the interminable decision went on. 5 ‘The r:-l Jjob, whether any one knew or not, was to get a larger amount of candy today than one got yesterday for the same money! In that the boys of the day were not so all, perhaps. “Lickrish” was a favorite, as were Jjawbreakers—hard, round candies veri- tably living up to their name, Car'mels, with the accent definitely on the first syllable, intrigued some, but left others cold. There were other candies, whose names we have forgotten, which came in boxes, in the depth of which were | “prizes,” always eagerly sought, and in- 1“”1;"3) Idlnppoln We early that “prizes” might be prizes, or Jjust a bit of tin. = z Highlights on the Wide World Excerpts From Newsp B O, Madrid.—There are 75,000 Kkilometers of streams and rivers | in Spain, all of which, undoubt- edly, were once crammed with fish. Those days exist no longer, and unless some prompt action is taken to protect the fish that survive the wholesale destruction that has been practiced for centuries, there will be no fish at all. The constitutional powers have ever Interfered little with the proclivities of piscatory vandalism, it being generally considered that the rivers and all that was in them belonged to the people. Such a doctrine has come perilously near defeating its own ends, for instead of there being more fish for more people, we have come to the point where there is hardly a fish for any one. With proper control, the streams of Spain can yet afford both food and sport, but this control must be effective and abolish perpetually the promiscu- ous methods of ignorant, brutal and selfish men who have no thought above their own interest. * kR % Shrinkage Shown in Berlin Population. Berliner Tageblatt.—The slightly no- ticeable diminution in the population of the capital city of the Reichs during the past year manifests itself also in the shrinking of the so-called “foreign colo- nies.” While in December, 1930, there were still 136,336 outlanders in Berlin, the number remaining here a year later, in December, 1931, was but 128,598. ‘This reduction figures out at 5.7 per cent, and is mostly due to voluntary departure from the metropolis. * ok o % Bolivians Honor Ideals of Washington. La Razon, La Paz—Few heroes in the history of mankind have been appointed to fulfill the task of such difficulty as Gen. George Washington. Washington was the most glorious figure of the whole revolutionary movement in North Amer- ica, whence the ideal of democracy spread to the southern continent of the hemisphere. In South America human liberation was completed by the intrepid atriot, Gen. Simon Bolivar, our great of freedom vashington's desting, however, firm foundations of the st and truest republic the world ever known, a reaiity which has even gone beyond the dearest visions of Plato. It was Washingion wio wrought this seeming miracle, and transformed few feeble and scaltered colonies into a powerful and marmonious in- grity, since grown into the most pro- ie and intclligent nation in the 1d. La Razon offers this brief tribute of veneration to the liberator, founder, and first president of the United States of America on the 200th anniversary of his i %o % Superstitions Hit As Guide for Nations. El Telegrafo, Guayaquil—It is a seeks its course and fate in the portents of the stars, or in the lines upon the hand. No trait of human life snows as clearly how tardy and tedious our progress from the superstitions and omens of the barbarians. The ancient Greeks and Romans, and their Phenician prede- cessors, always consulied the oracles to qualify as a perfect gen'leman, The Dilemma. the Goshen Daily News-Times. Srpanizee minoritios, e Ercel 3 i . And, M us, by or- before a battle or other and fatuously believed the out- come was previsaged in the flight of & bird, or the color of a cloud. Dalmist in & ; or earnest effort for the task or duty apers of Other Lands | life immediately before us. The great- est of English poets has most wisely said that our fate lies not in our stars but in ourselves. What a world of truth there is in that brief epigram! Community Chest Sure to |Be Affected by Pay Cuts To the Editor of The Btar: I am one of the myriad Federal em- ployes who have lived in suspense these many weeks awaiting the word of Con- gress In regard to salary cutting. In many ways I am more fortunate than the majority. We own our home outright; we are blessed with health and energy, and—what might be cause for regret under other circumstances— we have only one child. Moreover, up to two years ago my Government sal- ary was substantially supplemented by a private income. This was wiped out by the well-known depression, but by preity drastic economies we have man- aged to keep out of debt and even to start our son in college this year. Un- precedented {llness, for which there was no provision in our budget, recent- ly made it necessary to borrow, but the sums have not been large and have been promptly repaid, to friends no better off than ourselves. On the whole, we have just managed | to stretch my salary from pay day to pay day, '.hough not without constant anxiety and the sacrifice of many in- inexpensive pleasures and comforts that make for morale. But now, with the certainty for fur- ther reduction of income, I am con- Pothing (o do & personal nothing o with my com- fort but everything to do with my self- respect and sense of good_citizenship. Everyone knows that each Federal em- ploye in Washington was expected to give to the Community Chest the right-thinking among us belleve that only through the Chest can Washing- ton supply the needs of its charitles and welfare work, in' normal times. How much more, in a crisis like this, do we need the efficiency and economy of centralization. Now, even if all pledges for 1932 were to be redeemed, we know that this year the Chest failed to go over the top and already many contributors have of ne- cessity failed to meet their payments. 1 am of those who have had to face the humiliation of telling the collector in my office that if or when the salary- cutting becomes a fact, it will almost certainly be impossible for me to re- deem the balance of my pledge. And this, although I have always been a stanch supporter of the Chest and my wife has been one of the workers for it. \ The collector informed me that most of the other men had notified him either that they would have to reduce their pledges or cancel them altogether. woul the all-important formati o cept as a last desperate n':euy:l't!; T The Community Chest cannot and should not be the responsibility of a small, wealthy group. Its fate hangs largely on the salary cut. It is the saddest phase of the whole sad busi- ness. G, H. BUCKINGHAM. ———————— The Shining Mark. :- of the| Th did not hurry | f learned | roblem which has | equivalent of three days' salary. The | TPA EVENING STAR, WASHINGTCY, D. €, TUESDAY, MAY 17, 1932. THIS AND THAT BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL. NEW BOOKS AT RANDOM MEN ON THE HORIZON. By Guy Murchie, jr. Boston: Hough! Miffin Co. Only 22. Six feet and over. Hag- vard trained. No money. In Mew of % & lust for adventure, & @riving -off places, about folks of fi :“‘M horizon.” i So, working his way, in the main, young Guy Murchie put in a full year on chasing the horizon. _Across the “men Philippines, China, Japan, Manchuria, Russia, and on around to the home port. Canoeing the Yukon, functioning in boiler rooms of ocean liners, par- taking of Oriental life in its least fa- to the men he was seeking at their ! nakedest of circumstance gll’ld need. There is here no suggestion of study, observation, research, of any of the scholastic aims and methods with Wwhich investigators set out to enlarge learning, to enlighten the world. In- stead, a big, eager, curious young man Whose prime object is to get next to the other fellow rubbing along in this secret and unlighted passage from there to yonder. What happens, seemingly of its own accord, along the streets of Honoluly, or Shanghai, or Tokio, or Mukden, or Moscow, these become the concern of this adventurer. The hum- | ble lodgings, often squalid lodgings, engage a partaking interest, rather ,than a curiously observant one. The small concerns of trade and diversion, of work and play, among the lowlier :?:t :;a:'c him q\;lcrl:lyhthelr way. There enes of high life among the Tecollections and pictures of th(:‘ book. This adventurer appears to realize that low life 50 tremendously outweighs high life, that man in the raw is so abun- dant and demanding, while man in the finlfh is—well, s just that, “in the fin- ish”—that any really informing action must take place with the great mass. And so this adventure proves in the end to be a girdling zone of mass hu- manity running the world around. A passing comment on rulers is the only time given to mightinesses of any sort. e misconceptions of these as to any true sense of government, as to any selzure of the political essence of this or that theory, are noted and set aside. These, no part of the adventure in lglnd. t Young Murchie himself have the IIA.F word In this absorbing ldvn:tm. I was a poor man when I set out. I mxflet&;}mng}m):\ in mmfi 1 can never 3 en, in his own mann: he cltels some of the g an never lose—the smells, the alor, the ‘disciplined fury of a :oo-mfi“ propeller shaft, its hideous power driven true to a thousandth of an inch; the sense of immemorial peace that lives under the tre“fs of Japanese temple gardens.” These things are wealth, and with a thousand others like them will live forever in my memory. But in some- thing nearer to my heart than memery will live, for me, my friends of this loz1 Journey—they whose warm human i and blood was incased sometimes in yellow skin, or_brown, or black, or white. * * * And I am by home with me, from 40,000 miles of men, the sure knowledge that under their skins— yellow, brown, black or white—they are prisoners, just as I am, of their lives 2nd heritage, of hopes and lusts, of and loves and dreams, like mine. * Beneath there is no alien mystery in any race of man. Though eyes be slant, they crinkle with fun end change when they look at children; they cloud with pain and shift with fear, just as do eyes set straight. The sweat that | streams out of & brown skin is salt, like | ne. r, after | mi “And T Yu>v that in the shared orange helc .0 my hunger by a| dirty yellow Lov. in a Chinese way- train Is the hope of the world.” A true vagabond who draws from ad- venture its best essence, understandin, An sbsorbing record of search, and of * * k% THIRTY YEARS IN THE GOLDEN NORTH. By Jan Welzl. New York: | The Macmillan Co. Y Translated by Paul Selver, this is the story of & Czech adventurer who for 30 years lived on an island in the A!Ct.l‘c Ocean. Under the “call of the | | wild" this Czech mechanic crossed Si- beria and, then, on a whaling ship ap- peared to find within the Arctic circle the brand of change and hardship and danger that mending locks in the old home town was likely to kill off en- tirely. Not to be endured, that. So the eventful journey and, finally, the discovery of & roomy cave where for three decades Jan Welzl lived in a con- stant struggle with the flerce and im- placable nature of that region. In a tale suggestive of “A Thousand and One Nights” for glamour and haz- ard and excitement, Welzl, back home, recounts the story of that long period where every aspect of life and every hour of it was adventure of stern and sinister stripe. However, in the re- calling of it, of this man's part in it, there is more of gayety and high spirits than of the apprehensions and fears that must have gone along with the actuality. Distance has softened real- ity and out of the long period of resi- dence there the book takes on s value of intimate record that no report of explorer or mere adventurer could achieve. Lapses of memory may occur here or be supplanted by invention it- self. Nevertheless, the body of the account is of deep value, and certainly of high interest, by virtue of the au- thor’s intimacy with the ways of nature in that region. By\way of the human relations also estabMshed between na- tive and alien, between traders and islanders. Broadly speaking, work and play compass human existence. The special forms of these become the theme of Jan Welzl's vivaclous story. A book whose sheer entertainment is lifted at many & point with new and important facts about life within this region. LI ISLES OF EDEN. By Loring Andrews. New York: Ray Long and Richard R. Smith, The South Sea Islands have, so far, Lfimed ucbzped on n\;.:;&, g&et, and| ry vagabond. Gaugin, Stevenso Brooks m’ O'Brien have brought mll:-'! stantial, and beautiful, registration of that fact. Many another besides. But these are to all the familiars of Tahiti and other “Edens” of the South Seas,! where freedom is the air itself, where convention is unknown, where nature provides food, clothing and shelter. Where long leagues of sea interpose be- tween its happy people and the man- that escape, is the spirit of the South Seas, is the lure of it. I leave it to you. It appears that as & matter of thrift | In these days of depression, Loring An- drews bethought himself of the climate of the South Seas, of the freedom from coal bills. Then, still thinking, he re- called the bounty of nature in the way of natural foods. No bills to “butcher Yvored aspects, the big fellow came close J. “things” he can | ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC ). HASKIN. Any reader can get the answer to any question by writing to our In- ton, | formation Bureau #n Washington, D. C. This offer applies strictly to informa- tion. The bureau cannot give advice on legal, medical and financial mat- ters. It does not attempt to settle domestic troubles or undertake ex- haustive research on any subject. Write your question J;mnly and briefly. Give full name and address and inclose 2 cents in coin or stamps for return the inquirer. Address The Evening Star Information Bureau, Frederic J. Haskin, Director, Washington, D. C. Q. In cribbage what cards make up hands which count 25, 26 and 217— A. There are no combinations which will make a total count of 25, 26 or 27, Neither will any hand total 19. Q. Which tire on an automobile gets the hardest wear?—S. W. A. Mechanics say that the right rear tire usually wear. Q. Would it be possible for you to procure for me the name and address of the flagman on the Dixie Flyer, who distributes newspapers, food and cloth- to some of the poor people along the railroad between Chattanooga and Atlanta’—J. L. A. His name is J. W. Ridley and he lives at Smyrna, Ga. Q. Does conviction of Lieut. Massie of a felony at Hawaii automatically discharge him from the Navy?—S. F. A. It does not, because in the eyes of the Navy he is not a felon, not having been tried and convicted by a naval court-martial. The Navy is a law unto ftself. The President may dismiss him for cause or ask his resignation, but there is nothing in the action of the civil court at Hono- lulu which disturbs his naval status. Q. Does the print on newspapers keep moths away?—B. P. A. There is no foundation for this bellef. Any firm wrapping paper or several thicknesses of newspaper will serve. ‘The important ti are to have the garments clean. freed from moths and carefully wrapped so that there is no possibility of moths crawl- ing in. Clothes moths will not eat into paper to attack clothing. Q. Are there fewer marriages now than there were in 1929?—R. E. M. A. In 1929 there were 1232550 in this country, in 1930 there were 1128280 and the unofficial figures for 1930 are 1,026,276, Q ;Wul;llt ladthe d.\!::ro!nce between an extinct and an obsolete corpora- tion?—J. K. H. A. An extinct corporation is one that has wound up its affairs and gone out of business in the manmer provided by law. An obsolete corpora- tion is one that is out of business, but still retains a corporate existence, because it has not been legally dis- solved. Q. Does Great Britain, who imposed the tax on tea which was so odious to Colonial Americans that it provoked the Boston tea party, impose a tax on tea used by her own people?—M. B. A. At various periods Great Britain has taxed tea. In her efforts to balance her budget in the present emergency she has imposed & tax amounting to the equivalent of 8 cents (United States currency) per pound on all tea not im- ported from British dominions. Even on tea from British colonial sources the home Britisher must pay the equivalent of 4 cents a pound. Q Who bullt the famous Jumel man- sion in New York City?—C. E. H. A. It was built by Roger Morris in 1758 for his bride, Mary Philipse of Yonkers. Q. What can be added to medium ! cream to make it whip?—W. E. D. E A To a bottle of lime water add as shows the first signs of b much sugar as it will take, leaving al- ‘ways a little sugar in the bottom. Add one teaspoonful of this to one cup of cream. This mixture will make the whipped cream hold its shape. Q. Does Russia produce any eot- ton?—R. B. | _A. Cotton & produced fn Aslatia | Russia on a large scale, but very littie |is grown in European Russia proper. | The last available figure for cotton continent to Alaska, to Hawail, the|Postage. The reply is sent direct to production in Asiatic Russia is for the season of 1930-31 (year beginning in | August), when the total production was 1,850,000 bales of 478 pounds net. ‘ Q. Does an octopus often come to the surface of the sea>—J. K. W. A. An octopus does not come to the surface in deep water. Octopi son times live in shallow water, but are in- ‘hxbn.ams of the ocean floor. Q. What became of the money which George Washingtop willed to endow a rsity in the District of Colum- L. E. G. A. In his will he left 50 shares of stock in the Potomac (Canal) Co. for the endowment of a university, to be | established in the District of Columbia, “to which the youth of fortune and talents from all parts thereof might be sent for the completion of their educa- tion in all the branches of polite ltera~ | ture—in arts and science, in acquiring knowledge in the principles of politics {and good government.” In furtherance | of that hope and project of the First President of the United States, Colum- bian College, now named the George | Washington University, was established. | The stock which Gen. Washington willed toward such an institution be- came valueless owing to the failure of | the canal properties, and 1t was neces- | sary for “the college,” established in the District of Columbia, to obtain funds from other sources. Q. Does a boat have to have sails to be termed a yacht?>—B. §. Y. A. Yacht is a word used of any light and compartively small vessel propelled | by other means than oars. Yachts may be sailing vessels or motor or steam. The term is now practically restricted {to such vessels used for pleasure or racing. Q. How much is the public land werth in this country?—J. McC. A. The potential value of the 193.- | 847,240 acres of public lands remain- |ing July 1, 1928, under care of the General Land Office of the Interior De- partment was estimated at $26,000,- 000,000. Q. Is it the prairie chicken or the heath hen which is almost extinct?— R. L. A. The item regarding the prairie chicken which appeared in this column recently was in error, and actually re- ferred to the heath hen. These two birds are similar races of grouse, and though belonging to the same species, and very closely related, have a very different pistory. The prairie chicken is still common in some parts | of its former range, the prairies of the | Mississippi Valley. The heath hen is | the Eastern representative of the spe- | cies, and was formerly found in the | more open districts in Southern New England, and from New York South to Chesapeake Bay. For some years it has existed only on the Island of Marthas Vineyard, Massachusetts, and today there is record of only one living bird of this race, a solitary male. Q. Did Americans who joined the Ca- nadian Expeditionary Force during the World War have to acquire Canadian citizenship?—W. F. W. A They did not. They did, however, have to swear allegiance to His Maj- esty the King for the period of their service. Q. How large is the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg?—J. T. M. A. It has an area of 999 square miles and a population of about 286,000. | uni ia Splitting of Atom Creates Debate as to Practical Uses The splitting of the atom in ex- periments in Cambridge, England, is announced under the authority of Sir Ernest Rutherford, of whom the To- peka Daily Capital says: “It could not come a higher authority, and the gratifying thing about it is that the announcement is without reserva- tion. Coming from Lord Rutherford, it will be accepted without question.” “For some years scientists, real or professed, have made the front page with predictions that the discovery of a way to split the atom would reiease sufficient energy to do all the world’s work,” Tecalls the Minneapolis Jour- nal. “But now that the atom has finally been split successfully by physicists at Cambridge University, England, we note no preparations by power companies to close their gen- erating plants, no cessation of work on hydro-electric dams, no scrapping | of steam boilers.” The Journal co | cludes that “apparently, the energy re-| eases breaking up atoms is not - o the world’s work, after us right back to the elemental proposition that energy must be produced or trans! T to become power for the use of man, states the Port Huron Times-Herald, “gnd that the amount of power to Ymduned must be very definitely imited by the amount of material man is willing to ‘burn up' to pro- duce it.” But, ti hough no stertling re- sults happened except the production of helium from hydrogen in the course of the bombardment of the stoms of hydrogen gas by a stream of protons, which was in itself important, such papers as the Hartford Daily ‘Times remind us that “science today dreams confidently of obtaining a new source of power for practical use in industry through tapping the energies bound up in its atoms. Encouragement in this direction has come from recent discoveries, but _the goal is far away. “But this will not worry either the discoverer or any other scientist, tests the Rochester Times-Union, which that “your true sclentist is in- terested in knowing about things just. for knowing about them.” The New York Times calls attention to the s!gt nificance of the progress already made made ways of continental civilizations. +gee what has been done in our time | ..o nces that con That, it seems to me, that freedom, with the new knowledge of electrons. | g . ioc padio Commission had been ob- Suppose that only 50 years ago Jules VelEne had romantically pictured a little tube in which glowed a filament and that from the filament energy radiated which made it possible to carry speech and song over continents and oceans. We have that invention in our electron tube—the direct outcome of what we have thus far discovered about the atom. formed in order| " at-| and baker and candlestick maker.” No gy that Verne had pictured an clothes, to mention, needed. Indeed, 1nvpj§|b)g light which made it possible to by way of a bank-book reckoning, the see through cpaque flesh. That would South Seas was the place of all others have seemed madder. Yet we have our Justice, with so sane an action based |in the wake of the electron. And sup- to seek out. And no one can cavil, in, X-ray machines, and they, too, foilowed | upon that particular foundation. But in deference to the sacred spirit of freedom that has for all time ruled that in a supreme burst of the tion the untrammeled Verne had caused & man in Parls to see an- ew York on a screen. The | that the atom has been split is of out- | standing importance. Even laymen, admittedly not acquainted with what it | all means, nevertheless are interested.” As the Cleveland News says: “Sclence | may proudly acclaim this one of its most sweeping triumphs. The world | may wag on its way, squander energy | by feeding coal to its furnaces, transfer | power by means of belts and shafts and | other crude devices. Science has seen a miracle. Proudly will it treasure it. Eagerly will it seek to learn more about . | It is the thought of the Springfield | (Mass.) Union that “we may be upon the eve of the greatest and most far- | reaching discovery of all history in the | unlocking of the vast energies stored in the Invisible units of matter. The Toledo Blade advises that we “go about our ordinary tasks, leaving the atom splitting to men who know how, while others who understand join them in solving the® riddle of the life force. Splitting the atom is only the opening wedge.” The Newark Evening News is interested in the fact that dire predic- tions as to what would happen if the atom were ever split did not come true. It says: “And we are still here! When somebody or another first figured out that if an atom could be taken apart | the energy thus released would put all | motors, engines, turbines and windmills lout of business somebody else got panicky. It was argued that when one atom was exploded, the excess energy would explode the next one, and— ‘pfist'—the whole universe would go bang like a string of firecrackers when one is lit.” The Miami Daily News suggests that, “as a matter of fact, we already have more power than we have learned safely to use. From the too much power, with its too much product, we are now suf= fering the poverty of an overplus. Hitch the atom to our wheels, and. in the light of our present wisdom, ruin would be ours.” | | e | Following British Example. | Prom the Rochester Times-Union. Apparently Canada has become tired | of privately controlled and owned radio, | The Bennett government with its over- whelming contral of Parliament, has nt of the United | tained to the redistribution of channels, needed to mrke the Dominion owner- ship scheme, worked out by the Radio Commission of the House of Commons, feasible. The Canadian plan apparently falls into two distinct parts. The first calls |for & chain of high-power stations, | operating on clear channels and suit- ably situated to span the Dominion. | The second calls for a number of low- | power stations, operating strictly locally and situated as required for community | service. The entire plan is to be under the direction of & commission of three, with assistant commissioners in every prov- ince whose duty will be to “carry on the business of broadcasting.” The erlmd advertising would be to 5 per cent of the total of The radio structure is to be supported by license fees on sets and advertising nd | Cenue, All revenue is to be expended il b gEs o in the interest of radio. The fees are to be fixed by the governor-in- The Radio Commission’s report gives - |due credit to the existing | i : g f