Evening Star Newspaper, May 27, 1932, Page 8

THE EVENING STAR With Sunday Morning Edition. WASHINGTON, D. C. FRIDAY..........May 27, 1832 THEODORE W. NOYES. .. .Editor The Evening Star Newspaper Company e: e Sapa . e Michisar Buildine. 14 Regent M. London, and: .45c per nonth r - o - -60¢ per month y Star 85¢ per month ;-5¢_per copy each month. r telephone nda Collection made st the i Orders may be sent in by mail o) NAtional 5000. Rate by Mail—Payable in Advance. Maryland and Virginia. Daily and Sunday.....1yr., $10.00: 1 mo. 85c Daily only 131 $6.00: 1 mo.. S0c Bunday only T $4.00; 1mo. 40c All Other States and Canada. Daily and Sunday...1yr.$12.00: 1 mo., $1.00 Daily only ... 1yr. $800: Imo. 78c Buanday cnly "J1IIII11yrL $5.00; 1mo. 50c Member of the Associated Press. Tre Associated Pres- !- cclusively entitled o the use for repub ° 5n of all news dis- atches credited o it ¢ not otherwise cred- ted in this paper and also the iocal news Published herein. All rizhts of publication of special dispatches heremn are also reserved. = The Senate’s Opportunity. ‘The Scnate's opportunity is at hand to write into the pending revenue bill a general manufacturers’ tax as a sub- stitute for a host of special sales taxes and nuisance taxes, some of them whol- 1y unfair to the producers and to the public. After weeks of debate, first in the House and then in the Senate. it has been clearly demonstrated that the manufacturers’ tax, at a low rate, levied once on the business of general manu- facturing. is not only the surest method of raising the revenue so greatly needed by the Federal Government to balance its budget, but also is the fairest to the manufacturers and to the consumers. The tax, as proposed by Senator David 1. Walsh of Massachusetts, is at the rate of 1.75 per cent. Covering & wide field, the tax will fall lightly on pro- ducers and consumers. Prices of commodities have reached & low level. In December of 1931 the prices of finished commodities were approximately twenty-nine per cent lower than in 1926. If the manufac- turers' tax were passed on to the con- sumer, and in many instances it would not be so passed along, due to intense competition for business, the consumer would find he was receiving a reductfon of twenty-seven per cent in the prices he paid in boom times. It | is obvious that with low prices a small | manufacturers’ tax such as now pro- posed is far Tess of a hardship to the| people than in times of higher prices, when the addition of a small tax merely makes prices, perhaps already too high, #till more oppressive. The Walsh manufacturers’ tax emendment exempts from its opera- tions foods and agricultural products, all except high-priced clothes, and farmers’ and workmen's implements and tools, medicines, etc. So effective, how- ever, is this form of tax in raising revenue that even with the exemptions allowed aud with the low rate ot taxa- tion impesed it is estimated to bring into the Federal Treasury about $335.- 000.0°0. With this added revenue, the Congress will be in position to strip from the revenue bill many of the special sales taxes on manufactured products now carried in it and many so-called nuisance taxes. The manufacturers’ tax, in the judg- ment of the House Ways and Means Committee when it had the revenue bill before it, was the most effective and the fairest and the least subject to objec- | | | | Japan embarked under his driving command when the banners of the Rising Sun were planted in the three eastern previnces of China. Still other proof of Japan's determi- nation to yleld no inch in Manchuria is the effort to persuade Viscount Uchida, now president of the South Manchurian Railway, to become foreign minister in the Saito government. There could be only one deduction from Viscount Uchida's presence at the head of the Tokio foreign office. It would denote| the emphasis which Japan now bestows | upon her Manchurian program and ele- vate it to the premier place in her international policies. The Japanese have fortified their strictly military po- sition in Manchuria beyond all pos- sibility of destruction except through an! ingoncelvable combination of outside | armed force supplied by powers willing to ally themselves on China's behalf. Even now the Japanese, through new operations ranging around Harbin, are bent upon further consolidation of their Manchurian position. The purpose of, or alibi for, these activities is the so- called “pacification” of Manchurla, and particularly the suppression of the “rebel” forces of the Chinese General Ma, who is in revolt against the puppet State of Manchoukuo set up under Jap- anese military protection. If Viscount Uchida transfers from the South Manchurian Railway presi- dency to the foreign office at Tokio, his prospective biggest job will be to bring about international recognition of | Manchoukuo. In light of the “Hoover doctrine” of outlawing conquest, | which has the approval of the! League of Nations under the As(ombl)'; resolution cf March 11, it is not going { to be easy to persuade the rest of the world to look upon Manchoukuo as & state which came legally into existence. - Break This Log Jam ‘With the last “District day.” so called, gone over the hill in the House and with the usual accumulation of na- tionally important legislation in lhe\ Senate, it may be futile even to hope for much more consideration by Con- gress of the local bills that contain controversial elements—such, for in- stance, as the merger and the “blue sky” securities measures. But tied up in the same log jam that threatens the controversial measures are others, over which there is no known controversy or opposition. These relate to the routine matters of legislation | necessary for the municipality’s normal transaction of business. It might be a! wise thing to lump them together and get rid of them when opportunity is presented, leaving the controversial measures to take their chances Two of the important bills now awaiting action, although coming under the general classification of Toutine measures, are those for the opening of the Buzzards Point area for indus- trial development for which it has been heretofore set aside by the Park and | Planning authorities. 1In these days, especially, nothing should be left un- | done that will encourage commercial development and hasten expenditures for employment of men and purchase of materfals. In the case of Buzzards | Point the industrial development is waiting for legislative authority to pro- | ceed. The money is ready for spending and the only delay anticipated is that which is associated with congressional | consideration of the two bills in ques- | tion. One of these bills allows the Phil- | adelphia, Baltimore & Washington Rail- | road to extend a spur track from Second and I streets southeast to Buzzards Point, 1 buying or leasing that portion of pub- | lic lands occupied. The other is for the closing of streets that run through the tion of the forms of taxation presented to that committee. This was the view | of the Democratic and Republican | members alike. A very small minority | of the committee held otherwise. And now it is reported that in the House' ftself a majority of the members have come around to the view that (hrir‘» ‘Wavs and Means Committee, which studied the whole tax problem so thor- oughly. were. after all, correct in their | judgment when they wrote a general | manufacturers’ tax into the bill. Under such circumstances, if the Senate acts favorably on the Walsh amendment proposing the manufacturers’ tax, there is every reason to believe that it would be agreed to finally in the conference which must come between the two houses of Congress on the revenue bill. The prompt adoption of the manu- | area acquired for its new power plant by the Potomac Electric & Power Co., the street area so closed to be bought by the company under the usual terms The power company is ready to procesd immediately with construction of a $4.- | 000,000 plant. ultimate investment in which may reach $20.000.000. The railroad company has authorized im- mediate expenditure of between $125,000 and $150.000 on the spur track, sid- | ings, etc. The power company's con- | tract, alreagy let for construction of the | plant, stipulates the employment of local labor. There are other routine bills, but these two are especially important at this time, and the unexpected situation already developing, which actually en- dangers their passage, demands the serious consideration of the responsible leaders in Congress. It is a situation 'THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, FRIDAY, MAY 27, 1932. THIS AND THAT Sherwood had performed “courtesies” and written checks for him, made his deposits and paid his bills. He could throw no light on Sherwood's disap- pearance. He attributed solely to friendship the $246,692 share which he had enjoyed from a stock pool to which he had contributed nothing, eulogizing the promoter of the pool as a “modest man, who gave liberally to charity.” In short, all of the transactions, from which the mayor has profited s0 heavily during the past few years that he ought now to be an independently wealthy man, were the result of pure friendship, without any malign purposes or sinister significance. Really, the sum of the mayor's testimony appeared to be that he is a favorite son of fortune and exceptionally blessed with altruistic affections. Immediately after the close of yes- terday's session it was stated by persons of high political position in Greater New York that if the Legisla- tive Committee were to cite the mayor to the Governor for removal and he were to be removed from office he would be immediately renamed and would probably be re-elected by the largest majority ever given to any candidate for that office. There is no barrier in the law to such renomination and elec- tion in the case of a man who has been removed from office in New York. If that is the situation, Mayor Walker may regard Referee's Seabury's atten- tions as a compliment and a boon. It has been said that a people receives the kind of government that it deserves. This may be proved true in the event that these present predictions of Tam- many are verified. ——————————— As accomplished by Amelia Earhart a flight across the Atlantic looks like a mildly exciting adventure. Extraordinary ability in any direction is sure to inspire reckless imitation. What is done well is done with such facility that it appears easy. e —r———————— As the thermometer asserts customary June tendencies, Senator Borah's de- cision to remain away from a hot and crowded convention hall will doubtless have the professional approval of every physician in Congress. ———————— Arguments which seek to evade the expenses of Wwar may not prove as much an encouragement to peace as a temptation to hostilities, on the theory that the pecuniary obligation incurred may be rendered negligible. S - = So prominent has the wet-or-dry con- troversy become that the eighteenth amendment is the only paragraph in the United States Constitution with which the average citizen is absolutely | familiar. e A Communist before undertaking a public demonstration should be required to give his definition of the word ommunism,” the meaning of which appears to be capable of infinite vari- ations. — N Increasing prevalence of applause and laughter at an investigation may cause suspicion that some of the witnesses have grown theatrically wise and are employing a claque et As a Summer comedy demonstration, the Seabury investigation is well equipped. with an impressive inter- locutor and a smart, snappy end man. v Apprehensions are disclosed that at the coming conventions the inclination to view with alarm will lessen the en- thusiasm in pointing with pride. e SHOOTING STARS. BY PHILANDER JOHNSON. Punctuation. Investigations still draw nigh, The times are out of joint. The question mark is followed by The exclamation point. Although the words we now enjoy Are growing mildly rough, A dash like this “—" they must employ They're positively tough. The punctuation that they bring Holds an important spot. In fact, it is the only thing That seems to mean a lot. Merciful. “I always offer to read the latest mysiery story into the Record,” said Senator Sorghum, “when I am engaged facturers’ tax by Congress would make | tpat could develop in no other city in |In filibustering.” it possible to dispose of the revenue bill and let the country know what it must | expect in the matter of taxation. For | months past many industries and busi- ness houses. and the whole people, have been entirely at sea as to what to ex- pect. The backing and filling of Congress, the writing in and writing out of tax items in the revenue, have served to confuse and alarm the public. The very fear that, after all, the Con- gress would not act to balance the budget and maintain stability of finance. has arisen in many minds. Happily, the leaders in Congress and the rank and file as well have declared that the budget must be balanced. Time, how- ever, has become of prime importance. ‘The legislation for balancing the budget must be put through now, mot two| months heace. ] Anti-prohibition sentiment does not undertake to abroad from drinking the customary bev- erages of the country in which he finds himself. Bootleg supremacy makes it unreasonable to expect a visitor from Europe to pretend to like the alcoholic beverages here available. Even inter- national courtesies must have their humane limitations. -t A Firm Hand in Manchuria. If the world required any evidence|of friends who were concerned in mu- that Japan intends to retain a strong grip on Manchuria, it is supplied by the prevent an American ! | | eleventh-hour reappointment to his old post of Gen. Sadao Araki as minister of | profits in a stock deal in which he had It was under his military dic-| not invested, but declared that his veto| war. | before the New York Legislative Com- |indulged in furious denunciations of | the “indignities” to which the world. e There remains a possibility that Senator Borah will be heard from in convention time. The mails, the tele- graph and the radio will still be run- | ning. Mayor Jimmie's Second Day. Mayor Walker's second and possibly his last day on the witness stand mittee which is seeking facts rchtingl to metropolitan management did not materially advance either the prosecu- tion, as it may be called, or the defens: The court room was again overcrowded, mestly with partisans of the mayor, but there was somewhat less disorder than on the first day owing to a threat by the chairman that the room would be cleared if the partisan demonstra- tions were repeated. Yet the mayor's retorts and sallies evoked whoops and shouts and cheers and some of the minority members of the committee the chief executive of the city was subjected. The examination of the mayor elicited nothing definite in either confirmation or refutation of the charge that huI been virtually brought against him that he has profited richly from the favors nicipal legislation. He adinitted that he had received some $26.500 in bonds from a taxicab financier as part of his “A mystery story could have nothing to do with the business in hand.” “As much as the usual line of fili- buster material. If you are out to kill time you should at least try to do it with as little cruelty as possible.” Jud Tunkins says the one real ad- vantage of a bad memory is the help it gives you in fergetting a grievance. Successful Neutrality. The weather man asserts & claim To joy that very few have known: He tells the news and gets no blame For an opinion of his own.. Tmpossibility. “Why don't you try to put the, wickedness of this earth behind you? “I would in a minute,” answered Bill the Burg. “But, Mister, I ain't no aviator.” “Men quarrel,” said Hi Ho, the sage of Chinatown, “not because of hatred but because the human mind grows weary of trying to reason.” Alternative. Kind reader, pause and show your teeth, As June draws near with rosy wreath. And, as fantastic figures prowl, Decide if you will laugh or growl. such wonderments “Don't expect f'um a candidats “dat you'll feel de necessity of waitin’ till dey nominates a magician.” A Sure Vote-Getter. From the Nashville Banaer. If the Republicans happen to over- said Uncle Eben, tatorship in the late Inukai cebinet that' of a bill which would have brought a Japan's invasion and occupation of | fortune to the company in which the Manchuria was carried out during the broker was Interested should remove late Fall and Winter. ! any suspicion of bribery. He could not To the last it appears to have been explain the intervention of & coach | Premier Salto’s cxpectation that he' company promoter in the matter of a could construct a new cabinet mlmu: letter of credit which supplied funds Gen. Araki, but that doughty WArrior | for the mayor's trip abroad in 1927 or tenaciously declined to follow the ex-|the overdraft which that promoter had ample of other Inukal ministers and adjusted. He denied that Sherwood, resign. Defending his failure to do s0,| the missing Iaw clerk, supposed to have Gen Arakl cites historical examples “of been his financlal agent, whose bank lea who pursued thelr own ecourses and brokerage accounts in less than six In jgnes of emergency Magifeatly, he years totaled more than $964.000, was feels 1 hin duty o see thro to the ever in his personal employ or acted e Wbler end the adventure upon which his agent, though he admitted that |look it. the Democrats can assure themselves a landslide victory by in- serting an anti-crooning plank in their | platform. | | e A Sorry Sight, Prom the Tcledo Blade Add pathetic figures—the man with #n open mind in a primary clection booth. B ) Preparedness, Prom the Columbus Ohlo State Journal We suppose most of the metropolitan new; ra are calling their war cor- ts home abroad in for the De atie eonven- res) readines tion, BY CHARLES E. ‘The romance of railroading is solid- ly based on the emotions of mankind. One has but to go to Union Station to understand anew the sentiments of departure and farewell. Then the visitor, waving good-bye as the train begins to slide, may wish that he, too, were on his way back to the home folks. One understands why Caruso wanted to die in Italy. It is an emotion which defies success, time or place, position or_power. It may be met in the most unex- pected way, simply by going over and | watching a train pull out, with all its | jaccompaniment of white steam, the | conductoi’s “All aboard!”, the quick | disappearance of the small yellow steps | | from the platform, the smooth roll of the long train iteelf. Here under the umbrella sheds, to the tune of hiss and roar, the one left behind suddenly finds himself saying to himself, and much to his own amaze- ment, “I wouldn't mind if I were going, It is a confession out of the depths. What! Would one leave this city, dear since childhood days, to return to the land of one’s birth, the far State, the free State, which the hardy ploneers established? Yes, one could, because they are one’s own folk. And are not these people here one’s own folk, t00? Yes, but—- And the train gathers momentum, | and shortly is down the track, going out into the yards, soon to be entirely free of the great city, and bowling alorg with a rhythmical clackity-clack as it specds on its way West. The romance of railroading flowers from hard labor and applied science. | The dew which waters it is the love of | home, an ingredient of most human souls. Is “home” the place one was born, or the place one happens to be? Men have held different ideas of home, and, curiously enough, all of them are more or less correct, accord- | ing to the time and special’ circum- stances which surround them. “Heaven is my home,” went the old hymn. In a sense, that must be right but the bulk of mankind has chosen rather to confine the definition of home to this mundane sphere. | “Any old place I hang my hat is home to me,” went a popular song of several yesteryears. This is a_spacial temperament, the gilt of the Creator to the roaming dis- position. Many persons of other natural inclinations nevertheless work up a good share of this special temperament. finding it helpful to them, in abating the pangs of homesickness. How can a family whose work call {for a different residence every three or rs come to have much regard one place? They cannot. and do not. and hence do rot make good community dwellers, tending to hold too lightly those things in which the permarent resident be- lieves with heart and soul. ‘They cannot, for their own protection. and, once this is understood, the true home lover may forgive them much. The tabby cat disposition is a com- mon one. In ratio to various elements which differ widely with various human beings. so that there can be no_exact- ness here, a person will become attached to a certain place for no par- ticular reason, as far as others can see; indeed. sometimes as far as he can see himself. = The fact is that he has’created for himself, and maybe a few others. a certain atmosphere about every common | thing which sets it off from other i things identical It is said that Robert Louis Stevenson transmuted the veriest mud puddles q.: his childhood wanderings in Edinburg? | into some of the most felicitous of his_essays. | _ He knew just where the Twenty-third Psalm came to earth, and could point out the green pastures in all their glory. One does not have to be another H | Associate Justice Brandeis of the United States Supreme Court is the au- thor of a revolutionary idea. He advo- cates—according to authentic quota- tion—a political campaign of complete silence upon the part of public men. In- stead of making speeches. Mr. Brandeis would have the Nation's leaders, or those_who aspire to be such, do “more thinking.” It is Henry Bruere. presi- dent of the New York Bowery Sivings Bank, who credits the Supreme Court’s eminent liberal with these views. In conversation with him a few days ago Brandeis is said to have declared that “if you give men of responsibility time to think, if they can secrete themselves in a small room and meditate, by some miracle they begin to think in terms of solution instead of speechmaking.” | There's a_strong suspicion that Justice Brandeis had Congress and the existing | legislative jam in mind. One day last | week his fellow liberal, Justice Stone.| exercised a Supreme Court member's | right to visit the floor of the Senate. He was in animated conversation with | Senator Couzens. Perhaps Stone came to put a flea in the Senate’s ear on the Brandeis theory that thought is better | | than speech in’ times like these. | * X X X ‘ | Despite four anti-beer votes in Con- gress this session—two each in the | | House and Senate—the wets remain a band of optimistic brothers (and sis- ters). The “Anti-Prohibition Battle Fund, Inc.” will shortly issue a so- called “commerce and industry stamp,” |on which the words “Repeal” “1932” are printed. They will be em- | blazoned upon a sising sun, symbolic of returning prosperity. The sponsors of the “Repeal” stamps are the ones who put out “Swat the Drys’ stamps for use on business letters and other documents. The “swat-the-drys” issue, | depicting prohibitionists as insects, | brought numerous complaints, but ap- parently did not lessen the stamps’ popularity. Proceeds from the issue howing the rising sun of repeal will | be used to assist organizations working | for abolition of the eighteenth amend- ! ment. and * K k% America’s “five-year plan"—which is medical and not economic, though eco- | nomical in purpose—will be completed fon November 29, 1932. It will mark the ,end of the campaign instituted in 1927 by the Committee on the Costs of Medi- cal Care, of which Dr. Ray Lyman Wil- | bur, Secretary of the Interior, is chair- "man in his private professional capacity. Dr. Wilbur and his fellow-researchers have discovered that enough is now be- | ing spent on medical service by the American people to look after the hezlth of every man, woman and child in the country if only the gross sum were properly distributed. When the com- mittee submits its final report to the | country it will presumably get down to brass tacks and show just how this béneficent result can be achieved. Dr. Wilbur says the United States has gone “specialist” crazy, with the result that the old-fashioned doctor no longer has much of a show. “An enormous num- ber of American physicians today.” de- clares Wilbur, “haven't incomes of $1,- 200 & year.” * % %X % Up near the Capitol. where New Jersey and Louisiana avenues meet. an octagonal stecl-frame structure is ising_ which ¥ to bear the name of “Panthech de la Guerre,” or rama of the World War. It M | icago World Harry M. Crandall, Washington moving r‘etun ploneer, is putting up the build- ing nknvlll.m the v?‘r‘l:‘ll I e panoramic pain depict| n alle- m«m the outstanding events of | Jd War, including ita leading figures. The glant canves was on ex- | | Rails and hearts have no song unless WASHINGTON OBSERVATIONS BY FREDERIC WILLIAM WILE. TRACEWELL. RLS, however, to fall in love with the certain place. Be it ever so humble, there is no place quite like it to the heart which works that way. He who calls home the place under his hat has many advantages in a world and universe such as this, where everything seems to grow from nothing, and to disappear at the most inappro- priate moments. We are children of the dust and the flame, and we must exp®t to be blown about a bit. We laugh at the moth which singes its wings, but we are ail moths. Home is what we make ft, true, but out of its sublime intangibility comes a great tangibility, which one can see, and touch. It is because the days of childhood are formative that the sights and sounds, the perfumes, even, of past scenes and days become a part of the emotional mlke-uy;l c{{' hu‘r:‘mn beinl%se‘ depending uj whether they are Socssors olp:lllll mankind has chosen to call soul. It is the soul, for want of a better name, which must bear the brunt of homesickness, the soul which makes & sudden clutch at the throat, out of no dissatisfaction with one’s place or lot, but solely as a result of the stubborn fact of one's nativity. A sudden thought of death, rising in the night, seems and is too monstrous be borne; a man turns his mind rapldly into other channels, any chan- nels, to get away from the idea. Man's aloneness in the universe, cut off from the lard of his birth, is like- wise a special thought, coming to one at the most unexpected times, often the more undesirable because it cuts in on otherwise happy moments. = Here is this great and wide city, des- tined to be. under Heaven, one of the most beautiful ever built by man. One is happy here, and knows no reason for change. Then, in a twinkle of an eye, & train pulls out, and one somehow sees loni rows of corn, and a flat landscape, ant crabbed old fellows in big hickory hats, and knows suddenly without any doubt that home is there. ‘Would one be happy there now? It is the eternal question of the ex- patriate, and it cannot be answered: it is one of the perennial puzzles which tend to keep life interesting and alive. How sad it would be to go back, flushed with love for the old scenes. and to find that ehow they had changed, and the people with them, and one's self, too. Their old-time inquisitiveness, so charming in retrospect, would it ap- pear all that it had once been, after one had become used to the aloofness of a far land? 3 It is useless qguestioning. ‘There is no way to find out except {o find out, and caution. an excellent virtue, raises a wary hand. ‘There is no rush in lfe for those who refuse to be rushed; time brings everything, and everything is interesting. Let us abide by the still waters of time and place, and see what this great universe has in store for one, for each one. so small in comparison with the whole. so large for one’s self All time and space comes to a focus in one: and this one now stands in the station, watching the long train pull out, and thinking how fine it would be to be aboard and go rolling back to the homeland. Silently he congratulates those here whose homeland is here: they need never know the lump in the throat and the unwanted self-pity which even the most reliant nature sometimes finds thrust upon him with startling sudden- ness out of nothing much. Man is in thrall to great and small things at once. He cannot tell at anv time when some triviality may decide what much thought fails to elucidate. This man on the platform, looking out along converging tracks. is at oncc the symbol of railroad romance and of that eternal unrest which besets humar. nature but to upset it for its own good | | they are tough enough to bear the strain. hibition in Paris for eight years and is making its American debut in Wash- ington. The canvas is 402 feet long (circumference) and 45 feet high, re- quiring a diameter of 136 feet. Packed for shipment to the United States, the Pantheon de la Guerre” made a tidy parcel weighing 12!, tons. * x % % The G. O. P. managers and the party's respective candidates for President and Vice President this vear evidently be- lieve in doubles. Both Mr. Hoover and Mr. Curtis are to be placed in nomina- tion at Chicago next month by men named Scott. The President’s Scott hails from California, the Vice Presi- dent’s from Kansas. ‘Both have repu- tations as spellbinders. They'd better have, for nothing much else than ora- tory is now in sight when the Republi- cans foregather at Chicago. The pre- diction is for one of the shortest. most cut-and-dried and colorless conventions on contemporary record. Only a floor fight, which wil be averted in advance if humanly possible, over the liquor plank promises to relieve the routine of utter dreariness. Chicago hotelkeepers are glad that room contracts call for at least a five-day reservation for each party convention. * ok ko Former Postmaster General Harry S. New contributes to a current weekly periodical an article disclosing that the Indiana Republican veteran, now a resi- dent of Washington, has cvidently in- | herited Chauncey M. Depew's mantle as the champion G. O. P. national con- ventionite. Gen. New says he's at- !tended every convention held by his party in the past 50 vears, has been a delegate to four, and. by designation of { the National Committee, of which he | was for 12 years a_member, made the arrangements for three. New's article is designed to explode for all time the yarn about the “Chicago smoke-filled hotel room” in which “the senatorial oligarchy” is supposed to have dictated Harding's nominatfon in 1920. The Hoosier politiclan_ says no stranger myth ever rooted itself in the popular mind. * % x % Representative Charles R. Crisp, Democrat, of Georgia. acting chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, taunts President Hoover for only belated conversion to “the necessity for econ- omy.” Mr. Crisp rises to inquire why the alien property custodian’s office and the war-time Unitea States railway administration “are still both flourish- ing. with personnel drawing good sala- ries, 13 years after the war?” The impli- cation is that Mr. Hoover ought to have wiped them out. * . * %ok x Here's the kernel, if not the exact language, of the Republican liquor plank to be hewn into the Chicago plaform (according to one of the best | carpenters now on the job): “The Republican party reaffirms its belief in the merits of national prohi- bition. It rededicates itself without reservation to the principles of law en- forcement so long as the eighteenth amendment and the Volstead act are laws of the land. It acknowledges the right of the American people, under the wise and beneficent system of popular government handed down to us by the fathers of the Constitution, to bring about through orderly processes such cl es in the law as experience and uh;::unty may dictate * Prom the Boston Evening Transeript. Machines to predict m be in the , bul -;:’ Ve g waves, Teachers and Priests Now Employ Sanscrit ‘To the Editor of The A recent inquirer in Mr. Haskin's column asks whether there is a lan- guage now in use which is descended from the Sanserit. ‘The reply given by Mr. Haskin is substantially correct, but the impor- tance of the subject is so great, and its nature so compjicated that a complete answer requires ruur space. Classi- cal Sa , a8 it is found in the epic 'ms, the law codes and the later literature, 1s in itself a descendant, or, perhaps, it is more correct to say, a de- velopment of the original Sanscrit of the Mautra, or Vedio hymns. The pe- riod of the transition or development from one class to the other shows the production of the Brahmana, the Upanishads, and the ritual portion of the Vedas. The Drakrit dialects repre- sent the common, or vulgar speech of the Hindus, as contrasted with the proper, or more scholarly language of the Brahmin sages. These dialects are maifly derived from the Sanscrit, but also show the in- fluence of Parsee, Greek and the lan- guages of other peoples who invaded India during the early ages. From these dialects the modern Hindustani has been derived. In some parts of Southern India, the dialects of the Hindus have to a great extent been commingled with Tamil, Teluga, Kara- nese and other tongues of the ancient Dravidian inhabitants. Pali, the language of the sacred liter- ature of the Buddhists, is also a de- scendant of the Sanscrit, through one of the Prakrit dialects. It is well, in this connection, to remember that the Sakyamuni Buddha did not reduce his religious doctrines to writing, and that in view of his repudiation of the caste system, his disciples were drawn from the lowcr classes, who were probably more familiar with the local Prakrit dialect of Oude than with the Sanscrit of the classics. Soon after his death, his followers, in three councils, having first reduced his teachings to writing, divided them into three classes, cover- Ing discourses, disciplinary exercises and inspired teachings. The Buddha him- self was born a prince of the royal house of Kapilavastu, and his philo- sophical works are in classical Sanscrit. The academic courses of the Sanscrit College at Benares are given in the Sanscrit and in English. These courses include religion, philosophy, laws, lit- erature and other arts and sciences of the ancient Hindu civilization. The college is attended by some Moham- medans and Christians, but is princi- pally used by candidates for the Brah- min’ priesthood. Sanscrit philology among Europeans is of comparatively recent origin. It has also been the source of much con- troversy. The introduction of the drama Abhijnana Sakuntala, by Kali- dasa, in 1789 to England and thereby to Europe by Sir William Jones was the starting point of the European study of Sanscrit. The opinion voiced by Sir William, in which he was sup- ported by Henry Colebrooke and other members of the Asiatic Society, that the Sanscrit was degived from the same source which had froduced the Latin, Greek, Gothic, Celtic and ancient Per- sian languages, was received with much opposition. Notable among the op- ponents of Jones' theory was Dugald Stewart, then professor of moral phil- osophy at the University of Edinburgh, who held that Sanscrit had never been the language of a people, but had been constructed by the Brahmins from the Greek and Latin. Subsequent develop- ments lead to the belief that the views voiced by Stewart and others were based upon a conviction that the admission ! of & common source of the languages would constitute an acknowledgment of an ethnological relationship with the Hindus. The researches of the brothers Van Schlegel, which were partially shown in the work issued by Friedrich von Schlegel in 1808, under the title of “On the Language and Wisdom of the Indians,” sustained the position taken by Jones and Colebrooke. this work Von Schlegel classed Sanscrit, Medo-Peisian, ~ Gallo-Celtic, Graeco- Latin, Germanic and Lithuanian-Sla- vonian as belonging to one group, under the name of the Indo-Germanic lan- guages. The interest aroused by the researches of Von Schlegel is generally regarded as the foundation of the mod- ern science of comparative philology. Sanscrit and Prakrit are both found in the aramas and lyric poems of Kali- dasa, Panditaraja and others. The | nayaka and pratinayaka (hero and his antagonist) and tne other principal characters speak Sanscrit, while the Prakrit dialect is spoken he the heroine, or nayika, her inevitable confidentia: companion and the eunuchs, barbarians and other lesser characters. Inasmuch as its use is confined mainly to the teachers and priests of the Brahmins, Sanscrit may be said to be a dead languege. It :s not a lan- guage of trade marts, stock exchanges | or law courts. Its wealth of material for research work will, however, help to perpetuate its use. It is only by a €tudy of the Vedas, the philosophical Works of Jaimini and Vyasa and other works relating to the frst cause, uni- versal spirit, or omnipotent being, that We can have any true realization of the distance the Hindus have wandered in their present-day pantheistic beliefs and ceremonies. Their philosophe poets and historians were without the inspiration of divine revelation. lived and died before the birth of modern science, and had no conception of the magnitude of the universe to which they belonged; nevertheless, the scope of their activities, the beauty of their productions and the profound sincerity of their meditations make them worthy of a place in the history of Aryan eivilization. ROBERT CONROY. ———————— Roosevelt’s Speech Like . . ’ First “Coriolanus’ Scene To the Editor of The Star: In reading Mr. Roosevelt's speech, in which he warned that people would not always be content to suffer hunger with plenty within reach, and then Mr. Hoover's letter to the engincers vigor- cusly holding out against public works only for public employment. with the doctrine of “productive” lending advo- cated, I was reminded of the opening scene in “Coriolanus.” Here Shakespeare stages an unem- ployment and hunger protest which at least merits contemporary reflection. I quote briefly. First citizen says: “We are accounted poor citizens, the pa- tricians good. What authority surfeits on, would relieve us. If they would yield us but the superfluity, while it were wholesome, we might guess they relieved us humanely; but they think we are too dear; the leanness that af- flicts us, the object of our misery, is an inventory to particularize their abun- dance; our sufferance is a gain to them. “Let us revenge this with our pikes, e'‘er we become rakes; for the gods know I speak this in hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge.” “In hunger for bread, not in thirst for revenge” So begin most social revoluticns, but revenge soon directs them and other “thirsts” arise in their course. Then there arises the accusa- tions of wrath and of pillage as seen in the instance of this play, which we feel sure will not have re-enactment in these times and this country, save upon the stage. “They ne'er cared for us yet: suffer us to famish and .th.elr_ storehouses crammed with grain any wholesome act established against the rich. ¢ * ¢ Shakespeare could not surely have been writing for the American democ~ racy of mutuality. Yet we hear out- cries “doles™ directed pn"h‘: people in o \‘:.Il- of t n| Y B el Nicotine Negativea® Prom the Hartford Dally sEEEa In| ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN. ‘Washington is the world's greatest storehouse of all kinds of knowledge. You can draw on it free of charge through our bureau here. tion of fact you may ask will be an- swered promptly in & personal letter to you. Be careful to write clearly, me your full name and address and lose 2 cents for reply postage. Send your inquiry to The Evening Star In- formation Bureau, Frederic J. H Director, Washington, D. C. ‘What are the colts called when | they are entered in the Breeders' Fu- turity race?—L. W. A." The foals are entered the first of July after they are foaled, and are then called sucklings. When they race they have become 2-year-olds. Q. How much damage is done yearly by rats?—J. R. A. Damage by rats to property and produce in the United States amounts to about $200,000,000 anpually. Rats affect a larger percentage of the popu- lation than any other pest in existence. Q. Are Marines eligible to the Pur- ple Heart decoration?—O. M. S. A._This decoration was revived by the Department of War. Marines who served with the Army in Prance and | meet the other necessary wrequirements are entitled to this decoration. Q. Why do some shrubs have a sweet odor while others have not?— A. M A A. There are three or four species of the genus calycanthus, but only one —calycanthus floridus—has any pro- | nounced fragrance. The blosscms are | similar in appearance. Q. When the rudder of a ship is turned to steer a ship. which end of the ship responds first’—W. A. B A. Theoretically and in case of an absolutely rigid ship, the whole vessel, including both ends. would respond simultaneously. Actually, because even Iin steel ships there is a little play, the stern moves first, giving way before the blow of the water on the rudder. Q. Did George Wilbur Peck, author of “Peck’s Bad Boy.” excel in any other than the writing field>—B. L. A. He was mayor of Milwaukee and Governor of Wisconsin. In the latter post he attained distinction by enthu- siastically opposing laws to compel boys to go to school. Q. Who was the Indian chief with whom Gen. Sam Houston lived at one time?—A. A. - A. Jchn Jolly was the English name of the Cherokee chief who was the adopted father of Gen. Houston. His native name was Ahuludegi, which means “He who throws away the drum.” His early life was spent in Ten- nessee, and it was there that Houston | spent ‘three years, acquiring a lifelong friendship for his adopted people. ‘What is the name of the treaty which ended the World War?—C. P. A. It is known as the Treaty of Versailles. Q. How do ductless glands discharge | their secretions?—M. E. A. They are discharged directly into the circulating blood. The endocrine or ductless glands are now believed to control the characteristics which make one person differ from another men- tally and physically. Q. What chemical will destroy grass on a tennis court?—K. M A. An effective chemical has been found to be calcium chioride. If this is applied at the beginning of the tennis season, it may be mixed with the top soil at the rate of at least two pounds to a square yard of surface. Q. What are dramas called which ll’er I;lllcn to be read and not acted? A. ‘The term closet drama s used. Much of Browning’s dramatic wril is of this character. Q. Are there as many members in the House of Lords as there are in the House of Commons in the PBritish askin, | Parliament?—J. J. A. There are about 750 members in the House of Lords. These consist of hereditary and appointive members some church dignitaries. The | Commons has 615 members. | Q. When did Omar Khayyam write the “Rubaiyat”?—H. P. | “A. Omar Khayyam was born in the | latter half of the eleventh century and | died within the first quarter of the twelfth century A. D. Exactly when | the “Rubaiyat” was written is not known, Q. How long has accountancy been a profession’—L. M. A. Very little is known of the origin | of accounting as a profession. The | first association of which there is | record is the Collegio dei Raxonali, | founded at Venice in 1581. Profes- sional accountants probably existed in Milan at an early date, as the govern- ment established a scale of charges for them in 1742. The first Scotch professional accountant was | Watson, born in Edinburgh in 1645. {In 1790 the British directory listed |five. The fist formal recognition given to accoun.ants in the United States was in the laws of New York in April, 1890. Q. —K A It is an abbroiiation for the Latin ibiddem, which means in the | same place. Q. Where is the origina called “The Bambino"7— A. This picture is a copy of one of the medallions of foundlings on the Foundlings’ Hospital, at Florence, Italy, made by the famous sculptor, Andrea Della Robbia. Q. When was the flying club at Harvard University organized?—H. L. A. In 1910. The students own their own ships, but most of the other uni- versities that have clubs show a ten- dency to combine in order to make purchases of this type. What is the meaning of ibid? G. G 1 of a picture Ww. S. Q. How much. rubber was imported by the United States last year’—R. C. A. The amount of crude rubber im- ported into the United States in the calendar vear 1931 was 1.124,000.000 pounds, with a value of $73,800000. Q. Was tre block of concrete poured at the George Washington Masonic Memorial " the largest ever pourec? A. The concrete mat | memorial is not the larg=st of concrete ever poured at There is much work on dams. locks, etc., that exceed it. but for the limited area covered the statement can be safely made that this mat is one of the heaviest under anv building. It contains 8794 cubic vards of 1-2-4 concrete and 720 tons of 1i,-square reinforcing bars. Q. How long did it take steamships to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 18642 —G. W. B. A. About that time the average steamer required about two weeks to croes the Atlantic. although the trans- atlantic voyage was made in much less time by some vessels. The record for the vear 1864 was established by the Scotia of the Cunard Line. which sailed from Queenstown to New York im 8 days 15 hours and 45 minut Smith’s Policies Comments from both parties are no- | tably laudatory. as the country considers the recent radio speech of former Gov. Alfred E. Smith. in which he attacked |some popular ideas and declared that { were bound up with sound financing. “For its example of forthright courage and evidence of definite leadership the address as a whole won instant and | wide scclaim, not confined to party {lines.” says the Hartford Times (inde- | pendent Democratic). The Connellsville | Courter (Republican) declares that “he | calls upon Congress to rise above politics in dealing with the present emergency,” while the Janesville Gazette (independ- ent Republican). calling it “the note. worthy contribution of a patriot.” sees it as “in the interest of doing something to balance the budget and stop the bick- ering of Congress over small and selfich >nds.” The Youngstown Vindicator (in- dependent Democratic) feels that “with him, personal and party interests are secondary to the interests of the coun- t is like a tonic,” remarks the Char- leston (8. C.) Evening Post (Democratic). “to hear a man speak out without fear for the kind of government he truly be- lieves will be good for the people.” The Baltimore Evening Sun (independent Democratic), ceclares thats*he spoke the unspeakable, challenged fate, defied the lIKhtnmualk?d about all the things that nobody else will mention.” The Birmingham Age-Herald (Democratic) | states that “Mr. Smith announcss his own program, which, whatever may be its defects as to details, is in the large a most hopeful and courageous facing up to the crisis it is intended to alleviate. That paper concludes that it “is not the declaration of a man who is curry favor wherever he can get it.” but statesman's approach to the questions | | | | | the interests of the people as a whole | for Nation Received as Timely Warning | you soak the rich. This is something not understood by the rich when af- | fairs begen to tighten before the stock crash of 1929. As revenues fell off and the question was whether to maintain dividends or employment. only too often the decision was made in favor of divi- dends. Then, in almost immediately reducing buying power, it became clear that if you throw a man out of a job you kick a customer out of a store. If the merchant cannot sell, the factory lacks orders. The former finds the door closed to the market. Prices slump. Thus the very values collapsed that were sought to be maintained by let- ting the workers go. We have had as a result the hardest lesson we have ever been called upon in our folly to learn— that human values are essential to property values." “Perhaps it is too much to hope. comments the Oklahoma City Okla- homan (independent). “that the habit. ual radical may take unto his heart the wise words of Gov. Smith. But among the thousands who have not yet bowed the knee to the Baal of confiscation those. words may find lodgment and bear wholesome fruit. It may possibly dawn upon the consciousness of Okla- homans that mankind has never yet discovered any means of ‘soaking’ cap- ital with oppressive tax laws without soaking labor at the same time." “With fearlessness.” declares the Minneapolis Journal (independent Re- publican), “Mr. Smith assails the costly faults that have been woven Into the fabric of veterans' relief, chiefly by the | acts of timorous Congresses. He calls | for elimination of all the unmerited pensions which have been superimposed upon the original Wilson plan of caring generously for men maimed in war, and Ifar the widows and orphans of men |slain in war. He would restrict relief which irk the country.” ... __|to these cases and would scrap the as- Mr. Smith's condemnation of “blocs | sumed obligation to pay hundreds of 4 | and cabals,” the Milwaukee Sentinel (independent) asserts, is such that “we cannot in honesty do sught but ap- plaud.” That paper adds: “The time for partisan maneuvering is at an end. end patriotic, united effort, regardless | of where the credit may go, is impera- | tive if we are to surmount the tre-| mendous difficulties that now confront | the Nation” The Wall Street Journal (independent) advises that “a Presi- dent might do worse than discuss the issues of the day with his simple can- dor.” The Oshkosh Daily Northwest- ern (Republican) holds that “he de- serves praise for bold and unequivocal thinking.” The Rochester Times-Union (inde- pendent) commends the fact that Mr. Smith “has come forward with a defl- nite platform or program,” while the Providence Bulletin (independent) of-| fers the estimate: “As important as the subject matter of the speech is, re- freshing in its frankness. the tone and temper strike one equally with force. Here is r r partisan, no rejected | candidate .= :ing in de‘fen.,hut 2 m;n with & broad patriotic view, ready, r to forego partisan advantage to| help steer the country through a crisis.” | | ‘Mr, Smith commends some of the | plans advanced by the administration and criticizes others,” states the Boston Transcript. (independent Republican). | oy “but he is equally condemnatory millions of dollars yearly in annual compensation’ to men who are either :Ii,flerlr‘:’g‘ (;:)finl no real disabilities, or | whose disabilities are in no w - able to war service.” 2 e et Investigating the €ost of Food. From the Chicago Daily News. Food cost is a matter of vital - cern in Chicago under present cog;;- tions. Mayor Cermak has taken 03 timely step in ordering an inquiry into the prices of commodities that are es- :;rfim to the maintenance of life and For the products of his land and his labor the farmer now receives lower prices than in many years. The mayor Taises the question whether consumers are getting the benefit in full measure, Only an expert investigation can show. In a city having more than 100.000 families enrolled on its relief list and thousands more strugglink for existence on the narrowest margin of self-su pot. no investigation could have a more important objective. The reduction of 1 cent in the price of a quart of milk will save Chicagoans |$10.000 & day. That saving could be in- creased were way found to end the extravagances of the present sys- tem of milk distribution. Extravagances distribution and disproportionate profit-taking exist in the marketing other necessary food products. Marked variations in the prices of vege. VR and meats can be found even in restricted competitive areas, while in others a higher level of than Is justifiable may be maintained by understandings between merchants, Regulation of food prices lies be- yond v.h:.:wn of constituted authority, but pul tion of the facts ecan L; much 1o persusde dealers who are prices higher than source cost to come down to the fair - Competent for Competition, Prom (e Mamiiim Bpeetaion BT